Scarlet Witch couldn't help but laugh after hearing Shin's words. "I remember in the Flash's stories, your love life seemed pretty rocky, didn't it? Hmm… but that one with the princess seemed even rockier."
"All right, sis," Quicksilver muttered, rolling his eyes. "That guy says all superhero relationships are rocky!"
It was hard to argue. American comic book authors changed so often that each writer had their own interpretation of who belonged with whom. Couples formed and broke apart depending on the storyline. In truth, most comic heroes seemed doomed to messy, unstable relationships.
So much so that Quicksilver and Wanda sometimes wondered if the tales told by the Flash were more like embarrassing records of mistakes than heroic stories.
"But speaking of which," Quicksilver said suddenly, his expression darkening as he glanced at his sister. "Sis, shouldn't we finally confirm… that thing?"
The "thing" he referred to was, of course, their rumored connection to Magneto. The thought of being his children unsettled both of them. Their opinion of Magneto was complicated, somewhere between admiration and suspicion, but confirmation would weigh heavily no matter the result.
Scarlet Witch hesitated, her eyes reflecting unease. Then she nodded. "The sooner the better."
At that point, Shin, standing nearby with his arms folded, spoke calmly. "Then I'll help you locate him."
With that, he activated his enhanced vision, scanning across the globe.
His gaze pierced through clouds, seas, and cities, yet his brow furrowed in confusion. Magneto was nowhere to be found.
"Strange. Where did that guy disappear to?" Shin muttered.
There weren't many places that could block his vision. A few classified labs in major nations were designed with counter-surveillance measures. Wakanda was protected by its unique magnetic barrier. A strange alternate dimension hidden in Antarctica also resisted observation. And a handful of secret organizations shielded themselves with high-grade cloaking technology. But beyond those, Shin could usually see everything.
"Magneto's gone?" Wanda's face paled. "How could that be?"
Shin tapped his chin thoughtfully. There was a chance Magneto had been lured into a trap and captured for experimentation. It wouldn't be the first time governments had tried to exploit mutants.
Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver seemed to have reached the same conclusion. A shadow of worry passed over their features. Wanda pressed further. "What about the Brotherhood? Did you see the others?"
Shin tilted his head and expanded his search. To his surprise, the familiar presences of the Brotherhood were gone as well. They weren't on Earth at all, at least not within his range of sight.
He narrowed his eyes. It was unlikely that Magneto had led them all into space to found some kind of mutant empire. Far more probable was that they had suffered some calamity, perhaps captured en masse by humans or another hidden power.
His jaw tightened. "Let's go to Professor X. His Cerebro will tell us more."
It was logical. If Magneto were in trouble, Charles Xavier would surely know something. And if Xavier had been the one in danger, Magneto would have acted too. Their rivalry ran deep, but so did their strange, persistent bond.
Neither Wanda nor Pietro objected. Without further hesitation, Shin traced a glowing circle in the air. The swirling portal opened, and he ushered them through to the grounds of the Xavier Institute.
The moment they appeared at the gates, Charles Xavier, seated in his office, sensed them. His mind brushed against the powerful mental signatures outside, sharp as flares against the calm psychic background.
Quicksilver, for all his speed, had only a slightly stronger mind than the average person. Shin's spirit was far greater, fueled not only by his unique bloodline but also by chakra and Haki. After absorbing so much chakra fruit, his spirit had reached another level altogether.
And Wanda… her presence burned like a storm contained within fragile glass. Chaos Magic, raw and untamed, carried echoes of multiversal power. Even without mastering it fully, her psychic weight rivaled Shin's own.
To Xavier's senses, it was as if two blazing suns had risen at the gates of his school. He wasted no time inviting them in.
They stepped onto the familiar grounds of the institute. Students passed in the distance, some practicing powers on the lawns. Inside, the halls echoed faintly with voices.
The X-Men themselves soon appeared. Shin's eyes immediately found Jean Grey. He arched a brow and asked, "Jean, you still haven't fully mastered the Phoenix Force?"
Jean brushed her fiery hair back and gave a small smile. "The twins handle things well enough. As for me, there are still… gaps in my control."
Her voice was calm, but there was tension beneath it. The Phoenix Force was too great a power to take lightly.
Shin's gaze drifted across the room. In addition to the core team, there were newer faces as well. Rogue stood near the back, her gloved hands folded. Shadowcat flickered into view for an instant before solidifying beside Colossus. Iceman and Pyro, once rivals, now stood in the same room with awkward silence. The institute had grown, both in numbers and in strength.
The group greeted Shin with varying degrees of warmth. But when their eyes landed on Wanda and Pietro, unease rippled through them.
It wasn't only because the twins had once stood against the X-Men, under control or otherwise. Scarlet Witch's aura alone evoked fear. The Chaos Power she carried was something even mutants could instinctively recognize as dangerous.
Yet paradoxically, she and Jean seemed almost like opposites bound together. Each was a mirror of the other—two women with universe-shaping power, colored in shades of red, both walking a razor's edge between salvation and destruction. Nemeses, or perhaps reflections.
Professor X, ever the diplomat, extended his welcome. "Long time no see, Shin, Wanda, Pietro. I'm glad you've come to Xavier Institute."
Shin gave a small smile, though his eyes lingered on the peaceful grounds. A question nagged at him. If mutants were being targeted, wouldn't the X-Men be the first under fire?
After all, Magneto's Brotherhood was far more mobile. They had lived through countless battles, and unlike the X-Men, they were willing to kill when necessary. Their very nature made them harder to corner.
By contrast, the X-Men had a fixed home, a school filled with students. Though stronger as individuals, they were restrained in how far they could go in combat. In many ways, they were easier to attack.
So why had Magneto and his Brotherhood vanished first?
The thought settled heavily in Shin's mind as he looked at Charles, waiting for the professor to reveal what he knew.
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