Four days earlier—
before Captain America assumed the presidency—the U.S. government had issued a harsh directive demanding that all mutants, including the X-Men students, immediately enroll in the pre-amendment version of the Superhero Registration Act, serving the government as state employees.
When the X-Men refused, they were swiftly scapegoated as one of the causes of the New York War.
Public hostility surged.
Discrimination intensified.
Mutants became targets once more.
Using this as an opening, Magneto arrived at the Xavier Institute.
He requested a formal discussion with Cyclops about the future of mutantkind.
Most X-Men instantly opposed the idea.
Only Cyclops—painfully aware of how dire the situation had become—agreed to hear Magneto out.
---
"X-Men," Magneto addressed the room full of young mutants,
"look at our situation. If you could take your eyes off Charles for even a moment, you would see clearly: I am the only one who can save our species."
His words were passionate rather than threatening.
Even those who despised him knew he spoke out of genuine fear for mutant survival, not personal gain.
But despite Xavier's death, few dared challenge Magneto's ideology.
As leader, Cyclops stepped forward.
"I understand your power could create a prosperous mutant world," he said calmly.
"But it wouldn't last. When you die, what happens then? We cannot rely on brute force to make humans submit. That isn't Charles's dream—"
Magneto cut him off sharply.
"Damn it—you are the ones meant to inherit my role! Why else do you think I let you children live all these years?"
The blunt honesty struck Cyclops harder than any attack.
Only now did he finally understand something that had been right before him for years:
There had never been just one mentor.
Xavier had been the gentle father who taught through words.
Magneto had been the harsh master who taught through action.
Two halves of a single philosophy—peace and resistance—balancing each other for the sake of mutantkind.
Cyclops finally realized that Magneto, in his own severe way, had invested his life into guiding them just as deeply as Charles had.
Yet even so, Cyclops could not accept Magneto's extremist ideals.
"I will never stand by your plan to destroy humanity," Cyclops answered.
"The X-Men pursue coexistence, not domination."
"I don't ask you to commit genocide," Magneto replied coldly.
"If I believed I could wipe out humanity once and for all, I wouldn't need successors."
His voice softened—just barely.
"And I'd also suggest you stop using the word peace. Only the defeated seek peace. If you want a mutant utopia, then hear me well: the road forward will involve conflict with humanity."
Cyclops remained silent.
Only now did he grasp the truth:
He had never fully understood the man before him.
But the message was clear.
Magneto had no interest in usurping the X-Men—
he wanted to preserve the academy, the last sanctuary of their species.
"...I understand," Cyclops finally said.
He extended his hand.
Magneto accepted it.
And so, in that moment, the X-Men were reborn under a shared philosophy—
not Xavier's or Magneto's alone, but something forged between them.
---
Return to the Present—Inside the Psychic World
Professor Xavier opened his eyes in the frozen mental landscape.
He faced the immobilized Magneto and spoke quietly:
"Erik… I never imagined this. But I remain certain I was not wrong."
"Yes," Magneto replied.
"You were not wrong—just incomplete."
His voice trembled with sincerity, rare for the master of magnetism.
"That is why I never tried to kill you before the children were ready. But now… Charles, you must let them walk their own path."
"Not now," Xavier answered firmly—more resolute than he had been in years.
He swept his arms outward, revealing the battlefield below:
the chaos, the bloodshed, the terror frozen on the faces of young mutants.
"Mutants must not become the enemies of Captain America. If they take this path, they turn their backs on justice."
Magneto's voice grew sharp.
"And what then? Should mutant destiny be placed in the hands of a human? Steve Rogers may be a great leader, but what about his successor? What about the next president—someone we cannot influence at all?"
He raised his voice in a thunderous declaration:
"Today, here and now—mutants must claim their own fate!"
A slow clap broke the tension.
Both men turned.
A striking woman stepped forward—her entire body a flawless crystalline diamond.
It was Emma Frost—the White Queen.
Once imprisoned and experimented upon for being a mutant,
once a member of Magneto's Brotherhood,
now an X-Man in her own right.
Her diamond form glimmered as she walked deeper into the psychic realm.
"Emma…" Xavier breathed, surprised but composed.
"It's been a long time since we've crossed paths like this."
He issued a warning:
"You know your psychic power cannot override mine. You cannot disrupt my control over Erik."
Xavier was near Omega-level, one step from the absolute peak.
Emma Frost, an Alpha-level telepath, was far below him in raw power.
Emma smiled knowingly.
"Oh, I'm fully aware of that. Which is why—I didn't come in here alone."
_____
T/N:
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