CHAPTER 16

Having successfully ruffled Logan's feathers and then smoothed them back down, Ethan felt a bit of the tension leave his own shoulders. Seeing the perpetually grim Wolverine actually crack a laugh felt like a victory in itself. He left the man to his thoughts and his pilfered cigars and headed for the grand staircase, intent on checking on Wanda and Pietro.

He didn't make it to the third step. Two figures materialized from the shadows at the landing above, blocking his path. Magneto stood like a king surveying his domain, hands clasped behind his back. Beside him, Mystique leaned against the ornate banister, a fluid, blue sculpture of languid danger.

"My boy," Magneto's voice boomed, rich and theatrical. "Do you have any inkling of the power sleeping within you? The sheer, world-shaping potential?"

Ethan stopped, one foot on the stair above the other. "Yeah, I've had a feeling I was probably destined for something big," he replied with a completely straight face. It wasn't even a lie. With Saiyan blood and a system full of protagonist templates, "big" was probably an understatement.

Magneto's lips curved into a satisfied smile. "Confidence. Excellent. A quality wasted in this place. Charles offers you a gilded cage, my boy. He will teach you to fear your power, to hide it from a world that will never accept you. I… I will teach you to wield it as a king wields a scepter. Join me. Join the Brotherhood, and I will help you unleash your true self." He spread his arms wide, a messianic figure offering salvation.

Ethan listened patiently, letting the man finish his entire sales pitch. He nodded thoughtfully when it was over.

"Okay, so, first off, the teachers here did warn me you were basically the boogeyman," Ethan began, ticking points off on his fingers. "But, I gotta say, you make some good points. Humans can be the absolute worst. However," he paused, "I think for now, I'm gonna stick with the School for Gifted Youngsters. It's better for my personal growth phase." He looked Magneto right in the eye. "Frankly, your whole operation seems a little… low-budget. All that running and hiding from the government? Sounds exhausting, and not great for getting three square meals a day. Maybe check back with me when you've got a 401k and a dental plan. When I'm grown up."

He said it all with a placid smile, letting the insult hang in the air, wrapped in a polite refusal. He wasn't stupid enough to make a permanent enemy of the Master of Magnetism.

Magneto didn't scowl. He laughed, a deep, appreciative sound. "Pragmatic. I can respect that." He was not surprised. A boy brainwashed by Charles's idealistic nonsense would need time for the harsh realities of the world to peel back his rosy delusions. "The offer stands, Ethan. When you tire of playing by their rules, my door is always open."

Ethan then turned his gaze to Mystique. "And this beautiful lady… could I have a word?"

His eyes did a quick, involuntary scan. Her figure was, objectively, incredible. The blue skin was a hurdle, he had to admit, but his adult mind, filtered through a hormonal teenage brain, couldn't help but catalogue the possibilities. A woman who could be anyone, look like anyone… The sheer, boundless potential of that was mind-boggling. A fleeting, absurd question popped into his head: Is she technically naked right now? He mentally shook himself.

He must have been staring, because Mystique's lips curled into a knowing, predatory smile.

After Ethan had made his excuses and headed up the stairs, she licked her lips. "He's a tasty little morsel, isn't he, Erik? So realistic. And so very naughty."

Magneto nodded, his eyes still on the empty staircase. "He is no idealist. He has a spine of steel and a mind that calculates. The longer he stays in this house of compromise, the more he will see the truth of my words. It is only a matter of time before he joins us."

Mystique shrugged, a fluid motion of her blue shoulders. "I hope so. I do like a boy with a sweet mouth." Her form seemed to shimmer, to flow like water. Her skin rippled, the blue receding as pale flesh bloomed in its place. The sound was a soft, wet clicking, like cartilage reshaping itself. In seconds, the blue mutant was gone, and a perfect, smirking copy of Jean Grey stood in her place, clad in the sexy tank top she'd worn earlier. "Now," she purred, her voice a perfect imitation of Jean's, "I think I'll go have some fun with that sad, silly wolf."

"Raven," Magneto cautioned with an amused smile. "Do not break our new toys before we are done playing with them."

As soon as Ethan reached the second-floor landing, Storm's presence was suddenly there, emerging from the shadows of the hallway. She had clearly been watching.

"Ethan," she said, her voice a low, urgent whisper. "That man is a serpent. Do not listen to his words. They are poison. The things he did… the child, Rogue, he nearly killed her."

"I know, Teacher Ororo," Ethan said, his tone reassuring. "He wanted me to join his Brotherhood. I told him no."

He saw the relief on her face, but he wasn't done. He had to plant the seed. "But… something's been bothering me," he said, his voice dropping as if sharing a terrible secret. "Everyone is worried about what Stryker will make the Professor do to mutants. But what if someone else gets their hands on that machine? Someone who doesn't hate mutants… but maybe isn't too fond of regular humans?"

The warmth left Storm's eyes, replaced by a glacial cold. The air around her seemed to drop a few degrees. She didn't just hear a theory; she recognized a terrible truth. "My God," she breathed. She knew Erik's heart. She knew his philosophy. He would absolutely do it.

"Thank you, Ethan. That is… a vital warning."

"Of course, it's just a guess," Ethan added with a shrug, playing his part. "Maybe he's not that bad."

"He is precisely that bad," Storm said, her voice now hard as diamond. His feigned doubt had only solidified her certainty. "We will need to watch him very closely."

She turned to leave, presumably to share this new threat with Jean, but Ethan stopped her. "Wait. There's one more thing. Something important."

Storm turned back, giving him her full, undivided attention.

"My powers," Ethan began, looking down for a moment as if embarrassed to admit a weakness. "I told you about the explosion of strength. I… I didn't tell you everything, because Magneto was there. Tonight is a full moon. If I look at it directly, without protection, my strength will increase by a factor of ten. But… I'll lose control. My mind will be gone. I'll be… a monster."

He looked up, his eyes pleading and serious. "If that happens—if you see me transform—you have to stop me. There's only one way. You have to cut off my tail. It will force me to revert back. Can you… Can you promise me you'll do that?"

He'd debated keeping the Oozaru form a secret, a hidden weapon. But the image of a giant, raging ape firing energy blasts indiscriminately, crushing friends and foes alike… No. The Hulk was a tragedy born of uncontrollable rage. He wouldn't become another one. It was better they had a kill switch.

Storm stared at him, her expression a complex mixture of shock, pity, and awe. This boy, who carried so many burdens, was now entrusting them with his life, and with the failsafe to his own terrifying power.

"I understand," she said, her voice soft but firm. "I will not forget. And I will make sure the others know."