Steve Chapter 828: Erik and Charles meet again (Patreon)

Although the process was a bit complicated, in the end, Pietro agreed to join the mission.

The distance between the town and D.C. wasn’t too far, and thanks to Hank’s preparations, the group was soon able to blend into a tour group entering the Pentagon.

“The Pentagon was built in 1943 and covers more than six million square feet…”

At the front of the group, a blonde woman patiently introduced basic information, while Logan, Charles, Hank, and Fang Mo stayed at the back. Each of them wore forged ID badges, crafted by Hank, which allowed them to smoothly infiltrate the building.

As a result, Fang Mo had given Beast Hank a new nickname: “Master Forger.”

Notably, Pietro didn’t join them, given that his mutant ability was practically overwhelming for ordinary humans. Any military base on Earth was essentially defenseless against him. After all, he was none other than Quicksilver, but not the same one from the Marvel universe. That Quicksilver, in the original story, was killed by Ultron’s minions with a barrage of bullets—a rather underwhelming demise for someone of his speed. But X-Men’s Quicksilver was quite different, his powers shown with far more flair and intensity in the films.

Because of his extraordinary abilities, Charles changed the plan to have Pietro break into the base while the rest of the team provided backup.

“So, when are we going to move?” Logan asked after they had walked for a while.

“Wait a bit longer,” Charles replied, glancing at his watch. “It’s not yet time for the prisoners’ meal. Hank can’t take control of the surveillance system for too long.”

“Why is it taking so long to eat?” Fang Mo, munching on something, grumbled. “You guys in America are so slow. In my country, we’d have a fresh meal served by now, even if we had to slaughter a cow. And you don’t even have to drain the blood here; shouldn’t it be quicker?”

“We’re here to rescue someone, not to have a picnic,” Logan snapped back.

“Wait…” Charles suddenly looked puzzled, glancing at Fang Mo. “What are you eating?”

“Donut,” Fang Mo replied, holding up the snack for everyone to see. It was indeed a donut, one he had made using a special mod—complete with grape jam filling.

“That looks pretty good,” Hank said, eyeing the donut as he swallowed. He hadn’t had time to eat since the previous day, busy with all their preparations.

“Oh, here, have one,” Fang Mo said, pulling out another donut and handing it over.

“Thanks,” Hank said, gratefully taking a big bite, obviously starving.

“Hold on a second,” Charles said, trying to shield them from the others’ view. He whispered, “We’re part of a tour group right now. You’re not supposed to be eating here.”

“Fun fact,” Fang Mo said, ignoring Charles as he stuck a finger through the donut hole, “you can use your finger to hold the donut while cutting it. Learn something new?”

“?” Charles froze for a moment, then sighed, rubbing his forehead. “I don’t want to learn such odd things…”

“Oh, by the way,” Fang Mo said, turning to Hank, “you can only cut 21 donuts in your lifetime.”

“Stop it!” Charles finally snapped, clearly exasperated.

“Calm down,” Logan said, lowering his voice as he tried to intervene. “Don’t lose it here in the Pentagon. Save it for after we get out.”

“Logan’s different, though,” Fang Mo continued. “He’s like a regrowing plant—you cut him, and he grows back.”

“I—” Logan was about to respond when suddenly, alarms blared, and everyone around them froze in confusion, unsure of what was happening.

“It’s time, Hank!” Charles quickly realized. “Pietro must have made his move. We need to go meet him.”

“Got it,” Hank replied, shoving the rest of the donut into his mouth. He reached into his pocket and made some adjustments.

Whatever tech Hank had devised, the building’s surveillance system soon crashed, and all the monitors displayed random footage.

With the security system disabled, Logan and Charles exchanged glances before rushing towards a nearby staircase, dragging Fang Mo along with them.

Charles, already dressed in a sharp suit, straightened himself, adopting a serious expression as he led the group through several corridors, eventually reaching what appeared to be a kitchen area.

Inside, chaos reigned. The fire alarm had been triggered, water sprayed from the ceiling, and chefs and staff were milling about in confusion.

“We’re entering red alert. Everyone needs to leave this area immediately,” Charles ordered as he stormed in. “We need to lock this place down to secure the prison…”

However, the two guards at the elevator weren’t convinced.

“Uh…”

Charles hesitated as the guards approached, hands moving towards their holsters. “Who are you?”

“We’re with a special task force, under the Central Federal Bureau of Investigation,” Charles bluffed. “This area is on lockdown. You’d better head to the third floor, or…”

Before Charles could finish, Logan, clearly out of patience, rushed forward. With a swift punch, he took down one guard, then kicked the other before he could draw his gun.

It’s worth noting that Logan was not the same as in the original story. After consuming one of Fang Mo’s golden apples, even though it wasn’t the most powerful version, it still granted him the physical strength equivalent to Captain America’s. A kick from someone with such strength was more than enough to knock the second guard out cold.

After dealing with the guards, Logan turned to Charles, his gaze clearly asking if he was finished with his speech.

“Alright, fine,” Charles sighed. “I did warn you…”

“You should be glad it was me who took care of them,” Logan replied calmly, wiping water from his hair. “If it had been someone else, this place might have been leveled.”

“Hm?” Charles instinctively looked over at Fang Mo, noticing for the first time the massive sword on his back, glowing ominously.

“…Right,” Charles muttered, before retrieving the guards’ key cards.

“Honestly, if we can avoid it…” Charles said as he inserted the key into the prison elevator, “I’d recommend not relying on violence to solve everything.”

“Ding!” The elevator chimed, and the doors slid open to reveal Pietro and Magneto, Erik Lehnsherr.

“Charles? Is that you?” Erik asked, clearly surprised to see his old friend.

“…”

For a moment, Charles froze, but his expression quickly twisted with anger. Without warning, he rushed forward and punched Erik, sending him to his knees.

“Hey, what’s going on?” Pietro, who had been standing by, was completely caught off guard. “Aren’t we supposed to be rescuing him? Why are you two fighting?”

“I’m glad to see you too… old friend,” Erik said as he got back to his feet, his face showing no signs of anger. “You’re walking again?”

“That’s none of your business!” Charles snapped.

“To be honest…” Erik replied, glancing at Charles, “you were the last person I wanted to see today.”

“Is that so?” Charles sneered. “Well, I guess you’re about to change your mind.”

“What do you mean?” Erik asked, his gaze shifting past Charles to the figures behind him. Upon spotting Logan and Fang Mo, his expression darkened. “You…?”

In a flash, Erik was reminded of a scene from over a decade ago—the terrifying Black King, Sebastian Shaw, absorbing energy from a reactor, only to be beaten to a pulp by Fang Mo. That memory had left a lasting impression on him.

At the time, Erik had considered recruiting Fang Mo but ultimately decided against it, fearing the disaster he might bring.

He had never expected this monster, missing for so long, to suddenly reappear and break him out of prison. In that instant, Erik’s mind raced, trying to figure out what Fang Mo’s true motives were.

“Listen, Erik,” Charles said, breaking the silence. “We got you out, but from now on, you follow our rules. No more killing.”

“Of course,” Erik shrugged with a smirk. “Without my helmet, I can’t go against you, can I? But instead of worrying about me, you should be more concerned about that god over there.”

“He…”

Charles was about to respond when gunfire suddenly erupted, and security guards stormed into the room. “Everyone freeze! Hands up!”

“We’re doomed,” Charles muttered, his face paling.

“Doomed? What are you talking about?” Erik replied, unfazed. “Just freeze them in place.”

“I…”

Charles clenched his jaw. “I can’t…”

“You can’t?” Erik was puzzled but didn’t dwell on it. With a wave of his hand, the kitchen’s metal utensils began to shake and hover menacingly.

“Erik, stop!” Charles shouted, grabbing his arm.

“Open fire!” the guards yelled, and in an instant, the air was filled with the sound of gunfire.

In the past, Fang Mo would have stepped in at this point. But just as he was about to move, Pietro grabbed him, and the world around them slowed to a crawl. Water droplets from the sprinklers hung in the air, and the flying knives seemed frozen in place.

Pietro gestured towards Fang Mo, who simply shrugged in response.

Seeing this, Pietro grinned. Even in this slow-motion world, Fang Mo could still respond to him. For the first time, Pietro didn’t feel so alone.

Without further hesitation, Pietro acted. By the time the world resumed its normal pace, all the guards were unconscious on the floor.

“???”

Erik had never seen anything like this before and stood there, stunned. Charles, however, clapped his hands, snapping everyone out of their stupor. “Don’t just stand there—let’s get out of here.”

“Alright,” Erik said, nodding as he headed for the exit.

“Hey, you,” Pietro suddenly spoke up, walking over to Erik. “You can control metal, right? You know, my mom once knew someone who could do that…”

“Your mom?” Erik asked, confused. “What does that mean?”

“I mean…”

Just as Pietro was about to explain, a guard who had been knocked out earlier began to stir, aiming his gun at them.

“Watch out!” Logan shouted, throwing himself in front of them to block the bullet.

But at that very moment, Fang Mo’s voice rang out from behind: “Elbow him! Big Man!”

Suddenly, a black, chain-like object whipped through the air, striking the guard square in the head. With a loud *thud*, the guard collapsed, unconscious.

“...Huh?”

Everyone turned to see what had happened, and to their surprise, they found a black, curved human arm lying on the ground like an abstract boomerang. It was eerily still.