Chapter 113 Family Banquet

  Dr. Brian Xavier is a physicist with a wealthy family. The castle-like mansion in West Chester is the ancestral property of the Xavier family.

  This family came to the United States as the first group of British colonists, and has been operating on this land for nearly two hundred years.

  As early as the eighteenth century, the rudiment of Xavier’s mansion had already been established here, but in Brian Xavier’s generation, there was only one single seedling left in the family, or a healthy single seedling.

  Charles lived in the UK for many years during his studies, and after receiving a doctorate from Oxford University, he has been living in New York with Raven in the past few years.

  Although the drive is not far from the old house, he prefers New York University, where he works, to be closer, especially now that he is also the chief consultant of the mutation force research department, and he has no time to travel between the two places.

   Hank McCoy hesitated for a long time beside a townhouse near Greenwich Village, rehearsing the way and tone of greeting over and over again.

  Charles had hinted to him that Raven would be home today.

  Finally, Hank paused, took a deep breath and knocked twice before the door opened immediately.

   "I didn't expect you to knock on the door, hey, Hank! Charles has gone to the institute."

Ruiwen seemed to be about to go out. In front of the mahogany full-length mirror at the entrance, she was tidying up her dress with a smile. She had just changed into a white off-the-shoulder one-piece dress. Her hair was much smoother and her complexion looked great. No bright makeup, rare elegant and dignified.

   "I, hi, I just want to ask if you are free tonight, Marilyn Monroe's new movie premiere, I have two tickets."

  Hanke was disturbed by such a fast pace of opening the door. He looked at Ruiwen, who was wearing a white slim-fitting dress today, which was extraordinarily bright and moving, and his ears were burning hot. He still clearly explained the purpose of coming.

   "Oh sorry Hank, I have plans for tonight, maybe you can ask Charles, and I—"

   Poof!

   There was a slight abnormal sound in the air, and Asazo appeared along with the red and black smoke and dust, interrupting Raven's apologetic face and hesitating to explain something.

  He is still wearing a slightly exaggerated black stand-up shoulder slim suit, and his hair looks seriously done.

   "The dress is so pretty, I think blue would go with it better."

   "Oh! I'm used to it. I forgot to go to your house and don't keep it like this. Is this dress really okay? I don't have many clothes for formal occasions."

  Riwen changed back to her red-haired and blue-skinned appearance while speaking, and asked Asazo worriedly whether the attire was appropriate. It was the first time for her to go to Mr. Howlett’s house for dinner, and she was still unavoidably nervous.

   Hank McCoy froze in place. The sudden red figure and Raven's sudden change into a bright yellow eye white and blue skin made him even more unable to keep up with the rhythm.

  From Charles, Hank already knew that Raven's mutant ability can change shape, but this is the first time he saw Raven's original appearance.

  Mr. McCoy, a young scientific genius, suddenly felt empty in his heart. He avoided his cheek and picked the frame of his glasses. He was not just sad because Raven was dating this mutant man he had met once.

   It was because at this moment that he realized that compared with Ruiwen's real face, his feet were nothing.

   "Hey, young man, let's go to dinner together. My family is very hospitable, and you have seen my dad."

  Asazo generously invited, this young mutant who doesn't know the specific origin seems to be an honest person, and he is also a friend of Raven, so there is nothing wrong with getting together.

   Hank reluctantly twitched the corners of his mouth, and raised his spirits: "I remembered that the institute still has an urgent project. By the way, Raven, you look so good."

  He finally tried his best to smile, praised Ruiwen sincerely, and ran away in a hurry.

  Asazuo shrugged his shoulders and took Ruiwen's hand. The girl had just closed the door when the two of them exploded into a cloud of smoke and disappeared without a trace.

   "Why are you back? Raven isn't home?"

Charles is writing the basic information of a mutant he just discovered in the brochure. They plan to start from New York and gradually get in touch with mutants hidden in every corner of society to help them solve problems and troubles in life. Participation in the study of mutational forces.

  At least that's what Professor Charles Xavier conceived and considered.

   "You still need to ask? Don't you know it by thinking about it?"

Hank sat down on the swivel chair, and the inertia caused the chair to squeak and shake around. He kicked off the oversized leather shoes with his feet staggered. He didn't wear socks, and was forced to curl his folded thick long toes Stretched slowly, without restraint, and scratched the floor comfortably from time to time.

  Charles looked at Hank's strong calves and soles with great interest with the eyes of a doctor of gene mutation and genetics.

  Each of his toes is extraordinarily long and strong, a bit like a gorilla's foot, and he can grab things as flexibly as a hand, but with more strength.

   "We are friends, I will not take the initiative to probe your spirit and thoughts, and even if it is necessary, most of them are just superficial searches for what you want to see. You must know that people's memory and thinking are very complicated and complex."

  Charles stopped talking. He really seldom prys into people's deepest thoughts and secrets, because what he sees often is the most unacceptable truth.

  It's like seeing the cruel truth in her heart that she has no nostalgia for herself when her mother Sharon decided to remarry not long after her father died.

  In this world, only the sun and the human heart cannot be looked directly at.

   "Revan left with that red-skinned guy, saying he was going to his house for dinner, you know, the Howlett family."

  Hank stretched his legs and stretched out his body, looked up at the ceiling, and watched the fan blades flashing by without surprise and maintaining a boring rhythm with his eyes unfocused. He wanted to lie flat.

   "No wonder! A few days ago, I brought back a craft ornament from a so-called African indigenous country. It was said that it was brought from the original place. At that time, I joked that she was deceived by a gypsy vendor."

Charles put down the pen in his hand, and spoke a little anxiously. As soon as he finished speaking, the room fell into a long awkward silence. Like Hank, he just stared at the ceiling blankly, as if the boring fan blades could really What's new.

  Both men seem to feel that they have lost something, but the situation is not the same.

   "What do you think of the situation in Mr. Howlett's house? That person... and the people around him, look much more terrifying than the so-called 'Black Emperor' Xiao."

   After a while, Hank McCoy finally asked Charles beside him quietly, but it was more like talking to himself.

  Charles suddenly got excited, stood up abruptly, rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, and was about to walk towards the brainwave apparatus in the center of the laboratory.

   "No, Raven is too dangerous like this! That family is like a gang organization, maybe there will be some inhuman entertainment methods, or even smoking some drugs, I have to go and see!"

  As he was talking, he was about to put on the brain wave device in a hurry, Hank didn't even move his buttocks, and said embarrassingly:

   "Didn't you say that that woman who also has psychic power can stop all your prying eyes, and who knows where they will be in the world, the person who took Raven can move instantly."

  Charles collapsed, and he muttered that when Raven came back, he must ask clearly, even if he secretly carried her behind his back and took a look in his mind.

  Edmond, Canada, Howlett Old House.

  In the past few decades, the vicinity of the old house is no longer what it was when the old Mr. Howlett first built the manor. There is only a boundless wilderness and hills.

  With generations of Howlett family core members, whether it is the earliest descendants of wolves or members responsible for business and other affairs, they have been building their own houses around the manor buildings of the old house.

   Gradually, this place became a bit like a medieval lord's fiefdom, like a quiet town hidden from the hustle and bustle.

Eric Lanshere was holding a stack of plates, with a lot of knives and forks floating beside him. He placed the plates one by one on the dining table in the hall, and at the same time controlled the metal tableware to land on each chair flexibly. forward.

  There are not many servants in the old house on weekdays. After all, there are not many people who need to take care of here except the old housekeeper Casper who can hardly walk around.

Although they are doing the work of servants, they are all descendants of the old folks in the family. They are also members of the family in essence, and they will choose their own future according to their own wishes, instead of being James's generation after generation. servant.

  When it’s time for a dinner party, there will always be a shortage of staff, and everyone will do something by themselves, just like ordinary people eating together.

  Asazuo teleported from the kitchen, holding a bundle of wooden, finely crafted slender sticks, and placed pairs on each plate.

   "I've seen this before! Are they called chopsticks? I've used them in sushi restaurants, and they are tableware used by Japanese people to eat."

"No, it is from China. All other places learned from there. In ancient times, they would be proud to call it a cultural creation from that country, but just like people, countries or nations will change. Very snobby."

  James smiled and walked downstairs, correcting Raven's statement seriously but not seriously. He looked at Raven's original face, and happily praised Asazo's eyes.

  Miss Raven looked at Mr. Howlett who finally appeared, and she was still a little nervous, standing quietly beside Asazo.

  Although the other party is young and looks as old as Charles, the profound and distant temperament seems to have come from another era, and it does not seem out of place with the present.

James sat in the center of the upper head, and Emma sat down on his right hand side, pulling Raven next to him, and as the chefs put the dishes one by one, Bucky, Steve and his wife were still a few minutes away. All the winter wolves at the manor sat in their seats and watched him.

   "It's the holidays, let's have a meal together and try these dishes. The chefs went to Chinatown in New York and learned for several years before making them."

There were no special speeches or ceremonies, just like the most common family dinner, even more casual, Raven watched almost everyone skillfully using chopsticks, eating fresh dishes with unusually attractive taste and color, not only Confused, he asked Asazo beside him in a low voice.

   "What holiday is today?"

  She thought about it for a long time and couldn't remember any special festivals on this day in September. Could it be that Mr. Howlett abides by some other cultural customs.

"Our family only celebrates the Mid-Autumn Festival, a traditional day in the East. No one knows the exact day, only the father knows, and the date is different every year, and our family will have another day alone during the New Year. "

  Raven nodded half-understanding. She was extremely curious and interested in everything about the Howlett family. The atmosphere here was relaxed and comfortable that she had never felt since she could remember.

   He was able to show his original appearance generously in front of so many people without seeing any weird eyes.

   "Ruiwen, how do you feel when you change? Can you only change the appearance of your body?"

  Emma has gotten to know Raven very well after an afternoon. Before Miss Peggy came, she was the only girl here. Raven, who is also a mutant, can have dinner together today, which made Emma very happy.

  She curiously asked about the details of this magical ability. As a woman, Emma is also very envious of this ability.

  Shua, Raven's white skirt turned into the same black suit as Asazo's beside him, and then the person also changed into his appearance, with a vivid body shape and even a tail.

  Everyone was amazed, Bucky and Eric even applauded and cheered a few times, James watched Raven's changes carefully, and couldn't help being amazed.

  Only Asazo looked at "myself" who winked playfully at him, and couldn't help but feel his scalp tingling, and goosebumps appeared on his body.

"I can directly imitate the appearance of clothes and the appearance of many substances. It may be that my skin tissue is different. But if I wear other real clothes, I can only cover them up without any changes. They are relatively light and thin. It’s okay, too heavy coats won’t work.”

Everyone chattered about Raven's skills, and Bucky even found another way to ask if the clothes that Raven imitated with his body could be taken off, and Steve slapped him on the back of the neck before closing it tactfully. mouthed.

Raven happily chatted with everyone, asking Steve about his experience in World War II, how Bucky's metal arm felt when he used it, and even biting ears with Emma, ​​curious about how she got along with Mr. Howlett. feelings.

  James spends more time besides watching people laughing and chatting cheerfully. He just eats with his head down, with braised pork, sweet and sour fish, and fried pork with green peppers. The back kitchen makes bowls of rice one after another.

  Although he didn't speak much, there was a wave of fiery emotions in his chest.

  It is home that brings joy and warmth.

After dinner, James took out old black-and-white photos from more than half a century ago, and showed Raven the appearance of Asazo being held in his arms when he was a child. His thin, pitiful appearance attracted several women There was a soft light in his eyes.

  Everyone began to complain that Asazo is really disabled now. Under the resentful eyes of the Red Devil, James gave Steve and Peggy a look, and came to the upstairs study.

   The Rogers couple sat in front of the antique desk, looking at the fluorescent purple serum potion bottle in a slender vibrating gold box in front of them, looked at each other, and looked at James with some puzzlement.

   "The 'Styx' serum, Steve knows, that's what Bucky uses, you already have the foundation, don't bother so much, go back and get an injection later, but Peggy—"

  James pondered for a moment, and slowly said to Mrs. Rogers:

   "I can give you two options, one is the mature and safe super soldier serum, and then one day you can enter the wolf winter, and then thaw at a suitable time in the future, and see him again."

"The other is 'Styx', which is very dangerous, with a survival rate of less than half. Steve himself has undergone serum transformation, coupled with so many years of tempering and practice, and his level of killing skills is also very high, so it may be easier bear, but if you inject directly."

   After a long while of silence, none of the three made a sound. Steve suddenly smiled, and said openly and seriously:

   "Teacher, I'm not interested in 'Styx'. Even now, Bucky may not be my opponent. The original serum is enough. Peggy and I can live together for a long time."

  James nodded. This result was what he expected. With Steve’s personality, he would probably choose this way. He said a little sadly:

   "Nothing is eternal. Maybe I can live for a long time, but that is not a kind of happiness. Immortality is a cruel choice, not for others, but for myself."

"In this universe, only life with no emotion will choose this way, but what is the difference between that kind of life and earth, rock, gold and iron? Let's do this first, the technology will improve in the future, and I believe there will be more choices by then. .”

  James felt that the matter had basically been settled. Just as he was about to get up, Peggy, who had been silent all the time, said seriously: "Sir, I hope to try 'Styx'."

   "Don't talk yet!"

   Peggy covered Steve's eagerly opened mouth with her pale fingertips, turned to look at James, and continued without blinking:

"You said that this choice is left to me, and now I have my own pursuit. If I hadn't met you, I would be happy to do a job that is helpful to society and the world, and stay with Steve We are old, but you showed us a way and opened the door to a new world."

   "I don't want to miss the excitement of this journey. I will grow old after a few years, or lie in the frost and wake up, and let the world become strange in my eyes. It is not what I want."

  Steve finally spoke out urgently, his handsome appearance was a little deformed.

  "You can use the original serum first, and then try to add another shot like me after a few years. The technology will definitely be more perfect at that time, and I will wait for you!"

  Miss Peggy smiled softly. Her husband, who was a little too straightforward, hadn't thought through many joints.

"Do you think Mr. will be stingy with a few plants of heart-shaped grass? With the vibrating gold meteorite, we can continue to cultivate this magical plant in the future, but even with the super soldier serum as the foundation, it is difficult to superimpose and supplement this serum." Strength, am I right sir?"

  James didn't make a sound, just looked at Steve, his eyes said everything.

  The power of human genetic evolution cannot simply be calculated by one plus one equals two. The two serums are related, but mutually exclusive.

  Superimposing Styx Serum on top of Super Soldier Serum may be even more dangerous.

  Unless all the secrets of the physical body are broken and the practice is advanced to the level of energy, that is, the stellar air environment can resist the double repulsion of the will and the body.

   "I know this is unfair to you."

  Peggy caressed Steve's face, looking at her husband's lonely eyes, the thought she had just settled in her heart could not help but loosen a bit.

"It's because I ignored your feelings too much. To be honest, in those days on the battlefield, I always felt that the strength in your heart was more suitable to be a so-called 'hero' than me. It's just the constraints of this era and people's concepts. about you."

"Harmful"

  James sighed and sprinkled this set in front of my old man. If there were not more and more people around me now, it would be really uncomfortable for a while.

   "Okay, you should accompany Peggy to practice killing techniques for a period of time. Although low-level body mastery is not very helpful for serum fusion, at least martial arts training can sharpen your will."

  James felt more and more the temptation of extraordinary power for everyone with ideals or ambitions. The power of this kind of pure mighty power on oneself is not comparable to ordinary material wealth.

  Nowadays, major countries have more or less mastered certain evolutionary methods and research.

   The confrontation between the two poles is not over yet. What kind of power is still hidden in this world, and what kind of moth will come out, I can't grasp it.

  Fortunately, with the arrangement and means of these years, I finally got all the Rubik's Cube and Vibrating Meteorite in my hands.

  James Howlett would like to see it. One day he will say that the sky is dark, and who dares to say it.

  After World War II, the United States' "Paper Clip" project gathered a large number of German scientists, and almost all of these people had served in the former German Weapons and Equipment Department, which was later the Hydra Force.

  In addition to the only leader "Red Skull" John Schmidt at that time, Dr. Arnim Zola, as the chief scientist, was also the leader of these nanite scientists.

  But after the defeat, Dr. Zola disappeared inexplicably, and these people have been in a state of no one for a long time.

  But the spirit of Hydera has been taking root and sprouting, gradually spreading in the new organization that incorporates them, called SHIELD for short.

   One head is cut off, and two are regenerated.

   There will never be a truly immortal life in this world. Only faith and will can last forever.

Today is the first time that Edgar Hoover has participated in the highest-level meeting of SHIELD as a director. This organization currently does not have a full-fledged director or chief. It is only responsible to the president in name. The person in charge of each department acts as a director to coordinate actions.

  Since Director Hoover learned about the Super Soldier Project and the secrets of mutants now, he feels more and more that the FBI, which is still dealing with major national cases and supervising high-ranking officials, is too small.

Although he is getting old, behind the increasingly mysterious veil of the world, a more exciting part of the "shadow leader" has been revealed, which has rekindled his youthful desire and passion for getting ahead and climbing the ladder of power. ambition.

  (end of this chapter)