Mystique had already slipped into Adam's ranks. With her shape-shifting powers, turning herself into a Xenomorph had taken serious effort. She'd spent a long time gathering every scrap of information she could on the creatures to avoid any slip-ups in appearance or behavior.
She'd succeeded. When the Xenomorph numbers grew again, she blended right in.
The only real risk was Adam's precise ability to sense every Xenomorph's mental state. If he picked up on anything off, she'd be exposed. So far, though, everything seemed normal.
And she'd been lucky. From Adam's cryptic conversation with Coulson, she'd pulled the exact intel she needed most: the Flying Man was one of the Deviants.
The Brotherhood had dealt with all kinds of mutants over the years. Naturally, they'd crossed paths with a few of those ancient beings who'd lived for thousands upon thousands of years and picked up fragments of information along the way.
In the past, that knowledge had been mostly useless... good for nothing except stirring up public opinion against mutants, a weak argument that they weren't the same as ordinary humans.
But now, things were different.
"The origin of the mutant race is unknown, but after confirmation from Adam and S.H.I.E.L.D., the possibility that Ikaris is a Deviant is extremely high!"
Mystique's fingers flew across the keys of her palm-sized device.
Even for her, the revelation hit hard. She couldn't hide her shock.
The Deviants… the source of all mutants… had they truly appeared?
On second thought, though... if mutants could live for thousands of years, was it really that surprising for a Deviant to have survived tens of thousands?
The X-gene could awaken all kinds of bizarre abilities. The Deviants' infinite mutation genes would be even more unpredictable. A longevity power seemed almost ordinary by comparison.
She didn't know about the Celestials, and she had no idea that the Celestials had banded together to wipe out the Deviants long ago. The intelligent Deviants who had built a thriving civilization twenty thousand years earlier couldn't possibly have survived to the present day.
Before long, new information came back.
"Raven, is this intel solid? You're sure those two aren't playing you?"
"It's possible they are, but it's worth the risk. If the Xenomorphs obey Adam's commands through something other than the worst-case scenario... telepathic links... and instead use visual recognition, heat sensing, or pheromones, then Adam won't be able to detect me."
Raven had complete confidence in her shape-shifting. As long as nothing went wrong on the mental, psychic, or thought level, she'd be fine.
She urgently reported her major discovery to the person on the other end of the line... Magneto.
"Alaska? Understood. I'll head out personally to find our true ancestors! If the information checks out, we can separate our kind from humanity at the genetic level. This will unite mutant brothers and sisters across the world like never before!"
Many mutants... including the X-Men... still saw themselves as part of humanity to some degree. They were reluctant to stand against humans; it felt like killing their own.
But if they could confirm that mutants and Deviants were one and the same, it would be an earth-shattering revelation that completely rewrote mutant history.
On a steel island somewhere in the Pacific, Magneto ended the communication, his emotions churning.
He sat alone on his throne for a long time, lost in thought, even revisiting the painful memories of the moment his powers first awakened.
"After decades of struggle, I've finally seen a glimmer of hope… I've found a way to break the inevitable extinction of our kind!"
Magneto suppressed his rising excitement and summoned Destiny.
Destiny was a truly unique mutant. She wore a mask with no eyeholes across her entire face and possessed the immense power to see through fate itself. A single glance could reveal countless possible futures.
Her position in the Brotherhood was special. She rarely took part in operations and only appeared when Magneto needed her, delivering critical information.
The last time she had shown herself, years earlier, she had told Magneto and Professor X that the only future for mutants was extinction. There were no other paths.
"A new fate has emerged," Magneto said, his voice rising. "Our ancestors... the source of the X-gene... the Deviants have appeared once more in this world. I'm certain he isn't alone. There must be others of his kind!"
"As a leader, you shouldn't let your emotions run so high," Destiny said coldly. "That will be your fatal weakness."
Magneto calmed himself. "I need you to look into the future again."
"I already have. What do you want to know? That the Deviants' return will bring new life to mutants?"
"Isn't that the case? Or are you saying the report about Deviants in Alaska is false?" Magneto countered.
"It's true. I've seen new visions. There is indeed a group of Deviants in Alaska," Destiny replied indifferently.
She had seen more. The reptilian Deviants that had appeared on Earth over the past few millennia were fundamentally different from the wise, civilization-building Deviants Magneto hoped for from twenty thousand years ago. But both were Deviants, nonetheless.
Destiny had seen things she chose not to share. For the overall future, the outcome remained the same. If there was any difference, it was that…
Ever since the man named Adam arrived with his Xenomorphs, the timeline for mutant extinction seemed to have moved up dramatically.
But when the only path was extinction, dying sooner or later made little difference.
"Among the countless fragmented futures, the overall trend hasn't changed. Mutants will still disappear. If you're hoping for some variation along the way, there is one."
Destiny spoke coldly: "The manner of their disappearance has grown… stranger. They vanish in a different form."
Magneto frowned, growing impatient. He wanted more specifics, but even Destiny could only glimpse shattered, chaotic, sometimes jumbled images in overwhelming numbers. How could she describe every detail?
It would take a lifetime to explain, and she had no patience for it.
The precognitive mutant Destiny existed in a natural isolation from other mutants... the gulf created by seeing the one fixed certainty of the future and how it reshaped her understanding of the present.
Destiny left without another word to Magneto.
"At least a real change has occurred. A different form of extinction? Then I'll make sure my people walk that path! With my direct intervention, turning mutants into Deviants still fulfills the future of mutant extinction!"
Magneto stood, rising into the sky. He looked toward Alaska, his eyes burning with madness and deep, fervent hope.
Based on the information Adam had leaked, Magneto was convinced: the future of mutantkind very likely lay in Alaska!
As for the possibility of a trap… please. Even if it was a trap, Magneto believed his power gave him every right to step into it anyway.
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