"What's going on?" Shin murmured. Thanks to his extraordinary eyesight, he could see what had happened. The other soldiers, however, were in the dark of night, several kilometers away, and couldn't make out the black fighter plane clearly.
Mildly curious, Shin drove toward the crash site. Soon enough, he spotted a group of people in strange costumes climbing out of the downed plane.
"Another group of superheroes? Seems like this summit is more dangerous than I thought," Shin muttered quietly.
In America, being an ordinary person was dangerous, and being a superhero wasn't much better. Political positions like President of the United States, Police Chief, or even Mayor, especially in New York, came with a target on your back. Villains looking to make headlines always aimed for leadership.
Shin could already see the superhero group, but they hadn't noticed him yet. It wasn't until more than ten minutes later, when his car came into view, that the group finally saw him.
Before Shin could say a word, a short, stocky man ran toward him. With a 'shing' sound, several metal spikes protrude outward from his fists and hovered inches from Shin's chin.
"Get out of the car. We're borrowing it," the man said curtly.
"Wolverine! Don't be so rude!" came a voice from behind. The speaker wore quartz glasses, accompanied by two women, one dark-skinned and one white-skinned.
Upon hearing the name "Wolverine," Shin instantly understood who they were. The one with the glasses had to be Cyclops. The black woman was almost certainly Storm and the white woman... there was a 90% chance she was Jean Grey, also known as the Phoenix.
Shin focused briefly on Jean Grey, but it was pointless. Whether it was the pirate system or the chakra system, neither had any correlation with mutants. He couldn't sense the so-called Phoenix Force at all.
Using chakra perception and observation Haki, he could detect Wolverine's extraordinary vitality, but the Phoenix Force? It was too high-level, and sealed at that. He doubted he could sense it even with deliberate effort.
Cyclops and Storm, on the other hand, had extremely high energy indexes. Storm, in particular, had a faint aura resembling that of a Sorcerer.
Technically, mutant abilities came from cellular mutations, dubbed as X gene, and didn't conform strictly to physics or energy frameworks. Their power systems had virtually nothing to do with traditional energy like chakra or vitality.
Unlike shinobi or pirates, mutants like Iceman, Firestar, Professor X, and Magneto didn't rely on internal energy reserves. Their abilities tapped into rules, almost like hacks written into reality via the X gene.
That said, this group in front of Shin contained mutants who operated outside even those rules. Their powers weren't strictly bound to their mutations.
For instance, Phoenix had both her innate mutant powers and the additional energy of the Phoenix Force, though Shin still couldn't sense the latter.
Cyclops' laser vision might look like simple heat rays, but Shin knew better. It wasn't laser energy at all. His eyes acted as portals to a dimension of infinite energy, releasing beams when the "gate" opened. That explained his overwhelming energy signature.
Storm, besides controlling weather phenomena, had apparently dabbled in magic. With both arcane training and innate mutant abilities, her mastery over her powers was among the most refined.
Wolverine, meanwhile, had lived long under the effects of the X-gene. His regeneration granted him vitality far beyond any normal human's.
Professor X likely had similarly exceptional mental strength, so much so that even without the X gene, he might retain telepathic abilities.
As Shin observed quietly, Wolverine grew impatient. He reached through the car window to grab Shin's collar and drag him out.
That was enough to annoy Shin. What, just because you're superheroes, you can steal my car?
He had been content to watch quietly. But being manhandled? That crossed a line.
He understood they probably weren't trying to rob him outright, most likely they were racing to the summit to stop a crisis. But still, it was a matter of attitude. Ask politely, and he might've lent the car. Threaten and grab him like a thug? No chance.
The moment Wolverine's fingers gripped his shirt, it was like grabbing a bolt of lightning. Before Wolverine could react, the intense current shot through his muscles, and he screamed in pain.
While his adamantium skeleton made him virtually unkillable, it also rendered him hyper-conductive. Shin didn't even exert any effort, his elemental body automatically shocked Wolverine on contact.
Wolverine collapsed from the voltage, twitching on the ground. The other X-Men were stunned.
Cyclops, the temporary field leader, kept calm. His hand moved to his glasses, ready to fire a blast if necessary.
Jean Grey, far more emotional due to her relationship with Wolverine, didn't hesitate. She extended her hand, releasing a burst of telekinetic force toward Shin.
Shin felt the pressure. It was... about the same as a strong civilian's shove.
Sealed Phoenix Force or not, Jean was currently under heavy restrictions. Her telekinesis and telepathy were shockingly weak, barely a blip on Shin's radar.
Telekinesis like that only had the advantage of invisibility and surprise. Her telepathy? It couldn't even control thoughts, just basic mental communication.
To show her how it felt, Shin lifted a hand. Using his control over gravity and repulsion, skills that could easily be mistaken for telekinesis, he released a wave of force.
Jean was immediately sent flying by the repulsion, crashing a few meters away.
Cyclops had seen enough. While he didn't mind when Wolverine took a hit, they weren't exactly best friends, seeing his girlfriend knocked aside in front of him? That was a blow to his pride.
Without hesitation, he triggered the mechanism on his quartz visor. A crimson beam of energy blasted toward Shin.