Elias POV
"Good morning, Eli," the man said evenly. "My name is Erik Lehnsherr. Do you have some time?"
The world slowed as my brain worked overtime, cataloging the three people at my door. The distinguished middle-aged man in a crisp suit looked strikingly like Ian McKellen—a version still in his early-to-mid fifties. The two women were unfamiliar, but if I had to guess, one of them should be Mystique.
Various thoughts flew through my mind as I cataloged the situation. I had known this day would come; getting involved with Wanda ensured that. Still, having a mutant who could possibly collapse this entire building with a flex of his power was concerning.
Still, I'd have to handle this situation. After all, the man is not MY enemy, I thought. And after the sheer dread of facing the Hulk, even Magneto felt manageable by comparison.
I felt my armament sludge; I need to come up with a better name, with my mind. It gave me a huge advantage if this did turn into a fight. I had the confidence to move fast enough to cut down the powerful Magnetokinetic. I didn't know if I was overestimating myself, but if it came down to a close-quarters surprise attack, I'd place a bet on myself.
Still... let's take it slow.
"Good day, Mr. Lehnsherr," I said casually, then nodded to the two women. "You must be Wanda's father."
Erik inclined his head in acknowledgment and introduced the others with quiet familiarity. "This is Raven. And Callisto."
He studied me for a moment with a half-smile. "I'm surprised you know of me... well enough to either recognize me on sight or by name."
"Wanda speaks of you," I said simply, answering the unasked question.
"Hm. I see." He paused, then continued in that measured, precise way of his. "Would you mind if we spoke inside? Standing in a hallway is hardly ideal for a proper conversation."
Though I hoped it did not come to that, I quickly decided it would be fine to invite the group in. After all, if they had ulterior motives, it would be better to have Magneto as close to me as possible. I stepped aside and gestured them in.
"Of course. Can I get you something to drink?"
They settled into the main room while I moved around the small kitchen, keeping half an eye on the group. In the back of my mind, I cataloged every remotely metallic object in the apartment—the pipes, the hinges, the cutlery, the frame of the couch—making sure I knew exactly where everything was at any given moment. When I returned with glasses of water, I took a separate chair across from them.
Raven, the blonde, was blatantly looking over the apartment with mild curiosity. Callisto stared at me without any attempt to hide it. Erik sat quietly, sipping his water.
I broke the silence first. "What can I do for you? If you're looking for Wanda, she's out at the moment."
Erik raised an eyebrow. "I see. Then I shall have to wait to meet my daughter again."
My mouth twitched slightly at the phrasing.
He continued, his voice quiet but carrying a certain gravitas, "And from what I heard from my son... I also wished to meet the man my daughter is currently living with."
I wanted to sigh at all the unspoken implications packed into that single sentence.
Erik's gaze remained steady. "...and it is always a good day to meet a fellow mutant. A brother, if you will."
I gave a small shrug. Everyone seemed determined to label me that way. Whether I actually carried an X-gene or not was still an open question in my own mind—the Codex was, after all, an artifact closely tied to the Force, something not of this universe. But it was possible.
"As you say, Mr. Lehnsherr," I replied evenly. "But I might not be a mutant. And I don't particularly care for the name. I'm not a disease or a mutation gone wrong. I simply consider myself... super-powered."
Callisto spoke for the first time, cutting in between the talk between her boss and me. "You are one of us. I can tell."
...Ok... then...
Erik smiled, sitting back and looking approvingly at me. "Please—call me Erik. And I agree. We are not a disease. My own thoughts on the matter are not so far from yours."
He took another quiet sip of water.
No, we don't share ideals, I thought privately, but I kept that to myself.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Raven shift in her seat deliberately. The woman was a master seductress, I thought in the back of my mind. Every movement was expertly meant to catch the attention of a man or a woman. I kept my eyes on her face with an unamused look as she spoke, regarding me. "How did you and Wanda meet?" she asked, curiosity clear in her voice.
"At Xavier's place," I said, watching their reactions carefully. When neither of them showed any visible hostility, I continued, "She offered me a ride back. Now we're roommates."
I put a necessary emphasis on the last word, which seemed to amuse the woman. The subject's father didn't react in any way. I didn't say much after, though I had to admit Magnetohad a quiet charisma about him; he seemed like a man who had seen and been through things.
After all, if the timeline didn't change, the man had been to a Nazi concentration camp...
I leaned back into the chair. I was tired of this conversation already.
"So... ah, why don't you just call Wanda?" I suggested.
Raven rolled her eyes. "She changed her number."
Erik looked at me calmly. "Can you pass along her number, Eli?"
I sighed quietly. I knew Wanda would be highly upset if I simply handed it over. On one side stood a supremacist mutant with a complicated history—a man some would call a potential genocider. On the other was Wanda's womanly wrath. I snorted internally. I could take on Magneto if it came to that. This was her mess. She could handle it.
With that decision made, I stood, walked over to my phone, and dialed her number.
"Hi Eli, what's up?" she chirped on the other end.
I caught Raven's eyebrow lifting and a small smile forming on her face. Heightened senses, then.Noted.
"Yeah... where are you right now?"
"In the library."
"So your father and his associates are here looking for you."
"What?!"
"I'm handing the phone over."
I passed the phone to Erik without another word, which he took with a pleased smile.
Not my problem anymore...
Sometime later
I was back in my truck, heading toward Golden River Seafood in Flushing again. Traffic at eight in the evening was its usual miserable self, and I was starving. The last few hours had been strange. Erik and his group had left after speaking with Wanda—she was going to meet them somewhere else, and she hadn't sounded happy about it. Once they were gone, I cleaned the bathroom thoroughly and got out of the apartment.
I needed more mass for the sludge as soon as possible. Enough to cover my entire body, at minimum. This constant need to keep getting stronger was starting to wear on me, but I didn't have a choice. Hulk... now Magneto... then what?
Despite nothing happening after the Hulk incident, I knew I had to do something, try and get some sort of protection. I should contact Tony, I thought, a plan starting to form in my head. I can't fight against the entire world.
He should be in the middle of the palladium poisoning event, if the timeline is right. And maybe even get on SHIELD's good side early on.
And here's that whole issue with the Frosts; I should try and do something about that.
After a long, grueling drive through evening traffic, I finally pulled up near Golden River Seafood. The place was quite busy.
I stepped inside, hoping for anything living—crabs, lobsters, squid, more fish, whatever they had. Thirty pounds of biomass would push me over the threshold I needed. The versatility alone would be enormous. There was a lot more I could do with it once I had the mass.
Katy spotted me almost immediately.
"Hey, man—you're back," she said, raising an eyebrow. "What's going on?"
"I need crabs," I said. "Live ones. Lobsters, squid, whatever you've still got swimming. All of it."
She blinked. "Wait, seriously? Didn't you just buy stuff this morning?"
"Need it for a party," I answered without missing a beat.
"How much?"
"Thirty pounds."
Katy stared at me for a second, then snapped out of it. "Okay... sure, I'll have it ready. Shaun! Can you help me out here? He can help you, okay?" she finished, looking at me.
A young Asian man came out from the back. He looked about eighteen—fit, sharp-eyed. I walked over, and the young man, Shaun, froze as he saw me. My eyes cataloged the way his muscles tensed as he saw me.
A faint recognition clicked in the back of my mind.
Shang-Chi.
He had clearly seen something in me the same way I was seeing something in him. Best to keep things simple.
I gave a casual nod. "Hey, Shaun. I'm Eli. Just here for some seafood."