Captain Marvel Arrives, the Battle Begins

Off to the side, Magneto fixed his gaze on the red-haired woman below, whose face was almost a perfect copy of Jean Grey's. His fingers absently rubbed his chin, amusement and speculation stirring in his gray eyes.

Madelyne Pryor stood quietly behind Mister Sinister. Her black clothes made her skin look deathly pale, and her signature red hair fell loose around a face nearly identical to that of the X-Men's Phoenix, Jean Grey.

The only difference was in those emerald eyes. They held none of Jean's warmth or inner conflict, only a bone-deep, empty cold, like lifeless winter water.

"An identical face... She must be a clone. Government types love doing that."

Magneto murmured under his breath, a knowing smile touching his lips. Naturally, he assumed Madelyne was a genetic creation of the government.

"I wonder what Jean's face will look like when she sees her own clone?"

He knew Jean Grey all too well—or rather, he knew the Jean Grey she had become.

As the X-Men's most powerful fighter and the wielder of the Phoenix Force, she was proud and obsessive. She would never tolerate another body bearing a copy of her face and powers.

This spectacle had just gained a new twist.

The spectators still lingering at the edge of the square had been caught up in the shock of watching Russell reshape the Mutants' bodies.

But the moment Madelyne's face came fully into view, the crowd erupted.

"It's her! That red-haired Metahuman!"

"I know that face! She's the one who destroyed the Statue of Liberty with Russell last time!"

"That's not all. I heard she wiped out the executives of some big financial conglomerate in New York."

"Oh God, she's still here! Are those two about to start again? Run! Their last fight wrecked three blocks. We