Quicksilver never thought of himself as weak. His speed alone could outmaneuver most mutants — even bullets couldn't catch him.
Sure, his ability didn't sound like much compared to some planet-busting powers out there, but he'd helped Magneto pull off countless impossible missions thanks to that blinding velocity.
So when Magneto scolded him — again — something in him burned.
Anger, frustration… and that familiar fear.
Because when Magneto got truly angry, even Quicksilver didn't dare talk back.
Grinding his teeth, he muttered, "Fine. I get it. My bad."
With that reluctant apology, Magneto's magnetic grip vanished.
The iron plate clattered to the ground, and Quicksilver followed right after it.
He coughed, then bit his lip hard, glaring down in silence.
"Raven, what's the situation?" Magneto asked coldly.
Mystique's fingers flew across the keyboard. "No match for Wanda in the missing persons database. I'm checking the death records now. If she's not there either, then two options remain — either her body hasn't been found yet, or…"
She paused, blue eyes narrowing. "...She's alive, and just off the grid."
A long silence. Then Magneto said only one word.
"Let's go."
Meanwhile, outside the police station, chaos had already begun.
Ryuuto, Susan, Wolverine, and Bobby were mid-sparring — or more like mid-war.
Wolverine lunged straight at Ryuuto, claws glinting, only to smash nose-first into an invisible wall.
He stumbled back, growling. "And that's why I hate fighting against damn long-range types. Makes me feel like an idiot every time! Bobby! You planning to help anytime soon!?"
"On it!" Bobby yelled, raising his hands. Frost bloomed from his palms, crawling across Susan's invisible barrier. Within seconds, the force field froze solid.
Wolverine grinned. "That's more like it."
He shattered the ice and charged again.
Ryuuto drew his blade — the massive Decapitator Sword — meeting claw with steel.
CLANG!
The collision sent sparks flying. Ryuuto skidded back a few steps, smirking.
He's tough… good.
If Ryuuto wanted to end this in a second, he could.
But what was the fun in that?
Instead, he leaned forward with a grin. "Let's see how far I can go without ninjutsu."
He vanished.
Wolverine blinked — then howled as the Decapitator's edge sliced the air behind him, tearing through fabric and grazing flesh.
Ryuuto twirled the sword. "Not bad reflexes, old man."
Wolverine ripped off his shredded shirt and snarled, charging again.
Meanwhile, Susan had gone fully invisible.
Bobby tensed, scanning the frost forming on the ground for her footprints. Nothing.
Paranoid, he threw up an ice wall in front of himself.
Bad call.
A second later, Susan kicked through it from behind, sending him sprawling.
"Friendly spar, Bobby," she reminded with a teasing tone. "I'm not even using half of what I could."
Because if she did — if she ever created a force field inside a body — no one would survive it.
That was how unfairly strong she was.
Still, she couldn't help but sigh, watching Ryuuto and Wolverine's fight drag on like two stubborn beasts.
Bobby, meanwhile, surrounded himself with layer after layer of ice, trapping himself in a glittering fortress.
Susan frowned. Defensive… but that's not going to win you anything.
Then she noticed the ice spreading across the ground, thin and fragile like glass.
Wait... that's intentional.
Bobby wasn't reinforcing his defense — he was setting up detection.
Every step she took cracked the thin ice, giving away her position.
Clever. She actually smiled. "Not bad, Iceman."
Deciding there was no point in hiding anymore, she dropped her invisibility just as Bobby dissolved his ice wall.
Ryuuto's voice rang out mid-swing.
"You two haven't even started! Don't hold back just because this is training! You go easy, you lose — it's that simple!"
He ducked under Wolverine's claws and added, "Wolverine, take Susan! I'll deal with Iceman!"
Bobby grit his teeth and raised his hands again.
Hundreds of icy spears formed in mid-air, spinning like missiles.
"Fine!" he shouted. "Don't say I didn't warn you!"
He launched them all at once.
FWOOOSH!
From the sidelines, Arlo whistled low. "Kid's got brains. Ice control alone shouldn't be that versatile, but he's making it dangerous."
Before he could finish his thought, Susan's feet froze solid — ice crawling up her legs.
She threw up a shimmering barrier just in time as the icicles smashed into her shield. Each impact sent shockwaves through her body — the force field was her own construct, after all, and every hit resonated back at her.
The instant the barrage ended, Susan retaliated.
She flicked her wrist, forming a glowing force field right next to Bobby — and slammed it into him like a battering ram.
He flew backward, crashing into the frozen ground.
Susan exhaled sharply. "You forget — I can move my shields too."
Before he could stand, she formed another massive force field overhead and dropped it down like a giant hand, pinning him flat against the ice.
....
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