"What you are about to see is illegal in both the United States and Canada…"
Inside the stretched limousine parked by the roadside, Charles and Logan watched the video stored on Gabriela's phone, the atmosphere silent.
In the video, Gabriela showed them the truth about Alkali Laboratory.
Alkali Laboratory, nominally a cancer project research institute in Mexico City, was in reality a gene weapon laboratory specializing in artificial Mutant research.
Over the past few years, this laboratory had cultivated numerous gifted artificial Mutant youths, training them into killers and weapons through inhumane methods, and then selling them at high prices.
"They were born here, and they never left…"
"They have no birth certificates, no names… Their fathers are genetic seeds in test tubes…"
"This is a business; they are making soldiers… killing machines…"
On the screen, Gabriela's words were not yet finished when her phone ran out of battery.
"Hehehe…" Miles in the back seat let out a silly laugh, clearly not fully awake yet.
Old Logan took off his glasses, his gaze sweeping past Miles to Laura, who was sitting on a rocking horse by the roadside, his brows tightly furrowed.
"…You took that woman's money, you promised to take these two children." Charles in the back seat asked.
"Mm." Old Logan responded almost imperceptibly, then asked, "Who is she?"
Undoubtedly, Logan was asking about Laura.
"She is your daughter, Logan," Professor Charles replied.
Logan glanced at Charles, then stood up without a word and walked out of the car.
"Alkali has your genetic samples," Charles reminded him.
"You too." Logan glanced at Miles, who was next to Charles.
"…Ha." Charles chuckled, saying, "Indeed."
Watching Logan walk silently towards Laura, Charles turned to Miles, "Miles, are you awake?"
"…Where is this? I'm so sleepy." Miles mumbled groggily. Logically, he shouldn't have woken up so quickly after such intense use of his abilities. He felt as if Charles had woken him up.
"Hold on to your will, Miles," Charles said with a smile. "I know you are very tired, very pained… But you haven't realized that a large part of your pain comes from your mind being too tense…"
"I can feel it, your mind is like an unceasing flame, burning your brain, and burning your life…"
"So, try to relax, think about the beautiful things in your memories…"
"Sorry, Professor…" Miles whispered, "I don't know what relaxation feels like."
"Poor Miles." Professor Charles gave a wry smile, then said, "Then, you can try to imagine."
"Imagine?"
"Yes, imagine." Charles nodded, "'Imagination' is God's most precious gift to humanity."
"You should imagine that you can be an ordinary teenager, playing with other children at the most boisterous age, participating in a basketball game, or going on a date with your crush, doing all the things children your age should do… Oh, right, remember not to smoke or do drugs."
As Charles spoke, his words subtly influenced Miles's consciousness. With Charles's abilities, even without using his powers and merely employing simple hypnosis, he could still affect Miles's mind.
"School, huh…"
Scenes from the past gradually emerged in Miles's mind—memories that once belonged to an unnamed transmigrator.
Unfortunately, his experiences during his time at Alkali Laboratory had long since torn his memories and cognition into pieces. Now, Miles had even forgotten his previous name; even the name "Miles" was given to him by Gabriela.
And now, under the Professor's guidance, Miles felt as if he was dreaming. In the dream, he returned to campus, playing happily with his classmates, and even secretly kissed a female classmate's cheek.
It was very soft, very sweet.
"…Thank you, Professor." Miles murmured to himself in a low voice, then fell into a deep sleep.
This time, he was truly asleep.
Charles looked at Miles's pale sleeping face, smiled softly, then called out to Logan, who was glaring at Laura outside the window, "Hey, Logan, don't be so rough with Laura."
"Shut up, Charles, this is none of your business!"
"Oh, and I need to pee," Charles continued with a smile.
"…" Logan turned and silently glanced at Charles.
…
When Miles opened his eyes again, it was already dark.
"Ah… I slept so well. Where are we in the movie? Has it reached the typical mid-movie Grandpa death scene in a road trip movie?"
Miles yawned, then turned around to see Laura wearing a new pair of children's sunglasses, eating a new bucket of potato chips.
"…"
Seeing Miles wake up, Laura instinctively pulled the chip bucket closer to her, then thought for a moment, took out a few chips from the bucket, and held them out to Miles.
"Thanks, Laura." Miles laboriously took the chips, then looked at the others nearby who were watching Gabriela's recording together, saying with some dissatisfaction, "What's going on? You didn't call me to watch the little movie!"
Logan and Caliban, who had just returned after resupplying, glanced at Miles speechlessly, not bothering to respond to him.
"…It seems your past life was richer than I imagined." Charles chuckled, "We're watching the recording Gabriela left behind. Do you want to join us?"
"Mm-hmm." Miles nodded.
After a good night's sleep, Miles was noticeably more energetic than before.
"Caliban, lend a hand," Charles said.
"Frankly, I still don't think bringing these two little ones is a good idea…" Caliban mumbled, then helped Miles over.
Logan said nothing, merely pushing up his glasses in silence.
Yes, the old wolf was a bit farsighted and needed reading glasses to see the phone screen clearly.
At this point, the recording had already reached Laura's surgery. The screen clearly showed the researchers injecting scorching Adamantium into Laura's hands and feet, the entire process bloody and horrifying.
Afterward, Miles began to appear in the footage. Just as he had behaved before, the Miles in the recording had vacant eyes and a blank, Stupid expression, allowing the researchers to stab an extractor into the back of his head, embedding it deeply into his skull, then connecting a tube.
As the only successful clone of "Charles Xavier," Dr. Zander, the laboratory supervisor, had always been highly interested in him. His brain was also considered one of the institute's most important research materials.
Then, Gabriela's voice-over in the recording continued, "In this building, they are still…"
"Zzzzz…"
Just then, the phone screen suddenly flickered and turned completely White.
"Huh, is it malfunctioning?" Caliban was startled.
"Tsk." Logan irritably tapped the phone against the car door, but it was still useless.
"…Miles?" Professor Charles suddenly realized something, turned to look at Miles, and saw that Miles was somewhat lost in thought.
Hearing Charles's call, Miles suddenly snapped back to reality, "Uh, I'm fine…"
At the same time, the phone screen flickered and returned to normal.
"Oh, it seems the tapping method still works," Logan said casually.
"No, Logan, that's not why." Professor Charles shook his head, looking at Miles, his eyes shining with a peculiar light, "Child, don't be afraid, tell me, what did you feel just now?"
"I…" Miles thought for a moment, then said uncertainly, "I feel like I can control that thing…"
"What thing?" Logan was puzzled, then saw the phone screen in his hand turn White again.
"This is his ability's effect!" Caliban nodded to Charles, then asked with some uncertainty, "Can telepathy do this too?"
"Controlling a phone screen, how interesting." Logan said casually, "So telepathy can even control electronic screens? Charles, I think I finally understand why I could never find your TV remote in the Headmaster's office back then."
"That's because I hate it when you always watch country music performances in my office. I feel like a bunch of people are shitting in my ears," Old Charles retorted, cursing calmly.
Meanwhile, Miles carefully sensed this new application of his ability, a thoughtful expression on his face.
"Actually, I noticed it a long time ago, Miles," Charles continued. "Your ability is not quite like normal telepathy. You can make lights flicker, you can make walkie-talkies malfunction… Clearly, the objects of your ability should not be limited to other humans."
"Try to completely unleash your perception, Miles," Charles coaxed, "Don't focus too much on the chaotic thoughts of other people. Follow your instincts, perceive with your mind…"
"Now, tell me, what do you perceive?"
"…The phone." Miles pressed his finger to the side of his head, murmured to himself, then continued, "And… the streetlights."
As soon as he finished speaking, a streetlight on the street began to flicker on and off, and after a few blinks, it went out. Then, as if triggering a chain reaction, the other streetlights on both sides also went out one after another like dominoes, plunging the entire street into darkness.
"The convenience store's cash register computer… and the lights…"
A string of curses suddenly erupted from the convenience store on the street, seemingly because the cash register computer had suddenly malfunctioned. Then, the lights in the convenience store abruptly went out, swallowed by darkness.
"And… many more."
A few young people passing by sporadically were chatting and laughing about something when suddenly a young man with headphones suspiciously took out his phone, only to find that it seemed to be malfunctioning, its screen completely White.
Soon, cursing sounds came from the others as well.
Only then did everyone else in the car involuntarily fix their gaze on Miles.
"That's enough, Miles," Charles dissuaded him, "Don't continue."
However, Miles paid no heed; his perception continued to scan further and further.
In the night, silent darkness began to sweep over everything. Everyone found their home lights flickering, and devices such as televisions and telephones also began to frequently malfunction.
A long-neglected camera on a city street suddenly creaked, slowly activated, and lifted its head.
Miles found that this camera had become his third eye, allowing him to see things further away.
A wild dog with a broken leg passing by, so miserable, just like himself.
Hmm, a thug robbing a woman in the alley…
"Don't make a sound, little girl, let go of your bag if you don't want to die!"
In the alley at the street corner, a knife-wielding homeless man held a knife to the woman's neck, threatening her sternly.
However, just then, all the light sources around them—the streetlights, windows, and so on—suddenly extinguished, and this eerie scene startled both of them simultaneously.
Then, the woman's phone rang in her pocket, and then, despite no one pressing a button, it was automatically answered.
"This is the precinct police department. We received a report and will arrive within five minutes…"
"Fuck!!" The knife-wielding thug violently threw the woman to the ground, snatched her phone, and tried to turn it off, but he couldn't, not even hang up the call!
"Please stay on the line and in contact, we are on our way…"
The thug furiously threw the phone to the ground, angrily spat at the woman, and then hurried away.
The woman, having survived the ordeal, slowly picked up her phone, then saw light gradually beginning to return to her surroundings.
The dim light of the streetlights shone in her eyes, reflecting a tear.
…
In the Lincoln car, Miles slowly lowered his arm from the side of his head and opened his eyes.
"I think we may have witnessed a miracle." Old Charles looked at Miles, his eyes brighter than ever before.
So similar…
Not just the telepathy, but also the habitual gesture for using his ability… So much like his younger self!
"What did this kid just do?" Logan, not feeling Miles's ability deeply, asked in confusion.
"He can manipulate all electronics within his range," Caliban explained. "Cutting off electronic light sources, even electronic screens… It's a very peculiar ability. I've almost never heard of any Mutant having such an ability!"
"It's not 'manipulating electronics,' but 'manipulating electrical signals,'" Old Charles slowly said. "Essentially, it's still a telepathic ability, but many people don't realize that animal brains transmit thoughts through electrical signals…"
"Telepathic abilities in the conventional sense achieve their effects by interfering with the brain's electrical signals… And Miles, his telepathic ability has a broader scope of action… He can manipulate all 'electronic signals'!"
"He can not only manipulate the consciousness of other people but also all electronic circuits, devices… and even networks."
"Doesn't that mean he could just 'click' and turn off a human brain like an electronic device?" Caliban asked subconsciously.
"It's not that easy…" Miles said faintly, clutching his head, "Human brain signals and circuit signals are too different, it's a chaotic mess… It's not something that can be achieved by cutting off one or two signals… That's the old man's specialty."
"…Even so, it's extraordinary," Caliban murmured, his expression flickering. "In this society full of electronic devices, to have the ability to manipulate all electronic signals…"
"Logan." Old Charles suddenly called Logan's name, "We must protect Miles…"
"He is the hope of the new generation of Mutants!"