"Stop."
"We lost."
"That man's power is not something we can contend with. I just probed his mind."
As he spoke, Charles's voice even trembled slightly, as if he had just gazed into the abyss.
"If we continue to resist, there won't be a single living mutant left on Earth."
"For the survival of our children, for the continuation of Xavier's School..."
"We surrender."
A deathly silence fell.
The lightning in Ororo's eyes extinguished, and the psychic fluctuations around Jean also subsided.
Although unwilling and furious, due to absolute trust in Charles, and the desperate gap in power laid bare before them, they gave up.
"Shit!"
Logan cursed and slowly retracted his claws.
He was the first to give up resistance. Immediately after, all the X-Men lowered their hands and retreated behind Charles.
The situation instantly collapsed.
But it wasn't over yet.
The wheelchair turned.
Charles's eyes, full of wisdom yet brimming with pain, looked toward the Fantastic Four nearby.
"Reed Richards."
Telepathy forcefully connected.
"You know it, your calculations weren't wrong. The chance of victory is zero."
"If you keep fighting, Susan 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."
Reed's body trembled violently. He looked at the anti-matter cannon destroyed in his hand, then up at Frieza, who overlooked them like a god from high above.
That monster hadn't even spared them a proper glance until now.
That was the gap.
Reed was a scientist, the ultimate rationalist.
When emotion was stripped away, the remaining logic told him:
As long as they lived, there was hope for a comeback. If they died, everything would be lost.
"Reed?" Susan noticed her husband's abnormality and anxiously grabbed his hand.
Reed took a deep breath. His face, usually brimming with confidence, now looked as if he had aged ten years.
He gripped his wife's hand back, his voice terribly hoarse. "Sue... Johnny... Ben..."
"We stop fighting."
"What?!"
Although the flames on Johnny had extinguished, his temper remained.
"Reed, are you crazy? You're going to surrender to that murderer?!"
"That's an order!" Reed suddenly roared, tears even welling up in his eyes.
"Do you want Sue to die? Do you want the children to die?!"
Johnny froze.
Ben silently lowered his head, looking at the rubble on the ground.
Finally, the Fantastic Four bowed and slowly walked toward the X-Men's ranks.
A complete reversal.
This was a betrayal in the truest sense of the word.
The already disadvantaged Avengers instantly became isolated.
No, worse.
Because the next second, Charles raised his head. That powerful psychic force instantly enveloped everyone remaining like an invisible net.
"Since I chose submission, I must offer proof of allegiance."
Charles told himself internally, the sense of desolation nearly drowning him.
"For the future of mutants... I apologize, Avengers."
Buzz!
A terrifying psychic storm instantly swept across the entire area.
"Ah!"
Clint screamed, clutching his head, his eyes instantly becoming glazed over.
T'Challa staggered, nearly collapsing to his knees.
Even the Hulk let out a painful growl, rolling on the ground clutching his head, the green in his eyes gradually fading.
Mass control!
This was the terror of Earth's strongest telepath.
Without equivalent protection, numbers meant nothing against Charles.
"Hah!"
With a sharp cry, the Ancient One stomped her foot abruptly and formed hand signs.
A golden magic circle opened above the Avengers, forming a psychic barrier that struggled to resist Charles's intrusion.
"Wong! Assist me!" Sweat beads formed on the Ancient One's forehead.
Normally, she wouldn't fear Charles. But now, she had to divide her attention to guard against the monster in the sky.
Wong immediately stepped forward. Only by combining their efforts could they barely protect the consciousness 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, and behind were Frieza's forces, eyeing them menacingly.
And above them was a Galactic Emperor with a power level of 530,000.
"Heh... Is this what a human alliance looks like?"
High above, Frieza watched the spectacle below and couldn't help but applaud.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
The applause clearly echoed throughout the battlefield.
"Splendid."
Frieza wore the delighted smile of someone watching a circus act.
"So-called heroes, when faced with survival, will tear at each other like stray dogs?"
"Oh ho ho ho..."
"Professor X, is it? You're quite good, I appreciate your pragmatism."
"As a reward, I might consider leaving a reservation for you mutants, perhaps... hmm, like a zoo?"
These utterly humiliating words made Charles's face twitch, but he kept his head bowed and did not refute them.
Because he dared not.
Steve looked at the desperate scene, then glanced toward Sentry in the corner.
"Has it really come to this?"
Just before he completely succumbed to despair—
Boom!!!
Above the firmament, the atmosphere suddenly exploded.
An incredibly dazzling golden meteor, carrying world-shattering momentum, forcefully smashed through the clouds.
The speed was so immense that even Frieza slightly raised an eyebrow.
Bang!
The meteor slammed heavily between Frieza and the Avengers, and the resulting shockwave instantly leveled the surrounding ruins.
The dust settled.
A woman, radiating brilliant golden light and sporting neat short hair, hovered in mid-air.
Her fists were clenched, the energy surging around her was as dazzling as a star, and her glowing eyes were fixed intently on Frieza high above.
Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers.
She had finally arrived.
"That blonde man in the white suit..."
Carol glanced at the situation on the ground, her voice cold as ice.
"Did you kill him?"
Frieza looked at this golden-glowing woman who had suddenly appeared, sensing the considerable energy fluctuations coming from her.
The elegant smile on his lips didn't vanish. Instead, it became more excited.
"Oh?"
"So it was Carol."
"Well done. You finally made it. If you had been any later, your teammates would have been wiped out." Frieza laughed triumphantly.
In Carol's eyes, there was only an endless desire to kill him.
"You monster, die!"