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*****
"Agree!"
"Agree!"
"Agree!"
After George raised his hand in support, the others paused to think for a moment, then lifted their hands one after another.
Most of them had suffered human persecution in one form or another. Their purpose in coming to the mutant school had always been to escape human harm.
So naturally, they had no reason to oppose this proposal.
Seeing the unanimous vote, Professor X wasn't surprised. He immediately laid out the plan he and Magneto had drafted.
The Plan for an Empire
"Next, I'll use the Xavier family fortune to purchase an uninhabited island," Professor X said. "Once construction is complete, it will serve as the territory of our Empire.
"After that, I'll use the Cerebro amplifier to contact the presidents of various nations and inform them of the formal establishment of the Mutant Empire.
"Once we've confirmed terms and reached consensus with them, I intend to announce our existence to the entire world and call upon all mutants to join…"
The meeting concluded, and George turned to Quicksilver.
"Did you talk it out?"
"We did," Pietro sighed. "He apologized to me and said he hopes to fulfill some responsibilities as a father."
He looked complicated. In truth, he knew the blame couldn't rest entirely on Magneto.
His mother had met Magneto at a bar back then; one night of passion later, she unexpectedly became pregnant.
She chose not to end the pregnancy and gave birth to them.
At that time, Magneto was a killer roaming the world to avenge himself on the Black King. He had no idea someone had borne him two children.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have disappeared from their lives.
Pietro was already grown; he didn't expect Magneto to suddenly "be a dad." He just wanted to have a father—someone real.
Pietro's Next Step
"So what do you plan to do now?" George asked.
Pietro thought it over.
"The Professor said he's setting up an X-Men Defense Corps to protect the Empire. I'm not cut out to be a teacher, so I plan to join the Corps.
"I need to go home and talk with my mom about it—and tell her about our father. Wanda has a right to know, too."
"That makes sense," George nodded. "Since your sister teaches elementary school, why not have her teach here like I do?
"That way she won't have to hide her powers or feel ashamed of them. I can also help her stabilize her abilities."
George wanted the Scarlet Witch to come teach at the mutant school for a reason, of course—the same kind of reason he had with Jean: it would be convenient to absorb the Chaos Magic within Wanda.
Pietro's eyes lit up.
"You're right! If Wanda's at the school, Mom won't worry I'll get into trouble!"
He slung an arm around George's neck, grinning.
"Got time? Come home with me."
"Let's go," George replied without hesitation.
Pietro raised a hand to steady George's neck, worried that if he ran too fast, he'd accidentally wrench it.
George lifted a palm and blocked him lightly.
"No need. I left a mark on you. Once you arrive, I can lock onto it and teleport to your side."
"Like Nightcrawler's ability?" Pietro gave George a big thumbs-up.
"Awesome. How many powers do you even have?"
"Just some auxiliary tricks. Nothing worth mentioning," George said with a smile.
A silver blur—Pietro shot into superspeed and tore off toward home.
A few minutes later, George vanished from where he stood, teleporting after him.
The Maximoff Home, Florida
Quicksilver stopped at the front door, glanced around, and promptly spotted George appearing out of thin air behind him.
"Looks like even my fastest run can't beat your teleportation.
"Perfect timing—could you go pick up Wanda for me? I'm guessing I'll be tied up talking to Mom for a while before she agrees to let me join the Defense Corps."
"Which school is she at?" George asked.
He nodded to himself—meeting Wanda alone would be the perfect chance to probe the Chaos Magic within her.
Unlike Jean's Phoenix Force, Wanda's Chaos Magic had an owner.
He still wasn't certain whether devouring Chaos Magic would draw the ire of the Dark God behind it—Chthon.
Even if it did, he wasn't afraid. Chthon might be a top-tier, multiversal demon, but in the Marvel cosmos he was everyone's favorite target—he hardly dared show his true body.
He could only cultivate proxies across countless universes—like each universe's Wanda—
—or scatter copies of the Darkhold to tempt mortals.
At most, he might project some power down. It shouldn't exceed a single-universe tier.
"Monte Elementary. Go straight along this road for six kilometers—you'll see it."
Pietro blinked, flashed inside, and the next instant he was in the house.
The first thing he did was call his sister.
"Wanda, a friend of mine is coming to pick you up—his name is George.
"I've got something important to tell you…"
"Pietro, where have you been these past two days?
"I told you—I'm not at school today. I took leave to attend a class reunion," Wanda answered, exasperated.
She was forever at her wits' end with this unreliable brother.
Pietro darted back outside and found George already gone from the doorstep.
"Okay, no problem—he'll find you anyway.
"Listen—I found our biological father. He wants to meet you… Mom just got home. We'll talk when you get back. I'll tell her first…"
Pietro knew George could locate people. Even if he didn't find Wanda at the school, he could track her down through his abilities—no need to worry.
Wanda at the Reunion
"We found our father?"
Wanda—wearing a red dress—froze after Pietro hung up. She had never known who her father was, and she hadn't expected her undependable brother to be the one to find him.
Then, a thought struck her.
"Damn, I never told him where this place is. How's his friend going to find me?
"Forget it—I'll just grab a taxi home and get the story straight."
To her, a class reunion couldn't rival the importance of learning who her father was. Besides, reunions weren't what they used to be.
If it weren't awkward to refuse, she wouldn't have come at all.
Back in school, everyone loved calling her a freak.
"Sorry, something came up—I have to go."
Wanda returned to the private dining room, grabbed her small purse, and was about to leave when a blonde girl piped up:
"Wanda, what's the rush? Going to see your boyfriend?"
"Boyfriend? As if Wanda has one," another girl—brown-haired, sparrow-faced—said loudly. "Remember Mike from our class? They lasted one day before he dumped her. He kept saying she was a witch and didn't even dare show up today. Did you forget?"
She and the blonde burst into laughter.
Back in school, Wanda had been almost invisible. Now she'd grown into her looks—her figure and face both remarkable—and the guys' eyes hadn't left her all evening. Some of the girls couldn't stand it.
So they dug up old stories from middle school to mock her—again.
(End of Chapter)