Chapter 20: "Magneto's Intentions."
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"Cosmic overlords, rulers of the Dark Dimension, and invaders from other realms," Jiro said in a low, serious tone.
"Mutants—and other Earth-based powers—we need an alliance."
Professor X raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised. "You're a lot calmer than I expected. But the relationship between mutants and humans is already strained. Forming a public alliance with other super-powered beings..."
"Which is exactly why we need to prepare in advance."
Jiro set down his teacup. "Charles, your ideals are noble, but sometimes understanding and tolerance just aren't enough. When a real crisis hits, we need to be ready."
A silence fell between them. Only the soft crackling of the firewood in the fireplace broke the quiet.
Finally, Professor X gave a slow nod. "I'll think about your proposal. But before that..."
He suddenly paused, frowning deeply.
Jiro had already sensed it—an unusual fluctuation of energy around the edge of the academy—but he hadn't been too concerned.
"Intruders!" Professor X's voice turned grim. "It's Magneto!"
The alarms blared across the entire school. The X-Men sprang into action.
Jiro stood up, golden light flickering in his eyes. "Looks like we'll have to pause our little chat."
Professor X nodded solemnly. "Erik didn't pick tonight at random. He must have sensed something."
Jiro smiled slightly. "Then let's go see what this master of magnetism wants."
Before his words even finished, the entire school trembled violently. The metal structures creaked and groaned, twisting under invisible force.
Magneto's power was sweeping in from afar.
Jiro and Professor X exchanged a quick look—no words needed.
"Scott, Ororo—activate defense protocol, now!" Professor X sent a telepathic command to the X-Men, while his wheelchair turned toward the main entrance on its own.
"Mr. Jiro, looks like our partnership is starting earlier than planned."
Jiro gave a crooked grin. "Just the way I like it."
He pressed a button—his casual clothes retracted to reveal a sleek combat suit underneath. Then, in a flash, he burst out of the room and rose into the sky above the academy.
With his enhanced vision, he locked onto a floating figure a kilometer away—Magneto.
Erik Lehnsherr hovered mid-air, wrapped in a dark crimson cape. His metal helmet gleamed coldly in the moonlight.
His arms spread wide, controlling a swirling storm of metallic debris—scrap metal, abandoned cars, even streetlights—circling him like a deadly vortex.
"Charles!" Magneto's voice echoed throughout the school, vibrating through the magnetic field. "I know that alien energy core is here! Hand it over!"
Jiro raised an eyebrow.
So Magneto's after the blue crystal? He must've sensed that unique energy wave.
"Mr. Lehnsherr," Jiro called out—not loud, but his voice, carried by a bio-field, reached Magneto clearly.
"That thing's already been secured."
Magneto sneered. "Secured? You don't even know what it is!"
He raised a hand—and the entire academy's metal framework began to tremble.
"That crystal is creation. It can rewrite mutant DNA! It can unlock new powers!"
That made Jiro narrow his eyes slightly. Rewrite genes?
This crystal might be way more complicated than he thought.
Maybe it was some kind of Kree experiment? Something that accidentally fell to Earth?
Either way—it was his now. No one was taking it.
Professor X's voice rang in both their minds: "Erik, if you've got intel, we can sit down and talk. Violence won't solve anything."
"Talk?" Magneto scoffed. "You mean like we've been talking for the past few decades?"
He flicked his fingers—three abandoned cars suddenly flew at full speed toward the main building!
Jiro moved instantly. His bio-field expanded, catching all three cars and bringing them to a stop in mid-air.
But a split second later, the ground beneath him cracked open. Rebar shot up from the earth like snakes, wrapping tightly around his limbs!
"You think you can stop the master of magnetism?" Magneto growled, clenching his fist!
The steel bars instantly constricted, trying to crush Jiro on the spot.
Crack!
All of them shattered the moment they touched his skin—like they were nothing more than dry twigs.
Magneto's eyes narrowed. "What?"
"Nice try," Jiro said, shaking his head. He stopped holding back.
With a subtle pulse of energy, the rest of the metal scraps dropped to the ground.
"My body's tougher than steel."
Magneto didn't say another word. He threw his arms forward—instantly, every piece of metal within a hundred-meter radius surged into the sky, forming a massive wave of iron, crashing down on Jiro like a tsunami.
Golden light flashed in Jiro's eyes—then came the heat vision.
Zzzzz!
A burning red beam tore across the sky, cutting straight through the metal flood. Molten steel rained down as the attack was instantly vaporized.
But Magneto had already pulled back, using the distraction to retreat—and from his coat, he pulled out a small device.
Vmm!
A strange magnetic wave pulsed outward—and Jiro suddenly felt a heavy pressure weighing down on him.
"Anti-gravity field?" he muttered, mildly surprised. Then he chuckled coldly. "Too bad—I don't need tech to fly."
He accelerated, breaking the sound barrier in a thunderous boom—charging straight for Magneto!
Just when things were about to go south, a streak of silver lightning suddenly tore through the battlefield!
Quicksilver!
Time seemed to slow down. Pietro Maximoff zoomed around at supersonic speed, sneaking up behind Jiro, aiming to knock him out with a swift karate chop.
Smack!
Jiro spun around and caught his wrist mid-air.
Quicksilver's eyes went wide. "You—!"
"Yeah, you're fast,"
Jiro tightened his grip, his voice calm, "But not fast enough."
Pietro stared in shock. For the first time, someone had countered his speed head-on.
Before he could react, Jiro's biofield had locked him in place.
"Let him go!"
Magneto's furious voice rang out, and the metal framework of the entire school began to twist and groan under pressure.
The steel panels on the building's exterior tore off with a screech, flying through the air and forming a massive metal hand that came crashing down toward Jiro.
Still holding onto Quicksilver with one hand, Jiro raised his other arm to meet the blow.
The moment the two forces collided, a shockwave blasted debris in every direction.
Seeing that brute force wasn't working, Magneto quickly changed tactics.
He pushed both hands downward, and the ground beneath the school started shaking violently!
"If you won't hand over the shard, I'll find it myself!" Magneto roared.
Professor X's voice turned stern. "Erik! You're putting innocent students in danger!"
Just as everything was spiraling out of control, Jiro suddenly spoke.
"Enough. Stop."
Magneto could feel the threat radiating from Jiro and reluctantly paused, eyes cold. "I only want the shard."
Jiro glanced at Professor X, and the two exchanged a silent look.
"I've already absorbed it," Jiro said honestly.
"The energy's been fully integrated into me. So if you're looking for a fight, I'm game."
Magneto narrowed his eyes. "You absorbed it?"
Then, he suddenly laughed. "Charles, this ally of yours is even more reckless than I thought!"
Professor X kept his cool. "Erik, Mr. Jiro has it now. We need to stand down."
There was a brief silence. The swirling storm of metal around them gradually settled.
Finally, Magneto gave Professor X a long look and said meaningfully, "Charles, peace alone won't build a better world."
With that, he conjured a metal platform, gathered the Brotherhood, and flew off into the sky.
Jiro watched them disappear into the clouds, then turned toward the approaching X-Men.
"Charles, I seriously almost took him out just now."(Note: He deliberately held back because it involves a certain female character.)
Professor X's expression was calm. "Erik's always been like this. We've been arguing for decades."
Meanwhile, next to Jiro, Quicksilver was still struggling inside the biofield. "So he just… left me here? Seriously?!"
Jiro set him down on the ground.
"Pietro," he asked, watching him closely, "What's your relationship with him?"
Quicksilver turned his face away. "He just wants to help mutants... That shard really could've made a difference."
Jiro stayed silent, just quietly staring at him.
Noticing Jiro's solid build, Pietro hesitated, then sighed and gave in. "My sister and I got separated during the war. He saved me. Brought me into the Brotherhood."
At this, his tone softened with sadness. "She's been missing a long time. I've been looking for her, but…"
He lowered his head. Jiro's eyes narrowed slightly—seemed like he was starting to piece the puzzle together.
Looks like he had one more thing to add to his to-do list.
Like… rescuing a lost girl, maybe?
Meanwhile, in the school's lab, Hank McCoy was already running tests on Andrew and the other two, scanning the residual energy in their bodies.
Andrew looked down at his trembling hands and asked in a low voice, "Was Magneto right? Will this energy actually change our genes?"
Hank adjusted his glasses. "That's exactly what we need to find out. But don't worry—between Charles and Mr. Jiro, we'll get answers."
"....."