The Yacht - Coast of Miami
As night fell, the Port of Miami was shrouded in darkness. Only the distant, scattered lights of the coastline added a touch of brilliance to the water.
On the deck of the Hellfire Club's luxury yacht, Ernst stood. He had recharged his energy earlier and was in high spirits.
He extended his mental perception outward, sweeping the surrounding waters.
Suddenly, a faint splash caught his attention. Ernst's eyes flashed in the dark.
Through his mental scan, he watched a figure slowly pulling himself out of the water and onto the rear deck of the yacht.
The intruder moved silently, drawing a combat dagger. The malicious intent was palpable.
As the figure crept closer, his identity became clear.
Despite the years and changing features, Ernst recognized the boy from the camps. It was Erik Lehnsherr.
For years, Erik had relentlessly hunted Shaw, seeking revenge. Every attempt had ended in defeat, yet Shaw consistently refrained from killing him.
Shaw possessed a ruthless nature, but he viewed Erik as his rightful successor. While Ernst was infinitely more powerful, Shaw knew his son had absolutely zero interest in leading a mutant revolution.
Truth be told, Erik's current strength was largely due to Shaw's brutal training methods during his childhood.
If Shaw hadn't ordered the death of Erik's mother, or so Erik believed, their relationship might have been very different.
"Little Erik," Ernst said, stepping out of the shadows.
"Long time no see. How have you been?"
"Who's there?" Erik snapped, startled that his covert approach had been thwarted so easily.
Realizing secrecy was useless, Erik abandoned stealth.
He hurled the dagger with lethal precision, aiming straight for the voice in the dark.
"Protego," Ernst murmured casually.
A faint, magical barrier flared in the air, deflecting the blade. But Erik had spent the last decade honing his rage.
With a fluid gesture, he manipulated the magnetic field, redirecting the dagger mid-air to strike at Ernst's chest.
Ernst simply chuckled. He reached out and effortlessly caught the blade between two fingers.
The dagger hummed and vibrated violently as Erik tried to pull it back, but Ernst's grip was absolute.
"You're quite ruthless, attacking as soon as you arrive," Ernst said, stepping into the dim light.
"It's disappointing, considering the care I took of you back then."
Erik's eyes widened as he finally recognized the man standing before him.
"It's you. Ernst Shaw."
Erik's feelings churned. During their time in the concentration camp, Ernst had treated him with relative kindness, sparing him the worst of the experiments and securing him basic privileges.
But Ernst was still the son of the monster who had murdered his mother.
Hatred won.
"I didn't expect to find both the father and the son here," Erik sneered, raising his hands.
"I'll take care of you both. Payment for my mother."
Five more daggers shot out from Erik's coat, flying at Ernst like bullets.
Ernst faced the assault calmly. Erik, not yet the legendary Magneto, lacked a true understanding of his own potential.
He only used metal as crude projectiles; he didn't even alter their shape.
Ernst skillfully evaded the blades, twisting and dodging with liquid grace.
"You should really study magnetism, Erik," Ernst remarked, walking casually toward him.
"It is one of the four fundamental forces of the universe, and you use it to throw knives. It's a joke."
Desperate, Erik pushed his powers to the limit, accelerating the blades. It was entirely futile. Ernst danced through the attacks without a scratch.
Realizing he was outmatched in speed, Erik backed away. He spotted a massive, two-meter-tall metal shipping container resting on the deck.
Gritting his teeth, he seized control of it and hurled the multi-ton box directly at Ernst.
Faced with a flying metal container, most would dive for cover. Ernst accelerated.
He collided head-on with the box. At the moment of impact, Ernst absorbed the massive kinetic energy.
Without missing a beat, he shoved the container right back.
It slammed into Erik with the force of a runaway rhinoceros. Erik was sent flying, crashing hard onto the wooden deck. Pain flared through his entire body, leaving him gasping for air.
The commotion drew the others. The cabin doors opened, and Sebastian Shaw stepped out, followed closely by Emma Frost.
Shaw took in the sight of Erik struggling on the ground and smiled broadly.
"Oh! My dear Erik," Shaw said, walking forward.
"What a surprise. I didn't expect to see you here. After all these years, it seems you haven't made much progress. I'm genuinely disappointed."
"Go to hell!" Erik screamed. He forced a fallen dagger to shoot upward, aimed squarely at Shaw's heart.
The blade struck Shaw's chest and stopped dead, barely piercing the fabric of his suit. Shaw absorbed the kinetic energy instantly.
"Why endure so many losses?" Shaw sighed patronizingly.
"Haven't you learned your lesson? Hatred clouds your judgment. You can't defeat me like this. I hope you'll be smarter next time. Now, go away."
Shaw stepped forward, grabbed Erik by the throat with one hand, and casually tossed him over the railing into the dark ocean below.
Neither Ernst nor Shaw bothered to look over the edge. Mutants had superior physiology; they knew the fall wouldn't kill him.
Ernst turned to his father.
"Are you just going to keep prolonging this game? Why not tell Erik the truth? As long as he doesn't know his mother is alive and in cryo-stasis, he will constantly hunt you. As his strength grows, he might actually become a threat. It would be more efficient to resolve this grievance now."
Shaw pondered for a moment, then shook his head.
"No. He is the successor I've chosen, but his current strength is lacking. If he loses his hatred for me now, he'll lose his only motivation to become stronger. I'll tell him the truth when he finally qualifies."
Emma Frost and Riptide exchanged a puzzled look at the mention of Erik's mother being alive, but they were wise enough to keep their mouths shut.
Before they could return to the cabin, a loud siren cut through the night.
A large Coast Guard cutter emerged from the darkness, its searchlights sweeping over the water and illuminating the Hellfire yacht.
"This is the U.S. Coast Guard," a voice boomed over a loudspeaker.
"Cut your engines and prepare to be boarded."
It was clearly a ruse. Several heavily armed speedboats were already separating from the cutter, filled with soldiers speeding toward them.
Ernst smiled. The skirmish with Erik had been a mere appetizer.
He knew Charles Xavier and Mystique were on that ship. The main event had arrived.
"They have a telepath!" Emma suddenly screamed, clutching her head.
Ernst remained perfectly calm. Xavier's telepathy was useless against the mental technique they used.
Riptide, however, looked panicked until Emma stepped forward, throwing a psychic shield over his mind to block the intrusion.
"Riptide," Shaw commanded, adjusting his jacket.
"It's your turn."
Riptide stepped to the railing. He raised his hands, spinning them rapidly.
The air pressure dropped. Two violent tornadoes materialized, growing massive as they tore across the water.
The waterspouts slammed into the approaching speedboats, sweeping the soldiers into the sky like ragdolls.
Shaw watched with a satisfied smirk.
Suddenly, the horrific sound of grinding metal echoed from the bow. The yacht's massive iron anchor tore itself free from the hull and flew into the air, manipulated by an unseen force beneath the waves.
Erik was back in the fight.
"It's time for us to go," Shaw decided.
He led Ernst, Emma, and Riptide toward the lower decks.
Ernst followed at a leisurely pace.
Boom! Boom!
Erik swung the massive anchor like a wrecking ball, smashing the upper decks of the yacht to splinters.
As debris rained down on them, Ernst covertly manipulated the localized gravity field. He created a subtle repelling barrier around the group.
Falling steel and shattered fiberglass bounced harmlessly away before they could strike anyone.
Ernst didn't flaunt the action, and the trio running ahead of him were too focused on escaping to notice the invisible shield keeping them alive.
They reached the secret moon pool in the lower hull. The custom escape submarine was fueled and waiting.
The four of them climbed aboard, sealed the hatch, and vanished into the depths of the sea, leaving the X-Men to deal with the sinking yacht above.
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