The young Magneto, Erik Lehnsherr, was sitting on his couch at home, fingers pressed to his temples, head slightly bowed.
Suddenly, a very loud cry came from behind him. Startled awake, he turned to look: a baby was crawling out of the bedroom, wailing as it crawled, reaching out to grab the leg of a chair.
"Franklin... No!" Magneto stretched out his hand toward the chair, and it flew up. But then another baby staggered out, slightly older than the one crawling on the floor, who could barely walk. He let out a wail, and the plates on the dining table began to tremble continuously.
Then the baby lying on the floor turned around, let out a "yay" towards the other, and the standing baby responded with an "ah." The one lying down started with "eee eee eee" and then the standing one began to cry.
Magneto sighed deeply, walked over to scoop up the one lying on the ground, and called out towards the bedroom, "Wanda! Wanda! Take Thomas back!"
A red-haired woman quickly ran out, picked up the crying little Thomas, and patted his back to soothe him. Magneto peeked inside: JARVIS was playing blocks with the Billy brothers, while Carter was tidying up the recently changed diapers.
Rather than calling it his home, it was more like a large daycare, and also a playground for four Omega-Level Mutant babies. Ever since this group babysitting began, Magneto hadn't had a full night's sleep. He could only thank the Golden Apple, without which, his aging body might not have held up.
"Anya," Magneto called towards upstairs, "you need to hurry, or you'll be late for school."
"Coming, coming." A little girl with a backpack ran out. But she only existed in Magneto's vision, for she was merely a Soul Body, or perhaps a mental wave. The weak physical body she was born with didn't accompany her for long, causing her to exist in this form. Fortunately, her biological father was no ordinary person and could feel her presence through magnetic fields.
Anya joyfully hopped out the door, carrying her backpack and got on the car. Magneto stood in the doorway, looking into the house with a hint of worry: ever since these kids were brought here, he prayed each time he left home that it would still be there when he returned.
The car drove all the way to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. Anya was now a student there, and although only Professor X could see her, there was no doubt that Charles Xavier was a good teacher, perfectly capable of educating an elementary school child.
Though many years had passed, Anya spent most of her time in Magneto's mental waves, so despite her actual age, her mental capacity was only at an elementary school level, and seemingly limited by her life form, her psychological development was relatively slow; she would probably need several more years in elementary school.
Watching Anya rush into the school like a whirlwind, Magneto intended to turn and leave, but then he heard Professor X's voice: "Wait, Erik, we need to talk."
When he usually heard those words, it meant trouble was coming. But Magneto truly had no idea what could be more troublesome than four Cosmic Level little demons. If anything could make him stay out half an hour longer, he'd have to thank Charles in his heart.
Magneto quickly arrived at Professor X's office. Professor X, as always, was sitting in his wheelchair, with a heap of books and lesson plans on the desk, and his blue eyes faintly visible in the morning light.
"I received an invitation," Professor X said, "There's an issue in the Prime Universe of our great world, and it might draw an attack from Batman of the neighboring universe. They don't want to fight in their own universe, thinking ours is a good location, and they invite us as the main force for the battle. What do you think?"
Magneto could hardly believe what he heard, but his usually solemn expression didn't show it. He simply sat down across the desk, looking at Professor X with that eternal poker face, engaging in mental wave communication that didn't involve mental waves at all.
But Professor X understood him too well, and this expression clearly meant "absurd."
"I know you'll find it absurd. Since it's a problem in the Prime Universe, why should we fight? But we rarely view things in isolation; we have to consider the timing and environment. Now is a great time."
Professor X tilted his head slightly and said, "Many universes are ready to make their presence known in the multiverse. What's at stake isn't grand speeches or empty promises; the one with the strongest fist has the final word. Ultimately, who's to be the leader of the Multi-universe Human Alliance depends on who's the strongest. And discerning who's the strongest inevitably involves a war."
"The establishment of the Multiverse Alliance is fundamentally to enhance the human race's ability to withstand disasters, so naturally, we can't fight a civil war. A few rounds with the neighboring universe naturally become the perfect stage. Whoever can rise to the occasion will stand out and cement their status."
"You mean we should step up?" Magneto narrowed his eyes slightly and then said, "Why doesn't the Prime Universe handle this good thing themselves?"
"Because they can't. The Ultron invading the adjacent multiverse came from their side, and Ultron absolutely wouldn't set up defenses at his old home. The effort required just to drive out this cunning electronic life-form is considerable. And who has the confidence to outshine Batman on the other side?"
"They don't, and we supposedly do?" Magneto said, frowning, "Don't forget what a havoc Batman caused in the magical school. Even a few individuals are challenging, let alone a bunch. And the Justice League is no pushover either."
"We're not fighting alone either," Professor X shook his head and said. "Whoever stands up takes responsibility and gains the power to lead followers. If the neighboring universe invades, the universes on this side won't sit idly by; we can easily use this opportunity to gather them, building the prototype of a Multiverse Alliance."
Magneto remained silent for a moment before saying, "Why do I feel like this is not a coincidence? The concept of the Multi-universe Human Alliance was proposed not long ago, and then we have this opportunity. It can't just be God's favor, can it?"
"God won't favor us, but Shiller will." Professor X laughed and said, "Although I'm not sure what role he's playing in this event, I know the current situation is exactly what he wants."
Magneto sighed softly and said, "I guess the people from the Prime Universe must have fallen for his trick. However, it's indeed a good thing for us. What do we do now?"
"Wait," Professor X said, "wait for our people to return from the neighboring world."
"Wait a minute," Magneto suddenly thought of something, and said, "So it's expected that Batmen would come to our universe to borrow manpower? Our people helped them solve a big problem, so they should be lenient when striking."
"That's not the reason for it. The main purpose is to leave something behind, to divert Batman's attention, to prevent us from really being unable to fight. Of course, we need to gather some intelligence, especially on the strongest Batmen over there."
Magneto nodded and said, "If Shiller's involvement is true, the Prime Universe may not just be unwilling to take the lead, but totally incapable of doing so. God bless them."
When Shiller arrived at the Stark Building, Magneto was already there, but he looked very unpleasant. The Main Universe Iron Man appeared visibly anxious to the point of exploding.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"Jarvis hasn't malfunctioned," Magneto said, "I'm not sensing the presence of Ultron here. But clearly, our great scientist is paranoid, he thinks I'm talking nonsense."
"Because you simply can't provide any evidence. What you claim is like the Emperor's new clothes, my wave detection machines can't detect anything. How do you expect me to believe?" Main Universe Iron Man raised his voice.
"Alright," Shiller spoke, "The current situation is that the one who kidnapped Dr. Pym is very likely your old nemesis Whiplash. We suspect Jarvis leaked intelligence to him. This suggests Jarvis might have been replaced by Ultron, yet current detection methods haven't found traces of Ultron. Correct?"
Main Universe Iron Man nodded grimly. Even in his state of heightened anxiety, he dared not suit up in his mecha. After all, Magneto was very unlikely to go mad and kill him suddenly, but Jarvis, if controlled by Ultron, might.
He didn't want to believe Jarvis was controlled, yet he harbored doubts. As long as the suspicion existed, his greatest sense of security — the mecha — was thoroughly compromised.
Shiller looked at Magneto and asked, "Are you certain you can't sense Ultron's presence?"
"I have used this method to fend off an Ultron invasion into the Mutant Brotherhood. I'm sure it's effective. But here, Simon Williams' remnants haven't reacted at all. This proves not only is Ultron not here, but he has never been here. Perhaps Jarvis drove him away."
"Good," Shiller looked toward the Main Universe Iron Man and said, "Then there's also the possibility that Jarvis is fine, and someone else disclosed your plan to Whiplash."
"Who else could it be? Surely you're not suggesting it's Captain America? He's not that kind of person, even if he opposes our plan, he wouldn't resort to such underhanded tricks. Spider-Man is even less likely."
Shiller pondered and said, "That may prove there's an unknown third party involved. You should calm down, Tony. You can completely rely on technology to check if Jarvis has been controlled. Verify this first to restore your combat capability. It's not shameful to call Captain America."
Main Universe Iron Man clenched his fist. He knew Shiller was right, this was the best approach. He needed manpower to protect him during this period; Doctor Strange was off seeking allies across universes; Captain America and Spider-Man were the best choices.
"Okay, I can look for them for you, but you have to promise not to leave Magneto's visual range during this period, don't give him a chance to harm you," Shiller said.
Shiller was walking toward the door when Main Universe Iron Man suddenly called him back. He turned around, his brown eyes fixedly staring at him, saying, "Do you know something?"
"Any rational person can judge that these events are all aimed at weakening your combat strength. If Iron Man loses all his abilities, The Avengers' defense will become very fragile, and you'll be completely incapable of withstanding an attack from Batman."
"Could this be Batman's plot?"
"No one knows. But if this continues, you are bound to lose," Shiller said and turned to leave.