The moment Fang Yuan started spinning wild tales, Old Charles and the other two knew he was putting on a show.
So Professor X hurried to play along.
Scott, Storm, and Rogue were naturally stunned, but they stuck to the same two lines—
Whatever Professor X says is right!
Whatever the Big Hunk says is right!
"The Great Demon King? Who is he? Where is he?"
Scott tensed up at once and fired off a string of questions.
"In my World he's called the Ancient One, an evil sorcerer, though he's probably changed his name by now." Fang Yuan dove straight into the meme. "Judging from what I know of him, in this World he must be calling himself—"
"Fox!"
"Chairman Fox?" Wolverine's eyes narrowed, then snapped wide as he stared at Fang Yuan in disbelief.
It felt as though he'd uncovered something staggering.
"Hss…" Logan sucked in a sharp breath.
If his guess was right, Fang Yuan had played the entire World for fools; no wonder Vought Corporation had risen so fast, turning universally hated Mutants into beloved Awakened.
He quickly gulped a mouthful of hard liquor to shut himself up.
Logan's a chain-smoker, not a drunk, but the idea was so shocking he was afraid he might let it slip.
Learning Fang Yuan's possible true face didn't repel him; instead it gave him more confidence.
The stronger Fang Yuan was, the better their odds of saving the World.
Wolverine had no wish to return to the Sentinel doomsday era—when the whole World sank into deathly silence; the reality had been far worse than a few cinematic fade-outs.
Without Fang Yuan they couldn't even come back, and how could things get worse than the apocalypse?
Logan glanced at Professor X again; seeing Old Charles unfazed, his own heart settled.
If Professor X wasn't worried, why should he be?
Old Magneto felt the same: listen to Charles.
Besides, he honestly didn't find Fang Yuan's methods dark—he himself had once wanted to wipe out humanity and leave only Mutants.
"Where's that Fox now?" Rogue asked hurriedly.
Fang Yuan shook his head. "I don't know; he's stronger than me. Still, only by preparing for battle can we avoid being caught off-guard."
He reached to pat Rogue's head—mana cushioning the touch. "But that's not your concern for now; your job is to study hard and master your new ability."
Rogue started to protest, but Fang Yuan cut in first: "If you want to fight with us, you must first learn to control your power."
Rogue could only agree, yet still asked, "Then can I come find you later?"
Fang Yuan nodded. "Of course; I'll be living at the school too."
Only then did Rogue smile again.
Inside the school, Ororo led Rogue to the dorms, while Fang Yuan and the others gathered in the X-Men's war-room.
With Cyclops present, Professor X couldn't ask what mischief Fang Yuan was hatching, but Fang Yuan's quips faced no such restraint.
"By the way, how many X-Men do you actually have now?" Fang Yuan asked Cyclops.
Scott answered honestly: "Not counting the Professor—me, Ororo, and Jean."
"Jean…" Logan's low murmur suddenly sounded.
Cyclops shot him a puzzled look; why did their savior say Jean's name like that?
"Oh, you'd better watch out—he might have a thing for your girlfriend," Fang Yuan "helpfully" explained.
Logan glared at Fang Yuan, giving him a taste of the Wolverine Death-Stare.
"I won't!" he refuted.
Though Logan loves Jean, he has principles; he won't poach another man's girl.
"But there are only three of you?"
Ignoring Wolverine's glare, Fang Yuan smoothly changed the topic: "Among three people you're the Captain, Ororo the deputy, so Jean's the only grunt?"
More officers than foot-soldiers—who knew the X-Men ran a sleazy corporation too?
"When necessary we'll bring in students or other Mutants willing to help," Scott replied solemnly to the flippant question.
"Still, I think we should focus on Fox," Scott said, trying to steer the conversation. "What kind of enemy is Fox?"
"Dark, mighty, evil." Fang Yuan trashed himself without shame.
"He wields magic and heaps of super-powers; taking out every nation single-handedly would be no problem."
Cyclops's brow knitted at once, his face grave.
He had never faced an enemy of this caliber.
No wonder even Magneto came seeking an alliance with Professor X.
After intimidating Cyclops, Fang Yuan changed the subject. "But normally Fox doesn't act directly. He prefers to borrow the power of whatever World he's in to achieve domination."
Cyclops was puzzled. "Why would he do that?"
Using local forces only slows things down.
It wasn't that Scott wanted a more efficient enemy; gathering every scrap of intelligence was simply mandatory when facing something so terrifying.
"For fun," Fang Yuan replied.
"F… fun?" Cyclops was stunned.
Fang Yuan shrugged. "Exactly. A straight-up brute-force invasion is boring—aren't all big villains like this?"
"Really?" That was clearly outside Scott's knowledge base, but something felt off. "How come you sound like such an expert?"
Fang Yuan thumped his chest. "I told you—I chased him here. Of course I know him inside out."
"So who exactly are you?" Scott still sounded doubtful.
"Me? I'm the Guardian of the Multiverse, dedicated to helping Worlds in crisis." Fang Yuan's tone was full of pride.
He flashed an emblem shaped like the letter A.
"For example, this is the Avengers' insignia—the X-Men of another Earth, only larger. I just helped their planet repel an alien invasion."
Naturally, Fang Yuan breathed not a word about why those aliens had been able to invade in the first place.
Scott bought it.
Mainly because he glanced at Professor X, saw the Professor nod, and followed suit.
"So we unite every faction first and fix our relationship with humanity," Fang Yuan concluded. "When the danger arrives, we won't be fighting alone."
Everyone approved. Cyclops was all for it, and Old Charles, Old Magneto, and Old Wolverine—who knew Fang Yuan's real story—understood these steps were necessary to keep the World from ending.
"Then let's start with the nearest big event."
"Scott, what's the biggest thing happening to Mutants lately?" Fang Yuan asked.
Cyclops blurted, "Mutant registration!"
"Senator Kelly keeps lobbying Congress to catalogue every Mutant." Cyclops shook his head in distress. "If that passes, countless families will be torn apart."
Many kids at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters have parents who don't even know they're Mutants.
Iceman, for one.
His folks genuinely believe their son is a prodigy attending a school for geniuses. In the original timeline, when he revealed he was a Mutant, they cut him off immediately.
"So, as I said," Fang Yuan raised a finger, "you need a professional who can handle official relations."
He thought briefly. "Give me two days; I should be able to take you to meet him."
"Until then, deal with whatever you each have on your plates."
"It's urgent, but no need to panic—I'll handle it."
Professor X and the other two caught his meaning and relaxed.
Fang Yuan might be flighty at times, but on the big issues he could be trusted.
Besides, they'd just returned and had their own chores.
Professor X needed to revamp the curriculum, adding classes that helped students develop their powers.
Magneto's task was heavier: return to the Brotherhood of Mutants and slam the brakes on that runaway car heading for the abyss.
As for Logan?
All he wanted was a good sleep.
Multiple consciousness-hops in quick succession had turned the wolf into a dog-tired mutt.
After leaving the meeting, Fang Yuan teleported straight to a beach.
It was the dead of night; the sand was empty except for scattered grains and the surf. Nothing hinted that four decades earlier a Mutant war had raged here.
Indeed, Fang Yuan now stood in Cuba.
The final battlefield of X-Men: First Class.
"Plenty of historical flavor here," he murmured approvingly.
He nodded, then activated one of his auras.
[World Dominator Aura (S-Rank): 1. Once personal fame hits 100, freely decide entry/exit time-points of the current World. 2. Transfer one employee across Worlds, resetting fame without duplicate rewards.]
What he needed was the second effect—cross-World employee transfer.
"It just says 'employee,' no mention of condition… so dead ones count, right?" he speculated.
The location, the reward, and the fact the man was dead—who else could the employee be but his own Good Big Brother?
The longer he pondered, the more feasible it felt.
His greatest confidence booster was the [Premium Invitation Letter]; if that thing could yank out the Hulk, then the equally S-Rank [World Dominator Aura] shouldn't disappoint.
Under the vast night sky, facing the ocean, he shouted—
"Rise again, my Good Big Brother!"
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