Charles, gazing sleepily into the dancing flas of the fireplace, murmured without forgetting, "I was quite startled when your people found . I really don't know how many tons of water had gotten into my brain for to actually believe in that fanciful plan of yours."
"The facts have proven that I was right," Erik retorted, unwavering in his rciless manner of speaking: "China did not disappoint our expectations. The East Three Islands provided mutants with their first foothold and today, it is the foundation that allows us to explore the cosmos."
"But you were still too bold," Charles muttered quietly, "I don't know what madness possessed to actually go along with it."
"I've always said that you are a mad Professor and I'm a mad terrorist, this is how we've been able to tolerate each other for decades," Erik continued, draped in work, while Charles had already fallen asleep.
Perhaps it was the lingering thoughts of the day that led to dreams at night, or perhaps sleep within the Psychic_Battlefield was more disturbed by previous thoughts: Charles dreamt of that crazy era, that legendary adventure between him, Erik, and all the mutants.
On October 15, 1945, a young Charles had already enlisted in the military and, with his squadron, had arrived in the Middle East. However, at that ti, he did not enjoy favor from the higher-ups and only served as a lowly patrolman.
By then Charles already possessed considerable psychic ability, so when a mysterious mutant suddenly appeared in his jurisdiction, he almost imdiately discovered and read the thoughts within the other's mind.
The mutant was a spy sent by a man who claid to be Erik Lehnsherr, with a mission of finding a Mob Boss nad Farrukh in the vicinity. Farrukh was sought for recruitnt because he possessed Mind Sense Ability.
Charles had only heard of Farrukh and had neither actually t him nor co into contact with any other mind power user. After learning of this, he couldn't help but abandon his jurisdiction and eventually t Farrukh.
Unfortunately, Farrukh turned out to be a disappointnt. The man could only skim the surface of minds and was utterly incapable of using psychic energy to attack others. At that ti, an impetuous Charles, upon realizing that his own presence was detected, directly employed his psychic blast ability and turned the other into an idiot.
This could be said to be the first ti Charles used his psychic ability to attack soone else. He felt very nervous and ran back to his jurisdiction at breakneck speed, soon after hearing news of Farrukh's death.
This infuriated his superior, as there were unclear dealings between him and the Mob Boss. Charles was unsure if he could perfectly hide himself, so he sought a way out.
Thus he sought out the person sent by Erik, claiming that he too had psychic abilities but didn't tell the whole truth, rely ntioning that he could read minds. In return, the other brought shocking news: mutants were preparing to establish a nation.
Even by modern standards, this was staggering news. In that era, mutants were considered third-class citizens by every nation.
While in Arica, Charles would often hear this joke: on a bus, sobody actually gave up their seat to a Black man. Guess who? That's right, a Black Devil mutant.
The vast majority of mutants had resigned to their fate, and even Charles hid his powers, living among the human race as if he were an ordinary person. Hearing such news, he was extrely astounded.
At that ti, the news hadn't spread widely yet. It could only be said that several countries around the world were intent on undertaking this. Charles found reports about the East Three Islands in the nearest small town and imdiately realized what these countries were planning.
So Charles followed Erik's man, but not with the intention to join him, rather to stop him.
In his view, the radiation-filled East Three Islands was no good place at all; it seed like a conspiracy by ordinary humans to weaken mutants, and the foolish Erik Lehnsherr actually believed in it.
Furthermore, because of his influence, having recruited quite a few powerful mutants, Charles was frantic, wishing he could rush over to give Erik a punch to bring him to his senses.
Back then, Erik had already taken Anya to Poland. Anya's health was deteriorating, and everyday Erik had to spend a large part of his ti taking care of his daughter, leaving him no ti to et anyone.
Later, as Anya's condition improved, Charles finally managed to get close to Erik. But by that ti, the Mutant Brotherhood had already begun to take shape. In Erik's presence, Charles couldn't claim any pride, thus he couldn't really speak his mind.
After observing for a while, Charles realized that although Erik was stern and opinionated, like most people, he was impressed by strength—he only rembered the powerful.
Therefore, Charles had no choice but to stage a scene of losing control over his ability. To intimidate Erik, this loss of control nearly affected the entire globe, informing every nation that another mutant as powerful as a deity had arrived.
From that day forth, Charles and Erik indeed beca good friends and arguably the closest comrades, for Charles heard the full scope of that secret plan from Erik's own lips.
It seed like a plan for mutant extinction, but in reality, it was exactly what Erik wanted because he had already made contact with a power that could exert significant influence on this matter—China.
At that ti, China could hardly be considered friendly to mutants, for they were too poor and weak. However, their one advantage was that in their war for national defense, mutants had made great contributions; they were now part of a united front.
Since mutants had shed blood and sweat for China, those with little prior connection to the country also found themselves with a natural affinity, and with shared interests, they beca natural allies.
The East Three Islands presented an excellent opportunity to establish mutual interests.
At such a key location, China would not allow Arica or the US-Soviet to intervene; even the least visionary strategist knew it was a spot of military contention that could not be lost.
The problem was that China was indeed greatly weakened, and continuing the conflict would strike at its very foundations. Securing the area through non-military ans would be ideal, but faced with two daunting opponents, China simply did not have the strength.
At this point, the importance of mutants beca clear; if I cannot possess it, ensuring that the enemy cannot either is the next best result, because after all, I am the closest to it, and should things change, I stand the best chance.
Choosing to bide one's ti in exchange for a chance at a century of developnt is not a decision anyone can make, but in the end, they chose the most advantageous path.
Thus, Erik forged a connection with China, and the two parties reached an agreent. China dispatched a portion of mutants capable of controlling the weather to help Erik cleanse the radiation from the East Three Islands as much as possible. Naturally, Erik would also contribute with his magnetic powers, and China agreed to conceal his efforts on the islands from other nations, using the deception to paralyze them and prevent second thoughts.
For the next hundred years, mutants would build their holand there and recover. The two sides would join forces and, when the opportunity arose, help mutants find a broader world for themselves.
Despite finding a solid ally, the situation for mutants remained grim. The intentions of those countries wishing to discard them were clear, and should they realize mutants were well-prepared and not so easily disposed of, things could change at any ti.
As such, Erik was continuously in search of mind power users.
Throughout human history, many powerful mutants had erged, but due to the slow spread of information in ancient tis and nurous superstitions, it was difficult to distinguish mutants from ordinary strong people or those with other secrets.
In more modern tis, many mutants had been unearthed, and there was a rudintary understanding of the classification of mutant abilities; however, the research during World War II was incomplete and not scientifically rigorous, broadly categorizing individuals as either lee or ranged without delving into the specific principles.
As a result, people's understanding of Erik, the erging mutant leader, remained at the surface level, recognizing him only for his ability to manipulate tal. Many referred to him as the "tal King," a perception that Erik allowed to be fostered on purpose.
The more elusive mind power users were even less understood. Although so scholars speculated, most people were unwilling to acknowledge their existence; after all, wouldn't one's dirty secrets be exposed if such individuals truly existed?
As the leader of the mutants, Erik himself had once encountered such individuals. He therefore scoured the globe for mind power users, and Charles was a pleasant surprise for him.
A mont of lost control by Charles alerted the entire world to the existence of such a powerful psychic mutant, drawing the attention of nations worldwide – and, conveniently, adding a layer of protection to Erik's plans.
Charles confronting Erik proved to be the perfect pretext; the two feigned a split, with Charles publicly recognizing the conspiracies of the world's nations, and branding Erik as their puppet mutant, appointed rely to lead other mutants into dire straits. Their relationship appeared to be as hostile as fire and water.
With the conspiracy exposed, the nations didn't panic. They mockingly sent teams of experts to the Three Islands to conduct inspections, declaring that the radiation levels were perfectly safe, that the natural environnt was beautiful and ideal for living.
The discourse of society was still dominated by the human race; authoritative institutions issued reports, and Charles, without any evidence, ended up convincing many mutants living within human society.
In their campaign against Charles, they were ingenious, using all sorts of thods to discredit him and reduce his influence in the mutant society while elevating Erik.
Indeed, in this phase of the struggle, their roles completely reversed; Erik beca the favored one among national governnts, while Charles was so suppressed he returned to his family estate, never to publicly discuss mutant statehood again.
Unbeknownst to all, the pattern of the two mutant leaders—one playing good cop and the other bad cop—was beginning to erge from this mont on.
Thinking they faced no more obstacles, the nations smoothly expelled all known mutants within their borders and enacted laws demanding newborns be tested. If they tested positive for the X-gene, they automatically received citizenship to the mutant nation, rather than their own, and were required to leave before age seven.
Thus, many mutants found themselves reluctantly boarding planes to the unknown; so believed they were heading to New Paradise, while others thought it was rely another gas chamber.
anwhile, the politicians responsible were eagerly anticipating witnessing these damned mutants who had incessantly troubled their jurisdictions, wailing as they died in the radiation.
And the final outco, of course, surprised everyone.
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