Xavier Institute
The soft light of late afternoon filtered through the Institute's stained-glass windows, casting long shadows over the old chessboard set at the center of the room. Charles Xavier sat serenely before the already arranged pieces. With a calm gesture, he indicated the chair across from him.
"Do you still enjoy playing chess, Charles?" Magneto asked.
Unlike usual, this time he hadn't come as an enemy—at least, not yet.
"Not always, Erik," Professor X replied with a faint smile.
"But some matches… are worth playing."
Magneto raised an eyebrow and let out a short laugh.
"Charles, have you finally realized that your benevolence is useless?"
"And have you finally understood that crushing everything by force isn't the solution?"
The X-Men, positioned behind Professor X, exchanged uneasy glances. The invitation for Magneto to enter the Institute had already been shocking; hearing them converse as if they were old friends only made things worse.
"How many years has it been, Erik?" Xavier asked, his voice low but firm.
"How long since we last sat together like this?"
Magneto looked at the board, and for a moment, nostalgia flickered in his eyes.
"Far too long. Since we stopped dreaming the same dreams."
The memory enveloped them like an invisible veil. Two young idealists, bound by shared pain and a greater cause: protecting mutants. But pain turned into rage. The cause became conflict. And friendship became war.
Magneto extended his hand, moving a piece. Xavier answered with another.
"I admit I'm surprised, Charles," Magneto said, eyes fixed on the board.
"I thought you would never agree with my ideal. A world of mutants, free from the human threat."
"I'm not agreeing with you, Erik. I'm simply acknowledging that the path of complacency has brought us to our limit."
"And yet, you still say I'm wrong?" Magneto smiled confidently.
"Charles, together we could raise a mutant empire. No more hiding. Humans… are a race in decline. And we are the natural successors of this planet."
"You still don't understand," Xavier said, his voice now darker.
"Do you remember the Bolivar Trask incident?"
"Yes, I remember. The man wanted to build robots to hunt us. He had dozens of laboratories experimenting on mutants," Magneto replied grimly.
"And do you remember who saved each of those mutants? It was a human. A human saved the future of all mutants, Erik," Charles answered.
"Violence doesn't secure the future. It only guarantees more hatred and more wars. If this continues, the cycle of hatred will never end, and we will never have peace."
Magneto stopped, his gaze hardening.
"Then why did you call me here?"
Xavier took a deep breath.
"Because even though I disagree with you, I know that if we destroy each other… we could inevitably drag all mutants down with us."
The words echoed like thunder. Magneto clenched his fist, crushing a pawn between his fingers.
"You're delusional, Charles. I am our people's salvation. You were always the obstacle. If you hadn't opposed the Brotherhood, the world would already be at our feet!"
With a violent motion, Magneto flipped the chessboard. The pieces flew.
Behind Xavier, the X-Men prepared for battle.
"Tell me, Charles," Magneto snarled.
"Do you think you can stop me?"
"No," Xavier replied calmly.
"But tell me, Erik… do you truly believe you're strong enough to bring the world down?"
"Absolutely!" Magneto answered, fury blazing in his eyes. He turned toward the window and pointed at New York's steel jungle.
"That city… it's within my grasp. With a single gesture, I can reduce it to rubble!"
"Erik, I don't think you've been keeping up with the news. Not long ago—" Before Charles could finish, a new voice echoed through the room.
"Wow. What did I just hear?"
Everyone turned to see who it was. No one had noticed his approach, which alone was alarming.
The visitor was someone they all knew: Nick Fury.
The Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. entered with his usual air of knowing more than he let on. At his side was Agent Maria Hill.
"Is destroying New York some kind of tabletop hobby now?" he remarked.
"Charles," he said with a half-smile.
"Next time you feel like having tea and playing chess with an international terrorist, let me know. After all, your old friend here is on the State Council's blacklist."
Xavier kept his expression neutral, but Magneto bristled immediately.
"How did you get in here without anyone noticing?"
Fury ignored the threatening tone.
"Thanks to this," he said, pointing to the device on his wrist.
"A new little toy. Perfect for secret meetings."
Magneto now seethed with rage. Xavier was still his old friend and a mutant, so he could accept speaking as equals. But Fury? He was a living reminder of human arrogance. A mere man, with an eyepatch, daring to look at him with disdain.
"Watch your words, Fury…" Magneto whispered.
"I always choose my words very carefully, Magneto," Fury replied, snapping his fingers.
Hill activated her tablet. Real-time coordinates appeared on the screen.
"At this exact moment, every missile on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarrier is aimed at this building. And don't worry—none of them are made using metals."
Fury smiled and raised his arms as if presenting a show.
"Any fluctuation in my vital signs and… boom."
He mimed an explosion with his hands.
Despite the mocking tone, the threat was real.
"Erik…" Xavier said, staring at his old friend. He knew Fury was lying, but he wouldn't expose it.
"Are you really going to bury the entire Institute because of your pride?"
The floating chess pieces in Magneto's hands transformed into steel spikes—sharp and lethal.
"Stop this, Erik!" Xavier shouted.
The tension reached its peak.
Fury maintained his cold stare while Hill awaited the command.
And Magneto… no matter how furious he was, hesitated.
Yes, he was radical—but not insane.
Everyone present froze, their faces marked by tension and disbelief.
Nick Fury had just played a merciless card.
He had threatened Magneto not only with his own life, but with the fate of every mutant under the roof of the Xavier Institute.
No one could move—let alone protest.
Magneto could do nothing but restrain his fury.
Charles once again realized the truth in Jean and Arthur's words.
Mutant strength, at its core, was still fragile.
Very fragile.
The power of a single mutant… was not enough to change the destiny of an entire race.
"Don't point those things at me, Magneto," Nick Fury said, staring at him as if death were nothing more than an inconvenient coworker.
Reluctantly, Magneto knew he was at a disadvantage. More than that… he was being held hostage by his own choices.
He could accept dying there. But dragging the young mutants inside the Institute with him? That, he could not allow.
With a slight movement of his fingers, all the metal spikes levitating around him dropped to the floor, clinking like bells of surrender.
"Well…" Fury said, in a tone that sounded more like provocation than praise.
The silence was so thick it could be cut with a blade.
Charles sighed once more.
"Fury… I was the one who invited Erik. We argued, yes, but I can assure you he won't cause any more trouble. Not now, not in the future."
Fury studied them both, his piercing eyes seeming to read the deepest secrets of their souls.
"Charles… I truly hope you don't throw away all the work of the past few years for your 'friends.'
I'd hate to have to deal with the consequences of your actions…"
It was both a warning and a threat.
Charles nodded calmly, even as he seethed inside. His face showed nothing but serenity.
Seeing that his presence had achieved the desired effect, Fury turned away with a slight nod.
As he left, he offered one last warning:
"I'll be keeping an eye on you… Agent Hill. Let's go."
And then he departed as if he owned the place.
After a few seconds of silence, Professor X smiled faintly and turned to Magneto.
"Erik… do you understand what I meant?"
Magneto shot him a furious look.
"You were the one who called Fury?!"
"Of course not. Why would I? Trust me, I wouldn't do that," Charles replied with a soft sigh.
Trust you?
Old bastard…
Magneto scoffed and, after taking a deep breath, sat down again. His eyes fell on the chess piece he had crushed during the argument. The silence between them was heavy.
"Charles… if what you're about to say isn't satisfactory—"
"You'll kill me?" Professor X finished calmly, smiling.
"I've heard that many times, Erik. And look—I'm still here."
Magneto clenched his teeth but said nothing.
Charles continued:
"I've come to the conclusion that the paths you and I are walking will lead nowhere. On the contrary… they will doom our species."
"So I propose something new. A different path. A path where the two of us can work together… for a real future for mutants."
---
The next morning
Arthur jolted awake, lifting his head with a slight start. His forehead rested on the workshop bench, his hair completely disheveled and clear traces of dried drool at the corner of his face.
"It's moments like this that I miss you the most, Siduri…" he murmured with a sigh heavy with nostalgia.
Back when he ruled Uruk, sleepless nights were common—especially during the Demonic Front, when the city fell.
Siduri had been the only one capable of pulling him away from his obsessive work, even if by force.
"I wish I could see you again…" he whispered.
Beside him, a mug of coffee was still steaming. There was also a small note.
{Arthur, unfortunately I can't help you right now—I have class. See you later.}
He smiled as he read it, stretched, and took a sip of the coffee.
"Damn it, Gwen… I've already told you to go easy on the sugar," he teased, though the smile never left his face.
Turning back to the bench, his eyes gleamed. With Cortana's help, he had managed to reverse-engineer the Lizard's serum. Perhaps even that very day, he could create a definitive cure.
"Cortana, how long has Gwen been gone?" he asked suddenly.
[Just over ten minutes,] Cortana replied, projecting her holographic form beside him.
"Right… I'll take a shower and then get back to work."
He stood up, shaking his head.
"Damn workaholic instincts…" he muttered, remembering how many times he had worked himself to exhaustion in Uruk.
---
Meanwhile, at Stark Mansion…
Tony was already up, his mind buzzing with ideas.
Studying the new element had drained all his strength, but upon waking, his energy was renewed.
"JARVIS, time to work."
[Sir, I must warn you that with current technology, it is impossible to properly synthesize this new element.]
Tony raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, stop being dramatic, JARVIS. Just follow the plan."
Donning a helmet and holding a sledgehammer, he looked at the Mark's pod beside him… and frowned.
"Where's my Mark II?"
[Colonel Rhodes. He took the armor to a military base.]
JARVIS then displayed footage of the retrieval.
"Of course…" Tony sighed.
"I should've revoked that authorization."
"And what does the military want with the Mark II?"
[They plan to study it and use it as a prototype for the creation of new weapons.]
Tony rubbed his face and grumbled.
"To hell with it. We've got more important things to do right now. Let's get to it, JARVIS."
(End of chapter)