At ten that evening, Hawking ended his training half an hour early and went to Professor X's headmaster's office.
"Professor, I think we can begin!"
"Alright. I'll have someone register a new company immediately, then start promoting it according to your plan."
Professor X nodded in agreement.
Over the past month or so, Hawking's constant efforts had indeed achieved the expected results. Most of New York's human population had responded positively.
This convinced him that Hawking's plan was truly viable. Next, they could increase their investment and select more mutants to join.
But Hawking shook his head at that.
"Professor, this is what I think. You can't be the one to register this company. In fact, it would be best if no other mutants were involved in the early stages. We should only start bringing mutants in one by one after the company has reached a certain scale."
"Why?"
Professor X looked puzzled. This seemed somewhat different from their original plan.
Hawking continued explaining.
"Professor, during this time, I've realized that the public's prejudice against mutants runs very deep. Even though I never revealed that I'm a mutant, many people changed their attitudes after suspecting it and started coming up with all kinds of conspiracy theories.
"You should have seen them when watching the news or going online.
"If you fund, register, and develop this company, then once that gets exposed later, it'll confirm those conspiracy theories. Many people will think the company was created specifically to whitewash mutants.
"At the same time, S.H.I.E.L.D. will probably make a move as well."
"But Hawking, you're a mutant too. Once your identity is exposed, people will still be suspicious. You'll face the same problems then."
Professor X did not get angry at Hawking's explanation. Instead, he raised his own question.
Hawking sighed.