"Hey! Do you realize that was dangerous?" Saitama sighed, still holding a limp Storm by the collar like a soggy grocery bag.
Everyone around him stood shell-shocked. Who am I? Where am I? What just happened? Why is this guy… dragging Storm?
"You… what did you just do?" Storm managed, grimacing. Saitama had jumped into the air, snagged her mid-bolt, and pile-drove her down. If not for her enhanced physiology, that impact might've killed her. "You—"
She blacked out.
The room went silent.
Saitama frowned at the stares. "What's with you guys?"
"Can… you fly?" someone asked.
"Nope."
"Then how did you—" Mystique's voice trailed into disbelief.
Saitama scratched his cheek. "I just whoosh—jumped up, grabbed her, and then gravity does its thing. If you're holding someone, you naturally fall. Easy."
Right. Just that simple.
"So," he went on, "about Professor X. What's the plan to deal with him?"
"You can't just charge in! If you go straight at him, he'll control you," Mystique snapped.
"Mind control, huh? Is there a counter?" Saitama asked, genuinely puzzled.
There was—and everyone looked at Magneto's helmet. It kept Charles out at range, but face-to-face? With the Professor's current power, even Magneto could be affected. That was why the Brotherhood had watched Charles grow stronger without daring a direct assault. Rush him, and you'd become one more pawn.
Saitama rubbed his head. "If you don't have a way to handle it, why gather here at all?"
Silence pressed in.
Magneto exhaled. "Among human power brokers, some back me—they think mutants can be… useful. Others support Professor X—mutants must be managed, weaponized. The ones deemed too strong are to be 'processed.'"
Processed meant executed.
"You…" Saitama started.
"I can turn humans into mutants through the electromagnetic field. Convert the senators who oppose me, and they'll naturally side with mutant interests," Magneto said evenly.
Uh…
That didn't sound like something a normal person would say. Saitama scratched harder. "I feel like… this is messier than I thought. I'll just go find Professor X myself."
He lifted a hand. "So—who's taking me to Professor X?"
The room stayed mute. Not from unwillingness to fight, but from fear—if Charles seized Saitama, it was over.
Logan spoke. "I'll take you."
"What?! Logan, are you insane?" faces darkened.
"It's simple," Logan said, eyes cold. "If you won't help me save Rogue, then I'll lead him there myself. If I get controlled again, that's my problem—not yours."
"That's not the point!" someone barked. "The point is him—he'll get controlled!"
Voices piled on, loud and angry, until Saitama cut in, curious. "Who's Rogue?"
"My friend," Logan growled. "She was with me—then Professor X took her. She's under his control. I'm getting her back."
"Got it," Saitama nodded. "Alright then—let's go."
He grabbed Logan by the scruff and sprang for the exit.
Mid-air, he twisted back and called, "So, Magneto—are we good friends now?"
Everyone else: ???
They just… left.
"After them!" Mystique shouted.
They surged to pursue, stunned that Saitama would bolt without a plan. Magneto moved first, both hands sweeping as he tried to seize Wolverine's metal-laced frame.
His power clamped down—on Logan.
Which should have been that.
But Saitama kept running, Logan in hand, without so much as a hitch.
Magneto froze. Then stared as Saitama vanished over the horizon.
Magneto: ??? Report this man. He's cheating.
In their wake remained a baffled Magneto and a crowd of would-be pursuers blinking at empty air.
—
Elsewhere…
Professor X sparred in the courtyard with Colossus. In this altered past, Charles Xavier didn't need a wheelchair—his body was lean, quick, and deceptively powerful. Even Colossus, a brawler by nature, couldn't gain much ground against him.
As they flowed and struck, a woman at the side remarked, "I hear Magneto grabbed another senator—plans to 'convert' him."
"It doesn't matter," Charles said calmly, parrying and stepping in to tap Colossus's guard aside. "He's still naïve. He has no idea what comes of leaving mutants unchecked. Even if he makes more of us, it changes nothing that matters."
(End of Chapter)
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