Storm quickly closed the jet's tailgate. The group looked at Marcus with a mixture of confusion and astonishment.
"Is that how we left Bobby's house?" Logan was the first to speak.
He had been shot and only woke up after they had left Iceman's house. Although Pyro had told him that a mysterious Oriental Mage opened a strange portal to take them away, seeing Marcus casually exile a missile was truly shocking.
"That's right," Colossus confirmed, a touch of awe in his voice.
"Alright, where did you transfer that missile?" Storm asked, slightly concerned about where the weapon had ended up.
"It's fine. I threw it into the sea," Marcus said casually. He was actually telling the truth this time—the endless ocean was the easiest destination he could imagine, and opening the portal to it was effortless.
"Is this the power of your Eastern Sorcerers?" Nightcrawler looked at Marcus with profound curiosity. This mysterious sorcerer was truly baffling, and his Abilities were incredibly resourceful.
"Well, this is only a part of the abilities we practice," Marcus replied "truthfully." Compared to the Ancient One, this was only a small part of the magical repertoire. There were still so many more abilities waiting for Marcus to... ahem, acquire and bind.
"Wait, I feel something is wrong with the plane," Jean suddenly reported, feeling the jet beginning to spin erratically.
"What? Is that you manipulating the weather?" Storm felt the same anomaly.
"Not me."
Marcus knew this was the dramatic arrival of Magneto. That man is such a showman.
"Magneto!" The name slipped from Marcus's mouth.
Hearing the name, everyone present immediately tensed up. "Magneto strikes! Prepare to fight!" They knew exactly what kind of danger Magneto posed.
"Who is Magneto?" Nightcrawler asked the people around him in disbelief.
"He's a Mutant-centric extremist," Rogue answered, her voice tight with anger. "His goal is to oppose human domination and establish a Mutant-led society. Last time, he tried to use a machine to turn everyone in New York into Mutants!" She still remembered how close she came to dying during that attempt.
Logan, sitting inside the metal plane, felt the most uncomfortable. Covered in metal, he was the easiest target for Magneto's manipulation. Facing the Master of Magnetism, he was practically powerless.
Under Magneto's control, the plane slowly descended and landed smoothly on the road. They stepped out and saw Magneto and Mystique waiting.
"Today, I didn't come here to fight you," Magneto stated, addressing their defensive postures. "This time, we need to cooperate."
"Cooperate? Cooperate with you? Dream on!" Logan spat, exhaling an expletive.
"Wolverine," Magneto scoffed, "you smell of metal all over your body. Will you never learn to keep your head down?"
The situation was different from the original plot. The jet was fine, meaning Magneto was attacking them without having saved them first. This led to a very different attitude toward him.
"Facing you, we can't afford to be high-profile and defensive! Why else would you attack our plane?" Logan shot back, still spoiling for a fight.
"No, this time I'm here for Charles, so I don't want any conflicts. I genuinely need to cooperate this time," Magneto said, visibly restraining his temper. If Charles were to be used by Stryker, it would mean the total destruction of all Mutants, a future he knew needed to be stopped.
"What happened to Professor Charles?" Hearing this, Storm's composure broke first. Professor X was their foundation. If something happened to him, the X-Men would truly fracture.
"He was captured by Stryker."
At Magneto's words, everyone looked on in disbelief. Especially Logan, who flinched at hearing the name of the man who had tormented him.
"Alright," Storm conceded, "we'll trust you for now. Tell us what happened." The safety of Professor X left no room for disagreement.
Seeing the fragile peace, Magneto turned toward the plane, intending to step aboard and discuss their plan.
Marcus, however, enthusiastically moved forward to shake hands with the two powerful Mutants. This was his chance to check for any special Abilities.
"Hello, I'm a Sorcerer."
Unfortunately, both were masters of arrogance. Magneto merely glanced at Marcus, then turned and kept walking toward Logan and the others.
"Step aside," Mystique ordered, even more dismissive, arrogantly waving him out of her path.
Marcus was instantly unhappy. This was too much. He wouldn't offer a warm welcome only to be given a cold shoulder.
With a swift wave of his hand, a Space Gate appeared.
Then, he moved the arcane door to encompass both Magneto and Mystique.
It was an effortless move, reminiscent of Doctor Strange dealing with minor inconveniences.
The two were instantly teleported down the road, dozens of meters away from the jet and the group.
Magneto stood there, completely stunned.
Mystique stood there, utterly confused.
They were clearly heading for the plane. Why were they suddenly farther away from it?
Logan and the rest of the X-Men stared, then burst into startled laughter.
"Looks like the Sorcerer isn't taking any crap today!" Pyro guffawed, pointing at the two dumbfounded figures.
"You idiot!" Magneto roared, his eyes blazing as he looked back at Marcus. The sorcerer had just treated him—Erik Lehnsherr, the Master of Magnetism—like an annoying insect.
In a flash of pure rage, Magneto ripped the asphalt off the road beneath his feet, shaping it into a dozen high-speed, razor-sharp projectiles aimed at Marcus.
"Stop!" Storm yelled, stepping forward, but Marcus simply raised his hand.
"They teach us not to hit back at the people we're supposed to be saving," Marcus muttered, shaking his head.
"Zzzzz!" Marcus opened two small portals, one in front of him and one behind Magneto, teleporting all the metallic shrapnel Magneto was wearing on his belt—his backup arsenal—to the ground right in front of the Mutant Master.
"We have no time for this," Marcus shouted to the two figures, his voice firm and commanding. "I saved you from a crash, and I saved dozens of young Mutants from Stryker. Your ego does not concern me. We are here to talk about Charles, and I suggest you get back here now, or the next portal takes you to the center of the sun!"
Mystique immediately placed a cautious hand on Magneto's shoulder. She had never seen anyone counter Erik's power so casually, and the threat of being sent into space wasn't an empty one coming from a man who could exile a missile.
"He means it, Erik," she warned.
Magneto lowered his eyes, his rage barely contained, but a sudden flash of tactical brilliance took over. The Sorcerer was an unknown variable, and an incredibly powerful one.
"Fine," Magneto said, his voice grating. He lifted the two of them into the air using a magnetic field and floated back to the group. "Now that the child is finished with his tantrum, we can discuss Charles."
"I am Marcus," the Sorcerer introduced himself with a wide smile, extending his hand to Magneto. "Nice to finally meet you!"
Magneto glared at the extended hand, but after a moment of tense silence, he slowly reached out and briefly touched Marcus's palm.
[Ding! Magneto's Magnetokinesis Ability was detected. Binding CD is recovering. Will be bound after 22:42:01.]
Marcus smiled internally. Perfect. One more day, and Magnetism is mine.
"The situation is simple," Magneto began, turning his attention to the X-Men. "Stryker has Professor X and is going to use him to kill every Mutant on Earth. We need to team up to stop him."
The alliance was set, and the focus was now on the immediate danger.