On another safe island, Charles looked at Azazel, who stood silently beside him with a complicated expression. He took a deep breath, suppressed the turmoil in his heart, and asked directly:
"All of you suddenly became far stronger, and Emma Frost's telepathic abilities surpassed anything she could do before. You must have all injected Compound V, right?"
Azazel fell into a long silence. Images kept flashing through his mind: the White Queen falling, Riptide being abandoned, and Shaw's cold indifference from beginning to end.
He suddenly understood. From the very beginning, Shaw had never regarded them as companions, only as tools he could expend and discard at will, using their fighting strength to pave the way for his own ambitions.
Had Darwin not saved him on his way out, he would already have died on that island alongside Emma Frost and Riptide.
At that thought, pent-up anger and sorrow surged through him. Azazel clenched his fists tightly, forced down his roiling emotions, and confessed in a low voice:
"That's right. Emma Frost, Janus, and I each injected one vial of Compound V. Shaw injected two in total."
Charles's heart sank abruptly. His suspicions were fully confirmed, and a chill spread through his entire body.
"As far as I know, only Vought can develop Compound V. How did you get it? Did Vought give it to you?"
Azazel slowly shook his head, his eyes full of dejection:
"Shaw had been secretly keeping a close eye on Vought's movements. Once he learned about Compound V, he immediately sent Emma Frost and me to steal it. Emma Frost used her telepathy to control Vought's researchers. That was how we managed to steal five vials of Compound V."
He raised his eyes toward the charred island in the distance, his voice taking on a