As time passed, the mutant group remained where they were, growing increasingly restless—but Azazel never returned.
"Where is he? He's never this slow," Jason muttered, uneasy.
Now that Riptide had cleared away the poison gas, the group began to relax. It seemed the toxin hadn't been lethal—it only caused short-term hallucinations.
So they were waiting. Waiting for Azazel to return with information about the enemy so they could launch a full assault on Gotham under Magneto's command.
Even though the Dionesium pool was now buried, it hadn't been destroyed. As long as they took control of Gotham, they would have all the time they needed to dig it back up.
But the longer Azazel remained missing, the more Magneto's patience frayed. Just as he prepared to abandon the wait and begin the offensive, a voice echoed in his mind.
'Erik, there's no need to wait.'
'Charles?' Magneto stiffened. 'What do you mean? Did something happen to Azazel?'
Charles suddenly speaking in his head unsettled him. And with that unease came frustration.
'Where were you when we entered the cave?' he asked sharply. 'If you'd been there, Joker would never have killed Raven.'
The bitterness in his tone was barely veiled. Though the cause of mutantkind would always come first for him, Mystique had been a friend from the same era. Pretending her death hadn't affected him would have been a lie.
'My telepathy was being blocked—or rather, Joker's mind had already been taken over by another powerful psychic presence. I couldn't interfere at all.'
Magneto's eyes widened. 'You're saying there's another telepath in Gotham? Someone pulling strings behind the scenes?'
As he spoke in his mind, Magneto instinctively adjusted the helmet on his head that shielded him from psychic attacks. If their enemy also had a telepath, he had to stay alert. His own power was formidable, but he had no defense against mental abilities.
'It's not Gotham,' Charles corrected. 'I can sense it faintly. That powerful telepath is in New York.'
'New York?' Magneto immediately made a connection. 'You're not saying... Martian Manhunter never left? LexCorp's been lying to the world this whole time?'
It was a natural assumption. And in fact, Charles had reached a similar conclusion.
'It's entirely possible. Aside from Jean at her full potential, the only one capable of suppressing my telepathy is that Martian, with a brain far more advanced than any human's.'
Their guess completely overlooked Reid, who also stayed in New York. And that was exactly his goal from the beginning. As long as his identity remained that of a talented but ordinary man, no one would consider him a serious threat.
If anyone ever tried to go after him, they'd have to face LexCorp first—and its chairman, Lex Luthor—not Reid Pennyworth.
"Haah..."
Magneto took a deep breath, burying the disdain he felt toward humanity. Even with Charles at his side, the situation was more precarious than he'd expected. There was no room for carelessness now.
'Back to the point. What happened to Azazel?'
'Have Sabretooth dig beneath your feet.'
While communicating telepathically, Magneto and his group had already moved outside the Court of Owls' headquarters. For some time, Sabretooth had been muttering about a strange scent in the area, but no one had paid much attention.
Now, under Charles's instruction, Magneto ordered the mutant to get to work immediately. And as soon as he started digging, Azazel appeared before them all.
But this Azazel was no longer the same. His body had fused at the molecular level with the earth itself. There were no signs of life left. He had become a patch of scarlet soil.
"W-what happened to him? How did Azazel end up like this?!" Magneto stared in horror. This wasn't something that could be explained by being buried alive.
'It was the gas,' Charles explained grimly. 'Joker's attack wasn't meant to kill you, Erik. He anticipated your reaction, predicted you'd try to strike back. And the first step in that retaliation would be sending Azazel to scout the enemy.'
From his mansion in Westchester, Charles closed his eyes and sighed.
Another friend lost.
'The neurotoxin wasn't fatal,' he continued. 'But it caused a loss of orientation. For ordinary people, it just made them unsteady on their feet. But for someone like Azazel, who relies on teleportation to move, it was deadly. Following your orders, he fought through the effects of the toxin to search for the enemy. And he did find them. But on his ninth jump—when he tried to teleport back to you—he miscalculated the coordinates. He materialized inside solid earth. His body merged with the ground. He died instantly.'
Magneto stood motionless, fists clenched at his sides. The trap had been laid by Joker, but it was his command that led Azazel to that fate.
"…Damn him. Damn Joker and every lunatic that follows him. They all deserve to die."
'Erik, you need to stay calm.'
Charles's words helped Magneto suppress the fury rising in his chest, but it didn't change what he planned to do.
"Sabretooth, Toad, go keep watch near Wayne Manor. Stop the Batmen of Gotham from making any moves."
"Riptide, Jason, take the rest of the mutants and deal with the Joker's gang."
Magneto laid out the plan quickly and clearly.
By now, he understood one thing: the people of Gotham knew far too much about them. Joker using guns without any metal parts proved it. The factions hiding in Gotham had already been thinking about how to deal with mutants.
So Magneto sent Sabretooth and Toad—mutants who relied purely on physical strength and were hard to counter—to take on tacticians like Batman. Meanwhile, Riptide and Jason, who had special abilities, were sent to face the Joker's gang made up of ordinary people.
It was a strategy tailored to their enemies.
"As for me..."
Magneto rose into the air, his cloak billowing in the wind. He never intended to watch the battle from a distance. That had never been his way.
"I'll take down the Gotham Police Department and City Hall. I'll take complete control of this city."
"Understood!" All the mutants moved out, vanishing into the shadows and streets of Gotham.
Magneto soared higher, and flew straight toward the GCPD.
...
At the same time, on a rooftop in the city, Gordon and Harvey were already waiting.
They had received Batman's warning. They knew there was a high chance the mutants would attack Gotham's government facilities tonight.
"Do you really think we can take on Magneto?" Harvey asked, lifting the non-metallic gun in his hand. The Stark Industries logo was clearly stamped on the side.
The gun, made entirely of non-metal materials, was a special weapon designed by Tony Stark himself.
"We don't need to stop him," Gordon replied, eyes fixed on the dark horizon. "The roads between GCPD and City Hall are still open. It's a long stretch, but our job's simple."
He glanced sideways at Harvey.
"Just follow Batman's plan. Stall Magneto. Buy as much time as we can."
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