Finding Wolverine

"Could I borrow your phone?"

As the truck started up again, George immediately asked Gabriella.

Before figuring out how to save Tony Stark, he needed to thoroughly understand this world's history and the relevant circumstances before he could make more accurate judgments and a more complete plan.

And in this day and age, the fastest way was naturally to look things up online with a phone.

"Of course. Here."

Without a second thought, Gabriella pulled her phone from her pocket and handed it to George.

With the phone in hand, George began searching online for the information he wanted. It was not until the truck entered the Mexican border region and the sky gradually darkened that he returned it to Gabriella.

"So that's how it is."

The history of this universe was actually not too different from the Cinematic Universe's, except that it included mutants.

According to online news reports, mutants had truly become known to the public in 1973.

The mutant Mystique had attempted to assassinate Trask but was ultimately stopped. Mystique became a hero to mutants, and humanity gradually began accepting the existence of mutants.

In 1977, Quicksilver broke eight world records in athletic events, and the sports world began barring mutants from professional competitions.

This conflicted with the Cinematic Universe, because according to it, Quicksilver had not even been born that year. In the Cinematic Universe, Quicksilver and Wanda had both been born in 1990.

It also reminded him that he could not completely rely on the movie plots he knew when dealing with many future events.

Afterward, the superhero organization known as the X-Men became widely admired, and a large number of X-Men spinoff comics appeared. The book Little Wolf Girl and the others held was one of them.

Many of its stories had been adapted from real X-Men events, but there was also plenty of fiction, such as that so-called Eden.

In 1983, the Apocalypse Incident occurred. Not long after it ended, the Westchester Incident broke out. Professor X suddenly suffered an epileptic seizure, and his mind went out of control, killing every X-Man except Wolverine, as well as the mutant students at the school and more than six hundred innocent humans nearby.

From then on, Professor X was listed as a "weapon of mass destruction" by the United States government and hunted down, while mutants began to disappear from public view.

Now, more than twenty years later, most humans had already forgotten that mutants existed. Many from the newer generation even regarded them as fictional characters that existed only in comics.

For some unknown reason, governments around the world had also been downplaying the history of mutants' existence, seemingly wanting to prove that governments, rather than mutant superheroes, were humanity's greatest support.

Before 1973, there had been almost no news of mutants at all. That was why Steve Rogers had been able to become Captain America through the Super-Soldier Serum in 1943 and defeat Hydra.

Presumably, Wolverine and Sabretooth had still been obscure ordinary soldiers at the time, Professor X and Magneto had still been children, and the Hellfire Club had remained hidden in the shadows.

"Have you ever considered finding Wolverine and Professor X, if they might still be alive?"

George already had a rough plan in mind.

Although the history of this universe conflicted with what he knew in many ways, some things had not changed in broad terms. He could not rely entirely on the information he knew, but neither could he completely abandon his advantage in that regard.

At the very least, the original cause of Tony Stark's kidnapping was most likely still Obadiah Stane, who wanted to kill Tony Stark and monopolize Stark Industries.

However, his Psychic Abilities were not yet strong enough to read information about the Ten Rings from Obadiah Stane's mind and locate where Tony Stark was being held. He needed Professor X to step in.

Professor X's brain occasionally went out of control because of his epilepsy, but medication had improved his condition considerably. Most of the time, he was still reasonably lucid.

Perhaps he was no longer as powerful as before, but he should still be able to do something as simple as reading memories from minds.

After all, he could still occasionally chat with Little Wolf Girl from far away.

And with Wolverine as a human shield, combined with his own abilities, rescuing Tony Stark would not be too difficult.

Wolverine might be old, but when he got serious, ordinary terrorists could not stop him. Besides, when Gabriella escaped, she had brought quite a few drugs that could temporarily enhance mutant abilities and restore some of Wolverine's strength.

Most importantly, both of them had extensive experience in planning and carrying out missions, something he, Gabriella, and this group of mutant children lacked.

To be honest, he was completely lost in this foreign country. He was even less familiar with it than Gabriella.

"We have considered it. We had been looking for information about them, but all we heard was that someone resembling Wolverine was working as a driver in El Paso. We had no other leads.

And after thinking it over, Professor X is also a wanted man. He might not be able to help us."

Gabriella replied helplessly.

George nodded upon hearing that. In some respects, Gabriella was not wrong. Wolverine and the others really could barely protect themselves.

"I have a plan now. If it succeeds, the children may no longer have to be controlled by anyone in the future. They could live like normal people."

Holding nothing back, he told Gabriella his entire plan.

His idea was simple. If Gabriella agreed, he was willing to put in more effort to help them, treating it as an investment in the future.

If Gabriella refused, he would not force her. He was not some selfless saint. After delivering the children to their destination, he would leave alone to carry out his plan and settle down in New York.

Besides, his choice might not necessarily be the best one for the children. Perhaps they would live better lives in Canada.

After hearing George's plan, Gabriella fell into deep thought.

She was extremely conflicted. To be honest, she did not have much faith in the Canadian government either. As a Mexican who had grown up in Juarez, it was difficult for her to have much confidence in any government.

But George's plan also carried great risks.

If George and the others ultimately failed to rescue Tony Stark and missed the time they had arranged with the Canadian government, the children would certainly be captured by the Experimental Base and brutally killed.

And would Wolverine and Professor X even be willing to help?

Seeing Gabriella's inner conflict, George added:

"If Wolverine and Professor X are unwilling to help, or if we fail to return before five o'clock on Friday, then follow the original plan and cross the border into Canada."

Today was Saturday. There were still six days until next Friday. If all went smoothly, six days would be enough for them to rescue Tony Stark.

"Alright, George. Thank you so much!"

Gabriella nodded with a grateful expression.

George could have left on his own. He did not need to help them. With George's abilities and the intelligence he had displayed, it would not have been difficult for him to escape the Experimental Base's pursuit.

Yet he had chosen to stay and help them, trying to find a better way for them to survive.

"No need. Come to think of it, I'm like them too—an experiment of the Experimental Base. You could say I'm their older brother."

George smiled and sighed.

"Actually, judging by when you were created, you should be the youngest among them."

Gabriella seemed to remember something and suddenly laughed.

George could not help but smile at that. She was right. His body had been created less than a year ago. He really was the youngest mutant in the laboratory.