Even if Russell was no longer on Earth, Mutants would never again have to hide in dark sewers or fear humanity's Sentinels and hunter squads.
An army of Level Five Mutants could crush every anti-Mutant organization, force the United Nations to its knees at the negotiating table and redefine the balance of power between humans and Mutants. It could plant the Mutants' flag on every planet in the Solar System.
Magneto had pursued that grand goal all his life.
He had founded the Brotherhood, organized countless raids and uprisings, and even seized control of nuclear missiles in an attempt to destroy human civilization.
But all those efforts paled beside the possibility Russell had revealed in just twenty breaths.
A god who could replicate the genes of Level Five Mutants. A god who stood with Mutants. If Russell wished it, Mutant history would not stop at claiming New York. From this day forward, it could be rewritten.
Magneto turned his head. His gaze passed over Apocalypse's shoulder and settled on Russell's nonchalant face.
He pressed his lips together. Thoughts churned and boiled inside him like molten iron, but he remained silent.
After a lifetime of experience, Magneto knew when to speak and when to wait. More importantly, he knew Russell was not someone others could easily sway.
Standing on Professor X's other side, Jean Grey had the most complicated reaction of the three.
She saw something deeper than Charles and Erik did. As the host of the Phoenix Force, Jean's perception of energy had long since surpassed the bounds of Mutant abilities.
The moment Russell acted, her consciousness touched the true nature of those golden threads.
When Russell rewrote Felicity's genes, Jean did not see editing on a biochemical level. She saw the gene sequences being narrated anew within the golden