Charles greeted Erik with visible excitement, gripping his hand tightly.
"Nice to meet you, Erik. I'm Charles. I… sorry, I'm just really excited—it's my first time interacting closely with a mutant other than Raven. I need to calm down… whoo… whoo…"
Seeing Charles so overwhelmed, Erik gave a slightly annoyed smile. If just meeting him caused such excitement, would Charles faint if he visited the Sanctuary?
"Alright, sorry about that. It's a pleasure to meet you, Erik," Charles said after taking a few deep breaths.
"Hello, Charles."
"Would you mind coming with us? This isn't the best place to talk," Charles suggested.
"Hm… alright. But let's be clear: this doesn't mean I'm agreeing to join you… cough, cough…" Erik replied, but coughed up a bit of blood due to internal injuries.
"No problem. But I'm confident—you'll join us eventually. Besides, you need treatment," Charles replied.
"Let's hope so."
The battleship rescued the Marines and sailed away.
After they left, Dismask appeared on the wreckage of the cruise ship, grumbling, "Damn you, Erik. We offer to help and you refuse, but let a stranger help and suddenly that's fine? Ugh! If I don't sass you ten times when we're back, I'll change my last name!"
…Wait, I don't even have the last name "Di"…
He glanced toward the departing submarine, his eyes filled with killing intent. "To injure Erik this badly… if it weren't for Lord Maelin's orders, I'd personally escort you to the underworld."
With that, Dismask vanished again, chasing after Erik.
In a cabin, only Charles, Erik, and Raven were present—they needed a private conversation.
"You're one of us too?" Raven asked, carefully looking Erik over. Hmm, handsome.
"And you are?"
"Yes," she said, then turned to Charles, who nodded, and once again performed her "live transformation" trick.
"Interesting ability—not particularly powerful, but extremely convenient and practical. Also… very beautiful," Erik sincerely complimented.
"Really? Thank you," Raven replied. She had always hated her power and wished to be normal. Ever since Charles took her in, she'd developed feelings for him, but he only saw her as a sister. She always assumed it was because he knew what she really looked like.
Hearing praise for her true form for the first time—especially from someone besides Charles—made her genuinely happy.
The atmosphere between them instantly turned a little flirty.
"I hate to spoil the mood, but Raven, could you cool it for a second? I still have questions for Erik," Charles interrupted, obliviously.
"You're so annoying, Charles!"
"I apologize."
"So? What do you want to ask?"
"Could you tell me about your ability? Is it metal manipulation? Sorry if that's too intrusive."
"It's fine. My ability is magnetism control, not metal manipulation."
"Whoa! One of the four fundamental forces of the universe? That's incredible!" Charles exclaimed. While he wasn't a physics professor, he knew the basics.
"It's alright."
"Then can I ask why I can't read your memories? I know it's rude, but… I need to determine if we can be friends," Charles explained.
"That's a secret—I can't answer that," Erik said.
"Alright. Everyone has their secrets—that's normal." Though a bit disappointed, Charles didn't press further.
"Then it's my turn. Charles, why are you targeting Sebastian Shaw?" Erik asked.
"Because he's insane. I briefly glimpsed his memories—he wants to start wars, manipulate them, and become king of the world."
Pfft—cough, cough. Erik nearly choked on his drink, trying hard not to laugh.
"World domination? How cliché and ridiculous. Sure, your powers are impressive, but that's just delusional," he thought.
If Maelin wanted to rule the world, Erik believed he could do it. In fact, any of the Twelve Gold Saints could.
But you? Sorry, nothing personal—but compared to them, you're just weak.
"Are you alright?" Charles and Raven asked, concerned for his injuries.
"I'm fine, just choked a bit," Erik replied. His injuries were internal, but with his physical strength, he'd recover quickly.
"So you're doing this just because he's a madman?" Erik continued.
"Of course. I hate to admit it, but he's one of us. I won't allow a mutant to abuse their power and bring ruin to the rest of us," Charles said firmly.
"I see…" That answer raised Charles' score in Erik's eyes. Protecting the world out of love and hope—that's the belief of Sanctuary too. There might be some ulterior motives, but they were minor.
"Then what's your answer?" Charles and Raven asked expectantly.
"Hm… I can work with you for now. As for being friends… I'll need time to decide," Erik replied with a smirk.
"Alright." Slightly disappointed, Charles still accepted the response.
"…But I'm looking forward to it."
Hearing that, both Charles and Raven lit up and raised their glasses.
"To what's ahead."
"To what's ahead."
Clink!
At that moment, the three co-founders of the X-Men made their first pact. The unbreakable bond between them began with that clear toast.
Though the mission failed, Clyde wasn't discouraged. At least he'd confirmed Moria's intel was accurate, and that many more mutants existed. Hoping for a promotion, he personally brought Charles, Erik, and Raven back to his research base.
"Welcome to my turf. My job is to study the military applications of supernatural powers," Clyde explained during the tour.
"Or offensive uses," Erik added.
Clyde went silent, quickly changing the subject. "That guy, Shaw? Sebastian? Whatever you call him—he's working with the polar bear nation. We might need your help to stop him."
"Great. So, we're going to become the mutant division of the CIA?" Charles asked.
"…Something like that." Clyde dodged the question, but Charles and Erik both caught the shifty look in his eyes.
They soon met the only other researcher in Clyde's unit, and Charles got excited again.
"Hello, I'm Hank McCoy."
"Amazing! Another mutant is already working here. Why didn't you say so?" Charles asked Clyde.
This mission made Charles realize how hard it was to work alone, so he proposed forming a team to fight Shaw.
Although he could sense other mutants nearby, finding them among millions of people was incredibly difficult.
But what luck—to find a colleague who's a mutant too. It felt like a dream come true.
"What are you talking about?" Clyde was confused.
"Sigh, because you don't know," Charles sighed, feeling bad for Hank, who had to hide who he was.
He apologized: "I'm sorry."
"You…" Clyde approached Hank, wanting to ask something.
"You never asked, so I never said anything," Hank replied.
"What's your power? Super intelligence?" Raven asked with interest.
"Could be. Hank graduated from Harvard at fifteen," Clyde said proudly, having discovered Hank's talents.
"If only that were it…" Hank said with some regret.
"You can show us. Don't worry—we're your friends," Charles encouraged.
Looking around at everyone's expectant faces, Hank gave in. He stepped back, removed his shoes and socks, and revealed powerful, hand-like feet.
He demonstrated by leaping up and using them to grip onto a supersonic plane model, hanging upside-down.
Raven approached, impressed. "You're amazing."
Seeing her gorgeous face up close, Hank felt like Cupid had struck him straight in the heart.
"Really?" he asked.
Raven nodded sincerely.
Overjoyed, Hank lost his grip and fell, making a bit of a fool of himself.
"Hahaha…"
The others, all smart people, laughed along kindly.
But Erik, standing at the back, felt a tinge of sadness.
Outside the Sanctuary, life was hard for mutants. They had to hide.
He recalled Maelin's teaching:
"Revenge is only your first goal—not your life's purpose. You must find your own path."
That was the first lesson Maelin ever gave him—and he never forgot.
He once thought his path would be the same as Maelin's and the Saints': to guard the earth with love and hope.
But now he saw a different calling: to help other mutants live better lives, without hiding.
That, was his true path.