In the early morning, on a highway near the Texas border, a stretched Chrysler E8 sped by.
Outside the window, the night sky was dotted with stars but covered by dark clouds. A heavy rainstorm was about to arrive, and everything on the ground seemed frozen in anticipation.
With one hand gripping the steering wheel, old Logan took deep breaths. With each breath, bullets were squeezed out of his flesh, falling onto the car seat below with sharp clinks.
Sitting silently behind him, Alex and Petra were well-behaved, pretending not to hear anything, calmly watching the scenery outside as if nothing was happening.
The atmosphere inside the car was heavy and tense, and this feeling had lasted for quite some time.
After the last bullet was expelled from his body, old Logan suppressed the pain coursing through him and casually grabbed a bottle of whiskey from nearby.
"Drinking while driving is drunk driving," Alex remarked.
Logan didn't react at all. He bit off the bottle's cork with his teeth, casually spat it on the passenger seat, then took a hearty swig to numb the pain.
After finishing, he let out a long sigh and finally spoke.
"I've already answered the questions you wanted to ask. If there's nothing else, get ready to get off at the next rest stop."
"Logan, what's really wrong with you?" Petra asked, staring at Logan's harsh tone and his distant, unapproachable attitude.
Logan glanced at Petra through the rearview mirror and coldly retorted, "Do I know you?"
Petra was stunned by the response, almost unable to believe what she heard. Then she suddenly said, "You don't know me, but I know you. The Logan I remember is a hero who no hardship could ever bring down."
"Hmph," Logan laughed bitterly. Hearing Petra's words, he immediately dismissed them as brainwashing from those X-Men comics. "That's all fake, got it? You don't really know me. You don't even know what a hero is."
"I know. I know better than anyone," Petra said seriously. "You were always at the front lines fighting for the future of mutants. You defended the dignity and bottom line of mutants. Don't you remember any of that?"
"Dignity? Bottom line?"
Old Logan's trembling hand tightened on the steering wheel. At that moment, countless memories flooded his mind, but he quickly pulled himself back.
"I don't understand what you're talking about, kid. I don't know where you heard those stories, but I'm telling you, you're wrong. The world is wrong. Even mutants are just nature's mistakes."
"How can you say that? Mutants are the key to humanity's future evolution. Humans have denied us with technology and suppressed mutant genes. Don't you intend to do anything about this after knowing the truth?!" Petra frowned.
"Yes, I don't want to do anything," old Logan answered without hesitation.
"You—!"
Petra pointed at old Logan, full of anger and disappointment.
Just as she was about to say more, Alex reached out and stopped her, gently shaking his head to signal her not to continue.
The car ride was silent. As the lights in the distance grew closer, soon a gas station rest stop appeared in their view.
Old Logan slowed down, turned into the rest stop, and parked the car.
Once stopped, old Logan turned around.
"Now, get out."
"But—" Petra looked at Alex, hoping he would say something.
Alex said nothing. He just opened the car door, signaling Petra to get out.
"For the sake of these two gold coins, I won't charge you for the ride," old Logan glanced at Alex and said in a low voice. "Once you're off the car, pretend you never saw me, understand?"
"Understood."
Alex smiled calmly and got out of the car.
Standing at the entrance of the gas station, watching old Logan's luxury car disappear into the darkness, Petra finally couldn't help but ask her doubt.
"Sir, why didn't you say a word?"
"Would it help if I did?" Alex looked back at Petra and said lightly. "Aren't you curious why Logan ended up like this? And where did the rest of the X-Men go?"
"Yeah…"
Hearing that, Petra suddenly recalled something.
She had never noticed any clue about the X-Men all this time. Logically, the X-Men would never just stand by and watch Logan deteriorate into his current state without helping.
Unless—
Petra quickly connected it to her own universe. Her expression changed instantly, darkening deeply.
Alex didn't say much about this. Although he knew what had happened in this universe, some things Petra needed to figure out for herself.
Besides, this universe was too strange. Without being 100% sure it was safe, Alex planned to have Petra stay out in the open, while he himself would hide in the shadows and wait for the right moment to act.
After standing by the roadside for a while, Alex led Petra into the 24-hour convenience store at the service area.
Maybe because the place was too remote, or it was late at night with few people around, the clerk inside was dozing off. On the wall behind him, a wall-mounted TV was playing a drama.
The doorbell rang as they pushed open the door, immediately waking the drowsy clerk. He yawned and curiously looked at the two customers who had arrived so late.
"What can I get for you two?"
"A case of beer, and some food too," Alex said as he sat down near the rest area seats and addressed the clerk.
"Just grab whatever you want?" the clerk asked.
Though there were rarely customers at this hour, occasionally some long-haul truck drivers stopped here to rest, so the clerk didn't think much of it.
"Just whatever, heat it up," Alex waved his hand. Then he paused, adding, "By the way, where's the TV remote?"
"Let me find it for you."
The clerk brought over the case of beer and set it on the table next to Alex, then went to the counter to fetch the TV remote. During this, he kept glancing at Petra, seemingly attracted by her beauty.
No doubt, Petra was exactly the kind of beauty that fit the American mainstream aesthetic, especially with her devilish figure.
While the clerk left to heat the food in the microwave, Petra frowned slightly and whispered, "Isn't there something wrong with the food here? Wouldn't it be risky to just eat it directly?"
"The doses aren't high. Eating it once in a while won't cause any genetic changes, as long as it's not something you eat repeatedly over the years, it should be fine."
Alex answered casually while watching the TV. Then he turned to Petra and said, "Of course, if you mind, I have other food."
From his magical space, Alex took out a hot pizza and pushed it toward Petra.
This was something Alex had bought earlier in the Flashpoint One universe—not just the pizza, but quite a few things—just in case he ended up in a universe without food.
Used to Alex's amazing methods, Petra took the pizza, opened it, and began eating heartily. She hadn't been very hungry before, but now that she smelled the food, her stomach started growling.
Not paying much attention to Petra, Alex kept flipping channels. After cycling through several late-night dramas, the TV finally showed the evening news.
(On the screen were two men, seemingly engaged in some kind of interview.)
"Everyone's asleep, Bert."
"We're all sleepwalking. All these things—melting glaciers, nuclear wastewater, mutants—they're connected."
One man was speaking confidently but was quickly interrupted by the other.
"Clyde, it's already 2029. Why are we still talking about mutants?"
"They're just God's mistakes, aren't they?"
"Yes, Bert, they were just a flash in the pan. But how do you know mutants won't reappear in this world?"
"Oh, Clyde, do you know how long it's been since a new mutant child was born? According to geneticist Dr. Curtis Connors, mutants are just genetic anomalies."
"To be honest, I don't think so."
"Though I'm neither a geneticist nor a mutant, I believe mutants won't disappear. One day, they will return to this world, protecting us like before."
"Ha, Clyde, you mean the X-Men?"
"You have to know, the X-Men are history. Those stories, those comics, they're fake—just stories written by screenwriters for kids. And since that incident happened, those comics have stopped being published."
"They say they stopped publishing, but some publishers are still printing them."
Just as Alex and Petra were both fixated on the TV, suddenly a stranger's voice sounded beside them.
Turning around, they saw the clerk carrying two plates of spaghetti walking over.
Noticing their gaze, and probably realizing he interrupted their TV watching, he gave an apologetic expression and said:
"Sorry, I was just talking casually. I heard the comics were going to stop publishing, so I bought a lot of them to make some money. But you can probably tell from my current situation, all those comics ended up a bust."
Alex and Petra didn't show any displeasure at the clerk's interruption. Instead, Alex took the opportunity to engage with him.
"Hey man, do you know much about the X-Men?"
.......
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