In the light-screen footage, Apocalypse was teaching Magneto how to awaken his latent potential—how to turn the Earth itself.
Outside the screen, Homelander stared wide-eyed, convinced this was utter nonsense.
Tony Stark shot him a sideways glance and mocked him,
"Homelander, maybe read a few more books before you talk. Theoretically speaking, Apocalypse isn't wrong. If Erik's control over metal is strong and precise enough, he could influence the Earth's magnetic field to a certain extent."
That said, Tony himself was no less shaken.
In the future footage revealed by previous quiz games, he had already seen how terrifying Erik could be—
ripping warships straight out of the sea,
freezing incoming missiles midair with a casual gesture,
even lifting an entire stadium into the sky.
Each of those scenes had left a deep impression.
But moving the Earth?
Wasn't that going a bit too far?
Bruce Banner shook his head.
"Tony, you said it yourself—that's only theoretical. I honestly can't imagine a single person being able to do something like that."
Erik Lehnsherr lowered his head and stared at his own hands.
After experiencing two quiz games, he had already pushed his powers further than ever before—but even then, he had never considered manipulating the Earth's magnetic field itself.
An individual was simply too small.
Compared to a planet, a human being was nothing more than a grain of sand. It was almost impossible to imagine such a tiny existence moving something as massive as the Earth.
And yet—
In the future footage, he did it.
Apocalypse merely provided guidance. Unlike with the other three Horsemen, he did not directly enhance Erik's abilities.
Instead, Erik relied on his own power—combined with the potential he wrung from his deepest pain and trauma—to seize control of the metal buried far beneath the ground.
He roared.
The buildings of the concentration camp began to collapse. Barbed wire and structures crumbled like fragile toy blocks, torn apart by magnetic forces.
Moments later, Auschwitz was reduced to rubble.
As this happened, Apocalypse proclaimed with satisfaction,
"Everything humanity has built will collapse! From the ashes of their world, we will build a better one!"
Those words became the clearest annotation of Erik Lehnsherr's "awakening."
The footage ended.
Outside the screen, Erik stood frozen in a daze. The other players exchanged stunned looks, shock written across their faces.
Bruce Banner muttered,
"He really did it… This is insane. Are mutants all this crazy?"
Tony Stark scratched his head.
"Honestly, after footage like this gets out, the situation for mutants is only going to get worse."
Erik Lehnsherr let out a cold laugh.
"Don't kid yourself. Things have never been good for mutants."
At that moment, a new question appeared on the light screen:
[With whose help did Apocalypse launch the world's nuclear arsenals?]
[A: Magneto, Erik Lehnsherr
B: Storm, Ororo Munroe
C: Mystique, Raven Darkhölme
D: Professor X, Charles Xavier]
"Nukes again… always nukes!"
Natasha Romanoff slapped her forehead, feeling like she was developing nuclear PTSD.
Erik Lehnsherr sneered.
"Just like I said—humans arrogantly believe they hold the power to destroy the world. In reality, all they can destroy is themselves."
Bruce Banner sighed.
"Nuclear weapons were supposed to be a double-edged sword—maintaining balance and peace. But now it feels like they're always ending up in the hands of enemies."
Tony Stark shrugged.
"They gave humanity decades of peace, but also made us complacent. We should be developing even higher-level technology."
As they discussed, the players were also quietly analyzing the question.
Natasha Romanoff pondered,
"Out of the four options, only two would firmly side with Apocalypse… Or are Mystique and Professor X going to join him too?"
"Impossible!"
Tony Stark and Erik Lehnsherr both shook their heads at the same time.
They exchanged a glance. Tony gestured for Erik to speak.
Erik said solemnly,
"Raven… I'm not sure. But Charles would never follow Apocalypse. Otherwise, he wouldn't be the Charles I know."
Bruce Banner studied the options.
"Honestly, it feels like all of them except B could launch nuclear weapons."
Magneto needed no explanation—anything made of metal was under his control.
Mystique could disguise herself as authorized personnel and fire the missiles.
Professor X could simply control people's minds and make them press the button.
By comparison, Option B seemed the easiest to eliminate.
Yet based on the quiz game's past patterns, the option that looks obviously wrong often turns out to be correct…
The others reached the same conclusion.
When the countdown began, no one was confident. Everyone waited until the final second to buzz in.
The right to answer went to Natasha Romanoff. She glanced at Tony Stark, hesitated briefly, then decided to gamble.
"This question—I choose B."
The first option ruled out became her answer.
After hesitating, Tony Stark also chose B. Seeing their high accuracy so far, Homelander followed suit without hesitation. Bruce Banner did the same.
Only Erik Lehnsherr chose A—himself.
Moments later, the correct answer was revealed:
[Player Natasha Romanoff—incorrect. −4 points.]
[Player Tony Stark…Player Erik Lehnsherr and Player Homelander—incorrect. −1 point each.]
The correct answer was D.
All players were wrong.
Tony Stark raised an eyebrow.
"Great. We got played again."
Because Professor X's abilities were nearly bug-level, he had seemed like the most plausible answer—precisely why everyone instinctively ruled him out.
They expected a twist.
Instead, the simplest answer was the truth.
After thinking for a moment, Erik Lehnsherr said,
"Looking back, Option D only seemed impossible because Charles would never help Apocalypse. Which raises the real question…"
He paused, eyes narrowing.
"Why would he help?"
..
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