Sometimes What You See With Your Own Eyes Isn't Necessarily True

Coulson accelerated as he drove, the two of them remaining silent the whole way... He didn't try to make conversation with Annie, nor did he look at her again, just focusing entirely on driving. As for Annie, perhaps she was tired from the party, she slumped half-heartedly in her seat, clutching her little bear.

The red sports car sped past one vehicle after another on the road, gradually heading toward a remote area on the outskirts, until it finally stopped after winding into a secluded mountain path with no streetlights and no other traffic.

"So, what exactly do you want to bring me here for? A strange stranger? A fake Uncle Coulson?" Annie stepped out of the car, looked around at her surroundings, then tilted her head with a mischievous grin at the "Coulson" before her.

Annie realized she had been taken to a small lake on the outskirts of the city. But she wasn't worried at all. She had seen through this fake Uncle Coulson long ago and had just deliberately not exposed him.

Annie just wanted to know what "he or she?" was trying to do!

Because Annie hadn't detected any magical fluctuations on this Coulson at all, which was very interesting. Being able to transform into Uncle Coulson's appearance without any magic was truly amazing. Annie was very curious about this special ability! That was also why she hadn't called him out from the start.

Now, this "Coulson" in front of her had the exact same appearance and voice as the real Uncle Coulson. If it weren't for Annie being able to use her magical vision to distinguish soul fluctuations, even Aunt Melinda wouldn't be able to tell the real from the fake! Annie thought this was quite interesting, wasn't it? How did he do it? Was it an ability like a chameleon's?

"Stop joking, Annie. I don't know what you're talking about!" The fake Coulson insisted stubbornly, while turning his head to look around, as if waiting for someone.

"Lying is very rude, you know. No two leaves in the world are the same! Likewise, there are no two identical souls! Show yourself, you impostor!"

Seeing that the other party still refused to admit it even at this point, Annie angrily pointed her finger at him!

Annie was a powerful mage, after all. Did he think being stubborn would mean she couldn't do anything to him? A surge of magical energy rippled between her fingers, and Annie cast two small spells in quick succession: Spell Counter and Dispel Transformation.

The magical fluctuations of the two spells rapidly swept toward the other party. The appearance of the fake "Uncle Coulson" immediately melted away like snow, transforming into a different form: a woman with red hair, blue skin, completely naked, but her entire body covered in fine, dense blue scales?

"You! How did you do that!?" Mystique cried out in panic. For the first time, someone had forcibly reverted her from her transformed state, and it terrified her.

"This is magic. Is that so strange?" Annie muttered disdainfully. They were just two simple little spells. Why make such a big fuss?

On the other hand, she had been curious about her ability to transform without using magic, but now that she saw it, it really was just a chameleon-like innate talent. Looking at those fine scales covering her entire body and that blue skin, this was definitely not a normal human... Annie felt that this was definitely an ability she couldn't learn, and she didn't want to either. It looked so disgusting! So scary! She was getting goosebumps.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

As Annie dispelled the fake Uncle Coulson's transformation, the sound of applause rang out!

By the light of the car, Annie saw an old man wearing a metal helmet, armor, and a cape, leading two people out from the woods beside the small lake. So he finally decided to come out! No more playing hide and seek? Actually, she and Little Bear Tibbers had already noticed him hiding in the woods long ago.

The man walked forward slowly, looking at Annie with admiration!

"What an astonishing talent! So you're a mutant too? Join our Brotherhood! Little Annie, I know you. Come on, come join the greatest cause for mutants: fighting for the future of mutants all over the world!"

This man was Erik Lehnsherr, known as Magneto! A long time ago, he had founded an organization called the "Mutant Brotherhood."

He believed that ordinary people hated and feared mutants, and the series of persecutions they forcibly imposed on mutants were utterly unreasonable and shameful! He had to change this situation! Mutants should not be captured and persecuted by these inferior ordinary people. As superior beings, mutants were the inevitable result of human evolution! Mutants should rule this world, and ordinary people should serve them like slaves!

A while ago, he had spotted a little girl on a live TV broadcast. After some investigation, he discovered that this little girl named Annie seemed to be a very powerful mutant?

Not only could she control flames, but she could also use flames to create a powerful Flame Giant Bear? So, after some careful planning, he meticulously orchestrated this operation. He came in person, trying to recruit this little girl, to have her join the Mutant Brotherhood and strengthen their forces!

"A mutant? I'm not a mutant, you weird old man!"

Annie had lived with Coulson and Melinda for so long, and since the two senior agents hadn't intended to hide anything from her, Annie naturally knew what mutants were. She wasn't one of those strange mutants!

"I'm a mage, not some weird mutant!"

"Mage?" Erik frowned at the word. Had he really gotten it wrong?

He turned to look at the subordinate who had come out with him. This subordinate wasn't strong, but he had a special ability: within a certain range, he could distinguish mutants from non-mutants and roughly assess a mutant's power level.

Now, Erik found that his subordinate was shaking his head at him, the meaning clear: this little girl was indeed not a mutant!

If that was the case, should he silence the little girl? Another subordinate beside Erik asked with his eyes.

Erik shook his head. If he were facing an army or armed members of another organization, he would not hesitate! To achieve his goal, for the great cause of mutants, he would stop at nothing! But now, he didn't want to lay a hand on a little girl, because it had nothing to do with their cause!

Seeing several S.H.I.E.L.D. SUVs speeding in the distance and helicopters beginning to appear in the sky, Erik felt that since it was a mistake, he might as well let it go. He didn't want to get tangled up with S.H.I.E.L.D. here. So, after one last look at the little girl and nodding at her, he flew up with his three subordinates, vanishing silently into the night sky.

Huh? What an amazing ability! Annie suddenly thought, were all these mutants this powerful? Without magic, without incantations, without spells, they just flew up like that? So amazing, she wanted it!

Also, Annie noticed that the old man with the iron helmet had a power that felt familiar to her. That was also why Annie hadn't directly fought him! It was a kind of domain power. His seemed to be a magnetic field? It felt very strange and powerful! Did that mean he also had strength close to a demigod? Annie herself had a domain too! However, Annie's was a domain of flames! Hmm! And a domain of darkness! But she had never told anyone about that domain.

"Annie! Are you okay?"

Melinda jumped out of a black SUV, holding her gun and warily scanning the surroundings while signaling other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to spread out and search immediately. But she knew they were too late; there was no trace of any enemy here.

She had been resting at the villa today. After all, women have those few days of the month!

So, Coulson had handled the pickup and drop-off alone. She trusted Coulson's abilities completely, and with Annie's formidable strength, Melinda didn't think anyone foolish enough would dare to cause trouble. So, at first, she had been perfectly at ease!

But she waited at home for a long time, and it wasn't until more than half an hour past the scheduled time that she realized something was wrong! Agents were a very punctual lot; Coulson knew that.

So she quickly activated the tracker and found that Coulson's car hadn't been heading toward the Seaside Villa at all, but was speeding in the opposite direction toward the suburbs! After several failed attempts to reach Coulson on his internal communicator, Melinda knew something had definitely gone wrong! So she immediately called for backup and rushed over here with agents on duty nearby.

"Oh! Right! Annie, where's Coulson? Where did he go?!"

Melinda breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Annie was unharmed and there were no signs of a fight nearby. Only then did she remember Coulson. Where had he gone? What was going on?

"He's in there!"

Annie pointed mischievously at the trunk of Coulson's car. She had noticed Uncle Coulson inside long ago. A mage's perception was very sharp; no one could easily fool a magic user!

"Mmph! Mmph! Mmph!" Melinda opened the trunk and glared exasperatedly at Coulson, whose mouth was taped shut, his body tied up like a dumpling, completely unable to move, his eyes wide as he stared back at her.

"Coulson... What are you doing here? Who did this?"

Melinda tore the tape off Coulson's mouth and asked irritably. A Level 6 agent like Coulson! Ambushed and stuffed into the trunk of his own car? If this got out and the Director found out, he'd probably throw another fit, wouldn't he?

"I should be asking you! Melinda! Why did you ambush me? Not only knocked me out, but tied me up in here? Let me tell you! This isn't over! Untie me now!" Coulson shouted angrily at Melinda. He didn't understand why she would do this!

"Ha! This is just...!" Melinda was about to explode with rage!

She was already in a foul mood these past few days, and now she dragged her exhausted body to save him, only for him to turn around and bite the hand that fed her? Just wonderful! So, she taped Coulson's mouth shut again, then slammed the car trunk shut with a heavy thud, locking him back inside.

"Annie! Let's go home!"

"Mmph! Mmmph!! Mmmph!!!"

"Huh? Is this really okay?" Annie watched the trunk close again, hearing Uncle Coulson's muffled struggles from inside. Her eyes darted around as she thought of something amusing.

She had a rough idea why Uncle Coulson had misunderstood Aunt Melinda. It was definitely that chameleon-like mutant's doing! But for now, she didn't feel like telling them. Watching these two bicker was way too fun. So, Annie decided, she'd hold off just a little longer before revealing the truth. Yep, that's the plan!

(Tibbers: ...)