Shane Freak
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Chapter 889: Glittering Stars and Rotten (34)
🕑 Added 2024-01-12 05:57:28 +0000 UTCIn DC World With Marvel Chat Group : Table of Content/Chapter List
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"Charles, it's been a long time since we last had a telephone conversation, isn't it? Do you remember your old friend?" A silver-haired old general stood in the communication room, holding a telephone to his ear as he spoke on the other end.
"Davis General, indeed, it's been a while. Back in school, we were even part of the same club. I didn't expect that you'd be retired for so many years now," Charles's voice carried a hint of nostalgia. The general on the other end was an old acquaintance of his.
"Yes, back then, you were quite the social butterfly, and as for me... well, let's not dwell on that. You should know I've been invited by some people to give you a call and inquire about the situation in the Andromeda Galaxy," the old general's words were straightforward, although he wasn't particularly eager to make this call. However, several military generals and some officials from the presidency were standing around him, leaving him with no other choice.
"Our situation is quite good," Charles replied with a smile. "We've set up a temporary camp in the capital of the Andromeda United Civilization. Currently, a few mutants from the X-Men are living here."
After speaking, Charles glanced around his luxurious office. It was decorated in his favorite English style, with dark wood floors, thick red curtains hanging on both sides of the windows, bookshelves lining the walls all the way to a liquor cabinet, and paintings from his previous manor adorning the walls. It all perfectly matched this style.
This was the result of renovating the opulent Crystal Garden on the floating island from before. Looking out the window, he saw Polaris chasing Wolverine, with Cyclops and Havok trying to mediate. Further out, a Kree's escort ship was parked not far away, dominating a significant portion of the sky, making the floating island seem small.
"Alright, Charles, I won't beat around the bush. We've received information that there's an uprising on the Sulphur Dwarf's main star, affecting the production of Molten Steel. And there are reports of human mutants being spotted there. What's going on?" The old general adjusted his glasses and continued, "Charles, you should know that there are thousands of space projects worldwide that rely on Molten Steel. Stopping these projects would mean going back to square one. But both you and I come from that era. Don't you want to see the stars glittering in Space?"
His words were sincere, but Charles had some doubts. "Sulphur Dwarf uprising? Their star sector is quite far from where we are now. The X-Men have never been there."
"Davis, you know I wouldn't lie about something like this. In space warfare, the first thing you need is a star map. Mutants have never been to that area, and without a star map, how could they get involved in the war there?"
A staff member whispered, "Ask him about the Brotherhood of Mutants and Magneto..."
So, the old general continued, "Of course, I trust you, Charles, you're not that kind of person. But I still have doubts. Magneto has always harbored resentment against ordinary humans..."
"You mean Erik?" Charles sighed, "According to Lorna, his father has also come here, but we don't know where they are. You also know that Magneto can control the magnetic field. If he wants to cover himself, I can't find him."
"If he's involved in the Sulphur Dwarf uprising, then I can only say it might be that Thanos, who is interested in this special metal."
Charles then lowered his voice and said, "Actually, I've been wanting to call and tell you about this. This so-called Thanos resides in the Dark Dimension. I've been there once. His capital star is heavily fortified, and his army is formidable."
"He himself is a member of the Titan race, one of the most powerful beings in Space. He also has the Black Obsidian Five Generals under him. What's more frightening is his interest in Earth, this Space greenhouse. I wanted to further explore his intentions, but I failed."
Charles's tone became very serious as he continued, "You better be prepared. This instigation of the Sulphur Dwarf uprising might be his probing. If humanity doesn't show enough strength, the next target won't be just the Andromeda Galaxy."
Charles rarely spoke this much at once, but his words had a chilling effect in the room. General Davis cleared his throat and said, "So, you mean to say that a powerful Space force is eyeing us, and they've already taken action against the human forces in the Andromeda Galaxy?"
"Correct. I find it difficult to gauge Erik's thoughts, but you should also know his background. He holds a lot of resentment against ordinary humans. I'm trying to reach out to his daughter. After all, Lorna is his most beloved youngest daughter. If she can change her views, maybe she can persuade her father..."
Just then, a military officer entered, saluted, and said, "General, Schiller Rodriguez's plane will land in ten minutes. Should we notify the tower to take precautions?"
Now, the room's atmosphere had gone from tense to frozen. Everyone was standing on the precipice, with a powerful Space force threatening from outside and the Iron Curtain of resentment waiting to strike from within. It was a moment of choosing whether to protect the head or the tail.
Everyone gathered to discuss and tearfully decided to deal with the internal issue first. The problem caused by the Molten Steel disruption might not erupt for at least a month, but in a few hours, the Iron Curtain would return.
A general standing behind General Davis walked over and took the microphone, saying, "Hello, Charles Xavier, I am the head of the military, and we have a big problem. We hope you can help us deal with it. Only you can help us deal with it..."
People nearby wanted to stop him, as once they revealed the truth, they would need to prepare for significant sacrifices. But after hesitating for a moment, he stepped forward. Now, it was a choice between shedding blood or losing their lives.
Shedding blood might cost taxpayers' money at worst, but if they didn't, they would be risking their own lives. Within three seconds, everyone had made their choice and communicated their bottom line through eye contact.
"Oh, what's the problem?" Charles swiveled his chair and looked at Strange and Schiller, who were opening a portal in the center of his office. He said, "If it concerns the survival of humanity, the X-Men are more than willing to help."
"Um, it's like this..." Davis General hesitated once more before speaking, "There have been a lot of tragedies recently, and an extremely irrational, possibly highly biased, and emotionally paranoid individual is approaching New York. He possesses telepathic abilities, much like you..."
Charles walked into the portal while holding the telephone and arrived at the top of Stark Tower. Schiller gestured to him from behind, and Charles nodded.
At that moment, back at the other end of the telephone line, the door was pushed open once more, and another military officer rushed in, saying, "Report! The plane has landed! Schiller Rodriguez... has arrived in New York!"
As soon as the words were spoken, everyone's expressions froze, for they all felt that their thoughts had stalled for about a second.
A mental storm swept through the entire New York City.
There were no gunshots, no explosions, and no visible signs, but in their individual mental worlds, everyone constructed scenes of EMP weapons being launched.
Starting from a central point, a powerful mental wave spread out, instantly radiating to nearly ten million people in New York. It was like a drop of water falling into a calm lake, creating ripples, or like a deafening spring thunderclap that shattered the layers of clouds when it burst into the sky.
"Charles... Charles! Quickly stop him! Professor X!"
"Stop him! Whatever you want, just stop him! We can't let him destroy New York!" someone rushed forward and shouted into the receiver.
"This is a warning! He's giving a warning! Stop him!" another person cried, their voice trembling with tears.
The recent mental storm that had swept through all of New York had, in reality, caused no substantial harm to anyone. For ordinary people, a momentary lapse in thought, lasting just a second or two, was not uncommon in their daily lives. Even genius researchers experienced such moments when they were deeply focused on something.
Even if everyone experienced this feeling simultaneously, there would be no one screaming, except for those who were already on alert. No one else noticed what had just occurred.
The military and Congress personnel, who had been on edge for hours, finally broke down completely. In those few hours, the pressure on their minds had steadily increased, their nerves stretched to the limit. The slightest disturbance made them jumpy and anxious.
"Professor! Only you have the ability to stop him! Please, we beg you, don't let him destroy humanity. We're willing to pay any price..." one voice implored.
"But..." Charles's hesitant voice came through the telephone receiver, "from what I understand, this seems to be an ideological dispute within ordinary human society. Mutants shouldn't get involved..."
"I've never expressed any political opinions or taken sides. If I help you confront him, wouldn't that..." Charles began, but he was interrupted.
"You can, of course, you're part of humanity, and you're only protecting ordinary people. Please, he's on his way..." the voice urged.
At the same time, in an office in Heaven, Stark was holding a peculiar-looking device. He said, "JARVIS just reported some signal interference, and it seems like the thoughts of everyone in New York were affected for a moment. When did Schiller acquire this ability?"
Just then, a portal opened, and Schiller stuck half of his body out, waving to Stark from inside the room. "Tony, why did you design so many buttons for this cryogenic chamber? It just gave a low-temperature warning. Which button should I press to stop this damn cryogenic chamber?"
"I already told you, didn't I? The biggest button is for smart temperature control... Wait a minute, Schiller, when did you gain mind control abilities? Didn't you say your telepathic powers were limited to sensing Modoc's emotions?" Stark questioned.
Schiller looked puzzled for a moment and said, "When did I gain mind control abilities? I never did. I've always had telepathic powers limited to Modoc's emotions."
"Then what was that mental storm that just swept through New York? Don't try to deceive me. Before coming in, I established contact with you using magic energy and JARVIS, and he told me that according to his data..." Stark pressed.
"Oh, that? That was Professor Charles. Isn't that his signature ability?" Schiller shrugged and said, "Didn't I tell you earlier? I said I could brainwash all of humanity, but it was just a bluff. The one with that ability is Professor Charles, not me."
Stark furrowed his brows. He had just listened to Nick's explanation of their plan with Schiller, but he didn't expect the plan to be even more audacious than he thought.
"Are you saying that you designed many traps, killed all the Superheroes in New York who could challenge you, and then pretended to be angry because those Superheroes were killed? Those people actually thought that the deaths of the Superheroes were their fault and believed that you had the power to brainwash the entire world. So, they had to seek help from another person who could brainwash the entire world, which is Professor X," Stark summarized.
"When they turned to Professor X for help, they found that mutants now had a better option and couldn't be manipulated as easily as before," Stark continued. "At this point, you used the Brotherhood of Mutants' threat to Molten Steel to lure out a formidable enemy who is interested in Earth, creating a nervous atmosphere that put them in a zero-sum game."
"And Professor X, because this plan raises the importance of mutants, was willing to cooperate with your plan, using his mental storm ability to warn everyone..."
"And the people who received the warning, due to their fear, had no choice but to seek Professor X's help, accepting his high demands. And because mutants could gain significant benefits, Professor X..."
Stark covered his face with his hand and said, "This is essentially one giant scheme you've orchestrated on your own!"
Schiller, however, seemed puzzled and said, "What scheme? I was just laying some groundwork. The real scheme... I mean, the real plan hasn't even started yet."
Stark squinted his eyes at him and said, "You've said that before. Don't tell me this still isn't the main event."
"Of course not," Schiller replied with a cold smile. "Mutants are just a small part of it. The real dish is yet to come."
With that, he closed the portal and disappeared into the office. At that moment, in General Davis's office, Charles's voice came through the telephone:
"I accept your conditions. I've opened a portal and will return to Earth shortly... Oh, Jesus, what's with the Brainwavesstance here..."
Everyone in the room stared nervously at the telephone, but then Charles's serious voice came through, saying, "I have to tell you some bad news. I can only delay him, but I can't defeat him. If we have a direct confrontation, everyone in New York will be mentally incapacitated..."
"How long can you delay him?" General Davis immediately asked.
"Up to three days."
Charles replied with just one sentence before hanging up the telephone. A nearby general angrily pounded the wall and said, "That charlatan! He clearly said..."
"Now is not the time to discuss this! Within three days, we must find a way to deal with this, or he'll destroy all of New York!"
General Ross took a deep breath, clenched his fist tightly, and at that moment, another agent walked in. He was dressed in the uniform of a S.H.I.E.L.D. field agent, but he saluted and said, "Report! General, we've discovered a top-secret plan in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s archives, with a security level of 10. It's a secret plan known only to Nick Fury, called the Tahiti Project."
"Who authorized you to come here? Is this the time to report these things?" General Ross snapped angrily, but then he stopped and looked at the agent. "What's so special about this plan that you're reporting it now?"
The agent stood at attention and said, "General, the ultimate goal of the Tahiti Project is the resurrection of humans."
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