Hearing Alex's words, a faint smile of satisfaction crept onto Erik's face.
As expected, compared to Charles, Alex was far more aligned with his ideals.
Charles was just... too idealistic—so much so that it bordered on naive and detached from reality.
But could soone as smart as Charles truly not see that?
Erik didn't think so.
After all, Charles had graduated from Harvard at sixteen and was recruited as a genetics professor by Oxford in his early twenties. That kind of intellect far outstripped Erik's by leagues.
There was no way Charles couldn't see the inherent conflict between mutants and humans caused by their fundantal differences.
He just chose not to see it.
Rather than thinking with cold rationality, Charles preferred to feel with his heart.
After spending so much ti with Charles, Erik understood this deeply. Between them lay a massive, insurmountable chasm—one that would ultimately force them down different paths.
There was no helping it. Ideological differences were a fatal flaw, and no amount of effort could bridge that gap.
Right now, they were united only because of a common enemy: Shaw.
But once that threat was eliminated, their differences would inevitably surface.
That was why Erik had already begun planning for the future.
He needed to build his own circle—his own people.
Powerful, mature beyond their years, and unlike Charles, not shackled by outdated ideals—Alex was the perfect candidate to recruit.
"Alex, I think we should spend more ti talking in private," Erik said, giving Alex a aningful pat on the shoulder.
"What are you two chatting about?" Charles had finished making arrangents for the mutants and walked over, curiosity flashing in his eyes.
"We were talking about Shaw," Erik replied nonchalantly. "I was telling Alex that Moira went to investigate him."
At the ntion of Shaw, Charles's expression grew serious. "It's a pity the Cerebro prototype was destroyed. Otherwise, locating Shaw would be much easier."
In fact, Hank had already begun working on rebuilding Cerebro, but it was a massive undertaking.
With everyone caught up in training, ti was scarce. Finishing it any ti soon was out of the question.
Charles and Erik had long believed the reason Charles couldn't locate Shaw was because of Emma Frost. But they had already captured her during their mission to the Soviet Union.
So Shaw shouldn't have any way to block Charles's telepathy anymore—at least, that was their assumption.
What they didn't know was that Shaw's greatest weapon against Charles wasn't Emma Frost—it was his helt.
Not only that, his submarine also had a specially shielded room that completely blocked psychic detection. Multiple layers of protection rendered Charles's abilities ineffective.
Even if Hank managed to rebuild Cerebro, it wouldn't make a difference.
"Alex, is there sothing you needed?" Charles turned his attention to Alex after the small talk wrapped up.
Alex didn't need to attend their specialized training, so his presence likely ant he had sothing on his mind.
"I actually wanted to ask if there's a place I could use to train my heat vision," Alex said earnestly.
He wasn't here for pleasantries.
His recent battles—both with Wade and with the Decepticons—had made him realize how unrefined his control over heat vision still was.
If he had better mastery, taking Wade down would've been far easier.
Those fights made it painfully clear: his combat skills still needed serious work.
"Of course, Alex," Charles said with a smile. "If there's one thing we're not short on, it's space. I'm glad you finally ca to . In fact, I already have a few ideas about how to train your heat vision—interested?"
"Absolutely," Alex replied without hesitation.
Charles eagerly shared so thoughts he had regarding training thods, and the two quickly worked out a rough plan.
"Thanks, Charles. Really," Alex said sincerely.
"No need to thank , my friend," Charles responded with equal warmth.
After exchanging goodbyes with Charles, Erik, and the others, Alex returned to his private training room to get to work.
Should I take up formal hand-to-hand combat training? Alex wondered as he practiced his punches.
The fight with Wade had exposed a lot of gaps in his technique.
But the thought didn't linger long before he dismissed it.
As his power grew, he'd be able to bulldoze through most threats head-on. ticulous fighting skills might not be necessary at that point.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sharp clang of tal rang out as training resud.
Charles, true to form, acted with remarkable efficiency. By the very next day, he had cleared out an entire indoor tennis court just for Alex to use as a training ground for his heat vision.
An indoor tennis court!
That was seriously over the top!
Not only that, Charles had enlisted Hank to build a simple "tennis ball launcher" that could fire balls at random intervals nonstop.
All Alex had to do was use his heat vision to blast the balls out of the air.
It was a perfect training setup.
The only downside? His heat vision still had a short duration, so he could only practice in short bursts. A bit frustrating, but manageable.
"Alex, can you co to my office for a mont?"
Just as Alex was about to start training, Charles summoned him with a serious expression.
Inside the office, Erik and Moira were already seated.
The mood was grim.
"Moira? When did you get back?" Alex asked casually as he took a seat.
"She just returned," Charles said, his expression somber. "And she brought back sothing important."
"We found Shaw," Erik said heavily.
"Yes, Alex," Moira added. "I found him."
They actually found Shaw?
Alex was genuinely surprised. That wasn't how things played out in the original tiline.
But after a brief mont of thought, he didn't dwell on it.
He'd already considered the possibility yesterday. It wasn't that far-fetched.
He just hadn't expected Moira to actually co back with results.
For 40 advanced chapters, visit my Patreon:
spatreon/Twilight_scribe1
If you're enjoying the story, please consider supporting with Power Stones!
For every 50 Power Stones, I'll release 2 bonus chapters as a thank-you!
Your support ans the world to and keeps motivated to write more.
So please—don't forget to drop those Power Stones!
And if you have a mont, leave a review too!
I'd love to hear what you think about the novel so far.
Reviews
All reviews (0)