Marvel: A Lazy-Ass Superman Chapter 695: Discussing Rescue Methods

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Would Tony Stark, a man with skin as thick as armor, feel embarrassed just because someone overheard him swearing?

Of course not.

There wasn't a single elder present capable of keeping him in line.

Anyone who thought they could lecture him based on seniority alone had better be prepared to be verbally torn to shreds.

In the end, the hundreds of billions of dollars behind the Stark name conveniently erased everyone's memory of his outburst.

George Stacy smoothly steered the conversation elsewhere, drawing attention to the 3D tactical platform provided by Stark Industries.

---

The holographic display wasn't particularly high-resolution.

Its colors were muted as well, making similar shades difficult to distinguish.

Even so, it was technology far beyond anything commercially available in Henry's previous world.

Pure Marvel-universe black technology.

Even the X-Men, who were accustomed to advanced equipment, couldn't help but stare curiously at the display.

There was no visible projection screen.

No physical medium.

Yet a three-dimensional image floated before them.

George Stacy began explaining.

"This is a three-dimensional reconstruction of the disaster area assembled by Mr. Tony Stark and his team."

He pointed toward the display.

"The blue wireframe represents the shape of the rubble.

"The yellow markers indicate possible survivor locations.

"The red hotspots represent active fires."

He continued,

"Based on the first rescue operations conducted after obtaining this model, we've confirmed that most of the remains found near the surface belong to victims from the upper floors."

"So we believe that people who were originally in the basements or lower floors—and who are located inside these estimated cavities—have a much better chance of still being alive."

He paused.

"Today is already the third day.

"Without food or water, any survivors trapped inside are approaching their physical limits."

"Unfortunately, we still don't have an effective method of reaching them quickly."

He looked toward Professor Xavier.

"We were hoping the X-Men might have ideas.

"If you require any assistance from us, please don't hesitate to ask."

---

The younger mutants—the students from Xavier's School—were naturally the first to speak up.

Colossus suggested,

"Kitty could phase through the rubble and rescue them."

The "Kitty" he referred to was, of course, Kitty Pryde—Shadowcat—not Henry's tabby cat.

As fellow senior students at Xavier's School, Colossus and Kitty clearly had feelings for one another.

Unfortunately, Kitty herself immediately shook her head.

"I can phase underground..."

She smiled helplessly.

"...but only for a limited distance."

The limitation existed because she still had to hold her breath while phased.

She needed to surface periodically—or at least reach an underground air pocket—to breathe.

"And even if I reach them," she continued,

"I'd need enough open space to return to a solid state.

"I can't stay intangible, grab someone, and simply pull them through solid concrete."

It was worth remembering that this Kitty Pryde was still only a senior student.

Not the immensely powerful version she would one day become.

A mutant capable of eventually phasing through entire dimensions and even space itself.

Compared to that future self...

She was still very inexperienced.

---

Although Kitty rejected Colossus's proposal, his suggestion opened the floodgates.

The younger mutants began enthusiastically throwing out ideas one after another.

Whether those ideas were practical or not hardly mattered.

They weren't even limiting themselves to their own powers.

Many proposed combinations involving other teammates' abilities.

One particularly imaginative student suggested that Storm create a massive tornado strong enough to lift every chunk of concrete into the air.

The trapped survivors would supposedly be lifted as well.

Thanks to centrifugal force, humans and concrete would separate naturally because of their different weights.

Then someone else could simply rescue the people from the sky.

The proposal was rejected almost immediately.

No one had any idea how to ensure everyone landed safely afterward.

---

The most popular proposal was much simpler.

Have Cyclops blast a tunnel straight through the rubble.

Many believed it sounded entirely feasible.

But when the suggestion reached the experienced fire officials, the X-Men quickly found themselves at a loss.

The firefighters raised exactly the same concern Henry had already discussed with Tony.

Excavating recklessly could remove critical support points.

That might trigger secondary collapses.

If that happened, rescuers might end up killing the very survivors they hoped to save.

---

Henry wasn't sure how Tony Stark managed to resist making sarcastic comments.

Perhaps it was because Tony wasn't particularly familiar with mutant abilities.

Or perhaps he simply understood that this wasn't the right place.

A disaster zone wasn't somewhere you mocked people.

Dancing on someone else's grave wasn't Tony's style.

Henry, on the other hand, was reaching his limit.

Not because he found their ideas ridiculous.

Because he felt they were wasting precious time.

---

"Mr. Henry Brown."

The speaker was Professor Xavier.

"Perhaps you have a suggestion you'd be willing to share?"

Although Henry hadn't sensed anyone entering his mind, there was no way to know whether the world's greatest telepath had perceived something regardless.

It was also the first time any of the veteran X-Men had spoken directly to him.

Henry considered for a moment.

Since Xavier had asked politely, there was no reason to deliberately make things difficult.

"I actually think having Cyclops blast a tunnel toward the rescue target is a pretty good idea."

Several people looked surprised.

Henry continued calmly,

"So the real problem isn't creating the tunnel.

"It's keeping the tunnel stable."

He spread his hands.

"As for the solution...

"I think it's fairly straightforward."

"Has anyone here ever heard of mining?"

"When people dig tunnels underground, they install timber supports to hold everything up."

He immediately clarified,

"I'm not saying we literally gather a mountain of lumber.

"I'm asking whether anyone among the X-Men has an ability capable of producing something that could replace wooden supports."

---

One of the fire experts immediately objected.

"What if they destroy an important load-bearing section of concrete?

"Ordinary supports won't be enough to replace it.

"The tunnel could still collapse."

"Have you considered that possibility?"

Henry nodded.

"You're right.

"That possibility absolutely exists."

"But the greatest danger comes from disturbing the static balance of the debris pile."

"As long as the supports can stabilize the tunnel immediately, I believe the risk of collapse can be reduced to a minimum."

He glanced around the room.

"Even without the X-Men, I think this is probably the method firefighters would eventually resort to."

"It's just that we'd first need heavy-duty jackhammers and similar equipment."

"And excavation would be painfully slow."

"Slow enough that many trapped survivors might not live long enough."

"That's why no one wanted to discuss this option first."

His blunt honesty left the fire officials speechless.

Because he was absolutely right.

It was exactly what they'd been thinking.

Then one of the younger mutants suddenly turned toward another student.

"Bobby..."

"Can you make enough ice to reinforce the tunnel?

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