Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters.
“She’s fine now.
She just needs some rest.”
Jean gently pulled the blanket over Wade’s grandmother.
The room was quiet and peaceful, making it an ideal place for her to recover.
Wade let out a long breath of relief.
“Thank you.”
Jean shook her head.
“You don’t need to thank me.
If you’d been any slower, things could have turned out very differently.”
She gave Wade a gentle push toward the door.
“Now, let her rest.
The Professor has something to discuss with you.”
Wade nodded.
The two quietly left the room.
Inside the office, Charles remained as calm as ever.
He folded his hands together.
“Wade, you certainly know how to cause trouble.”
“In just one night, the damage you caused to the city is already beyond calculation.”
Wade lowered his head.
“Sorry.”
Charles stared at him for several seconds before continuing.
“However, because you maintained control over your power, the number of casualties was relatively low.
That is a good thing.”
Wade: “…”
Perhaps it was just his imagination, but Wade couldn’t help noticing that neither Jean nor Charles seemed particularly concerned about the destruction he had caused.
To them, the damage seemed to be little more than a number.
“Although I haven’t used my telepathy to read your mind, I can still tell that you’re confused.”
Charles smiled faintly.
“Are you feeling a little lost and uneasy?”
Wade lowered his head again.
In truth, he was.
His peaceful life of twelve years had been completely shattered.
From this point onward, the path ahead of him was destined to become anything but ordinary.
“Are you afraid of your power?”
Charles’s question caught Wade slightly off guard.
He thought about it for a moment.
“I wouldn’t say I’m afraid of it.”
“But it is powerful enough to make me respect it.”
“That’s good.”
Charles nodded.
“The power hidden within your body is both a gift and a testament to your extraordinary talent.
Don’t worry too much about what kind of destruction you may cause.”
“We mutants are far more powerful than you imagine.”
When Charles said this, Wade could faintly sense the authority radiating from the world’s greatest telepath.
Perhaps compared to Magneto, Charles truly was the more moderate leader.
Jean and Ororo also nodded in agreement.
Mutants had caused plenty of destruction over the years, yet most of them were still living perfectly well.
Although the existence of such beings was extremely inconvenient for certain governments, there wasn’t much they could do about it.
Between Magneto’s hardline pressure and Charles’s moderate approach, the world had been forced to acknowledge the special status of mutants and grant them a certain degree of respect and tolerance.
Just as Wade was about to say something else, Charles suddenly raised an eyebrow.
“Interesting.”
“I didn’t expect us to have a visitor at this hour.”
“And it’s him.”
Apparently, Charles’s telepathy had already detected the approaching guests.
Charles spoke softly.
“Get ready.”
“It’s time to welcome a friend from afar.”
“If I’m not mistaken, he’s here because of you.”
A few minutes later.
The office door opened.
Two figures appeared before them.
Fury’s gaze quickly swept across the room.
“I thought you’d already gone to bed, Professor X.”
“Under normal circumstances, I would have.”
Charles smiled.
“Of course, that assumes you don’t come knocking on my door in the middle of the night.”
The two stared at each other in silence for several seconds.
Then they suddenly laughed.
Fury stepped forward and gave Charles a light hug.
“Sorry for disturbing you so late.”
“Think nothing of it.”
Charles turned toward Wade.
“Wade, allow me to introduce you.”
“This is Nick Fury.”
“And this is Phil Coulson.”
S.H.I.E.L.D.
really did come.
Wade showed no reaction.
He calmly extended his hand.
“Hello.
I’m Wade.”
Coulson smiled.
“Hello, Wade.”
Fury expressionlessly removed his glove and shook Wade’s hand.
“I didn’t expect such an enormous amount of power to be hidden inside a boy this young and seemingly harmless.”
Wade: “(o)”
“I don’t want to waste too much time,” Fury said seriously.
“Because neither of us has much time to spare.”
Fury stared directly at Wade.
“I’m from S.H.I.E.L.D., a special organization tasked with dealing with extraordinary incidents.”
“Like the green monster that appeared on the streets of New York.”
“And the meteor shower you created on the outskirts of the city.” Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
“I want you to join S.H.I.E.L.D.”
“We’ll take responsibility for handling all the damage caused by this incident, as well as provide you with training to help you develop and control your abilities.”
Wade froze.
He hadn’t expected Fury to be this direct.
“Sorry, what did you say?”
“You want me to join S.H.I.E.L.D.?”
Fury looked completely serious.
“That’s right.”
Wait.
Isn’t S.H.I.E.L.D.
supposed to arrest me?
How did this suddenly turn into a recruitment offer?
Before Wade could respond, Charles spoke.
“My old friend, you do realize what you’re proposing, don’t you?”
“You want to take away an Omega-level mutant and have him join S.H.I.E.L.D.?”
Fury’s single eye remained remarkably calm.
“You heard me correctly.”
“Or would you like me to repeat myself?”
The atmosphere instantly became tense.
Jean’s psychic power began to gather.
Ororo’s mutant abilities were also quietly building.
As long as Charles gave the order, they wouldn’t hesitate to attack Fury—even if he was an important government official.
Coulson’s nervous smile froze.
He absolutely didn’t dare reach for the pistol at his waist.
Doing so would only make the situation worse.
Even under the pressure of three mutants whose abilities were at least Alpha-level, Fury remained completely composed.
“Charles, the situation is much worse than you realize.”
“I have absolutely no intention of violating mutant dignity, nor do I want to damage the friendship between us.”
“But this boy…”
“He’s too important.”
Charles stared at Fury.
“Of course he’s important.”
“A young man with controllable power and a sufficiently mature mind.”
“He has the potential to become one of our future leaders.”
Fury sneered.
“That’s not what I’m talking about.”
“Although I don’t fully understand what this boy’s mutant ability actually is, there’s one thing I know for certain.”
“He can accurately call down celestial strikes on specific targets.”
“Am I right?”
Fury’s voice became increasingly serious.
“Do you understand what that means, Charles?”
“As long as he belongs to any organization or faction, that faction possesses the potential to wield enough firepower to destroy the entire world.”
“Every celestial strike he summons is comparable to a nuclear weapon.”
“No one can simply ignore a power like that.”
“And no enemy is going to leave him alone.”
“Do you understand that?”