"Andy, are you a mutant?" I asked.
"Yes," he answered quietly.
"I'm guessing a strong one, since Magneto and his Brotherhood are here," I said.
"Yeah. And with Lauren… we're even stronger together," he replied.
"Cool. First thing I wanna say is mutant or not, you'll always be my friend," I said.
He looked at me in surprise. "Really?"
I turned toward him fully.
"Of course, man. I don't care what your genes say. You're still the same Andy to me. Even if you grow claws or end up with a bunch of eyes all over your body, you'd still be my friend," I said with a shrug.
Andy smiled wider than I'd seen in a long time.
"Now, do you remember when we played paintball on your birthday?" I asked.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Magneto and the Brotherhood were starting to get impatient. Honestly, I was surprised they'd let us talk this long.
"Yeah?" Andy replied cautiously.
"Good. Thor."
His eyes widened in realization before he quickly nodded.
Both of us shot up from our chairs at the same time, grabbed them, and hurled them straight at Magneto before taking off in the opposite direction.
Of course, Magneto casually waved a hand, and the chairs were ripped out of the air before they even got close to him.
While we were running, I glanced back and saw Sabretooth and Toad charging after us.
"We got a giant murder cat and a frog on our asses, and somehow they're both ridiculously fast," I said between breaths. "We need a plan."
"We need to split up," Andy said immediately.
"What?" I yelled.
I already knew Andy was a mutant from my past memories, and a powerful one at that, but that didn't mean I was about to leave him alone to deal with the Brotherhood.
"No. Absolutely not. That's not a plan, that's a terrible plan. You're officially banned from making plans," I said.
"They're only after me. They want the power of Fenris," he said seriously.
"And you can't use that power because…" I trailed off, pretending I didn't already know he needed Lauren to activate it.
"I need Lauren to use it. Look, it's hard to explain, but you need to get away from me," Andy said.
"Yeah, I'm really not big on abandoning my friends while mutant terrorists chase them down," I shot back.
Honestly, I was mostly stalling for time. Peter was already here, and I knew he'd probably contacted the others by now. We just had to survive long enough for backup to arrive.
Without saying another word, Andy suddenly stopped running and spun around. He raised one hand toward the hallway behind us, then clenched his fist and yanked it downward.
A deafening crash echoed through the building as the walls on both sides violently collapsed inward, burying the hallway in rubble and cutting Sabretooth and Toad off from us.
"Damn," I said, genuinely impressed.
Andy turned toward me, his expression serious.
"Franklin, that's not going to hold them for long. Sabretooth is relentless. You need to go."
"Okay, now I'm really concerned that you seem to know way too much about that guy," I said. "Most people don't casually describe mutant psychopaths like they've fought them before."
Honestly, this whole situation was throwing me off. I knew this universe was weird, but I never expected Andy to somehow be an X-Men. Or maybe I was jumping to conclusions. He could've just heard stories from Wolverine or something.
Andy stared at the pile of collapsed rubble for a moment before looking back at me and taking a deep breath.
"Franklin… I'm a superhero," he admitted. "I work with a group of mutants that helps other mutants who get kidnapped or experimented on. We stay hidden, and yeah… sometimes we fight Magneto and his Brotherhood, I can handle this. Please just run."
For a second, I just stared at him in complete shock. not because he was a superhero. At this point, that barely even registered on my list of insane things anymore. No, what shocked me was the fact that he trusted me enough to tell me his secret, even though we hadn't really talked in years.
I honestly wanted to reveal my identity right there and fight alongside him, but I stopped myself.
If Andy was connected to the X-Men, then that meant Professor X was involved, too, and I still had no idea which version of Professor X existed in this universe. Some versions were trustworthy. Others could dig through your mind before you even realized it.
Until I knew what I was dealing with, keeping my secret was the smarter move.
"You better not get kidnapped," I said.
Andy laughed a little. "No promises. But I can promise I'll make it hurt for them."
I smirked. "I guess that's the best I'm getting. Be safe."
He gave me a reassuring nod before turning back toward the collapsed hallway.
I took off running. Once I got far enough away, I started talking quietly to the Omnitrix.
"Trix, manipulate the security footage to show that I escaped the building," I said as I slipped into a nearby bathroom.
"Affirmative."
I quickly checked all the stalls to make sure nobody else was inside. Once I confirmed I was alone, I raised my wrist, activated the Omnitrix, and slammed my hand down on it.
Andy Strucker POV
Once I made sure Franklin was safe, I tried to make my way out of the building.
The second I reached the exit, metal pipes, broken railings, and pieces of debris suddenly ripped through the air and slammed together in front of me, sealing off the doorway.
I immediately turned around and saw Magneto standing there with the Brotherhood behind him.
Toad, Sabretooth, Blob, Avalanche, Pyro, and Polarity were all staring at me.
Honestly, I was lucky Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver weren't here too, because Franklin and I would've been completely screwed.
I started raising my hand, ready to use my powers, but Magneto calmly lifted his own.
"Don't, Andy. I'm not here to hurt you. I only want to talk," he said.
"If this is how you start conversations, then I definitely don't want to talk to you," I shot back immediately.
Magneto ignored the insult completely.
"Andy, it is time for you to use the power of Fenris."
"Fenris is too dangerous for us to use carelessly," I replied. "Lauren and I made a pact that we would only use it in a true emergency."
Magneto slowly stepped forward, his cape swaying behind him.
"You do not believe what humanity is doing to our kind qualifies as an emergency?" he asked. "They are rounding mutants up, locking them in cages, experimenting on them. This is only the beginning. Humanity is preparing to exterminate us, and we must make an example before it is too late."
"Let me guess," I said coldly. "By slaughtering a bunch of people who probably have nothing to do with the Sentinels?"
Magneto's expression hardened slightly.
"Do you truly think I am nothing more than a bloodthirsty monster?" he asked. "No, my boy. I know exactly who deserves punishment. The man responsible for creating the Sentinel program."
My eyes narrowed.
Bolivar Trask.
"Look, I know things are bad right now, but because of Omni, a lot of heroes are already fighting against the Sentinel Service," I argued. "Heroes like Spider-Man, Silk, Stargirl, Dragon Queen, Wildcat, White Tiger, Superman, Wonder Woman, and a bunch of others. That's pulling civilians onto our side. If mutants start slaughtering innocent people, they'll just fear us even more."
Magneto paused for a few seconds, actually considering my words.
"I will admit that Omni's actions have inspired many non-homo superiors to aid mutantkind," he said calmly. "But we cannot depend on them. Humanity's support is temporary. In the end, mutants can only rely on mutants."
"That's not what Professor X believes," I fired back. "He believes humans and mutants can coexist. You don't want coexistence. You want domination."
Magneto's eyes narrowed.
"Because we are the superior species," he declared. "It is only natural that we claim our rightful place."
The moment he raised his hand, metal debris all around the destroyed hallway began floating into the air.
Guess talking time was over.
"You will come with me, Andy," Magneto said firmly. "And soon enough, I will collect Lauren as well."
Almost instantly, the rest of the Brotherhood lunged toward me at the same time.
I clenched my fists, preparing to fight, silently hoping Franklin had escaped safely.
"FOR MY CAR!" an unfamiliar voice suddenly roared.
Out of nowhere, a giant humanoid polar bear burst through the wall and slammed a massive fist straight into Magneto, sending him flying across the hallway.
Before I could even react, the polar bear grabbed me under one arm and unleashed a freezing blast that exploded across the corridor, covering the Brotherhood in thick ice and snow before charging straight through another wall and out of the building.
As we escaped, I heard him muttering angrily under his breath.
"My car.... You have been avenge…"
What?
Franklin POV
I was currently in my Snow Beast transformation, sprinting through the parking lot while carrying Andy on my shoulder.
Honestly, I was pretty confident I could take down Magneto and the Brotherhood if I really cut loose, but there were way too many civilians nearby. One wrong move and people could get hurt.
More importantly, I needed to keep Andy away from them.
"Okay, seriously, thanks for the help," Andy said from my shoulder. "But… who are you?"
"This form is called Snow Beast," I answered while continuing to run. "But most people know me as Omni."
"Omni?" Andy repeated in shock.
"In the flesh," I said. "Now we need to get you out of here. I don't know what Magneto wants with you, but it's pretty obvious you're his target."
The lie came out effortlessly.
Of course, I knew exactly what was going on, but there was no way I could let Andy figure out who I really was.
At least not yet.
I was just about to leave the mall parking lot when a massive metal truck suddenly crashed down in front of me, hard enough to crack the pavement.
Then, more vehicles started ripping through the air behind it. Cars, light poles, chunks of metal fencing, even pieces of broken signs, floated upward like they weighed nothing.
I quickly turned around and saw Magneto hovering in the air alongside Polarity, both of them controlling the storm of metal surrounding us.
Behind them, the rest of the Brotherhood came charging straight at me.
Sabretooth was grinning like a maniac, Toad was leaping across cars, and Pyro already had flames building in his hands.
"Make sure the boy is unharmed," Magneto ordered calmly. "Omni is acceptable collateral damage."
I carefully put Andy down behind me and cracked my knuckles, preparing for a fight.
Before the Brotherhood could reach us, I suddenly heard the familiar sound of webbing slicing through the air.
A second later, Spider-Man came swinging in out of nowhere and planted both feet straight into Sabretooth's chest, sending the giant mutant crashing through two parked cars.
Right after that, a glowing green portal opened above the parking lot.
One by one, people jumped out of it.
Silk landed beside Spider-Man, White Tiger flipped onto a nearby car, Wildcat cracked her knuckles, Stargirl floated down with her staff glowing brightly, and Dragon Queen landed in a crouch with flames dancing around her hands.
"About time," I said.
But then I froze for a second.
Something was different about Wildcat and White Tiger.
It wasn't Ted and Hector under the masks.
It was Yolanda and Ava.
"What?" I blurted out.
Both of them turned toward me and smiled proudly.
"They finally decided to retire. Now is our time to fight by your side," Ava said confidently.
"Good thing you already had suits made for us," Yolanda added with a grin. "And I gotta say, you got the measurements exactly right, baby."
"Of course I got them right," I replied automatically. "I spent a lot of time observing your… forms."
Which was technically true, every time we made out, my hands had a bad habit of wandering all over their ridiculously perfect bodies.
"Oh, really?" Ava asked, her voice dropping slightly. "Maybe after this, you can observe our forms a little more."
"Are you three seriously flirting right now?" Stargirl asked in disbelief.
"Jealous?" Yolanda shot back instantly.
Stargirl rolled her eyes.
"She's right," I said, forcing myself back into combat mode as I looked toward Magneto and the Brotherhood. "Let's deal with these guys first. Then we can talk later."