Xavier Institute. Main meeting room.
The soft afternoon light filtered through the stained-glass windows of the Institute, casting long shadows over the old chessboard set at the center of the room. Charles Xavier sat there, calm and composed before the already positioned pieces. With a gentle gesture, he motioned to the chair in front of him.
"Still like to play chess, Charles?" said Magneto.
Unlike usual, this time he hadn’t come as an enemy—at least, not yet.
"Not always, Erik," Professor X replied with a slight smile.
"But some matches... are worth playing."
Magneto raised an eyebrow and let out a short laugh.
"Charles, have you finally realized your benevolence is useless?"
"And you? Have you finally understood that brute force isn’t the answer?"
The X-Men, standing behind Professor X, exchanged uneasy glances. The fact that Magneto had been invited inside was already shocking; hearing them talk like old friends only made it worse.
"How many years has it been, Erik?" Xavier asked, his voice low but firm.
"How long since we last sat together like this?"
Magneto looked down at the chessboard, and for a brief moment, his eyes revealed a trace of nostalgia.
"Too long. Since we stopped dreaming the same dreams."
The memory wrapped around them like an invisible veil. Two young idealists, united by shared pain and a greater cause: to protect mutants. But pain turned into anger. The cause became conflict. And their friendship... became war.
Magneto reached out, moving a piece with precision and a touch of nostalgia. Xavier responded with a subtle telekinetic motion. The game had begun.
"I admit, I’m surprised, Charles," said Magneto, eyes fixed on the board.
"I thought you’d never agree with my vision. A world of mutants, free from the human threat."
"I’m not agreeing with you, Erik. I’m just accepting that the path of complacency has brought us to the brink."
"And yet, you say I’m the one who’s wrong?" Magneto smiled, confident.
"Charles, together we could build an empire. No more hiding. Humans... they’re a dying breed. And we are the natural successors of this planet."
"You still don’t understand," Xavier replied, his voice darker now.
"Violence doesn’t guarantee the future. It only guarantees more hatred. And more wars."
Magneto stopped, his gaze hardening.
"Then why did you call me here?"
Xavier took a deep breath.
"Because even though I disagree with you, I know that if we destroy each other... we’ll take all mutants down with us."
The words echoed like thunder. Magneto clenched his fist, crushing a pawn between his fingers.
"You’re delusional, Charles. I’m the salvation of our kind. You’ve always been the obstacle."
"If you hadn’t opposed the Brotherhood, the world would already be at our feet!"
With a sudden motion, Magneto flipped the chessboard. The pieces flew. The sound echoed through the room like a gunshot.
Behind Xavier, the X-Men prepared to fight. Mystique, in the distance, was already taking a combat stance.
"Tell me, Charles," Magneto growled.
"Do you really think you can stop me?"
"No," Xavier replied calmly.
"But tell me, Erik... do you really think you’re strong enough to bring the world down?"
"Absolutely!" Magneto answered, fury in his eyes. He turned to the window and pointed to the steel jungle of New York.
"That city... it’s within my reach. With a single gesture, I could reduce it to rubble!"
Xavier didn’t respond. He knew it was true.
But then, a new voice echoed through the room.
"Whoa, whoa... what did I just hear?"
Everyone turned to see who it was. No one had noticed his approach, which, in itself, was already a cause for concern.
The visitor was someone they all knew—Nick Fury.
The Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. entered with his usual air of knowing more than he let on. At his side was Agent Maria Hill.
"Is destroying New York some kind of tabletop game now?" he remarked, raising his arm to show a small glowing device strapped to his wrist.
"Charles," he said with a half-smile.
"Next time you want to have tea and play chess with an international terrorist, give me a heads-up. After all, your old friend here is on the State Council’s blacklist."
Xavier kept a neutral gaze, but Magneto flared with irritation.
"How dare you interrupt me? And how did you get in without anyone noticing?"
Fury ignored the threatening tone.
"Thanks to this little thing," he pointed to the device.
"A new toy. Total camouflage against mutant perception. Perfect for secret meetings."
Magneto was now seething. Xavier was still his old friend and a mutant, so he could accept speaking to him as an equal. But Fury? He was a living reminder of human arrogance. Just a man, with an eyepatch, daring to look down on him.
"Watch your words, Fury..." Magneto whispered.
"I always do, Magneto." Fury snapped his fingers.
Hill activated her tablet. On the screen, real-time coordinates appeared.
"At this exact moment, all of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier missiles are aimed at this building."
Fury smiled and raised his arms as if putting on a show:
"Any disruption in my vital signs and... Boom."
He made an explosive gesture with his hands.
Despite the mocking tone, the threat was real.
"Erik..." Xavier said, staring at his old friend.
"Are you really going to bury the Mutant Academy, along with all of us, because of your pride?"
The floating chess pieces in Magneto’s hands turned into sharp, deadly steel nails.
"Stop, Erik!" Xavier shouted.
The tension hit its peak. One wrong move, one breath too fast... and war would erupt right there.
Fury held his cold stare. Hill stood ready for the signal.
And Magneto... as furious as he was, hesitated.
---
(End of the Chapter)
Give me some power stones there you go~😉