"Alright."
After a brief moment of consideration, Charles nodded in agreement with Wolverine's proposal.
Firstly, according to the timeline Wolverine had revealed, time was indeed tight.
Secondly, the situation was clear: no matter who this Zhou Cheng was, if he refused to reveal himself, they would never find him.
Telepaths, in particular, held a unique advantage in this regard.
"Since you're from the future, you must know where Erik is right now?" Charles turned his gaze back to Wolverine.
Hank looked on with curiosity.
He didn't know Magneto's current whereabouts either. This was a highly guarded secret. Charles might know, given his Cerebro enhancer, but the others had no chance of finding out.
"Of course," Wolverine nodded matter-of-factly. "Erik is currently in the safest place in the world—no, the safest place on this planet."
Charles shrugged. "I'd bet my life it is."
The group then began discussing the specifics of their plan, with Charles pulling out relevant documents to share with Hank and Wolverine.
"The place where Erik is being held is a secret base built during World War II. Because of the steel and iron shortages back then, the entire structure is made of concrete and sand—no metal at all."
"Erik is imprisoned on the 100th floor underground. You were right—it truly is the safest place on this planet," Charles said, pointing to a map of the base as he explained it to Hank and Wolverine.
Then, Charles frowned. *This base... there's no way the few of us could handle it.*
If Charles's abilities hadn't vanished, this would have been effortless. He could have moved through the base like a ghost, rescuing Erik with ease.
But now?
"I know someone."
Wolverine, however, had already devised a plan. "He's still young, but he can get into anywhere. I just don't know how to find him yet."
Wolverine was referring to Quicksilver, of course.
Given Charles's current state, the group had no choice but to investigate through conventional means.
Yet, limited by the era, information channels were scarce and singular.
So, their only option was to comb through the phone book and make calls one by one.
Fortunately, Wolverine had narrowed down the general region, allowing them to focus on a specific area.
After making over a dozen calls, they finally found their target.
"Get ready. We leave tomorrow."
The matter was thus settled with remarkable ease.
"Are you sure you'll be ready tomorrow?"
Wolverine couldn't help but ask again, seeing Charles' current state.
With his perpetually hungover and disheveled appearance, could he really pull himself together by the next day?
"Get some rest, Logan," Charles replied. "The house is large; feel free to pick any room."
With that, he turned and retreated to his own room.
The rest of the day passed uneventfully. The three of them rested and waited for the new day to arrive.
Charles finally cleared the empty bottles from his room, took a shower, and trimmed his beard, finally looking somewhat presentable.
"Charles!"
The next morning, not long after breakfast, Charles received a friendly greeting from Tony, his interdimensional online friend.
"Tony Stark?"
Charles' spirits immediately lifted.
The mysterious diary in his mind sprang to life again. What was that Mutant named Zhou Cheng up to now?
And what was the connection between Tony and Zhou Cheng?
Of course, it wasn't just Tony; Nick Fury, Natasha, and others were also involved.
It seemed Zhou Cheng had indeed been the one to connect them all.
*Why would he do that?*
"So you're Professor X. I must say, this is quite a surprise."
The Playboy began a simple greeting with Charles.
*But how did Tony know Charles was Professor X?*
It was simple. After learning that Mutants also existed in the Main Universe, Tony had asked Clark, who provided the answer.
"You're really from another universe?"
Due to character limits, Charles skipped the pleasantries and directly asked the question burning in his mind.
Since Wolverine's time-travel from the future had confirmed the Diary's accuracy, Charles now had more reason to trust the story of these inter-universal visitors Tony and his group had woven.
"Absolutely. I'm from Marvel's Universe 199999."
Tony answered with absolute certainty.
"What's your relationship with Zhou Cheng?"
"Why did Zhou Cheng connect our consciousnesses?"
"Could he be a Mutant from your world?"
"What are his—or your—motives?"
Charles continued to barrage Zhou Cheng with a rapid-fire series of questions.
*This guy is treating Zhou Cheng like a Mutant!*
Tony, on the other hand, was already putting the pieces together.
Having learned more about Mutants, Tony wasn't particularly surprised by this.
"We have no connection to Zhou Cheng. It's all about the Diary."
"The Diary randomly selects holders across different universes. We're just some of the lucky ones chosen."
"Although the Diary is called 'Zhou Cheng,' based on our experience, it wasn't given to us by him."
"Zhou Cheng himself doesn't even know we exist."
Tony briefly organized his thoughts and explained the situation to Charles in the most concise terms possible.
*So the key is the Diary?*
*Not some Mutant?*
*Oh, come on.*
*What kind of magical Diary is this?*
*Are there such unbelievable, even incomprehensible things in this world?*
But then he reconsidered: *Why would Tony Stark lie to me?*
*Especially with such an utterly absurd story!*
Charles fell into deep contemplation, unable to untangle the threads of his thoughts or reach a clear conclusion for a long time.
Regardless of whether it was the diary or the magical mutant, the fact remained that the other party could show them the future.
Wolverine's appearance already proved this.
Moreover, the other party seemed to bear no ill will.
Aside from revealing some information, they hadn't done anything else.
"Who exactly is this Zhou Cheng?"
"As you said, he didn't give us the diary. But why did he write it?"
After a period of deep thought, Charles asked Tony another question.
"Regarding that..."
"To be honest, I haven't fully figured it out either, but one thing is certain."
"Zhou Cheng is an entity transcending the Multiverse. He knows everything that happens across countless universes and records it in the diary."
"I'm sure you've seen it yourself."
"He can also freely traverse between these universes."
"For a long time, he stayed in our universe."
"But this time, he went to yours."
The Playboy briefly explained Zhou Cheng's situation to Charles, leaving him utterly astonished.
It was important to remember that Charles was still in 1973.
In this era, the concept of parallel universes wasn't as readily accepted as it was in Tony's time.
The idea of a Multiverse-level entity still came as a great shock to Charles.
However, upon closer examination of the Diary's tone, he noticed that the author had mentioned "arriving in the X-Men universe" from the very beginning.
This was undeniably the tone of someone who had traveled from another universe!
He wanted to ask Tony more questions, but the Diary suddenly displayed a notification: the character limit had been reached.
Reluctantly, Charles had to abandon his inquiry for the time being.
"Charles."
"It's time to go."
After spending a few more moments in his room, Charles heard a knock on his door. It was Hank.
"I need to handle something now."
"Excuse me."
After bidding farewell to Tony and the others, Charles exited the Diary interface.
Together with Hank and Wolverine, they set off in a flurry of activity.
Their mission was to recruit Quicksilver, a powerful ally, so they could rescue Magneto from the world's most secure prison.
Thus began their grand endeavor to reverse the future.
***
"TRN414... another non-existent universe!"
Inside his luxurious villa, Tony, having just ended his communication with Charles, fell into deep thought.
He had specifically asked Clark about it. Among Clark's vast collection of Marvel-related comics, there was no mention of a TRN414 universe.
There were plenty of parallel universes featuring Mutants, of course. But just like their own Universe 199999, TRN414 was conspicuously absent.
Tony had originally wanted to ask Charles more about his world, especially with the Multiverse era looming. The newly surfaced TRN414 universe might well intersect with theirs.
But since Charles had "gone offline," Tony would have to wait for another opportunity.
After briefly organizing his thoughts, Tony temporarily set aside the matter of Charles and turned to contacting Strange instead.
It wasn't that Tony particularly liked Strange. Even Playboy, after a few conversations with the sorcerer, had developed a subtle dislike for him.
It was simple.
Strange was just too arrogant, rivaling even Big Tony himself.
Still, some matters within Kamar-Taj remained of great interest to Tony and the other Diary holders.
Especially that Kaecilius fellow.
The Diary had been crystal clear: Dormammu was summoned by him!
Since learning this crucial information, S.H.I.E.L.D. had been trying to find him to prevent this massive crisis.
But just as their investigation into Kamar-Taj had yielded nothing, S.H.I.E.L.D. had also failed to uncover any leads on Kaecilius.
This man, whom the Diary identified as a top-tier sorcerer, had concealed his skills so effectively that he rivaled Kamar-Taj itself in secrecy.
And now?
Finally, they had a contact from Kamar-Taj—a rare opportunity.
"So, Strange, have you decided?"
The other Avengers had already begun communicating with Strange as soon as he joined the group.
Everyone knew Strange was torn between staying at Kamar-Taj and leaving, and his internal conflict was palpable.
I wondered if Strange's thoughts had changed after a full day.
Inside his dorm at Kamar-Taj, Strange gazed at the group chat interface in his Diary, falling into a brief silence.
After a moment, he mentally nudged the interface and replied: "It's quite touching that you're all so concerned about my situation. But given our special 'Diary Friends' relationship, I can understand."
"And I know what kind of answer you're hoping to hear from me."
"So, I can tell you now: the result is exactly as you wished!"
After a full day of deep contemplation, even spending the entire night thinking it through, Strange had finally made his decision:
He would remain at Kamar-Taj.
As the movie had shown, there were other ways to save lives besides being a doctor.
Considering the truths about this world revealed by the Diary, becoming a sorcerer at Kamar-Taj—a superhero like Tony Stark or Captain America—would undoubtedly save far more lives.
The Battle of New York, the Age of Ultron, and all those other crises were averted precisely because of those individuals.
Wasn't that far more effective than saving a few people as a doctor?
Moreover,
supernatural threats could be encountered anywhere in this world, so whether or not one joined Kamar-Taj made little difference.
The Diary holders in the group secretly felt a thrill.
Regardless, having such a powerhouse join their ranks was undoubtedly a good thing for everyone.
"I can't say you've made the right choice, Strange, but I can say you're right."
"You've made the choice we hoped you would."
"But I believe you'll come to see that it was the correct one."
Egghead responded to Strange in the group chat.
"I don't know about that. I might end up regretting it."
Strange replied calmly.
"Strange, how much do you know about Kaecilius?"
After their brief exchange of pleasantries, Egghead got down to business, asking the group about Kaecilius.
Strange finished reading the entire Diary, now knowing what Kaecilius was planning to do.
Therefore, he didn't hesitate much.
He shared everything he knew with the Avengers.
Unfortunately, it was all outdated information—Kaecilius's background, past, and the story of his fall to darkness.
There wasn't a single clue about his recent activities.
-----------------------
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