"ROAR—!"
A massive roar shook the very foundations of the earth.
The enlarged Apocalypse, now a towering blue demon, stomped his foot down.
Tony Stark, piloting the huge Anti-Frieza armor, desperately braced himself, struggling to hold up Apocalypse's foot.
ZZZZZT—
The Vibranium armor groaned under the unbearable stress. The energy shield, facing the combined pressure of Apocalypse's terrifying brute strength and his psionic power, was covered in cracks.
"Is that all you've got, Stark?!"
Apocalypse cackled, applying even more force with his hands. "Compared to my power, your technology is a baby's toy!"
CRASH!
Tony was kicked away, slamming hard into the deep ruins.
Meanwhile, Magneto (Erik Lehnsherr) floated in mid-air. Though he had just taken a beating from Tony, he was now showcasing the terrifying dominance of an Omega-level mutant.
Countless rebar and metal structures writhed like spaghetti in his hands, forming a massive metal cage.
The cage squeezed down hard, pinning the Hulk—who had just tried to get up—firmly to the ground.
"Roar! Let Hulk go!"
The Hulk struggled wildly, but for every steel bar he snapped, ten more instantly replaced it.
Cyclops (Scott Summers) was firing relentlessly, his red optic blasts sweeping across the field.
But the Black King (Sebastian Shaw) was an endless black hole.
No matter how much energy hit him, it only made him stronger.
"Delicious! Absolutely delicious!"
Shaw laughed, unleashing an energy wave that blasted both Cyclops and Invisible Woman (Sue Storm) backward.
Spider-Man (Peter Parker) was zipping and leaping through the air.
But the Black Cat (Felicia Hardy) was his personal kryptonite; her sharp claws always managed to slice his webbing at the crucial moment, leaving a few more gashes on his red-and-blue suit.
"Seriously… why are you so clingy!" Peter griped.
Nearby, Captain America was panting heavily, despair clouding his mind as he watched their battle lines crumble.
Just then—
ZZZ—!
Space fractured like shattered glass.
The Sorcerer Supreme, The Ancient One, had finally intervened.
She formed a hand sign, and countless golden sparks woven together in the air, constructing a massive Mirror Dimension.
She successfully trapped the rampaging giant, Apocalypse, inside it.
"In you go, freak."
The Ancient One maintained the Mirror Dimension with a grave expression.
With the biggest threat, Apocalypse, momentarily gone, Tony finally crawled out of the wreckage.
"Ice Pop! Cover me!"
Tony roared, activating his thrusters to full power, and locking all his weapon systems onto Magneto.
"Old man! I'm taking that bucket off your head this time!"
However, before Tony could reach Magneto—
WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
Two red figures suddenly appeared behind the X-Men.
Azazel (the Red Devil) was holding Nightcrawler. Using their teleportation abilities, they had slipped straight past the defenses of Jean Grey and Sue Storm.
"Look out!" Professor Charles Xavier cried out in alarm.
BZZZ!
A powerful psychic wave instantly erupted, freezing Azazel—who was about to strike—in his tracks.
Simultaneously, Loki and the Lizard (Dr. Curtis Connors) darted out of the shadows, twin daggers aimed at the back of Charles's neck.
"Get lost!"
Jean Grey's eyes flared with a residual burst of the Phoenix Force, knocking both Loki and the Lizard away.
The battlefield fell into a brief stalemate.
Magneto, Erik, recalled the metal storm from the air.
He forged the metal into a Great Wall of steel in front of him, blocking Tony's frantic bombardment.
THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!
Every pulse cannon shot that hit the wall rattled Erik, causing his energy to surge.
He glanced at the Hulk nearby, who was roaring fiercely and was moments away from breaking free of his metal restraints.
Erik knew he couldn't hold on much longer.
Should he call his master for help?
No!
Erik looked up at the cold, aloof figure floating high above.
If they had to bother the Lord Frieza with such minor things, what was the point of the Frieza Force's existence?
The useless don't deserve to survive.
Thinking this, a ruthless light flashed in Erik's eyes.
Instead of continuing the attack, he suddenly turned.
He faced his old friend, who was sitting in his wheelchair, struggling to maintain control of the situation.
"Charles!"
Magneto's voice cut clearly through the chaotic battlefield.
"Are you truly willing to fight and die for these humans? For the very people who constantly try to lock us up in labs and inject us with a 'cure'?!"
Charles's fingers were pressed against his temples; he didn't answer, his expression etched with pain.
"Look at them!"
Magneto pointed at the corpse of Brock Rumlow on the ground, and then at the HYDRA agents.
"This is human nature! Greed, betrayal, weakness!"
"But Lord Frieza…"
Magneto looked up at the sky, a flicker of fanatic devotion in his eyes.
"He may never show mercy, but he is fair!"
"In his eyes, there is no difference between mutant and human, because we are all just ants!"
"But he promised us: as long as we prove our worth, as long as we are loyal, he will grant us the status we deserve!"
"He's even promised us a planet just for mutants!"
"Bullcrap!!"
Johnny Storm (The Human Torch), sitting on the ground and clutching his injured thigh, yelled.
"Only an idiot would believe that demon's lies! He's going to kill us all!"
"Silence, fire-playing boy!"
Magneto waved a hand, and a steel rod instantly sealed Johnny's mouth.
He kept his eyes on Charles, his voice full of temptation:
"Charles, think about this carefully."
"If the Avengers win, though that's impossible…"
"But even if they win, will the government treat us like heroes?"
"No! They will only fear our power more! And then stab us in the back!"
"Sentinel robots, cures, concentration camps… that is the future humanity has planned for us!"
These words struck every mutant's heart like poisoned barbs.
Jean Grey's hand trembled; she remembered the fear of being ostracized by neighbors as a child.
Storm (Ororo Munroe) bit her lip, recalling the days in Africa when she was hunted as a witch.
Even Wolverine (Logan), who was wrestling with the Juggernaut, hesitated for a split second and was instantly smashed backward by a heavy punch.
"This is reality!" Magneto roared.
Charles finally spoke, his voice gentle but carrying a deep weariness and a pointed question.
"Erik, I ask you one last time!"
"What benefit could this Frieza possibly offer you?"
"That you, a man of such pride, would willingly discard all your dignity to become his groveling dog?!"
"Dignity?"
Magneto laughed, the sound utterly mocking.
"Charles, you are too naive."
"Serving a powerful being who can casually destroy a planet as his dog, versus babysitting a species of weaklings who constantly try to kill you…"
"Which one, truly, is the greater loss of dignity?"
"Lord Frieza has promised that if we conquer a planet in the future…"
"We will have a planet for mutants! I will be the Planet Leader! And you will be the Second-in-Command!"
"There, there will be no prejudice, no persecution, only our freedom!"
"For that future…"
Magneto spread his arms wide, the metal storm raging behind him.
"What if I have to be a dog?!"
This final statement struck Charles's heart like a sledgehammer.
A mutant planet…
A future without prejudice…
Charles looked at the children around him—fighting bravely, but with confusion in their eyes.
His eyelids twitched faintly.
It was the symbol of a shaken conviction.