"This is the side-effect-free, life-extending Golden Apple that Shiller found," Loki placed the dish in front of Professor X.
"No side effects?!" Professor X was also startled.
Actually, having been mixed up in the cosmos for so long and dealing with so many Immortal Species, the two of them were not without ways to extend their lives, but the key is that almost all thods in the cosmos co with side effects.
If you make a deal with a Demon God, a price must be paid; if you use a potion, then maintenance is required periodically, and if you use so unique items, they generally co with a curse or cannot last long.
Generally speaking, extending it by a few hundred years is no problem, but beyond that, it gets tricky. Professor X had also discussed with Magneto that if, when they reached the limit of their lives, the situation of Mutants had not improved, they would select the safest option and give it a try.
"Golden Apple?" Magneto's focus was here. He said, "The Golden Apple from the myths?"
"Exactly, in the mythology of another distant cosmos, all gods exist, and so do the Golden Apples. Shiller obtained a Golden Apple through so thod, and afterward, he will be able to get more. This thing has no side effects; one bite grants almost infinite life."
Magneto and Professor X exchanged glances.
"Of course, it's not that magical; it can only help you avoid death from old age, not from injuries. If you're too injured, or straightforwardly killed, it can't save you."
Professor X understood that the function of the Golden Apple was actually immortality, not invincibility. Eating a Golden Apple would grant long life and immunity to most diseases related to aging, like heart failure and cancer, but if you're stabbed to death, you can't bla the Golden Apple for not protecting you.
For ordinary people, this might indeed be a bit dangerous—after all, living a thousand years, one is bound to encounter accidents—but for Magneto and Professor X, it's nothing; even daily car crashes wouldn't kill them.
Professor X had to admit he was tempted.
"Damn greed!" he cursed inwardly; of course, he wasn't cursing Shiller, but himself.
If only Mutants had shown more promise, half a century wouldn't have passed with the two Sleeping Dragon and Rising Phoenix leading them. But they had already been leading for half a century, and the sunk cost was too high to give up easily.
Professor X took a deep breath and said, "Alright, Mutants will do their best to help you with this plan, I hope you have taken every precaution."
At last, Loki showed a sincere smile. He said, "Shiller has actually been preparing for a long ti, this is the final key component because he knew you wouldn't refuse the opportunity to relive old mories."
Professor X hadn't managed to grasp what Loki's last sentence ant when he had already eaten the Golden Apple.
This wasn't a small piece like the one Shiller had given to Peter; the two of them had nearly eaten one-fifth of an apple each, and the next second after eating, a bright light erupted from their bodies.
When the glow faded, Professor X was still a bit dazed, but when he turned his head, he saw a young version of Erik Lehnsherr.
Professor X imdiately had a bad feeling.
He turned to look in the glass of the office, and great—a 20-year-old Charles Xavier.
Was this the so-called reliving of old mories?!
He knew Shiller was up to no good!
Professor X was genuinely surprised; he thought the thing would only maintain the status quo while extending life, but it turned out to be direct rejuvenation.
It's not that Professor X had anything against his younger self, but his young face held no deterrent power. How was he to lead the X-n and Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters' bunch of little brats now?
"If nothing goes wrong, your legs should also be recovered," Loki reminded. "The Golden Apple will bring all the organs in the body to their optimal state, do you want to try walking a few steps?"
Professor X stood up in a huff, and Loki was sowhat surprised since a person who hadn't walked for years, even with healed legs, should be a little awkward, but Professor X was walking as briskly as ever.
Magneto sneered. So much for the act, huh?
Professor X could only sigh inwardly; he knew Shiller was giving him an excuse to stand upright publicly. After all, not standing up, aside from asking the young Mutants to be considerate of him as a disabled person to avoid mischief, wasn't it also to make Magneto feel guilty?
Now, the argunts from decades past can be continued, with the sa people standing before him as back then.
"Alright, let's talk business," said Magneto, who seed indifferent to his changed appearance; no matter how appearances change, the past remains unchanged.
The group sat down in front of the office window.
"Apocalypse has colluded with the New Skrull Empire, and the Skrulls plan to use Apocalypse's help to stir up trouble within the Mutant community. But how to link this to the Shi'ar Empire and stir up conflict between the two?" Magneto asked.
"The mysterious Life Fusion Plan must be discussed," Thanos said, Professor X couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, it seed that this top-secret plan wasn't so secret after all.
"The Life Fusion Plan is a relic of the Old Skrull Empire, so naturally the New Skrull Empire should inherit it. But now, this thing has fallen into the hands of the Shi'ar Empire nobles. Do you think the Skrulls will just let it go?"
"Since they want it, why did they..." Professor X started to speak but stopped mid-sentence. What else could it be? The transition between old and new regis always has a period of turmoil, and during that ti, desperate creatures would dare sell anything.
"Apocalypse wants us to get our hands on the product of the experint," Professor X said. "I guess this is the condition he promised to the Skrulls: he helps the New Skrull Empire acquire the product of the Life Fusion Plan, and in return, the New Skrull Empire funds him and turns him into another Mutant force."
"It sounds like the Skrulls win twice," Loki said.
"Apocalypse had no choice," Magneto said with a cold snort. "He is too weak to compare with the Three Great Empires, he should feel grateful to be chosen as a puppet."
"Apocalypse knew he couldn't confront the Shi'ar Empire directly, so he ca to poison the Androda Galaxy, hoping to use the antidote as leverage to compel us to do the job for him," Professor X ntioned. "But his plan has already failed because Supre Evolution, from sowhere unknown, has released antibodies into the Androda Galaxy, rendering his poison ineffective."
"Why would Supre Evolution do this?" Magneto asked.
"Nobody present knows," Loki responded. "I have heard the na Supre Evolution but never about his deeds. Perhaps we need to ask him personally."
"There's an otter who claims she's the only one who knows where Supre Evolution is," Professor X spoke up again. "She asks us to take care of the Life Fusion Plan."
"Take care of it? How? Destroy the experintal product?" Loki inquired.
"Destroying it is probably impossible," Professor X said. "It's not so object; it's a person, and Shiller has already set his sights on it."
"Is it not simple to pry open an otter's mouth?" Magneto said sowhat darkly. "Especially a chanical otter."
"Don't be like that," Professor X shook his head. "She is Rocket's old fla, we don't need to resort to violence. I believe she doesn't actually want to kill a living person. As long as the plan can never be implented again, that will suffice. I will talk to her."
Professor X connected with Laira's mind. He revealed to Laira the truth about the Life Fusion Plan, naly, that this thing wasn't really ant to fuse all life in the cosmos, and the birth of Reynolds was an accident.
Laira seed to have proposed so conditions, but nevertheless, they reached an agreent.
Not surprisingly, the information about Supre Evolution's dinsional location was not in Laira's mind, but on the spaceship she arrived in, housed within a planet in the Androda Galaxy.
Magneto made a trip and brought back the spaceship. Laira retrieved a disk from inside, and Dr. Beast found a set of coordinates in the disk.
"Just open the Teleportation Portal here?" Laira asked.
"Yes, the key is here," Laira handed over a small crystalline card she had taken from the spaceship and said, "Just cast a spell on it. However, you better send soone strong, as he may not be reasonable with you."
Professor X looked around at the few people present and felt a bit of a headache. Mister Sinister and Apocalypse were lurking nearby in the Androda Galaxy, and there were also mind-wave shielding devices in place. Magneto had to stay and protect him; otherwise, those two would definitely seize the opportunity to strike.
But if he sent the young Mutants, Professor X wasn't at ease either. He thought about contacting Superheroes but was also afraid of affecting their battle, leading to Mutants getting the bla.
Magneto, though, glanced at Loki and said, "You ntioned Shiller was holding up the Superheroes. Why would he do that?"
"To keep them from helping you," Loki said with a lighthearted tone. "Mutants need to get this done on their own; after all, you must accomplish sothing by yourselves."
Professor X was initially taken aback, then smiled wryly and shook his head.
The young Mutant generation had made no progress over so many years; whom to bla?
It would be overly simplistic to put all the bla on education. However, the existence of Professor X and Magneto, even the Avengers, Kamar-Taj, Asgard, and other forces, was indeed a significant reason they had been isolated and stagnant for many years.
Whenever sothing happened in the cosmos, Asgard would handle it; if sothing happened on Earth, the Avengers would take care of it. Even in the Androda Galaxy, these two old n could still carry the burden, turning to the Great Summoning Technique when trouble arose. Progress under these conditions would be miraculous.
Professor X couldn't bring himself to be ruthless, but Shiller could. Not only had he occupied most of the Avengers on his farm, but now they were trapped in a dream, battling Helada. As for the Supre Magician Strange representing Kamar-Taj, Shiller had found a way to keep him in the hospital, undergoing over twenty surgeries.
And there was no need to even ntion Asgard; Loki was here, and without helping Thor, there wasn't much that could be done. The remaining forces of the Nine Major Kingdoms were even less likely to get involved in such matters.
Shiller's move was ruthless indeed, Professor X thought. Even if Supre Evolution wouldn't kill outright, this group of young Mutants, who had been lawless all along, couldn't negotiate. They'd just provoke, wouldn't they just be taught a lesson?
Magneto seed to have long grown dissatisfied with Professor X's overprotection of the younger generation. He decisively decided that Polaris, Iceman, and the Prophet from the Legion should go together.
Professor X glanced at Magneto with discontent, his look seemingly saying, "That's your daughter; can you really bear to let her go?"
Normally Magneto would have been immune to such a look, but now he faced the face of a young Charles. In his mont of distraction, Professor X said, "Didn't Charles and Erik from the other universes stay behind? Let them both go together."
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