Charles greeted Erik with visible excitent, gripping his hand tightly.
"Nice to et you, Erik. I'm Charles. I… sorry, I'm just really excited—it's my first ti interacting closely with a mutant other than Raven. I need to calm down… whoo… whoo…"
Seeing Charles so overwheld, Erik gave a slightly annoyed smile. If just eting him caused such excitent, would Charles faint if he visited the Sanctuary?
"Alright, sorry about that. It's a pleasure to et you, Erik," Charles said after taking a few deep breaths.
"Hello, Charles."
"Would you mind coming with us? This isn't the best place to talk," Charles suggested.
"Hm… alright. But let's be clear: this doesn't an I'm agreeing to join you… cough, cough…" Erik replied, but coughed up a bit of blood due to internal injuries.
"No problem. But I'm confident—you'll join us eventually. Besides, you need treatnt," Charles replied.
"Let's hope so."
The battleship rescued the Marines and sailed away.
After they left, Dismask appeared on the wreckage of the cruise ship, grumbling, "Damn you, Erik. We offer to help and you refuse, but let a stranger help and suddenly that's fine? Ugh! If I don't sass you ten tis when we're back, I'll change my last na!"
…Wait, I don't even have the last na "Di"…
He glanced toward the departing submarine, his eyes filled with killing intent. "To injure Erik this badly… if it weren't for Lord Maelin's orders, I'd personally escort you to the underworld."
With that, Dismask vanished again, chasing after Erik.
In a cabin, only Charles, Erik, and Raven were present—they needed a private conversation.
"You're one of us too?" Raven asked, carefully looking Erik over. Hmm, handso.
"And you are?"
"Yes," she said, then turned to Charles, who nodded, and once again perford her "live transformation" trick.
"Interesting ability—not particularly powerful, but extrely convenient and practical. Also… very beautiful," Erik sincerely complinted.
"Really? Thank you," Raven replied. She had always hated her power and wished to be normal. Ever since Charles took her in, she'd developed feelings for him, but he only saw her as a sister. She always assud it was because he knew what she really looked like.
Hearing praise for her true form for the first ti—especially from soone besides Charles—made her genuinely happy.
The atmosphere between them instantly turned a little flirty.
"I hate to spoil the mood, but Raven, could you cool it for a second? I still have questions for Erik," Charles interrupted, obliviously.
"You're so annoying, Charles!"
"I apologize."
"So? What do you want to ask?"
"Could you tell about your ability? Is it tal manipulation? Sorry if that's too intrusive."
"It's fine. My ability is magnetism control, not tal manipulation."
"Whoa! One of the four fundantal forces of the universe? That's incredible!" Charles exclaid. While he wasn't a physics professor, he knew the basics.
"It's alright."
"Then can I ask why I can't read your mories? I know it's rude, but… I need to determine if we can be friends," Charles explained.
"That's a secret—I can't answer that," Erik said.
"Alright. Everyone has their secrets—that's normal." Though a bit disappointed, Charles didn't press further.
"Then it's my turn. Charles, why are you targeting Sebastian Shaw?" Erik asked.
"Because he's insane. I briefly glimpsed his mories—he wants to start wars, manipulate them, and beco king of the world."
Pfft—cough, cough. Erik nearly choked on his drink, trying hard not to laugh.
"World domination? How cliché and ridiculous. Sure, your powers are impressive, but that's just delusional," he thought.
If Maelin wanted to rule the world, Erik believed he could do it. In fact, any of the Twelve Gold Saints could.
But you? Sorry, nothing personal—but compared to them, you're just weak.
"Are you alright?" Charles and Raven asked, concerned for his injuries.
"I'm fine, just choked a bit," Erik replied. His injuries were internal, but with his physical strength, he'd recover quickly.
"So you're doing this just because he's a madman?" Erik continued.
"Of course. I hate to admit it, but he's one of us. I won't allow a mutant to abuse their power and bring ruin to the rest of us," Charles said firmly.
"I see…" That answer raised Charles' score in Erik's eyes. Protecting the world out of love and hope—that's the belief of Sanctuary too. There might be so ulterior motives, but they were minor.
"Then what's your answer?" Charles and Raven asked expectantly.
"Hm… I can work with you for now. As for being friends… I'll need ti to decide," Erik replied with a smirk.
"Alright." Slightly disappointed, Charles still accepted the response.
"…But I'm looking forward to it."
Hearing that, both Charles and Raven lit up and raised their glasses.
"To what's ahead."
"To what's ahead."
Clink!
At that mont, the three co-founders of the X-n made their first pact. The unbreakable bond between them began with that clear toast.
Though the mission failed, Clyde wasn't discouraged. At least he'd confird Moria's intel was accurate, and that many more mutants existed. Hoping for a promotion, he personally brought Charles, Erik, and Raven back to his research base.
"Welco to my turf. My job is to study the military applications of supernatural powers," Clyde explained during the tour.
"Or offensive uses," Erik added.
Clyde went silent, quickly changing the subject. "That guy, Shaw? Sebastian? Whatever you call him—he's working with the polar bear nation. We might need your help to stop him."
"Great. So, we're going to beco the mutant division of the CIA?" Charles asked.
"…Sothing like that." Clyde dodged the question, but Charles and Erik both caught the shifty look in his eyes.
They soon t the only other researcher in Clyde's unit, and Charles got excited again.
"Hello, I'm Hank McCoy."
"Amazing! Another mutant is already working here. Why didn't you say so?" Charles asked Clyde.
This mission made Charles realize how hard it was to work alone, so he proposed forming a team to fight Shaw.
Although he could sense other mutants nearby, finding them among millions of people was incredibly difficult.
But what luck—to find a colleague who's a mutant too. It felt like a dream co true.
"What are you talking about?" Clyde was confused.
"Sigh, because you don't know," Charles sighed, feeling bad for Hank, who had to hide who he was.
He apologized: "I'm sorry."
"You…" Clyde approached Hank, wanting to ask sothing.
"You never asked, so I never said anything," Hank replied.
"What's your power? Super intelligence?" Raven asked with interest.
"Could be. Hank graduated from Harvard at fifteen," Clyde said proudly, having discovered Hank's talents.
"If only that were it…" Hank said with so regret.
"You can show us. Don't worry—we're your friends," Charles encouraged.
Looking around at everyone's expectant faces, Hank gave in. He stepped back, removed his shoes and socks, and revealed powerful, hand-like feet.
He demonstrated by leaping up and using them to grip onto a supersonic plane model, hanging upside-down.
Raven approached, impressed. "You're amazing."
Seeing her gorgeous face up close, Hank felt like Cupid had struck him straight in the heart.
"Really?" he asked.
Raven nodded sincerely.
Overjoyed, Hank lost his grip and fell, making a bit of a fool of himself.
"Hahaha…"
The others, all smart people, laughed along kindly.
But Erik, standing at the back, felt a tinge of sadness.
Outside the Sanctuary, life was hard for mutants. They had to hide.
He recalled Maelin's teaching:
"Revenge is only your first goal—not your life's purpose. You must find your own path."
That was the first lesson Maelin ever gave him—and he never forgot.
He once thought his path would be the sa as Maelin's and the Saints': to guard the earth with love and hope.
But now he saw a different calling: to help other mutants live better lives, without hiding.
That, was his true path.
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