Chapter 232: Heaven-Struck Thunderstorm Against Hydra
"Sorry, I used it all up during the last battle."
Hawkeye shrugged his shoulders, and Coulson sighed regretfully.
Seeing that he couldn't persuade Coulson, Garrett immediately shifted his focus to George.
Because he knew George was the one with the most authority and the strongest power here. If he could convince George, then the opinions of Coulson and the others wouldn't matter.
"Mr. George, in fact, we Hydra hold no ill will toward you mutants.
If you're willing to join us, Hydra will establish a separate nation just for mutants, allowing your kind to reproduce and thrive safely, without ever worrying about interference from those ignorant governments again.
Otherwise, you don't want this to go on and end up implicating your school and the students there, do you?"
Hearing Garrett's words, Coulson's face immediately changed. He was worried George might be swayed. For a mutant, Garrett's offer was incredibly tempting.
Just as he was about to speak and warn George not to fall for it, Black Widow pulled his arm. Following her gaze, he saw Captain America and Professor X standing over there.
Only then did he realize—with Captain America and Professor X present, how could George possibly be deceived by Hydra?
Sure enough, after hearing Garrett's words, George revealed a scornful expression.
"I dare not imagine Hydra having any credibility. Besides, there are no more mutants in the world now—only superpowered individuals. My school isn't called the Mutant Academy; it's the Superpower Academy.
So there's no need to establish some so-called nation just for mutants.
Finally, my school and my students won't be harmed. The only ones getting hurt will be you—Hydra."
If mutants were allowed to grow unchecked, they would become a powerful and uncontrollable force. Given Hydra's usual behavior, how could they ever allow mutants to establish a country?
He feared that if he led his students to join Hydra, they would end up on Hydra's lab tables the very next day.
Besides, to George, Hydra wasn't even that big of a threat.
"You'll regret this!"
Seeing George's firm rejection, Garrett knew there was no convincing him and had no choice but to shut up.
Now, his only hope was for the school to be taken over so he could have a chance to escape.
"Can they find this place?"
Hill and the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents looked out the window at the armed helicopters flying in the sky, worry in their eyes.
Those helicopters weren't just carrying Hydra soldiers—they were also equipped with energy cannons and even small missile launchers.
If the location were discovered, they wouldn't stand a chance.
"Don't worry, even if they circled here for a year, they wouldn't find the school's location."
George had complete confidence in the effect of the Oath of Absolute Loyalty Spell.
"The real concern is whether they'll indiscriminately attack the entire area."
Coulson and Black Widow both looked anxious.
Even if the school was well-hidden, indiscriminate attacks could still hit it. Worse, many innocent residents in the area would be killed as well—something Hydra was definitely capable of doing.
"You're right. In that case, let's just deal with them directly."
George nodded nonchalantly.
The school had magical barriers, so regular attacks were negligible. Still, taking a passive beating wasn't his style.
"Want me to use the Cerebro Amplifier to control them?"
Professor X spoke up at that moment.
He now had top-tier level-three psychic powers. Although not as powerful as he was at level four, with the Cerebro Amplifier, he could still control all the Hydra soldiers in the area at once.
"That might not work."
Coulson explained awkwardly:
"To counter your powers and those of the professor, S.H.I.E.L.D. developed brainwave-isolating devices. Those Hydra soldiers are probably all wearing them."
Because Black Widow and Coulson had their memories altered by George before—and given how well-known Professor X's powers were—Nick Fury had a strong sense of crisis.
So he ordered S.H.I.E.L.D. scientists to develop a special device that, when stuck to the temples, could block brainwave intrusion.
Since Hydra had thoroughly infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D., they naturally had access to that tech too. If they dared come cause trouble at the Superpower Academy, how could they not bring such gear?
As for the Academy's intel—traitors like Garrett had made sure Hydra knew almost as much as S.H.I.E.L.D.
From Hydra's perspective, the most terrifying mutant at the Academy wasn't George, but the rejuvenated Professor X.
Professor X had a known track record, while George's was limited to his battle with the Arclay Genetics Company. While strong, he wasn't as fearsome as Professor X.
As for what happened in New Mexico—S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra were too busy battling to notice.
They didn't even know about the existence of Asgard or Thor's true identity.
So for Hydra, as long as they could deal with Professor X, the Superpower Academy wouldn't pose much of a problem.
Now, with everyone equipped with brainwave blockers, Professor X's powers were basically neutralized, and he no longer posed a threat.
"You guys really..."
George couldn't help twitching his lips. Nick Fury always had a knack for delivering gear to the enemy.
"Then let's just face them head-on—just like we did in Asgard!"
Logan revealed his adamantium claws. If they could beat Asgardian soldiers, surely they could take down these Hydra grunts.
Even without Tony, it wasn't a big deal. Banner could freely become the Hulk, Steve's shield had been upgraded, and George—well, he spoke for himself.
"Well said. Too bad I'm still a bit short of being able to lift Mjolnir. Otherwise, I could've handled the whole thing myself."
Thor regretfully punched the wall beside him.
Without his restored godly powers, he couldn't be of much help.
He'd spent so much time reading at school, his body was practically rusting.
"No need to bother. I'll just give them a thunderstorm from the heavens. If they survive that, we'll deal with what comes next."
George smiled and waved his hand, lifting his new magic wand, then began chanting an ancient magic spell.
Last time in Asgard, his ancient magic could only cover a small area. Now, with the new wand, its effectiveness had increased more than twenty-fold, and its range had expanded similarly.
It was now enough to envelop all the Hydra troops near the school within a storm of lightning strikes.
"Thunderstorm Descend!"
Five minutes later, the entire area around the school was shrouded in dark clouds. Within the clouds, countless bolts of wild lightning surged and twisted.
Nearby residents and Hydra soldiers alike looked up at the sudden storm clouds with confusion.
The weather forecast hadn't said anything about rain today.
...
(End of chapter)