Acquaintance

"Charles Xavier!" Charles froze for a moment, then quickly came to his senses and hurriedly held out his hand, his expression extremely respectful. Just now, Charles could not resist using telepathy on Sebastian Shaw’s beautiful loyalist, because he had been very curious about Alex’s identity. That investigation had revealed many things and made him truly realize Alex’s greatness.

Alex did not dare act too enthusiastic, afraid of frightening them. Smiling, he shook Charles’s hand, then turned to look at the others beside him.

Even after losing Erik and Raven, Charles had still found some companions.

"Hank McCoy." The speaker was a thin young man wearing glasses. One look was enough to tell that he was a research genius.

Looking at Hank’s frail appearance, Alex somehow pictured the blue beast Hank became after transforming. The two utterly mismatched images made Alex laugh.

"What do you mean by that?!" Alex’s unexpected laughter angered several of them. One young man stepped forward, his slightly raised eyes carrying a faint provocation.

"Alex, don’t!" Seeing the young man’s movement, Charles’s expression changed drastically. He hurriedly reached out to stop him, even using telepathy to freeze the young man in place.

Alex looked at Charles awkwardly, then turned his gaze to Hank and apologized sincerely. "Sorry, I thought of a friend. He has the same name as you." As if to make himself sound more credible, Alex paused before continuing, "He’s a very strange person. He can make people laugh just by standing there."

Hank looked at Alex somewhat shyly, then smiled and shook his head to indicate that it was all right.

Knowing he had been in the wrong, Alex apologized to Hank again before turning to the Alex who had just been about to make a move. If Alex remembered correctly, this Alex should be Havok, the man capable of unleashing incredibly powerful red shockwaves.

"It’s a pleasure to meet you, Alex." Alex took the initiative to show goodwill toward Alex. On one hand, it was to recover from his earlier lapse in manners; on the other, he genuinely wanted to recruit Havok.

Mutants possessed all sorts of Mutant Abilities. Some were incredibly powerful, while others were downright ridiculous. Yet abilities that could truly improve combat strength were few and far between. An ability like Alex’s made him a natural-born warrior. If he could be brought into the X-Men, it would definitely improve the X-Men’s overall strength.

Alex snorted coldly and turned his head away with great pride, ignoring Alex’s friendly gesture.

Alex gave an awkward laugh and did not press the matter. He turned to the next person, a Black man.

The Black man was much friendlier. With a faint smile on his face, he said calmly, "Darwin. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Alex!" Darwin did not know Alex’s identity, but judging from Sebastian Shaw’s beautiful loyalist’s reaction, he could tell that Alex was definitely no ordinary person.

"Darwin? Is that your codename?" Alex could not help reaching out and grabbing Darwin’s hands, looking at him with delighted surprise. There was not the slightest hint of pretense in his expression.

When Alex had watched X-Men: First Class in his previous life, the ability he had wanted most had undoubtedly been Sebastian Shaw’s absorption ability. But the second most desired had not been Professor X’s telepathy, nor Magneto’s Metal Control, but Darwin’s Reactive Evolution.

Darwin’s true ability was definitely not as weak as it had seemed in the movie. Just imagine it: abilities that organisms took thousands, tens of thousands, or even millions of years to evolve could be completed by Darwin in an instant. What an astonishing ability that was.

Reactive Evolution meant Darwin was practically immortal. No matter what kind of threat appeared, Reactive Evolution could instantly evolve a corresponding countermeasure.

Alex’s unusual behavior left Darwin at a loss. He looked at Alex, then turned to Charles, his expression slightly anxious.

In an instant, Alex realized that he had lost his composure. He gave another awkward smile, turned to Charles, and deliberately changed the subject. "This isn’t a place to talk. Shall we leave first?"

Charles hesitated as he looked at Hank and the others, then nodded in agreement. "All right, let’s leave now!" He then glanced at the beautiful loyalist tied beside the bed, frowned, and said in a deep voice, "Take her with us too!"

As he spoke, Alex, Darwin, and Hank all sprang into action, gathering their things and running outside.

"Are you planning to drive out of the Soviet Union?" Alex looked at what they were doing, unsure whether to laugh or cry.

Charles had already knocked the beautiful loyalist unconscious and was supporting her as he prepared to leave. Hearing Alex’s words, he stopped at once and looked at Alex in surprise, with a trace of anger on his face.

Feeling Charles’s gaze, Alex knew he had said the wrong thing again and quickly explained, "I can teleport. I can take you out of here."

"Teleport?!" Charles was stunned, while Hank and the others stared at Alex with equal shock.

Alex had only recently revealed his ability to control metal. How could he also possess Teleportation? As far as they knew, mutants generally had only one ability, at most accompanied by one or two minor abilities of little use. Someone like Alex, who possessed both Teleportation and Metal Control—two major abilities—was almost unheard of!

Alex did not say much more. He spread out his Psionic Power, wrapped everyone within it, activated Teleportation, and instantly returned from the Soviet Union to New York.

Charles and the others only felt their vision blur, and the surroundings had already changed beyond recognition. When they looked carefully, everyone could not help crying out, "New York? This is New York!"

Alex looked at them with amusement but said nothing.

After a long while of astonishment, Charles and the others finally came to their senses. Then, faces slightly red, they looked at Alex and said softly, "Sorry, could we trouble you to send us to Washington?"

The smile on Alex’s face immediately froze. After a long moment, he nodded mechanically. In truth, he was already dying of embarrassment inside. He had wanted to show off, but instead he had made a fool of himself. Charles and the others were obviously heading back to Washington, yet out of habit, he had brought them to New York. It was utterly humiliating!

Though he inwardly blamed himself for being so reckless, Alex did not slow down at all. He activated Teleportation again and immediately brought everyone back to Washington, not far from the CIA.

"Thank you, Mr. Alex!" Seeing the familiar building in the distance, Charles concealed his amazement, looked up at Alex, and thanked him sincerely.

Alex waved his hand to show that it was nothing, then turned and prepared to leave, having completely forgotten why he had come.

Fortunately, someone still remembered.

Watching Alex turn to leave, Charles hesitated for a long time. After Alex had taken several steps, he finally called out, "Mr. Alex, may I ask what you came to see us about?"

Alex, who had been preparing to leave in style, shuddered all over. His face turned red, then white. Only then did he finally remember his purpose!

A word about the update schedule: Scorpion has been writing two books at once. There had been plenty of time before, so it had not been much of a problem. But due to changes at work, there is not much time to write each day now. There is no choice but to focus on one and let the other go for the time being. The other book is also nearing completion, so it is currently the main focus, while this one can only be updated irregularly. Once the other book is finished, Scorpion will devote himself fully to this one. Please understand!