[68] How About You Adapt to Cannonbolt?!

Chapter 68: How About You Adapt to Cannonbolt?!

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Despite my history with them, it was quite something to see the famous X-Men showing off their powers in a fight.

Cyclops's optic blasts carved through the air, but the Sentinels seemed to shimmer and adapt, their armor shifting to deflect the energy. The Mutant Goddess Storm had called up a localized thunderstorm, but the machines just deployed some kind of electromagnetic shielding. Even Wolverine, trying to get close enough to use those claws, kept getting batted away like an annoying fly.

"The X-Men are fighting well, but… the robots are adapting," I said, recognizing the pattern. In the cartoons, Sentinels had been tough but predictable. These things were learning in real-time, countering each mutant's specific abilities. Like that damned movie, Days of the Future Past. "As if they're built to fight mutants specifically."

"Good thing we're not mutants," Grandpa said, already reaching for something under his seat. Probably another one of those Plumber weapons he thought we didn't know about.

Movement on a balcony caught my eye. My jaw nearly dropped at the sight of her muscles and curves. A woman in white, looking exactly like Emma Frost from that gooner game Marvel Rivals people had gotten addicted to, stood there like she was watching a tennis match instead of a life-or-death battle.

The casual way she gestured, occasionally pointing at something, made my skin crawl. Behind her, two blonde girls moved in perfect sync, their heads turning at exactly the same angle.

Creepy telepaths. Great.

But it was the fighter below them that really caught my attention. A blonde woman, maybe early twenties, moving through the battlefield like she was dancing. She held a silver sword that seemed to cut through more than just metal, when it connected with a drone, the machine didn't just break. It dissolved, pulled apart at some fundamental level.

[Image Here]

"Is that magic?" Gwen asked, and I heard the hunger in her voice. Girl was still smarting from Charmcaster's betrayal.

"I looked into the internet earlier,” I lied. "I think that's Illyana Rasputina. Colossus's sister. Also known as Magik. With a K."

Magik. She was exactly who we needed to find if we wanted to chase Charmcaster into Ledgerdomain, Limbo. Because my life wasn't complicated enough already.

The main Sentinel turned, its sensors locking onto a group of younger students trying to evacuate. Its hand transformed into some kind of energy cannon, charging up with an ominous whine.

"Screw this," I muttered, already reaching for the Omnitrix. "We're not sitting this out."

"Ben, they might misunderstand if we get involved with a warning." Grandpa started, but I was already out the door.

"I'll be careful!" I shouted back, which was a complete lie and we both knew it. The watch face popped up, showing the familiar array of silhouettes. I guess Upgrade will do a quick work of them. But I don’t know if I want to show the X-Men that I have the perfect counter for their archnemesis. Not yet, anyway.

I needed something with impact, something the Sentinels wouldn't have programmed counters for. My hand hovered over Cannonbolt's icon.

Time to play bowling with robots.

The transformation washed over me in that familiar green flash. My body condensed and expanded, limbs retracting as I became a living wrecking ball. The armored shell formed around me, yellow and white plates that could take a beating and give one right back.

"Cannonbolt!" I announced, still not quite over the dramatic entrances. I tucked and rolled, building momentum as I careened toward the main Sentinel. “Look out, look out!” The machine's sensors swiveled toward me, probably trying to figure out what the hell I was. Not mutant, not human, just pure alien weirdness wrapped in an armored shell.

The impact was satisfying as hell. I slammed into the Sentinel's leg at roughly the speed of a freight train, sending the giant robot stumbling. Armor plating crumpled under the force, and I heard the beautiful sound of machinery crying in protest.

"Holy crap, it's Cannonbolt!" A girl's voice shrieked from somewhere to my left. "That’s the guy from that giant snail monster I told you about, Ben Tennyson!"

I uncurled just long enough to spot Jubilee, her hands crackling with fireworks, staring at me with literal stars in her eyes. "Hey! Little busy here!"

The Sentinel had recovered, its damaged leg already running self-repair protocols. But I'd bought the X-Men time, and they weren't wasting it. Cyclops's blast carved through a cluster of drones while Storm's lightning fried their circuits.

I rolled again, this time aiming for a group of drones harassing what looked like a big silver guy – had to be Colossus. The machines scattered, but not fast enough. I plowed through them like they were bowling pins, sending sparks and twisted metal flying.

"Spasibo!" Colossus called out in what I assumed was Russian for 'thanks.'

But the Sentinels were already adapting. The remaining drones spread out, maintaining distance. The big one's armor was visibly thickening, adding layers specifically designed to absorb blunt impact. Great. They'd figured out my whole 'living cannonball' thing in under a minute.

Time for plan B.

I uncurled and slapped the Omnitrix symbol on what passed for my chest in this form. I was human for one second, and then I clicked down on the watch face again. The transformation rippled through me again, trading organic armor for living crystal. Diamondhead stood where Cannonbolt had been, already forming projectiles from my arms.

"Okay, let's see you adapt to this!"

I fired a barrage of crystal shards, designed to explode on impact. The Sentinels' armor might stop blunt force, but crystalline shrapnel was a whole different problem. The drones tried to dodge, but I could control the projectiles' trajectory, curving them through the air like guided missiles.

"Impressive," a voice said beside me, and I nearly jumped out of my crystalline skin.

Magik stood there, silver sword resting on her shoulder, looking at me with an expression somewhere between amusement and evaluation. Up close, she was even more striking – sharp features, eyes that seemed to shift between blue and something else entirely, and an aura that screamed 'danger' in languages I didn't even know.

"Thanks," I managed, firing another volley at an approaching drone. "You're not bad yourself. That sword's pretty."

She moved faster than I could track, her blade sweeping up to bisect a drone that had tried to flank us. The machine fell in two pieces, edges dissolving into nothing.

"Pretty?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"And effective," I finished. "Really, really effective."

Her laugh was surprisingly warm for someone who looked like she could kill me six ways before breakfast. "You don’t seem like a mutant. What are you?"

"Complicated," I said, which was both true and wildly understated. "But right now, I'm the guy saving a mutant school."

"Our school," she corrected, then paused. "Though I suppose it is more theirs than mine. I am... new."

She leapt forward to fight the thing on her own. I didn’t let her, I followed her. Since I would need her help afterward, I wanted to leave a lasting impression. We fought side by side for the next few minutes, falling into an unexpected rhythm. She'd sweep in close with that reality-cutting sword, and I'd provide cover with explosive crystal projectiles. When drones tried to swarm her, I'd create crystal walls. When they adapted to my barriers, she'd portal behind them and introduce them to Mr. Stabby.

The main Sentinel was struggling now, caught between Cyclops and Wolverine's coordinated assault. Emma Frost had finally deigned to join the fight, her telepathy somehow interfering with the machines' coordination. Even the creepy twin girls were helping, their synchronized attacks hitting with surprising force.

"The control unit!" Emma's voice rang out, both audible and telepathic. "In the Sentinel's chest cavity! Destroy it and the drones fall!"

Cyclops and Wolverine moved like they'd practiced this a thousand times. Scott's optic blast carved through the weakened chest armor while Logan dove through the opening, claws extended. Sparks flew, the Sentinel spasmed, and then–

Silence.

The drones dropped from the sky like puppet strings had been cut. The main Sentinel toppled backward with a ground-shaking crash, Logan riding it down with a whoop of triumph.

"Show-off," Scott muttered, but there was fondness in it.

I let the transformation fade, returning to boring old human form. My legs felt a bit shaky. Back-to-back transformations always took it out of me, but I stayed upright.

"Well," Emma Frost said, sauntering over with the kind of timing that suggested she'd been waiting for the exact right moment to make an entrance. "That was bracing. And who might our unexpected savior be?"

Before I could answer, Jean Grey landed nearby, having flown over from wherever she'd been fighting. Her face lit up with genuine relief when she saw us.

"Ben! Mr. Tennyson! Gwen!" She looked around, taking in the destruction. "Your timing is incredible. We were struggling to counter their adaptation protocols."

"Yeah, well," I shrugged, trying to play it cool despite the fact that I was surrounded by some of the most powerful beings on Earth. "My alien forms doesn't play by the same rules as mutant powers. They can't adapt to something they've never seen before."

"Fascinating," Emma purred, and I immediately didn't like the way she was looking at me. Like I was a particularly interesting specimen she wanted to dissect. "Charles, you didn't mention your young friend was so... versatile. The Black Queen did though. Benjamin Tennyson, is it?"

Oh.

Oh right, shit.

Selene Gallio was the Black Queen of the Hellfire Club. Emma Frost was the White Queen, her counterpart. That witch must have had a talk about me to this troublesome telepathic queen.

Professor Xavier rolled out from the mansion, somehow managing to look dignified despite the fact that his school's front lawn looked like a war zone. Grandpa Max walked beside him, the two old men already deep in conversation.

"Magister Tennyson. What a surprise to see you here." Xavier said carefully. "First, please allow me to apologize. I’ve heard about the uncomfortable experience that my team put you through during that bug incident. You and your grandchildren have my apology, as well as thanks. Your group, especially Ben Tennyson, has been invaluable in several recent situations."

"Yeah, about that," I said, deciding to just rip the band-aid off. "You two old men can talk politics later, but I didn’t stumble here out of luck. I’m here to see someone. We need to talk to Magik."

Every eye in the vicinity turned to Illyana, who'd been in the process of making her sword disappear into thin air. She paused, looking at me with those shifting eyes.

"Me?" Her accent made it sound like 'mee.' "What does alien boy want with me?"

From the way Colossus quickly stood over her in a defensive way, frowning and looking at me with suspicion, I had a feeling this was going to be a little difficult.

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