Chapter 24: The Unharmonious Reunion Between Father and Daughter

As the last line of defense against heavy firepower, Magneto arrived fashionably late. Once inside, he stood at the very back of the group—saying nothing, looking at no one.

Not even Raven his former partner in synchronized mutant carnage.

By this point, Dante—now out of his Green Lantern mode—had already led the X-Men deeper into the castle's lower levels. This was the heart of HYDRA's little science dungeon.

The laboratory.

In the center were two containment cells made of some kind of transparent unknown material. The brother and sister, previously confined together, were now separated.

Without a word, Magneto suddenly accelerated, gliding past everyone with laser focus and zero regard for introductions or conversation.

His face, though? A rollercoaster of suppressed emotions.

Anger. Regret. Hope.

Dante leaned over to Cyclops and whispered like a kid at a high school drama rehearsal:

"So, as a Mutant, why does Magneto look at you all like you owe him child support? Aren't you all technically on the same team?"

"He was our leader once. Like Xavier," Cyclops replied. "Strongest Mutant alive. But our philosophies clashed. That's when we split—us as the X-Men, him as the Brotherhood."

"Philosophies," Dante repeated with a nod.

Those two syllables were heavy enough to drop a Sentinel.

And "philosophy" in Mutant terms? Might as well mean "irrevocable blood feud."

Philosophy doesn't just change.

"So if the split was that big, why is Magneto even here? Did Professor X just text him a thumbs-up emoji and he showed up?"

"Don't ask me," Cyclops said, shrugging. "He's terrifying. But he really cares about the Mutant race. He just... handles it in the most violently unchill way possible."

As Dante blinked back into focus, Magneto had already started manipulating the surrounding metal—preparing to rip open the containment cells like he was opening canned grief.

"Magneto, wait! You're going to scare the—uh, the..."

Dante cut himself off mid-sentence.

He was about to say "children," because the pair looked as lost and scared as any kids would.

But then he remembered—he himself was twenty-five.

Calling a couple of twenty-year-olds "children" felt like asking them to get off his lawn.

Instead, he just gestured to Ada and Harley to go find the damn unlock switch.

Then he turned his attention to the twin captives.

The brother was trapped in what looked like a glitchy speed-loop. At times, he moved like a normal person. Other times, he zipped around so fast he left afterimages like it was a Naruto filler arc.

The sister? Off in her own crimson-colored world, manipulating floating blocks of junk like some kind of chaotic preschool sorceress.

She wasn't even using her hands—just raw, flickering Chaos Magic.

Yes. That Chaos Magic.

Because this brother and sister were none other than Pietro Maximoff and Wanda Maximoff.

Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch.

Only now they were just... incomplete versions. Half-finished DLCs in a lab cage.

No proper training. No control. No stability.

In their current state, they'd probably struggle to file taxes—let alone fight HYDRA.

…

Soon, Ada and Harley returned—armed with the decryption password extracted from a conveniently cooperative HYDRA researcher.

A few taps on the terminal later, the transparent cages clicked open.

And... nothing.

The twins didn't step out. They just clutched each other's hands like the floor outside was lava.

This space—the interior of the cage—was the only place they hadn't been hurt.

The only place that felt safe.

"Hey. No need to be afraid," Dante said gently, stepping into the space slowly. "I'm with the FBI. We're here to rescue you."

He waited.

They didn't react with fear, so he kept going.

"Can you tell me your names?"

"My name is... Wanda Maximoff."

"Pietro. Pietro Maximoff."

Dante blinked.

That was... surprisingly easy.

It clicked: Wanda had already awakened her Chaos Magic. She might not have mastered it, but she could sense the pure intent radiating off Dante. No deceit. No malice.

Just rescue.

Her paranoia eased up.

Sure, being locked in a cage for this long left some serious psychological damage, but she wasn't insane.

Not yet.

She could still tell who was a monster and who wasn't.

HYDRA? Definitely monsters.

The people who killed HYDRA? At least for now... the good guys.

Magneto, though?

He was unraveling by the second.

The country. The faces. Pietro's resemblance to a younger version of himself.

He didn't need a paternity test.

These were his children.

Once upon a time, he'd lived in Latveria in hiding. Fell in love. Got married. Had kids.

He almost gave up extremism for them.

But when the world found out who he was, the pitchforks came out. Betrayed by neighbors. Attacked by mobs.

His family shattered. His children lost.

His soul broke into pieces and reassembled into the man now known as Magneto—destroyer of nations, slayer of cowards.

Forget Polaris.

That was a different mess altogether.

But now?

These two right in front of him were his.

And as his trembling hands betrayed his age for the first time, he stepped forward.

"You two... do you still remember your father?"

"Father?" Wanda blinked. "If you mean our adoptive parents, they're dead."

At the mention of her adoptive parents, something in her eyes snapped into focus. The blank haze disappeared.

"They were killed during the Latverian civil war. Bombs from Stark Industries."

Her tone turned sharp. Bitter.

"To get revenge, we offered ourselves to HYDRA. Let them experiment on us. We wanted power."

Dante nodded.

That explained a lot.

HYDRA hadn't been specifically targeting Mutants. They didn't even know what a Mutant was.

The twins had walked in willingly. HYDRA just took the offer.

Free test subjects. How convenient.

(To be continued.)

***

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