Quicksilver

"If I die, the Brotherhood will carry on my legacy."

Magneto snapped out of his shock and snorted coldly. "Bert Wang, what’s the use of all you do for humanity? Do you think humans will stop targeting mutants?"

"Of course not. Humanity’s upper ranks are full of hostility toward mutants—the kind that makes them want to kill us as quickly as possible."

Wang Bert said, "If humanity’s upper ranks were certain they could deal with every mutant, they would have acted long ago."

Magneto was somewhat taken aback. Wang Bert smiled. "Don’t find it strange. I’m not the Professor. The Professor believes that if he treats others well, they will treat him well in return. What he doesn’t understand is that with some people, the better you treat them, the more they take it for granted."

Magneto asked in confusion, "Since you know all that, why have you kept helping humanity? You should be working with me to overthrow them."

Wang Bert asked, "Magneto, forgive my bluntness, but after fighting humanity for so many years, have you ever truly gained the upper hand?"

Magneto glared at Wang Bert. Did this brat come here specifically to rub salt in my wounds?

"The Mutant Brotherhood is powerful, that’s true, but compared to all of human society, it amounts to nothing."

Wang Bert shook his head. "If mutants wage all-out war against humanity, there will be only one outcome: humanity will wipe us out. Mutant abilities are fixed, but human technology is limitless."

"We understand technology too."

Magneto snorted. "The Brotherhood has only grown stronger. One day, we will overthrow humanity."

"Your strength is growing, but humanity’s strength is growing as well."

Wang Bert said, "If we want to protect mutant interests and let mutants live good lives, we must win over one faction and fight another."

Magneto was puzzled. "Win over one faction and fight another?"

"That’s right. Win over ordinary people willing to accept mutants, while striking at anti-mutant elements until they are utterly disgraced—or simply eliminating them physically."

Wang Bert said, "Mutants must have a good reputation. Only then will ordinary people accept us. That is why I cannot release those mutant prisoners. They would destroy everything I have done."

"Bert Wang, both Charles and I misjudged you. You are not a hot-blooded, impulsive youth. You are a mutant leader with mature ideas and a clear path."

Magneto gave Wang Bert a long look and said, "I will not try to recruit you again. You cannot be recruited. People like us do not change our minds easily."

Wang Bert shrugged. "Should I say thank you, or should I act scared?"

Magneto said, "Bert Wang, your ideas are good, but they are too slow. Besides, ordinary people cannot be trusted. To save mutants, mutants must become the rulers of this world."

"And then turn ordinary people into slaves? Magneto, how are you any different from those human leaders?"

Wang Bert sneered. "You are a mutant supremacist, and they are human supremacists. If you were not a mutant, you would be one of them."

"Bert Wang, you will not change your mind, and neither will I."

Magneto had no interest in arguing with Wang Bert out on the street. It was too undignified. He said, "I do not care about the other mutant prisoners, but I will take the Brotherhood’s mutants with me. Not just this batch—all Brotherhood mutants in the future as well."

Magneto had actually taken a step back, but Wang Bert had no intention of doing the same. He said, "Magneto, last time I asked whether you had a daughter. This time, I’ll ask something else. Do you have a son?"

"Bert Wang, what do you mean?"

Magneto was somewhat irritated. Was this brat provoking him? Wang Bert smiled. "The answer is yes. Magneto, you have a son, but you do not know he exists."

Magneto snorted disdainfully. "How could I not know if I had a son?"

"Do you not know what you did when you were young? Some things are not worth being lazy about. When you need to wear one, wear one."

Wang Bert snapped his fingers, and a file appeared out of thin air in his hand. He handed it to Magneto, who accepted it with confusion. The first page contained a woman’s information and photograph.

"Her?"

Magneto recognized her, though he was puzzled. A moment later, he turned to the second page. It contained the information of a silver-haired young man. It stated that his father was a man capable of controlling metal.

Magneto glanced at the silver-haired young man’s date of birth and frowned slightly. "Counting back ten months, I was living with his mother at that time."

"He’s my son?"

Magneto’s breathing quickened. He had always valued family, but unfortunately, his family had never met good ends.

"That’s right. He is your son."

Wang Bert smiled. "I have never met him, so I do not know whether he knows you are his father."

Magneto put down the file and steadied his emotions. "Bert Wang, what do you want by giving me this information?"

"There are two reasons I gave you this file."

Wang Bert said, "First, I want to trade this information for one year. Those unqualified mutants must work in my Recycling Plant for a year.

"Second, I hope family affection can melt your heart and turn you back into someone with flesh and blood. Magneto, I am not afraid of you, but for certain reasons, I do not want to go to war with you."

Magneto was Wanda’s father. In other words, he was Wang Bert’s father-in-law. Wang Bert had no interest in beating up his own father-in-law.

"My heart has long been devoted to the mutant cause. Even if I truly have a son, I will not waver in the slightest."

Magneto snorted, rose with the file in hand, and said, "I will give you one year, but you must guarantee they will not die or be abused."

"Don’t worry. They will live perfectly well, and I will even pay them wages."

Wang Bert smiled. Just as he had expected, Magneto cared deeply about his family. Otherwise, he would not have agreed to his terms.

"That had better be the case."

Magneto said no more and turned to leave. At that moment, a gorgeous woman walked up to Wang Bert and asked, "Why was I so unlucky that day? Did you do something to me?"

The gorgeous woman was naturally Mystique. This question had lingered in her mind for a long time. If she did not get an answer, she would not even be able to sleep peacefully.

"A witch cursed me. The Single Curse."

Wang Bert said, "Any woman who dares pursue me—or any woman I dare pursue—will become incredibly unlucky."

"So you really knew Dailin was me."

Mystique snorted. "Leaving aside how absurd that curse is, even if it is real, why aren’t you the unlucky one?"

Wang Bert spread his hands. "Because that witch loves me."

"Is that so?"

Mystique snorted, then suddenly leaned forward to kiss Wang Bert. Wang Bert reacted instantly and slapped Mystique away, sending her crashing to the ground.

"Thank goodness. That was close."

Wang Bert sighed in relief and said to Mystique on the ground, "Sis, don’t play around with this. If you had really kissed me, this building might have collapsed. Other buildings would be one thing, but I just bought this one, and I haven’t even finished getting the insurance."

"Bert Wang, I’ll remember that slap."

Mystique shot Wang Bert a hateful glare, climbed to her feet, and ran away.

"No good deed goes unpunished."

Wang Bert shrugged. Just then, his phone rang. It was Caliban. "Boss, I found Polaris Lorna, the one you asked me to locate. But there seems to be something odd about her identity. She can control magnetic fields, just like that super wanted criminal."

"You don’t need to worry about that. Keep an eye on her, and I’ll send you the money."

Wang Bert said. Caliban replied, "No problem. As long as there’s money, you are Caliban’s God."

"Say God a little less often. You’ll get unlucky."

Wang Bert shook his head, hung up, and considered when to sell Lorna’s information to Magneto.

Of course he would sell it. Wang Bert was a businessman. He believed Magneto would be very grateful to him. After all, he had turned him from a lonely old man into someone with both a son and a daughter.

Caring for lonely old people starts with me.

Quicksilver, full name Pietro Django Maximoff, lived in the suburbs of New York. It was worth mentioning that there was a secret military base near his home, where many mutant experiments were conducted.

"I’m the fastest man in the world. I’ve never lost at video games."

That day, Quicksilver was happily playing a stolen game console at home when an elderly voice suddenly sounded behind him. "Stealing things and hiding in the basement to play games—is that your life?"

Quicksilver spun around and saw a silver-haired old man standing behind him. He shouted unhappily, "Who are you? Why are you in my house?"

After saying that, Quicksilver dashed out of the basement like the wind to check whether anything had happened to his mother. Fortunately, she was fine, though her brows were tightly furrowed and she looked worried.

Next, Quicksilver went outside to look for the silver-haired old man’s car, intending to figure out his identity from it. To his surprise, the man had not driven here.

After doing those two things, Quicksilver ran back to the basement. Less than a second had passed.

Magneto sensed Pietro’s movements and asked in shock, "You’re that fast?"

"Not bad. Who exactly are you? Why does my mom look so worried? Don’t tell me you’re my dad and came here specifically to find me."

Quicksilver asked, "You’re a little too old for that."

Magneto was immediately embarrassed. He had already confirmed with Quicksilver’s mother that Quicksilver really was his son. He took a deep breath and said, "I am indeed your father—the man who can control metal."

As he spoke, Magneto raised his hand, and all the metal around them floated into the air. Quicksilver was dumbfounded. He had only said it casually. How had an old dad actually appeared?

The father and son meeting for the first time were both a little awkward. Magneto coughed, lowered the metal, and said, "With such excellent abilities, you should not be hiding in a basement. Come with me. I will take you to contribute to the mutant cause."

"Setting aside whether you are my father, even if you really are, what gives you the right to interfere with my life?"

Quicksilver said irritably, "For over twenty years, you have not shown your face even once."

"I did not know you existed before. If I had known, I would never have let you become such useless trash, wasting your days away."

Magneto said, "Pietro, come with me. This is not where you belong. Everyone in our family is hardworking."

"Useless trash? Who are you calling useless trash?"

Quicksilver snapped, "I remember now. You’re a wanted criminal—the wanted criminal who saved the world with Mr. Bert Wang some time ago. Hmph, and you have the nerve to lecture me? No matter how useless I am, at least I’m innocent."

"Innocent?"

Magneto looked at the stolen items around him and sneered. "You dare call yourself innocent?"

Quicksilver was somewhat embarrassed. "At least I’m not wanted. Besides, I’m not interested in going with you. I’m doing just fine."

Magneto said forcefully, "You’re grown now. You cannot keep hiding in the basement. You need your own career. It was my fault that I did not take care of you before. From now on, I will make it up to you."

Quicksilver said, "Thanks, but staying away from me would be the best compensation you could give me."

Veins bulged on Magneto’s forehead in anger. If Wang Bert saw this scene, he would definitely be speechless. He had wanted to use family affection to make Magneto better, but judging by the current situation, this family bond would only make Magneto more irritable.

Well, it was not completely ineffective. Magneto would probably live a few years less—or perhaps a few decades less.

What was that saying again? Without enmity, there could be no father and son.

"This is not up to you."

Magneto, ever the authoritarian patriarch, raised his hand, and electrical wires flew from the ground to bind Quicksilver. Quicksilver struggled and shouted angrily, "What kind of skill is a sneak attack? Untie me if you’ve got the guts, and I’ll show you who the real daddy is."

Magneto nearly exploded. Too lazy to say anything more, he lifted Quicksilver into the air with his powers and took his constantly cursing son out of the basement and into the backyard.

Quicksilver’s mother rushed over when she heard the commotion. Seeing Quicksilver tied up by wires, she shouted in dissatisfaction, "Erik, what are you doing? He’s your biological son."

"If he weren’t my biological son, I wouldn’t have bothered tying him up."

Magneto gritted his teeth. "No more nonsense. We’re leaving together."

"I’m not going with you. Mom, are you sure you didn’t cheat back then?"

Both Quicksilver’s mother and Magneto were speechless. Magneto said, "Bert Wang told me your identities. If he could find you, others can too. It isn’t safe for you to stay here. Come back to the Mutant Brotherhood with me."

Quicksilver’s mother hesitated, then asked, "Do you have any other women around you?"

"No."

Magneto shook his head. Ever since becoming the mutant leader, he had had no time to chase women. As for Mystique, they had indeed once shared a relationship, but now they were more like siblings.

"Then I’ll go with you."

Quicksilver’s mother immediately agreed. Clearly, she still had feelings for Magneto. Quicksilver shouted, "Mom, he’s a wanted criminal. You can’t jump into a fire pit."

He’s my biological son. He’s my biological son.

Magneto repeated it over and over in his heart to stop himself from killing the brat. Then he called out Azazel and had him take everyone away.

Quicksilver was startled by Azazel, then sneered. "No wonder you didn’t drive here. Man, you’re ugly."

Azazel really wanted to hit someone. Too lazy to waste words, he placed a hand on Magneto’s shoulder and prepared to teleport. At that moment, a massive explosion suddenly erupted in the distance, shaking even the house.