Chapter 22: The Old Man

The Quinjet tore through the sky above the clouds, flanked by the X-Men's jet like it was rush hour in a superhero sitcom.

For this Latveria raid, the X-Men went all-in with the familiar roster.

Jean Grey. Emma Frost. Cyclops. Iceman. Mystique. Wolverine. Storm.

And—

Magneto.

Yeah. That Magneto. Leader of the Brotherhood of Mutants. Lifelong rival and not-so-platonic BFF of Professor X.

The kind of love-hate dynamic that screamed "tense bromance with unresolved emotional tension."

Magneto showing up? Not something Dante had on his bingo card.

But once he thought about it, it did make a strange sort of multiverse logic. The X-Men and the Brotherhood had always disagreed more on how to protect Mutants than whether to protect them. They were basically two sides of the same mutant advocacy coin.

Like political parties with both hawks and doves—sure, they'd tear each other apart, blood on the carpet, bodies on the floor. But let a third party crash the party? Suddenly, unity.

Based on current intel, Dante had already deduced that the Brotherhood wasn't operating as some hyper-violent extremist group. Sometimes they even traded intelligence with the X-Men.

But true cooperation? That was still fantasy novel territory.

The Brotherhood said the X-Men were cowards. The X-Men called the Brotherhood hot-headed meatheads.

So by all logical reasoning, Magneto wouldn't show up.

Except he did.

Didn't even wait for an invite. Just intercepted Dante's Quinjet mid-air and invited himself onboard.

Wolverine didn't know what the hell the old man was doing either, so he bailed on the X-Men jet and came over to Dante's just to watch the drama unfold.

"Hello, Erik Lehnsherr. Mind telling me where you got the intel about this operation?" Dante asked.

"Agent Dante, no need to be so tense. I mean no harm," Magneto replied.

Middle-aged, ruggedly handsome, and currently pretending to be amiable like he was auditioning for a toothpaste commercial.

But that whole calm-and-charming routine didn't match Magneto's usual "angry demigod of metal" vibe at all.

In fact, Dante could feel him suppressing something...

Rage. Contained like a pipe under pressure.

"I know you don't mean harm. Otherwise, you'd have attacked from a few kilometers away with magnetic missiles and bad intentions," Dante nodded. "But intentions aside, I still need to know your objective. The FBI and the X-Men don't travel with ticking time bombs whose motivations are vague."

"Fine. Xavier told me everything," Magneto said. "As for why... just look at this."

He pulled out two files—official documents. FBI-level clearance.

Dante scratched his head and took them.

Turns out, after takeoff, the Bureau dug up new intel from deeper investigation in Latveria.

Inside HYDRA's research facility? A pair of siblings. Primary experimental subjects.

Both confirmed to have the X-Gene.

But their powers weren't naturally developed, they were forcibly induced through some unknown external method.

As a result, their abilities were unstable, with unpredictable side effects.

The sister: Wanda Maximoff.

The brother: Pietro Maximoff.

Dante finished reading and immediately turned to Magneto with a new look in his eyes.

There were too many origin stories for Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. In one timeline, they were Magneto's children. In another, they were part of a Romani witch clan, tricked into thinking he was their father.

But in this multiverse?

Was it the original continuity?

Were these two actually Magneto's bloodline?

Suddenly, Magneto's eagerness made a whole lot more sense.

He wasn't just here on a political mission.

He was here to clean up the leftovers of some very personal history.

Otherwise, what would a mutant overlord be doing, crashing an FBI mission on a Tuesday?

Also, it kind of proved how much Professor X still cared about his old frenemy.

"You're definitely having some unwholesome thoughts," Wolverine leaned in and whispered with a grin.

"Shh. See it, don't say it. Friends don't expose each other," Dante replied.

He stood up and scanned the inside of the Quinjet.

Magneto, desperately trying to force a warm smile—and ending up looking like a shark doing customer service.

Wolverine, watching the performance and almost dislocating his jaw from holding in laughter.

Ada, quietly piloting like a responsible adult.

Harley, loudly asking Ada if leather pants bulge when you fart.

This was supposed to be an international raid on an evil organization's fortress.

It felt more like a field trip.

---

After a long flight, both jets finally entered Latverian airspace.

The second they crossed the border, stealth mode activated. Radar signatures: gone.

Both teams shifted gears instantly. No more jokes, no more games.

They might've clowned around in the sky, but everyone onboard was a seasoned warrior.

Well. Almost everyone.

Let's not pretend Harley Quinn ever passed a psychological exam.

Still, even she knew how to flip the switch.

The jets landed two kilometers outside the target: HYDRA's research facility.

As everyone disembarked, the X-Men immediately exchanged looks with Magneto.

All of them were visibly annoyed.

The X-Men were pissed about his uninvited participation.

Magneto was pissed that these amateurs had allowed Mutants to be captured by HYDRA in the first place.

And the captives were his long-lost son and daughter.

Tension? Palpable.

Dante cleared his throat twice, then stepped in with some pre-battle briefing to break the Mexican standoff.

"HYDRA's stronghold is an ancient castle. Total defenders? Around a thousand. That's not a small number, and they've got everything from light infantry to tanks and armored vehicles. Basically, their firepower's enough to overthrow this whole little country."

"But for us? That's a light workout."

"Let's be real: we've got Mutants with god-tier powers and the FBI backing us with logistics and support. A thousand-man HYDRA force might as well be throwing rocks."

"So just one reminder: when wiping out the enemy, try not to cause too much terrain damage. This is still someone's homeland."

"But human lives? Don't worry about that. These guys chose the Nazi route. And everyone knows—"

"Nazis deserve to—."

He aimed that one squarely at the X-Men.

"...Dante's got a mouth on him," Iceman said.

"But he's not wrong," Cyclops added.

The two exchanged glances, smiled, and high-fived.

They liked Dante's style. War crimes aside, he was their kind of crazy.

(To be continued.)

***

For every 100 PS = 1 extra chapter. Support me on P/treon to read 30+ advanced chapters: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves

(Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)