I finished the drone and stepped back from the table. It was black with blue highlights, a single repulsor in its base, and roughly the size of my palm — extremely difficult to spot unless you were specifically looking for it.
In its core sat a miniature arc reactor with Parker Blood-enhanced systems, allowing it to run indefinitely without recharging. The entire top of its body was covered in small high-resolution cameras, capturing everything in a 360-degree field.
"Alright, Sexy — power it up," I said.
"Yes, Peter," the AI replied. The drone's repulsor engine cycled up slowly, lifting it into the air. It wobbled in place for a few seconds while the onboard systems calibrated, then steadied.
"Begin room scan and find the optimal recording position," I ordered. The drone drifted to one corner of the lab, rotated, and used a small vacuum seal on its underside to lock itself against the flat wall.
"Feed is clean, Peter," Sexy reported. I looked at the monitor — my entire lab was captured clearly.
I nodded. "Good." I reached into a drawer and took out a mask — the comic-book version of the Green Goblin. I held it up in front of my face and immediately the alarm on my monitor went off.
"The system is sending an alert, Peter. It has successfully identified the target profile. System is functioning correctly, sir," Sexy replied with a note of satisfaction in her voice.
I put the mask away. "Adjust the parameters — add supplementary visual identifiers for the glider design, pumpkin bomb shapes, and the vocal pattern flagged as 'maniacal laughter'. Also — confirm that the nano-trackers I introduced into Harry's drinks yesterday are active."
"Done, sir." I had slipped the nanobots into his drink at school without him noticing. Looking at the monitor now I could see the faint signal — the nanobots inside Harry's system were broadcasting on a frequency only I could pick up, allowing this drone to track and follow him passively, even when I wasn't present.
The logic was straightforward: I couldn't physically shadow Harry around the clock. I had too much else to manage. So I broke my own no-drones rule and built exactly one. It would track only Harry, and if it ever detected anything consistent with Green Goblin activity, I would know immediately.
With that done I left the lab and rolled my neck. It was early Saturday morning and I had been at this all night. I walked into the lounge and found Johnny and Sue already up and sitting quietly.
"Morning, you two," I said. "What's going on? The sun's barely up."
"It's our dad's death anniversary," Johnny said, his voice quieter than usual as he stared into his coffee.
I paused. "Oh. I see. You're going to visit him?"
Sue nodded. "Yeah. It's time." She reached for her SA and sent me a file. It appeared on my screen immediately — bank transfer paperwork for approximately twenty million dollars. "That's the final transaction from this week's Negative Zone resource auction. How much more do you need?"
I opened the project account I had set up and looked at the running total. Three hundred and twenty million dollars. I sighed. "Getting there."
Sue frowned. "Sorry...look, if you need additional capital, you could always draw on our available funds. Between us, we might—"
"No," I cut her off. "It's fine. A few more weeks and I'll have enough. I've got this."
"You never did tell us what you're building," Johnny pointed out.
I grinned. "Secret."
The Storm siblings left shortly after. The moment the elevator doors closed behind them, my phone rang. I checked the number. Jean. Curious, I picked up.
"Hey, Birdie — what's up?"
"Spider." Her voice sounded worn down. Not frightened — just exhausted in a way that made my neck tighten. She had used my codename, not my first name. That meant it was serious.
"What's wrong? Where are you?"
"I'm okay. But...can you come to the mansion? We need to talk."
"Give me half an hour." I cut the call. "Sexy — have the car ready." I was already moving back into the lab. My costume was stored in its collapsed backpack form. I stripped off my outer clothes, activated the arc reactor, and felt the suit contract and lock into place. I pulled on my web gauntlets, reached the window, and jumped just as my car floated up to meet me.
I dropped into the driver's seat and floored it.
I made the Xavier mansion in twenty minutes. I didn't even wait for the car to land — as it came over the estate I stepped out of the still-moving vehicle and dropped, landed cleanly, and crawled in through an open window.
"Jean? Jean!" I moved through the corridors quickly, finding nothing. I checked the main rooms, checked the upper floor. Nothing. I clicked my teeth and headed down into the basement, where the X-Men kept their real infrastructure.
The door to the lower level was standing wide open. I ran through into the underground hangar.
The X-Men were there — in full costume, gathered around a plane that had been badly damaged. The nose was crumpled, one wing looked partially sheared, and scorch marks ran along the fuselage.
"Jean!" I crossed to her quickly. She had a bandage wrapped around her head, blood seeping through the gauze at the temple.
"Pe — Spider," Jean smiled as I pulled her into a hug and held it for a second.
I looked around. Everyone had taken damage. Logan's jacket had been torn away, most of the fabric above the waist shredded. Storm had her right arm in a sling. Kurt looked bruised beyond his normal blue. Rogue had a long cut down her left arm and was sitting in one corner with Scott, whose costume had been ripped back to expose a significant wound across his midsection. Kitty looked unhurt but defeated. Evans wasn't present. Xavier was sitting with both arms wrapped in bandages.
"What happened?" I asked.
Logan growled. "Magneto."
"He got out?" I asked, the cold feeling arriving before my words did. "Damn it."
"Did you know this would happen?" Scott asked quietly.
"No. I had hoped SHIELD was actually competent enough to prevent it." I turned back to Jean and carefully touched the bandaged side of her head. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," she said.
"The full responsibility can't rest with SHIELD," Xavier said, folding his hands carefully over his bandaged arms. "Erik had outside assistance."
"Who?" I asked. I already knew the answer.
"The Brotherhood of Mutants," Kurt said. "They're a militant faction — essentially the ideological opposite of us."
"And considerably more powerful, unfortunately," Rogue added quietly.
"They breached the SHIELD containment facility and freed him," Xavier continued. "We attempted to intervene. The results were...not favorable."
I looked around again. "Where's Evan?"
Storm looked away. Logan placed a hand briefly on her shoulder and spoke for her. "He caught the worst of it. Magneto was trying to kill us — most of us managed to hold our own. But he and his people didn't hold back. One of the Brotherhood — a speedster — went after Evans directly. That's when things deteriorated."
"Evans just wanted to protect his aunt," Storm said through clenched teeth. "I should have been closer."
"Hey," Logan said firmly. "The only person responsible is that speedster. Nobody else. You can't carry what other people choose to do."
A speedster. Quicksilver, presumably. And Wanda? No way to know the Brotherhood's full roster yet. Either way — "Sexy, get me Fury on the line."
"What did you call me?" Jean asked, confused.
I chuckled. "Sorry. New AI system. Not that I don't think you're equally formidable, Birdie." I winked. Jean went slightly pink.
"Wait a minute," Kitty said sharply. "Birdie. Peter! Is that you?!"
I went very still. "Ah...no."
Just then the call connected and Fury came on.
"Remind me to give you my assistant's number," he grunted.
"Is your assistant the Director of SHIELD?" I replied.
"...What do you want."
"Magneto. He's escaped."
A beat of silence. "Yeah. He has. And your X-Men friends were there."
"Were they trying to stop him or break him out?" I asked flatly.
"Stopping him."
"Then next time don't frame it like they were suspects," I said. "Do you have a track on him?"
"We're stretched thin right now. There are reports coming in of localized physics abnormalities. We're handling that first."
"Fine. Keep me posted." I cut the call and turned back to the X-Men. I kept my arm around Jean and sighed. "I'm glad you called. But tell me — why call me specifically?"
"Because he's coming for you next," Jean replied. "And he made it clear he intends to move immediately. If you were in New York—"
"—He'd go through the city to get to me." I finished the thought. "But that means this location becomes his next obvious target instead."
"Yeah," Logan said, showing his teeth in something that wasn't quite a smile. "That's exactly what we're counting on."
"He hurt Evans badly," Scott said. "We're not letting that go."
"But if he comes here then Evans himself is still at risk!" I said.
"Kurt already transported Evans to a colleague of mine — a physician well-versed in mutant physiology," Xavier said. "It will be just us."
"Spider," Jean said. I looked at her. Those green eyes, direct and steady. "Will you fight with us?"
I sighed. "Always, Jean. But you all look like you should be in a hospital bed."
"We'll heal," Rogue said. Something had changed in her expression since the last time I had seen her — a hardness had set in around her jaw. "He almost killed Evans. And I just...stood there."
"Oh God, you're all out of your minds."
"Look who's talking," Jean huffed. "If you had your way you'd have fought Magneto alone before. Again."
I shrugged. "Probably."
"Wait," Kurt said, looking between Jean and me. "He fought Magneto? Before?"
"Who do you think put Erik in the containment cell in the first place?" Charles replied with an amused tilt of his mouth.
"WAIT!" Kitty's voice cut through all of it. Every head turned. She was standing with her arms crossed, her face flushed. She pointed directly at me. "Are you Peter Parker or not?!"
I sighed. "I really hoped you'd forgotten about that." I reached up and unlatched my helmet. "Hey, everyone. Nice to finally meet you properly."
"YES!" Kitty cried out in triumph, while Rogue, Kurt, and Scott stared with their jaws visibly dropped.
"About time someone figured it out," Logan said, unimpressed.
Even Ororo allowed herself a small smile.
I turned to Jean. "They really didn't know?"
Jean laughed — a real one, despite everything. "Rogue actually thought I was seeing two different people at the same time."
"How?!" Scott cried out.
I shrugged. "Man-made mutation. It's complicated."
"Explain!" Kurt demanded.
"I'd rather not. Look — if you're serious about drawing Magneto here, we need to get ready. I don't know about the rest of you, but if I have any kind of tactical advantage going into a fight, I'm taking it." I looked at Jean and Logan. "Jean — come with me. I need your help building something. Logan, I need you as well."
"What do you need me for?" Logan asked.
"You're made of metal," I said. "Magneto can flick a finger and put you through a wall. Time to do something about that."
---
I took over the X-Men's lab with the comfortable ease of someone who knew exactly what they needed to do. I had Sexy integrate into their system, ran an inventory of available materials, and began working.
"Alright," I said, turning to the assembled team. "Who exactly does Magneto have with him?"
"A speedster," Ororo said, her expression cold.
"How fast?" I asked.
"Faster than the human eye can follow," Xavier replied.
"Descriptive," I said. "Who else?"
"A mutant who calls himself Toad," Scott supplied with a sigh. "Prehensile tongue, incredible jumping ability, and he can...project a viscous organic compound. Green in color."
"Lance — Avalanche," Kitty said, going slightly pink before correcting herself. "He can generate seismic tremors."
"Blob," Jean said. "He is...significantly large. Immovable under normal circumstances. Also has enhanced strength."
"And Mystique," Logan growled. "Shapeshifter."
I considered. "So you lost to a human toad, a shapeshifter, a very large man, a speedster, and an earthquake generator?"
Jean nodded.
"...I don't want to sound dismissive, but my villains are significantly more impressive."
"You have a man who dresses up as a bird!" Kitty cried out.
"You have a man whose mutation appears to primarily be obesity," I pointed out. "Are we even certain he's a mutant?"
"Peter," Jean said with a warning look.
"Alright, fine." I crossed my arms. "Here's the plan. Toad and Blob are low-priority. Kurt — you take Toad. Match his movements, stay on him, and when he tries to jump, you teleport to cut him off. Use these." I reached into my utility belt and tossed him two freeze pellets.
Kurt looked down at the small spheres like they might bite him. "What are these?"
"Compressed cryogenic agents. They'll freeze the target solid for roughly an hour. Aim for his legs and activate by squeezing the top and bottom together simultaneously."
"Are they safe to carry?"
"Completely inert until activated," I confirmed.
"R-right," Kurt said carefully, pocketing them.
"Scott — Blob is a large target in an open field. Point and fire."
"Right," Scott said. He didn't argue. That alone told me something about how the last fight had gone.
"For Avalanche, I want Jean and the Professor to hit him psychically the moment the helmet comes off. Knock him out immediately."
"He has a psychic dampening helmet," Jean said, shaking her head. "Similar design to Magneto's. We can't penetrate it."
"Then we remove it first." I turned to Kitty. "Can you phase through whatever seismic disruption he generates?"
"Yeah," she said, though she looked uncertain. "I think so."
"Good. Phase in on him, pull the helmet off, and get clear. Jean takes it from there."
"And for the speedster?" Logan asked.
"He's the trickiest one," I admitted. "Someone moving at that speed can't afford to lose focus for even a fraction of a second — they need total concentration to navigate without hitting something. Which means their awareness is narrow. They're relying on pure reaction time, not situational reading. The counter is misdirection, not speed."
"How are you going to misdirect something faster than the eye?" Logan asked.
I grinned. "Do you have horses on the property? And what's your campus security system like?"
---
Three hours later:
High above the Xavier estate, a man in red and black with a purple cape floated in the air, five figures standing on a hovering metal platform behind him.
"Are you certain he's here?" Magneto asked.
Mystique nodded. "My contact in the area confirmed it. A vehicle matching the Spider's car was seen arriving at the mansion."
"Good," Magneto said, descending slowly. And indeed, as if to confirm it, a figure in red and black was standing in the mansion's doorway, leaning casually against the frame.
I stepped off the step and walked forward as Magneto touched down on the front lawn. "Hello, Erik. It's been a while. How's the face?"
I couldn't read much beneath the helmet, but the narrowing of his eyes told me I had landed the jab. "Spider," he began, his voice measured and deliberate. "I have waited a considerable amount of time for this."
"Yeah?" I rolled my shoulders. "So have I." I raised my voice. "Now!"
A concealed heavy machine gun popped up from the front lawn and opened fire on the Brotherhood.
"I'll handle this," Quicksilver called out confidently. From the silver-and-green costume and the shock of silver hair, I could guess his age — around mine, maybe slightly older. He disappeared in a blue-white blur, intercepting every bullet before it reached his teammates. He reappeared before me in less than a second, a smirking pile of hot casings in his arms. He dropped them at my feet and gave a mocking bow. "Were those yours?"
"Pietro, fall back," Magneto said calmly.
Quicksilver clicked his teeth but obeyed, vanishing and reappearing behind Magneto instantly.
Magneto looked at me for a long moment. "My son. A powerful mutant — powerful enough to kill you before you could react, if I wished it. I have chosen to spare you, Spider. Remember that."
I looked around. "I'll keep it in mind. But why?"
"Because I need you alive long enough to witness what I have to show you," Magneto replied. "You told me that mankind was neither good nor evil, only a product of its choices. That I was the architect of division. I intend to prove you wrong." He turned slightly. "Pietro — bring him."
He waited. Nothing happened. No blur of motion. He turned more fully. "Pietro? What is—"
Quicksilver was staring at his hands. His fingertips were stained blue. He was shaking — and then his legs went out from under him and he dropped, face-first, onto the lawn.
"Pietro!" Toad leaped to his side immediately, catching him before his head hit the ground.
"What did you do to my son?!" Magneto's voice had an edge I hadn't heard before.
I nudged the pile of bullet casings at my feet. They scattered down the steps, clicking against each one. "The problem with speedsters is that at the velocities they operate at, grip becomes nearly impossible. Anything they pick up slips straight out of their hands — the friction force simply isn't there. Fingerless gloves are actually ideal for that reason, because they maximize tactile contact."
Magneto looked at his son's hands and I could see the realization settle in. Pietro wore fingerless gloves. Each exposed fingertip was dyed blue.
"Horse tranquilizer," I explained. "Strong enough to drop a horse in seconds. I calculated I'd need a heavier dose and a faster delivery method for a speedster, so I suspended it in a mild acidic compound — enough to dissolve the surface of the skin on contact and introduce it directly into the bloodstream. I coated the bullets with it. A speedster proving they can catch bullets is entirely predictable."
I watched the fear flicker across Magneto's face — just a trace, but it was there.
I had gambled. The plan had flaws. But I had played the odds, and the odds had paid out.
"X-Men!" I called out, leaping into the air. "Attack!"
"ARGH!" Logan burst out of a hedge, running flat out at Magneto.
Magneto raised a hand — and Logan didn't stop. Erik stared for a fraction of a second in genuine disbelief before he was forced to fly upward to avoid the charge. Logan landed where Magneto had been standing, skidded, and turned.
Kitty erupted from the ground behind Avalanche, phasing straight through the earth with Jean, Scott, and Rogue holding on above. The second Kitty had solid footing she reached forward and yanked Avalanche's helmet off his head.
"Sleep," Jean said, almost quietly.
Avalanche collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.
Scott turned immediately, already tracking. Blob had ripped a tree out of the ground and was cocking his arm to throw it. Scott fired a beam of energy that caught him dead center, launching him backward through the air and into the mansion exterior wall. The impact shook the whole building.
"I'm out of here!" Toad launched himself in a bounding leap — only for Kurt to teleport directly into his path and hurl both freeze pellets. Toad spat his slime immediately on reflex. The slime made contact with the pellets.
CRACK.
A block of ice exploded into existence, crashing down over Toad. One pellet caught his legs directly, locking them in place.
I was focused on Magneto. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Mystique shift into a raven and take off over the tree line.
KRAKOOOM!
Storm appeared over the roof of the mansion, her eyes white, and sent a bolt of lightning that cracked the sky. The raven hit the ground hard, returned to human form, and didn't get up.
"What happened to your bones, Logan?!" Magneto called out, rising higher, his left leg at an odd angle — Logan and I had both landed hits before he got airborne. He clearly wasn't willing to risk more close contact.
"Can't control them anymore?" Logan grinned.
Magneto's eyes moved to me. "What did you do, Spider?!"
I grinned. "My secret." I shot a web line and caught his wrist, pulling hard. Magneto was yanked downward for a second before he overcorrected and launched himself higher, dragging me up with him.
He flicked both hands. The machine gun we had used earlier tore itself free of its moorings, spinning up into the air, and slammed into my side. The impact knocked the web line loose and I came down fast.
"I've got you!" Jean's voice — and my descent slowed as her telekinesis caught me, setting me down with a firm but controlled landing.
"Thanks." I turned immediately. Magneto had put serious altitude between himself and the ground.
KRAKOOOM!
Storm sent another lightning bolt. Magneto raised a hand and generated a magnetic field strong enough to deflect it entirely. The bolt grounded out harmlessly to the side. Damn — I hadn't anticipated that interaction. Magnetism and electrical charge are linked, so in retrospect I should have.
"I will return, Spider," Magneto said, his voice carrying clearly even from height. He turned and accelerated — faster than Storm could pursue. I clicked my teeth.
He was gone.
I looked at the lawn. Quicksilver was still down, captured. Toad had both legs encased in ice. Avalanche was unconscious. Blob had left a Blob-shaped impression in the mansion wall. Mystique was down in the grass where the lightning had found her.
"Sexy — contact SHIELD. Tell them we have five members of the Brotherhood ready for transport. Have them bring appropriate containment units." I lowered my helmet and turned to Xavier, who had rolled out through the main doors.
"He escaped," Logan said.
"He did," Xavier agreed. "But we secured his allies. Let's hope SHIELD treats them with some basic dignity this time."
"One can always hope," Logan replied.
He lifted his forearm, revealing the metallic bracelet I had fitted there before the fight. "How exactly did this thing stop Magneto from using me against everyone?"
"The bracelet generates a localized magnetic field to regulate Rogue's power absorption," I said. "I boosted the output to above 200% today. At that level it creates enough interference to disrupt Magneto's own magnetic manipulation in close proximity — essentially static jamming his signal."
Logan blinked. "I didn't understand a single word of that. Thanks anyway."
"We did it," Scott said quietly.
"Yeah," Rogue nodded. For the first time since I had arrived, something close to relief was visible on her face.