Marvel's FBI?

"I'll let you go, but don't even think about pulling anything."

Back on the surface, Dante pointed at Magneto's nose with a final warning before canceling the Will Green Light restraint.

Tear!

Magneto ripped off the tape across his mouth with dramatic flair, spitting the gauze onto the floor like it owed him money.

But just as he was about to go full mutant revolutionary mode, his eyes fell on Wanda and Pietro—his kids.

His towering rage deflated about thirty percent on the spot.

Then his gaze landed on Dante.

And just like that, his anger dropped another fifty percent.

"I'm not interested in your squabbles with HYDRA or the Asgardians," Magneto muttered, now all brooding restraint. "I just want to take my children… and leave."

"Children?" Dante raised an eyebrow, doing his best shocked face. "What children?"

He turned toward Wanda and Pietro, who had been calmed by White Queen's telepathic suggestion magic, and asked, "He says he's your dad. You two close?"

"Not really," Wanda replied, deadpan.

"Oh. Well then, guess he's not." Dante turned back to Magneto with a bright smile. "See? They said it themselves. You sure it's not just wishful thinking at this point? What's next? Kidnapping them in front of a federal agent?"

Magneto opened his mouth—but then caught Wanda's expression.

Cold. Distant. Full of disappointment.

His heart cracked a little.

He'd been rejected by the world. Had severed ties with Charles. And now, the only soft spots left in his metal shell—his children—looked at him like strangers.

"…Tell Charles… to take care of them."

That's all he said before turning and walking out of the HYDRA facility without another word.

"I don't fully understand what just happened," Loki said, retrieving his scepter from the lab bench like he was casually picking up his groceries. "But it seems that… young man isn't planning to join our team."

The X-Men collectively gave Loki a weird look.

"Did he just say 'young man'? Doesn't he look the same age as us?"

"Logan's over two hundred and looks like a grumpy homeless guy. These people are gods—they're probably older than recorded history. Calling Magneto a young man is fair game."

Dante shrugged. "Let him go. Different path, different ending. As long as he doesn't get in our way, we don't need to bother."

Then he turned to Loki, squinting. "You've gotten… real comfortable real fast. Already acting like we're best buds?"

"What choice do I have?" Loki sighed. "I signed a 250-year employment contract—and a demonic pact. Unless I want to spend eternity rubbing Mephisto's hooves, I'm your obedient little field agent now."

"Trust me," Dante smirked. "Being an FBI agent is way more fun than screwing around in the Nine Realms."

---

The Latveria raid had paid off. Big time.

In addition to system rewards, they'd salvaged a trove of HYDRA research data on the X gene.

With the captured HYDRA scientists and the X-Men's guidance, there was now a real chance to decode the full potential of mutant powers.

First thing on the return trip?

Have White Queen give those scientists a light psychic scrub—just enough to ensure total cooperation. Like installing new antivirus software.

Then Dante had them test him for the X gene.

He'd gotten White Queen's Diamond Form via system reward. He wanted to know if that also meant he now had an activated X gene.

The results?

Nada.

No X gene. Not even dormant.

This confirmed it: System abilities were from a higher plane of power. They didn't operate on DNA.

"Fascinating," Loki said, flipping through the mutant data while lounging across his seat like a cat with a doctorate. "Your so-called mutant bloodlines are absurd. The randomness alone is enough to break causality. Some can barely light a candle. Others can obliterate the moon."

He wasn't a scientist, but with nearly 1,500 years of experience, he was probably more informed than most actual researchers—on a cosmic scale.

"You know, Odin once conquered the Nine Realms."

"You know that too?" Dante raised an eyebrow. "Right, your whole Norse pantheon thing became Earth mythology. Though I gotta say, I love the version where you're Thor's uncle instead of his brother."

"Pure slander," Loki said with a smug grin. "Has nothing to do with actual mythology. But I am curious… did Asgard really conquer ancient Earth?"

Dante hesitated. Because this wasn't the Marvel Universe. It was a scrambled egg of everything.

Who knew how many gods and monsters had taken shots at Earth over the millennia?

A Heavenly Father-tier Odin might've shown up—but it was anyone's guess who else had been on the guest list.

"When Odin conquered the Nine Realms, Thor and I hadn't even been born," Loki mused. "And a lot of history from back then… has been 'erased.' No one knows the full truth anymore."

Then he suddenly sat up straight.

"Oh, right! Speaking of Thor—Dante, I need to tell you something."

Dante narrowed his eyes.

Here it comes.

"Right before I was captured by that ironclad green maniac, I sent a distress signal to Asgard."

"To who?"

"My brother. Thor. God of Thunder." Loki gave an innocent smile. "Big guy. Bit of a brute."

"How big of a brute?"

Doctor Doom in this universe was a scholar-mage hybrid. Who knew what flavor of Thor they were getting?

But judging from Loki's state?

Probably not one of the nerfed ones.

"Pretty serious brute," Loki said. "One time he charged Jotunheim by himself. Just for fun. If he gets that signal and comes charging down to Midgard? Good luck."

"You want him to come save you, don't you?"

"Oh, I do," Loki said, grinning wider. "But if he charges in and finds you first, do me a favor—take him down."

"Wait—what? Why would I fight your brother?"

"I signed up for 250 years of unpaid cosmic labor! I'm not doing that alone. What's wrong with sharing the workload? I call it… sibling delegation."

Dante stared.

Then slowly gave Loki a deadpan thumbs-up.

"Wow. Loki, you really are committed to screwing over your own brother."

"Thank you," Loki said with a little bow. "I take my mischief very seriously."

(To be continued.)

***

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