If one day he could freely use his ability to rewind time, he was sure that the first thing he would do would be to go back to the time when Howard got married and strangle Tony Stark in the cradle prematurely.

"You ......"

twitched the corner of his eye, but found that he could no longer refresh the lower limit of his impression of some people. So at such a point between calm and rage, West only jumped half a word and shut his mouth, and even the air around him spread with an eerie and dangerous silence.

"Hello, Will! It's been so long since I've seen him so excited that I can't speak? ”

Temperament, or innate, has such a function specifically to make others angry to the point of cerebral congestion. Across the road from West, Iron Man, who had called him at the Avengers Building three hours earlier, was leaning on his luxury car, holding the beautiful girl he had just soaked in with one hand, while waving happily to the gray-haired brown-haired boy:

"For my sake, I flew in from New York, please don't spoil the scenery so much...... Come, open your mouth, and follow me: S-H-I-T, Shit-"

“…… Shit。 "I was stunned from the side. Colin, who had followed West down the stairs from the archives, seemed to twitch his cheeks, completely unaware of what the hell he was talking about.

In fact, in the boy's original plan, it was supposed to be another great day for him and Williams. After handing over the dissertation to the tutor and finishing the annoying course at Oxford, they could have had lunch together, went to the movies, and walked the city streets to improve their friendship. But it was this dwarf who had the cheekiness to - and Colin had no doubt about it - to trick Williams into spending the whole afternoon in the dusty and cobweb-covered archives, and now hugging his girlfriend to laugh at his wolf bèi...... Glancing silently at the silent boy beside him, the boy decided that if West showed an offended or angry expression, he would secretly use magic to turn this guy into bald in full view.

However, it was taken by surprise. After looking Tony up and down, who was almost in the air, West blinked uncertainly, and instead of being angry, he laughed meaningfully.

"It's a long way, isn't it?" The slender index finger shook in front of his temple, and he looked at the Iron Man in front of him, who was in a bad way, and gently curved the corners of his mouth, "Long time no see...... Why don't we talk about it in another place? ”

"Whatever you want."

Shrugging, it was not expected that he would have such a reaction. Tony looked down and whispered something in the ear of the beautiful girl in his arms, and then he saw her glance in their direction and left happily.

This is tantamount to admitting the teenager's speculation in disguise. At the very least, the real Stark would never take West's mention lightly - even if that was exactly what he thought. Watching 'Tony' pull open the door of the sleek silver Aston Martin and get into the cab, West turned around and patted the bewildered boy next to him, smiling even more.

"Colin, thank you for accompanying me to the archives today, and for a coffee another day...... But I haven't seen my friend for a long time, and I have to go and accompany him now, maybe until late, and you won't have to wait for me to eat in the evening. ”

With that, he rubbed Colin's small curls. Then he opened the other side of the car door, got into the car and drove away without looking back.

“……”

So what's going on here?!

I watched the streamlined silver tail disappear from view. After a while, the boy suddenly reacted, and his Williams actually ran away with a local tyrant who looked like Iron Man.

Squinting slightly, he seemed to be constantly thinking about something. Colin had been standing on the side of the road for a long time, until the sky gradually began to show a bright sunset, revealing a little shadow of the setting sun, he finally sighed, took out the mobile phone in his pocket, and rang a number.

"I found him......"

The moment the phone was connected, all the innocence that belonged to the youth on his face was gone, and only a little bit of the vicissitudes of time remained. The boy spoke in such a low voice, his voice became hoarse and heavy, and after saying this, he listened quietly to the sound coming from the other end of the current.

“…… I know I'm not going to sue him...... Moreover, being able to connect with superheroes, Wei's identity doesn't seem to be as simple as I thought at the beginning. ”

After being silent for a while, it seemed that the person on the other end of the phone said something again, and he shook his head helplessly and looked at the sky. There, a group of returning birds were slowly disappearing into the horizon, just as every day and night he had spent for a thousand years, even though tired and cold, there was always such a bright light to look forward to, no matter how many times he was lost, it could always guide him to stumble up the path far from the abyss.

"Well, don't worry. I'll hide it well and keep him from finding out. Including Arthur too...... After all these years, you still don't believe me, Gaius? ”

Facing the shadow in front of him, which was gradually elongated by the setting sun, the boy smiled a little slyly, and even more bitterly-

"After all, I'm the best teacher."

……

……

Meanwhile.

The evening breeze kept blowing through the open windows and blowing through the sideburns. As the sun sets, a little rickety silhouette is imprinted on the glass. In the multimillion-dollar worth of expensive sports cars, West and 'Tony' were silent. Although there has been no communication with each other since they left the archives, surprisingly, the atmosphere between them does not seem so awkward.

-- The reason for this is probably because no matter how hostile they are, they are still family members who agree with each other

Thinking so, he held the corner of his forehead with one hand, and turned his head with a rare smile: "Do you still want to use this face?" ”

"Seeing that you usually get along with Iron Man, I thought you would like him." shrugged his shoulders, and when he spoke again, it was no longer Iron Man's deep male voice. Tony held the steering wheel and continued to concentrate on driving, but the skin on his face and body gradually faded to its original appearance, turning into the unique dark blue of the Witch herself.

His dark yellow pupils reflected the depth of his eyes, and he only stayed for a moment before turning forward, Raven Duckholm nodded slightly, and greeted West in a friendly manner:

"Long time no see, badboy."

In this world, there are very few people who are qualified to call him a boy like that, and the person in front of him clearly belongs to it. West shook his head, his gaze away from the demon girl who had changed back to her original form, a little helpless, whenever she met, she always liked to disguise herself as a variety of identities to play tricks on herself. And he didn't wonder why she knew he was looking through the records in the archives and called himself with Stark's number...... After all, given her ability to infiltrate various organizations, it was too easy to sneak a chance to do something on someone's phone.

"So, you're definitely not just looking for me to catch up this time, are you?"

Raised his eyes to look at Raven, but he was about to leave. The Witch can change her cell and tissue structure at will, which allows her to change into anyone, including iris, fingerprints, skin texture, voice, and even gender; The clothes on the body can also imitate the texture of any clothing, even glasses. As a result, she rarely really has clothes on. Although Raven didn't actually mind, in order to avoid embarrassment, West, who has always valued etiquette, insisted on not staring at her for more than three seconds.

This is not something that stems from the ridiculous old-fashioned nature of an orthodox gentleman. If necessary, he can also turn into the young Charles in a second, and the girls who flirt all over the bar will never miss. If you have to find a suitable reason for this insistence, perhaps it is because, in addition to his youthful face, he is actually still full of the outdated vicissitudes of the old era in his bones.

Think of it as a bit of old man's stubbornness, he thought.

After all, although it is no longer bound by fate, the flow of time will still grind the scars in the heart.

"You guessed right."

Glancing at the boy from the rearview mirror, the demonic girl's expression was a little subtle. In the early years, when Charles said that he wanted to adopt the child, she was not very optimistic about it. The reason for this is that they are all people who have no reason for their lives, and they are destined to die for a cause greater and more important than themselves. Those two men who are not self-conscious are just that, as a girl, the innate motherhood in her bones does not allow her to be calm and watch a child who doesn't understand anything be prematurely pulled into the responsibilities of the mutant race.

Obviously, he should be like his peers, playing with harmless toys, eating sweet sweets, and dreaming of becoming a hero who saves the whole world. Instead of taking up arms, he stood in the empty training room underground, carrying the ideals and the future that were too heavy for him.

"Magneto is in a bit of trouble here. Even though you've had enough trouble yourself, he won't let me come to you...... But, I guess, given that guy is all there to help you and Charles this time, it would be better for you to get to know each other a little bit. ”

Turn the next corner onto another, quieter street. The demon girl looked at the young man and was stunned, then frowned and sat up straight, with a slight emotion in her heart.

Everyone grows up one day. Until then, no one has been able to fully judge the quality of a decision made at that time. Just like many years ago, on a winter night, when she was traveling for the mutant kingdom, she happened to pass by Xavier's Manor, and through the window, she stumbled upon a brown-haired and blue-eyed child leaning alone against the fireplace and putting ice packs on his forehead - this was familiar to her, most of it was the after-effects of Charles's psychic ability training - and she did not realize at that time how the name of the 'Hermit' would rise in people's ears in the future, and what kind of life he would have with it, destined and peaceful.

Perhaps, as Eric said, as a mutant, they have long since lost the right to live like ordinary humans. West, in particular, has two consequences of having great power, either he musters up the courage to take equal responsibility and fights to the death, or he escapes reality and survives in those damn rooms, and the result is self-evident which one he will choose. Therefore, after parting ways on the beaches of Cuba, the reason why Eric let Charles fulfill their agreement instead of taking West away himself is probably because Magneto also believes that in such a turbulent era of crisis, only Professor X, who has a gentle and stable life, will not teach him to be a cold-blooded murderer.

And Charles Xavier lived up to their expectations. His innate generosity and tolerance built the bones of West's understanding of the world, which became the creed he followed for half his life, and to this day it is enough to maintain all the respect and love for life of that child. So that after suddenly experiencing such terrible torture and returning from hell, he can still be full of hope and kindness to this world.

So, when she found out that he was about to track down something that might break all of his faith in Professor X at Stark's suggestion, Raven didn't hesitate and immediately decided to divert West's attention - she believed that even Magneto would have chosen to do so. After all, for this child they watched grow up, they had poured their best wishes into him long before everyone knew it. If they could, they would really like this young man who will never grow old to never see those filth, never realize that the world is actually in tatters, and there are so many cruel truths behind it.

-- Although, there is no such thing as an if.

“…… Raven? ”

Probably too long to be immersed in my own thoughts. When Raven noticed that West was looking at her worriedly, he was resting a finger on his temple, apparently wondering if his companion's loss of consciousness had been attacked by some psychic ability.

"I'm fine." The boy stopped his movements a second before he invaded his mind. Raven shook her head, a little glad she found out in time...... Otherwise, if he really synchronized his consciousness, not only would not only all his efforts be in vain, but he would also directly find out the truth that all of them were trying to hide from him - at that point, things would only get worse than they are now.

So, it's better to distract Eric from him. ’

Reinforcing the importance of her actions, the Shapeling turned her head to look at the young man next to her who was restless at her relapse of silence.

As for Magneto's stern warning, he will never allow West to know about this...... What is that?

"Dr. Yi is in trouble with Eric." Slowly pulling over to the side of the road, Raven finally spoke before West went berserk.

In fact, Magneto knew about the return of the ghost from twenty years ago before Professor X. After all, he was the one who smashed Elizhe's field back then, and he was the one who personally confirmed Elizhe's death, so of course Eric needed to investigate the ins and outs. Especially after learning that West came to the UK, he was even more interested, and he wanted to find out that guy all over the mountains. It just so happened that Dr. Yi was obviously thinking about the real 'hermit', and he didn't forget that he also had a grudge against Magneto. In addition to personally sending people to chase and kill, almost any trick was used, determined to add to this old enemy...... Obviously, Eric has not been able to come to Oxford to find West in person, and has strictly ordered him to block the news, which shows that he has indeed been cheated lightly.

"Elizhe was very clever, he never took matters into his own hands, but instead got an idea from a criminal leader in London and brought other people in as gunmen. Because there are more forces involved, Eric can't risk exposing the activities of our mutants in the UK, so he will inevitably be restrained. ”

Remembering Magneto's rare anxious appearance, Raven shrugged, took some documents from the back seat and handed them to West:

"I know you've been checking Dr. Yi's whereabouts lately...... I agree with Charles, it's your own demons and you have to find a way to overcome them. So, I think it's best for you to come and give Eric a hand. ”

"I know." After carefully flipping through the stack of inscriptions, his eyes stayed on the words 'Conston Manor' and 'Lady Aurora', and West's gaze was firm:

"He's my other father, and I certainly can't stand idly by."

"That's good." I feel like I've been here long enough. Anyway, she had already made it clear what she should have said, and the demon girl who had always been a loner nodded, pulled the car door, and prepared to leave.

"Huh? Wait a minute! Raven, don't you want this car? ”

Seeing that she had turned into an ordinary passerby again, she planned to blend in with the crowd like this. West's hand quickly stopped the person, and he helplessly pointed to the silver Aston Martin that was lying quietly on the side of the road, which was worth a lot of money.

…… For God's sake, even Tony Stark didn't throw millions on the road without looking back.

"You can handle this for me."

The tone was so calm that it was outrageous, and the demon girl turned her head to look at it, and said nothing:

"This is the car I picked when I was stealing information. The military locator above has been dismantled by me, but it's hard to guarantee that there won't be anything else, so it's safer to lose it. ”

West: "...... Oh. "Then sink into the river.

At the same time, 007, who had just come out of the undercover at Conston Manor but was missing his car: "......" was in the groove?!?!!