"Jack."
Mr. Sinister, who had been lying on the ground like a boneless corpse, suddenly lifted his head. His face twisted into a ghostly smile as his eyes locked onto Li Jie.
The moment Li Jie saw that expression, he immediately understood what was happening.
Mind control.
The person speaking through that mouth was not Mr. Sinister. A far more powerful being had seized control of his mind and was using his body as a mouthpiece.
"Apocalypse?" Li Jie asked calmly, staring at him.
The smile on Mr. Sinister's face widened.
"You're intelligent. You're capable," the voice said slowly. "Come find me."
The tone carried the unmistakable weight of persuasion, almost like a sermon meant to convert a believer.
Li Jie's eyes narrowed slightly. Apocalypse's telepathic abilities had actually penetrated the Mirror Dimension and taken control of Mr. Sinister from afar.
That realization made something immediately clear.
This was only one of Apocalypse's many powers.
Apocalypse possessed the ability to absorb energy across dimensions, so it wasn't strange that his mental power could reach through the Mirror Dimension as well.
"Come find me," the voice repeated.
"Fear will guide you to me."
Thud.
Mr. Sinister's head suddenly slammed back against the ground, his body going limp again.
Li Jie remained seated nearby, deep in thought.
As one of the oldest mutants in existence, Apocalypse's strength was beyond question. If someone compared him to a well-known figure like Thanos, the truth was simple.
Without the Infinity Gauntlet or the Heart of the Universe, Thanos would stand no chance against Apocalypse.
In terms of raw physical power and defense, Li Jie believed he was at least equal to Apocalypse, perhaps even superior.
But Apocalypse had one advantage that was extremely dangerous.
Telepathy.
Although Li Jie possessed mind-control abilities from Poison Ivy, that power simply couldn't compare to Apocalypse's psychic dominance. If he made even a small mistake, Apocalypse could turn him into a puppet.
Fortunately, Li Jie wasn't completely without a countermeasure.
Loki's scepter.
More specifically, the Mind Stone inside it.
With the Mind Stone protecting him, Apocalypse's psychic attacks would at least become far less dangerous.
A faint groan suddenly broke the silence.
Mr. Sinister slowly opened his eyes. The moment he saw Li Jie sitting nearby, terror flashed across his face and he instinctively shrank backward.
"You're awake," Li Jie said casually.
Mr. Sinister hesitated before nodding stiffly.
"Yes… I'm awake."
"Good," Li Jie replied. "Then take me to Apocalypse."
Mr. Sinister blinked in surprise for a moment before letting out a strange laugh.
"Jack, Apocalypse is in Egypt," he said. "But don't worry. I have a private jet that can take us there."
"No need."
As Li Jie spoke, he raised a hand and opened a glowing teleportation portal. Through the portal, the distant outline of Egyptian pyramids and the massive Sphinx could already be seen.
Mr. Sinister's eyes widened slightly.
After the brutal beating he had just received, he had no intention of testing Li Jie again. With quiet obedience, he followed Li Jie through the portal.
The two of them arrived in the Egyptian desert moments later.
At that moment, a jet roared across the sky above them.
The X-Men's plane?
Li Jie initially thought the X-Men had arrived. But when the aircraft landed and its door opened, three familiar figures stepped out.
Magneto.
Mystique.
And the Scarlet Witch.
Mystique looked furious, while Magneto had a noticeable bruise on his lip, as if someone had recently punched him. Clearly, things had not gone well for them earlier.
Power always decided the outcome in the end.
The three of them were visibly surprised to see Li Jie standing there. However, after their eyes shifted toward Mr. Sinister, they quickly understood the situation.
"Magneto!" Mr. Sinister shouted.
His gaze moved to Scarlet Witch and he sneered.
"What's this? After failing your mission, you sent a woman to apologize to Lord Apocalypse?"
Before Magneto could even respond, a glowing red sphere of magic shot through the air.
Boom.
The blast sent Mr. Sinister flying backward like a rag doll.
Mr. Sinister's mouth really was a problem.
The only reason he dared say something like that was because he didn't recognize Scarlet Witch or understand how terrifying she truly was.
When Scarlet Witch was enraged, even Thanos had nearly died at her hands. Mr. Sinister simply wasn't on the same level.
Scarlet Witch glanced briefly at Li Jie but didn't attack. Instead, she turned to Magneto.
"Can we go now?"
Magneto gave Li Jie an awkward but polite smile and nod before introducing him.
"This is Jack," he said. "Humanity's newest guardian."
Li Jie blinked.
Humanity's guardian? Since when did he receive a title like that?
Scarlet Witch looked at him again, this time with a hint of curiosity in her eyes.
Magneto continued speaking.
"You're here to see Apocalypse as well, aren't you?"
"You too?" Li Jie replied.
"What a coincidence."
Both of them spoke at the same time, then paused.
Just then, a furious shout echoed across the desert.
Mr. Sinister came flying back toward them, his face twisted in anger.
"You bitch! How dare you ambush me! I—ah!"
Another red magic sphere slammed into him and sent him flying away again before he could finish.
Li Jie glanced at Scarlet Witch before turning back to Magneto.
"It looks like my guide won't be back anytime soon. Mind if I join you?"
Scarlet Witch said nothing, but Magneto nodded.
"Of course. Follow me."
Under Magneto's lead, the group entered the pyramid.
Deep inside its ancient chambers, they finally saw Apocalypse himself.
He sat upon a stone throne, dressed in garments resembling those of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh.
Apocalypse was extremely tall, and his most distinctive feature was his completely bald head.
Strangely enough, many powerful figures seemed to share that trait. In fact, Apocalypse and Thanos looked somewhat similar.
The moment Apocalypse saw them, he let out a strange laugh.
"Excellent. Very good."
His eyes settled on Magneto first.
"Magneto, although your previous mission failed, bringing Scarlet Witch here can be considered a form of redemption."
Then his gaze shifted toward Li Jie.
"Jack," Apocalypse said slowly. "You are talented. I admire you greatly."
He spread his arms slightly.
"From this moment onward, you will become my new apostle."
His eyes moved back to Scarlet Witch.
"And you… will you serve me?"
Scarlet Witch's answer came in the form of another glowing sphere of chaos magic.
"I'm sorry," she said coldly. "I came here to kill you."
Li Jie had expected this reaction.
When he first met Scarlet Witch earlier, he had already guessed why Apocalypse had angered her.
Apocalypse maintained his long life by transferring his consciousness into new bodies. The stronger the host, the better.
Scarlet Witch, with her powerful chaos magic, was an ideal target.
That meant Apocalypse had almost certainly attempted to invade her mind earlier.
His attempt to recruit Li Jie now was probably motivated by the same idea.
Possession.
If that was the case, Scarlet Witch's immediate attack made perfect sense.
The magic sphere shot toward Apocalypse.
But unlike Mr. Sinister earlier, Apocalypse did not get blasted away.
Instead, he simply raised his hand and caught the sphere midair.
That small display revealed just how powerful he truly was.
Very few people in the world could defeat Apocalypse. Even if Magneto and Professor X joined forces with a group of mutants, they would still struggle.
Jean Grey was one of the rare exceptions.
If she awakened the full power of the Phoenix Force, she could annihilate Apocalypse directly.
Many people liked to compare Jean Grey and Scarlet Witch.
Some believed the Phoenix Force could destroy Scarlet Witch.
Others believed Scarlet Witch's fully awakened chaos magic would overpower Jean.
In truth, the outcome wasn't absolute.
Just like Thanos could lose badly to Apocalypse without the Infinity Gauntlet—but with it, the situation would reverse instantly.
Li Jie was curious to see if Scarlet Witch's chaos magic could truly defeat Apocalypse.
Snap.
Apocalypse crushed the magic sphere in his hand.
Scarlet Witch immediately began gathering energy for a far more powerful attack.
A massive battle was about to erupt.
But at that exact moment, Mystique suddenly appeared behind Scarlet Witch and stabbed a blade into her lower back.
A muffled groan escaped Scarlet Witch's lips.
The attack she had been preparing instantly collapsed.
In the next moment, Scarlet Witch retaliated with a furious blast that slammed Mystique against a stone wall.
Mystique slid down the wall and wiped blood from the corner of her mouth with a grin.
Her attack hadn't been driven by deep hatred. She simply remembered how Scarlet Witch had humiliated both her and Magneto earlier.
This was revenge.
The angrier Scarlet Witch became, the stronger her chaos magic grew.
That strangely sounded a lot like the Hulk.
Mystique's stab had successfully enraged her.
Despite her wound, Scarlet Witch launched another attack.
Bang.
Magneto raised a metal plate to block it.
"Wanda! That's enough!" Magneto shouted.
But Scarlet Witch ignored him completely.
She broke through Magneto's defenses and rushed toward Mystique to deliver the final blow.
Then suddenly—
She froze.
Her entire body locked in place as if her mind had crashed.
Apocalypse laughed unpleasantly.
"Excellent," he said happily. "Magneto, Mystique… I'll remember your contribution."
Li Jie clicked his tongue silently.
Internal conflict right at the start had handed Apocalypse a huge advantage.
If Apocalypse succeeded in possessing Scarlet Witch and gaining her chaos magic, who in the world could stop him?
Li Jie had originally hoped Scarlet Witch would weaken Apocalypse first.
Unfortunately, she had simply rushed in to cause chaos.
At this point, Li Jie knew it was no longer a good time to fight.
Scarlet Witch was already under Apocalypse's control. If the two of them joined forces, his chances of victory would be extremely slim.
And Magneto and Mystique were still watching from the sidelines.
Without hesitation, Li Jie pulled out a Gatling gun from his storage compartment and opened fire at Apocalypse.
Apocalypse appeared focused on Scarlet Witch, but in reality he had been watching Li Jie the entire time.
The moment the gunfire began, he raised his hand.
An invisible barrier appeared in front of him, stopping every bullet in midair.
When the gunfire ended, the suspended bullets suddenly reversed direction and shot back toward Li Jie.
But Li Jie had already vanished.
Moving at incredible speed, he appeared beside Scarlet Witch, grabbed her, smashed straight through the pyramid wall, and shot into the sky.
Apocalypse's telepathy was extremely dangerous.
To block it, Li Jie immediately pulled out Loki's scepter.
The Mind Stone glowed as its power activated, forming a protective mental barrier.
Thanks to the Mind Stone, Scarlet Witch slowly began to regain control of her mind.
The moment she realized Li Jie was holding her, she raised her hand and slapped him.
Li Jie's expression went blank.
Holding the scepter in one hand and Scarlet Witch in the other… was he supposed to just accept being slapped?
No chance.
Just as her hand swung toward him, Li Jie simply let go.
"Ah!"
Scarlet Witch screamed as she dropped headfirst into the sand below.
Moments later, she crawled out of the sand, completely covered in dust.
"Why did you throw me?!" she shouted angrily.
Li Jie shrugged.
"You were trying to hit me. Why would I keep holding you?"
Scarlet Witch glared.
"If you don't hold me, how am I supposed to hit you?"
Li Jie snorted.
"If I hadn't carried you away, you'd still be a puppet under Apocalypse's control."
Scarlet Witch fell silent.
"Even so," she muttered, "you didn't have to throw me from that height. That's not very gentlemanly."
Li Jie laughed.
"That's funny. When did I ever say I was a gentleman?"
Scarlet Witch had no response.
"And besides," Li Jie added, "what kind of gentleman lets someone beat him after saving her?"
Scarlet Witch clenched her teeth.
"I'm done talking to you."
She turned and began walking away.
"Hey," Li Jie called after her. "If you go too far, Apocalypse might control you again."
Scarlet Witch stopped.
She turned back and looked at the scepter in his hand.
"So that thing blocked Apocalypse's mind attack?"
Before Li Jie could respond, Scarlet Witch suddenly vanished and reappeared in front of him like a phantom, reaching for the scepter.
Just as her fingers were about to grab it, a sharp pain exploded in her stomach.
Her body flew backward.
Thud.
She crashed into the sand again.
Li Jie walked toward her calmly.
"I forgot to mention something," he said. "I'm not slower than your brother Quicksilver. So don't try to outrun me."
"You… you hit me?" Scarlet Witch said, her voice trembling with grievance.
Li Jie shrugged.
"One more thing," he said. "Tears won't work on me."
The tears that had begun forming in Scarlet Witch's eyes immediately disappeared.
She climbed out of the sand again.
"It seems you're not working with Apocalypse," she said slowly. "Let's make a deal. Lend me your scepter, and I'll help you kill him."
Li Jie glanced down at the sand beneath her.
"I'm curious about something," he said. "Do you not feel pain at all?"
"Pain?"
Scarlet Witch suddenly remembered the stab wound in her lower back.
She reached back to touch it.
Her hand came away covered in blood.
Thump.
The next second, Scarlet Witch fainted and collapsed onto the sand.
She had already lost a large amount of blood after being stabbed.
Li Jie sighed.
Women really were troublesome.
He opened a teleportation portal.
At first he considered picking Scarlet Witch up. But then he remembered how she had almost slapped him earlier—and noticed that Strange was standing on the other side of the portal.
So instead of touching her, he simply used telekinesis to move Scarlet Witch through the portal.
....
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