Marvel: Master Of Role Playing
Chapter 178 – Aquaman to the Support

In the basement, Onslaught charged straight at Jean.

His fist, wrapped in heavy metal armor, came crashing down toward her small frame.

But facing the attack, Jean didn’t react like someone without combat experience. In an instant, her invisible telekinetic power formed a barrier in front of her.

Boom!

The punch slammed into the barrier. The sheer force from the impact tore through the surrounding walls like blades slicing through paper.

Although Onslaught possessed the powers of Magneto and Charles, his physical strength was just slightly above average for a human. But with the metal armor covering his body, every move he made was enhanced by his magnetic field manipulation. So what looked like a simple punch actually carried a magnetic force strong enough to shake the entire planet.

Jean's telekinetic shield managed to block the blow, but right after that it shattered. The remaining shockwave hit her directly, sending her flying backward and crashing through the door of the Cerebro chamber.

"Did those two old men really have this kind of power when they were younger?" She murmured while getting back on her feet.

She had seen Magneto fight before, but ever since her first encounter with him as a child, even though the title "Master of Magnetism" was well-earned, he'd never once made her feel this kind of overwhelming pressure.

Normally, whatever Magneto could do with magnetic fields, Jean could also achieve with enough focus and effort using her telekinesis.

The gap between them was never that wide.

But now, Onslaught, born from the fusion of the two mutant leaders, had already far surpassed the original Magneto in terms of magnetic manipulation alone.

"You’ve never seen me in my younger days."

As he spoke, countless metal shards kept gathering around Onslaught, reinforcing the armor on his body. His frame grew larger and larger. In no time, he was already nearly two and a half meters tall, and still growing.

"I may not have seen what you looked like back then," Jean snapped, "but I do know how miserable your death was. That bastard Charles cried for three whole days over it!"

Her words were sharp, and at the same time, her psychic energy surged outward. She tried to bypass the thick layer of metal around Onslaught and invade his mind directly.

But in the next instant, her own psychic energy was torn apart, and worse, an even stronger mental force struck back, rushing straight into her mind.

"Ah!!!"

The two psychic forces clashed, triggering a wave of searing pain in her brain. The intense emotional surge that followed caused her mental power to erupt again. Using the home field advantage, she managed to block the enemy’s mental intrusion just outside her consciousness.

"Don’t forget, Jean," Onslaught said coldly, "who it was that helped you learn to use your psychic abilities."

"Damn it…" Jean muttered through gritted teeth.

She was starting to feel powerless now. Compared to magnetic manipulation, telekinesis was usually the more versatile ability. But in today’s metal-filled world, her advantages didn’t mean much. And against someone with stronger control over magnetism, her powers weren’t enough.

As for her psychic abilities, there was even less hope. Without the burden of an aging body, and after receiving full enhancement from the Cerebro, Charles' mental strength was beyond anything she'd dealt with before. He couldn’t control her outright, but she knew one moment of carelessness would be enough for a psychic strike to break her completely.

'This is bad… really bad.'

* * *

Meanwhile, in the waters near Westchester, Aquaman soared into the sky with the Trident of Poseidon in hand. His body crackled with lightning as he shot toward the mutant academy.

His expression was grim.

After learning of Onslaught's emergence, Reid had immediately shared everything he remembered about that entity through their mental link. That was all Aquaman needed to understand how dangerous the mutant truly was.

‘Boss, you need to hurry. Considering his potential for limitless growth, I’m not sure how long I can hold him off. I can’t flood all of Westchester with a tidal wave this time.’

Whether he fought on his home ground, or the sea, meant a lot for Aquaman. 

Unlike Namor, he wouldn’t die if he left the water for too long. But most of his strength was deeply tied to the ocean. Underwater, he was confident he could defeat Onslaught. But if he had to face him on land, and without the power to summon a tsunami, the chances of something going wrong were far too high.

Without waiting for Reid’s reply, Aquaman increased his speed. Though his specialty was underwater combat, that didn’t mean he was slow in the air. In fact, he was already nearing the academy.

* * * 

On the other side, what used to be the heart of mutant resistance had now been reduced to rubble.

From the ruins, Jean's bruised and battered body was sent flying. She crashed into a large tree and lost consciousness instantly.

Moments later, Onslaught pushed aside chunks of debris and stepped out of the collapsed basement. As he looked up, his gaze landed on Aquaman floating in the sky above the academy.

"You!"

The part of Onslaught that had once been Magneto recognized him immediately. If Aquaman hadn’t summoned that tidal wave and flooded Gotham, if he hadn’t interfered, Magneto believed he wouldn’t have lost that day. And if he hadn't lost, mutants wouldn’t have fallen into such dire straits so quickly.

"You’re the one who deserves to die the most!"

After Onslaught spotted Aquaman, he could no longer contain the fury boiling inside him. With magnetic force pushing him forward, he shot into the sky and launched a punch at the opponent. 

"Go to hell!"

But unlike with Jean, this strike didn’t have the intended effect.

The moment the mutant’s compressed metal armor clashed with the trident in Aquaman’s hands, the outcome was already decided.

Ordinary metal could never compare to a divine weapon. Upon impact, not only was the Atlantean King unmoved, but Onslaught’s armor shattered from the force of the recoil, exposing the fragile body underneath.

As a seasoned warrior, Aquaman didn’t miss the opportunity. Lightning wrapped around the Trident of Poseidon as he drove it straight toward Onslaught’s chest, crackling with divine power.

"Ahhh!!!"

With a painful scream, the mutant was sent crashing into the ground at even greater speed. The already-ruined academy crumbled even further. The last pillar barely standing gave way and collapsed completely.

But a critical problem was this—after taking Aquaman’s blow, a massive wound had opened on Onslaught’s chest.

Thanks to the lightning, the wound didn’t bleed much, but the damage was enough to weaken him significantly.

And more importantly, the injury caused a change deep within. The true owner of that body, Rogue, was beginning to awaken.

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Will use  * * * for scene break from now on.

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