Charles actually joined the Brotherhood!?
Magneto was dumbfounded; he wouldn't have even dared to dream of such a thing!
"Our Brotherhood is not quite the same as yours," Charles explained.
Over the past few days, he had chatted quite a bit with the future Logan and had a rough idea of what had happened in this World's past.
Simply put, it was a World where Darian had never appeared.
Due to a disagreement in philosophy, he and Erik eventually parted ways. One founded the X-Men, while the other founded the Brotherhood. Erik would come out to cause trouble every now and then, and he was responsible for cleaning up the mess.
And the endings basically always involved his X-Men winning and Erik ending up behind bars.
Although Charles was quite satisfied with the fact that he could consistently suppress Erik, he didn't like this kind of plot development.
"It's all the same, it's all the same."
Magneto waved his hand, the wrinkles on his face bunching up as he smiled like a blooming chrysanthemum.
He didn't care what kind of Brotherhood it was, as long as it had that name!
Just then, the temple gates opened, and Professor X came out in a hovering wheelchair, followed by Kitty Pryde and Logan.
Magneto hurried to meet him: "Charles, come, let me introduce you..."
Professor X interrupted with a smile: "No need, I already know."
"No, I must introduce you. This is very important!"
Magneto's attitude was exceptionally firm as he said solemnly, "This is Charles from the past, from the Brotherhood!"
Knowing his old friend was a bit hard of hearing, he raised his voice slightly to accommodate him. The word 'Brotherhood' in particular was exceptionally loud, even echoing among the mountain cliffs.
Charles: "..."
Watching the two old men bicker, Darian was instantly amused.
He stepped forward and said to Professor X, "I am the leader of the Brotherhood, the Black King of the Hellfire Club. You can call me Darian."
"Hello, I am Charles."
Professor X didn't react as strongly as Magneto.
The moment Darian and the others arrived, he had already used his abilities to discern the whole story. He also had Kitty Pryde stop her ability to wake up Logan, who was still 'logged in remotely'.
Professor X looked at Charles: "But you can just call me Professor X; it's easier to distinguish us that way."
Charles looked at his older self with a complex expression: "You are my future?"
Professor X smiled slightly: "That's right."
"So I really went bald?"
"..."
Professor X's smile froze on his face.
This time, Magneto didn't mock his old friend. He understood the feeling all too well; looking at his past self's punchable face, he felt like slapping it.
As expected, no one can empathize with their past selves.
Magneto looked at the newly awakened Logan and frowned: "So, can someone explain to me exactly what is going on?"
"Charles."
Darian jerked his chin toward Charles.
Charles understood and immediately activated his ability, mass-sending a video file to everyone present.
A second later, a new memory appeared in everyone's minds.
"Look closely, this man is named Logan..."
After processing the memory, the future Mutants had various expressions.
Storm murmured: "In other words, even if Logan goes back to the past, he can't change the future?"
They had done their utmost and spared no expense to send Logan to the past, only for it all to be in vain.
For a moment, the atmosphere sank to rock bottom.
Darian glanced at them and spoke: "There's no need to be so discouraged. Looking at it from another perspective, this might not be a bad thing."
"What do you mean?"
"Think about it, even if you really corrected the past and changed the future, so what?"
Darian said bluntly: "At that point, a brand new timeline would be born that has nothing to do with you. Your World-line would cease to exist, and everyone here would disappear with it."
"To put it simply, all your life-and-death struggles would ultimately only benefit people in another timeline. No one would even know you ever existed."
"This isn't saving your World; it's dragging your timeline down to be buried with the enemy."
Everyone fell silent.
How could they not understand this logic?
It was just that they had no choice but to use the excuse of 'changing the past to save the future' to deceive themselves, just to have a glimmer of hope.
Professor X looked at Darian and asked seriously: "Then what is your suggestion?"
"Change the present, save the present!"
Darian answered decisively.
Magneto sighed and shook his head.
"If that were possible, we would have done it long ago. You simply don't understand how formidable those Sentinel Robots are. Although we just won, this small number is just the tip of the iceberg compared to all the Sentinels in the World."
He paused, his tone becoming solemn: "And the worst part is, even though we won this time, our situation will only become more difficult next time."
At these words, the expressions of the future Mutants present changed slightly.
The most disgusting thing about the Sentinel Robots wasn't their flashy ability transformations or their endless numbers.
It was their constantly evolving system.
After every failed battle, the Sentinels would transmit data to the hub. Every Mutant's abilities, exposed weaknesses, and tactical coordination would be recorded.
Then their system would continuously analyze the data to calculate the most effective counter-measures.
So many powerful Mutants had fallen this way.
Perhaps they could suppress the Sentinel Robots at first, but as they fought more often, it became increasingly difficult. Their patterns were figured out and their weaknesses targeted until they were eventually worn down to death.
For this reason, they didn't dare to face the Sentinel Robots head-on and could only choose tactical retreats.
Darian understood this as well and waved his hand: "It's not a big problem. I've already thought of a countermeasure."
"What countermeasure?"
"Since the enemy plays the numbers game, we'll play the numbers game. If the enemy uses robots, we'll use robots!"
With that, Darian waved his hand, and a tall metallic figure appeared out of thin air before everyone.
It was an all-silver robot that looked similar to Tony's Mark armor or the Whiplash Armor, but its overall build was more humanoid.
Its eyes glowed with a faint blue light, and a small Arc Reactor was embedded in its chest, emitting a bright glow.
"What is this!?"
The future Mutants almost subconsciously stepped back.
You couldn't blame them for their strong reaction; after being hunted by Sentinel Robots for so many years, they now had a bit of a stress response whenever they saw a robot.
"I am the Eighth-generation Whiplash Robot developed by Dr. Hank."
The one speaking wasn't Darian, but the robot in front of them.
Its voice was steady and emotionless, a standard synthesized mechanical voice.
"Artificial Intelligence?"
Professor X was well-educated and could tell at a glance that the robot possessed artificial intelligence.
Darian grinned: "Exactly. The Whiplash Robot is equipped with an independent AI system. In terms of computational logic and self-learning capabilities, it's far superior to the Sentinels' system."
"Furthermore, the Whiplash Robot is equipped with various advanced weapons and is powered by the small Arc Reactor in its chest, allowing it to sustain long-term combat."
This Whiplash Robot was rebuilt by Hank on the basis of the original Whiplash Robot using technical data provided by Darian.
The level of technology involved was quite high, making it many times more powerful than the first-generation Whiplash Robot.
Moreover, the Whiplash Robot was equipped with an AI similar to Jarvis, though it wasn't as human-like or intelligent.
Of course, Darian didn't dare let Hank make the AI too smart; he didn't want to cause some kind of machine uprising crisis.
So, in the underlying logic of this AI, he had Hank add several safeguards.
The most important one was to always obey Darian's orders unconditionally, prioritizing them above all else.
Logan was somewhat skeptical: "Are you sure this thing can defeat the Sentinel Robots?"
Darian smiled confidently: "Of course not."
Everyone: "..."
If it can't, then why are you showing off?
But Darian immediately added: "However, just because the current Whiplash Robot can't win doesn't mean future ones won't."
"What do you mean?"
Professor X heard the hidden meaning in his words and slid his wheelchair forward half a step.
Darian said: "The initial version of the Sentinel Robots was much weaker than the Whiplash Robot. Since the Sentinels could upgrade to their current version, why can't the Whiplash Robot do the same?"
"You mean..."
Professor X's pupils constricted slightly as he seemed to understand Darian's point.
"Exactly. Defeat technology with technology!"
Darian chuckled: "What is the core that allowed the Sentinel Robots to evolve like this? It's Raven's DNA, which gives them the ability to transform."
"Coincidentally, I happen to have plenty of that."
As he spoke, a test tube containing blood appeared in Darian's hand.
Before setting out, he had specifically asked Raven for dozens of tubes of blood.
Anyone else would have been bedridden after drawing so much blood at once.
But Raven was, after all, a monster who could remain lively even after bleeding for seven days every month. Plus, after drinking a life potion, she was basically fine aside from being a bit pale.
As compensation, he restored Raven to her original position.
As for Jean, she was temporarily given the title of Vice Minister of the Sisterhood Gate, to take office officially after her probation.
Darian continued: "In addition, I have the complete technical data for the first generation of Sentinel Robots, as well as all the research experience of their founder, Bolivar Trask."
He pointed a hand toward the scrapped Sentinel Robots on the ground: "Combined with all these ready-made Sentinels, as long as Hank is given enough time, he can reverse-engineer the Sentinel technology and build our very own Sentinel Robot army!"
Silence fell over the surroundings as he finished speaking.
The future Mutants looked at each other, their eyes filled with shock.
They had never even considered this idea.
After all, they were Mutants. With Mutant abilities at their disposal, who would bother with the 'heretical' path of technology?
Professor X and Magneto exchanged a glance, a spark of light flashing in both of their eyes.
Using Sentinel Robots to deal with Sentinel Robots.
This actually seemed feasible!
They were both old acquaintances of Hank's and naturally knew how terrifying his mind was.
If Hank hadn't strayed and abandoned his career as a scientist to go into politics, bickering with politicians in the White House every day, then with that brilliant brain of his, he surely would have earned a place next to the photo of that great man sticking his tongue out.
With Hank's wisdom, he might actually be able to develop their own Sentinel Robots.
"Let's do it!"
The two old men made the decision almost simultaneously.
To them, if they were willing to go all-in on an outrageous plan like going back in time to fix history, then Darian's plan—which sounded fairly reliable—was a no-brainer.
Right now, the two of them were like gamblers with bloodshot eyes; as long as they saw a glimmer of hope for a comeback, they would dare to bet all their chips.
Professor X took a deep breath and looked at Darian seriously: "Fine. Go ahead and do what you need to do; we will cooperate with you fully."
Darian nodded with satisfaction: "With those words, I'm relieved."
With the two Mutant big shots in agreement, the other Mutants naturally had nothing more to say.
Worried that Sentinel reinforcements could arrive at any moment, they didn't stay long.
After a quick cleanup of the battlefield, the dozen or so people quickly gathered together.
Red Devil reached out and placed his hands on the shoulders of the two closest people, and the others followed suit, huddling together with their arms around each other.
A puff of red smoke rose, enveloping everyone, and they vanished from the ruins in an instant.
In a secret Mutant Base located in the East.
Due to being hunted by Sentinel Robots for many years, the Mutants had multiple secret Bases in various locations.
They had Magneto to thank for this.
Regardless of his other skills, he was truly adept at building shelters.
With his ability to manipulate metal, he would whip up a secret Base wherever he went.
After all these years, even Magneto couldn't remember exactly how many secret Bases he had built.
The reason they came to this stronghold in the East was mainly because the entire World was now dominated by Sentinel Robots. America was the most extreme, where the number of Sentinels far exceeded that of living people, almost turning it into a nation of machines.
In contrast, the East had the fewest Sentinel Robots, so Mutants usually hid there to evade them.
With Magneto and Erik working together, they set up a decent laboratory in the Base in less than an hour to provide Hank with a suitable research site.
As for the research equipment, Darian had brought it all along. Anything missing didn't matter; they could just send Red Devil to steal it back, as no one could stop him anyway.
As soon as the lab was completed, Hank immediately entered his Beast form and threw himself wholeheartedly into the research.
The rest of the people, having nothing better to do, gathered together to chat.
Charles rolled his wheelchair over to Professor X, staring at the other's shiny bald head for a long while before finally being unable to resist asking: "Um, what exactly caused your hairstyle to turn out like this?"
He was truly afraid that he would end up looking the same way.
Although Darian always said that a bald head is the Mark of a big shot, Charles really couldn't bear to part with his thick head of hair.
Professor X smiled enigmatically: "Well, you'll find out in the future."
How could he not see through Charles's thoughts? But since Charles had mocked his hairstyle, if he didn't have an umbrella, he wasn't going to let Charles have one either.
Charles didn't give up: "Can't you give me a little hint? At least I could be careful."
Professor X shook his head: "Many things are unavoidable; only through experience can we progress. Just like our legs, hardships make us stronger."
Charles looked down at his own legs and asked curiously: "What's wrong with our legs?"
Professor X froze: "A bullet hit our spine, of course, causing our lower body to be paralyzed and our legs to lose all sensation."
"What are you talking about? I've never been hit by a bullet. My legs are perfectly fine."
Charles pushed the wheelchair away, stood up abruptly, and even hopped twice in place.
Professor X was instantly dumbfounded: "Then why have you been sitting in a wheelchair all this time?"
Charles scratched his head, looking a bit embarrassed: "It's my disguise. But after sitting in it for a while, I got used to it and became too lazy to walk. Anyway, the wheelchair is quite convenient, so I just kept sitting in it."
Professor X: "..."