Marvel: A Lazy-Ass Superman

Chapter 694: Chapter 694: X-Men Reinforcements

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Although this was Tony Stark’s first time seeing the aircraft in person, he immediately recognized its owner—or rather, the group it belonged to.

The X-Men’s X-Jet.

Its model designation was also Blackbird, a high-tech aircraft designed and built by mutant scientists themselves.

The X-Jet descended with remarkable precision, settling into a surprisingly small open space before shutting down its engines.

Like a military transport aircraft, the rear cargo ramp lowered.

A group of people clad in black tactical uniforms stepped out.

The X-Men had arrived.

---

Naturally, the person responsible for greeting this team of super-powered rescuers was George Stacy, Commissioner of the New York City Police Department and field commander of the World Trade Center disaster response.

Mayor Rudy Giuliani remained at City Hall, coordinating rescue operations across the city.

Professor X himself had come rather than remaining at Xavier’s School.

Seated in his wheelchair and pushed forward by Jean Grey, the bald professor approached the police commissioner.

Extending a hand, he said warmly,

”Commissioner Stacy, please forgive me. Because of my legs, I’m unable to stand and greet you properly.

”And my apologies—we arrived later than we intended.”

”Please remain seated, Professor Xavier.”

George shook his hand.

”As long as you’re willing to help, it’s never too late.”

It was partly a diplomatic response.

But hearing it still made everyone feel a little better.

Cyclops, standing nearby, added:

”We practically fought tooth and nail to stop two hijacked planes.

”One of them even landed safely.

”If we hadn’t been required to cooperate with the military investigation afterward, we’d have arrived much sooner.”

---

Cyclops’ explanation wasn’t an excuse.

The X-Men had mobilized almost immediately after the first reports of hijackings appeared.

But events in the air had proven far more difficult than expected.

With Nightcrawler no longer part of the team, they had been forced to rely on Angel carrying Wolverine into position.

Wolverine then cut openings into the aircraft fuselage.

Afterward, the X-Men used their jet to dock with the airliners and infiltrate them.

The strategy worked only once.

They successfully neutralized one group of hijackers and forced the damaged airliner to make an emergency landing at a nearby airport.

The second aircraft proved far more complicated.

By the time Angel and Wolverine entered, the passengers and crew had already begun fighting back against the hijackers themselves.

The two X-Men immediately joined the struggle rather than waiting for reinforcements.

Unfortunately, during the attempt to retake the cockpit, the hijackers apparently realized they were losing control.

Instead of surrendering, they deliberately mishandled the aircraft.

The plane ultimately crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

The rest of the X-Men never managed to board before the crash.

At the final moment, Angel used his metallic wings to tear open an escape route through the aircraft’s hull.

Even then, he only had time to save the nearest passenger.

In the end, the crash left only three survivors:

Angel.

The passenger he rescued.

And Wolverine, whose regenerative abilities made surviving such an event possible.

Of all the passengers aboard, only one survived.

---

By the time the first terrorist attack occurred, the United States had already entered DEFCON 3 and imposed strict airspace controls.

Military fighters were authorized to shoot down aircraft that failed to comply with orders.

Under those conditions, the X-Jet might as well have been waving a giant flag that read ”Arrest Me.”

Its stealth capabilities didn’t matter much in broad daylight.

Without true optical camouflage, a pilot looking directly at it could still see it.

Eventually, military aircraft spotted the X-Jet visually and forced it to land at a designated airport.

Had Beast—Hank McCoy—not intervened through his government connections, and had the X-Men lacked proof of their actions, things might have ended badly.

Fortunately, there was evidence.

The passengers aboard the successfully landed aircraft all testified on the X-Men’s behalf.

So did the sole survivor rescued from the second plane.

Without those witnesses, the entire team might have found themselves standing trial rather than assisting rescue efforts.

Only shortly before airspace restrictions began loosening did Professor Xavier request permission to assist at Ground Zero.

The military finally approved.

That was how the X-Jet arrived at the site of the nation’s worst disaster.

---

Compared to the team that had fought the Brotherhood of Mutants on Liberty Island the previous year, today’s roster included many more young mutants.

The core members consisted of:

Professor X

Cyclops

Storm

Jean Grey

Wolverine

Angel

Jubilee, the Chinese-American mutant capable of generating explosive plasma energy

Several older students from Xavier’s School were also recognizable:

Pyro

Iceman

Colossus

Shadowcat

Rogue

Since the mission focused primarily on rescue rather than combat, Professor Xavier had apparently deemed it appropriate to bring them along.

One notable absence was Beast.

His distinctive appearance likely made government work and public relations difficult enough already.

---

Faced with this sudden influx of capable reinforcements, George Stacy had no intention of assigning them simple manual labor.

His mind immediately shifted toward the most difficult problems still facing the rescue operation.

He invited the X-Men into the command tent.

As they passed two familiar figures standing nearby, George made introductions.

”This is Tony Stark, Chairman of Stark Industries.”

He gestured toward Tony.

”Mr. Stark not only helped establish this command center but has also provided enormous quantities of relief supplies.”

Then he pointed toward Henry.

”And this is Henry Brown, a civilian volunteer who’s been an immense help throughout the operation.”

---

With his wild hair and thick beard, Henry wasn’t immediately recognizable.

The moment George spoke his name, however, several veteran X-Men reacted.

Cyclops.

Storm.

Jean Grey.

All three instantly became noticeably more alert.

Even Professor Xavier’s expression turned complicated as he glanced toward Henry.

The younger mutants, meanwhile, displayed little reaction.

Most of them had never met him before.

And the senior X-Men generally didn’t spend their free time talking about Henry Brown.

So the newer generation remained fairly indifferent.

Strictly speaking, Henry wasn’t truly an enemy of the X-Men.

The two sides simply didn’t get along.

If everyone had forgotten the Sentinel War timeline, then their most recent shared experience was actually their cooperation against the D’Bari back in 1992.

Well...

Jean Grey had also encountered him briefly in early 1993 because of Audrey Hepburn.

Other than that, there hadn’t been much direct conflict.

At least in theory.

Because when Jean passed by him, Henry could practically feel the hostility radiating from her.

It was so intense it almost seemed tangible.

---

Does Phoenix still remember taking that hit from me?

Henry wondered.

Or is that just instinctive dislike?

Honestly, he’d always assumed Cyclops would be the one who hated him most.

The man had a jealous streak a mile wide.

Since the X-Men had come to help, Henry wisely refrained from making sarcastic comments.

Their relationship wasn’t remotely good enough for teasing to be taken as a joke.

Starting an argument in the middle of a disaster zone seemed like a poor idea.

Meanwhile, Tony Stark noticed something interesting.

The title Chairman of Stark Industries had barely registered with the mutants.

But the moment Henry’s name came up, several of them reacted immediately.

That sparked Tony’s curiosity.

Then he noticed Jean Grey shoot Henry a look that could practically kill.

Unable to resist, Tony asked:

”You slept with that mutant woman and then dumped her, didn’t you?”

Henry immediately fired back.

”Yeah. That look seems familiar to you, doesn’t it?”

Tony snorted.

”Women don’t hate me.

”They just stare at me with puppy-dog eyes and beg me to pay attention to them again.”

”That’s because you’re generous with the payout, dumbass.

”You really think it’s because you’re handsome?”

”Fuck!”

Tony’s involuntary outburst was loud enough that he instantly became the center of attention.

Unfortunately, not in the way he usually preferred.

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