Alaska.
By most measures, it was a desolate stretch of wilderness, rarely touched by human footsteps.
Its claim to fame lay in the handful of gold mines that remained and the sled dogs that hauled across the snow. But few knew that beneath the ice, alongside the famous Alaskan huskies, there slept a race of low-grade Deviants... seeded on Earth thousands of years ago by the Celestial known as Arishem.
Ikaris hovered high above the frozen landscape, gazing downward. Beneath thick layers of snow and the perpetually frozen deep lake, countless Deviants lay in slumber.
He and the other ten Eternals had spent millennia battling these creatures, their conflict woven through nearly the entire span of human civilization.
"What in the world are those things…" Ikaris muttered, his expression grim. He looked down at the claw marks across his chest. The wounds had already healed completely, but the shock the Xenomorphs had delivered still lingered.
This was the first time he had encountered beings that so closely resembled Deviants... capable of rapid growth like them... yet fundamentally different in nature.
Snow whipped around him in the freezing wind.
Another figure approached through the blizzard, not moving especially fast, but radiating an unmistakable aura of power.
"Magneto?" Ikaris frowned. He had followed human history closely enough to recognize the mutant leader. His gaze shifted farther out, where a red figure was rapidly teleporting more mutants into the area.
"Nightcrawler?"
Ikaris's frown deepened, suspicion flickering in his eyes.
From a distance, Nightcrawler looked up. Their gazes met, and the teleporter offered a faint, knowing smile.
Four thousand years earlier, during the time of Apocalypse, Nightcrawler had been little more than a foot soldier in Apocalypse's forces. He had lived through the centuries since, witnessing countless powerful beings and history-shaping events.
To Ikaris, Nightcrawler was far more noteworthy than Magneto.
"You're the flying man?" Magneto floated to a stop a short distance away and spoke first. His opening words nearly made Ikaris lose his composure.
"Flying… what?"
"Flyman. That's what everyone's calling you."
Magneto ignored the Eternal's shifting expression, his own voice tight with barely contained excitement. "You're one of the Deviants, aren't you? How have you survived this long... extreme longevity, or did you jump through time?"
"Magneto, watch your tongue. I am Ikaris. How could I possibly be a Deviant?"
"No need to hide it. Even S.H.I.E.L.D. has confirmed you're one of them." Magneto's eyes gleamed with fervor as he studied Ikaris from head to toe. "Though that powerful build, those elegant lines, flawless skin… it doesn't quite match what I expected from a Deviant."
Deviants earned their name from chaotic genetic mutations. Their appearances and abilities varied wildly, and on average they fell short of the Eternals' perfection.
Ikaris, by contrast, was almost too flawless.
"I am an Eternal!" Ikaris's voice rose sharply. "Born pure, perfect, and powerful... free of genetic flaws!"
"An Eternal?" Magneto's brow furrowed, his enthusiasm cooling. "I thought the Eternals were the beaten dogs who fled before the Deviants. How could you be one? And how have you survived on Earth all this time?"
"What nonsense are you spouting? Without us Eternals constantly hunting Deviants, how do you think humanity has enjoyed these thousands of years in relative peace?" Ikaris's temper flared. "Deviants are little more than beasts that feed on humans. Are you insane, sympathizing with them?"
He had wanted to vent his frustration by killing Adam and the Xenomorphs, but failed. Now this mutant had shown up out of nowhere, spouting ridiculous drivel.
In truth, Ikaris was millions of years old, but Arishem had repeatedly erased his memories and redeployed him across planets. He only retained memories from his time on Earth... several thousand years... and knew little of the world's deeper past, including the Eternals who had fled the planet some twenty thousand years earlier.
"What a shame. You're not a Deviant, and you're filled with prejudice... insulting them. A damn racist."
Magneto's patience finally snapped. "Ironically, I happen to be the most extreme kind of racialist there is."
Given his temperament, simply conversing with the Eternal this long had been a concession. Once he confirmed Ikaris wasn't what he sought, disappointment set in.
Eternals? What good were they? They had little value and even less use.
"Since you've lived this long, you must have something special. Capturing you might give me a lead on real Deviants."
Magneto didn't waste more words. He had never been known for a gentle disposition, and someone seeking identity among Deviants had no patience for Eternals. He attacked without hesitation.
A powerful magnetic field erupted. In Magneto's hands, it behaved like an obedient child, surging toward Ikaris and enveloping him.
Ikaris's rage boiled over. Normally, the eleven Eternals avoided meddling in human affairs unless Deviants were involved. But right now, he could no longer hold back.
A golden heat blast lanced out.
Magneto's face remained cold and composed... he had anticipated it. With a wave of his hand, metal surged in from every direction, forming a shield that blocked the blast.
On Earth, magnetic fields were everywhere. Manipulating the abundant metallic ores through them was the most efficient way to fight. But against an Eternal like Ikaris, Magneto was also using those same fields to disrupt his opponent's bodily magnetism.
"Hm? You can fly freely without relying on Earth's magnetic field?" Magneto sounded genuinely surprised.
"Using the planet's field only makes things slightly easier. Why would I ever truly depend on it?"
Ikaris's flight came from channeling his own immense cosmic energy. He could even leave the planet and soar through space with nothing but his physical body... just like Captain Marvel.
The clash between the two powerhouses erupted in full.
Ikaris weaved at high speed through the swirling storm of metal, golden heat vision slicing in every direction. Anything it touched was cut apart, piercing countless incoming metallic projectiles.
But Magneto's power went far beyond simple metal control. He manipulated magnetic forces to clamp down on Ikaris's own bio-magnetic field.
An invisible energy net materialized, trapping Ikaris and steadily shrinking the space he could move in.
"You're like a sparrow flitting everywhere," Magneto said. "Better to stay in the cage."
Ikaris shifted constantly, letting out a cold snort. Feeling the discomfort spreading through his body, he powered upward with raw strength, breaking free into the open sky and looking down at Magneto.
The next second, he dove like a meteor. Magneto retreated swiftly. Everywhere visible, vast quantities of matter rose under his command, surging toward Ikaris like an endless river... wave after wave, without end.
The ground shook violently. It felt as if the entire world had been thrown into chaos.
The display was earth-shaking, yet for the moment Magneto still couldn't pin down the formidable Eternal. Suppressing him was one thing; actually killing him would take more time.
"Give up. My people are already here. You have nowhere to run," Magneto called out.
A group of mutants radiating powerful auras closed in rapidly on Ikaris.
"Run? You actually think you can make me run a second time?"
Ikaris's hair whipped wildly in the wind. He bared his teeth in a cold smile and suddenly glanced down at the shattered ice lake below.
"Let's see who really has to run now!"
^^^
If you'd like to read up to 50 chapters ahead, feel free to visit our patron: pat reon . com/XElenea