An empty ship full of goods is magnetically steered by Magneto towards the island Mykines amidst the Faroe Islands. The caretaker, apparently the sole human there, addresses him, remarking he doesn’t strike him as a picture-taking tourist. He isn’t, comes the tight-lipped reply. The man asks if that is his boat parking there, and again Magneto agrees. Islands have been an interest of his for years and he has collected quite a few. He was recently asked to procure one for a colleague. There were certain requirements regarding location: weather, other uninteresting demands. So here he is, money in hand.
The caretaker tells him he is talking to the wrong hand. And the owner is a bit eccentric. A hard fellow to know if he is being honest. Magneto agrees, he has something of a reputation. The caretaker asks if he should give him a shout, tell him there is an interested buyer? It could be a while though. Magneto promises to wait.
Flashback:
Hellfire Bay, the White Palace…
Where the White Queen Emma Frost has visited Magneto to dinner. Jokingly, he pretends to be insulted for her not having invited him before. Word has spread about the mutant miracle she has hiding in her kitchen.
The four-armed Saucier is about to present the next course. Emma agrees; Saucier is a gift. Ask him and he will tell you. And if you doubt him, he will threaten you with dirt. Saucier informs her if he will make her eat dirt, she will eat dirt and then thank him for it. Tonight, however, they will eat lobster. He died for them and from his death Saucier resurrected him as a dish so succulent they might in fact die from this indulgence. But this is Krakoa, and there are worse ways to die.
Magneto finds that the cook does not exaggerate. He suggests Emma tell him why she invited him before dessert. Having him pour her a glass of champagne, she explains that, in the past months with all things Hellfire, she has learned from watching how humanity reacts to what they are doing… and she has an idea. She would like for him to find her an island…
The present:
And so, Magneto waits as the suns sets and it begins to drizzle. Nighttime comes and he builds a campfire. The caretaker returns and offers him something warm to drink. He has heard from him. He said he’ll get here when he feels like it. No specific word on when that might be. That sounds like him, Magneto agrees. He gets up and walks to the cliffside.
Something comes from the waters at great speed and King Namor lands in front of him. Coolly, he remarks that, as a boon for diligent service, he gave the caretaker an Atlantean Gresh to contact him, if ever he needed his assistance. Needed, not wanted, he stresses. Yet here he is, king of Atlantis, prince of the oceans, answering the summons of “there’s a stranger in our strange land…” only to find him. Just a mutant. Less special each and every day, he thinks.
Magneto just points out that Namor kept him waiting. He is a king, is the reply. Did he expect it to be any other way? He should be grateful for an audience. Either way, he should use it, and quickly. He has matters of dark water to attend.
Magneto explains that he is there on the White Queen’s behalf. She would like to lease the island. He understands, Namor replies more softly. Then they can come to terms? Magneto asks. Offering his hands, Namor replies, that depends. Does he feel like a swim? Magneto takes the proffered hand. He could take a dip.
Protecting himself with a magnetic forcefield, he follows Namor into the Molloy Deep. Namor explains that, a month ago, Andromeda sent an Atlantean exploratory team into the deepest part of this trench. Seismic activity had cracked the wall and the great siren song was heard. The team was never heard from again. Now he is here to see what happened to them. “See?” Magneto softly asks as they swim down further. It’s dark down here. Namor retorts, the sun is for thin skin and weak hearts. The deep is for those made of sterner stuff.
They find an entrance to a cave closed with a golden gate adorned with a kraken-like symbol. Namor explains, it’s the spiral of the old kings of Atlantis. Uhari, he thinks. Can Magneto open it? Magneto replies, it’s a brass-tin-iron composite, so yes. Should he? Only one way to know for sure, Namor decides and Magneto uses his power on the gate.
Moments later, a kraken bursts out and attacks them. It’s always a kraken, Namor sighs. He throws his trident at the monster… and misses. The kraken grabs both of them with its tentacles, ignoring Namor’s protests. It swallows them whole and they find themselves in utter darkness. This goes well, he thinks, Magneto remarks.
They find a lit opening and three women, half-humanoid half-fish (or kraken), who ask what they want. Also in the room, above three plinths float three small objects. Namor explains he lost a group of explorers in these deep waters weeks ago. He’s trying to find them.
One of the women smiles that their bones are around them scattered with millennia of others. As theirs will be if they choose incorrectly. She orders them to choose - the spiral or the stone. Only in choosing correctly can they find their way back to shallow waters.
This is simple, Namor decides and grabs the floating spiral. He explains it is the symbol of the Uhari. Before he can continue, tentacles spring from an opening in the spiral and grab his head.
The women tell Magneto that he can save him, if he chooses correctly. He muses that the choice seems obvious, but he sees three pillars behind them, so he does not choose the stone but the other.
The women scream in denial. Two of them crumble to dust, the third becomes a crone. She berates him as a trickster and thief. Does he know what he has done? She takes a key from the third plinth. Does he care at all what this does? Magneto makes it clear he doesn’t. He and Namor turn to the portal. Magneto asks about the island. Namor tells him, it’s his. What is he going to do with it?
Back on the island Magneto puts the key carefully away and begins to unload the cargo from the ship with his powers. The lady asked for a favor, he announces, the lady gets a favor. Magnetically, he creates an elegant, high-tech building around the face of a Sentinel.
A little later, he invites Emma Frost via a Krakoan gate. She is pleased with the result and hopes it wasn’t too much trouble. Not at all, he demurs. Namor sends his regards and it turns out he wasn’t especially attached to the place. Apparently, he won it gambling with some Danes after the Second World War. She has her island. What is she going to do with it? Send invitations, she replies, and see who turns up.
