"Accursed creature, begone with you!!"
With a push of magnetic force, The Hulk slammed back into the ground, repelled from his attack against the floating man above him. Magneto gritted his teeth, drawing on his powers, searching for something, anything he could use as a weapon. The area the Hulk had drawn him to for battle was infuriatingly lacking in metal, stripping him of one of the more useful aspects of his powers, and the strange bodysuit the creature wore was completely bereft of any sort of metal objects as well. It was a good plan, so good in fact that it was far beyond anything he'd expect the slow-witted abomination below him to be able to think of on his own. That, and adding the presence of part of Xaviers annoying brood of interlopers... Magneto should have seen the trap coming, which just made him even angrier.
He didn't know what the plan was to lure him out here, but he wasn't planning on sticking around and letting it play out. He'd find Quicksilver, and then...
Actually, where was the boy? He should have been able to deal with the X-Brats by now. A lot of things weren't adding up, and Magneto didn't like it one bit. He had to finish this battle and regroup with the Brotherhood before anything else happened. Focusing, he began feeling deeper down, deep into the Earth. Santo Marco was a land torn by war for most of it's existance, and that had left long-lingering scars. The detrius of humanity's total lack of regard for their own kind. And Magneto wasn't above using that for his own purposes.
He grinned as he felt his powers hit something, exactly what he'd been hoping for.
"Alright creature, I do not care what Xavier did to lead you into opposing me, but it ends right here!" And suddenly, the ground beneath them exploded into a cloud of dirt as a large round object suddenly came bursting out, drawn by magnetic force. Hulk saw the metallic sphere barrel towards him, and lashed out, his fist striking the rusted surface.
And was blown back by the force of the mine he'd just struck activating from the hit, the old explosives inside the metal container sending metal shrapnel flying in all directions, shards bouncing off Magneto's shield as he watched his enemy crash into the trees, his skin scorched and smouldering, but not burned. Not yet atleast. Magneto began pulling another mine from beneath the ground.
"You may be able to survive one bomb, Hulk. Let's see how many it'll take to get through that thick skull of yours..."
The familiar tug of his powers warned him in time, and he swiveled around to see something come shooting towards him at incredible speed. Acting on instinct, Magneto threw up his hand to catch the object before it could strike him, only for it to somehow bend it's trajectory around him, avoiding him completely, like a living, thinking thing! He realized what it was aiming for a moment too late, just as it struck the mine he'd just unearthed, the mine that was now hovering just behind him.
Covering his face with one arm, just as the mine exploded from the impact, he heard a voice above him.
"I SAY THEE NAY, VILLAIN!!"
...
"Damnit, somehow this was easier before!"
Quicksilver darted out of the way of yet another blast from Iceman, leaving a frozen patch of grass in his wake, and quickly sidestepped away from Beast trying to catch him from behind again. The fight had taken on a rather formulaic tone, neither of the X-Men being able to match Pietro's speed enough to make any headway, yet also being defensive enough that it made it difficult for him to get another hit in like what he had landed on Beast, the hulking mutants face bruised and bleeding from the elbow strike.
"You only succeeded before because you caught me by surprise, you walking snowcone! Now that I'm aware of both of you, your dishonorable tactics will not work again!"
Bobby gaped "I'm sorry, is the mutant fascist trying to overthrow an entire country and massacre the inhabitants because they're in the way of dear leaders glorious utopia calling US dishonorable? Is that what's happening, Beast?"
"It seems so, Iceman. Apparently, self-reflection is not one of Mr. Quicksilvers mutant abilities." Beast said in a droll voice, slamming a meaty fist down on the spot where Pietro had stood a second before.
"Pah, as if you collaborator scum know anything about mutant honour!" Quicksilver just scoffed derisively "There's no dishonour in treating these human insects exactly the way they deserve! If anything, Lord Magneto has been far too charitable toward them, he's allowing them to leave Santo Marco with their lives if they do not resist our rightful claim to power, which is more than they deserve! It's you X-Men who dishonour yourselves, protecting this filth that would see your entire species in mass graves to protect their own feeble position in the world! Lord Magneto should have killed you all when you refused his kind offer of alliance!" Snarling, he zoomed towards Beast, only for a wall of ice to rise in front of him, forcing him to change direction.
"Wow, so do you just not listen to the words that come out of your mouth, speedy?" Bobby said, sliding after Pietro on his ramp while Beast leapt over the wall in pursuit "Do you even think of yourself at all, or do you just parrot whatever Lord Crazypants tell yo-WOAH!"
Bobby barely had time to move as an enraged Pietro came running up on the ramp behind him, nearly knocking him off with a punch to the side of his ribs, the hit just barely gracing him as he moved away. Landing on the ground, Quicksilver turned back, furious. "SHUT UP!! You make me SICK, both of you! You're almost worse than the humans, you're traitors to your own kind, you're lower than animals! You don't even deserve to speak Lord Magneto's name, he offered you the world we deserve, and you spat in his face! He knows exactly what humans are capable of, and he's the one who saved us from them, took us into the Brotherhood, and offered us the world, offered us what we deserve, and promised us that humanity will pay for what they did, AND YOU WILL NOT STOP IT, EVEN IF I HAVE TO KILL YOU BOTH MYSELF!!!"
Iceman and Beast paused, staring at Quicksilver who stood there, panting slightly from his outburst, his face red and sweaty from both the fight, and from his anger.
"O-kay..." Bobby said slowly "I feel like there's a lot to unpack there..."
Quicksilver clenched his fists, and prepared for another attack, when the radio at his belt suddenly crackled to life. "...neto. ...palace... lp...need he-" a distorted voice spoke, nearly inaudible through the static. Quicksilver yanked the device loose, pressing the button angrily.
"Hello?! Wanda, is that you?! HELLO?! What's going on?! WANDA!!"
There was no answer as the transmission cut off, leaving the device silent. Quicksilver looked up at the two X-Men, his face growing pale. "This was your plan, wasn't it? This was just a distraction." And without another word, he turned around and sped away, back where he'd left Magneto.
Bobby took a few steps after him as if to follow, only to realize the pointlessness of the attempt "Wait- Aw crap..."
.....
Blinded by the smoke, his ears ringing from the detonation, Magneto flew aimlessly upwards, trying to regain his bearings, drawing on his magnetic field for guidance, but with little success, his concentration rattled by the ambush. He'd been a fool to overlook what the Hulk's presence actually meant, so confident that only Charles would be willing to try and stop his coup, as if the man would ever trust anyone other than his students to do his dirty work for him. But it seemed more forces than just an old friend had moved against him, and the object, the hammer, that had destroyed his mine, just proved it.
It wasn't just the Hulk, Thor was here as well. And if they were here, it was likely the rest of the damned Avengers were as well. The X-Men hadn't snuck in like thieves in the night as he had expected, they'd brought an army to his shores. And while the two strongest members might be out here facing him, there was no telling where the rest of them were. Though an image was starting to form...
He had just cleared the smoke from his eyes when he felt a strange sensation, something not quite metal, but not quite something else either. He couldn't seize it with his powers, but he could still sense it. The hammer was moving again.
He turned in the air, in time to see a muscular figure in armor flying towards him, blonde hair flowing from underneath his winged helmet, one hand clutched around the hammer. Magneto had never seen Thor in person before, but it was hard to imagine this being anyone else.
"Thine wicked plot is thwarted, Magneto! Thou might have been able to stand against the might of my ally The Hulk, but now you face me, The Mighty Thor! I will not allow you to terrorize the people of this land any longer!"
Magneto sneered "A fool who fancies himself a god thinks he can stand against me, the Master of Magnetism?! Your little act might strike fear into the hearts of the human scum, but you are nothing compared to me!"
"We shall see! Face the power of Mjolnir!" Thor yelled, and shot forward, the hammer raised for a smiting blow... and promptly froze in place. Thors eyes widened in shock. And Magneto smiled. Because while Thor had been correct that the mystical nature of Mjolnir prevented Magneto from seizing control over the ancient weapon, he had overlooked a crucial detail, they all had...
Thor's armor, while well-made, did not have such protection.
The Asgardian struggled fruitlessly against the force holding him in place, as if a giant hand had suddenly seized ahold of his body, preventing him from even throwing his hammer at his opponent. Magneto focused, trying to crush his otherwordly enemy inside his own armor, but much to his frustration, found himself unable to actually warp the Asgardian steel, just keep ahold of it. Thor grinned despite his predicament.
"Perhaps... your mastery of magnetism... isn't quite as thourough as you imagined, villain..."
Magneto snarled furiously, but before he could try anything further, a voice from below called to him.
"Lord Magneto! Lord Magneto!!" Quicksilver yelled, darting out of the forest behind them "We need to go, right now!"
"What are you babbling about, boy? Did you destroy the Iceman yet?"
"It was a trap, Lord Magneto! Just to lure us out here! Something's happening back at the palace, and I can't get in contact with Wanda! I think it's the rest of the X-Men, and-" he stopped, staring up at the frozen Thor "Is... is that THOR?!"
"We've been tricked" Magneto gritted his teeth, clamping down harder on Thor's armor, the Asgardian simply smiling at his rage "Quicksilver, back to the city! We must assist the Brotherhood!"
"LET BLONDE GOD GO, MAGNET MAN!" Below them, The Hulk had recovered from the explosion, and began to lumber towards the two mutants.
Magneto glanced at him with contempt "You want him, freak? You may have him!" With a magnetic pulse, Thor propelled away from him, his helmet falling from his head, before slamming into the wall of muscle with the force of a train, knocking both Avengers off their feet and crashing into the ground. Not sparing them a second look, Magneto whirled around and sped off, following Pietro back towards the palace, leaving their foes behind.
.....
"Gentlemen, if you think any of us are just going to lay down and give up because you asked us to, I'm afraid I'm going to have to disappoint you..."
I didn't really have time to think about it when we met in the Arizona desert a few months ago, but Wanda Maximoff is almost distractingly gorgeous. It might be standard for comic books, but it's not something I really expected to actually translate to real life when I woke up in this world. Wanda is probably the fourth person I've met here who actually does fulfill it, other than Thor and Steve, who have the advantage of being a god and the recipent of a serum that made him literally perfect, and Janet, who spent most of the time I've known her the size of an action figure, so it's not quite as noticable on her.
Standing protectively in front of Masterminds twitching body, Wanda stares at us defiantly, putting on her best Brotherhood face. Next to her, Toad does a very poor job of the same, looking more like he wants to run away and hide than try and fight us. I can't exactly blame him, genetics really screwed the poor guy over, he's barely a threat to an unarmed human, much less any one of us. Luckily, with Mastermind out of commission, we're currently down to the two more reasonable members of the Brotherhood, so if we're lucky, we might not need to fight at all.
"Miss..." Cap tries again, but Wanda cuts him off.
"That's Scarlet Witch to you, Captain."
"...very well, Scarlet Witch. I don't think I need to explain why we're here..."
Wanda just crosses her arms under her breasts, turning her head up regally "You hope to stop Lord Magneto's rightful takeover of this land for his mutant utopia. It doesn't matter, because I won't let you succeed."
"We've already ruined the illusion of your army, and without that, you don't have the numbers to hold the city, much less the rest of the country. Your coup is already over, the only question now is how much more fighting is actually needed. There doesn't have to be more violence than there's already been today, so please, just stand down."
Crap, judging by the stern look on her face, she's not going for it.
"Was this your plan, Captain?" Wanda asks incredulously "Just walk in here and ask nicely if we'd mind betraying the leader of our Brotherhood, the man who saved us, gave ALL of us a reason to struggle against a world that wants us all dead?! He came to us at our lowest, and pulled us from despairs door, giving us a purpose, and you wish for me to just throw that away?!" She shakes her head "You have no idea... not you, not these... children Charles Xavier sent to battle us, none of you know how dark the world is."
From behind me, I hear Cyclops make this indignant little "hmmf" noise, as if to indicate that he does too know how shitty the world can get, but his particular brand of diplomacy probably won't help here. Before he can say anything, I step in "And that justifies you making it worse then? Because I guarantee you, the shit the Brotherhood has pulled here today, is not going to make things better for anyone, even if you HAD succeeded!"
I step past Steve, who looks half-horrified that I decided to join the conversation "I mean, what was the endgame here exactly, because I seriously don't get it? Hold Santo Marco hostage forever with an army of parlor tricks? Even if Mastermind could have held his focus for longer than a day, that's still longer than it would have taken from, you know, the actual superpowers to intervene. You know, the countries with the nukes and itchy trigger fingers?"
Wanda scoffs "What use is missiles and bombs against Lord Magneto?"
"Sure, he could stop a nuke, or five, or maybe ten, but what about 20? Or 50? Or, you know, ALL OF THEM?!" She startles back at my outburst. I give a helpless laugh, rubbing my forehead with one hand "I think that's the funniest part, you've basically solved the Cold War here, because you know what the U.S and the Soviets hate more than eachother? An uncontrollable population of superhumans who have shown themselves not just powerful and dangerous, but also outspoken about wanting to exterminate everyone without the right tweak in their DNA! You didn't create a mutant homeland here, Wanda, all you did was ensure you'd force everyone who isn't a mutant supremacist into putting all their resources into stopping you! And you're lucky it was us who they sent in first, because if they hadn't, you'd be radioactive ash by the time the sun sets!"
I sigh "You know this isn't right, BOTH of you do!" I glance at Toad, who cringes at the attention "Yes, I get it, you suffered tremendously, both of you did, you went through crap I can barely even imagine, but you know what? A lot of people have terrible, difficult lives, and they still don't decide that genocide is the answer to all their problems. I mean, you want to go out and get revenge on the people who actually did all that horrible shit to you? Hell, go nuts! I can even bring a camera if you want, just to have something for the scrapbook-"
Cap puts a hand on my shoulder, his voice stiff "Sunshine, that's not-"
"I'm going somewhere with this, trust me" I turn back to the Brotherhood members "But all those people outside, who you've forced into hiding in their homes because they think there's an army right on their doorstep that will shoot them all in the face if they breathe too loud? They have NOTHING to do with your misery, I doubt most of them even know what a mutant is yet! For gods sake, you invaded their country, ON CHRISTMAS! If anything, they have a legitimate grudge against you now! So, looking back on your lives, even with everything you suffered through, can you honestly say that this situation right now is the reasonable way forward?"
An uncomfortable silence falls over the room "...you're asking us to throw away everything we believe in-"
"No, I'm asking you to throw away everything MAGNETO believes in, which mostly revolves around using mass murder to fill the empty hole inside him, and trust me on this, it's never going to be full. So, you got a choice here, either we keep fighting, or you set aside this whole idiotic plot, and help us stop it."
There's a sudden crash outside, and the walls groan as the metal girders inside begin to shudder "Aaaaand sooner would be better than later..."503