"Ah! Aaah!!"
With tortured cries echoing through the room, Charles Xavier jolted awake from a nightmare.
His body was drenched in sweat—soaked through the sheets. Blinking in confusion, Charles stared at the anxious faces of Polaris and Caliban hovering over him.
"Charles, are you okay? Professor?" Caliban leaned in, concern written all over his face. In his hand was a syringe—clearly prepared to use it at a moment's notice.
Polaris looked just as shaken. She wasn't the clueless young woman she had once been. After some time with Caliban, she had come to understand the dire state of the world—and how dangerously fragile Charles truly was.
It wasn't Alzheimer's that made Charles a walking WMD. The true danger lay in his epilepsy. Normally, it was kept in check with medication. Most days, he seemed harmless enough. But if he had a seizure… if his condition triggered a psychic outburst, then his telepathy would become uncontrollable and catastrophic.
Such psychic surges acted much like seizures themselves—violent, involuntary, and absolutely devastating. They could fry the minds of those nearby, causing mass paralysis—or death. And not just ordinary humans—even mutants had fallen to this power. The fate of the last X-Men made that brutally clear.
That's why, the moment Charles started convulsing in his nightmare, Caliban and Polaris had both panicked. They feared the worst.
Fortunately, for now at least, Charles still had a grip on his mind.
"Caliban… is that you?" Charles croaked.
"Yes—yes, it's me. Charles, how do you feel? Want some water?" Caliban quickly stashed the syringe away. He knew Charles hated the sight of it—showing it now would only make things worse.
As he turned to fetch a drink, Charles suddenly lashed out and grabbed his arm. Caliban staggered back in shock—he had no idea the old man still had that kind of strength. The next thing he knew, he was pulled right onto the bed.
"Magneto! Magneto's back!"
Charles' eyes were wide and full of intensity as he locked onto Caliban, his voice trembling but firm.
"He's going to destroy this world. Quick—gather my X-Men! We have to stop him!"
At first, Caliban was stunned by Charles' urgency. But once he processed what was being said, his expression shifted to something between exasperation and pity.
"Professor… that was just a nightmare. Magneto is dead. He's been dead for a long, long time."
"He's back! You have to believe me! Cough You must believe me!" Charles clung to Caliban's arm, desperate.
"Stop it, Charles."
Caliban pried Charles' hand off roughly. Without looking back, he turned and pulled Polaris out of the room with him.
"No! Come back, you damn albino! Come back!"
Charles shouted after them, but Caliban—knowing the man far too well—paid him no mind. He shoved Polaris out and slammed the door shut.
"I must gather my X-Men… I must…"
Left alone in the room, Charles collapsed back onto his bed, broken and ignored. When no one answered his cries, he slowly raised a trembling hand to his temple.
"X-Men… come to me."
"…Why… why won't anyone respond?"
"My X-Men… hurry… come to me!"
"…Come save me…"
"…"
Outside the bedroom, as Charles' muffled sobs leaked through the door, Polaris stood silently, her expression tinged with unease.
"…Are we maybe being too harsh?" she finally asked. "I mean, he's an old man. A sick one, at that. Treating him like this… isn't it a little…"
"I know what you're thinking," Caliban replied, his voice calm as his gaze met hers. "You think I'm being cruel. But I've been looking after Charles for years now. No one knows him better than I do."
He motioned for Polaris to follow him to the table in the living room. As they sat, he continued.
"I crossed paths with Charles long ago. And believe me, he's not as 'kind' as he appears. On the surface, he looks like a wise old mentor… but inside, he's always been proud—arrogant, even. Especially in his younger years."
"What do you mean?" Polaris asked, puzzled. "What was he like back then?"
"Do you know why so many mutants, myself included, chose to drift from place to place rather than join the X-Men?"
She shook her head.
"It's simple. When Charles was young, he treated the X-Men like his personal property. I won't deny his contributions—he built the school, trained kids to control their abilities. That helped a lot of people. But at the same time, he used the X-Men as a tool."
Caliban gave a faint, meaningful smile.
"Charles is every bit as obsessed as Magneto—just in a different direction. Sure, he talked peace, coexistence… but deep down, he believed mutants were superior. He used the X-Men to raise his status in human society. Those of us watching from the outside saw it clearly."
Polaris listened in disbelief. Her understanding of Professor X had always been of a gentle, sorrowful elder.
Caliban could see the doubt in her face, so he pressed on.
"There was another mutant among the X-Men—her name was Raven. You might know her better as Mystique. She was one of the most infamous shapeshifters in mutant history. She and Charles grew up together. No one knew him better than she did."
"All this?" he gestured vaguely. "It came from her. She told me herself. I'm not just making this up. Over the years, everything Charles has done only proved her right. Honestly, most mutants gave up on him long ago. By the end, only the X-Men still believed in him. It's just…"
"…Just what?" Polaris asked, hesitating.
"Just that they're all gone," Caliban replied flatly.
Polaris swallowed. "What happened to… Raven?"
"She's long dead."
Caliban sighed and opened his hands helplessly.
"Her death was what finally tore Charles and Magneto apart. The two of them… they were already on shaky ground, but Raven's death was the last straw. After Magneto died, Charles started slipping into Alzheimer's. Beast thinks the trauma triggered a psychological defense mechanism—his brain began erasing painful memories to protect itself."
"I see…" Polaris murmured, nodding slowly, her expression complicated.
Caliban suddenly shifted the conversation. "That said, we can't just dismiss everything Charles says. Yeah, he's old and confused—but his mutant powers are still intact."
"You think he's actually telling the truth?" Polaris frowned. "But didn't he just mistake me for Magneto?"
"You do share the same mutant abilities as him. But think about it—you're not the only one who's come here from another universe," Caliban said seriously. "There are hundreds of mutants who've appeared around the Manhattan District."
"You mean—!"
Polaris's lips parted in surprise. She was already catching on to what Caliban was implying.
He nodded, his brow furrowing. "With the situation the way it is, that many mutants suddenly showing up is no small thing. If it were just average mutants, fine. But if Magneto really is here... he could start a world war."
Polaris felt a chill run down her spine.
A world war—this wasn't some kind of overblown metaphor.
"You're saying my fath—Magneto—might truly be in this world? And that he might be rallying mutants from other universes to start a war here?"
"There's a good chance," Caliban said, then pointed to himself. "Don't forget what my mutant ability is. When Blink took us through New York, I nearly pissed myself."
"You sensed Magneto's power?" Polaris asked, already knowing what Caliban could do—he could detect and identify mutant presences and their corresponding abilities.
"I'm not totally sure. There were too many. And among them were some real heavy hitters. No one quite on Jean Grey's Dark Phoenix level, but some were not far off from Charles in his prime."
"Then what are we waiting for? We need to tell Alex, now!" Polaris said urgently.
"You think I haven't tried?" Caliban sighed and shook his head. "I've been trying to reach Alex since yesterday, but there's been no response. For now, we'll have to wait for Blink and Logan to get back."
Just as the words left his mouth, a violet rift tore open in the middle of the living room.
A second later, Blink stepped through shakily, supporting an injured and exhausted Logan on her shoulder.
"Blink!" Polaris rushed over immediately, moving to Logan's other side to help her carry him. "Are you two okay?"
"We're alright," Blink said, easing Logan down onto the couch. "Just ran into… some unexpected complications. It slowed us down."
"What kind of complications?" Polaris asked.
Blink didn't keep them waiting.
She raised a hand to her shoulder—and a tiny ant climbed onto her finger.
As Polaris and Caliban followed her gaze, they could see the little insect waving its front legs at them, as if greeting them.
And then, a mechanical voice echoed through the room.
"(Nice to meet you. I'm Hank Pym!)"
...
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