章 13: Chapter 13
The first time he loaded the template, Hawking was unconscious for an entire day and felt very weak when he woke up.
This time, he only lost consciousness for an hour and felt normal upon waking, with no signs of weakness—just his usual state.
He believed that with more training, there wouldn't be any side effects from loading the template anymore.
"Did you get in touch with the Professor?"
"No, I only reached Jean and Ororo. They are rushing back from Boston and are expected to arrive tomorrow."
Wolverine passed the beer in his hand to Bobby next to him. Bobby blew on the bottle's mouth, and a bottle of ice-cold beer was immediately ready.
Failing to contact Professor X basically confirmed that he had been captured by Stryker.
Professor X's strength lay in telepathy and mental control. His body was that of a normal human, susceptible to paralysis if shot and prone to dementia as he aged.
Thus, as long as he wasn't controlled mentally at close range, it was not difficult to deal with Professor X using remote-controlled machines.
That's why Professor X always took Scott with him when he went out—he needed protection.
Stryker exploited this by suddenly shutting down the room while Professor X was visiting Magneto in prison, releasing a large amount of hypnotic gas before he could react, knocking him unconscious.
"Well, let's wait for the teachers to come back before discussing further."
Hawking didn't mention Stryker's plans, as it wasn't his place to say. Being a kid who just came to study from Sokovia, how could he know so much about mutants? It would be hard to explain later.
Even letting Wolverine take him to see the brainwave enhancement machine shouldn't have happened; only Wolverine's carelessness prevented any issue, which Professor X would have suspected much earlier.
Now, mentioning it was useless. Stryker's base was far away, beside a large lake in Canada. Without the school's X-Jet, he and Wolverine couldn't just fly there.
Of course, he couldn't just ignore it. If Stryker succeeded in killing all mutants, little Pietro wouldn't be spared, and his plan to freeload at the mutant school would be ruined.
Or worse, if Magneto seized the opportunity to shift his target and kill all humans, that would be disastrous as he would die too.
Hmm, he didn't quite count as a normal human anymore; he was a Saiyan.
But such matters were uncertain.
Leaving his fate in others' hands was not his style.
"Steelboy will keep trying to contact the Professor. I'll stand guard tonight; you get some rest!"
Wolverine patted Hawking's shoulder, telling him not to worry too much.
In his view, no matter how strong or mature Hawking seemed, he was still just a child and shouldn't have to bear such burdens.
However, Hawking's stomach made a "gwa" sound several times.
"Is there anything to eat here? I need to fill my stomach."
He had eaten a lot at night, and after an hour of fighting, he had nearly used up all that energy.
Seeing this, Wolverine chuckled:
"Follow me, the basement has everything!"
This was an emergency shelter prepared by Professor X for the students, so naturally, food and water were considered, including the beer in his hand taken from the basement.
After calming down Wanda and Pietro, Hawking followed Wolverine to the villa's basement.
"At this moment, I want to sing a song of paradise."
Seeing the boxes of chocolates, sausages, bread, and beverages, Hawking's eyes lit up.
His body was desperately craving these high-sugar, high-fat, and high-energy foods.
"Oh, hell, I finally know who the little glutton Yurg was talking about!"
Watching box after box of food disappear, the beer in Wolverine's hand paused mid-air.
The next afternoon, an invisible jet landed smoothly on the grass behind the large villa.
"Jean, you're much later than we agreed; I was worried you might have encountered some trouble."
Seeing Jean come out of the plane, Logan stepped forward to embrace her.
Storm, following Jean, was accompanying a mutant who looked like a legendary demon. She pointed to the airplane door to explain:
"We had some unexpected encounters along the way."
Turning his head, Wolverine saw an old man with a special helmet and a blue-skinned female mutant step out.
"Friends, long time no see."
The old man raised his hand and greeted with a smile.
Wolverine's expression immediately turned fierce, and his claws extended in an instant.
The arrivals were Magneto and Mystique, who had a fierce battle at the Statue of Liberty just two years ago.
During that battle, Rogue was nearly killed by Magneto.
"Logan, they aren't enemies now."
Jean quickly stopped Wolverine, patiently explaining.
After Stryker took Professor X, Mystique had rescued Magneto from prison, and he had then contacted the X-Men seeking cooperation to rescue Professor X and save all mutants.
"Magneto's intentions aren't just to save mutants; he also plans to seize the opportunity to kill all humans."
Watching everything from the second-floor window while gnawing on a Virginia sausage, Hawking shook his head.
He was definitely going to Canada for the rescue mission.
Whether it was saving mutants or humans, either way, he would gain a lot of justice points, possibly even filling up his progress bar and unlocking a second protagonist template.
As always, he didn't trust leaving his fate in anyone else's hands.
This wasn't a movie, and it wasn't likely the same universe either. The same events could lead to different outcomes—who could say for sure?
His arrival had already caused a butterfly effect, and the future would inevitably change greatly. The plot lines he knew could only serve as references, never as creeds.
Otherwise, he might end up being fatally trapped.
"Wanda, Pietro, you two stay here and watch TV with everyone. I'll be downstairs for a bit."
Seeing Magneto and the others enter the villa, Hawking patted Wanda and Pietro's heads, gave a few instructions, and headed down the stairs to the living room.
"Is there any news from the Professor?"
"Child, don't worry, the Professor is fine. He'll be back soon, and we'll be able to return to school shortly."
Seeing Hawking descend to inquire about Professor X, Storm immediately stepped forward and comforted him like soothing a child.
She knew Hawking was a new student brought to the school by the Professor, having met him just the day before.
Now, with the school in this state, Hawking, a newcomer, must be very scared, especially with the only familiar face, Professor X, absent.
Logan, watching this scene, showed a strange expression; the sight felt very incongruent.
Although Hawking was indeed a child, after yesterday's battle, Logan found it hard to see him entirely as one.
(End of Chapter)
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