A Beating Helps You Grow

"What's wrong? What do you mean by not moving? Are you letting me go first in the second round? I told you not to be modest. If I go first, you might not have any chance at all."

Russell said arrogantly, though he knew there would be no second round; he was just saying it to intensify the opponent's negative emotions.

A swift and decisive victory won't bring despair; instead, it will fuel the opponent's resentment and ignite a deeper level of fighting spirit, because they haven't seen the gap in skill.

Only when they have tried their best and gone all out, and found that their efforts or lack thereof did not affect the outcome, will they feel despair!

The plan was executed very successfully, X-Men- Men have lost their fighting spirit.

Of the seven, Pietro and Hank are unconscious; Alex and Jean are severely exhausted and unable to fight for a short time; Nightcrawler Wagner is barely clothed and is dazed from being frightened by the Blade, and urgently needs psychological counseling.

Charles and Raven were the only ones who were relatively unharmed, but they were no match for Russell in close combat and couldn't break through the electromagnetic defenses from a distance, so they suffered a crushing defeat.

"There's no second round, we've lost!"

Charles looked at Erik with a wry smile, finally understanding why his best friend had fallen into such a depraved state: the disparity in strength had forced him to abandon his dignity and grovel to protect his family.

Erik had to submit to the bald man for the sake of his family, and he would have done the same for the students' safety.

He's just a prisoner; as long as we can protect everyone, what does it matter if he's the one to sacrifice himself?

Jean hurriedly said, "No, Charles, we can still..."

"No need, let's stop here!"

Charles flatly refused. Even if he managed to defeat Russell, Russell still had Psylocke and Deadpool to fight. He didn't know how strong the two were; even if they were only half as strong as Russell, they would be enough to crush the X-Men.

The gap between the two sides is too obvious; courage and perseverance alone cannot bridge it. It's better to be decisive and just surrender.

Click!

The car door opened, Erik gently raised his hand, using his ability to place Professor X, who was sitting in a wheelchair, on the ground. The two then walked around the crater and came to Charles's side.

"..."

The X-Men frowned. The design of Professor X's wheelchair seemed malicious, which puzzled them. Did all powerful Mind Stone have to be paralyzed?

Of all the people there, only Jean looked like she'd seen a ghost. She looked at Professor X, then at Charles, and stood there stunned, her mouth agape in an "O" shape.

Logan: ()

The most shocked person was Charles himself. He tremblingly reached out and pointed at Professor X, his lips quivering, unable to utter a single word. His shock was written all over his face.

Hello, Charles!

"You, you... you are... where did your hair go...?"

"Let me introduce myself. I am Charles Francis Xavier. What a coincidence, we share the same name, and even our abilities are remarkably similar." Professor X smiled and nodded, pointing to his temple to establish a mental connection with Charles.

Charles's eyes were glazed over, and the mental defenses he had painstakingly built collapsed instantly. As a person from a different time, he was far less skilled than Professor X, who could enter his mental world as easily as strolling through his own backyard.

He can come and go as he pleases, and if he doesn't like a particular plant, Professor X can take care of it himself without Charles's permission.

Professor X strode in, reading through Charles's memories and incidentally leaving behind some fragments of future memories.

WTF!!

A moment later, Charles regained his senses and looked at his future self. "So, that Mutants named Apocalypse will make me lose... no, make you bald?"

Professor X was taken aback for a moment, then a smile spread across his face, "Erik, shave his head."

"No problem, leave it to me. I've already prepared the razor blades." Erik put his hands on his hips and laughed smugly, "Hahaha!! How about that, Charles, don't I understand you perfectly?"

Half an hour later, the school bus took the students back to the college from the air-raid shelter, and the teachers busily moved about, and everything began to get back on track.

Principal's Office!

Charles stroked his smooth hair and gave Erik a grateful look. Eric, with his slicked-back hair, sat on the sofa with a dazed look on his face, seemingly questioning the meaning of life.

Charles wasn't bald, Erik was. In the garden, for some reason, he started dancing a Silly Bird dance, then shaved all his hair off with a razor blade, leaving not even his eyebrows.

Unable to be stopped, Erik became agitated and threatened to kill anyone who dared to stop him.

His tone was forceful, and no one could persuade him otherwise, not even Professor X's kind words.

The onlookers remained silent. Erik's behavior was very strange, and he was likely being controlled by someone present.

Everyone knows who it is, but even knowing is useless. They lack conclusive evidence and can't just randomly identify the murderer. So the matter has to be dropped, becoming a recognized unsolved case.

"That's too little. Could you give me a little more of my future memories?" Charles requested to activate his rebirth cheat.

"Charles, I'm telling you about the future to instill a sense of crisis in you, so you'll start preparing for the impending crisis, not to let you reap without sowing," Professor X said.

If you can get something for nothing, why bother working hard?

Charles's eyes widened. His future self was too obsessive. Knowing the future and eliminating the source of danger in advance could not only prevent the disaster from happening, but also prevent the X-Men from dying in the line of duty. Wouldn't that be better?

Of course, he does not deny the importance of hard work, because only by becoming strong can one better cope with crises.

Professor X smiled and summarized Russell's words, "When I came into this world, the future was already unpredictable and full of uncertainty. There might even be disasters that shouldn't exist. If you place your hopes on the memories in my mind, what's the difference between that and gambling?"

Charles seemed to be deep in thought upon hearing this, his brow furrowed as he remained silent.

"Work hard. Your own strength is the key. Only when you and the X-Men become strong together can you be prepared to act decisively when a crisis comes."

One was bald, the other had long hair. The two chatted for a long time, and finally, they tacitly brought up the topic of a recent crisis.

Apocalypse!

Charles deeply resented Apocalypse; his future bald head was a gift from Apocalypse. Moreover, this self-proclaimed god was ambitious and would push Mutants to the opposite side of humanity, so he had to be eliminated as soon as possible to prevent future troubles.

Charles analyzed, "I think we should act quickly, lure him out with the Cerebro, and then unleash the power of the piano to deliver a fatal blow."

Professor X disagreed. "No, if Jean gets out of control, she will be more dangerous than Apocalypse."

"Shouldn't we trust Qin?"

"I trust Qin and believe she can control her power, but we have the initiative now and there's no need to take any risks."

"That's true..."

Due to the difference in age and experience, the two held different views on the same matter, but Professor X always managed to persuade Charles.

Charles, as if struck by a thought, asked with a hint of anticipation, "By the way, how strong is Russell, codenamed 'Angel'? Can he defeat Apocalypse?"

"I asked him that question too, and he said if I'm lucky... it's fifty-fifty."

"?"

The two continued their discussion, with Erik joining in. They devised a battle plan targeting Apocalypse's various abilities. Ultimately, they realized that unless they could overwhelmingly defeat him, they could at best defeat Apocalypse, but not kill him completely.

Two hours later, the three of them had come up empty-handed. Charles had been unable to eat or sleep well for the past few days and was feeling quite tired, so he decided to go and rest for a while.

"By the way, Professor, I've arranged a room for you. You can rest there tonight." To avoid confusion caused by using the same name, 'Professor' was Charles's way of referring to his future self.

Professor X smiled and shook his head, "No, no, Charles, I should be arranging a guest room for you."

What?

Charles laughed along, "Buddy, this is my house, not yours... okay, this is your house too. But judging by time, it's first and foremost my house, and then yours, because without me, there would be no you."

"Charles, we're not on the same timeline. I would have existed even if you hadn't."

Professor X said maturely, "Besides, I have the highest authority in the academy. I have fingerprints, irises, DNA, and so on. No matter how you look at it, I am the master of this house."

My future self wants to seize power, and I absolutely cannot tolerate that!

Charles scoffed, "According to your logic, Raven also has the highest authority, but you and I both know she's a fake, aren't we?"

"Charles, are you talking badly about Raven?"

"No, that's not what I meant. I... she... I meant her abilities."

Hehehe!

Professor X smiled knowingly again, raised his hand and tapped his head. "Charles, move to the guest room. Your authority isn't as high as mine, because you're under my control too."

"..."

At that moment, Charles realized that only by becoming strong himself could he handle crises with ease.

Erik stood by, calmly observing, and took a sip of his tea.

Hehehe, Charles, you've finally met your match. How does it feel to be controlled by someone's Mind Stone?

Was it good?

Answer me, I'm just asking you, was it fun or not?

After being brutally beaten several times, Erik matured considerably. He could now secretly chuckle to himself while maintaining a composed expression and chatting amiably with others.

Seeing his best friend fall into the same predicament as himself, Erik felt a secret sense of satisfaction; this was karma.

Although it's a sad thing, a kind of psychological victory for the weak, he doesn't mind. As long as Charles is with him in his misfortune, he's content.

"By the way, where is that 'angel'?"

Professor X casually said, "He's skilled at repairing equipment, so I asked him to help me fix my brainwave Cerebro in the secret room."

"..."

Be mine!