"Your mutant ability just went out of control."
"I didn't..."
"It was very slight, and you stopped it in time, but you did lose control." Erik stared intently at Charles and said, "Tell me what you saw."
"No, I didn't see anything." Charles shook his head, he exhaled slowly, calming his racing heart, his hand slightly clenched on the wheelchair, he said, "It was just an accident, I'm sure it didn't affect anyone."
Erik's gaze swept over Nick and the others chatting nearby, they were still full of smiles and laughter, seemingly oblivious to anything.
Ordinary people are usually not sensitive to what happens in the psychic world, even if their thoughts pause for a moment at the same time, they would hardly notice they were influenced.
Charles had such control over his ability, the moment the psy-storm started, he managed to reduce its impact to a degree that ordinary people could hardly notice.
"Who did you make contact with this time?" Erik knew Charles too well, although it was a question, there was a firm tone in his voice and he continued, "What terrible memory affected you this time?"
"Charles." It was unusual for Erik not to call Charles by his codename, but his name directly, which clearly showed his concern. He slowed his movements, saying, "You're not a 20-year-old youngster anymore, anything that could shock you now must be extremely startling. But you know, just like then, you can tell me anything, I've never been scared."
Charles seemed to hesitate for a while, the desire to confide was lingering in his heart and translated to a sensation in his throat, but in the end, he just shook his head saying, "I don't think it's that serious yet, I think I can handle..."
"Is the starch ready?" Nick came over to ask, he gently shook the plate in his hand, saying, "Fried chicken can't be made without starch. The chicken breast has already been cut, and it will be ready to cook soon."
Erik handed him the bowl in his hand, and noticing Charles' becoming quite pale, Nick asked with concern, "Professor Charles, is everything okay? Are you feeling unwell?"
"Nothing really, I think the cold tea I just drank might have upset my stomach a bit." Charles made up an excuse on the spot, yet Nick frowned slightly and asked in confusion, "Could there be something wrong with our water supply? Natasha just said she had a stomach ache from drinking too much cold water."
Nick shook his head and spoke in a low voice, "A Russian getting a stomach ache from cold water, I think she's just smitten with Shiller!"
Charles immediately cast a serious gaze on Nick, "Natasha and Shiller...?"
"She calls it the hunt." Nick shrugged, speaking in a tone of disapproval, "I've taken some precautions, I hope they don't cause too much commotion."
"Where is Natasha now?"
"She went inside to play cards with the ladies." Nick gave a slight smile, "She seems to fit in with them rather well. Okay, I need to go heat the oil now, there are still plenty of ingredients to prep."
In the end, Charles found Natasha behind the house, but she did not notice him. Pushing his wheelchair in silence along the side of the house, the voices of Natasha and Loki could be heard from the shrubs at the back of the house.
"I'll have to ask you to stay away from Shiller, Miss Loki. I've already made this clear with Gwen. We need to respect each other's territory, don't we?"
"Please, Natasha, are you kidding me?! You've had countless opportunities to get Shiller over the past few years and you've bypassed all of them. Now you suddenly come out to warn me?"
"Believe it or not, he's my prey now. If you don't keep your distance, I may have to give you a little more forceful warning."
"What could you..."
"I will tell Thor you're trying to get into bed with Doctor Shiller. Trust me, even if he wants you two to end up together, he'd never allow you to be so frivolous."
Charles was making the sign of the cross on his chest, apparently imagining a dozen conspiracy story episodes in his mind. Then he heard Loki say: "Alright, but please let me warn you. Contrary to men who like wisdom and elegance, Hela is more attracted to powerful women, and she's got her eye on you."
"There's no need for you to remind me, aren't you Asgardians all the same? And I have to warn you as well, Gwen is still minor, Captain America won't let you do anything to her."
"Thanks for the heads up. If he comes to confront me, I'll tell him how you were trying to hook up with both him and Agent Carter, that was your plan too, wasn't it?"
"You're no better with Hela and Thor."
Ten minutes later, Erik who was prepping the barbecue sauce, saw Charles with a stunned look on his face slowly wheel himself over.
"What happened?" Erik asked with a frown.
"Oh, God ... I mean ... God!" Charles's mouth opened wide, then closed again, then opened once more to speak: " ... God!"
When Charles finally came back to his senses, he looked at Erik, almost unable to suppress his desire to gossip. The Professor, always self-restrained and polite, finally gave in to his gossiping instinct this time, he quickly wheeled himself over to Erik, lowering his voice to say, "You won't believe what I just overheard..."