The Young Magneto

In his past life, Alex had done plenty of big things and made plenty of enemies, but he had never experienced such cruel, inhuman slaughter. Seven days. Five hundred and thirty-six lives. Those two numbers echoed endlessly in Alex's mind. Every day was torment; he never knew when he would be the next to approach the Wall of Death and become another wronged soul beneath it.

Endless fear left Alex with no room for wishful thinking. Every day and night, whenever he had a chance, he seized the time to practice—practicing the method of training Psionic Power he had developed in his past life. It was similar to sitting in meditation, but without needing a specific posture; he could practice lying down or standing up. It was the best way to rapidly improve his Psionic Power.

A month passed quickly. The death toll rose from the initial five hundred and thirty-six to one thousand two hundred and seventy-two.

In truth, after that first week of frenzied slaughter, the camp had fallen into a dead silence. They did whatever they were told, even eating shit without anyone daring to resist. Everyone was cautious, living humbly, hoping only to keep their lives. But they could always find all kinds of reasons to trample your dignity and plunder your life.

After a month of nonstop practice, Alex's Teleportation had improved considerably. The range had increased from the initial one kilometer to three kilometers, and the cooldown had dropped from three minutes to two. Teleportation had improved, but taking Audrey and Ella out of the camp was still impossible!

That night, while everyone else was fast asleep, Alex used Teleportation to visit Audrey and Ella once more.

The women's barracks were even more crude than the men's. Three-tiered rectangular bunks, six feet wide and three feet high—in a space that small, five to ten people were crammed in to sleep every night.

A month of hellish experience had cast a gray film over the little angel's eyes. Her face, drained of all color, showed no expression. Only when she saw Alex did any different emotion appear.

Knowing her brother was coming tonight, Audrey had forced herself to stay awake. When she saw Alex appear, she lowered her voice and called out with a hint of joy, "Brother!"

"Audrey, I've made you suffer!" Alex was filled with regret toward Audrey. He had originally wanted to take Angel away from the war-torn lands of Europe, but instead, he had led her into the prison of Auschwitz.

Audrey raised her hand and gently wiped away the tears that had unconsciously spilled from Alex's eyes. She whispered, "Audrey isn't afraid. I know my brother will take me away."

Alex gently stroked Audrey's cheek and nodded firmly. "Audrey, trust your brother. I will take you out of here."

After a few more words, Audrey finally couldn't hold on any longer and fell into a deep sleep, her heart full of hope. Only on the nights Alex came could Audrey sleep so peacefully, without fear.

Watching Audrey sleep, Ella, who had been silent all along, finally spoke, hesitating.

"Alex... Ruth..."

Ruth. Alex thought of the shy, timid little girl from the Eisenhart family, who liked to hide behind her mother, Edith. Seeing Ella's expression, Alex felt a sense of dread. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"Ruth got sick yesterday. Edith took her to see the camp doctor, and they never came back." Ella's voice grew quieter and quieter, almost inaudible. "I'm worried about them..."

Alex didn't remember how he got back. He lay on his bunk, staring at the bedboard inches above him, where Jacob slept. That night, Alex didn't sleep at all. He didn't practice improving his Psionic Power either. He just kept thinking—should he tell Jacob this news? And if he did, how should he say it?

He agonized until the next morning. At the piercing sound of the bell, the silent brick room suddenly burst into noise. Everyone pulled on their clothes and rushed frantically toward the door. Anyone late would be beaten.

"Jacob!" Alex grabbed Jacob, hesitating. "There's something I need to tell you."

Jacob, while dressing the still-sleepy Marx without turning his head, replied, "Alex, whatever it is, just say it!"

"Edith and Ruth... they might..." Alex thought it over and decided to tell Jacob the truth. But when it came down to it, he couldn't get the words out.

Jacob's hands suddenly froze. He turned his head with difficulty to look at Alex, his gaunt face full of shock. "What did you say?" The drowsy Marx also snapped his eyes wide open, staring intently at Alex.

"The day before yesterday, Ruth got sick. Edith took her to see the camp doctor, and they never came back." Alex quickly finished the sentence and let out a long breath.

Jacob was stunned. He stared at Alex with vacant eyes, as if all life had drained from him in an instant. Marx threw his head back and roared, his face full of grief and anger.

Alex's eyes suddenly went wide. He saw a scene that left him dumbfounded.

The bunks in the brick room were all wooden, with only the joints held together by iron sheets. But now, those iron sheets were peeling up one by one, ready to fly off the wooden beds at any moment. Not only that, the scattered iron shovels and crowbars in the room also lifted into the air and flew toward them.

"What's going on?" Alex stared at Marx in front of him, stunned. A name suddenly popped into his head: Magneto. Magneto was a master of controlling metal. "Is Marx Magneto?"

Alex remembered that in the movies, Magneto was captured and sent to a camp in 1944. It was only 1940 now—the timeline didn't match. But besides Magneto, Alex couldn't think of anyone in Marvel who could control metal.

After a moment of shock, Alex snapped back to reality. Whether Marx was Magneto or not, he absolutely could not be discovered. Otherwise, just like in the movie, Sebastian Shaw would capture him for experiments.

Alex reached out to grab Marx, but suddenly a jolt of electricity traveled from Marx's shoulder into Alex's palm, then up his arm and through his whole body—a tingling numbness.

The sensation was fleeting. Alex didn't think much of it, writing it off as static electricity. He grabbed Marx's shoulders with both hands and shook him hard. "Marx, calm down. Don't get worked up!"

Marx was shaken out of it by Alex. His roar stopped, and the iron tools flying through the air instantly fell to the ground. As if all his strength had left him, Marx slumped into Alex's arms.

Alex glanced around. Everyone was busy running toward the door; no one had noticed them. He breathed a sigh of relief and quickly turned to Jacob. "Jacob, we have to survive. For them!"

Jacob's frail body jolted. A glimmer of life returned to his eyes, but there was nothing left in them except hatred. "You're right. We have to survive. To avenge them."