CHAPTER 105 - THE CIRCUS THAT FLEW
The chair spun. Magneto sat there like a king of steel, helm gleaming, cloak draped heavy. His voice cracked like a whip.
"You thought to escape Mesmero's petty games? Pathetic. The true master has returned."
Cyclops' visor lit, red glow cutting through the gloom. "X-Men-RETREAT!"
Logan snarled, claws twitching at his fists. "The hell we will! I'll gut him now-"
Jean's voice cut sharp. "Logan-listen. If we fight him here-" She gestured to the walls trembling with power. "-we all die."
Her fire burned in her eyes, pleading. Logan froze, teeth grinding. He let the claws slide back in with a growl. "Fine. But sooner or later, Jeanie... sooner or later."
Cyclops barked quick. "Nightcrawler-scout outside. Colossus, with him."
Kurt nodded, vanishing in a puff of brimstone. A heartbeat later-
"AAAAHH!"
His voice shrieked. When Colossus yanked the tent flap open, Nightcrawler clung to the fabric, body dangling into the void. Nothing outside but open sky and endless wind.
Colossus grabbed him, hauling him back in. The two tumbled onto the floor, Kurt's face pale as chalk.
"The circus... it's gone!" he gasped. "We're flying! The tent-it floats!"
The X-Men stared at the flap. Outside was nothing but air. Miles of it. Clouds below them like waves.
Logan's claws SNIKT out. He lunged forward. "You sick son of a-"
The whole tent lurched. A violent sway. Magneto raised a single finger.
"One step closer, Wolverine, and I loose my hold. This carnival falls. ALL of you-torn apart in the air."
The X-Men froze, balancing as the floor shuddered.
Magneto's voice softened-mocking, cruel. "Yes. Much better. Now, hear the truth. I went to your mansion, expecting battle. But the halls were silent. Empty. Then... fortune smiled. A beast arrived. A literal Beast."
Hank's name struck their hearts like a whip.
"He too searched for you. I followed him, quietly, until he led me here. And when he
danced into Mesmero's web-so did you."
With contempt, Magneto flicked his hand. Mesmero's limp body rose like a doll, wrapped in magnetic force. He dangled, squirming weakly.
Storm's eyes widened. "Magneto-don't! You'll kill him!"
Magneto's lips curled. "Oh no, goddess. Death is too sweet for his offense. This machine dared think himself my rival? No. He will live-broken."
He snapped his hand. Mesmero shot out through the tent flap, screaming. His body vanished into the stormclouds below.
Storm's voice broke. "By the goddess-you murdered him!"
Magneto sneered. "Calm yourself. My control is precise. He will not die... only shatter upon the Andes like the hollow toy he is."
The tent shuddered again, climbing higher into the winds. The team braced themselves. Magneto leaned back in his chair, eyes gleaming.
"Your stage is set. Next stop... destiny."
The tent soared into the clouds, vanishing eastward.
The circus tent groaned like a ship at sea, canvas walls snapping in hurricane winds. The X-Men huddled together, the floor tilting under their boots.
Cyclops kept his stance solid, visor burning faint red. "Everyone-hold tight. Don't give him the satisfaction."
Banshee growled, voice taut. "This is madness-ye canna fly a blasted tent across the world!"
Logan spat, the wind tossing his hair. "Tell that to the psycho in the chair." His claws slid free with a SNIKT, gleaming in the half-light. "One slip of his hand and we're red mist."
Storm's face was pale, her hands trembling against her will. She had flown through hurricanes, commanded the skies themselves, but this this was wrong. "The winds... the air currents-he is bending them with metal. A floating coffin."
Jean's voice echoed inside her skull. The Phoenix... it stirs. I could burn him now. Tear this cage apart. But no... if I slip, even for a second, the fire could consume us all.'
The tent jolted again, sending Nightcrawler sprawling into Thunderbird's arms.
"Where the devil are we going?" Thunderbird barked.
Magneto's helm gleamed under the flickering lantern light. His voice was silk over steel. "To a place untouched by your kind. To a fortress fit for gods. My fortress."
Hours bled into hours. The tent soared across oceans, the sun dying behind them, then rising again. Exhaustion gnawed at the team, their nerves frayed raw. And then-
Heat.
The air inside the tent grew thick, sweltering. Sweat beaded down Colossus' brow even in armored form. The floor shook, a low rumble like a sleeping beast.
Logan sniffed the air, his eyes narrowing. "Sulfur. Lava. He's draggin' us to a furnace."
Storm's eyes went wide. "No... not just a furnace. A volcano."
The tent dipped, the flap snapping open to a sight that froze them all. Below, a mountain of fire split the Antarctic ice, rivers of molten rock cutting across the white. A storm of ash and flame blotted the sky.
Magneto smiled, a cruel father leading children to their fate. "Behold. Your new home."
The tent plunged straight into the crater.
Flames licked at the walls, but the fabric did not burn. Instead, a sphere of magnetic force encased them, carrying the entire structure down through fire and brimstone.
Banshee clutched the wall, voice hoarse. "We're goin' into the bloody lava-!"
The descent lasted forever. Red light painted their faces, molten rivers boiling below. The roar of the volcano drowned every heartbeat.
And then-sudden silence.
The tent pierced through into a cavern vast as a city. Towers of steel and glass jutted from the rock, glowing with alien lights. Machines thrummed. Metal bridges spanned rivers of fire.
Magneto rose from his chair, cloak sweeping like a king entering his palace.
"Welcome, X-Men," he said, his arms wide. "To the citadel of the future. The womb of mutantkind reborn. Welcome... to my fortress."
The tent lowered, touching down upon a platform of metal. The forcefield dissolved. The X-Men staggered to their feet, eyes wide.
Cyclops' jaw clenched. "You won't keep us here."
Magneto's laughter echoed like thunder in the cavern. "On the contrary, Scott Summers. Here, you will never leave."