CHAPTER 106-THE MASTER OF MAGNETISM
Cyclops' visor flared crimson. A beam lanced across the chamber, striking Magneto square in the chest.
The beam splintered. A sphere of magnetic force shimmered around Magneto's body, scattering the optic blast into sparks that burned the cavern floor.
"You dare," Magneto said coldly.
"X-MEN-HIT HIM TOGETHER!" Scott barked.
Logan snarled, claws already bared, leaping forward with Colossus at his side. Steel and adamantium crashed toward Magneto in perfect sync.
A flick of his fingers.
Both men twisted mid air, wrenched like ragdolls. They slammed against the wall with bone-shaking force, melal screaming against stone. Colossus groaned, Logan's skull cracked hard against steel. Both slumped, unconscious.
Magneto's voice was iron. "One down... two down."
Storm whipped her hands high, lightning flashing from her fingers. The bolts struck his shield, bent, and snapped back like whips. She screamed as her own lightning carved across her body, dropping her limp.
"Three down."
Banshee's cry cut through the chamber, a sonic scream that could shatter mountains. Magneto's shield rippled, then bent the sound wave in half, hurling it back amplified tenfold. Banshee clutched his ears, blood trickling, and
collapsed.
"Four."
Sunfire erupted into flame, a blinding comel streaking across the room. Magneto caught him mid-flight, twisting the very iron in his blood, then slammed him into the ground with a crushing wave of force.
"Five."
Thunderbird charged with a warrior's roar, fists raised. Steel tendrils erupted from the floor, binding his arms and crushing him flal against the wall. His rage went silent as darkness claimed him.
"Six"
Nightcrawler blinked-BAMF-across the room, tail whipping for Magneto's throat. He appeared too close-only to be caught by the magnetic field, body frozen mid-air like an insect in amber. Magneto flicked his wrist and flung him into a steel beam. Kurt dropped, unmoving.
"Seven."
From the shadows, Beast lunged, fur bristling, muscles coiled. He swung down with all his strength-only to be blasted across the cavern by a magnetic pulse that crushed the air from his lungs. He hit stone, rolled, and lay still.
"Eight."
Only Jean remained.
Her eyes blazed white, emerald fire erupting around her. Phoenix wings unfurled, burning against Magneto's shield. She stepped
forward, the ground cracking with each step, her voice layered with power.
"You will not break us."
The flames struck like a storm, tearing through his barrier. For the first time, Magneto
staggered, cloak whipping.
Jean's thoughts raced. 'It's working. I can feel it-I'm stronger stronger than him. This power-it's limitless-I could bum him out of
existence-
Magneto gritted his teeth, pushing back. His field swelled, the very walls groaning. The Phoenix fire sputtered, cracked against the rising tide of magnetism.
Jean gasped, her body shaking. She reached deeper-deeper still-but nothing came. The
well of power was there, endless, but her mind couldn't draw more. It was as if something chained her, mocking her.
'Why? Why can't I-
The strain crushed her, darkness sweeping her vision. She collapsed, the Phoenix fire
snuffed to embers.
Magneto straightened, triumphant. And then-
SNIKT.
Logan rose from the rubble, staggering but alive, eyes wild. His claws gleamed as he
crept low, slipping through Magneto's blind
spot
With a feral roar, he slashed-
Only Magneto spun at the last instant. His cape ripped, sparks flying. Logan's strike missed the helm by an inch.
Magneto's gaze hardened. He seized
Wolverine in mid-swing, twisting his body against itself. The claws shuddered, turned Inward, angling for his face.
Logan's eyes widened. He fought, every
muscle straining, veins bulging-
The claws touched skin-then retracted with a SNAP
Instead, Logan's own fist slammed into his jaw, knocking him cold.
Magneto smirked. "Unfortunately for you, Wolverine, I require you alive"
He turned, surveying the battlefield. The X-Men-broken, unconscious, strewn across the chamber.
A deep, rolling laugh echoed, filling the citadel with his triumph.
When the X-Men woke, they were bound. Each one strapped to a high-backed chair of cold steel. Strange restraints bristled with wires, embedding into their spines, their temples.
Magneto stood before them, arms wide. "Behold-your prison. These chairs override
the very nerves in your bodies. Try to fire your
optic blasts, Summers, and instead you will
close your eyes. Summon the storm, Ororo, and you will silence your own lungs. Even thought betrays you here."
A machine rolled forward, squat and insect-like. Its single lens glowed red.
"This is Nanny," Magneto announced. "Your caretaker. Your jailer. She will feed you, monitor you, ensure you remain alive... but helpless."
He leaned close, vaice dripping with venom.
"Killing you would be merciful. Instead, you will learn as I once did to feel power coursing through your veins and be unable to use it. To choke on your own potential. To suffer."
He turned away, cape sweeping as his laughter thundered once more
The X-Men were broken, chained in the heart of a volcano.
And Magneto had only just begun.