[CLASSIFIED LOCATION – UNKNOWN ISLAND]
[MAGNETO'S BASE – MEETING HALL]
The chamber was silent, lit only by flickering light cast from a dozen tall screens. Each one replayed footage from different angles: Tony Stark's speech at the U.N., the final punch that dropped Carol Danvers, and the coordinated rescue of Flight 472.
Magneto sat at the head of a long metal table, fingers steepled beneath his chin. His helmet sat beside him. Around him, the Brotherhood gathered, each one watching the screens with a different shade of unease.
Mystique leaned against the wall, arms crossed, her expression unreadable. Her eyes shifted slowly between the screens. "This is a problem," she said at last. "A very big one."
"No," Pyro muttered, flames dancing across his fingertips, "this is the beginning of the end."
"The Skrulls are gone," Mastermind said, arms folded. "We should be grateful. They were parasites, and Stark did what the rest of the world lacked the nerve to do."
"Don't confuse gratitude with safety," Magneto said, voice low but sharp. "Stark may have removed them, but it also revealed what kind of future he envisions." He stood slowly and turned toward the main screen, which now displayed a still image of Stark's final words at the podium.
"He promised a cure," Magneto continued. "He offered a solution to people 'who didn't ask for their powers.' He called it compassion. I call it the first step toward erasure."
Wanda's eyes glowed red as she looked at him. She sat across from him, silent until now.
"You believe he'll make a weapon."
"I believe he already has," Magneto answered. "The man who created a system that vaporized an entire race in thirty seconds does not wait to build contingencies. He builds them in secret, and he activates them when the world's back is turned."
Azazel flicked his tail once, then leaned forward.
"He is powerful. That is true. But I've seen what fear does to powerful men. It rots them from the inside."
"He's not afraid," Quicksilver cut in. "That's what makes him dangerous. Stark knows what he's doing. He calculated every risk. He let the world see what he was willing to do."
"And they cheered," Mystique added. "That's what haunts me. He has the majority on his side. And soon, he'll be making rules."
Magneto nodded. "Today it was Skrulls. Tomorrow it is mutants. He offers comfort with one hand and extermination with the other. And now the world follows him. Even the U.N. bends to his presence."
Mastermind leaned forward with a grim expression, "What's our next move?"
"We halt the current plan. All of it," Magneto said. "The initiative to expose the mutant suppression projects, the liberation strike in Prague, the lab attack in Jakarta... everything is frozen until further notice. From this moment forward, we focus on one objective. Stark. He said any enhanced individual who wishes to train or seek help is welcome. He threw the door wide open, thinking he controls the threshold. We will walk through it."
"Infiltration? I'll go," Mystique was ready.
"No. He'll never trust someone who can shapeshift on will. He'll always be on guard," Magneto said as he looked toward Pietro, who stood leaning near one of the tall columns, arms folded. "Speed will be critical. And discretion more so. You're going in."
He turned then to Wanda. Her gaze met his, still calm but unreadable.
"And you're going with him."
Wanda didn't react and kept her calm expression.
"You will infiltrate the Ultimates as new recruits. No one has seen you two before with us, and you two have a normal life in the outside world, so it'll be easier to avoid suspicions. Get inside. Find out what Stark is building. Learn what he's hiding. And when the time is right, we pull him apart from the inside."
Wanda's red eyes flared gently, and her voice broke the silence.
Everyone turned to her at once. Magneto's eyes narrowed. "Explain."
Wanda stood from her seat, her fingers brushing the edge of the metal table as she stepped forward. Her presence was calm, but the glow building around her hands hinted at something restless beneath the surface.
"You talk about him as if he were a tyrant," she said. "But he provided mutants and enhanced humans with something no one else has offered: a place, a chance, a future." She glanced around at the faces of the Brotherhood. "And what have we offered? What have you offered, Father?"
Magneto straightened, his tone sharper now. "I have offered purpose. I've fought for our survival."
Wanda shook her head slowly. "Survival is not enough. You told us the world feared us. That they would destroy us if given the chance. But you never spoke of what some of our own have done. The chaos and deaths. So many innocent lives caught in the crossfire of our war. So many rogue mutants running around creating chaos."
"You think Stark will forgive those crimes?" Magneto asked. "He will use them to justify control."
"He already forgave them," she replied, her voice rising not in anger but in clarity. "He didn't name names or point fingers. He opened his doors, not just to us, but to anyone with the power to make things better. Even someone like Ghost. He could have left him to rot, but instead, he gave him a second chance. Don't you think this is the chance to improve our image instead of continuing to walk down the path with no future?"
Magneto looked toward her with a stern expression. "You trust him too easily."
"And you see enemies in everyone," Wanda said. Her magic pulsed slightly now, invisible currents lifting strands of her hair. "I joined you because I believed in your dream. A better world. One where people like us were not hunted or broken. But this... this is not that dream. This is fear wearing conviction as armor."
Pyro stepped forward, a flicker of flame dancing in his palm. "Careful, Witch. You sound like you're switching sides."
Wanda turned her eyes toward him, her power curling around her like crimson wildfire. Pyro instantly felt an insane pressure on his body. He fell to his knees. "Sides? We all know Tony and the others are similar to us. They have superpowers. So, if they can use their powers to do some good in this rotten world, why can't we? If they can become a beacon of hope for humanity, why can't we? Why must we hide and destroy everything and everyone you want gone, father?"
Magneto stared at Wanda. His hands had curled into fists without him realizing it. Around the room, metal creaked softly in response. The Brotherhood had seen him angry before. They had seen him cold. But now he looked torn.
"You would kneel before a man who believes power should be registered and managed like inventory?" Magneto's voice was steady, but it carried weight. "You would praise someone who built a system that can kill us in a flicker second?"
Wanda didn't flinch. "You think I admire him because he is powerful. But that is not it. I respect that he chose to shoulder the burden of leadership. He made the hard choices you always talked about. The ones you said no one else would make. And when it was over, he didn't hide. He stood before the world and said it was him. That takes courage and guts."
Magneto shook his head. "So you see strength and mistake it for integrity."
"I see accountability," she said. "Something this room has not shown in years."
Mystique spoke up, her voice smooth but firm. "You're angry. I get it. But we have to stay focused. Stark may be acting like a hero, but we all know what happens when the world begins to adore people with power. The moment we stop fitting into their image of salvation, they will turn on us. That's why we need leverage."
"We have leverage," Wanda replied. "It's just not the kind you're used to. Right now, they're building something new. They're creating a place where powered individuals are given choices. If we step in early, we help shape what comes next. If we wait, if we attack, we become the reason people fear us. Again."
Pietro stepped forward, arms folded across his chest. "So we just join them? That we blend in, drink coffee, play nice, and wait to be trusted?"
"No. We'll earn it, just like they did," Wanda said, turning to face him directly.
Quicksilver narrowed his eyes. "That was not the plan."
"The plan changes," Wanda said. "If you want to keep pretending that the world has no place for us, then fine. Stay here. But I'm done hiding behind your anger, Father."
There was a long silence.
Magneto finally reached down and picked up his helmet. He held it loosely, staring at the familiar shape in his palm.
"You believe you can enter Stark's world and not lose yourself in it. You think you can influence it from within, shift the tide, or steer the future. Maybe you're right." He lifted his gaze and met hers. "But don't forget who he is, Wanda. If the moment comes when he turns on you, if you stand in the way of his design, he will not hesitate. He will not stop. He will do what needs to be done."
Wanda's expression softened slightly. "Then I hope you'll remember this conversation before you do the same."
Quicksilver stepped beside her. "I'm going with her."
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