Volume 6: Secret Invasion Chapter 55: Look at others and look at yourself. You are all mutants, so why is there such a big difference between you?
Mason analyzed the situation.
He felt that his most important task at the moment was to quickly rescue Superman's son from the Green Cult of All Things of the Swamp Thing. If anything happened to Little Joe, it would be hard to guarantee that Superman would not go astray and become extremely evil after waking up.
In fact, after it was confirmed that Black Adam and the stars would collude, Mason had to consider the problem from the worst case scenario.
Perhaps this kidnapping was a sinister scheme to block both ends from the beginning.
It would be best if they could lure the Justice League in to kill them in the Egyptian temple, but if a direct ambush doesn't work, then killing Joe to stimulate Superman could be a backup plan.
It is obvious that in the eyes of the bad guys, achieving a victory by any means necessary is much more important than protecting the rights of children.
But this plan obviously did not come from Black Adam or Swamp Thing. The mastermind behind the kidnapping of Superman has not yet fully surfaced, but he is obviously a very smart guy.
A strong enemy!
After finishing his phone call with the old man, Mason walked into the gloomy swamp created by the swamp monster while guessing the identity of that guy.
It was obvious that there was some mysterious force blocking the communication, making it impossible for him to contact Harley, Zack and Ivy. There was also a layer of strange green fog lingering around the swamp, so he could only rely on his naked eyes and perception to determine what was nearby.
But this trick didn't work on Mason.
Because he has "special weapons" for this muddy environment.
"Quack"
With a strange sound of mud splashing, the dramatic slime monster Kevin jumped in front of Mason, turned around and changed into Harley, posing coquettishly and asking Mason for a hug.
As a result, he was driven away by the captain with a look of disgust.
"Where are they?"
Mason asked, and Kevin, who was covering his face with his hands and looking "sad", stretched out his hands and pointed in two different directions, representing the two directions of Poison Ivy and Zack in the swamp respectively.
As a slime monster, it really likes the swamp environment.
Just as Mason can have almost unlimited control over water resources when he is close to the ocean, Kevin's strength and ability are greatly enhanced in the muddy swamp.
It has divided itself into several sections and is moving around in different swamp areas, acting as Mason's "living radar" to monitor what is happening in the entire swamp for him.
But this guy has never learned to speak, or he prefers to express his meaning with body language. In any case, the dramatic Kevin used gestures to express to Mason everything he saw in the swamp.
"Ivy and Groot were being chased by the swamp monster and were running around everywhere. On the other side, Zack and Harley defeated the members of the Green Cult of All Things, but they still couldn't find the kidnapped Joe?"
Mason roughly understood what Kevin meant from his "sign language" and asked with a frown:
"Where is Xiao Qiao? Could he have been sacrificed?"
"Quack"
Kevin shook his head vigorously, then turned around and turned into Xiao Qiao.
It had seen a photo of Little Joe at the Kent farm, and its imitation was not perfect, but it bent down, grabbed a torn coat from the mud, and handed it to Mason with both hands, then gestured and pretended to run around in the mud on tiptoe.
This time Mason understood. He raised his eyebrows and said:
"So Xiao Qiao ran away? This is really strange. He should be just an ordinary child, right?"
Kevin shook his head vigorously, widened his eyes and made a gesture of shooting lasers with both eyes, correcting Mason that he had just seen the scene in the depths of the swamp where Xiao Qiao used heat rays to attack the vines infested by swamp monsters.
"He awakened his Kryptonian powers under stress?"
Mason nodded immediately.
But then he reacted, looked at Kevin, and scolded:
"Did you see Little Joe just now? Why didn't you bring him here?"
He thought it was just the slime monster being playful.
But in fact, Kevin felt aggrieved. He wanted to bring Xiao Qiao back to Mason to take credit for it, but the problem was that the naughty kid could fly as soon as he awakened his power!
Before Kevin got close, the frightened Big Super Cub took off and dived deeper into the swamp. At this time, its two mud clones were searching around inside.
Tsk, naughty kids are the most annoying. I just wanted to say hello to him properly.
…
The perspective turns to Xiao Qiao.
The farm boy was currently running wildly in the dark swamp in dishevel. He wanted to fly all the way out of this dark place, but on the one hand, his Kryptonian powers had just awakened and were sometimes not working.
On the other hand, the terrain created by the swamp monster seems to have some kind of "no-fly" force, and he can only fly to the treetops at best before being discovered by the surrounding vines.
Those monster plants that are like snakes and emit poisonous gas are very difficult to deal with, and it is not something that a Kryptonian kid like him can handle.
"It's too dangerous here."
Jonathan Kent was a little tired from running, so he hid beside a big tree with his arms folded and gasped for breath.
Covered in mud, he looked around with a slight fear, warily observing any movement around him. When he concentrated, his senses were enhanced, so that this dark place could not block his eyes, and he could even hear the conversations of the cultists a kilometer away.
"There are animated plants, cultists chanting about the power of nature, bewitched superheroes... and mud monsters! The mud monsters that can transform into anyone!"
Xiao Qiao thought so.
He remembered the strange ball of mud he encountered on the road after he had finally escaped. The latter seemed to want to talk to him, but it chose to transform into Superman, which made Xiao Qiao very alert and ran away immediately.
His father told him that when he meets a guy like this, he must use his brain to defeat him!
But Dad...
When thinking of Clark, Xiao Joe's heart suddenly tightened. He knew that it was because of him that his father was captured by that strange woman and brought here by those wizards who could teleport.
If he hadn't had a quarrel with his father the night before and hadn't been wandering outside during dinner, he and his father wouldn't have suffered such a nightmare.
I don’t know how my dad is doing now?
Although he is the most powerful man in the world, these cultists also look very strong.
Maybe I should go save him?
Jonathan thought so.
He couldn't help but clench his fists and could feel the tremendous power coming from his arms.
This power was just awakened a while ago, when those cultists were about to take him into the swamp to kill him, the fear of death and the heavy pressure of emotions finally awakened the Kryptonian power in his blood.
Fortunately, Aunt Kara had taught him some Kryptonian martial arts before. Of course, that was just for fun, but with Xiao Qiao's awakened power, even a playful collision and punching could still knock the weird cultist who had merged with the tree to the ground.
“Hoo, hoo!”
The little Kryptonian boy hid in his hiding place and took deep breaths. This was the method his mother, the "Reporter Man", taught him to get rid of his chaotic emotions and calm himself down.
He knew that the entire swamp was now full of bad guys looking for him, and he had to find a way to escape.
But this swamp is like a magical maze.
The terrain here was constantly changing, and Xiao Qiao couldn't get out by himself. But soon he heard footsteps and the sounds of fighting in another direction, which made him blink and quickly rush over there.
"Burn! Burn them to death! Ashley, Franklin is vomiting again! His condition has worsened, someone please watch over him and don't let him vomit on me, damn it!"
Damian's roar echoed in the dim swamp, and then a large amount of flames spewed out from Miss Ironheart's arm flamethrower.
The high-temperature flames easily ignited the cultists of the Church of All Green when they came into contact with them. These monsters, who used disgusting methods to blend flesh and blood with plants, howled and retreated, but were soon eaten up by the mechanical ants that drilled out of the mud.
"I still think it's a bad idea for us to barge in here, Damian."
Jimmy Hautley stood guard at the periphery, looking around vigilantly, then turned back and shouted to Damian:
"Our mission was to attract attention, and we did a good job. We should have waited outside the capital of Kandak as planned instead of rushing into this place that looked terrible.
We are trapped, this damn enemy keeps changing itself, and there is no way out."
"And Franklin needs help. Look at him now."
The wasteland spider girl was half-kneeling on the ground, with the ant king Franklin in her arms.
The latter's face was pale, especially after he drove the ant colony to tear apart the attacking cultists, it was as if a shock had hit his brain, causing him to start twitching like an asthma attack.
He had been saying he was not feeling well before he went on the mission.
At that time, Damian thought that this cunning guy was trying to be lazy, but now it seems that he is not lying. His breathing rate and heartbeat are not regular.
As the captain, Damian felt the pressure again.
He also regretted his recklessness, which put his teammates in danger.
Damian squatted beside Franklin, grabbed the ant king's wrist and injected potion to treat his injuries, but the problem was that Franklin was not injured at all. He just had a high fever and he couldn't explain the source of his discomfort.
"Maybe some kind of mutation?"
After burning the remains of the cultists, Ironheart returned to her companions. She opened her visor and activated a biological monitoring program and put it into the ant king's hot ear. The feedback reading made Morgan Stark look solemn.
She said to Damian:
"The pressure inside his skull was building up, and the white blood cells in his blood were rising, like the immune system was fighting some kind of foreign body invading, but it was also like an allergic reaction.
We must get him back to Osborne Towers immediately."
“But there’s no way out.”
Damian clenched his fist and said:
"The swamp monster used its own power to shape this swamp. We are trapped in its body. I have read in Batman's database that unless the swamp monster's body is defeated, such a magical swamp cannot be broken by external force..."
"Damien!"
Jimmy, who was on guard at the periphery, suddenly shouted something in the team communication and quietly reported a direction. Damian calmly took out three bat darts from his arms, raised his head and made eye contact with Ironheart.
Miss Morgan immediately activated the armor's protective program and nodded inaudibly to the captain.
The next moment, Damian suddenly stood up and threw the bat dart to his side, then pulled out his kinetic pistol and coordinated with Jimmy's wild charge to launch a wave of suppressive fire in that direction.
Tiexin's armor closed, and a missile bay popped out from the back, creating a wave of explosions in the target direction. He then watched Damian and Jimmy rush into the swamp jungle on the left.
A few seconds later they dragged a disheveled guy out of the bushes.
"bass"
The famous sword was unsheathed, and the sharp blade was pressed against the struggling Xiao Qiao's neck. Jimmy next to him was grimacing in pain, as one of the bone claws on his left hand was broken in the collision just now.
This hiding bastard has a skin as hard as steel!
"Who are you? What are you doing hiding here?"
Damian was still anxious and angry about Franklin's strange illness, and he was merciless when he scolded him. The coldness emanating from him made the farm boy Jonathan a little afraid.
But he had just seen these young men burning the cultists to death, which made him realize that they were not in the same group as those bad guys, so he said:
"I was kidnapped by them. I have no ill intentions!"
"Kidnapped?"
Damian was stunned for a moment, then he immediately reacted and said in a strange tone:
"Are you Jonathan Kent? Superman's son?"
"Yes, I am."
Xiao Qiao responded immediately, but Damian asked back:
"How do you prove you are Superman's son?"
"Whoosh"
Xiao Qiao tried to focus on his eyes, and then a short but hot ray of heat burst out of his eyes, igniting a tree next to him.
"Okay, identification confirmed, Jimmy, let him go."
Damian was a little surprised, but he sheathed his knife anyway.
He didn't expect that he actually rescued the real person by accident. Jimmy next to him touched his broken claw sadly, and glanced at the ignorant Xiao Qiao beside him and his outrageous steel body.
He secretly decided in his heart that he would ask Mason to arrange for him to be infused with Enderman alloy after returning... This feeling of not being able to break through the defense is really too bad for a man.
"We have found Xiao Qiao and can retreat. His iron body can help us."
Damian turned around and said to Miss Tiexin:
"Morgan, prepare the fire support. Let Xiao Qiao carry Franklin and fly up. You give him fire support to destroy the vines. Let him send Franklin out quickly and call Mason for help."
"Look at Franklin!"
Ashley suddenly screamed and jumped up from her spot with great agility as if she had encountered something terrifying.
Everyone's eyes turned to Franklin lying on the ground, and they saw that the mud around the wasteland ant king began to twist strangely and took shape into a steel creature that looked very similar to an ant.
It "swallowed" Franklin whole and then hissed at the people around it and launched an attack.
"What the hell is this?"
Tie Xin fired three shots at it but couldn't even break its skin, so he could only keep retreating. Damian pounced on it at the first moment but was quickly knocked away by it and was caught by Xiao Qiao with his quick eyes and hands.
Just as Team K was about to be wiped out by this weird thing, a few balls of mud nearby jumped up and transformed into Superman and Batman and pounced on the steel monster to stop it from wreaking havoc.
"It appears! The mud monster!"
Xiao Qiao let out a strange cry, and was about to alert everyone, but Damian, as if seeing hope, shouted to the ball of mud that was constantly being torn into pieces and reassembled:
"Kevin! Quick! Get Mason here."
"It's a good tactic to call for help when you know you can't handle it. Besides, I'm here now, right? Why are you calling for help?"
As the water was changing, Mason appeared behind Damian with a helpless tone. He glanced at the unharmed Xiao Qiao and felt relieved.
But then, after looking at the giant steel ant that "swallowed" Franklin Richards, his expression immediately became strange.
As a mutant, Mason was quite familiar with the thing in front of him that was obviously out of control. It was not the giant ant itself that was transformed into steel by mud, but the force that promoted the transformation of matter.
It is not surprising that this power that transcends reality and cannot be explained by any scientific theory is found in mutants.
"Franklin Richards' X-gene has awakened. This is really bad news."
Mason narrowed his eyes and said to the children around him:
"You guys retreat. Mutants in this semi-awakened state are the most dangerous. They will indiscriminately attack anyone around them who makes them feel uncomfortable or threatened.
You can’t handle this.”
"Huh? Franklin is still a mutant?"
Damian was stunned when he heard this. He said suspiciously:
"Didn't you check him out before? He's just an ordinary kid."
"All mutants are ordinary people when their X-gene is not activated, but who knows what kind of situation will cause them to suddenly explode. Although I am also a mutant, I don't know more about this than you do."
He complained.
He thought that Franklin Richards, whom he had picked up from the wasteland, was a low-quality version of "The Concentrator", but now this little bastard has done something to him and has quietly begun his mutant awakening.
Maybe it was because after he joined Team K and went to another world, he felt the pressure of growing up?
It is said that stress is also a necessary condition for the awakening of the X gene.
"Kevin, take these kids to Zach and Harley, and have them go to Ivy's place to help fight the swamp monster."
Mason rolled up his sleeves and prepared to go on stage himself, and then gave another instruction to his slime monster.
"etc!"
Damian reached out to stop him:
"I don't think Team K is strong enough to fight against the swamp monster. Maybe you should send us out?"
"Trust me, Damian."
Mason pushed up the frame of his glasses and said to Damian and the young people:
"It is definitely safer for you to fight the swamp monsters now than to stay here."
While driving the kids of the K squad to a safe area, he planned to personally suppress Franklin Richards, whose mind was running wild.
But seeing the ant monster hissing at him made Mason feel a toothache.
If he remembered correctly, Franklin Richards was not only an Omega-level mutant, but also the most dangerous and powerful of all mutants.
His reality distortion can even reach the full power level, nicknamed "Cosmic Shaper", which is much more powerful than the crazy Scarlet Witch.
Mason took out the zombie Scarlet Witch's magic jar from his arms and said to the strange ant monster that Franklin created to protect himself while he was unconscious:
"Hey, little buddy, you are a big shot who can call the invincible Uncle Tun a brother. And considering that I brought you back from the wasteland, if you really want to beat me up later, remember to be gentle."
