On the screen, the video paused, followed by a new question appearing:
[Among the following options, who convinced Professor Charles Xavier to walk out of his confusion and regain his clarity?]
[A: Hank McCoy (Beast)
B: Raven Darkhölme (Mystique)
C: Erik Lehnsherr (Magneto)
D: Charles Xavier (Professor X)]
Outside the screen, Erik looked at the question with a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "I'd like to think the answer is C. Charles, I really want to shake you awake. If the two of us could fully cooperate, the future of mutantkind would be shining bright!"
Charles Xavier replied with a stern expression, "Erik, if you already know that, then why won't you listen to me? Can't you see by now? It's exactly because of your extreme belief in fighting violence with violence that we've been driven toward a future filled with danger—and even destruction!"
Their ideological clash hadn't mellowed with the revelations from the future. Instead, it had only been further provoked.
Erik's smile faded as he said seriously, "You're wrong, Charles. What I see in these future videos is nothing but oppression and hostility from human society. Do you understand? You've placed the fate of our entire species on the goodwill of humanity. That's an incredibly foolish gamble!
Humanity can't even maintain peace among themselves. War, conquest, chaos, and bloodshed have always been the dominant themes of human history. Do you really think they'll ever allow mutants to rise and prosper?
Ha! That dwarf scientist was right. Mutants will always be the common enemy that unites humanity. They'll use that as a reason to suppress us again and again until we're completely destroyed!"
Charles looked at him with a mixture of fury and helplessness. He felt like Erik was a hopeless case. He sighed, "Your madness will throw the whole world into a furnace of destruction. Whether human or mutant, everyone will become a casualty of this blood-soaked war.
Erik, I sincerely hope you can place a little more trust in humanity. Yes, there are racists among them, and there always will be—but that doesn't mean we should give up on the hope of peaceful coexistence.
The road is hard, but if we carry hope in our hearts, we can reach the end."
Erik chuckled coldly. "Charles, placing your hopes on others is a sign of weakness. The future of our species should be in our own hands!"
Logan, thoroughly annoyed by their bickering, raised both hands impatiently. "Alright, that's enough out of both of you! Just answer the damn question already. I think the answer is... B!"
By now, everyone could tell that Charles had a deep emotional attachment to Raven, whom he had practically raised. You could say he was a bit of a "sister complex."
In the future videos, her departure was a major reason for Charles's depression. So logically, if Raven came back, he'd probably be instantly revitalized, like a shot of adrenaline.
Logan was feeling pretty proud of his deduction. Solving problems was just a matter of thinking things through—how hard could it be?
But Charles immediately rejected his reasoning. "Option B should be ruled out. In that part of the future, I regain my powers specifically to look for Raven...
But clearly, I encountered problems during the process of stopping the medication and regaining my abilities. And at that point, Raven couldn't help me. Logan, your timeline logic is off."
Naturally, Logan didn't take that well and grumbled, "Fine, then what do you think the answer is?"
"D!"
Charles and Erik spoke in unison. After saying it, they even exchanged a glance.
Logan looked at them with a weird expression. These two had just been arguing like mortal enemies, and now they were completely in sync? No wonder people said they were lifelong frenemies—forever at odds, yet always connected.
The atmosphere suddenly felt awkward.
Charles cleared his throat and broke the silence. "In the video, Logan's consciousness connects the future and the past. As long as I regain my telepathic abilities, I can communicate with the future version of myself through him. I'd probably gain guidance from... well, my future self."
Erik glanced at Charles and added calmly, "Logan, you probably think Charles and I are polar opposites. But I'm telling you, he's just like me—proud and full of conviction.
Once he sets his mind on something, no one can change it. Or rather, only the future version of himself—someone who's seen more and endured more—could persuade him. That's why the answer has to be D."
Logan shrugged. "Alright, looks like you know Charles better than I do."
Charles responded in an equally calm tone, "Your greatest enemy is often the one who understands you best."
Soon, the countdown for answering the question began. Team A, represented by Erik Lehnsherr, chose option D. Team B, led by Stephen Strange, also selected D.
They had approached the question using the process of elimination. First, they ruled out A—after all, Hank McCoy had lived with Charles for years, watching him spiral into depression. If Hank could've helped him recover, it would've happened long ago.
Options B and C were also easy to dismiss—neither had the opportunity or perhaps even the motivation to help Charles recover. That left only one logical answer: D.
Still, compared to Team A, which had both Erik and Charles themselves, Doctor Strange wasn't as confident about the choice.
Fortunately, once the correct answer was revealed, both teams got it right. However, since Team A buzzed in first, they earned 4 points, while Team B only got 1.
Now, the gap between the two teams was widening.
Stephen Strange frowned and warned his teammates, "We need to be more aggressive with the next questions. If we lose this game, we'll be at their mercy for punishment!"
Pietro also frowned but thought for a moment before saying, "Professor X is a good man. If he wins..."
Strange raised his hand and cut him off. "What about Erik? Nothing that guy does would surprise me. If he decides to kill us all, we're dead for real!"
This round of team competition was far more intense than previous ones. Both pietro and Peter were now fully focused, determined to seize every opportunity to win.
Meanwhile, the screen resumed playing the rest of the video that confirmed the correct answer.
Onscreen, Charles held a syringe of serum in his hand, his face twisted in pain and inner conflict. But in the end, he put the syringe down, choosing instead to claw his way out of despair on his own.
By not injecting the serum, he regained his telepathy—but also lost the ability to walk, forcing him back into his wheelchair.
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🎉 Shoutout to Jose Torres! 🎉
A huge thank you to Jose Torres for joining my Patreon and supporting the translation journey! Your support means a lot and helps keep the chapters coming faster. Welcome to the VIP club! 🙌✨