"Quest? From who?"
That part bothered everyone.
Magneto's face tightened. "What is your quest?"
"Uh… roughly this: befriend you, defeat Professor X, then make all humans accept mutants." Saitama scratched his chin. "Such a hassle. So where did Professor X go, anyway? I'm really not a bad guy."
Everyone sweat-dropped.
Then Magneto said, "In fact… I have ten ways."
"What ways?" Saitama blinked.
"Simple. I once co-developed a procedure with another mutant to convert humans into mutants. With my power, I can trigger it and turn humans into mutants en masse."
"You mentioned that before," Saitama sighed. "But how does that make humans accept mutants?"
"Of course it does!" Magneto leaned in, eyes bright. "If everyone on Earth becomes a mutant—if there are no 'humans' left—then by definition humanity accepts mutants."
Faces around them froze.
Saitama's mouth twitched. Magneto was… a tiny genius.
But was that really okay?
What exactly are mutants—humans with special abilities, or a new species? It echoed a question from Saitama's own world: hero versus monster. What's the difference, really? Not looks. Monsters are monsters because their existence threatens others. That's the core.
He looked at Magneto. "If you were to turn the entire world, how would you do it?"
"Wait!" Jean stepped forward. "Don't. Humans have rights. They can choose to become mutants—or stay human."
Magneto's laugh was cold. "And what have you done? You control every mutant you can. The ones who resist, you kill. When an Omega-level appears, you do everything to cage or eliminate them. That's your 'peace'?"
"For the world's peace," Jean fired back.
Magneto's gaze dropped to the collar at her neck; his lip curled. "You lost the ability to think long ago, Jean."
"No. This device only helps us trust Charles' vision," Jean said, jaw set. "He's not wrong. Without it we'd be manipulated—turned into puppets of other voices."
Even Saitama could tell something was off with her. Still, that wasn't his lane.
"Anyway," he said, exasperated, "what about the partner who built that conversion with you? If he were here, maybe we'd have a better plan."
"The High Evolutionary. He's dead. Charles killed him," Magneto said flatly.
"Of course!" Jean snapped. "He wanted to force the whole world to evolve into mutants. How could that be allowed?"
Her expression had gone twisted, like she faced a mortal enemy.
"Listen, Jean," Magneto said, voice low. "Your power is telepathy. I won't harm you. But that doesn't mean my patience is endless."
Jean lifted her chin, pale throat bared. "If you think words will make me submit, you're very mistaken. I will never—"
"Magneto, let's talk outside," Saitama cut in. "This woman is really annoying."
"What did you say!" Jean bristled. Elegant as she usually was, that was because everyone tiptoed around her. No one in the X-Men had ever gone head-to-head with her. This bald guy just called her annoying?!
Magneto half-smiled despite himself. The man really did speak his mind.
"Keep these few under watch," Magneto ordered. "Do not let them signal for help."
He knew how Charles ran things. Most X-Men had no freedom of action; they waited for orders. Only a handful—like the ones here—could move on their own.
Outside, Magneto said, "If we want global evolution, we must use Charles' psychic link apparatus."
"Psychic link apparatus?" Saitama frowned.
"Yes. With it, Charles multiplies his power by tens of thousands. He can search anyone on Earth—and erase them. If we used it to broadcast my ability—"
A chorus of screams cut him off.
Saitama and Magneto traded glances and sprinted back. Inside, Brotherhood members and Jean's team alike were on their knees, howling in agony.
Magneto snapped at Illyana, "Where did you send Charles?!"
He already knew what this was.
Charles' indiscriminate attack had begun.
(End of Chapter)
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