"Wait—Scarlet Witch is missing?" Banner's brows rose, clearly caught off guard.
Quicksilver folded his arms, looking restless. "Yeah. Been days. I've searched everywhere. Ended up crossing all the way to Mexico thinking maybe she got swept away by the current or something. Didn't find Wanda—but I did find you, big guy. So maybe a little gratitude instead of that death stare, huh?"
"If you weren't Magneto's son, I might've actually thanked you."
"Hey, you think I got to pick my parents?" Quicksilver shrugged. "I don't want to be his son either, but that's life. Just like you don't wanna be the guy who loses control and turns into a green rage monster—but here we are."
Banner's jaw tightened. "You can still choose to walk away from Magneto. Stop helping him."
"That'd be worse," Quicksilver said flatly. "You all already see me as the enemy. If I'm out there alone, chances are I'd be the first to get roasted. By the way—what did you do to get tossed out of the sky like garbage? You betray the Avengers or something?"
"None of your damn business."
Banner turned and started walking away.
"You owe me a favor!" Quicksilver shouted after him. "Remember that!"
Banner didn't bother replying—just waved lazily without looking back.
Left alone on the beach, Quicksilver stared out toward the endless horizon. His voice softened. "Wanda... where the hell are you?"
The Maximoff twins had been through hell together—born into chaos, raised in war, and scarred by hunger. They were all each other had. Wanda's unstable mental state made her power a ticking time bomb. When calm, she could pass as normal. But when her mind spiraled, reality itself twisted around her.
That's why Pietro couldn't stop searching. He had to find her—before she hurt herself or anyone else.
And when he did, he swore she'd never go back to Magneto again.
A man who treated his own children as weapons didn't deserve the title father.
Five days later. Morning sunlight washed over the western training fields of Axville Mutant Academy.
Katie Dee stood beside Ryuuto, staring up at a mountain ridge.
Ryuuto crossed his arms, wearing that infuriating grin. "Guess what I'm planning for today."
Katie groaned. "Sensei, just tell me. I don't wanna guess."
"Why not?"
"Because I know it's something insane. Probably involves me climbing or exploding."
"Close. But no." Ryuuto smirked. "If I actually made you climb this, you'd suffocate halfway. The mountain's nearly a kilometer through—and your phasing ability can't exactly handle that long without air. I'm not trying to kill you. Yet."
"...Comforting."
"My point," he continued, "is that if a war breaks out—and it will—you might have to move through something like this. Not over it, not around it. Through it. Slip inside the rock, walk unseen, then strike from the shadows. That's how you turn the battlefield into your playground."
Katie narrowed her eyes. "So what—you want me to 'walk you like a dog,' Sensei?"
Ryuuto laughed. "You're getting bold, huh?"
"Just saying what you taught me—attack from behind, right?"
"Fair." He turned around. "Now, look behind you."
Katie turned—and froze.
A massive concrete pillar floated in the air, easily five meters tall and wide enough to crush a car.
Ryuuto waved casually. "Brought that here with a little gravity trick. Don't worry, it's not for decoration."
The pillar slammed into the ground with a deafening thud, shaking the dirt beneath their feet.
Katie gulped. "Sensei… what exactly are you planning?"
"Simple. I need to see how long you can hold your breath while phasing." He pulled out his phone, opening a timer app. "Originally, I wanted to dunk you underwater—but this'll do. You'll phase into the pillar, stay merged as long as you can, then phase out. I'll time you."
Katie clenched her fists. "Got it."
Without hesitation, she stepped into the concrete. Her body shimmered, molecules dissolving into the gray stone until she vanished completely.
Ryuuto watched the timer.
One minute.
Two minutes.
He frowned.
Inside that pillar, Katie's body wasn't flesh and bone—it was molecular motion, a dance of energy slipping between atoms. If she lost focus or tried to breathe, her molecular structure would snap back—fusing her body with the solid matter around her.
Three minutes.
Ryuuto's expression darkened. "Damn it…!"
Realization hit him like a punch.
She wasn't coming out.
He dropped the timer. "This was a mistake!"
Ryuuto's hand ignited with raw energy as he lunged forward, the pillar glowing under the strain of his technique.