Adam preferred not to keep a low profile, but when he saw Magneto floating toward him, casually carrying a large cluster of iron cages through the air while ignoring everything around him, the sight still felt wildly out of place.
"First meeting and you're already making such a bold entrance. Are you sure that's wise? Plenty of people would love to see you dead," Adam said.
"I'd welcome it if humanity tried launching nukes at me. It would give me the perfect excuse to teach them a lesson they'd never forget."
Magneto hovered more than thirty feet in the air, effortlessly flinging the cages to the ground with a series of heavy crashes.
He clearly meant every word. His tone was completely relaxed.
"With all due respect, Mr. Lehnsherr, are you… giving up on humanity entirely?" Adam asked with a warm smile, as if chatting pleasantly with an old friend. If not for the swarm of Xenomorphs emerging behind him, the performance would have been flawless.
Magneto's expression remained blank. With a casual wave, he stripped metallic elements from the soil, forming a massive metal sphere that hurtled toward Adam.
The attack came without warning, but Adam... someone who specialized in sudden strikes... had been expecting it.
Almost the instant the metal sphere formed, the Abomination Xenomorph moved. It swung a powerful fist and smashed the sphere head-on, shattering it back into countless fragments.
"Is that how you say hello?" Adam asked calmly.
"It's how I say hello to you." Magneto flicked his fingers, generating even more metal that surged toward Adam from every direction.
Adam displayed ice-cold composure. He stood his ground as the Xenomorphs around him received his mental command and sprang into action.
From complete stillness to coordinated movement, it was like a precision war machine coming online.
Each individual Xenomorph was small, but dozens working together responded with pinpoint accuracy to every incoming attack. They even divided the defensive workload in real time based on the size and intensity of each threat and their own capabilities.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
A tight, layered defensive formation took shape instantly and proved highly effective.
Every second, large numbers of projectiles were deflected, corroded, or blocked with their bodies.
The display even impressed Magneto. He stopped attacking and watched the Xenomorphs with interest. "Once you've seen higher peaks, ordinary humans become boring. That's only natural. Take yourself, for example. With these little creatures at your command, do you still consider yourself an ordinary human?"
Magneto was comparing the Xenomorphs to Deviants and concluded that, by any measure, the Xenomorphs seemed superior.
A single Xenomorph was as fragile as an ant before him. A group would take him a bit of time. But when truly powerful specimens... like the ruthlessly efficient Abomination Xenomorph... joined the fray, even Magneto had to take them seriously.
The current Adam wasn't enough to earn Magneto's full respect, but after this exchange, he clearly saw the young man's enormous potential.
"At least I still think of myself as human, not as a Xenomorph."
"For now," Magneto said with a cold smile. "Don't think I haven't noticed the Xenomorph inside your chest. I can sense its life signature. If I hadn't confirmed that, I might have tried to kill you the moment we met instead of playing house here."
"That's… difficult to respond to. I even hid Mystique specifically to guard against this kind of situation," Adam sighed.
"You think using her to threaten me will work?"
"No, it's not a threat. I know that if I tried, you'd eventually abandon her. But what if we continue our deal? I can provide you with information in exchange for the Deviants you capture."
Adam pointed at the heavily sealed iron cages. Inside, the Deviants were already trying to tear through the thick metal.
The Abomination Xenomorph silently raised its head, fixing its eyeless, savage face on Magneto like an emotionless glacier.
"Besides, I believe your old friend is watching everything here. Look... I can sense Professor Xavier's psychic presence on my Xenomorphs. He's observing us," Adam said, gesturing toward Elektra.
That was exactly why Elektra was present.
"Charles, get out," Magneto said coldly.
"Erik, I'm only reminding you not to fight here. There's no need to attack the boy. He isn't our enemy."
"Of course I won't attack him. After all, he's no longer purely human. I respect the pursuit of power," Magneto replied.
He wanted to build a world without humans. Any ideology or action that distanced itself from "humanity" earned his approval... especially from someone as talented as Adam.
Adam's expression didn't change. If he wanted, he could expel the Xenomorph from his chest at any time, but he saw no need to reveal that.
He was far more interested in the Deviants... intensely interested.
This batch of Deviants could absorb the life force and genetic material of their targets, gaining the target's superhuman abilities in the process.
Ordinary Deviants shared similar capabilities.
"You two chat. I'm going to collect my goods."
At Adam's mental command, nearly twenty Xenomorphs surged forward and surrounded one of the cages.
Under Magneto's intrigued gaze, one Xenomorph tore open its own body. A torrent of acidic blood sprayed out, instantly corroding through the thick layers of metal.
"That level of acidity… only vibranium or adamantium could resist it," Magneto said, visibly surprised.
These creatures were extraordinary. Their very existence defied logic.
One Deviant tried to escape the moment the cage was breached, but it was instantly swarmed and pinned to the ground. It let out a piercing shriek and fought back, but was completely overpowered.
The Xenomorphs launched a relentless barrage of attacks. No matter how the Deviant struggled, it was useless. It was repeatedly knocked down, its body covered in splitting wounds.
"I ran genetic tests on them. I have to admit, their genes bear a strong resemblance to the X-gene," Magneto said coldly.
"So that discovery left you feeling rather helpless," Adam nodded in understanding. "Anyone learning that would be shocked. But don't worry... these Deviants aren't the same species as mutants."
"That's what I want to ask you. Why do mutants still exist while the Deviants... their supposed progenitors... have disappeared?"
"You're quite cunning. That should count as two questions. The answer is that the Deviants failed the judgment of their creators. The creators personally erased them from Earth. Only a portion of the humans who inherited their genes survived."
Adam focused on capturing the Deviants and wasted no time dragging them underground to begin implantation on the spot.
Before long, he would have an entire new batch of genuinely powerful soldiers with incredible growth potential!
Neither Magneto, the watching Professor X, S.H.I.E.L.D., nor any other faction realized just how terrifying the Deviants' growth rate could be.
"Ten Deviants for that question. Information involving ancient gods is worth every penny. You won't go back on the deal, will you?"
"I never break my promises. But your price is steep. Deviants are growing rarer. We're killing them, and so are the Eternals."
Magneto spoke casually, but his mind was already turning over the idea of gods.
A deity who created both Eternals and Deviants in ancient times? How terrifying must such a being be? It was almost unimaginable.
Today's top-tier mutants possessed enough power to threaten the entire world single-handedly, yet even Magneto wouldn't claim they were stronger than the Deviants who once dominated Earth.
And yet the Deviants had been wiped out.
Magneto decided to thoroughly research ancient myths and legends when he returned, searching for any traces of these gods.
"You'd better not be deceiving me or playing games with half-truths. I will verify everything," Magneto said as he rose into the sky and flew away without looking back.
"Professor Xavier, your friend has left. You should go too. Honestly, I'm honored you chose not to invade my mind," Adam said, turning toward Elektra.
Given Professor X's character, he generally refrained from searching others' memories.
"Erik didn't attack you for another reason. He suspects you might actually be a mutant yourself... perhaps one who awakened the ability to create and control genetic life forms," Professor X said through Elektra.
"Like Mr. Sinister? That's interesting. I've never undergone an X-gene test," Adam replied casually.
While Adam worked urgently to strengthen himself, the chain reaction he had triggered was now fully underway.
The terrified vampires, realizing Magneto had sought out Adam, finally reached their limit. They decided to take the initiative and go to war, seeking powerful outside help to eliminate him.
"Master Kaecilius, the situation is as I described. We need you... the Sorcerer Supreme's chief disciple... to help us kill him!"
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