Chapter 50: Everyone Knows Kamen Riders Use Rubber Suits
"I've still got things I want to do in this life," Ethan said. "I'm not heading to hell anytime soon."
"Pretty outfit. Question is whether the kid wearing it actually has the skills."
"Or maybe you don't realize that my abilities are absolute kryptonite against those metal suits."
Magneto's face held a flicker of curiosity, but he chose to make the first move anyway.
He extended a hand slowly, and a wave of magnetic force surged out of him, trying to seize control of Ethan's armor and yank him around like a marionette.
But no matter how hard Magneto pushed, Ethan stood completely still. Like a statue.
Ethan watched the surprise creep across Magneto's face and had to suppress a laugh.
He could see exactly what Magneto was thinking. Magneto's powers were brutally effective against metal armor. The problem was that Ethan's "armor" wasn't actually metal at all.
"Common knowledge," Ethan said helpfully, "is that Kamen Riders use rubber suits. There's not a single piece of steel in this thing. Your magnetism is useless."
Magneto wasn't insulted. He'd been around far too long for that. The faint smile stayed on his lips, the calm expression of a man who always had another card to play.
His hands swept upward, and the cars parked along both sides of the street rose into the air, lifted by an invisible force. Then he flicked his wrists forward — and the suspended vehicles became artillery.
A volley of cars came hurtling toward Ethan like missiles.
Ethan didn't move. He simply watched the situation calmly, sizing it up.
Then he raised one leg and swung it in a sharp roundhouse kick into the nearest vehicle.
The car flipped end over end through the air, tracing a perfect arc before crashing back to the street with a deafening boom. And — somehow — every kick Ethan landed left a trail of blue flame burning in the air, as if some mystical energy were pouring out of his body.
"Hey, hey, hey, old man — knock it off!" Ethan complained, very obviously distressed at the property damage. "This is my turf. You're trashing the neighborhood."
He pressed the device on his belt again.
"Eternal Requiem!"
Light burst from the device, condensed in his hand, and resolved into a sleek, vicious-looking dagger. Cold light flickered along the blade — clearly not an ordinary weapon.
Ethan gripped the dagger and charged.
His eyes were locked, focused, deadly serious. He moved like a tiger coming down off a mountain — nothing in his path could stop him.
The street became a battlefield. The two of them traded blows back and forth at devastating speed.
Magneto used his magnetism to hurl cars, ripped-up rebar, manhole covers — anything heavy and metallic — in continuous waves. Ethan met every assault with the new power of Kamen Rider Eternal.
The exchange grew so violent that the energy waves tearing through the air felt like they might rip the sky open.
Tony Stark and Magneto's two lieutenants had retreated a considerable distance, well aware that the splash damage from this fight could kill them.
"This Ethan guy is insane," Pyro muttered, watching in genuine awe. "I can't believe he's keeping up with the boss this long. And — why does his cape look like it's welded on? It doesn't move out of place no matter what he does."
His eyes shone with admiration. Ethan's display of power had impressed him completely.
"It would be amazing if he joined the Brotherhood." Blink's voice was dreamy. "Then I could see him every day."
She was looking at Ethan with open infatuation. People are drawn to strength, and Ethan's display had just made her heart skip several beats.
To be fair, the Brotherhood's male roster wasn't exactly a parade of catches. There was a guy covered head to toe in spikes, another guy who looked like a giant toad, and almost no one else who could be considered conventionally normal-looking.
If Ethan had known what Blink was thinking, he might have felt slightly trapped. He had no particular interest in romance.
Tony Stark watched the fight with a deep frown, clearly lost in thought. Ethan's performance had genuinely shaken him. He was starting to seriously consider how he would handle this man if they ever ended up on opposite sides.
"JARVIS — record everything. I want full data on Ethan's armor system."
His voice was firm. He didn't just want to understand Ethan's capabilities — he wanted to learn from them. Inspiration for his own next-generation suit.
"Damn it. When I get home, I am upgrading this suit. And I'm going to start designing an anti-Ethan armor while I'm at it." Tony's mutter carried real frustration.
This fight was a wake-up call for him. He was beginning to understand that he needed to keep advancing — fast — if he wanted to be ready for opponents like Magneto, like Ethan, like whoever came next.
"Boy," Magneto said, parrying another strike, "with power like yours — why are you wasting yourself in this small, broken corner of the city?"
He looked at Ethan with something approaching genuine regret.
Ethan smiled faintly. "Because this is my home."
"Hell's Kitchen isn't your destination. You have the ability to go anywhere. To be anything." Magneto's brow furrowed. He genuinely didn't understand this kind of stubbornness.
"What kind of person turns their back on their own home?" Ethan said. "Because this is Hell's Kitchen, I have to stay. I'm the one who has to change it. I'm not the type to run from a fight."
"Sorry. I just want a quiet life. You'll have to chase your dreams without me."
He didn't say anything else. He just threw himself back into the fight, harder than before. Every strike now carried real conviction.
Magneto started to feel the pressure. His stamina was draining fast.
Time seemed to slow down. Each attack and counterattack felt heavier than the last. Magneto could feel his strength bleeding out — and Ethan's strikes were only getting sharper.
In one rapid exchange, Magneto exposed an opening. Ethan caught it instantly. A solid punch slammed into Magneto's chest with the full weight of his armored body behind it.
Magneto went sailing backward and crashed into a wall.
He pulled himself back to his feet, slowly, his expression a mixture of shock and grudging admiration as he looked at the young man who had just dropped him.
"Time to end this," Ethan said. He pressed the device on his belt one last time.
"Eternal Maximum Drive!"
The belt's voice rang out with the trigger sound effect. Ethan launched himself into the air, his right leg igniting with brilliant blue flame energy. He plummeted toward Magneto like a burning meteor, every line of his body committed to a single finishing blow.
Pyro and Blink saw their boss in danger and surged forward to intercept—
—and then a familiar voice cut through the chaos.
"STOP!"
Ethan froze in mid-descent. Instinctively, he pulled back the kick.
A beautiful young woman had stepped between him and Magneto, her clear eyes blazing with resolve.
"Wanda?" Ethan's voice cracked with surprise. "You're back?"
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