"Stop fighting."
"We've lost."
"That man's power is not something we can stand against. I just probed his mind."
At this, Charles's voice trembled slightly, as if he had just gazed into an abyss.
"If we continue to resist, there will not be a single mutant left alive on Earth."
"For the survival of our children, for the continuation of the Xavier School..."
"We surrender."
A deadly silence followed.
Storm's eyes ceased their sparking, and Jean Grey's telekinetic waves calmed down.
Though unwilling, though furious.
But based on their absolute trust in the Professor, and the desperate, undeniable gap in power right in front of them.
"Sht!"
Wolverine, Logan, cursed and slowly retracted his claws.
He was the first to give up the fight.
Immediately after, all the X-Men lowered their hands and retreated behind Charles.
The situation had instantly collapsed!
But it wasn't over yet.
The wheelchair turned.
Charles's eyes, full of wisdom yet also great pain, looked toward the Fantastic Four nearby.
"Reed Richards."
The telepathic link was forced.
"You know your calculations are not wrong. The win probability is zero."
"If you keep fighting, Sue will die, Johnny will die, and Ben will die. Most importantly, Franklin and Valeria, your children, won't even have a chance to grow up."
Mr. Fantastic, Reed Richards, visibly flinched.
He looked at the destroyed anti-matter cannon in his hand, then up at Frieza, who was overlooking everyone like a god.
The monster hadn't even looked them in the eye once until now.
That was the difference.
Reed was a scientist, a hardcore rationalist.
When emotion was stripped away, the remaining logic told him:
As long as they were alive, there was hope for a comeback; if they died, everything was over.
"Reed?" Invisible Woman, Sue, noticed her husband's abnormality and gripped his hand anxiously.
Reed took a deep breath, his face, usually so confident, now seemed to have aged ten years.
He squeezed his wife's hand back, his voice frighteningly hoarse:
"Sue... Johnny... Ben..."
"We're stopping the fight."
"What?!"
Human Torch, Johnny, had extinguished his flames, but his temper remained.
"Reed, are you crazy? You're surrendering to that mass murderer?!"
"That's an order!" Reed suddenly roared, tears welling in his eyes. "Do you want Sue to die? Do you want our kids to die?!"
Johnny froze.
The Thing, Ben, lowered his head in silence, staring at the debris on the ground.
Finally, the Fantastic Four also lowered their proud heads and slowly walked into the X-Men's ranks.
A complete reversal!
This was literally a case of being abandoned by their allies!
The already disadvantaged Avengers were instantly left all alone.
No, worse.
Because the next second, Professor Charles Xavier looked up.
His powerful psychic energy, like an invisible net, instantly enveloped everyone else still fighting!
"Since we've chosen to submit, we must offer a token of allegiance."
Charles told himself internally, the sense of bleakness almost drowning him.
"For the future of mutantkind... I'm sorry, Avengers."
BZZZZ—!
A terrifying psychic storm swept the field!
"Agh!"
Hawkeye, Barton, screamed, clutching his head, his eyes instantly glazing over.
Black Panther, T'Challa, staggered, nearly dropping to his knees.
Even the Hulk let out a painful roar, rolling on the ground clutching his head as the green color in his eyes gradually faded.
Mass crowd control!
This was the terror of the Earth's strongest telepath!
Without equivalent psychic protection, numbers were meaningless against Charles!
"Hah!"
With a sharp yell.
The Sorcerer Supreme, the Ancient One, stomped her foot, forming a hand seal.
A golden magical shield opened over the Avengers' heads, creating a mental barrier that struggled to fend off Charles's intrusion.
"Wong! Help me!" Sweat beaded on the Ancient One's forehead.
Normally, she wouldn't fear Charles.
But now, she had to divide her focus to guard against the monster in the sky!
Wong, the Sorcerer, immediately stepped forward. Together, they barely managed to protect the sanity of the remaining few.
But even so, they were at their limit.
They were surrounded.
In front were the defected X-Men and Fantastic Four. Behind them was Frieza's army, eyeing them menacingly.
And above them all was a cosmic emperor with a power level of 530,000.
Despair.
Absolute despair.
"Heh... is this the alliance of humanity?"
High above, Frieza couldn't help but clap as he watched the spectacle unfold below.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
The applause was clearly audible across the entire area.
"Magnificent! Truly magnificent!"
Frieza wore the delighted smile of someone watching a circus performance.
"So-called heroes, when faced with survival, will tear at each other like stray dogs?"
"Ohohoho..."
"Professor X, is it? You are quite good; I appreciate your awareness."
"As a reward, I might consider leaving a reservation for you mutants, like... hmm, a petting zoo?"
The profoundly insulting words made Charles's face twitch, but he kept his head bowed and did not retort.
Because he didn't dare.
Captain America watched the desperate scene, then looked at the Sentry in the corner again.
"Has it truly come to this?"
Just as Captain America plunged into utter despair.
BOOM—!!!
The sky above them exploded! The atmosphere suddenly ruptured!
An incredibly blinding golden meteor, carrying world-ending force, smashed through the clouds!
The speed was so fast that even Frieza raised an eyebrow slightly.
CRASH!
The meteor slammed heavily between Frieza and the Avengers, the resulting shockwave flattening the surrounding wreckage.
When the dust cleared.
A woman, completely radiating brilliant golden light, with sharp, short hair, hovered in mid-air.
Her fists were clenched, the energy surging around her as bright as a star. Her glowing eyes were fixed on Frieza high above.
It was Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers.
She had finally arrived!
"That blonde guy in the white suit..."
Carol glanced at the scene on the ground, her voice cold as ice.
"Did you kill him?"
Frieza looked at the golden woman who had suddenly appeared, sensing the considerable energy radiating from her.
The elegant smile on his lips didn't disappear; instead, it became even more excited.
"Oho?"
"Well, if it isn't Carol."
"Excellent, excellent. You finally made it. Any later, and your teammates would have been completely wiped out."
Frieza laughed with self-satisfaction.
But Carol's eyes held nothing but a boundless desire to kill him.
"You monster, die!"