Saiki Kusuo didn't even need to use his telepathy to know what Charles was scheming. He twitched his mouth and refused without hesitation.
"Don't even think about it."
"Don't be like that, Saiki," Charles persisted, using his full persuasive power. "This is just a trivial matter for you. I promise, once you've dealt with it, I'll have Kitty send you back."
Saiki Kusuo wasn't buying it. "If you read my memories, you should know that I can easily make Kitty help me. And are you threatening me? You've got some nerve. Believe it or not, I'll brainwash you into becoming Trask's lackey."
Charles: "…I'm sorry, I misspoke. Please forgive me!"
Charles apologized and slowly straightened up. His wheelchair had been knocked over, and he couldn't get back into it himself. The battle outside was still raging, and he was worried about his students, so he could only laboriously crawl out.
Saiki Kusuo: "…"
(Hey, hey, what's the meaning of this? You clearly have a way to get back in your wheelchair, but you're still putting on an act, thinking you can gain my sympathy? I can hear all your scheming thoughts.)
Ignoring Saiki Kusuo's internal complaints, Charles continued to crawl outwards.
Saiki Kusuo: "…"
(Give it up, I won't sympathize with you…)
Charles kept crawling.
(I won't… Damn it, you win!)
Saiki Kusuo couldn't help but curse. He roughly picked Charles up and put him back in his wheelchair, then walked past him to go outside and deal with the rampaging Sentinels.
Charles's smile was almost impossible to conceal, and his inner glee was extremely irritating to Saiki Kusuo.
Then, with a thud, Charles fell out of his wheelchair in a most undignified manner.
[Damn Saiki! No respect for his elders!]
Hmph, making me do your bidding comes at a price!
The Sentinels, which were extremely powerful to mutants, were relatively easy for Saiki Kusuo to deal with. Of course, these machines were impervious to conventional weapons and highly skilled in combat; a direct confrontation would be disadvantageous. But Saiki Kusuo's teleportation could send them directly into outer space.
He wasn't sure if Thanos's home planet existed in this world, but, recalling its location from memory, Saiki Kusuo teleported the Sentinels there.
Unfortunately, Saiki Kusuo was still a step too late. Although the immediate crisis was averted, the X-Men had paid a heavy price.
Iceman, Colossus, and other X-Men had died in this battle. The remaining battered survivors were no match for the second-generation, perfected Sentinel robots.
Fortunately, Saiki Kusuo's appearance resolved the mutant crisis.
From the images he'd seen in Saiki Kusuo's mind, Charles knew that a seemingly unassuming young man could easily change the impending doom of the mutants simply by removing his limiter.
But humans are inherently insatiable.
Having seen such immense power, Charles had a new idea.
He wanted to go back in time and use Saiki Kusuo's abilities to fundamentally solve this disaster, thereby saving the comrades he'd lost.
Such a request was probably very rude to Saiki Kusuo, but Charles still wanted to try to convince him.
Charles explained the relationship between Raven, Trask, and the Sentinel robots to everyone. The way to fundamentally solve the Sentinel problem was to go back in time and prevent Raven from assassinating Councilman Trask, thus preventing Trask from obtaining the X-gene.
Everyone turned their gaze to Saiki Kusuo.
Saiki Kusuo: "…"
He felt like he'd stumbled into a wolf's den. He should have just left everyone alone, except for Kitty.
Kitty, prompted by Charles's gaze, cleared her throat and spoke, "Mr. Saiki, right? I understand why you traveled through time to find me. But I have a question. According to your explanation, my past self sent you here, but I have no memory of you. Not just me, none of us do. In other words, you don't exist in this world."
In short, the past Kitty had sent him to another parallel universe.
"That means my ability isn't stable. It can't guarantee that it will send you back to your own world. Maybe next time, it will send you to a world where I don't even exist."
Although he knew she had ulterior motives for saying this, Saiki Kusuo couldn't find a reason to refute her.
It was indeed a hidden danger. If he were sent to a world without Kitty next time, he might be stuck there forever.
"So, it's better to rely on myself than on others? I send you back to the past, you find the Time Stone, and maybe then you can go back on your own?"
Saiki Kusuo quirked an eyebrow at her. "You want to send me back 26 years?"
After saying that, Kitty scratched her head, seeming a little embarrassed to say it out loud.
"Just consider it my plea. Anyway, 50 years is a jump, 26 years is a jump, just jump back and then come back." Saiki Kusuo said coolly, "But 50 years ago, you weren't even born yet. Do you want me to be unable to come back?"
Kitty: "…" She hadn't thought of that. She'd inadvertently dug a hole for herself while trying to persuade him.
But of course, there was still a solution.
"Don't worry, we'll have Logan go back with you. After he completes his mission and returns, we'll have Kitty travel back again and bring you back," Charles explained, coming to the rescue.
But after all this talk, Saiki Kusuo just wanted to ask one thing: why should he help? He could just control Kitty to travel back 26 years and get the Time Stone. Why should he bother with this troublesome matter?
[But it's really just a small favor for you, isn't it?]
Charles's voice echoed in his mind.
It felt like emotional blackmail, but in truth, he wasn't wrong. It was just a small favor for him.
[You don't like owing people favors, right? Consider this as thanks for Kitty helping you. Of course, if you think it's not enough, you can name any condition, and I will do my best to fulfill it.]
[Please, Saiki. Or I'll have Erik be your lackey to entertain you?]
Completely unaware of his old friend's sinister scheme to sell him out, Magneto (Erik) was still sizing up Saiki Kusuo, assessing whether he was truly capable of changing the world as Charles claimed.
Saiki Kusuo indeed didn't like owing people favors, but he also didn't like others owing him. Although Kitty had brought it up, it was Charles who had actually proposed it.
So he asked Charles, "Did you have money 50 years ago? If I go, will you provide food and lodging?"
Charles was taken aback, then a barely concealed smile appeared in his eyes.
"Of course. Don't think of me as just an old man confined to a wheelchair. When I was young, I was a handsome, talented, and wealthy young man. Oh, although the me you're about to meet at that time might be a bit rebellious, if you just tell him one thing, he'll listen to you obediently and do whatever you want."
Everyone was extremely curious about what this one thing that could make Charles listen was. Unfortunately, Charles wasn't going to tell anyone but Saiki Kusuo.
He whispered something in Saiki Kusuo's ear, and everyone strained their ears but couldn't hear a thing. However, after hearing it, Saiki Kusuo's expression was one of, Are you freaking kidding me?
Their curiosity was truly piqued by that reaction! Hey!
Due to the limited time, Charles only briefly explained a few things to Logan before having Kitty send the two of them back 50 years.
To 1973 New York, to be precise.
Because Logan existed in this era, unlike Saiki Kusuo, Kitty directly sent his consciousness back, placing it into his body from 50 years ago.
When Saiki Kusuo arrived, Logan wasn't with him, and he didn't plan on looking for him. Logan would find him eventually anyway.
After two time travels and the battle with the Sentinel robots, Saiki Kusuo felt hungry, so he decided to go to Charles's house first for a free meal.
In this era, the mansion left by Charles's grandfather had just been converted into Xavier's School, but due to certain circumstances, the students had been dismissed. It had been left unmaintained for a long time and looked quite dilapidated.
Saiki Kusuo thought about it and resisted the urge to simply teleport inside. For the current Charles, he was just a stranger, and intruding on someone's residence was extremely impolite.
So he patiently knocked on the door. The person who opened it was Hank, who had introduced him when he first came to this world.
Saiki Kusuo indirectly explained that he was there for a free meal. As for the matter of Raven and the Sentinels, he would leave that to Logan.
After all, he had only agreed to help, not to take full responsibility or just be a bystander.
Saiki Kusuo was perfectly content to slack off.
The young Hank lacked the maturity and smoothness of a teacher. He frowned at Saiki Kusuo, this uninvited guest. If his upbringing hadn't forbidden it, he probably would have kicked out this seemingly troublemaking intruder and slammed the door shut.
After hearing Hank's barrage of silent complaints, Saiki Kusuo reflected on his own poor choice of words.
"Sorry, let me rephrase that. I'm here to see Professor Charles. His future self told me that food and lodging are provided here."
This guy is definitely here to cause trouble!
Hank decided he was probably dealing with a lunatic and, disregarding politeness, prepared to shut the door.
But suddenly, there was a blur, and the next second, Saiki Kusuo was already inside the hall, behind him.
"Hey, you dare to barge in like that? Do you want me to call the cops and have you arrested!"
Hank threatened menacingly, but paired with his scholarly appearance, it had little effect.
Saiki Kusuo couldn't help but remark, "You were such a hothead when you were young, Mr. Hank."
"Damn it, how did you know my name? Wait! How did you get in here? You… you're a mutant?"
Hank belatedly realized that this strange young man was a mutant.
[Looks like he's not just an ordinary troublemaker! Since he's a mutant, he should be good at fighting!]
(How fixated are you on the word 'troublemaker'? Does that do justice to your refined appearance?)
[I wonder what the odds are if I fight him?]
(…Before you can transform into a beast, I'll strip you of all your fur.)
"What's all the noise down there? What's going on?"
Charles's voice came from upstairs, interrupting their impending fight.
A pungent smell of alcohol wafted over, making Saiki Kusuo frown. When he saw what the professor looked like in his youth, he was momentarily speechless. He suddenly understood the meaning of the whisper Charles had given him before he left.
"If my past self doesn't behave, tell him…"
(Is this some kind of rebellious teenager?)
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