Chapter 118: Deadpool Confronts Magneto
Aboard the return transport aircraft.
Allen raised Bucky's metal arm, examining it closely.
"They modeled the cybernetic prosthetics on my arm brace—I'll give them credit, the concept was solid. But functionally, it's lacking. The core enchantment section was destroyed."
He patted the blank-faced Bucky on the shoulder. "Bucky, out of love for Old Man Steve's favorite son, I'll personally upgrade your arm."
But Bucky was still in a sealed mental state, unable to communicate normally.
The other five Winter Soldiers were equally expressionless.
At present, they would only obey Natasha's commands.
Psylocke stayed on high alert the entire time, worried they might go berserk. Inside the narrow cabin, her fighting abilities would be restricted.
One wrong move and she might cut through the fuselage, sending them all plummeting from 10,000 meters. There'd be no survivors.
The return flight was uneventful.
They crossed Soviet airspace.
Without Hydra agents assisting, one missile could've taken them down.
Inside Hydra's base.
Over the next few days, report after report piled up on Allen's desk.
With some downtime, he began upgrading the cybernetic arm—what he produced looked like a product from a whole new era.
At the same time, everyone's gear received a full overhaul. Don't doubt Allen's craftsmanship.
A single hair fell and landed on a cold, gleaming blade—instantly sliced in two.
"A blade should be able to cut a hair in midair. That's the standard worthy of Hydra's team captain."
Natasha and Psylocke stood dumbfounded as Allen tucked a butcher's knife into his belt.
From the beginning, they had tried to guess what kind of weapon Allen would forge for himself.
None of them expected… a butcher's knife.
"Pretty cool, right?"
Allen struck a draw-cut pose, proudly shaking the blade in his hand. "As a true swordsman, I never part with my blade."
A swordsman…? More like a butcher.
"In preparation for the coming crisis, I specifically recreated the Dragon Slayer Sword from Legend of Mir. It may look like a butcher's knife, but even a dragon would bleed from a single cut."
He let go of the knife—thud—it plunged straight into the concrete floor like it was slicing tofu, only the handle sticking out.
Shing…
As he pulled it free, the air reverberated with the sound of a blade's hum.
Allen gripped the knife in one hand, the other resting on his forehead. Like a lone, tragic swordsman, he said solemnly, "I've been searching all this time… where is my greasy senior sister?"
"Tonight, a million brothers storm Sabak—if you're truly a brother, come and fight beside me."
Are you seriously plugging a mobile game?
You need help.
"What crisis are you talking about?" Natasha asked, frowning.
Those five words were the only relevant part of his whole speech—the rest was useless nonsense.
"The Phoenix is coming."
Allen gazed through the ceiling's glass dome at the star-strewn sky, like a prophet predicting doom.
"What Phoenix?" Psylocke asked, her face full of confusion. The more he spoke, the less sense it made.
Wasn't the Phoenix a mythical creature? Did it really exist?
Allen pushed up an imaginary monocle on his right eye and said with deep solemnity, "Destiny is already written. The truth is dictated by forces beyond the rules. We are but puppets, threading storylines together."
"Who's beyond the rules?" Natasha pressed.
"The dumbass author."
…
Brotherhood of Mutants Base
Middle-aged Magneto had found his life's mission: to create a society ruled by mutants.
To that end, he gathered every idle mutant he could find to form the Brotherhood and fight for their cause.
Truth be told, the Brotherhood was a mess. A glance at its members was enough to make anyone wince—they were a complete rabble, barely presentable.
The issue was that Magneto, ever focused on grand plans, was cursed by misfortune. He was too poor to pursue an elite path, so he relied on numbers to maintain momentum.
If not for his life-or-death bond with Charles, his faction would've fallen apart long ago.
Everything now depended on Magneto carrying the weight alone.
"Leader, I've got intel."
A telepathic mutant stepped forward. "The government has identified a mutant whose ability can neutralize superpowers. They're developing something called the Cure Serum to erase mutant abilities."
Magneto's face darkened.
The Cure Serum was clearly meant to target the Brotherhood.
Any powerful mutant would never allow themselves to be captured. But Brotherhood members were so weak, they feared even a standard police officer's quickdraw.
"Mobilize everyone—we must stop this at all costs."
Magneto was a man of extremes. If he couldn't eliminate a problem, he would eliminate the person causing it.
Mutants across the base rushed to prepare for a night assault on the research facility.
Sitting on his leader's throne, Magneto considered whether to notify Charles.
This matter concerned the fate of all mutants—it should be handled together, not ignored.
But if his plan was to kill the power-nullifying mutant outright, Charles would definitely oppose it.
"Gandalf."
Wade swaggered in like he owned the place. "Have you seen a crazy person recently? Joined up with Apocalypse not long ago."
"Apocalypse?"
Magneto looked puzzled. He had no idea who Apocalypse was, let alone any crazed individuals. And Deadpool already counted as a lunatic—one was more than enough.
Also, every time Wade called him Gandalf, it made his blood boil.
He'd once asked Wade why. Wade said that when he got old, he'd be cast as the gray-robed wizard in a fantasy movie.
Deadpool, being Deadpool, loved giving people absurd nicknames—breaking the fourth wall was his specialty.
"I'm looking for a twenty-something Asian guy in blue-and-white stripes. Kinda handsome. Honestly, he looks just like me. Sometimes I wonder if he's my long-lost son."
"You're white. How the hell would you have an Asian son?"
Magneto's expression soured—he realized the madman was dragging him into nonsense again. "Go look somewhere else."
Wade found a chair and sat down, hands behind his head. "Gandalf, I'll do you a favor. In return, your men help me look around. Deal?"
"…Fine."
After thinking it over, Magneto agreed.
Attacking the lab would definitely trigger armed resistance. Having Deadpool to throw into the fight sounded perfect.
"Deal."
Wade stood. "Who do you want me to kill?"
"…"
Magneto motioned for him to sit and said seriously, "We're dealing with something delicate. We can't attract government attention."
Meanwhile
On a lake island in another city—
A research facility stood without a bridge—reachable only by boat or air.
At that moment, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents arrived via helicopter, quickly taking control of the island.
The machines used to develop the Cure Serum were too large to move easily, so they awaited specialized transport ships.
The agents' mission: protect the equipment.
As for the test subject—they'd already been secretly relocated the moment intel about the Brotherhood's planned attack came in.