The wind stirred up by the helicopter blades lashed against the mansion's immaculate lawn, making the treetops of the nearby trees sway and dance.
The noise was deafening, sharply contrasting with the scene Charles Xavier had arranged at the center of the garden.
The Professor waited patiently in his wheelchair. In front of him, as if expecting a quiet Sunday visit, there was a perfectly set table with a porcelain tea set, several pastries, and two empty chairs waiting for their occupants.
Behind him, forming a protective barrier, stood the X-Men.
Logan had his fists clenched, chewing his cigar forcefully. Gambit toyed with a card between his fingers, his trench coat billowing in the wind, while Ororo and Jean kept their eyes fixed on the aircraft with stern expressions. Bishop, with his massive energy rifle slung across his back, scanned the perimeter, ready for any wrong move.
Scott came running from inside the mansion, stopping just beside the Professor's chair, slightly out of breath.
"Professor!" Cyclops exclaimed. "Piotr warned me about the helicopters."
Scott quickly glanced at his teammates' defensive formation and then looked back at Xavier.
"I left the boy in the guest room," Scott reported urgently. "I told him to stay there and not come out under any circumstances, that we'd handle this. I came as fast as I could."
Xavier gently raised a hand, signaling his field leader to slow down.
"Calm down, Scott. There's no need to be so alarmed," Xavier said calmly. "Take your place with the others."
"But Professor, it's Magneto and Emma Frost," Scott insisted, tense. "We can't trust—"
"Scott," Xavier interrupted, looking him directly in the eyes, "if either of them were planning a direct attack, they wouldn't have identified themselves when approaching our airspace, and they certainly wouldn't have landed in my front garden in broad daylight."
The Professor gestured toward the empty chairs in front of him.
"This is a meeting, not an attack. At least, for now."
Scott clenched his jaw but nodded. He moved to stand beside Jean and Logan, crossing his arms and fixing his ruby-quartz visor on the helicopter doors, which were beginning to open as the engines powered down.
From the Frost International helicopter, the door opened smoothly.
Emma Frost descended first, immaculate in her white attire, her heels sinking just enough into the grass as she walked with predatory elegance.
At the same time, from the other helicopter, Magneto did not bother using the steps.
He floated out effortlessly, his cape billowing behind him, driven by an invisible magnetic field, descending until he reached the same height as Emma.
The two leaders met halfway to the table, exchanging a brief glance.
"Emma," Magneto greeted with a curt nod.
"Erik," she replied in the same neutral tone.
Behind them, their escorts followed, pushing the X-Men's tension to its peak.
Behind Magneto's cape, Toad advanced in small, nervous hops, followed by the imposing figure of Sabretooth, who flashed Logan a fang-filled grin. Avalanche walked with pride, and bringing up the rear, Psylocke moved with lethal grace, slightly closer to Magneto, as a bodyguard would.
On Emma's side, a group of uniformed youths, the Hellions, walked in tight formation, their faces serious and disciplined, acting as the White Queen's personal guard.
Upon reaching the table, Emma took her seat with fluid movements, crossing her legs and smoothing her skirt, while Magneto ceased levitating, planted his boots on the ground, and sat with a rigid, dignified posture.
Emma swept her gaze across the garden, pausing on the school's façade before fixing her blue eyes on Xavier.
"I must admit, the mansion looks impeccable, Charles," Emma said with a cold, controlled smile. "Always so tidy, so… homey. It's a pleasure to see you maintain your standards."
Erik, meanwhile, ignored the surroundings and leaned slightly forward, looking the Professor in the eyes with a mix of familiarity and solemnity.
"Charles," he greeted in a deep voice. "It's good to see you, old friend."
Xavier nodded, accepting Emma's remark with a slight inclination of his head and returning Erik's gaze with respect.
"Thank you, Emma. And the feeling is mutual, Erik," Xavier replied. "I've prepared some refreshments for the occasion. If you'd like tea or any other beverage before we begin, I'd be happy to offer it."
Emma maintained her perfect smile but delicately raised a gloved hand to decline.
"I appreciate the offer, Charles, but I must decline," she said in a soft, diplomatic tone. "I don't intend to stay long. I know you're a very busy man running this place, and the last thing I'd want is to waste your time with frivolities."
Erik, sitting with his back straight and his hands resting on his knees, simply shook his head, refusing the invitation with a gesture, without the need to dress up his words.
Xavier nodded slowly, accepting the refusal.
He withdrew his hands from the table and folded them over his lap, shifting his expression from gracious host to serious headmaster.
"I understand," Charles said, looking alternately at the White Queen and the Master of Magnetism. "In that case, let's get straight to the point. What exactly brings the two of you to my doorstep on the same day?"
Emma let out a soft, irony-laced chuckle and finally reached for one of the pastries, bringing it to her lips with extreme delicacy.
"You see, Charles," she began, after tasting the bite and wiping her fingers with a silk napkin, "a few months ago, during a mission of a… private nature, my Hellions were ambushed by an unknown group. Their leader, Julian Keller, made a quick and very wise decision and sacrificed himself so the rest of his team could escape."
Emma paused for dramatic effect.
"Since then, we have been tracking that group, the so-called Purifiers. Human supremacists with religious delusions who seek the extermination of our people. In our investigation, we discovered something fascinating: Hellion didn't die. He was being held captive in one of their branches in New York.
The White Queen fixed her gaze on Xavier, her eyes gleaming as she maintained her smile.
"Imagine my surprise when, upon arriving to carry out the rescue, we found the place empty. Or rather, hastily abandoned, with a basement that looked like it had been the scene of a war," she commented, glancing briefly at Scott and then back at Charles. "So I made a couple of calls. And it turns out a group of your students was seen entering that place just a few hours ago."
Emma leaned back in her seat, crossing one leg over the other.
"Surely, being your students, they must have saved all those poor mutants imprisoned there. Perhaps even Hellion. If that's the case, Charles…" she made an elegant gesture with her hand, "you would owe me a great favor if you could hand him over to me. Aside from, of course, my eternal gratitude and goodwill."
"I'm not here to talk about favors or gratitude, Charles," Magneto interjected, breaking his silence with a dry tone. "My Brotherhood has also been following the trail of those Purifiers. I've come to inform you of the severity of what they were doing and to demand that you hand over all that trash you now have in your custody."
Charles raised an eyebrow, remaining calm in the face of the demand.
"Custody, Erik? You know perfectly well this is a school."
"I know exactly what happened today," Magneto continued, unfazed. "I know your students brought the guards and the scientists from that complex to the mansion, including the woman who led the research. Those humans do not deserve your hospitality. They must answer to us for what they've done."
Erik leaned slightly forward, ignoring the tension his words created among the X-Men behind Xavier.
"Furthermore, I know there are rescued mutants who were victims of those experiments. I wish to offer them the opportunity to come to Genosha. It is a safe place for our kind, a nation where they will be treated as citizens and not as laboratory rats."
Emma Frost arched an eyebrow, looking at Magneto with a mix of curiosity and disdain.
Charles sighed softly, interlacing his fingers over his lap as he looked at Magneto with a mix of weariness and determination.
"Erik, I understand your outrage, but these people will be handed over to the appropriate authorities to face trial," the Professor declared firmly. "I know your methods tend to be more… expedient, but we cannot become judges and executioners every time the world shows us its worst side. Doing so would only place us at the same level as those we claim to oppose."
Magneto did not respond, but the rigidity of his posture made his opinion of human justice perfectly clear. At that moment, Jean Grey stepped forward, intervening in a professional tone.
"Beyond the legal debate, there is an urgent medical problem," Jean explained, looking at both guests. "The rescued mutants are not in condition to be transported. Many appear to have been affected by a synthetic drug designed to suppress their will, making them submissive and obedient to any command. Hank is still analyzing them in the infirmary to understand the extent of the neurobiological damage."
Charles nodded, appreciating Jean's intervention, and then turned his attention back to Emma Frost.
"And about your students, Emma… there is something you should know. According to the report from a student who returned to save her teammates, there are two young men who stand out in the group. They weren't simply imprisoned; they were being mentally and physically controlled to fight as assets for the Purifiers."
Both Erik and Emma raised an eyebrow at the mention of mutants being used as combat weapons against their own.
Emma fell silent for a moment, processing the information, her gaze growing even sharper.
"What kind of drug can suppress a mutant's will to that extent?" the White Queen asked. "My students undergo rigorous mental training. Breaking them would require more than simple chemical sedatives, even more so their leader."
Jean shook her head, crossing her arms as she explained Hank's findings.
"It's not a conventional sedative, Emma. The preliminary analysis shows a very specific biochemical composition. It's a neurotoxin that acts directly on the brain's reward and will centers. It practically nullifies any trace of independent initiative; the subject is left in a state of absolute receptivity to external commands, without any resistance."
"A drug to create slaves," Erik commented, with a trace of disgust in his tone.
"That's right. But that substance only makes them submissive, docile, and completely obedient," Jean continued. "The problem is that it also leaves them apathetic. In that state, from what we've observed, they are incapable of engaging in combat or using their abilities with the intensity required for battle. They're like empty shells that can barely follow simple orders."
Emma raised an eyebrow, immediately detecting the contradiction.
"Then how do you explain that Julian and the other young man were fighting if they were under the effects of that substance?" she asked.
Charles intervened, taking the floor cautiously.
"That is the question we still cannot answer with certainty. We don't know the exact method they used on those two young men. Whether it was a variant of the same drug, violent psychic conditioning, or some kind of technological implant is still a mystery to us. All we know is that, unlike the others, they were fighting to protect the facility."
Magneto clenched his fist on the armrest of his chair, and the metal of the table vibrated slightly in response to his agitation.
"Humans…" Erik muttered, his voice laden with contempt. "They always find new ways to be ruthless. It's not enough to hunt us or lock us away; now they seek to hollow us out from the inside to turn us into their tools. Their methods have no limits. They're all the same."
Emma, still holding her teacup with elegance, lowered her gaze to the tea and let out a barely audible comment.
"How ironic… coming from someone whose actions are not usually that far removed from that description."
The vibration of the table stopped abruptly. Magneto slowly turned toward her, his eyes locked on the woman with an expression of irritation that made Sabretooth, behind him, let out a low growl.
"What did you say, Emma?" Erik asked in a low voice.
The White Queen didn't flinch in the slightest.
She lifted her gaze to meet his, a glacial smile on her lips, holding his stare without the faintest trace of fear. Before the exchange could escalate further, Charles raised a hand, intervening to regain control of the table.
"Please," Xavier said. "We didn't come here to reproach one another over the past or to fuel old grudges. We're facing a situation that affects all of us. Erik, I understand your fury, but arguing among ourselves is exactly what those groups expect us to do."
=============================================================
A few meters behind the Professor, where the tension between the escorts was almost as thick as the one at the table, Logan never took his eyes off Sabretooth, who returned the stare with a wide grin, dripping with a malice only the two of them understood.
Logan clenched his fists so tightly that the leather of his gloves creaked, and the metallic sound of his claws extending just a few centimeters cut through the air.
"Logan, control yourself," Scott hissed without taking his eyes off the front, having noticed the movement.
"That rat is provoking me," Logan growled through clenched teeth, his jaw tight. "I'd love to wipe that smile off his face with one swipe."
Beside him, Bishop maintained his military posture, watching the Brotherhood's formation with seasoned eyes.
"That's exactly what he wants," Bishop said quietly. "He's waiting for you to start the conflict so he has the perfect excuse to jump us. Don't give him the satisfaction."
Logan let out a low growl.
Further back, behind Sabretooth, Toad took advantage of the leaders being distracted to mock him, flapping his arms at his sides and making chicken gestures toward the clawed mutant.
Logan's fury was about to overflow when he felt a warm, familiar presence in his mind.
"Logan, please," Jean's voice echoed softly in his thoughts. "I know it's hard and that they're provoking you, but we need you to keep a cool head. Do it for the school. Do it for me."
Logan closed his eyes and took a deep breath, slowly letting the air out. He relaxed his fists, forcing his claws to retract completely.
"I'm only doing this because you're asking me to, Jeanie," he replied mentally, though his face remained a mask of irritation.
=====================================================
While tension rose in the garden, the group of young people remained locked inside one of the rooms on the upper floor.
The hum of the helicopter engines still vibrated through the walls, fueling the debate unfolding inside
"Who do you think they are?" Bobby asked, pressed up against the window glass, though from that angle he could only see the aircraft and a few distant figures. "Two helicopters don't land in the garden every day."
"My money's on the government," Jubilee said, sitting on the floor with her arms crossed. "Or maybe those Frost Industries people. The first helicopter has a logo that looks like some millionaire corporation."
Bobby strained his eyes, excited by the mystery.
"Whoever they are, for Scott to run off like that, they have to be big shots. I'm dying to sneak down for just one second and see their faces."
Illyana, who was standing near the door, snorted and crossed her arms.
"I hope it's those idiots who tried to kidnap us. I'm still not satisfied with what happened in that lab. If they're coming looking for trouble, this time I won't let anyone stop me."
"Illyana!" Kurt exclaimed, appearing beside her with a soft bamf. "The Professor was very clear. We can't go out there looking for a fight, especially now that it looks like there are important people on the property."
Kitty nodded firmly, stepping away from the window and positioning herself in front of her friends with a commanding expression.
"Kurt's right. Don't even think about it, Yana," Kitty declared with authority. "We've gotten into more than enough trouble today. We barely made it out of that lab alive, and the Professor was very specific about us staying here. If we disobey again, there won't be any excuse that can save us."
"Oh, come on, Kitty, one look won't kill anyone!" Bobby insisted, though he moved a little away from the window when he caught her stern look.
"No, Bobby. We stay here," Kitty concluded. "The last thing the Professor needs is for us to go down there and complicate whatever they're talking about."
"You're right, Kitty," Jubilee admitted, flopping down onto a beanbag chair and shifting the tone of the conversation. "But, you know… I kind of feel bad for the new guy. Legion."
The others turned to look at her. Jubilee fiddled with the threads of her jacket, thoughtful.
"I mean, think about it. The guy literally threw himself at everyone, got us out of that hole, and saved our skins… and we basically ignored him," Jubilee continued with a sigh. "We didn't even thank him. We were so busy yelling at Cess that we left him standing there like a piece of furniture."
Kurt nodded, scratching the back of his neck with a thoughtful air as his tail swayed nervously from side to side.
"To be fair, we didn't really have much time, meine Freunde," Kurt said with a shrug. "The Professor wanted to speak with us immediately, and well… Professor Ororo is pretty terrifying when she's angry. I just wanted to get inside the mansion before she started throwing warning lightning bolts."
"Still, you can tell he's a classic hero," Bobby added, finally stepping away from the window. "He even brought those guys in so they could face a trial. It's kind of weird, but the guy's got guts."
Cessily, who had been silent until then, looked up.
Her mercury fingers intertwined gently.
"He saved me," she whispered gratefully. "If he hadn't shown up, I… I don't know what they would have done to me in that lab. I owe you all an apology for dragging you into this, and I owe him a lot more than just a thank you."
Kitty softened her expression and stepped closer to Cessily, giving her a comforting squeeze on the shoulder.
"Don't worry about that right now, Cess. When this whole helicopter mess is over and the Professor lifts our punishment, we'll look for Legion and thank him properly."
Illyana let out a loud snort and rolled her eyes, letting sarcasm drip from every word.
"Oh yes, of course. Legion was amazing, saving us all and doing aaaall the heavy lifting by himself," she said, gesturing exaggeratedly with her hands. "I suppose my sword and I were just there to decorate the scenery while he took all the applause."
Pyro, watching her from his chair, let out a mocking chuckle.
"Don't be childish, Illyana. We already thanked you when we were on our way to the room," he reminded her lazily. "You don't need a parade every time you cut through a couple of metal doors."
The young Russian crossed her arms again, tucking her chin into her chest in a gesture of wounded pride. But before she could fire back, Kitty stepped up behind her and, without warning, wrapped her in a warm, tight hug.
"Thank you, Yana," Kitty whispered with complete sincerity, resting her chin on her shoulder. "Really. Thank you for being so brave and for not abandoning us. If it weren't for you and your decision to fight, we'd probably still be locked in that basement, waiting for the worst."
Illyana tensed up. She wasn't used to that kind of direct physical affection, much less a sincere expression of gratitude.
Her cheeks flushed a faint red and she turned her gaze toward the wall, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable under Kitty's embrace.
"It's nothing…" Illyana muttered, turning her head to hide her expression. "A queen always looks after her own. It's what I'm supposed to do."
Kurt and Bobby exchanged an amused smile at the sight of the imposing warrior of Limbo being completely disarmed by a simple hug.
Cessily, who had been watching the interaction with a mischievous little grin, decided it was the perfect moment to stir the pot.
Her metallic fingers toyed with one another as she glanced sideways at the young Russian.
"You know… I didn't get to see the whole fight," Cessily began, lowering her voice slightly to add mystery, "but I did notice a certain chemistry between Legion and Illyana. You know, the little jabs she gave him, the sideways smiles, the constant teasing…"
A chorus of "Ooooooh!" echoed through the room. Kitty, who still hadn't completely let go of her friend, took the opportunity to squeeze her a little tighter and look at her with sparkling eyes.
"Do you like him, Yana?" Kitty asked with a huge grin.
Illyana broke free of the hug with a sharp movement. She turned to face the group, trying to recover her mask of cold composure.
"Cessily's words are nonsense," she declared, crossing her arms tightly. "Legion proved himself capable on the battlefield, and for that he has my respect… a little. But there is absolutely nothing between us. He is only a temporary ally."
Much to everyone's surprise, Jubilee let out a sigh of relief and did a small hop of excitement. The others looked at her with raised eyebrows, confused by her reaction.
"Thank goodness!" Jubilee exclaimed, her eyes shining with enthusiasm. "Because I think he's adorable. He's like… I don't know, a squishable little warrior! He's got that mysterious but benevolent hero vibe that wouldn't hurt a fly. He's way too cute!"
Bobby burst out laughing at the description, while Kurt scratched his head, trying to imagine how someone who could turn into creatures capable of tearing down a steel wall could be considered "squishable."
The atmosphere in the room grew lively.
While Jubilee kept rambling about whether she should invite Legion to eat something to get to know him better, and Pyro threatened to burn her favorite jacket if she didn't shut up, Illyana and Kurt tensed at the same time.
Both of them turned their heads toward the door. The others noticed and immediately fell silent.
"Did you hear that?" Kurt whispered, his ears twitching slightly as he picked up on faint but heavy footsteps outside the room.
Illyana nodded, her gaze fixed on the wooden door, her right hand instinctively lowering to where she usually summoned her sword.
The others glanced at each other, and a spark of excitement crossed Pyro's face.
"Well, I'm going to check it out," John said with a crooked smile, jumping to his feet. "Someone's gotta see what's going on out there."
"Don't you dare!" Cessily stopped him, extending a mercury arm to block his path. "If a teacher sees us outside the room after what happened, we're dead."
Pyro let out a mocking laugh, fixing his gaze on her.
"What's wrong, Cess? Afraid you'll get scolded again after your surprise escape?" he jabbed sarcastically. "Don't be such a scaredy-cat."
Before the argument could escalate, Kitty stepped between them, gesturing for them to lower their voices.
"That's enough! No one is leaving the room," Kitty declared, though her eyes were also gleaming with curiosity. "But… since I'm curious too and I'm the best at staying unnoticed, I'll take a look. Just to see what's happening."
Kitty approached the door and slowly phased through the wood, letting only the upper part of her face emerge to spy down the mansion hallway.
She looked first toward the right wing of the corridor.
Nothing.
The hallway was silent. But when she turned her head to the other side, her heart skipped a beat.
A huge, hunched creature, about the size of a bear, covered in thick orange fur, was moving slowly down the corridor.
It had no eyes; its face was a smooth mass of muscle ending in a heavy jaw, and its limbs were tipped with claws that brushed against the carpet.
The beast walked with its head lowered, swaying it from side to side as it intensely sniffed the air and the floor.
Kitty froze.
The creature stopped just two doors away. The sound of its breathing was heavy, a low growl that vibrated through the walls.
That was when a memory crossed Kitty's mind: a YouTube video she had watched with her friends barely a month ago, analyzing all the forms Legion had ever shown.
In the grainy footage, that exact form was described, a massive, blind beast.
"It's him…" Kitty whispered to herself.
At that instant, the creature stopped its tracking. Its head snapped sharply toward Kitty's position.
For one eternal second, the beast "stared" straight at her.
Kitty didn't even have time to pull back. The creature let out a guttural roar and hurled itself in a ferocious charge toward the room where it had stopped.
The impact was brutal. The wooden door exploded into a thousand pieces as the orange mass of muscle and claws burst into the room, tearing through everything in its path.
Chaos took over the room in a second.
Bobby and Kurt grabbed Kitty by the shoulders and pulled her back.
"What the hell was that noise?" Bobby demanded, while Illyana went on guard. "Kitty, talk!"
"It's Legion…" she blurted out, catching her breath. "He transformed into some kind of giant orange beast, no eyes… and he just forced his way into Emily's room!"
There was no time for questions. A teenage girl's piercing scream tore through the walls, followed by the crash of furniture being dragged and a brief struggle.
"Let me go! Let me go!" Emily screamed from the other side of the hallway, her panic-filled voice freezing them in place for a moment.
Pyro, with an impatient gesture, opened the door and jumped into the hallway, closely followed by the rest.
But when they reached Emily's room, the beast and the girl were already gone.
Only the trail of destruction remained: the door hung from a single hinge, splintered as if a truck had slammed into it, and the inside of the room was a chaos of books on the floor and overturned furniture.
The hallway fell silent again, broken only by the fading echo of Emily's screams in the distance.
Pyro stopped at the threshold, calmly observing the destruction.
He slowly turned toward Jubilee, who was still processing the scene with a stunned expression, and a mocking, venom-laced smile spread across his face.
"Hey, Jubi," Pyro said, flicking his lighter open. "Still think the little hero is, what did you call it… 'squishable'?"
Jubilee didn't answer; she just stared at her friend's destroyed room.
====================================================
In the garden, diplomacy hung by an invisible thread.
Charles, Emma, and Erik continued their debate under the shade of the trees, unaware of the chaos unfolding above their heads.
"We must be cautious," Emma said, crossing her legs elegantly. "We don't know what political ramifications this group might have."
"Cautious?" Erik scoffed with contempt. "We should eradicate them. Every second we spend talking, they perfect a new way to chain us. You don't negotiate with trash, Charles."
"The proper authorities must be informed, Erik," Xavier replied calmly. "We cannot act as judge and executioner without evidence that—"
A crash of shattering glass inside the mansion cut him off. The sound of heavy furniture being dragged echoed, along with something massive moving through the halls. Emma raised an eyebrow, looking toward the school's façade.
"I know you have many children and teenagers here, Charles," the White Queen remarked, "but is it normal for them to sound like a herd of stampeding elephants?"
Charles shook his head, his expression darkening.
The X-Men went on alert immediately: Logan tensed his shoulders, and Scott adjusted his visor.
But before they could move to investigate, the main door leading to the garden exploded outward.
From inside the mansion, bright orange, eyeless, and packed with overwhelming animal strength, a creature advanced with terrifying calm toward the group of leaders.
Between its massive jaws, it held Emily by the neck, a young mutant girl of about fourteen who trembled uncontrollably.
"Help… please…" the girl whispered through tears.
Logan extended his adamantium claws, Scott raised his hand to his visor ready to fire, and Ororo began to float, her eyes turning white as the wind started to swirl around her.
However, before anyone could launch an attack, the creature tightened its grip slightly.
Emily let out a muffled cry of pain, squeezing her eyes shut. The beast released a deep, guttural growl that vibrated in the chests of everyone present, shaking its head from side to side, "looking" at them despite its lack of eyes.
The message was clear to all: one wrong move, and the girl's life would end instantly.
Only Logan remained with his claws out, stepping forward with his jaw clenched and murderous fury in his eyes.
"Let her go, you flea-ridden sack," Logan growled. "I swear if you so much as hurt that kid, I'll make myself a blanket out of your orange fur before the day's over."
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Heeey, how's it going? Hope you're all doing well.
Well, this is where we leave off with today's chapter. Things got tense. Why the hell would Legion, transformed into Wildmutt, do something like taking a poor 14-year-old girl hostage? What will the mutants present do? Is Illyana a tsundere? Why am I lactose intolerant when I love ice cream so much?
The world is unfair…
Anyway, those questions… most of them will be answered in the next chapter.
As always, a thousand thanks for all your support and comments. I really appreciate them, they truly inspire me and motivate me to keep writing the chapters.
Take care, kisses :)