S.H.I.E.L.D. 

Hill stood where Nick Fury usually did, looking at the big screen. It showed what was captured by the S.H.I.E.L.D satellite. 

Only two people were on screen - Andrew in his Emperor armor, and Magneto Eric Lensherr, the Mutant troublemaker. Their encounter made Hill's expression extremely ugly. 

"Still one step too late?"

Earlier, when Hill found the Emperor would contact Magneto, he had called Nick Fury immediately. Fury went with Rogers. 

But they were still too late. By the time Rogers reached the scene, the Emperor had flown out already. Now the two were meeting outside New York.

"Hopefully they'll restrain themselves on seeing each other, and not go overboard."

Magneto's strength and actions were what S.H.I.E.L.D focused on. And the Emperor had easily lifted Thor's hammer recently, plus the effortless slaughter of Green Goblin. 

His achievements showed the Emperor's power far exceeded everyone's knowledge. Now the two were fighting - perhaps no one on Earth could stop them, Hill felt. 

She tightly squeezed the phone, staring at the satellite feed. She would report to Fury once the battle ended.

Meanwhile, the top floor of Stark Tower. 

Tony stood atop in his Mark 6 armor, overlooking all of New York City. Before him, J.A.R.V.I.S. projected a 3D model of the tower, including an energy flow diagram.

"Sir, construction is going well. The new energy system is ready. Once the tower is complete, a direct connection to the seabed will be established. Stark Tower will be operational."

Tony walked to the edge, saying: "Has the office layout been planned?"

"Miss Potts has it all arranged. The top floors will host industry leaders, providing top research facilities..." 

J.A.R.V.I.S. detailed the tower's plans. Tony felt again that handing Stark Industries to Pepper was the right call. If left to him, the plans would not be so well thought out.

"Okay, J.A.R.V.I.S. Looks like we just need to wait for completion, then I can go back to sleep."

Tony was only dropping by on his way home. After tonight's Ivan Vanko incident, he expected to be questioned by the police tomorrow. 

Just as he was about to jump down for the thrill of the fall, J.A.R.V.I.S's words stunned him momentarily.

"Sir, massive iron ore loss is occurring in the mountains east of New York."

"What? What happened?"

J.A.R.V.I.S immediately pulled up the satellite feed. The two people on screen were very familiar to Tony.

"The Emperor...Magneto? How are those two together..." 

Then it struck him - "Crap, Magneto's power!"

Though not knowing much about Magneto, Tony did know the basics. The magnetic control ability was a nightmare for mecha users like himself. 

Tony had considered making a non-magnetic Mark armor, anticipating running into such mutants someday. But technology and materials were still limited, unable to design it yet. Even the Emperor probably couldn't make such mecha, Tony figured.

If so, the Emperor meeting Magneto was the worst luck!

"J.A.R.V.I.S., prepare to head over!" Tony didn't think much about helping Andrew. 

Andrew had saved him several times. Though he had gotten Vibranium for him last time, that was trivial compared to saving his life. Seeing Tony ready to help, J.A.R.V.I.S reminded:

"Sir, the Mark 6 against Magneto - I calculate only one outcome."

"What's that?" 

"Utter destruction."

Tony rolled his eyes - that was obvious. Then his eyes lit up: "J.A.R.V.I.S, maybe there's another way..."

"Sir, that approach seems quite risky." 

"No risk, no scaring Magneto off." 

"Go get ready, I'm going now."

With that, Tony said no more to J.A.R.V.I.S, jumping from Stark Tower and flying towards Andrew.

In another corner of New York, Professor X Charles wheeled towards a room in a building similar to a school - the special institute he had established as a shelter and school for mutants. 

X-Men headquarters: Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. 

Reaching the room, Charles' telepathy immediately sensed a very familiar powerful mutant energy wave. His expression shifted sharply as he looked towards its origin.

He would recognize that familiar wave even in death. "Eric...what's happened?"

Upstairs, a mutant with telepathic abilities like himself also rushed down, having sensed the powerful fluctuation. 

Charles nodded grimly. "Yes, it's Eric's." 

"Has anything happened with the Brotherhood recently?" 

She shook her head blankly, not being an intelligence officer here. Charles put his hands to his temples, psychic waves spreading. All X-Men received his message and rushed from their rooms.

The first to arrive was a middle-aged man. Seeing him approach, Charles asked: "Logan, what's the situation with the Brotherhood?"

Logan, one of X-Men's main forces. His bones were transformed into hard Adamantium, hence his heroic alias Wolverine. The other X-Men - Cyclops, Storm, Beast - also gathered around Charles.

He continued questioning them. Logan said: "Lately the Brotherhood seems to be planning action against a rich man named Andrew Luo. That's all I know." 

The others also shook their heads. Among them, Logan gathered intel most frequently with his near-immortal ability.

Hearing Andrew's name, Charles recalled the party incident. He didn't think an ordinary rich man could force Magneto to unleash such power. Just as Charles was about to psychically probe Magneto's actions, even stronger energy waves hit them, violently changing Charles' complexion. 

If not paralyzed from waist down, he'd have jumped up. All the mutants sensed the wave from the X-gene, the school suddenly noisy. There were many kids inside, one grabbing her head in pain: "Professor, my head hurts!"

Charles quickly stroked her head, relieving the pain somewhat. "Quick, all of you go out. Check what's happened with Eric..." 

"I'm here, don't worry." The X-Men rushed out in costume. Charles prayed with an extremely ugly expression: "Eric, you must not have an accident..."

To be continued...

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[ Angelo Meßmer ]
[ BobTheLost ]
[ Ethan Farias ]

Thank You For Supporting Me! 💙✨

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