"X-Men?"
The moment Alex mentioned it, the waiter immediately perked up, completely shaking off his earlier drowsiness.
Seeing no other customers around, the waiter pulled out a stool and sat down. He first discreetly admired Petra's beauty, then began speaking.
"You two aren't locals, right? Basically, everyone who lives around here knows the X-Men inside and out. We've been learning about mutants since we were kids."
"Since childhood?" Alex asked with some curiosity.
"Yeah." The waiter nodded. "The X-Men were founded at the end of the last century. They were superheroes fighting to protect world peace. They even helped with the moon landing back then. You didn't know?"
"The moon landing, huh..." Alex mused quietly without replying.
That really sounded like something the X-Men would do. After all, the tech level here is very advanced—stealth fighters capable of flying into outer space were developed in the 20th century. That's no joke.
After a pause, Alex asked, "What's the deal with the comics story mentioned on the TV earlier?"
"Oh, that."
The waiter's expression suddenly darkened. He sighed and shook his head.
"Ever since the X-Men became history, a lot of people online have started smearing and attacking them. Even the government has stirred the pot, denying the contributions the X-Men made to humanity, calling them a bunch of lunatics, not heroes."
Smearing heroes and denying history—this tactic wasn't surprising. Western countries are pretty good at underhanded tricks like that, like the uproar around Joan of Arc.
At this point, Petra couldn't help but ask: "Why did they become history? What actually happened to the X-Men?"
"You don't know?!"
The waiter stared at Petra like she was an alien. He couldn't believe this beautiful woman didn't know something so important.
But he quickly responded.
"After years without new mutant births, the X-Men gradually declined. Many of them retired, but that's the official line—rumors say they were all 'disappeared.'
More and more mutants chose 'treatment'—they willingly lost their powers to become regular humans. Eventually, only a few mutants remained walking the cities; calling them a rare species wouldn't be wrong.
Then, about a year ago, the 'Westchester Incident' happened. That event caused the deaths of over six hundred people, including several X-Men members. Because of that incident, the last mutants vanished."
"Westchester Incident!?" Petra's eyes suddenly widened. She was all too familiar with the place—Westchester was where Professor X's school was!
It was Charles' birthplace and where he grew up with Mystique. Before opening the mutant academy, that was Charles' home.
It was also there that Charles trained a large number of outstanding students. Although Petra never had the chance to live there, she had heard many seniors talk about life at that place.
To be honest, after losing her whole family when she was young, Petra had always yearned for a true family.
For that reason, she had long admired Charles' first school, even fantasizing for a long time about what it would be like to be one of his first students.
But now, hearing about the tragedy in Westchester, Petra felt as if her heart had been stabbed.
"What exactly happened? Was it the military rounding up mutants? Or extremist groups who hate mutants?!"
Clenching her silver teeth, a murderous look flashed in Petra's eyes.
She had already experienced despair once. Back then, she was powerless and was even turned into a killing machine against her own kind. And now, hearing that her brethren in this world were going through something similar...
Even Petra, who usually controlled her emotions well, couldn't help but get agitated.
Seeing Petra's fierce expression, the waiter was startled. He didn't understand why this beautiful woman was reacting so strongly.
After a moment's hesitation, the waiter cautiously said: "The conspiracy theories you mentioned have already been circulating online. But the truth is, the mastermind behind the Westchester Incident was Professor X."
—What?!
Those few words exploded like thunder in Petra's mind.
She stood frozen in place, her mind blank, even a faint ringing in her ears, making it impossible for her to concentrate.
Professor X had killed over six hundred innocent people, including members of the X-Men — how could that be possible?
They were all his students!
They were all his most beloved family!!
Petra stood up emotionally, and with her movement, the entire convenience store began to tremble slightly. The chandelier swayed continuously, casting chaotic shadows across the walls.
"Petra."
At that moment, Alex spoke.
He had been pondering the situation of this universe. In Alex's memory, although the timeline of Logan was a numbered independent universe, its history was not completely disconnected from other timelines.
Strictly speaking, the Logan timeline should connect to the Days of Future Past timeline.
Only that some unexpected event caused this timeline to branch off differently.
The plot and memories of the other timeline were only known to Logan and Charles. The other X-Men had no idea that in another world, Sentinels hunted mutants.
In their memories, there were only the battles at the Statue of Liberty and confrontations with Stryker. The only difference was that the Phoenix incident had not yet occurred here.
Hearing Alex's voice, Petra quickly calmed down, though she still couldn't believe what she heard was true.
The waiter glanced gratefully at Alex. He had been frightened by Petra just now, but now it was clear that the woman before him was indeed a mutant with superpowers.
After hesitating, the waiter hurried on.
"That incident caused a huge uproar. The FBI had no choice but to release their investigation files and records. According to those records, the people died from psychic paralysis, and only one person could cause that."
"But—"
Petra wanted to argue, but she understood that since those files were made public, it definitely meant those people were not involved.
After thinking for a while, Petra muttered.
"This can't be. The Professor wouldn't do such a thing. He wouldn't."
"Um..."
The waiter cautiously raised his hand and whispered.
"Based on medical records the FBI found at the scene, it seems Professor X was suffering from epilepsy and Alzheimer's. If he had an episode—"
He didn't continue. This had happened over a year ago, and during that time many private detectives and mutant sympathizers had privately investigated the tragic incident's details.
No matter how they investigated, all the clues eventually pointed to one tragic possibility—one so hard to believe: Charles, during an episode, had unconsciously killed all his students and innocent civilians with his own hands.
Thinking of this, Petra suddenly felt all her strength drained away. She slumped in her chair, unable to accept the fact.
If Petra's previous experiences were physical destruction and torment, what happened in this world was an extreme mental torture.
Petra couldn't imagine how much pain Charles would feel if he knew what he had done. Just the thought made her feel as if her heart was being ripped apart.
"Um, I—I won't tell anyone about you," the waiter said, looking at Petra's vacant eyes, then turned to Alex.
"Thank you, I appreciate it."
Alex nodded. In fact, he had already tampered with the surveillance here and prepared to alter their memories if necessary.
Just as Alex was about to say more, suddenly the voice of Miss Minutes echoed in his mind.
"Master, a rift in the timeline has been detected!"
"What do you mean?"
Alex furrowed his brows sharply.
"I'm analyzing data about this timeline. Just now, I saw an error report—this timeline has developed a fissure, and it's already formed."
"So, what consequences will that bring?"
Miss Minutes's voice became anxious.
"That means the surrounding timelines are starting to connect with this world. Though I don't know how it happened, countless beings from universes outside this one will descend here!"
Alex's gaze sharpened. Hearing Miss Minutes's words, he immediately thought of the plot of Spider-Man 3.
Because Doctor Strange's spell was disrupted by Spider-Man, a powerful dark magic energy transported every being who knew Spider-Man was Peter Parker into that universe.
Ordinary people could not detect such a change. Only Doctor Strange, wielding the power of the Supreme Sanctum, could react quickly and even captured the Lizard who crossed over.
"Can you detect where those rifts are? Also, when did you discover this?"
"I only just detected it."
Miss Minutes's voice came again, this time with anxiety.
"Master, I'm afraid..."
Someone is already here!
....
📢Advanced chapters on p@treaon📢
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1. 30 advanced chapters of American Comics: Multiverse of Madness.
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