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The command center they entered was dimly lit, with multiple screens displaying security feeds from throughout the facility. Technicians monitored various systems, barely glancing up as the group entered. At the center stood a holographic projection of what appeared to be Cerebro's schematics, slowly rotating in blue light.
Xavier felt a chill run through him. "Those are designs for Cerebro. How did you—"
"All in good ti, Professor," Stryker interrupted. "First, there's soone I believe you know."
He led them toward another doorway at the far end of the room. After entering a 16-digit code into a keypad, the door silently slid open.
The room beyond was sterile white, furnished only with a hospital bed and sophisticated dical equipnt. In the center sat a figure in a wheelchair—a man in his thirties with hollow cheeks and vacant eyes. Multiple IV lines ran into his arms, and a neural interface device encircled his head. His fingers twitched occasionally, the only sign of movent.
"Jason..." Xavier whispered, shock evident in his voice.
"So you do rember him," Stryker observed coldly. "Yes, this is my son, Jason Stryker. Your forr student, I believe."
Xavier wheeled himself closer to the immobile figure. The man didn't react, staring straight ahead with dilated pupils.
"What have you done to him?" The professor's voice was heavy with horror and concern.
Stryker's expression hardened. "Done to him? I've given his life purpose, Professor. After he left your school, his abilities progressed in... disturbing ways. His mother couldn't handle it. One morning, I found her in the bathroom – she'd spent hours carving out her own eyes with a lon baller. She was still alive when I found her, begging to make the images stop."
Scott's face paled visibly beneath his visor. "My God..."
"God had nothing to do with it," Stryker said flatly. "That was Jason's gift. Creating illusions so real they fracture the mind. My wife killed herself the following week. The coroner ruled it death by fright – her heart simply stopped."
Xavier reached toward Jason's hand but stopped short of touching him. "Jason was troubled when he ca to us, but he was making progress. His control was improving. What happened after he left—"
"What happened is that your school failed him," Stryker cut in, eyes narrowing. "Just as it fails all the dangerous ones. You teach restraint. I teach control."
He circled the bed, adjusting one of Jason's IV drips with calculated precision.
"But now? He serves the greater good. Jason's power—guided properly—is a weapon of persuasion, Professor. And it's already worked once."
Xavier's eyes narrowed. "The attack on the President."
Stryker allowed a thin smile to stretch across his face. "There was no attack."
He walked to a nearby console and pressed a button. A screen flared to life, replaying the infamous footage— the scene that had ignited worldwide panic. The teleporting mutant, the explosion, the screaming guards.
Xavier leaned forward, studying it more closely.
"No attacker. No energy readings. No impact. Nothing physical ever touched the President..."
"Because nothing ever did," Stryker confird calmly. "The attack was never real. Just Jason's masterpiece. An illusion so perfect it fooled even mutant telepaths reviewing the footage. There was never a mutant assassin."
Scott stepped back, stunned. "You faked a terrorist attack?"
"I crafted a narrative," Stryker corrected coldly. "A story the world needed to believe. After the events caused by Alex—your 'Deathbringer'—mutant fear was already simring. Seven hundred dead, black sites destroyed, governnts humiliated. We needed to unite the globe around a solution."
"And so you chose to manipulate an entire planet?" Xavier asked, horrified.
Stryker nodded, unapologetic. "The world needed focus. Jason provided the illusion. And you, Charles—Cerebro—will provide the amplification."
He gestured toward the neural device surrounding Jason's head. "We had Magneto in custody for 48 hours. Just long enough to pull the schematics for Cerebro from his mind."
"Magneto…" Xavier said, his voice hushed with realization.
"His mind was a fortress," Stryker admitted, "but Jason cracked it. Once we had the design, we tried to build our own version." His expression darkened. "But we couldn't make it work. The technology is... extraordinary. Beyond even our engineers."
"So what now?" Scott challenged.
Stryker's gaze hardened. "As we speak, an elite tactical team is en route to your school. They'll secure the real Cerebro and transport it here."
"You're insane," Xavier said, voice tight with anger. "The X-n will—"
"The X-n will what?" Stryker cut him off. "Your precious school empty. Your remaining team small kids who is woefully outnumbered. My soldiers are equipped with mutant suppression technology. This isn't a battle, Professor. It's a retrieval operation."
Xavier's hands gripped his wheelchair tightly. "Even if you get Cerebro, you can't operate it. The security protocols—"
"That's why you're here," Stryker said simply. "One pulse. One synchronized illusion. Every person on the planet experiencing the sa attack, the sa terror, at the sa mont. Panic. Outrage. Unity."
"You'd start a war based on a lie," Xavier said bitterly.
"Correction. I would end a war," Stryker said, his voice devoid of remorse. "This isn't genocide. It's evolution's correction. The public will demand mutant suppression. We won't have to lift another finger."
Xavier shook his head in disgust. "And you think I'll just let you do this?"
"Let ?" Stryker laughed. "Whether we have to drag you to Cerebro or bring Cerebro to you, the outco will be the sa. But to power it, to guide the illusion through it… we still need one thing."
He turned toward Xavier and smiled darkly.
"A telepath strong enough to anchor the signal. That's you, Professor."
Before Xavier could respond, Jason suddenly stirred. His head tilted upward, and his eyes—once hollow—glowed gold with eerie intensity.
"Father wants you to sleep now..." Jason whispered, his voice echoing through the room from no identifiable direction.
The world around Xavier seed to ripple like a disturbed pond. The fluorescent lights blurred. Walls bent and shimred. He gritted his teeth, trying to resist the ntal assault.
"Scott!" Xavier shouted. "It's an illusion—fight it!"
But Scott was already on his knees, his breath short, visor flickering. "I... can't..."
Xavier struggled to maintain consciousness. Without his telepathy—suppressed by the inhibitor field—he had no defenses.
The last thing he saw was Stryker's satisfied smirk and Jason's glowing eyes before darkness closed in.
"Secure them," Stryker ordered. "By the ti they wake up, my team will have Cerebro in our possession. It's ti the Professor contributed to national security—whether he wants to or not."
NOTICE
I'm writing to let you know that there will likely be so irregularities in my uploads and activity from Monday, May 13th, 2025, to Monday, June 2nd, 2025.
This is primarily because I have a very demanding academic schedule during this period, with practicals, assignnts, and final exams that require my full attention.
Additionally, as I am based in India, you may be aware of the currently heightened tensions and ongoing military actions between India and Pakistan. Honestly, I'm not sure how this situation will develop or whether it will directly affect or my ability to work as things unfold. It's an uncertain ti, and like many here, I'm just taking things as they co.
I apologize in advance for any disruption to the usual schedule during these few weeks. I'm committed to my work/content here and will do my best to manage everything.
I'm hopeful that once my academic commitnts are completed and the situation hopefully stabilizes, I'll be able to return to my regular upload schedule after June 2nd.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support.
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