Marvel: Extraordinary Comprehension

Chapter 136: Earth's Heroes Assemble! The Avengers Are Shocked: Just How Many Powerhouses Are Under Lucci's Command?

At Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, young mutants were undergoing mock combat training under the guidance of the X-Men. In the air, frost and fire intertwined, lasers clashed with storms, and all kinds of wonderful and bizarre mutant abilities lit up the training grounds with dazzling color.

Standing with arms folded, Magneto closely observed the actions of the young mutants below. Just then, a familiar spatial ripple suddenly appeared not far away. The next instant—Lucci emerged quietly, leading a man and a woman.

"Prince Lucci!" Magneto instantly bowed his head to Lucci.

Lucci nodded, indicating there was no need for such formality. Magneto's gaze soon settled on the pair of young twins standing behind Lucci. The girl had beautifully long auburn hair, elegant features, a tall build, and a faint melancholy between her brows. The boy had short silver-white hair; he wasn't classically handsome, but his blue eyes shone with an untamed, wild spirit.

For some reason, the very first moment he saw these two, Magneto felt an inexplicable sense of closeness in his heart, a mysterious yet real bond as if invisible threads connected them.

At the same time, Wanda and Quicksilver also caught sight of Magneto. Deep inside, a strange tension—and shock—dawned. It was an instinctive resonance echoing from the depths of their blood.

Lucci eyed the trio, a playful smile curling at his lips. He spoke directly to the confused Magneto:

"Erik, come here and get to know them. They are your children."

"..."

"..."

"..."

The words struck Magneto like a thunderbolt from the blue! His mind went blank. His always-sharp eyes widened, and he stood rooted to the spot in shock. His mouth opened slightly, his face a mixture of absurd disbelief.

Wh-what? Prince Lucci, what are you saying? Children? My… children? How could… how could that be possible?

If anyone else had said this, Magneto would never have believed it. But the one who said it was none other than Lucci. Could it be true? Could these two young people really be his children?

Wanda and Quicksilver trembled violently at Lucci's words! Instantly, unprecedented excitement and rapture surged across their faces.

"Father… Father?" Wanda's beautiful eyes welled instantly with shining tears. She stretched out a trembling hand, as if wanting to touch the man standing before her—familiar, yet a stranger. But her hand froze in the air, deep anxiety and fear twisting her features. Was this just a beautiful dream?

By his side, Quicksilver wasn't as emotional as Wanda, but his clenched fists and reddened eyes betrayed his turbulent feelings. At first, Magneto was utterly stunned, then slowly tried to steady himself. He stared at the two young faces before him, their tears and boundless expectation clear in their eyes. Hoarsely, he asked the question weighing most on his mind:

"Your… mother, what's her name?"

Both Wanda and Quicksilver responded in unison: "Magda."

At the name—Magda, cherished deep in his heart for so long—Magneto's new-found psychological defense shattered in an instant! The last doubts in his eyes vanished!

It's them! Really, it's them! My children! My children aren't dead!

For the proud, lonely king of mutants, a rapture never before experienced, a recovered sense of family, struck like a tidal wave. He could no longer hold back his emotions, fiercely embracing Wanda and Quicksilver.

"My… my children…"

"Father!"

All the yearning and closeness that had been suppressed for more than a decade exploded at this moment. The father and his two children hugged each other and wept like children.

Somewhere along the line, Professor X appeared at the edge of the training ground, in his trademark wheelchair. He smiled and applauded, watching the hug. The surrounding mutants also burst into enthusiastic applause, congratulating the long-separated father and children on their reunion!

No one knew how long it took for the emotions of the reunited family to settle down. At last, they tidied up and walked to Lucci's side, bowing deeply in respect.

"Thank you, Prince Lucci!" Magneto's eyes shone with gratitude he had never felt before.

Wanda and Quicksilver also looked up at Lucci with both reverence and gratitude.

Faced with the heartfelt gratitude and loyalty of Magneto's family, Lucci merely smiled, nodding as he helped them to stand.

"Erik, spend time with your children. You've missed so much over the years."

With that said, he glanced over at Professor X. Without a word, the two men turned to leave, walking away together with the mutants. This warm, emotional space belonged only to the family who had finally reunited after all those years apart.

Arriving in the headmaster's office, Professor X personally made tea for Lucci. Gazing at Lucci's youthful, handsome face, his eyes filled with deep thanks and sincere admiration.

"Prince Lucci," Charles said gently, "Erik… hasn't smiled like that in many years. Thank you on his behalf."

Lucci picked up a teacup, took a sip, and smiled quietly. "It's nothing. And I didn't do this just for him. Wanda's chaos magic and Pietro's speed—they are irreplaceable forces in the coming battle."

Professor X nodded seriously. His face returned to solemnity. "By the way, Prince Lucci, before your return, Diana had already gone back to Themyscira. She's gathering the best Amazon warriors to prepare for the fight."

"I see." Lucci nodded, satisfied. The Amazons of Themyscira were fearsome, each one a battle-hardened specialist. Their teamwork and fearless spirit made them an unshakeable fighting force.

In Lucci's mind, a list quickly took shape—Earth's mightiest available combat teams. Needless to say, there was the magical legion of Kamar Taj. The Amazons could fight on their own. With Professor X and Magneto in command, supported by talents like Jean Grey, Wanda, and Quicksilver, the mutant faction had ample power to spearhead the front lines.

As for the Avengers and Justice League, though their strengths varied, they could serve as flexible and unpredictable forces. By this calculation, he realized: there was yet another comparable force—Atlantis—but their true power shone underwater. On land, their fighting capacity dropped sharply.

Wakanda would be the main battlefield here—a pure military deployment of Atlantis would be wasteful. After a moment's thought, a bold strategy formed in Lucci's mind:

Who says there can't be water on land? All he had to do was open a massive portal to the ocean at the crucial moment!

Thinking thus, a mischievous smile played at Lucci's lips, as if he held everything in the palm of his hand. He closed his eyes, reaching out with his spiritual sense to contact Arthur.

…

Meanwhile, in the deep-sea kingdom of Atlantis…

Arthur sat in boredom atop his magnificent coral-gold throne, listening to undersea lords endlessly bicker over barren seafloor territories. The monotony was suffocating; he'd rather be battling monsters in trenches than sitting here for another second.

Suddenly—without warning—a majestic and boundless voice echoed directly in the depths of his soul.

[Arthur.]

Thunder-like, the voice made Arthur's body shudder violently. It's him! The god who single-handedly defeated Superman at Metropolis—Prince Lucci!

The arguing sea lords fell silent at Arthur's sudden reaction. All of Atlantis's palace froze as all eyes turned, bewildered, to the young king.

Yet Arthur ignored them, mind captured wholly by Lucci's voice:

"In a few days, Thanos, The Mad Titan, will invade Earth with his fleet. At the critical moment, I will open a massive portal for you to strike from the endless deep sea. Prepare your forces for a devastating assault on the enemy army!"

"Flood seven armies?" Arthur repeated, half in a daze. In his mind's eye, he saw an apocalyptic scene: endless tidal waves crashing down from the skies, countless alien invaders and war machines caught in a death vortex, utterly crushed by him and the Atlantean armies.

His fighting spirit roared to life!

"Yes, Prince Lucci! Atlantis will fight for you!"

The divine voice slowly faded. Mera, beside him, rushed over in confusion. "Arthur! What happened?"

Arthur, face more solemn than ever, repeated Lucci's orders to her. Mera nodded, "Understood. If it's Prince Lucci's command, all we need do is prepare for war."

Arthur nodded, then suddenly stood, turning to face the sea lords. He raised the golden Trident of the Seven Seas, symbol of the ocean king's power, and thundered:

"Transmit my order! Every soldier of the Atlantean Legion—prepare for maximum combat readiness at once!

Open the armory! Equip every brave warrior with the finest deep sea black iron armor and high-pressure water pulse cannons!

In a few days, we follow the footsteps of Prince Lucci, and show the universe the full might of Atlantis!"

…

Days of effort flashed by in an instant.

On the wide plains of Wakanda, the very fabric of space rippled wildly. The next moment, light flared—Lucci appeared alongside Jean, Jane, Hulk, the X-Men, Magneto, and the mutant armies. Storm, Cyclops, Colossus, Pietro… and newly joined Scarlet Witch Wanda and Quicksilver Pietro.

Virtually all of Earth's top mutants had gathered, the army projecting a peerless aura. As they emerged from the portal, thousands of mutants' overwhelming presence blasted away the clouds above the plains in an instant.

Soon, red and yellow flashes streaked across the sky, stopping in front of Lucci. Superman and the Flash. Behind them, a futuristic Bat-plane landed nearby. The hatch opened, revealing Bruce Wayne in his latest armor.

"Prince Lucci!" Superman, Bruce Wayne, and Flash all saluted Lucci respectfully.

Lucci nodded with a smile.

To the side, Quicksilver was awestruck at the Flash's speed, blurting out: "Hey, your speed's not bad at all!"

Flash replied with a laugh: "That's right! On Earth, when it comes to speed, except for Prince Lucci and Superman, I fear no one!"

He'd barely finished when a silver blur zipped past—Quicksilver darted away, his voice echoing: "Really, now?"

The Flash was stunned. He hadn't even seen Quicksilver move, as he hadn't activated the Speed Force! It was a speed unlike any other—the Flash's own was achieved via a higher-dimensional energy field, the Speed Force. But Quicksilver's seemed to be an absolute speed, pure and physical, cells vibrating at their limit.

With a smile, Quicksilver shot back: "How about it? After this war, let's race—let's see who's the true King of Speed in 0.001 seconds!"

"Fine! Let's race!" The Flash's competitive spirit blazed.

Just then, several Quinjet fighters, belonging to S.H.I.E.L.D., roared into the sky and landed near the battlefield. Out poured Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and teams of elite S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. But seeing the assembled might of the Earth Alliance, they instantly understood what was happening. All the Avengers collectively gasped, shocked by the incredible lineup before them.

Especially Iron Man—looking at JARVIS's energy readouts, even he couldn't believe his eyes. He scanned the lineup—Superman in classic red and blue, the Flash bathed in golden lightning, Bruce Wayne in his Anti-Superman armor, Magneto radiating electromagnetic power, and the formidable Professor X. Behind them, thousands of mutants, all surging with unique and potent energy.

This was, effectively, a rewrite of the house of superheroes! For the first time, Tony Stark realized just how inconsequential the "Avengers" truly were on this blue planet. Compared to Lucci's forces, their small group looked like amateur cosplayers lost at a convention.

…