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#11 VCM
🕑 Added 2025-03-23 04:00:06 +0000 UTCEthan knelt beside Magneto, his expression unreadable. "About your machine... we need to talk."
Magneto took a deep breath, steadying himself as he stood. The residual energy in his body finally seemed to settle. "You still have the audacity to speak to me after what you've done?"
His glare hardened, and with a flick of his wrist, several steel beams shot forward, wrapping tightly around Ethan's limbs. "You fool. Do you even realize what you've done? You've destroyed the future of mutantkind!"
Ethan barely glanced at the metal restraining him before casually tearing it apart as if it were paper. "I think there's been a misunderstanding. The Professor—"
"I don’t care whose idea this was! Someone has to pay!" Magneto growled, raising a hand. The broken remnants of the machine rose from the ground, sharp debris flying toward Ethan like missiles.
"Oh, for the love of—will you let me finish a sentence?" Ethan swatted the incoming wreckage aside, his patience thinning. "Damn, you are stubborn."
Magneto sneered. "Reasoning is Charles' specialty. Mine? Making sure people suffer for their mistakes."
Ethan sighed. Yeah, that definitely sounded like Magneto.
"Magneto, you’re done!" Logan's roar cut through the air.
Having finally reached the top of the Statue of Liberty’s torch, Wolverine wasted no time. Claws unsheathed, he lunged straight at Magneto without hesitation.
Logan had lived over a century, fought in more battles than he could count, and never backed down from an enemy. His philosophy was simple—if one strike didn't work, you tried again. And again. And again. Until the enemy was dead beneath his claws.
Except this time, he was facing his worst matchup.
A mere meter from his target, Logan’s body came to a dead stop midair. Magneto lazily snapped his fingers, and Logan was instantly suspended in a spread-eagle position.
Magneto shook his head. "Logan, Logan... when will you learn? Always playing the hero, thinking you can solve every problem with brute force."
Logan snarled, but before he could retort, Magneto flicked his wrist—sending him hurtling off the statue and into the river below.
"Hnn!" A blast of red energy streaked toward Magneto.
A steel plate rose instantly, blocking Cyclops' optic blast before it could reach him.
Magneto smirked. "Ah, the X-Men are free. How unfortunate for you. Let’s fix that."
He gestured toward the platform where Cyclops, Jean, and Storm stood. The metal structure beneath them twisted violently, coiling around their bodies and locking them in place. Cyclops' visor shattered under Magneto’s influence, leaving him blinded.
"Now then." Magneto turned his gaze back to Ethan, who stood defiantly, floating slightly above the ground. Behind him, countless fragments of metal hovered in the air like a swirling storm.
"Impressive," Magneto admitted. "But you’re still young. And youth… requires discipline."
With a simple motion, Magneto launched a barrage of razor-sharp steel toward Ethan.
"Yeah, no thanks. I've had enough discipline to last a lifetime," Ethan muttered.
In one swift motion, he ripped a large steel plate from the floor and used it as a shield, deflecting the projectiles with ease.
Magneto chuckled. "Oh? And yet, metal isn’t exactly the best weapon to use against me."
The steel in Ethan’s hands suddenly softened, turning pliable like clay before twisting around him like living vines, attempting to constrict him.
Ethan simply exhaled. "Cute trick."
With a flick of his wrist, he hurled the metal plate toward Magneto with tremendous force.
But, predictably, the moment it came within ten meters of its target, it froze in midair. Then, as if insulted, the plate reversed direction, flying back at Ethan even faster than before.
Ethan dodged just in time as the steel slab embedded itself into the statue’s arm with a deafening crash.
Then—his footing vanished.
With a smirk, Magneto had manipulated the steel beneath Ethan’s feet, causing it to collapse inward like a hungry mouth. Metal clamped around Ethan’s leg, trapping him in place.
"It’s over, boy." Magneto raised both hands, summoning massive chunks of metal, preparing to crush Ethan completely.
"Not necessarily." Ethan remained perfectly still as the metal debris hurtled toward him.
The instant the metal made contact with his palm, it froze—then reversed direction at double the speed.
Magneto barely had time to react as his own attack came barreling back at him. He twisted midair, dodging at the last second. A single bead of sweat ran down his temple.
"Impossible," he whispered. For that brief moment, he had lost control over the metal entirely. That had never happened before.
Magneto's frustration gave way to intrigue. Ethan's ability was... unique. Worthy of further examination.
"Perhaps it's time to end this," Magneto muttered, raising his hands once more.
The top of the Statue of Liberty groaned as its torch was ripped apart, piece by piece. Under Magneto’s command, the debris reassembled, forming a massive steel sphere around Ethan.
With a final gesture, Magneto sent it plummeting toward the river below.
"BOOM!"
The metal prison hit the water, sending waves rippling outward. As it sank, water began seeping in through the cracks, filling the confined space.
Inside, Ethan remained calm. The weight of the ocean, the increasing pressure—none of it fazed him. He reached out, his fingers twitching slightly.
The water around him... shifted.
"Enough of this."
A deep rumble resonated through the water as an unseen force erupted outward.
Above, Magneto watched as the river itself split apart. A spiraling staircase of water formed, defying gravity, leading from the depths of the river to the surface.
And walking up that impossible path, as if on solid ground—was Ethan.
For the first time in a long time, Magneto was speechless.
He stared in stunned disbelief. "My God..."
Though Ethan’s technique was rough, unrefined, Magneto could see it for what it was.
A power beyond anything he'd ever encountered.
A power belonging to one of the rarest beings in existence.
"Charles..." Magneto murmured, his voice barely above a whisper. "You found another Omega-level mutant."
Magneto descended from the sky, his long cape billowing as he landed in front of Ethan. A smirk played at the corners of his lips, his tone carrying an air of excitement. "My child, your strength is truly remarkable..."
Before he could finish, Ethan cut him off, his eyes narrowing as he sized up the infamous mutant leader.
"Magneto, if you were still up in the air near the Statue of Liberty, I’d be in real trouble with my current strength. But since you came down... well, you can’t blame me for what happens next."
Magneto’s expression shifted instantly, his hands raising slightly in alarm. "Wait, what are you—? Don't! I have something important to discuss with you!"
"Less talk, more action." Ethan stomped down hard on the water’s surface, sending a towering wave crashing into Magneto. The rush of water swallowed him whole, hurling him toward the shore of Liberty Island.
"Cough—!" Magneto sputtered as the tide finally receded, leaving him drenched and hacking up seawater. He barely had a second to recover before Ethan charged toward him again. Scrambling to his feet, Magneto waved his hands frantically.
"Wait, wait! This is all a misunderstanding—I can explain—oof!"
Ethan tackled him to the ground before he could finish. Were it not for his mutant durability, Magneto suspected he might have broken something. "Damn it! Can you let me talk? Just one sentence!" Magneto bellowed, pinned under Ethan’s weight.
"Oh, you want to be reasonable now?" Ethan cocked an eyebrow, halting his movements.
"Yes! If you'd just let me finish, I wouldn’t have to suffer through this. Beating up old men isn’t exactly heroic, you know!" Magneto huffed.
Ethan chuckled but made no move to get off him. "Hey, I respect my elders, alright? But the professor told me if I wanted to reason with you, I had to beat you down first."
Magneto clenched his fists, his teeth grinding together. "Damn it, Charles! I always knew you were a scheming old bastard, but this is a new low! Just you wait—I’ll make sure to slip something into your Cerebro that’ll give you the worst headache of your life!"
Ethan, sensing the sudden shift in Magneto’s anger, tapped his chin thoughtfully.
Maybe he should warn Professor X... then again, if the professor was willing to throw in an extra scholarship bonus, he might keep quiet.
Magneto sighed, finally relaxing under Ethan’s hold. "Alright, kid. Can you at least tell me your name?"
"Ethan," he replied simply.
"How’d you end up at Charles’ school? Where's your family?" Magneto’s voice softened, his curiosity piqued.
"My parents disappeared seven years ago. After that, I was in an orphanage. Then, last week, my abilities awakened, and the professor found me. He made me an offer I couldn’t refuse." Ethan shrugged, as if it were no big deal.
Magneto’s eyes gleamed. Last week? That meant Charles hadn’t had time to fully indoctrinate him with his naive ideals of peace and coexistence.
This boy was still unshaped, full of potential. He couldn’t let Charles waste another powerful mutant like he had with Jean.
"Ethan," Magneto said, deliberately dropping the surname to create a sense of familiarity. "Do you realize that you're an Omega-level mutant?"
Ethan blinked. "Wait, what? I'm an Omega-level mutant?" He frowned. "I knew my powers were strong, but the professor never told me about any classifications."
Magneto scoffed inwardly. Of course Charles wouldn’t tell him. That fool had a habit of suppressing the potential of powerful mutants, fearing what they might become.
If Magneto hadn’t stepped in, would Charles have let another Omega-level mutant’s talents go to waste?
Magneto cursed under his breath. "Typical Charles..." Then, out loud, he continued, "Ethan, have you ever noticed the way the world treats mutants? The discrimination? The fear?"
Ethan shrugged. "A little."
Magneto nearly choked. "A little?! Kid, they’re drafting laws to register us like we’re dangerous animals! They want to round us up, strip us of our freedom! And you say 'a little'?!"
Magneto held back the rest of his rant. He had to be careful.
This boy had been sheltered, protected by Charles’ school before the world had a chance to show him its true cruelty.
He needed time to open his eyes.
Switching tactics, Magneto gestured toward the ruined remains of his device. "Do you even know why I built that machine?"
Ethan nodded. "Yeah. And it’s a shame, because your experiment was doomed to fail."
Magneto flinched. "What do you mean?"
"Before I came here, I watched a recording. The senator you experimented on? His body couldn’t handle the mutation process. His cells broke down, and he liquefied into a puddle of goo."
Magneto stared at him in horror. "No... what have I done?"
The realization hit him like a ton of bricks.
He had spent years strategizing, planning, pushing for a future where mutants would no longer be oppressed.
But had he just doomed his own kind? If his machine had succeeded, he wouldn’t have created millions of new mutants—he would have massacred them.
For the first time in a long while, Magneto was speechless.
Then, Ethan spoke again, his voice serious. "Look, your methods are extreme... but I agree with your beliefs."
Magneto’s eyes widened. "What did you say?"
"I said I agree. Mutants are the next stage of evolution. We are the future of humanity."
Magneto stared at him, stunned. After all these years, after all the battles, he had finally found someone who understood. Someone with the power to change everything.
