Inside Asteroid M, Magneto turned to Xavier and gestured toward a large screen.
"The trial by fire is in its final phase."
The display showed Wolverine and Sabretooth were in brutal combat.
Magneto's tone darkened. "Professor, you see… I had to trick or force every mutant to come here."
He turned and revealed another room through a viewing window—Jean, Storm, and Rogue, all suspended in glowing stasis tubes, unconscious and trapped.
Xavier's face twisted in shock. "Magneto… what are you doing?"
Magneto stepped aside, revealing Scott and Alex standing calmly beside him. "Only one mutant came willingly," he said. "Actually, two."
---
Down by the beach, Ben, Kitty, Kurt, and Evan gathered around a visibly anxious Todd, who paced in the sand, muttering to himself.
"Todd, what's going on?" Ben asked, stepping forward. "You look… off."
Todd rubbed the back of his neck. "I… I didn't sign up for this, man. Why didn't Magneto take me?"
Kitty tilted her head. "Wait—who is Magneto?"
Todd hesitated, then let out a sigh. "He's the one behind all of this. The stasis tubes, the spheres, the fights. He's trying to build his own mutant army."
---
Inside the vast halls of Asteroid M, Xavier faced Scott with a mix of disbelief and concern.
"Why are you here, Scott?" Xavier asked gently.
"I'm just here to hear him out," Scott replied, keeping his voice calm.
Xavier gestured toward the glowing stasis tubes containing Jean, Rogue, and Ororo. "Are they here just to listen too?"
Before Scott could answer, he turned to Magneto. "Hey… what is that?"
"Just a precaution," Magneto replied, his tone cool. "Not everyone has your level of maturity, Scott. Some aren't ready to accept change."
"Let them out. Now," Scott demanded, eyes narrowing.
"I will. But not yet. We must proceed carefully," Magneto said, trying to sound reassuring. "They're perfectly safe, I promise."
Xavier stepped closer. "Are they, Scott? Are any of us safe? I know this man too well. His motives can't be trusted."
Before Scott could respond, Magneto raised his hand—and in an instant, Xavier was caught in a stasis field, before being frozen he managed to send a warning to Wolverine, urging him to intentionally lose the ongoing fight.
Scott's eyes widened in shock. "Release him!" he shouted, powering up his visor to blast Xavier free.
"Do that," Magneto warned darkly, "and Xavier won't survive the decompression of the chamber."
Scott hesitated, torn.
Alex stepped in, placing a hand on Scott's shoulder. "I need his help, Scott. Just… wait. Let's not rush this."
Scott gritted his teeth. "I don't like it," he said quietly. "But fine. I'll play along. For now."
---
Meanwhile, on the island, the battle between Wolverine and Sabretooth reached a boiling point. In a rare moment of honesty, Sabretooth growled, "I'm the one who belongs at Magneto's side, not you."
Wolverine paused, then nodded. "You're right… not me." He retracted his claws.
Seizing the moment, Sabretooth slammed a brutal punch into Wolverine, sending him flying off a cliff. He crashed onto jagged rocks below. Laughter echoed from above as Sabretooth stepped into a descending silver sphere. With a hiss and hum, it sealed shut and lifted off into the sky.
A little bruised, Wolverine dragged himself up and found a nearby helicopter. Gritting his teeth, he flew back toward the Xavier Mansion.
Back at the mansion, the X-Kids cautiously entered the trashed halls.
"Whoa… what happened here? This place is a wreck," Ben said, surveying the scene.
"Storm? Storm, are you here?" Kitty called out, her voice echoing through the silence—until a familiar figure stepped out of the shadows.
"She's out. Can I take a message?" Mystique smirked.
Todd crossed his arms, unimpressed. "Heh, if you're still here, then you're just a loser too."
Mystique's eyes narrowed. "Don't ever call me that."
Ben stepped forward. "Why are you here?"
With eerie calm, Mystique replied, "Let's just say Magneto didn't appreciate everything I did for him. Nobody discards me. I'm going to pay him a visit. You can come along… or stay out of my way."
Before anyone could respond, Wolverine entered. "You're not going alone," he said firmly. "Magneto's taken our friends—and we're going to get them back."
Together, the group boarded the sleek XM-Velocity jet. As it roared into the sky, the vast summit of Mauna Kea stretched below
"Will Magneto be able to control our XM-Velocity?" Kurt asked nervously, glancing at the controls.
"Don't worry," Wolverine replied, keeping his eyes on the sky. "The aircraft's built with no metal parts. Magneto won't be able to touch it."
---
Meanwhile, on Asteroid M, Scott stood alone on a quiet balcony, staring out into space. Memories began to resurface—painful, vivid ones from long ago.
He remembered being a child on a plane with his family. A violent storm had struck, thunder shaking the plane. Flames erupted. Panic filled the cabin. There were only two parachutes. Their parents, without hesitation, handed them to Scott and Alex.
"We love you," their mother had whispered, pushing them to safety.
Scott saw himself and Alex jumping. But in midair, Alex's parachute caught fire. Flames swallowed it as the brothers plummeted in different directions.
Back in the present, Scott's eyes burned.
"I spent a month in a coma," he said quietly to Alex, who had joined him on the balcony. "The doctors said I was the only survivor. I wanted to find you… be there for you. I'm sorry."
Alex offered a small smile. "Hey, don't be sorry. I got lucky too. My foster parents were good to me."
Suddenly, Alex looked down at his hands. His fingers began to twitch with glowing sparks.
"What's wrong?" Scott asked.
Alex sighed. "It's been happening for years. My hands would twitch, burn… like they were trying to explode. I saw so many doctors. No one knew what was wrong—until today. Until I met Magneto. Now I understand. I'm a mutant, Scott. Just like you."
Scott clenched his fists, feeling a familiar heat rising in his own joints. "I've lived with this pain for years. But how can Magneto fix anything? He acts like he's saving us, but is he really?"
Just then, Magneto approached, a crimson-glowing gem resting in his gloved hand. "Not just Alex, Scott. You too. Together, we can create something greater—one resonance, one purpose."
Scott glanced at the strange object. "What is that?"
"The Gem of Cyttorak," Magneto replied, holding it up. "An enhancer. With it, your mutant powers can evolve to their full potential. No more pain. No more fear. You can finally control the power that's been controlling you."
He turned to Scott, voice smooth with conviction. "Accept the enhancement, and I'll release the others—Jean, Rogue, and Storm."
Scott narrowed his eyes. "You want me to trust that? These things even work? Why don't you go first?"
Magneto smiled slightly. "I already have. I am fully enhanced. But if you want proof…" He gestured.
Sabretooth stepped forward. Wordless, eager for more power, he entered the enhancer. Energy surged through the chamber, and moments later, Sabretooth emerged—larger and stronger than before.
Xavier, still trapped in stasis nearby, struggled to speak through his mind-link. "Scott, don't—!"
But before Xavier could finish, the enhancer slammed shut with a mechanical hiss—Scott now inside.
The chamber pulsed with energy. Then silence.
The door opened, and Scott stepped out, he was transformed. His body has matured, face hardened, hair streaked in stark white. Next to him, Alex—now changed too—looked at his brother with quiet awe.
Magneto smiled. "From now on, he is Havok."
Then, with a nod, he allowed Scott to remove his visor. But this time, no destruction followed.
Scott opened his eyes fully for the first time in years—no beams, no chaos. He was in full control and fully calm.
But beneath that calm… something else stirred.
Magneto spoke again with a soft and firm voice. "The enhancer doesn't just change your powers. But also your emotions."
Magneto stood at the edge of the platform, eyes narrowing as he noticed a distant object approaching. "Look, an incoming aircraft," he said, raising his hand to seize control. A pulse of magnetic energy shot out—only to fizzle.
He quickly realized there was no metal to control.
He turned sharply. "Alex. Scott. Defend us!"
Without hesitation, the brothers stepped forward. Alex raised his glowing hands, unleashing a searing energy beam, while Scott's eyes lit up with power, firing a focused optic blast directly at the approaching Velocity.
But just before impact—Wolverine leapt from the cockpit, claws gleaming, redirecting the aircraft mid-flight. The Velocity spun and crashed into the outer platform of Asteroid M, its nose smashing through the structure.
As the dust settled, the ramp dropped open—and the X-Men stormed out.
Mystique emerged first, climbing up the top of the wreckage. "Knock, knock," she smirked.
Magneto frowned. "Mystique… you were never perfect for the enhancement."
Ignoring him, Mystique charged.
Inside the base, Wolverine rushed to the containment chamber. With a swift slice of his claws, he cut through the wires holding the stasis tubes.
The tubes hissed open—Jean, Rogue, and Storm stumbled out, groggy but alive.
"Where's the X-Jet?" Wolverine barked.
Xavier, still recovering from stasis, pointed down the hall. "Observation deck. That way."
Logan nodded. "Everyone, to the X-Jet! Move!"
Just then, Sabretooth crashed through a wall, snarling. He lunged at Wolverine, and the two collided in a brutal clash.
"Storm, Rogue—prep the jet!" Xavier shouted.
The two women sprinted ahead, navigating through smoke and sparks.
"Jean, Ben—you're with me," Xavier said. "We have to get Scott and Alex."
The trio hurried through the damaged corridor, reaching the rubble where the brothers lay buried.
"They're alive," Jean said, focusing her telekinesis to lift debris.