"That was…the nuclear bomb disappeared?"
"What kind of ability is this?"
Wolverine and the other two looked up at the sky, their expressions shocked. Seconds ago, they were in a panic, believing the World was on the brink of destruction. Yet, in their eyes, this immense crisis was resolved effortlessly by someone.
Three nuclear bombs that had just ascended, humanity's most powerful and terrifying weapons, were turned into three harmless ribbons falling down with a wave of that mysterious young man's hand.
"Interesting. Who are You, child?"
Magneto paused, letting a piece of ribbon fall through his magnetic force field and land in his palm.
It had a slightly cool, hard texture, with a bit of paper fuzz on the edges. From weight, touch, and texture, it felt exactly like a real ribbon.
Of course, wearing a helmet that prevents psychic intrusion, even the most powerful psychic on this Planet couldn't affect his mind.
Magneto wanted to confirm if this was a physical illusion caused by spectrum distortion, as he could perform similar tricks.
"Modifying matter, Your ability has infinite potential, almost godlike!"
"But You dare—" Appreciation was one thing, but like seeing a child who had gone astray and made a huge mistake, Magneto clenched the hand holding the ribbon, his voice trembling with anger, "ruin my plan! Those missiles could have ended human oppression of Mutants once and for all!"
"You can call me Infinitoid, Magneto."
Russell stood in mid-air, arms crossed, talking to Magneto.
"Your method is too extreme!
If a World War breaks out, it won't just be ordinary people who suffer; Mutants will also suffer from the chaos of war. Moreover, if today's events are exposed, Mutants will be universally reviled."
Glancing at Wolverine and the other two who had been defeated and subdued, and then looking at Magneto, who was only middle-aged, he roughly understood what era the X-Men were currently in.
"This young man is right, Eric."
Cyclops's expression suddenly changed, becoming solemn and compassionate, like a saint who had weathered the years.
"Violence only begets violence, and harm can only be exchanged for harm!"
He looked up at Russell in the sky with a gentle and approving gaze.
Professor X couldn't communicate directly with Magneto and had to speak through his student's body. At the same time, Russell's appearance made him feel it was necessary to show himself.
'A young Mutant full of potential!'
It sounded like this Infinitoid cared about the World and had a long-term vision, not being led astray by his powerful abilities. Professor X believed this was a rare fresh blood and perhaps could be persuaded to join the X-Men.
"Charles?
I've heard such words too many times."
Completely familiar with Cyclops's sudden change in tone, Magneto laughed heartily, his laughter echoing the metal throughout the Base.
"Violence? It is violence that makes them dare not act rashly! It is violence that protects our brethren! Do You think peaceful protest can earn respect?
Look at human history; rights are always fought for, battled for, not begged for!"
"Look around, Eric," Professor X pointed to the wreckage of the tanks and fighter jets destroyed by Magneto, earnestly advising, "This destruction will only make humans fear us more. Your actions and those of Your Mutant Brotherhood are absolutely not the solution!"
"Shut up, Charles."
Magneto waved his hand, and a piece of metal sheeting flew up, covering Cyclops's mouth.
"Do You think Your weak path is correct?
Don't try to preach; I don't want to listen, and some young people are even less willing to listen."
He realized that some of Charles's words weren't just for him, but for the young man in the sky.
"Young man." Magneto raised his hand, and all metal objects in the control room began to vibrate, "Since You dare to ruin my plan, let me see how capable You are!"
There seemed to be a hint of testing in his eyes.
The entire missile silo and military Base seemed to be shaking.
Boom!
The dozens of tons heavy silo cover suddenly tore apart, shooting towards Russell like a cannonball.
A red light flashed in Russell's eyes, and two scorching beams shot out from his pupils, melting all the flying metal into molten iron.
"Heat Vision?" Magneto raised an eyebrow, "It seems You have some other abilities?"
As an Omega-level Mutant, Magneto's potential was infinite. Not only was his template worth collecting, but the anti-psychic helmet he wore was also uniquely rare.
He wanted to at least touch it and use his molecular control ability to craft one for himself.
Whoosh!
Russell instantly broke the sound barrier and accelerated, diving towards Magneto.
Bang!
The immense force sent the unprepared Magneto, along with his spherical electromagnetic force field shield, flying backward and deeply embedding him in the ground.
Magneto was like a stone thrown into Water, creating ripples. The concrete ground cracked and shattered, and dirt flew up like a wave.
"Very fast, and very strong power. You keep surprising me. You seem to have no weaknesses?"
Magneto was a bit surprised, controlling the spherical force field to fly up again.
The steel structure of the entire military Base began to collapse. Huge steel beams wrapped around Russell like giant pythons, accelerating like thunder under the powerful electromagnetic field.
Russell dodged a few steel beams, but more metal surged from all directions, instantly forming a massive, airtight cage.
"Child, I can give You a chance." Magneto's voice came from outside the metal cage, "Join me. You are young and full of potential, like Your name.
I admit You are worthy of that title. Together, we can build a World for Mutants. With Your abilities, You can become the second-in-command of the Brotherhood."
Being engulfed in darkness didn't affect his vision at all. Russell waved his hand, and a deep blue light bloomed, opening a doorway in the massive cage.
The hard steel turned into soft petals scattering in the air.
What Magneto saw as a limiting cage ceased to exist for him with a single step.
"You can indeed change matter, even life!~" Magneto's pupils contracted.
Russell had speculated ever since obtaining the Atomic Woman Eve template that the only reason Eve couldn't modify life forms was a mental limitation, and he should be able to affect them without restriction.
Later, a few clumsy attempts confirmed that this was indeed the case.
Magneto's appreciation grew stronger: "Impressive, but let's see if You can still transform everything when all the metal in the entire Base comes at You?"
The ground began to shake.
Within a few miles, all metal objects—from soldiers' belt buckles to the steel reinforcement in underground bunkers—broke free and converged in the sky like a tide.
Tank wrecks, fighter jet debris, shells from the ammunition depot, all controlled by Magneto's magnetic force, formed a gigantic metal vortex in the air.
It obscured the sky, a massive Shadow descended, and the entire military Base darkened. Wolverine and the others looked up in utter astonishment.
They only knew that Magneto was Professor X's friend from years past, and Professor X had told them about their history. They had even had a few encounters and clashes with Magneto.
But Magneto had never displayed such power, close to divine.
"It seems he was holding back on us, who are also Mutants?" Cyclops and Storm exchanged surprised glances.
"Maybe it's also because we weren't enough to make him use such power."
Wolverine's face was grim.
He was unusually annoyed by his Adamantium skeleton.
Whether Magneto had forgotten or was giving him some dignity, he didn't fly up with the other metal.
"Are You going to kill me, Magneto?"
The steel vortex covered the sky, an attack capable of destroying a town in the blink of an eye was brewing, poised to strike, but Russell chuckled, as if overhead was just a gentle breeze.