Capítulo 634: The Night Before the New Round of Games Begins
Professor X had confidence in avoiding capture by the official special operations agencies, but Raven, Hank, and the others—these still immature "children"—likely couldn't manage it.
With limited time, Charles had no way to provide them with proper guidance. At this critical moment, the arrival of Dr. Banner and the others solved the immediate crisis. After reading their minds, Charles decided to trust them. He had no choice but to focus on preserving the flame of hope for mutants and leave other concerns aside for now.
However, Raven was quick to voice her objection after hearing his plan!
She didn't want to leave. After watching the future videos, Raven seemed to have grown up in an instant, shedding the self-doubt and sensitivity of her adolescent years. She had matured a great deal emotionally.
But her newfound maturity also brought a streak of rebellion. She felt Charles was being too cautious. Instead, she thought they should actively seek out Erik and join forces to carve a bloody path through the encirclement.
"No, Raven, I'm not going to argue with you about who's right or wrong between Erik and me—that's a debate with no clear answer. But let me be very clear: right now, whether it's me, Erik, or Sebastian Shaw, none of us can even ensure our own safety in the face of the world's pursuit, let alone launch a counterattack. Your idea is what's truly naïve!
There's an even more critical issue: you can't help at all right now. No, you'd only get in the way. Especially you, Raven. You've seen those future clips and know you're a key figure in the fate of mutants. You need to protect yourself—not just for your sake, not for mine, but for the survival of the entire mutant race!"
Usually calm and gentle, Charles raised his voice for once, something exceedingly rare.
It wasn't exactly anger, but his tone was much sterner than usual. For Raven, who had grown up with him, this was equivalent to an unprecedented outburst.
Though she had seen her future, she hadn't experienced it firsthand. Charles' harsh words left her stunned. Her eyes reddened, and it seemed she was on the verge of tears.
Diana sighed, stepping forward to hug Raven in comfort. "Girls can fight too, but you lack the experience and skills. You need training."
Raven took a deep breath, muttered a word of thanks, and then turned to Charles. "Charles, you should teach us. You're so good at it!"
Charles spread his hands helplessly. "We don't have the time, Raven. Promise me, take care of yourself. I'll come visit you whenever I can." Then he turned to Dr. Banner and spoke solemnly, "I know it's a bold request, but I truly hope you can help."
Dr. Banner waved dismissively. "It's nothing. I'm happy to help. In fact, we can even train these kids for you. We may not fully understand mutant abilities yet, but teaching them how to protect themselves isn't difficult. Diana here is a warrior from Themyscira, the best of the best. Trust her—she'll turn Raven into a formidable fighter."
This mission had been planned with the intention of forging a connection with Charles. Now that the conversation had reached the topic of collaboration, things went smoothly.
It was even suggested that Charles visit the Defenders's headquarters to see the environment there firsthand. This would help him better understand their organization and set his mind at ease. The two sides also agreed that if trouble arose on Charles' end, the multiverse defenders would offer what assistance they could.
However, Dr. Banner clarified that their support wasn't unconditional. They were willing to help kind and just mutants like Charles in their fight against wicked and power-hungry humans, such as Stryker.
But they would never assist in an all-out war against human society, and it was important to make this stance clear from the outset.
Charles had no objections. As a moderate, he had been forced into a corner, but his ultimate hope was still for peaceful coexistence between mutants and humans. Of course, given the current situation, this dream seemed increasingly distant.
In the end, Diana escorted Charles and the other mutants back to their safe house, while Dr. Banner and Thor stayed behind to carry out their next mission—finding Wolverine and Erik.
Both Wolverine and Erik were participants in the game, making them natural allies of the multiverse Defenders.
Of course, Erik's situation was more complicated. The future clips painted him as a villain, but deeper understanding revealed that he wasn't beyond redemption. After dealing with Loki and Arthur, the Multiverse Defenders had grown rather fond of persuading villains to reform.
Dr. Banner planned to approach Erik first before crossing into the X-Men's parallel world to find Wolverine. Over several days, they encountered various conflicts and setbacks, and the results were less than ideal.
Wolverine, or rather both versions of him, agreed to join the Multiverse Defenders. Erik, however, refused. He didn't outright reject the idea of collaboration but demanded that the Multiverse Defenders demonstrate their sincerity first—by helping him capture Sebastian Shaw. Only then would he consider working with them.
Members of the multiverse defenders were already wary of Erik. If it weren't for their prior successes with Loki and Arthur, they wouldn't have even entertained the idea of recruiting him. Naturally, Erik's demand for "sincerity" was met with little enthusiasm.
Several more days passed. Charles, having returned to his own world, eventually crossed paths with Erik. Faced with a common enemy, the two had no choice but to join forces. With some support from the Multiverse Defenders—such as Stark's technological enhancements—they managed to capture Sebastian Shaw ahead of the special ops teams from the U.S. and Soviet Union.
As in the future clips, capturing Shaw led to a fallout between Erik and Charles.
The two couldn't agree on how to handle Shaw. However, unlike in the future clips, Shaw hadn't yet acquired the special helmet developed by the Soviets. When Charles approached, he quickly subdued Shaw with telepathy.
If not for Erik's increasingly skilled use of observation haki, Charles might have been distracted enough to let Shaw escape. Erik had no intention of letting Shaw live, though. For him, killing Shaw was justice. After all, Shaw had caused his family immeasurable suffering.
Charles, however, desperately tried to stop him. He didn't want Erik to go down the dark path shown in the future clips. For Erik, though, there was no such thing as "darkness."
With a cold glare, he said, "Charles, you've killed people too. What right do you have to stop me from taking my revenge?"
During their escape from the special ops teams, Charles had accidentally killed a few agents while using his telepathy. Erik had been present and witnessed it all.
Charles' expression darkened, and just as he was about to reply, a golden beam of light suddenly descended from the sky, enveloping both him and Erik.
"Damn it!"
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