"Mr. Elric, you don't know how grateful I am for your help."
Professor Xavier sat across from him in the study, his expression sincere and warm. Over the past month, Elric had been instrumental in dismantling over twenty mutant experimentation facilities, saving countless children from horrific fates.
"No need for thanks, Professor," Elric replied with a casual wave. "It's not much trouble."
Not like I'm going to tell him the children were just a side effect of my real objective, he thought privately.
This wasn't the first time Professor X had come to thank him. After the raids started, the Professor had shown up so many times with gratitude that Elric had stopped taking it seriously. A quick "you're welcome," maybe some tea, and they'd move on.
But looking at the Professor now—still sitting there, clearly having more to say—Elric raised an eyebrow.
"Professor, is there something else?"
"There is, actually." Charles leaned forward slightly. "I sensed that energy again."
"Oh, really?" Elric couldn't keep the skepticism out of his voice. "Professor, we've investigated this thing so many times. Every lead turns up nothing. At this point, it feels like a waste of time."
"No, there's something different this time."
That got Elric's attention. "Oh? What's different?"
"Do you know Magneto?"
Elric snorted. "Who doesn't? Your famous rivalry is practically legendary. The Professor and Magneto—best friends turned ideological enemies. It's like a soap opera."
Charles didn't rise to the teasing. His expression remained grave.
"After the incident in Cuba, Erik went into hiding," he continued. "He retreated to the Polish countryside, found a wife, had a child. From what I could sense, he was living an honest life—genuinely trying to leave his past behind."
"But you were still keeping tabs on him," Elric guessed.
"Of course. You know how he is." Charles sighed. "I couldn't just let him disappear completely. So yes, I monitored him periodically, just to ensure he wasn't planning anything... destructive."
"And?"
"Two hours ago, I detected the energy signature." Charles's voice dropped. "When I investigated the source, it was at Erik's location. And Professor, I can't sense his wife and child anymore."
Elric's casual posture shifted slightly. "What do you mean, you can't sense them?"
"They're gone. Dead, most likely." Charles's face was pale. "From what I gathered, some local Polish authorities went to his home. There was an... incident. After that, I couldn't sense Erik at all anymore either—not dead, just... gone. Completely vanished from my mental awareness."
"You sent people to check it out?"
"Yes. They found fresh graves—Erik's wife and daughter, buried hastily. And several bodies of Polish soldiers, all killed by metal manipulation." Charles met Elric's eyes. "Erik buried his family, slaughtered his attackers, and then disappeared. And that massive energy signature appeared in the same location at the same time."
Elric leaned back, processing this.
The Polish government killing Magneto's family and him going on a rampage wasn't exactly unprecedented. In various timelines and universes, some version of that tragedy happened regularly—different locations, different circumstances, but the same heartbreak.
But someone coming to recruit him afterward? Or taking him forcefully?
Apocalypse, Elric thought immediately.
But that didn't quite fit. The energy signature Professor X described was massive—oceanic, overwhelming. Apocalypse was powerful, sure, but not on that scale. And besides, Apocalypse didn't have the personality to hide for years. He was grandiose, theatrical. If he was active, people would know.
Elric rubbed his temples. "All this Marvel universe bullshit..."
"Pardon?"
"Nothing. Just thinking out loud." Elric stood and walked to the window.
"To be honest—he want to get out of this universe as soon as possible. he really don't want to get tangled up in whatever mess is brewing."
"But," "it would be a lie to say he is not curious. And there's practical concerns too."
"Before now, he didn't have the ability to properly investigate this. Sure, he got powers and some skills, but all the real technology he built relied on an AI he received from another world. Without it, he is just an average guy with some tricks up his sleeve."
"And that's changed?"
Let's call it enhanced intelligence. Genetic-level processing power. Now he can confidently say to any genius in this world: I'm not inferior to anyone when it comes to creating...trouble."
He walked to his desk and pulled out a sleek device about the size of a smartphone, covered in intricate circuitry that seemed to pulse with faint blue light.
"I've already built this," Elric explained. "It's designed to detect and track energy signatures—specifically, high-level exotic energies that don't match normal physics."
"Like the signature I've been sensing?"
"Exactly. If that mental energy surfaces again, this should pick it up and triangulate its location. We'd be able to follow it." Elric set the device down.
"But actually, its main purpose is something else."
"Finding the Infinity Stones."
And according to his scans, there are no Infinity Stones currently on Earth." Elric crossed his arms. "Which means if I want to find them, Hela and him will need to leave the planet—travel into space."
"But he is hesitating."
"Storm has to stay here. they don't exactly have a spaceship lying around. Hela and him would have to travel through space using there own abilities—direct physical flight through the void, basically."
He picked up the device again, turning it over in his hands.
"If he leave and something happens to Storm while he gone..." He shook his head. "He can't risk that. So before he go anywhere, he need to investigate this Magneto situation first. Figure out what he is dealing with. Make sure Earth isn't about to implode while he is off."
Charles nodded slowly. "So you'll help me look into this?"
"I'll investigate," Elric corrected. "Whether I 'help' depends on what I find. If it's something manageable, sure. If it's some cosmic-level threat that's going to consume the planet? I'm grabbing Storm and getting the hell out of here."
"Fair enough." Charles didn't seem offended by the honesty. "When do we start?"
"Now, ideally." Elric activated the device. Its screen lit up, displaying a complex array of energy readings and geographic data. "This thing is passive monitoring right now—scanning for anomalies. If that energy signature appears again, we'll know within seconds."
He handed Charles a smaller companion device.
"Keep this with you. If my main unit detects something, yours will alert you immediately. We can coordinate from there."
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