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Chapter 48: Traces of the Black King
🕑 Added 2025-05-13 16:35:48 +0000 UTC
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 someone 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 fundamental 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 time 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Powerful, mature beyond their years, and unlike Charles, not shackled by outdated ideals—Alex was the perfect candidate to recruit.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 time talking in private,” Erik said, giving Alex a meaningful pat on the shoulder.
“What are you two chatting about?” Charles had finished making arrangements 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 mention 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, time was scarce. Finishing it any time 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 helmet.
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 something 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 meant he had something 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 came to me. In fact, I already have a few ideas about how to train your heat vision—interested?”
“Absolutely,” Alex replied without hesitation.
Charles eagerly shared some thoughts he had regarding training methods, and the two quickly worked out a rough plan.
“Thanks, Charles. Really,” Alex said sincerely.
“No need to thank me, 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. Meticulous fighting skills might not be necessary at that point.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sharp clang of metal rang out as training resumed.
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 come to my office for a moment?”
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 something 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 timeline.
But after a brief moment 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 come back with results.
