Steve Chapter 829: Political Correctness (Patreon)

Seeing the object, both Erik and Pietro froze at the same time. “What... is this thing?”

“This is the legendary boomerang—Black Mamba’s Bite,” Fang Mo confidently introduced.

“Wait, what??” Erik was even more confused after hearing that.

“Could you speak in a way that normal people can understand?” Logan chimed in, clearly feeling a headache. “Or at least in a way people can actually follow.”

“Alright,” Fang Mo shrugged. He then pulled out a bottle of iced tea from somewhere, opened it, and poured it over the dismembered arm. “Actually, he's also a mutant. You can call him Big Man…”

“This is a mutant? It’s clearly just an arm…” Erik muttered.

Before he could finish speaking, the arm on the ground began to move. As if some terrifying regenerative ability had been activated, a large man started growing from the arm before anyone could react. The once-lonely arm transformed into a towering, muscular black man wearing a yellow tank top, standing there with a cheerful expression.

“Hey, I’m back,” the man greeted, waving at the group with a wide smile.

Fang Mo immediately approached him with open arms, giving the man a big hug. “Big Man, I’ve missed you…”

Though the scene looked touching, like an emotional reunion after a long separation, the expressions on the rest of the group were filled with shock.

After all, that was just an arm a moment ago. How did it suddenly turn into a full-grown man?

“This doesn’t make any sense,” Erik couldn’t help but scratch his head, asking, “Brother, is your mutant power turning into an arm?”

“Mutant power?” The man, seemingly confused, asked, “What does that mean, friend?”

“Uh…”

“Alright, now’s not the time for this,” Charles interrupted Erik before he could get an answer. “We’re still inside the Pentagon. If we don’t want to get thrown back into prison, we need to leave quickly.”

Charles was right. They were still in the middle of a prison break, so they couldn’t waste too much time.

With that, the group continued their escape. Thanks to Erik’s regained powers and the pre-planned exit route, they managed to leave the Pentagon smoothly.

Outside, Beast Hank had already arranged for their getaway, and everything went as planned. The group left the city limits by car, after which Charles used his telepathic powers to rent a private plane.

Once onboard, they began exchanging information, particularly Logan, who explained the Sentinel program to Erik.

“So, you’re telling me…” Erik’s expression grew complicated after hearing the explanation. “It was the future versions of me and Charles who asked you to come back here to change the future?”

“That’s right. The Sentinels wiped out nearly all mutants,” Logan nodded and then pointed at Fang Mo, who was staring into space. “And to deal with the Sentinels, he destroyed the Earth, killing all life, including humans.”

“Then why on Earth did you bring him along?!” Erik exclaimed, feeling his eyelid twitching uncontrollably.

“It was an accident,” Logan said, taking a large gulp of whiskey and turning to look out the window. “I’m just an ordinary mutant. Do you think I can change the mind of a god?”

“…”

Erik wiped his face, feeling somewhat helpless.

“Let’s focus on the current situation,” Charles interrupted. “Our priority isn’t stopping Fang Mo—he’s… well, the fact he hasn’t destroyed the world yet is already a miracle. What we really need to focus on is stopping Raven.”

“Raven?” Erik muttered, shaking his head. “I don’t have her contact information, but before I was captured, we were investigating the Trask Corporation. They’re working with the government, conducting horrific experiments on mutants. Many of our people have died…”

“Yes, that’s it,” Logan immediately chimed in. “Bolivar Trask. He’s the one who initiated the first Sentinel Program. According to the Professor—well, the future Professor—Raven kills him at the Paris Peace Conference in 1973, but she’s captured soon after.”

“It *is* 1973 now,” Beast Hank, who was piloting the plane, added. “That conference is just days away.”

“So we can’t stop her before then,” Charles sighed, realizing that their only option was to confront her at the conference.

“Ugh…” Charles massaged his temples, feeling the stress build up.

“So what happened to your powers?” Erik suddenly asked, locking eyes with Charles. “If you could use Cerebro, all of this would be much easier.”

“I can’t use it anymore,” Charles replied, looking at Erik. “The drugs affected my DNA.”

“Drugs? What drugs?” Erik frowned, but then it dawned on him. He glanced at Charles’ legs. “The drugs that let you walk? So, you sacrificed your powers just to walk?”

“Thanks to Fang Mo, my legs have been fully healed,” Charles glanced at Fang Mo before continuing. “But I gave up my powers… just so I could sleep at night.”

As Charles spoke, his eyes reddened, and he took a deep breath, trying to keep his emotions in check. “Not that you’d ever understand…”

“I’ve made sacrifices too,” Erik said, his voice heavy.

“Oh, give me a break, Erik,” Charles scoffed bitterly. “That doesn’t make up for all the horrible things you’ve done.”

“You have no idea what I’ve been through,” Erik replied, his tone growing harsh.

“I know, Erik,” Charles said, locking eyes with him. “I know very well. You took away the most important thing in my life!”

“That’s because you failed to protect it,” Erik retorted, not backing down.

“So, you wanna fight?” Charles snapped, suddenly standing up. “Fine! Let’s do it! Come on!”

“...What?”

Pietro, sitting nearby, was completely baffled by how quickly the two were escalating into a fistfight.

“Don’t fight Charles,” Logan said, standing up as well. “If you want to fight someone, take me on instead…”

“Sit down, Logan,” a hand suddenly pressed down on his shoulder.

“?” Logan instinctively looked up, only to find Fang Mo standing over him with an unusually serious expression. “This is a battle of honor between Charles and Erik. You’re an outsider. Stay out of it.”

“What???”

Logan was completely confused by this.

“Erik took away Charles’ most valuable possession, and that’s clearly his virginity…” Fang Mo explained. “What could be more precious than that?”

Even Erik couldn’t take it anymore. He quickly turned and tried to explain.

“I didn’t—”

But before he could finish, Charles’ fist landed squarely on Erik’s face, knocking him back several steps.

And that wasn’t the end of it.

Charles immediately rushed forward, grabbing Erik by the collar and screaming, “You didn’t just leave me! You took her from me! Everyone left me!!!”

“Is that what you think?” Erik asked, his tone growing cold. “The Red Devil, Angel, and Emma… you knew all of them, right?”

As he spoke, Erik took a step forward.

His entire body pressed against Charles, and at the same time, his magnetic powers activated. The plane shook violently, the metal parts groaning under the strain. Charles stumbled back, falling onto the couch.

“Erik?” Hank, piloting the plane, panicked as the aircraft veered toward the sea. “Stop! We’re going to crash!”

“Those mutant brothers and sisters are all dead!” Erik roared, completely ignoring Hank. “And many more innocent mutants have been captured. They were skinned, dismembered, gutted!”

“We were supposed to protect them!” Erik glared down at Charles, his eyes filled with rage and disappointment. “You call yourself Professor X, the protector of children. But where were you when your people needed you the most?”

“You hid, didn’t you?” Erik continued. “You used that damned drug to disguise yourself as a normal human!”

“Erik! We’re going to crash!!!”

“Charles, it wasn’t us who abandoned you. You abandoned all of us!” Erik shouted, taking another step forward. A piece of metal sheeting ripped free from somewhere, floating above him, poised to strike.

At that critical moment, a large figure appeared behind Erik without warning.

With a swift and powerful elbow to the back of Erik’s neck, the black man from earlier knocked him out cold. Erik’s powers ceased immediately, and the plane stabilized.

“Hiss…”

Erik clutched his neck in pain, staggering back before turning around.

There stood the large black man, looking at him with concern. “My friend, you can’t fool around on a plane like that… it really will crash!”

“I…”

Erik, wincing in pain, sighed. “Alright, thanks for the reminder.”

“No problem,” the man smiled, relieved. He quickly sat back down but then hesitated, turning to Fang Mo. “Uh, could I get a parachute?”

“No,” Fang Mo said, not even looking in his direction.

“Then could you at least enchant my shoes with a Feather Falling?” the man asked, “Or maybe give me a Totem of Undying?”

“Pffft,” Fang Mo laughed out loud.

The man, seeing Fang Mo’s reaction, appeared a bit embarrassed. “Friend, that’s not funny…”

While Fang Mo joked around with his creation, Erik slowly recovered. With an apologetic expression, he offered Charles a hand.

“I understand what you’re feeling,” Erik said, trying to reconcile. “But I didn’t kill Kennedy.”

“Erik, come on,” Charles sighed.

“Everyone saw the bullet curve in mid-air. What else could that mean?”

“I was trying to save him,” Erik insisted. “You probably won’t believe me, but the president was one of us—a mutant. I was protecting him. But there were others who didn’t want him in power. I tried to save him, but I was captured. I waited for years, hoping to hear from you telepathically…”

“…”

Charles was stunned.

“I knew they would come after us eventually, but I didn’t realize their target would be Raven’s DNA,” Erik continued. “If I had known, I would’ve—”

“Would’ve killed them, right?” Charles interrupted.

“Uh…”

“Erik, killing people won’t solve anything,” Charles pleaded. “I understand your pain, but the Sentinel program started because Raven killed Trask. Her actions led to a greater demand for the program.”

“That’s because that guy deserved to die,” Erik gritted his teeth.

“But Raven is like a daughter to me. She shouldn’t be killing people,” Charles sighed. “You took her away and filled her head with these extremist ideas…”

“She wasn’t raised by you, Charles. You grew up together,” Erik replied. “She can’t stay an innocent little girl forever. Your control was too much, and that’s why she left.”

“Because of the ideas you filled her head with.”

“Is that really the case?” Erik chuckled. “My power is magnetism, not mind control. It was her own choice.”

“And now we see the consequences of that choice,” Charles responded bitterly. “She went to assassinate Trask and got herself captured. Now, all mutants are paying the price. I’ve told you before, killing won’t solve anything…”

“No.”

Suddenly, a voice interrupted them. “Killing can solve problems.”

Both men froze as they turned to see Fang Mo sitting on the couch, deep in thought. “In fact, if you kill enough, many problems will go away. But right now, I have a solution far more brutal than killing.”

“You…”

Erik realized he might have said something wrong.

“Mutants are divided into two camps,” Fang Mo began. “There are those like me, the conservative ones, and radicals like you.”

Smiling, Fang Mo continued, “You radicals believe mutants must fight for their rights, while I, as a conservative… think you radicals are too soft.”

“What are you planning?” Charles and Erik both asked, suddenly on high alert.

“Humans are peculiar creatures. They have a knack for biting the hand that feeds them,” Fang Mo said. “It’s like lending someone a phone charger, only for them to blast TikToks out loud afterward. So I’ve had a change of heart. Why not go big?”

“What do you mean by ‘go big?’” Logan asked, frowning. “Aren’t we trying to change history? Don’t make it worse.”

“Don’t worry. It won’t be a repeat of history because I’m going to use America’s most terrifying weapon this time—one far more powerful than nuclear missiles,” Fang Mo smiled devilishly. “They won’t stand a chance.”

“What weapon?” Everyone exchanged anxious glances.

“Have you ever heard of… political correctness?”