Magneto, Brotherhood
Xu Mo's expression hardened the instant he saw Wilson Fisk—the Kingpin—charging at Wanda Maximoff.
"Get lost!"
He darted forward, blocking Wanda's path.
The blade in his right hand slashed out with all his strength. At that desperate moment, the first level of the Thunder Sword's power flared in his mind like a spark of revelation.
Power surged down his arm, lightning crackling faintly across the steel. His swing accelerated—faster, sharper, deadlier.
The speed of the blade spiked by nearly sixty percent.
Kingpin, confident in his bulk and skill, suddenly looked horrified.
"No—!"
The sword sheared across his neck with terrifying ease, as though cutting through tofu.
"Puff!"
The cut was clean. Kingpin's eyes froze wide in disbelief before his head toppled from his shoulders, thudding onto the floor.
A chime rang in Xu Mo's mind.
"Kill the villain and earn 10,000 points!"
Xu Mo, still reveling in the breakthrough of mastering Thunder Blade's first level, allowed himself a grim smile.
"As expected of Hell's Kitchen's ruler—worth as much as an army of thugs."
Wanda hurried up from behind. "Are you okay?"
Her voice jolted him. His body weakened suddenly, and his face went pale. He staggered, nearly collapsing.
Wanda caught him quickly. "What's wrong?"
Forcing a strained smile, Xu Mo whispered, "I'm fine. Just… drained."
But inside, he was wary. Wanda's latent chaos power was still inside her, volatile and unpredictable. He had threatened her before, even taken advantage of her. If her powers awakened suddenly, her feelings toward him could turn lethal.
For now, though, Wanda's eyes softened. Seeing Xu Mo risk his life for her and Pietro warmed something inside her.
"Thank you," she murmured. "Come on, I'll help you back."
She wrapped an arm around him, ready to guide him to the car.
Then—
Boom!
A deafening crash shook the building behind them.
A black-clad figure hurtled through a shattered window, smashing into the street. Natasha Romanoff groaned, clutching her back as she struggled upright.
"Oh god… my spine."
Before Xu Mo could process it, a massive shape lumbered out of the wreckage. He was even larger than Kingpin, his frame packed with muscle. A crimson helmet encased his head.
His eyes landed on Fisk's headless corpse, and fury twisted his face.
"You killed him?" the giant roared. "You bastards! Do you know what you've done? If he's dead, I don't get paid. And if I don't get paid…"
He muttered angrily to himself, fists clenching like wrecking balls.
Xu Mo shot Natasha a look—where did you find this lunatic?
She just spread her hands, equally baffled.
The helmeted man's rant ended abruptly as he glared at them. "Since you killed him, I'll drag you back to answer for it!"
He stomped the ground.
BOOM!
The street split apart, concrete rippling like an earthquake. Waves of debris surged toward Xu Mo and the others.
"Move!" Xu Mo barked. He grabbed Wanda and Pietro by the arms, lifting them into the air as he flew off.
Natasha bolted in the opposite direction.
The giant—Cain Marko, the unstoppable Juggernaut—charged after Xu Mo. Each step shook the earth. But while his power was overwhelming, his speed lagged behind. Even carrying two, Xu Mo managed to outpace him.
Finally, safe inside the back seat of a van, Xu Mo exhaled heavily.
"That stomp… at least fifty tons of force," he muttered. His eyes narrowed. Not someone I can fight yet.
A thought chilled him. Helmeted, monstrously strong, low intellect—it had to be Cain Marko, Juggernaut, empowered by the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak. But why was he here, in Kingpin's base?
Kingpin's recent rash kidnappings and extortions suddenly made sense. He wasn't acting alone. He was funneling resources to an organization.
The Brotherhood of Mutants.
Juggernaut had served them before, and it fit their methods perfectly.
That meant Xu Mo was already in their sights. He needed more power, and fast.
He pulled out his phone and called Sauron.
"Kingpin is dead. Spread the word. Let the gangs in Hell's Kitchen tear each other apart."
---
Elsewhere: Nak Island
A small island, scarcely ten square kilometers, sat 300 nautical miles off New York's coast.
In a fortified complex on its eastern shore, the Brotherhood of Mutants had gathered once more.
Cain Marko—Juggernaut—stood before an older man seated at the head of the chamber. The man wore a helmet as well, but his was slimmer, regal, unmistakable.
Magneto.
"Kingpin is dead," Juggernaut grumbled.
Magneto's expression didn't shift. Fisk had been a pawn, a tool for laundering money into the Brotherhood's cause.
"And the funds?" Erik Lehnsherr asked coolly.
Juggernaut shrugged. "No idea."
Magneto sighed, waving him off. "Go rest."
Cain was powerful, but his simple mind made him unreliable. Still, with Magneto's powers only partially restored after being injected with the mutant "cure," Juggernaut remained their best frontline weapon.
Magneto glanced at the corner, where a young woman sat before a computer, typing rapidly.
"Find out what happened," he ordered.
She smirked confidently, fingers flying across the keys. "Give me a minute. I'll trace everything."
Magneto folded his arms, eyes narrowing. The world had forgotten the Brotherhood, treating them like rats in the sewers after the government's crackdown. But now…
Now they would rise again.