Professor X Visits

Hawking had thought of Universe 838 because he remembered that in the Multiverse of Madness, in the Universe 838 Wanda traveled to, Captain America Steve had become Captain Britain Carter.

And that universe happened to have mutants as well.

Mutants existed. Oleg and Elena had told him that when they adopted him.

Wanda could manipulate objects with her mind and make them float, Pietro could run far faster than ordinary children, and there were the abilities Hawking had displayed before, along with his tail now.

In Oleg and Elena's eyes, they were unmistakably mutants.

Yet most ordinary people were deeply afraid of and prejudiced against mutants.

Sokovia was somewhat better, since everyone's energy was focused on the internal war, and hostility toward mutants was not yet so intense.

He had heard that in New York, the locals' hatred of mutants was far worse. If the police encountered a mutant and anything seemed even slightly off, they would most likely open fire immediately. Especially if the mutant was Black, they might empty an entire magazine on the spot.

Some officials had even been proposing that the previously repealed Mutant Registration Act be passed again, so that all mutants could be registered for easier management and prevention.

Worried that the three children would be endangered if their mutant identities were exposed, the couple had always warned them not to use their abilities in front of outsiders.

Especially Hawking. Whenever he went out, he had to hide his tail. If it was exposed, he was to pass it off as an accessory.

"If this is Universe 838, then Little Wanda could be in danger."

Thinking of that, he could not help rubbing his head.

If this really was Universe 838, then soon after the Thanos invasion, the Wanda from the Main Universe would use Dreamwalking to possess this universe's Wanda, then wipe out the entire Illuminati.

"Forget it. There's no way to know whether this is Universe 838. There's still plenty of time. If soldiers come, generals will stop them; if water comes, earth will dam it. There'll always be a solution."

There was no point thinking so much now. With his current strength, he could not stop it at all. He would wait until he unlocked more Protagonist Templates in the future, then try to deal with it.

Shaking his head to cast off his worries, Hawking went to take a shower and make some noodles.

More than three weeks later, Hawking got up at five as usual.

After running ten kilometers outside, doing three hundred push-ups, five hundred squats, and a thousand sit-ups in the basement, he began preparing a lavish breakfast.

Sandwiches, milk, noodles, grilled sausages, fried eggs—an entire table full of food.

Wanda and the others would not be able to finish it anyway. He could clean up every last bit, and absolutely nothing would go to waste.

When Oleg and Elena got up and saw the table full of breakfast, they once again marveled at how sensible Hawking was at such a young age, and how skilled he was at cooking. He would surely become an excellent chef in the future.

At the same time, they silently resolved to work hard and earn more money, otherwise even meals were becoming a little burdensome.

In the couple's eyes, Hawking was so sensible, obedient, and mature that he seemed like a little adult. His childhood must have been terribly unhappy.

Poor children grew up early. That held true in every country in the world.

They were already considered poor, yet their two children, Wanda and Pietro, were still fairly happy. At the very least, they would not make them learn to cook and do housework at such a young age. They did their best to give them a happy childhood.

But they could understand.

Because both children were mutants, they often followed news reports related to mutants.

Many mutants lost control of their powers after awakening and hurt their families. Others underwent drastic changes in appearance and looked terrifying.

So when parents discovered that their child was a mutant, not all of them could accept it. Some even came to loathe and fear their own children, seeing them as monsters.

Perhaps Hawking's former family had been like that, which was why he had become so mature so early.

The more they thought about it, the more their hearts ached for Little Hawking.

"Wanda, Pietro, time to get up and eat breakfast!"

At Elena's call, the brother and sister came racing down from the second floor, bickering and fooling around.

It was Sunday. After breakfast, the family sat on the living room sofa, and Oleg put in a disc to play the twenty-third episode of the second season of The Dick Van Dyke Show.

When Sokovia had been in chaos, Oleg had lost his job and supported the family by selling discs.

Although he had a proper job now, there were still a large number of discs piled up at home.

Hawking sat among the family as well. He was not particularly interested in the discs, but he loved and cherished this atmosphere, because he had never experienced anything like it in his Previous Life.

Ding-dong!

Just as the family was laughing uproariously at the sitcom, the doorbell suddenly rang.

"I'll get it."

Hawking took the initiative to stand up.

When he opened the door, he saw a bald elderly man in a wheelchair and a young man wearing strange sunglasses.

"Good morning, child!"

The bald old man greeted Hawking with a gentle smile.

But as soon as he finished greeting him, a surprised expression appeared on his face.

"Strange. This is the first time I've encountered such a thing."

As a top-tier Level 4 mutant with telepathy and mind-control abilities, very few people could block his telepathy apart from his old friend Magneto, who wore a helmet, and the White Queen who had once been beside the Black King.

Two days ago, he had discovered a mutant of suitable age here in Sokovia through Cerebro. He had come this time to recruit them into his Mutant School.

Yet the moment the door opened, he encountered a mutant who could block his telepathy. It seemed there were not one but two mutants in this family.

Because the second one could block telepathy, he had not discovered him.

Foreign psychic energy has invaded the host's brain. To ensure the system's existence remains undiscovered, automatic shielding has been activated.

Seeing the message that had suddenly appeared on the panel, then looking at the two people before him, Hawking immediately knew that the famous Professor X and Cyclops had come knocking.

Fortunately, the panel had automatically intercepted Professor X's telepathic energy. Otherwise, every secret he had would have been exposed.

"Good morning, gentlemen. What can I do for you?"

Hawking smiled faintly, without showing any unusual expression.

Since they could not use telepathy on him, there was nothing to fear.

As far as he knew, Professor X was a mutant friendly toward humans, one who leaned toward the righteous and kind side. He should not pose any threat to their family.

What Hawking was considering now was why Professor X had suddenly paid them a visit.

It probably had nothing to do with him, anyway. He was not a mutant.

Could it be because of Wanda and Quicksilver?

But he remembered that Wanda in the Main Universe was not a mutant. Her power came from Chthon's Chaos Magic, while Quicksilver seemed to have gained his superpowers through her reality-altering abilities, which were later further developed by the Mind Stone Scepter.

But this was Universe 838. Many of the details might be different.

So he decided to remain calm and observe first.