Mutants had their own circles.
And within that circle, news traveled fast.
X Academy has been attacked!
The incident spread like wildfire. By now, most of the mutant community had already heard—
including the Brotherhood.
In a dark basement, Magneto sat alone, staring at a photograph clutched in his hand. His sharp eyes lingered on the figure captured in the grainy image.
The photo, printed from surveillance footage, clearly showed the X Academy grounds. In it stood the mysterious man who had invaded the academy that very day.
A foreign man.
Magneto had already confirmed the report: this stranger had taken Rogue.
And Rogue was no ordinary girl—she was the key piece in his grand design. He had to have her, no matter the cost.
But the thought of how effortlessly that man had broken into Xavier's academy and taken her away left Magneto's expression dark and heavy.
Even so, giving up was not an option. If the plan failed, the future of mutantkind would collapse along with it.
"For the future of our kind, failure is not allowed," Magneto muttered coldly. Then he spoke aloud:
"Where is this man now?"
At first, silence answered him. It seemed like he was speaking to himself.
But then, from the shadows in the corner of the basement, a voice rasped back:
"In a hotel."
Magneto rose to his feet. "Take me there."
At his command, a figure leapt from the darkness.
It was humanoid, but its movements resembled a grotesque toad. Its long tongue lashed out without warning, snaring a pigeon that had flown too close. With a sickening sound, the bird vanished into its mouth—swallowed whole.
Magneto did not even flinch. This was one of his Brotherhood lieutenants: Toad. Agile, savage, and deadly with his tongue.
His other trusted enforcers—Sabretooth and Mystique—were already out on separate missions.
—--
8 p.m.
Inside the presidential suite of a luxury hotel, Fenric sat on the sofa, casually watching television.
Rogue, seated stiffly on a chair nearby, fidgeted nervously.
Night had fallen. Soon, it would be time to sleep.
Her heart raced with anxious thoughts. What if this man tries to force himself on me?
She wasn't entirely afraid—her mutation ensured that anyone who touched her skin would be drained of their life force and abilities. But the uncertainty of what Fenric might do left her restless.
Then, outside the tall glass windows, a figure floated silently closer.
Magneto.
Suspended in the air by his own magnetic field, he drifted steadily toward the suite. Small, metallic spheres—each no larger than a marble—orbited him like obedient satellites.
The moment he spotted Rogue inside, Magneto didn't hesitate.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
The iron marbles accelerated like bullets, shattering through the glass panes and streaking toward Fenric's forehead.
It was a clean kill attempt. Magneto clearly intended to eliminate Fenric and take Rogue at once.
But Fenric was not so easily dealt with.
His instincts tingled with the faint warning of danger. He raised a hand and casually caught the projectiles mid-flight.
"Magneto," Fenric said coolly, rolling the iron spheres in his palm, "it's rather rude to open with lethal force."
With a sudden squeeze, the steel spheres deformed, crumbling into molten scrap in his grasp.
He crushed steel like mud… with brute strength alone.
Even in martial disciplines, such a feat was considered monstrous.
"Here," Fenric added with a faint smirk. "Let me return your toys."
With a flick of his finger, one of the warped marbles shot back like a sniper's round, screaming through the air straight at Magneto's eye.
Magneto instantly exerted his magnetic field, trying to seize control of the projectile. But to his shock, the sheer kinetic force resisted his pull.
The sphere closed the gap.
Five centimeters from his eyeball—finally, with every ounce of his power, Magneto wrestled it under control.
Cold sweat trickled down his temples.
Had he failed, that shard of iron would have drilled straight through his skull.
His eyes fixed on Fenric, now filled with something he rarely felt: fear.
The man's strength was beyond anything Magneto had anticipated.
"Don't hover out there," Fenric said lightly, as if inviting an old friend. "Come inside. I've been expecting you."
Magneto stiffened.
"You knew I would come?"
"Of course." Fenric smiled faintly. "This girl is central to your plans. With her in my hands, it was only a matter of time before you showed up."
Magneto's heart sank further. "You… know of my plan?"
"I do." Fenric nodded.
After a brief pause, Magneto broke the remaining shards of glass and floated inside. His tone sharpened.
"Who are you? What do you want?"
Fenric waved dismissively. "Who I am doesn't matter. What matters is that I find your plan… interesting. I think we can work together."
"Work together?" Magneto blinked, taken aback.
"Yes." Fenric leaned back lazily. "Your operation will inevitably draw the X-Men. I can handle those pests while you carry out your plan uninterrupted."
Magneto's eyes narrowed. The stranger's reasoning was sound. Professor X and his students would certainly intervene.
But could he really trust this man?
"And why should I believe you?" Magneto asked.
Fenric's eyes gleamed. He extended his hand slightly, and Rogue—who had been trying to remain hidden—was pulled into the air by invisible force.
"This girl," Fenric said calmly, "is my show of good faith."
Magneto stared hard at Fenric, weighing his options. After a long silence, he finally nodded.
"…Very well. Then we have an agreement."
"Happy cooperation," Fenric replied with an easy smile.
Magneto studied him once more, then said, "Would you care to visit my base?"
Fenric gave a slight shrug. "Why not?"
There wasn't a shred of concern in his voice.
Poisoning? Sneak attacks? Ambushes? None of it mattered.
With his senses warning him of danger before it struck, and his raw power standing unmatched, Fenric feared nothing short of the Phoenix Force itself.
No mutant alive could stand against him.
No matter how many came, they would only march toward their own deaths.