Even as the four of us delved deeper into the HYDRA base, there wasn't much resistance. Most of the guards we came across were already dead on the floor, with only the occasional lucky researcher who had somehow managed to avoid the two rampaging super soldiers.
Well… probably more unlucky, considering Magneto swiftly dealt with any stragglers we ran into.
I might've gone a bit overboard with the recruiting.
Captain America and the Winter Soldier working in tandem probably would've been enough.
The sound of gunfire reached my ears as we neared another corner. I blinked around it and quickly spotted Cap and Bucky pinned down behind cover while a holdout of HYDRA soldiers fired on them. At the center of the formation sat a huge energy rifle mounted at the far end of the hallway, blasting away hard enough to keep even the two super soldiers from advancing.
I tightened my grip on Logan's shoulders and took a deep breath.
"You thinking what I'm thinking?"
Logan snorted. "Just fucking throw me, kid."
I laughed as Logan jumped into the air. Thunder Breathing flooded through my body, strength surging through every muscle as I grabbed him and hurled him with everything I had.
A Wolverine-shaped meteor shot down the hallway.
He slammed directly into the soldier manning the turret with enough force to send both of them crashing to the floor.
Claws already out, Logan immediately went to town on the soldiers around him, cutting down anyone who tried to take the gunner's place.
Not willing to be left behind, I followed.
A crack of thunder filled the hallway as I teleported straight into the fray. My lightsaber burned to life, and I swept it through the first guard unfortunate enough to be standing nearby.
Energy beams ripped through the air around me, but Protection From Arrows made dodging them almost effortless. I didn't even bother teleporting again. My feet pounded against the floor as I twisted and bent around the incoming fire, beams flashing past my body by inches.
My lightsaber flashed again and again as I cut my way through them.
I felt like fucking Neo.
All my traits and skills worked together, letting me leap, twist, and dodge through the barrage like a madman.
Credit where it was due, these soldiers reacted much better than the ones outside. There was no panic, only rapid movement as they repositioned and more and more energy rifles turned my way.
Still, better training could only take them so far.
A quick glance showed Cap and Bucky had followed my lead and thrown themselves back into the fight.
Plus…
There was a faint tingle along the back of my neck.
An almost imperceptible shift in the air.
The remaining soldiers suddenly had their rifles ripped from their hands.
Magneto floated into view atop his metal platform, staring down at them with open hate. He gave a casual wave of his hand, and the stolen energy rifles twisted apart in midair, shredding themselves into useless scraps of metal.
I chuckled as the last remaining fight quickly disappeared.
Yeah, there was really only one way this was going to end.
—
[Feat Achieved! Cut Off One Head]
[+1 Silver Gacha Ticket]
Really… just a silver for dealing with an entire HYDRA base?
I frowned at the notification. Did recruiting so many heroes lower the value of the "achievement," or was it because of my own growing power?
Maybe a mix of both.
Kind of shot myself in the foot there, but oh well.
I ripped the silver ticket in half.
[Rolling Silver Gacha Ticket]
[Ratio Technique]
|Uncommon Ability|
Jujutsu Kaisen — Allows you to divide your target with imaginary lines that forcibly create a weak point at the seven-to-three ratio. Striking that point deals critical damage.
Oh, fuck yeah.
It had been way too long since I'd gotten a decent ability, and this one sounded like it would work wonders with both my lightsaber and Riptide.
Hmm… definitely something to test later.
I dropped back into the snow and stared up at the sky.
Clearing the base had been relatively easy. A pretty clean victory, all things considered.
Unfortunately, that victory had been soured a bit after some investigating and interrogating the few prisoners Bucky himself had managed to capture.
There were traces of labs being hastily packed up, along with a few key personnel who were noticeably missing.
Which meant there were survivors.
Unfortunately, the people we'd captured weren't high enough up the chain to know about any secret escape routes.
Still, having three century-old professionals around had proven useful. Bucky, Mystique, and Logan had quickly gone to work and gone about searching the base with a fine-tooth comb.
I didn't exactly have much experience finding secret passages, and a quick sweep of the place hadn't triggered anything from my sensor trait, so I ended up sitting outside on defense duty.
There was a nonzero chance HYDRA would send reinforcements, or just straight-up try to ground-zero the entire base, so having someone outside to stop that was important.
It was definitely necessary, but that didn't mean I couldn't be a little bored.
Staring out at an endless field of snow wasn't exactly the most entertaining thing in the world.
That boredom disappeared pretty quickly, though, when the conversation started flowing.
"Really?" Steve sat in the snow, still dressed in his all-black gear. "I'd have to give it a try."
Magneto chuckled from a chair he'd fashioned out of scrap metal. "For all its faults, New York City is quite the center for cuisine. Although, in recent years, all these…" He scoffed. "Trendy foods have put a bit of a damper on things. You can still find plenty of good, classic cuisine, though. I recommend visiting Little Poland or Little Italy."
"Noted." Steve nodded, crossing his arms. "The food's great, don't get me wrong. Most of what we had back in the day was just boiled or fried. It's nice having so many options now, but…" He sighed. "You've got fusion food, all these weird combinations too. It gets kind of overwhelming."
"Indeed," Magneto said. "Still, at least you missed the Jell-O craze of the fifties…"
I couldn't help but smile as I listened to what was probably the strangest yet most mundane conversation I'd heard in a long time.
Magneto was, well… I wouldn't exactly call him starstruck, but he was pretty damn awed when Steve revealed who he was.
Considering his past, I guess that wasn't too surprising.
Hell, if I remembered correctly, there was even one universe where Captain America had helped free Magneto from one of the camps.
Now, I wasn't stupid enough to ask whether that had happened in this timeline, no matter how curious I was.
Still, this was probably the most cheerful I'd ever seen an older version of Magneto.
"So I punched him right in the damn stomach." Steve mimed the blow with a grin. "Turns out the secret weakness of the 'master race' was getting the crap beaten out of them."
Magneto snorted.
It was kind of funny to watch.
Magneto was a greying old man, while Steve still looked like a young man in his prime. At first glance, you might've assumed Steve was his son, or maybe even his grandson.
But the longer they talked, the more they came across like a pair of old buddies sitting around a senior center, just yapping away about the good old days.
I imagined Steve probably didn't have many people he could relate to after coming out of the ice.
"Politics were messy in my day too…" Steve blew out a breath. "But yeah, all this internet stuff and the constant mudslinging just feels…"
"Disgusting?" Magneto supplied with a dark chuckle. "Hardly surprising when some of the highest seats of power are occupied by wretches carrying on the Nazis' legacy."
Steve winced. "Yeah. Not exactly the greatest thing to learn."
Magneto's amusement faded as he fixed the Captain with an intense stare.
"Then perhaps you understand why the world needs fixing. Men like us have both seen what happens when fools are allowed to shape it unchecked." He leaned forward slightly. "Perhaps we should discuss how to fix that."
Steve frowned at the words.
"And that it does!" I quickly chimed in before the conversation could derail. "Which is why you should work with the trustworthy parts of SHIELD."
I gave Magneto a pointed look.
"Do you take me for a fool like Charles?" Magneto shook his head. "Even ignoring their monumental failures, governments from Europe to the United States have proven the same thing time and again." His voice turned bitter. "None of them are to be trusted."
Not for the first time, I wondered how the history of the X-Men had played out in this universe.
Charles had alluded to a few things whenever I asked, but he'd never really elaborated on the details. Still, shitty history or not, I'd really prefer to avoid ending up with Mad Magneto and try nudging him toward one of his more heroic phases first.
"How rude." I waved a hand dramatically. "You can't trust good old Captain America? The symbol of peace, liberty, justice, and America's ass?"
Both men turned to stare at me like I'd lost my mind.
Heh.
Best way to derail a serious conversation was to throw in some bullshit.
Steve coughed into his fist.
"Right… well, I don't know exactly what your grievances with the government are, but it's not like I don't understand where you're coming from. Fury is… kind of a pain in the ass himself." He looked Magneto directly in the eye. "But I can promise you this. I won't tolerate anyone abusing their power just because they have a flag or a title behind them."
For a tense moment, the two old souls simply stared at each other.
"…I shall consider it."
"That's all I ask." Steve smiled.
"Just another day's work for Captain America and his new sidekick!" I cheered, striking a pose.
Naturally, with my Aura Farming Knowledge, it was suitably badass. Combined with my Scenic Wind trait whipping dramatically around me, I looked amazing.
Truly, I was too powerful. Both Magneto and Steve could only stare at me in silence.
"I wasn't aware you'd acquired a… sidekick," Magneto said, snorting.
Steve just sighed and rubbed his face.
"I applied for the job myself," I said. "No doubt I was accepted after leading such a flawless victory over this HYDRA base."
"Flawless?" Steve raised an eyebrow. "Do the guys who got away not count?"
"Nahhh, still totally flawless." I dropped back down onto the snow. "Nothing went wrong."
A horrible screech suddenly reverberated through the air.
In the distance, the ground erupted upward as something enormous clawed its way out from beneath the snow. A twisted monstrosity of flesh emerged from the opening, roaring loud enough to shake the air around us.
I stared at it. Almost instinctively, I could feel both Magneto and Steve's eyes burning into the back of my head.
…Fucking Marvel man.
***
Comments and Thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Likes are like a drug to me and boost my creative juices.
I have advanced chapters on Pa tre on/daisyberry if you wanna read ahead.