Marvel: Starting as a Time Criminal, Stealing Powers

As the last rays of the sunset disappeared, darkness once again blanketed the world.

At that moment, a large number of students began entering the auditorium one after another.

Earlier that afternoon, their instructors had announced there would be a dance party in the evening—an event meant to help everyone relax and enjoy themselves.

Jubilation Lee and Rogue walked in together.

The two had assumed that, even if they hadn't been given detention, they'd at least be punished with writing long self-reflection essays.

Unexpectedly, there was nothing of the sort. They were still allowed to attend the dance.

"The professor is so nice to us~" Jubilee sighed and nudged Rogue with a grin.

"Anna, have you decided who you're going to dance with?"

Rogue's face flushed slightly. She couldn't help but recall the image of that blade gleaming under the moonlight last night.

"I've thought about it," she murmured, "but I'm not sure if he'll say yes."

Jubilee tilted her head, grinning mischievously.

"Is it Mr. Russell?"

"Then you better act fast. Good-looking guys are rare in this school, and I bet a bunch of girls are already after him tonight."

She pointed to herself as if declaring her own candidacy. Rogue froze for a second.

Why was she still hesitating? She had to make the first move!

Before she could think any further, she broke into a run.

Jubilee called after her, exasperated.

"The party starts at 7! What's the point of rushing off now?!"

Rogue paused and turned around—but just then Jubilee shot past her, laughing.

"It starts at 7, sure. But Mr. Russell might not show up exactly on time!"

"I'm going to book him in advance!"

Rogue gasped in outrage.

"You cheat!" she yelled, chasing after her.

When the two arrived at the auditorium, panting and slightly flushed, they saw that many students were already there.

However, the decorations were... odd.

Candles burned all around the room, releasing curling trails of green smoke. Strange symbols adorned the streamers hanging from the walls. Tables were covered with fake skulls and imitation magic books.

A massive, intricate symbol had been drawn on the floor—like a six-pointed magic circle straight out of a horror movie.

It all seemed to be part of a theme party. And to top it off, there were not only drinks but also a buffet.

Even before the official start, students had already begun dancing and blasting music. The entire auditorium was soaked in joy and excitement.

The concentration of "happiness" was steadily rising.

7:00 p.m.

Storm arrived at the auditorium, and the dance officially began.

She informed the students that the other teachers would not be attending—this night was meant for the students alone.

Shortly after, more food and drinks were brought in.

The crowd erupted in cheers, their energy rising even higher.

Rogue and Jubilee, who had been waiting for Russell in Room 907, glanced around uneasily. Whether it was the candle smoke or something else, something felt... off.

Neither of them had eaten yet, hoping to leave a good impression on Russell.

But now, they noticed the students around them were getting too excited.

Meanwhile, in a room behind the auditorium…

Cyclops stood silently beside Jean Grey, who lay unconscious on a long table. He looked at her with affection and whispered:

"It's almost time. Soon, you'll be free of that thing's control."

"It won't hurt you anymore."

He hadn't used force.

He hadn't knocked her out or controlled her with his powers.

Instead, he had drugged her—quietly, efficiently.

At that moment, the door opened.

Storm entered, her eyes lifeless. She spoke in a dull voice:

"The concentration has been reached."

"You may now begin harvesting despair and fear."

Cyclops lifted his head.

He was no longer wearing his ruby visor. His eyes were pitch-black, swirling like liquid shadows with no pupils.

"Then let's begin…"

"For the sake of this world, their sacrifice is necessary."

He stood and pushed forward Professor X, whose eyes were empty and clouded in darkness.

As they moved through the hallway, Wolverine, Colossus, Xingyue (possibly meant to be Moonstar/Dani Moonstar), Beast, and others appeared behind them, following expressionlessly.

All of them were under Professor X's psychic control.

And Professor X… was being controlled by Cyclops.

The group entered the smoke-filled auditorium like ghosts rising from an oil fire.

The mutant students below were completely unaware, lost in their joy.

For the first time in a long while, they were able to let loose.

Some bold couples were even kissing openly without a care in the world.

Then, the candle flames suddenly turned green.

The swirling smoke reflected a ghastly green light that cast eerie shadows across the room.

The skull decorations burst into green flames, and chilling, maniacal laughter echoed from them.

Some curious students reached out to touch them—

The next second, screams erupted, overwhelming the music.

Dozens of skulls floated into the air and bit into the nearest students, blood spraying violently.

The giant magic circle on the ground came to life, activated by the bloodshed.

Black tentacles exploded from the circle, wrapping around students and lifting them into the air.

Their mutant abilities were completely disabled.

They could only scream as the skulls tore into them, blood pouring, cries echoing through the once-beautiful auditorium—now a hellish nightmare.

In a corner, Rogue and Jubilee, who had sensed something wrong earlier, remained outside the circle's range.

Their faces were pale as they watched in horror.

Why had everything turned into this?!

Near the stage, Pyro—entangled in black tendrils—suddenly screamed:

"Save me! Teacher Cyclops! Save us!"

Hearing him, others turned toward the stage.

One by one, the students began pleading for help.

Then—

A red laser beam shot from the stage and instantly severed Pyro's legs.

The room went silent with shock.

Then came an explosion of screams.

These young mutants—most of whom had never seen real bloodshed—were completely overwhelmed.

Cries of terror filled the air.

The mist finally dispersed, and the strange symbols on the streamers began to glow faintly, feeding off the students' negative emotions.

Once charged, the glowing symbols detached from the streamers and fell, transforming into physical shapes that embedded themselves into the magic circle below.

Cyclops watched, excitement growing in his eyes.

"Yes… that's it."

"Scream… cry in despair and fear! Your emotions are the purest fuel!"

Despair born from bliss was the strongest, most concentrated energy.

And once the ritual completed—once flesh and souls were sacrificed—the Great Dark Being would descend.

Mystique stood on the stage as well.

Watching the students she had lived with for three years being slaughtered, her fists clenched involuntarily.

This… this wasn't what she thought it would be.

Something was very wrong.

Right beside her, in the Mirror Dimension, Russell floated silently, watching the magic circle below.

His brows furrowed.

Something didn't add up.

If they only needed despair to fuel the ritual, they could've done this in some remote, isolated town.

Why mutants?

Their souls weren't particularly special.

Their flesh, while unique, offered no significant value to most higher beings.

Unless…

Cyclops truly was a chosen vessel of this so-called god.

Still… that might be the limit of it.

Russell focused carefully—he could see now that all the runes had fully activated.

The final stage had come.

All that remained…

…was for the circle to devour flesh and soul.

In the Hall

As Professor X raised his hand, six or seven students who had managed to avoid the magic circle earlier suddenly stepped out from the shadows—completely against their will.

Rogue's pupils trembled with fear. Her body moved on its own, step by step toward the glowing circle. She couldn't stop herself.

She didn't understand what was happening. Why had the teachers turned on them? Why were the students being sacrificed?

On the stage, Cyclops watched the scene unfold, eyes wild with excitement.

"For a greater cause! For the future of all Mutants!" he shouted.

"You're dying for something worthy!"

He was moments away from commanding Professor X to cast everyone—including the mind-controlled X-Men—into the ritual circle.

But then—

Mystique moved.

Without hesitation, her nails extended and she drove them toward Professor X's temple!

Bang!

Dark lines instantly spread across Professor X's skin like a virus, and a pulse of transparent psychic energy blasted Mystique backwards, slamming her into a wall.

Cyclops paused, eyes glowing red, and stared at her.

"Strange," he muttered. "You seem to have broken free of the spell's influence."

"I thought something was off when you started questioning me earlier."

Mystique, now shaking, looked up in confusion.

"What spell? What the hell are you talking about?"

"I just… couldn't watch you murder so many of our people!"

Cyclops let out a hollow laugh.

"You seriously thought you just happened to walk into a church and hear the voice of a god?"

"I needed you, Raven. You were the only one who could help me get into the Cerebro chamber. Jean and the Professor were too strong to be affected directly—so I had to work from the edges."

"That's why I manipulated you into leaving the Brotherhood."

A faint glow appeared on Mystique's back—the residual mark of the spell.

Her eyes widened as the weight of his words hit her. She looked at the terrified students around her, and something inside her broke.

Regret. Guilt. Horror.

Why did she bring that "god" into this world?

Why did she ever think it was the answer?

She wasn't ready to give up on this world—not yet!

Cyclops gave her a cold, pitying look.

"Now that the spell has failed on you, you'll die with the rest of them."

"Consider it your final contribution to the Lord's arrival."

"I'll make it quick."

His eyes blazed red, and a laser beam shot straight toward her!

Mystique's eyes widened in horror—completely paralyzed under Professor X's control. There was nothing she could do. The color of death reflected in her eyes.

It was over.

Buzz!

The red beam froze one meter in front of her, stopped by an invisible force. The laser distorted into rippling waves of energy.

Mystique, bracing for death, blinked in disbelief.

Cyclops's attack hadn't reached her.

Confused, he stopped firing. Even Colossus couldn't block his full-strength laser—yet something had just done exactly that.

Suddenly—

CRACK!

The sound of shattering glass echoed through the air!

In full view of everyone, the space in front of the stage cracked like a mirror, then split open, folding back like double doors.

A glowing portal appeared, radiating energy from another world.

And from within it, a man stepped out.

Mystique stared at his back, her eyes wide with disbelief.

She would never forget that silhouette.

Not far away, Jubilation Lee gasped in shock and shouted:

"Mr. Russell!"

She hadn't seen him on stage earlier and assumed something had happened to him.

But now—he'd returned, alive… and in the most shocking way imaginable.

Then her expression turned to panic.

"Run, Mr. Russell!"

"Cyclops has taken control of Professor X! You can't beat him!"

Cyclops let out a scoff.

"Run?"

He looked coldly at Russell.

"I checked your body. You were dead."

Rogue's face went pale.

If Russell was dead… then who—what—was the man standing in front of them?

Mystique, still pinned under psychic control, stared at him, filled with guilt, shock, and conflicting emotions.

Then—

Russell turned and looked directly at her.

A warm smile tugged at his lips.

"Miss Raven," he said calmly, "you're a little too confident in your own strength."

"I tried very hard to match your rhythm when I broke my own neck."

Mystique's eyes went wide.

"You… you broke your own neck?! That's insane—no one can do that!"

Russell smirked.

"Don't you know how strong I am?"

Mystique's face flushed red. Suddenly, she understood—he had known her true intent back then. She had been bait, delivered straight to him, and he'd played along.

On stage, Cyclops—ignorant of the deeper implications—sneered.

"So what if you have a special Ability? You should've stayed dead."

"The moment you showed yourself again… your fate was sealed."

Even if Russell could shatter space or survive a broken neck—it didn't matter.

Cyclops was sure he could kill him.

Russell tilted his head and muttered with a grin:

"I have a feeling the X-Men won't want a blind leader this time."

Cyclops's expression twisted into fury.

That line. He remembered it.

Russell had said the same thing back when they'd first argued—before Cyclops had manipulated everything.

Even though he'd intended to provoke conflict between the X-Men and S.H.I.E.L.D., Russell's words had left a scar.

This time, there would be no escape.

Cyclops immediately commanded Professor X to use his psychic powers to immobilize Russell.

As Russell froze, Cyclops grinned savagely, eyes lighting up with deadly red beams—

And fired.

But what Cyclops saw in that moment… wasn't fear.

It was golden light.

From Russell's eyes, two beams of golden heat vision erupted!

They collided with Cyclops's red lasers—and shattered them instantly.

The golden rays pierced forward, unrelenting, and in the blink of an eye, slammed into Cyclops's face!

"AHHHH!!!"

Cyclops screamed, clutching his face.

His eyes—gone.

All that remained were two charred, black holes where his sight used to be.

Mystique stood frozen, stunned beyond words.

She knew how powerful Cyclops's optic blasts were.

But Russell had crushed them in an instant—and even more terrifying, he had done it with surgical precision, damaging nothing but Cyclops's eyes.

That kind of control… was unreal.

From somewhere in the back, Cyclops's roar echoed through the hall:

"Kill him! I want his eyes for myself!"

Professor X, still expressionless, raised his head.

In an instant, Storm, Wolverine, Colossus, and more than a dozen mind-controlled X-Men turned their eyes to Russell.

Mystique's face turned pale again.

It was over.

No matter how powerful Russell was, he couldn't fight the entire X-Men team.

But just then…

Russell spoke softly, confidently:

"It's a pity, Cyclops…"

"You still have no idea what I'm capable of."

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