"You're saying you went there to save Kennedy, but failed? Why? Why would you do that—save a human president? Do you agree with his ideals?"
"Because he was my brother," Magneto said, slowly spreading his hands. "It's that simple."
Magneto called all who walked the same road "brother." Even Charles—who chose a different path—was his brother. Anyone who strove for mutantkind was a brother. That was the meaning behind the Brotherhood.
Kennedy fought for mutants, so he was a brother. That was all.
And for a shared goal, if brothers had to cross blades—so be it. That was Magneto. No matter what it took, he could not stomach watching his own kind be executed by humans. So he acted to save Kennedy—and failed. Worse, he was arrested as the assassin.
On that point, he had indeed failed.
Charles fell silent. He couldn't tell if Magneto was lying, but knowing the man's temperament, he didn't seem like someone who would bother to deceive him this way. After a beat, Charles asked, "So you were willing to be locked up? With your power, breaking out of a place like that shouldn't be difficult."
It was true. Even if there were no obvious metals in the foundations, if Magneto wished to rely on manpower or other means, tearing the place open would be easy. Yet he hadn't. He stayed.
Magneto's mouth curved into a cold smile. "I wanted to see how far you could go. You disappointed me, brother. You've failed—and now I'll prove, with action, that I was right."
He turned to leave.
Only for Saitama to step into his path. "Hey. You can't go yet."
"Out of my way, baldy!"
Magneto had barely barked the words when weight clamped down on his shoulder—Saitama's hand. "Listen, I only let you out because I heard you could help."
Saitama was genuinely irritated. This guy wanted to bail now?
Magneto frowned and roared, "Then don't blame me! The human body contains countless metallic elements—if I wish, I can rip every last trace of metal from your body!"
He slapped a palm against Saitama—but his face changed almost immediately. He couldn't move Saitama. Not a flicker. What was this? What was Saitama?
Saitama frowned back, catching Magneto's wrist. "Hear me. I need your help. Otherwise, all mutants in the future will be slaughtered. Brotherhood, X-Men, every other mutant, even normal people with the potential to mutate—and all mutant descendants—killed. Do you understand?"
Looking at Saitama's face, Magneto knew he wasn't lying.
"Who are you? And… is what you said true?" Magneto's tone turned grave.
"It's true. I'm from that future," Saitama answered without hesitation.
"…In that future, who wins—me or Charles?"
"Uh… call it a draw?"
To Saitama, both were the kind he could swat away with a casual punch. Half a catty, eight taels—about even.
Magneto choked on that, then exhaled. "So what happened, exactly?"
On matters of fields and forces, Magneto understood more than most. It made it easier for him to accept the premise. Saitama took a breath and repeated what he had told Charles earlier. As he spoke, Magneto's face grew darker and darker.
Sentinels.
The same kind of thing they'd already encountered. If those truly appeared, they would be an extinction-level disaster for mutants and their descendants.
"So right now, what we must stop is—"
"That's right. We must stop Raven," Charles said firmly. "Only by stopping Raven can we avert the crisis."
No matter whether the goal was mutant civil rights or peaceful coexistence, both required one prerequisite: mutants had to survive. If that core could not be preserved, nothing else mattered.
"It's that simple."
Magneto nodded. "I understand. Let's treat Hank first."
From the side, Beast stared, speechless: Did I have to almost die for you to remember me?
They returned to the safe house. With some quick treatment, Beast's injuries stabilized and improved. As for where to intercept Raven—
According to Saitama's intel, Bolivar's death occurred during a post–Civil War peace summit between North and South. That assassination became the fuse that led to second-generation Sentinels.
They boarded a plane for Paris.
What Charles and Saitama didn't know was what churned behind Magneto's eyes. He was never gentle—to humans or his own kind. Not even to the woman he loved.
On the plane, Saitama stared listlessly out the window. He'd hoped to wrap this up quickly, but of course the system's quests were never simple: become friends with Magneto, defeat Professor X, make humanity accept mutants… How was he supposed to do all that?
He scratched his head hard, completely unaware that another crisis was already sweeping toward them.
(End of Chapter)
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