Chapter 65: CHAPTER 65: Changes
The air in the office grew thick, almost suffocating.
Everyone present froze, their faces locked in expressions of tension and disbelief.
Nick Fury had just played a merciless card on the table.
He threatened Magneto—not just with his life, but with the fate of every mutant under the roof of Xavier's Institute.
No one could even move, let alone speak.
Magneto, boiling with rage, could do nothing but contain his fury. His eyes burned, but his powers remained restrained.
Professor X felt the blow even deeper. Until recently, he believed he could still rely on mutant strength and the goodwill he had secured from the country's higher-ups. But now... Jean's words finally echoed in his mind with brutal clarity.
The strength of mutants, at its core, is still fragile.
Too fragile.
The power of a single mutant... is not enough to change the fate of an entire race.
"Don't point those things at me, Magneto," said Nick Fury, staring at him as if death were just another annoying coworker.
Even reluctantly, Magneto knew he was at a disadvantage. More than that… he was being held hostage by his own decisions.
He could accept dying there. But dragging down the young mutants inside the Institute with him? That… he couldn't allow.
With a small flick of his fingers, all the metal nails levitating around him dropped to the ground, clinking like bells of surrender.
"Well..." said Fury, in a tone that sounded more like provocation than praise.
The silence was so thick it could be cut with a blade.
Professor X took a deep breath, trying to contain the mental strain of the moment.
"Nick Fury... I was the one who invited Erik. We argued, yes, but I can guarantee he won't cause any more trouble. Not now, not ever."
Fury looked at them both, his eyes piercing, as if reading the deepest secrets of their souls.
"Charles… I really hope you don't throw away all the progress we've made over the past few years."
"People upstairs are starting to see Xavier's Institute in a different light."
"I'd hate to deal with the consequences of your actions…"
It was a warning. And a threat.
Professor X nodded calmly, even as he boiled inside. His face showed nothing but serenity. But Jean and Logan knew—he was holding himself back.
Some of the X-Men were ready to attack, but Jean and Logan stopped them before the situation could escalate again.
Fury, seeing that his presence had the desired effect, turned with a slight nod.
"Agent Hill. We're leaving…"
As he exited, he left one last warning:
"I'll be watching you…"
And then he left as if he owned the place.
After a few moments of silence, Professor X gave a faint smile and turned to Magneto.
"Erik… Do you understand now what I meant?"
Magneto shot him a furious glare.
"You were the one who called Fury?!"
"Of course not. You can trust me," Charles replied with a soft sigh.
Trust you?
Old bastard... The older you get, the more annoying you become!
Magneto scoffed, crossed his arms, and after taking a deep breath, sat back down. His eyes fell on the chess piece he had crushed during the argument. The silence between the two was heavy.
"Charles… if what you're about to say doesn't satisfy me…"
"You'll kill me?" Professor X completed, with a calm smile.
"I've heard that many times, Erik. And look—I'm still here."
Magneto clenched his jaw but didn't respond.
Charles continued:
"I've come to the conclusion that the paths you and I have followed will lead us nowhere. On the contrary… they'll doom our species."
"So I propose something new. A different path. One where we can work together… for a real future for mutants."
That night… that simple conversation… would deeply alter the course of mutant history.
---
Meanwhile, across the city…
Arthur had no idea of the chaos that had been planted that night because of his talk with Jean.
Gwen, exhausted and breathless, rested on top of him, her breathing uneven and her body trembling slightly from pleasure.
"Arthur… I… I can't anymore…"
Arthur smiled softly, running his hand down her back, feeling every warm and sweaty curve beneath his palm.
"Just a little more, Gwen…" he whispered in her ear, his voice husky and enticing.
"Trust me…"
She moaned softly, trying to protest, but his kisses on her neck and the firm grip on her waist made her give in once again. Her body, even tired, responded to his touch like it was being pulled by an invisible, intense, and instinctive force.
Their movements resumed, slow and deep, the room steeped in an atmosphere of desire and intimacy. Their breaths merged, the heat between them rising once more with every thrust, every whispered encouragement.
Gwen clutched the sheets, biting her lower lip.
"You're crazy…" she murmured, even as she wrapped her legs around Arthur again.
"Crazy about you," he replied, before diving into another hungry kiss.
The night that seemed to have ended… restarted under their wild rhythm.
---
The next morning
Arthur woke up and noticed Gwen was no longer there.
On the pillow, a handwritten note:
"Arthur, I had to leave early for class. See you later."
He smiled as he read it, gently running his fingers over the paper and stretching, still naked beneath the sheets rumpled from the night before.
"What a night…" he murmured with a lazy grin.
As he got out of bed and walked toward the bathroom, a strange sensation ran through his body—some kind of energy vibrating through every muscle. He stopped in front of the mirror, hair tousled and eyes still half-asleep, but what he saw changed his expression completely.
His muscles… were even more defined than before. Far more compact. As if his body had been refined overnight.
"What the hell…"
Arthur instinctively flexed his arm. The bicep responded with firmness, as if he'd spent hours at the gym—but he knew that wasn't the case.
It was the spider…
The image of the radioactive spider biting him the day before flashed in his mind. At the time, he had only felt a quick burning sensation and shrugged it off. His strength was already at a superhuman level… Even if the spider made him stronger, it shouldn't have been this much.
He leaned closer to the mirror. His skin looked firmer. His reflexes sharper. And then he remembered the night before—how his body had seemed to have endless energy, how sharp his mind felt, and how deeply he and Gwen had connected.
"My libido was… through the roof… What the hell, that spider made me fuck Gwen into exhaustion…" he muttered, almost in disbelief.
"Please…" He thought of something, and as he wished for it, he gently pressed and pulled the palm of his hand with his middle and ring fingers.
A web shot from his wrist, sticking to the mirror.
"Ohhh shit…" he murmured in disbelief, staring at the web coming from his wrist.
Arthur ran a hand through his hair, pushing it back as he stared at his reflection.
"Gwen's gonna want me to wear that suit when she finds out about this…" he muttered, lowering his head.
---
Meanwhile, at Stark Mansion…
Tony was already up, his mind buzzing with ideas.
Studying the new element had drained all his energy, but upon waking, he felt completely renewed.
"JARVIS, time to work."
[Sir, I must warn you that, with current technology, it's impossible to synthesize this new element.]
Tony raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, stop being dramatic, JARVIS. Just follow the plan."
Wearing a helmet and holding a hammer, he looked at the Mark suit nearby… and frowned.
"Wait a sec, am I hallucinating? Where's my Mark 2?"
[Sir, you are not hallucinating. The Mark 2 is indeed gone.]
"What?!"
For a moment, Tony imagined the worst-case scenarios.
But JARVIS's calm, precise voice grounded him again.
[It was Colonel Rhodes. He took the armor.]
JARVIS then displayed the footage of Rhodes taking it while Tony had been absorbed in his studies.
"Of course…" Tony sighed.
"I should've revoked that clearance."
"And what does the military want with the Mark 2?"
[They plan to study it and use it as a prototype for new weapons.]
Tony rubbed his face and grumbled.
"Screw it. We've got more important stuff to do right now. Let's go, JARVIS."
And so, another gear began to turn… toward the unknown.
---
(End of Chapter)
Give me some power stones there you go~😉