"What? No S.H.I.E.L.D. agents are allowed to enter the grounds of the mutant school? No surveillance of mutant students or their families? No interference in your lives at all?"
Director Nick Fury expressed his frustration openly. His tone became more agitated as he responded to the list of demands presented by Professor Charles Xavier, the leader of the X-Men.
"Professor Xavier, don't you think these demands are a bit excessive? As the organization responsible for maintaining peace and security for all of humanity, S.H.I.E.L.D. has the right to intervene when there are potential threats to human safety!"
Fury was visibly annoyed. Since they had begun these face-to-face negotiations, he had noticed a significant change in Xavier's demeanor. The professor, usually calm and conciliatory, was now assertive and unwavering. The demands he issued, protecting mutant privacy, autonomy, and safety, seemed, in Fury's view, unrealistic.
In Fury's opinion, once S.H.I.E.L.D. had been officially involved, the idea that the X-Men could simply go back to living as they did before was completely out of the question.
"Even if the attack on the President had nothing to do with your organization directly," Fury continued, "we cannot ignore the fact that your associate, Mr. Kurt Wagner, was the one carrying out the assault. His ability to teleport alone makes him a potential threat."
"Professor Xavier, I'm willing to meet you halfway on some of your conditions. But there's one point I won't compromise on. Every mutant's personal data must be recorded in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s database. That way, if something happens, we can respond immediately. And I promise you, this information will be kept confidential. No other agency, not the CIA, not the FBI, will have access. It stays strictly within S.H.I.E.L.D."
This was Fury's final offer. It was the line he refused to cross.
However, Professor X immediately rejected this proposal.
"Director Fury, let me be absolutely clear. This is not acceptable. Most mutants are not as dangerous as you seem to believe. In fact, they are often the ones facing danger from humanity, not the other way around. If a real threat arises that involves mutants, you can contact me directly, and I will send the X-Men to handle it."
Xavier's tone was firm and resolute. It was not a suggestion, it was a boundary. He refused to allow a government agency to catalogue and track individuals simply because of their genetics.
In response, Fury's own patience wore thin. His tone sharpened.
"You must understand, Professor Xavier, if this conflict continues, you will ultimately lose. The only reason I'm still here negotiating is because I don't want this situation to spiral out of control."
Fury made it clear that he didn't trust Xavier, just as Xavier did not trust him. To Fury, leaving the authority to manage powerful mutants in the hands of mutants themselves was naïve and dangerous.
He believed that time was on his side. The longer the standoff lasted, the more likely Xavier would be forced to compromise.
As Fury's voice fell silent, the atmosphere grew tense. It felt as though the situation might explode at any moment.
Just then, a cold and familiar voice cut through the building tension.
"Charles, I've told you before. Humanity has always been this way, fearful of those who are different. Eventually, they will try to wipe out all of us. Isn't it time you saw that clearly?"
"Magneto!"
The sudden appearance of the infamous mutant leader Magneto shocked Fury. His eyes widened as he turned toward the Quinjet, where Magneto, Mystique, and Mark were now stepping out.
In that moment, Fury realized something crucial. Mark had not actually gone inside the jet to change clothes, as he had claimed. Instead, he had somehow infiltrated Fury's aircraft without detection and freed the two powerful mutants from captivity.
"I let my guard down," Fury muttered in frustration.
Immediately, he turned to Captain Marvel and shouted:
"Catch him!"
But before she could act, Magneto raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
Snap!
In a blink, the neural inhibitors around the necks of Fury, Captain Marvel, Agent Carter, and every S.H.I.E.L.D. operative shattered into fragments. They all froze in place as if time itself had stopped.
This was Mark's real objective, not to fight Captain Marvel, which would be impossible given the power difference, but to free Magneto so he could disable the inhibitors that prevented Professor X from using his psychic abilities.
"Erik, they don't represent all of humanity. Don't give up on them so easily," Xavier said, smiling gently at his old friend.
Magneto merely shook his head. He no longer tried to convince Xavier of his views, and he knew Charles couldn't change his. They had been opponents and friends for decades, and no one understood each other better.
At that moment, Captain Marvel let out a shout of resistance and forced her body free of Xavier's mental control. Her extraordinary powers, drawn from the Tesseract, granted her resistance to nearly all forms of influence.
Mark, however, did not panic. Instead, he pointed to the frozen Fury and others and said calmly:
"I wouldn't move if I were you. If you act recklessly, they may not survive."
Captain Marvel's expression became serious. She knew that between Magneto's magnetic manipulation, Xavier's psychic force, and Mark's unpredictable transformations, this situation could escalate beyond her control in seconds.
"What do you want?" she asked.
"We only want peace. We do not wish to be disturbed, nor do we want to start a war with humanity. Tell Director Fury this. In two days, I will bring Colonel Stryker and all the evidence of his crimes to your headquarters. Then, we will talk properly."
With that, Xavier gestured to his allies. The group boarded their X-Jet, and moments later, they vanished into the sky.
Only after the X-Jet was completely gone did the S.H.I.E.L.D. team return to normal. Their bodies unfroze, and they could move again.
"Director Fury, are you alright?" Captain Marvel asked, moving quickly to his side.
Fury looked around. The X-Men were gone. So were Magneto and Mark. A moment of confusion flashed in his eyes, but then he focused and asked:
"Was it Professor X who used his powers?"
"Yes," Captain Marvel replied, nodding.
"And he asked me to tell you....."
She explained what had happened while they were immobilized.
After listening, Fury sighed deeply.
"It seems the Avengers Initiative needs to be launched immediately."
At that moment, Captain Carter approached with her shield in hand. She had remained quiet during the exchange but now offered her perspective.
"Director Fury, I actually think Professor Xavier made some good points. They've been attacked, manipulated, and betrayed. They're not the villains here. They're victims."
Carter's words were not empty. She had lived through her own battles with injustice and had been deeply shaped by her past. Originally, she had come to assist S.H.I.E.L.D. in apprehending the mutant suspect in the attack on the President. But now she was beginning to doubt whether the right side had been chosen.
The real culprit behind the events remained unclear, but all signs pointed away from the mutants.
"If I had known the truth from the beginning," she added, "I wouldn't have fought against them. I would've searched for Steve Rogers… or maybe visited Bucky, who's in the hospital."
Her voice softened as she recalled her past.
In 1945, Carter had sacrificed herself to prevent Red Skull from releasing Hydra's monsters from another dimension. She had pushed Hydra back into the rift and sealed it, battling alone in that other realm. When she returned, expecting to reunite with Steve, Howard Stark, and Bucky, none of them were there.
Instead, she was greeted by a bald, one-eyed man who introduced himself as Nick Fury. The world had changed while she was gone.
What had been minutes in that dimension had equated to fifty-five years on Earth. Howard was dead. Bucky was aged and sick. And Steve had vanished without a trace.
That sorrow, that sense of dislocation, never left her. Now, as she saw mutants being treated like enemies, she awondered if history was repeating itself.
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Chapter 35
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