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….
Shortly before this, Westchester, New York.
"Is your presence here something like creating a copy?" Cyclops probed, examining the guest puzzledly.
"No," the young man in the impeccable suit shook his head, "what you see is a phantom under direct control."
"But how can you control a body both here and there at the same time?"
"Split attention. My brain is superior to a human's, and I can afford to do several things at once."
"How are things with Magneto?" Xavier intervened in the dialogue with notes of concern in his voice.
"Flying for now," Loki shrugged, examining satellite images of New York and the surrounding area on a laptop screen. "Just had a heartfelt chat about his political program. Wouldn't say I heard anything new, but I'm pleasantly surprised by the solidity of his position."
"You agree with him?" Cyclops asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
"He says the right things, relies on hard facts, and draws correct conclusions from them. Honestly, I expected much less from a terrorist hunting an innocent girl."
"And yet he is wrong," Jean shook her head.
"On the contrary, Dr. Grey," Loki tore his gaze from the screen and chuckled slightly, "he is absolutely right. But that is the root cause of all real conflicts, that there is far more than one right decision and correct answer. Were it otherwise, any enmity would be extinguished at the level of checking logic in conflicting views."
"How can starting a war be the right and correct decision?" Storm joined the conversation.
"Very simply," the self-proclaimed God shrugged, returning his eyes to the screen. "If World War II had started with Britain and France striking Hitler when he first began to occupy Czechoslovakia, it would, of course, have led to casualties and losses."
"But those casualties would have been orders of magnitude fewer than what happened in real history. In that case, war and a preemptive strike would have been the correct decision capable of saving many millions. Just as your Southerners in the Civil War should have struck first and taken Washington, not waiting for the enemy to gather strength and attack themselves."
"But they preferred to play at diplomacy and peacefulness, which ended in rivers of blood and the enemy's victory. So one can always find a moment when a preemptive strike brings more benefit than its absence. It's another matter that there is also almost always a way to do without war entirely."
"For example, if the Americans hadn't given money to Hitler, the Third Reich would never have risen. True, America then wouldn't have become the premier power on Earth, enriching itself on military orders. In short, in geopolitics, everything is always complicated and interconnected, and a benefit for one does not equal a benefit for another."
"What are…" Scott shook his head, trying to process what he had heard. "What did you just say about America helping Hitler?"
"Hm? Oh, you don't know?" Loki was surprised, raising his green eyes to the group. "Then I didn't say anything," he shrugged immediately and turned back to the computer, teasing the audience with a hidden smile playing at the corners of his lips.
"And were there such moments in Asgard's history?" gesturing to stop his students from further comments, the professor spoke up, staring intently at the guest.
"Of course," he nodded. "If Odin hadn't struck the Jotun army when they first invaded Earth, your world would now be a ball covered in a solid crust of ice without a hint of humanity. And if Odin's father, Bor, hadn't attacked Svartalfheim, our galaxy stood a good chance of perishing from a weapon that alters the physical laws of reality."
"You believe that yourself?" Wolverine snorted skeptically.
"I've been to Svartalfheim and Jotunheim. If a human can survive for some time in the former on imported supplies, in the latter they'd freeze to death in two minutes even in very warm clothes."
"I am curious," Professor Xavier steepled his hands in front of his face, resting his elbows on the armrests of his chair, "in this conflict, you are an outside observer, Loki. So, based on what has been said, whom do you consider more right? Now that you have spoken with both of us personally? Erik, with his desire to start a war by acting preemptively, or me, the one who 'plays at diplomacy' and obstructs this war?"
"As I already said, there is always more than one correct decision," the dapper brunet smiled at the host. "You are both right and, to be honest, this world needs both of you, simultaneously. Magneto, as a boogeyman for the authorities and a leader capable of uniting and leading mutants into battle if the worst-case scenario unfolds."
"You, as a buffer between radicals on both sides and a way for sane forces to reach a compromise where blood would otherwise flow. Each playing your role to the proper extent, you can make this world better. The only bad thing is that, despite all your power, you aren't the only ones playing this game, and the actions of other players can break any good beginnings."
"Alas," Charles let out a bitter smile with a sigh, "even without the machinations of other players, good beginnings go awry too often."
Suddenly, the sound of a doorbell came from the hallway, forcing those gathered in Professor Xavier's office to interrupt their conversation.
"I'll get it," Storm gathered herself to head to the door, only to recoil in astonishment literally a minute later.
"I need Dr. Jean Grey," fighting heavy shortness of breath, a subject covered in profuse sweat wheezed across the threshold, almost hanging on the doorframe.
"Senator Kelly?" the girl voiced the reason for her amazement, but the late visitor was already rolling his eyes, definitely fainting.
"Damn it!" catching the falling body at the last moment, Ororo cursed.
….
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