A Poor Rejection and a Wise Man

After fooling around with Wolverine for a while and bragging a bit, Hawking saw that his mood had improved somewhat, so he turned and headed for the second floor to spend time with Wanda and Pietro.

However, as soon as he reached the stairs, Magneto and Mystique blocked his way.

"Child, do you know that you have great potential?"

"I do. I've always believed I'm destined to become an extraordinary figure in the future."

Hawking smiled, confident and self-aware.

Even with only his current Saiyan bloodline, once it was properly developed, he would definitely have a place in the Marvel Universe. Not to mention, he had more than one Protagonist Template.

"Good. I like your confidence, but you're wasting yourself here. Come with me, and I can develop your potential better, allowing you to fully unleash your abilities."

Magneto began preaching his mutant-supremacy ideology to Hawking, painting a beautiful future and trying to PUA him into joining the Brotherhood of Mutants.

"Well... the teachers all told me you're a bad guy, but I do agree with some of your views.

Still, for now, I think the School for Gifted Youngsters is better suited to my growth.

Your side is too poor. You have to run all over the place while being hunted down.

Maybe once I grow up, I'll consider it."

After patiently waiting for Magneto to finish, Hawking gave his answer. He rejected Magneto on the grounds that he was poor.

He was telling the truth. Magneto was a decent guy in some respects, but he really was not as wealthy as Professor X. There was good food and drink at the Mutant School, so why join the Brotherhood and live a life of constant displacement? Even if he truly were a mutant, he would not join.

He also did not shut the door completely, leaving Magneto with some hope. At least if they clashed later, the other man would not go for the kill.

"It's all right. Whenever you come around, you're welcome to find me."

Magneto was not particularly surprised by Hawking's answer and kept smiling.

That was normal. Students who had been brainwashed by Charles would not recognize reality—or humanity's hopelessness—so quickly.

"Could this beautiful young lady please move aside?"

Hawking turned to Mystique, whose entire body was covered in blue skin.

Honestly, Mystique's figure was incredible. It was just that the blue skin was a little hard to accept.

Still, her ability to become anyone—even copying irises, fingerprints, skin texture, voices, and gender—could completely make up for that flaw.

If you had Mystique, you basically had the whole world. You would never lack novelty, and any fantasy could be fulfilled.

It was just that he had always wondered whether Mystique's blue-skinned state counted as wearing clothes. If it did not, then wouldn't she be every day...

"That little guy is quite practical—and quite slippery."

After Hawking went upstairs, Mystique licked her lips and gave her assessment.

Magneto nodded.

"It's fine. The more someone has his kind of personality, the less likely he is to remain here for long. Sooner or later, he'll join us."

Although they had not spent much time together, his experience allowed him to tell from Hawking's words and behavior that he was not someone content to fade into obscurity, nor was he the same kind of idealist as Charles.

"Let's hope so. I don't dislike that sweet-talking little guy."

Mystique shrugged and activated her ability. Her body instantly changed into Jean Grey, dressed in a sexy little tank top.

"I'm going to tease that dumb wolf."

"Don't take it too far. We still need them before the plan is complete."

Magneto smiled as he gave the reminder.

"Don't believe anything Magneto says. Last time, Rogue almost got killed by him."

As soon as Hawking reached the second floor, Storm suddenly appeared.

She had always been wary of Magneto and was not comfortable letting him and Mystique wander around the villa. She had been keeping an eye on them, openly and covertly.

Sure enough, she had just noticed Magneto stopping Little Hawking and had no idea what he had said.

"I know. He wanted me to join his Brotherhood, and I already refused."

Hawking answered without hiding anything.

"However, Teacher Ororo, when we go rescue Professor X, I think we should keep an eye on Magneto.

If Stryker can control Professor X and use him to eliminate all mutants in the world, Magneto might very well take the opportunity to make Professor X eliminate all humans."

At Hawking's reminder, Storm's pupils contracted.

That was right. How had she not thought of that? If it were Magneto, he really might do something like that.

"Thank you, Hawking. This is incredibly important. I'll be careful!"

"Of course, it's only a guess. Maybe he isn't that bad."

Hawking smiled and shrugged.

Giving Storm an early warning about Magneto's plan was also meant to make them more vigilant. Otherwise, they could get tricked without even realizing it.

It was also to reinforce his image as a wise man and offset some of the disadvantages that came with being a child.

Whether he truly was wise was not important. What mattered was making everyone think he was. That way, whenever he offered an opinion in the future, everyone would take it seriously and trust him more.

"He really is that bad. It looks like we'll have to watch him closely then!"

Storm had not been certain at first, but after hearing Hawking say that, the more she thought about it, the more convinced she became that Magneto would do exactly that. Otherwise, he would not have been so eager to cooperate with them.

"Oh, and there's one more very important thing."

Seeing Storm preparing to leave and notify the others, Hawking stopped her again.

"What important thing?"

This time, Storm was clearly taking him much more seriously.

Hawking explained, "After my power erupts, it can greatly enhance my physical abilities and allow me to unleash energy attacks. I think I mentioned all that after the meeting ended."

"Yes, you did."

Storm nodded.

Since they were going to rescue Professor X from the base that night, they naturally needed to know one another's abilities in order to cooperate effectively.

"Because Magneto was there, I didn't finish. On nights with a full moon, if I see the moon, my strength will increase dramatically again. But with my current level of control, I'll lose my mind then.

"So if it really comes to that tonight, remember to cut off my tail. That's the only way I can return to normal."

Hawking explained his special condition in advance.

Originally, he had considered hiding it. If he did not need to use it, he could keep that trump card and ensure no one knew about it.

But after thinking it over, it seemed unnecessary.

A giant ape form without reason would only make him end up like the Hulk—feared and hated by everyone.

If no one knew that cutting off his tail could restore him to normal, and he remained in giant ape form all night, the consequences would be unimaginable.

He would probably be even more destructive than the Hulk when Wanda had controlled him and made him lose his mind. At least the Hulk could not fire energy blasts from his mouth.

That was not an outcome he wanted.

"There's something like that?"

It was Storm's first time hearing about Hawking's condition.

But out of trust in Hawking, she carefully memorized it and planned to tell Wolverine, Colossus, and Nightcrawler as well.