Drift Of The Multiverse: [Marvel] [Resident Evil] [DC] [Bleach] [DB]
Chapter 309: Suddenly Became Calm (BONUS)

Chapter 309: Chapter 309: Suddenly Became Calm (BONUS)

After eliminating Sebastian, the CIA quickly sent reinforcements.

They must have received word that the greatest threat had been removed. Rather than calling it a rescue, it was more accurate to say they came to take the White Queen away.

At the same time, Moira, as an active agent, had to submit a detailed report, truthfully recounting everything that had occurred.

As for Charles and the others, they were ignored.

The CIA didn’t know how to deal with Charles’s group, or rather, they hadn’t reached an internal consensus: should they be treated as a threat and eliminated? They had just helped solve a major crisis, and judging by their previous actions, they appeared to be super-powered individuals aligned with the government.

Furthermore, the abilities displayed by Charles and Erik made high-ranking CIA officials feel conflicted. On one hand, they were wary, but on the other hand, they also saw it as a good thing to have such powerful individuals on their side. Who knew what kind of trouble might arise in the future? Perhaps the abilities of these people could be the key to resolving it.

Take this crisis as an example. Without Charles and Erik helping to uncover the truth and eliminate the mastermind, Sebastian Shaw, the two nuclear superpowers—the United States and the Soviet Union—would have been provoked into a serious conflict by a small group of instigators, potentially dragging all of humanity into a nuclear war.

But ultimately, the same problem remained: some people firmly believed that mutants posed a threat to ordinary humans, so they strongly opposed ’recruiting’ Charles and the others.

It could be said that the two factions were locked in a stalemate. Those in power lacked a unified position, and the attitude they finally displayed was one that ignored the efforts and contributions of Charles’s group.

The young mutants didn’t understand the complexities involved. Hank, who did understand, chose not to say anything to avoid upsetting his companions. Charles, equipped with knowledge and memories of the future, understood the key issues but didn’t care.

"Compared to being directly targeted as monsters, the current situation is much better."

The lack of a definitive stance meant that there were still internal voices supporting them. If they continued to work hard, perhaps they could secure a better living environment for mutants.

Even if they couldn’t be treated completely the same as ordinary people, at the very least, they shouldn’t become enemies of humanity.

"My personal suggestion is that your mutant academy should cooperate more with the government. Politicians are actually quite pragmatic. If you keep mutants isolated, they won’t care about objective truths or facts. They’ll simply treat you as the enemy, because that’s what a lot of people expect, and it boosts their popularity."

Ethan shrugged. "They use you as stepping stones to climb higher."

He walked alongside Charles through the expansive manor, discussing future matters along the way.

"I originally thought that staying away from such matters would prevent mutants from becoming tools in others’ power struggles, but it turns out I was far too naive."

Charles didn’t have a better answer. He had originally hoped to keep mutants far from conflict, thinking that this would keep them out of trouble. But reality had proven that even if you didn’t seek trouble, it would still come to you.

As the mutant population grew, it became impossible to hide them. The social conflicts caused by various superpowered crimes weren’t something they could avoid simply by hiding and running a school.

So, living in hiding was not an option. It was a dead end. History had already proven that.

Since they couldn’t hide, it was better to step into the spotlight. Ethan suggested that after Charles founded the X-Men, he should use his substantial financial resources to form alliances with select politicians. The X-Men should become a formally established special police force focused on dealing with superpowered crimes, steadily gaining public trust through righteous and commendable actions.

"Don’t try to make the X-Men an independent vigilante group outside the system. That’ll only bring trouble—for both you and all mutants, Charles."

Sometimes, the difference between being a group of righteous individuals and being seen as a dangerous violent gang is exactly that.

Many of the things Professor Charles did in his previous life were questionable. While lamenting that the public wouldn’t accept mutants, he also ran his own little kingdom. In that place, mutants only answered to Charles and completely ignored the Constitution, criminal law, and various laws of the United States. They recognized only Professor Charles, regardless of who the president was. In such a case, whoever held office would want to crush you.

"Can doing all this really lead to a better future for mutants?"

"At the very least, it ensures that mutants won’t become public enemies of humanity, driving everyone to try and wipe them out completely."

Charles fell silent. He could doubt whether this path would succeed, but he couldn’t deny that his previous way certainly hadn’t.

They continued walking around the massive estate. When they returned to the main entrance, they saw Erik reading a book on the lawn.

Ever since Ethan told young Magneto that reading more would make him stronger, Erik had started carrying a book with him everywhere. Even without magnetic field enhancements, Erik’s learning ability far surpassed that of ordinary people. He had already reviewed pre-high school material on his own and was now working through university-level courses, primarily focusing on physics, with some astronomy and other subjects mixed in.

"I just worry that mutants will become tools for certain people. That we’ll give everything, yet still not get the outcome we hoped for."

Charles’s concern wasn’t unfounded. After all, everyone knew what kind of people those were—utterly devoid of integrity or trust.

"That’s why you can’t just keep appeasing them. You have to show some strength when appropriate."

Charles was terrible at that. Despite having the ability to wipe out humanity in an instant, people still treated him like someone they could manipulate. Every time Charles tried to smooth things over, he only emboldened those kinds of people.

"Not everyone can be reasoned with. Many people act in the name of justice while secretly pursuing dirty goals. Do you think reasoning works on people like that?"

Take the Weapon X project, for example. Those people constantly pushed the mutant threat narrative, stirring up public hostility. Was it really to protect humanity? Don’t kid yourself. They just wanted a legitimate excuse to arrest mutants and conduct all sorts of unethical experiments.

With people like that, a hundred arguments are useless. They aren’t interested in reason. The simplest solution is to eliminate them.

"But wouldn’t that just make some people more wary?"

"Good. It’s good for them to be wary of you. At least they’ll know not to provoke you. You’ve inherited memories of the future, and those memories should have taught you something."

"What?"

"Did more young mutants under your care get captured, or were more Brotherhood mutants captured?"

Charles was speechless again. Obviously, it was his side that got captured more often. The other side knew that even if they took his people, he wouldn’t retaliate—at most sending the X-Men to rescue them. As for revenge? That never even crossed his mind.

But if you provoked Magneto, he’d blow up your entire family in minutes. No discussion.

"Now Erik is standing with you, and I believe he’ll be more than willing to do the things you don’t want to do but must be done."

Charles nodded helplessly. Perhaps this was indeed why Erik had chosen to stay?

He began thinking about events that would happen in the coming decades and several important future allies.

It was currently 1960. Jean Grey, the Phoenix, wouldn’t be born for a few more years, and her powers wouldn’t awaken until much later. Cyclops and Storm were also expected to be born soon. He needed to start making preparations, monitoring the status of these children to ensure nothing happened to them before they could grow up.

Ethan was thinking along similar lines. The original trilogy’s setting was around the year 2000, but that timeline was overwritten by Days of Future Past, so it could be ignored.

Right now, he was in the world of the new trilogy. The first film had a clear historical anchor—the Cuban Missile Crisis—placing it in 1960, which was his current time.

The second film, Days of Future Past, involved two timelines. The future timeline could be ignored. The younger Charles’s era was clearly set in 1973.

Although Apocalypse didn’t state the time explicitly, there was a telling detail. A few young mutants went out to see the newly released Star Wars: Episode VI, which came out in 1983.

Ethan was calculating all this while considering whether he could still gain anything here. Quietly experiencing the plot and profiting from it was impossible. The time gap of over twenty years left him with no immediate options.

His control over the space-time orb was steadily improving, and eventually, he would surpass that time limit. But at present, he still couldn’t stay for more than a year.

All things considered, the only option seemed to be releasing Apocalypse early—but what was the point? Apocalypse could enhance mutant abilities, but Ethan wasn’t a mutant.

Besides, Apocalypse was egocentric and severely chuunibyou. He wasn’t someone you could talk to reasonably.

"Let Charles or the future Dark Phoenix deal with Apocalypse, that idiot."

Setting Apocalypse aside, many familiar X-Men hadn’t even been born yet. Even if he wanted to abduct a few mutants, there were no targets.

Ethan suddenly didn’t know what to do.

Aside from chatting with Charles every day and imagining the future, he focused on absorbing the mental energy Old Charles had left him, steadily growing stronger.

(To be continued.)