The first time Hawking loaded the template, he was unconscious for a full day, and his body was very weak after waking up.
Now, he was only unconscious for an hour, and after waking up, his body was basically normal, without any weakness, just his usual healthy state.
He believed that after a period of further training, loading the template would likely no longer have any side effects.
"Have you contacted Professor?"
"No, I only reached Jean and Storm. They are rushing back from Boston and are expected to arrive tomorrow."
Wolverine handed the beer in his hand to Bobby, who blew into the bottle's mouth, and a bottle of ice-cold beer immediately appeared.
Not having contacted Professor X, it was almost certain that he had already been captured by Stryker.
Professor X's strength lay in his telepathy and mind control; his body itself was that of a normal human. He could be paralyzed by a bullet, and as he aged, he would suffer from senile dementia.
So, as long as one wasn't mind-controlled by him at close range, using remote-controlled machinery for a sneak attack, it wasn't difficult to deal with Professor X.
This was also why Professor X always brought Scott with him when he went out, because he needed protection.
Stryker exploited this point, suddenly closing the room when Professor X was visiting Magneto in prison, and before he could react, released a large amount of hypnotic gas to knock him out.
"Alright, then we'll wait for the teachers to return."
Hawking did not reveal anything about Stryker's plan, because it wasn't his place to say it. How could a child who had just come from Sokovia to attend school know so much about Mutants? It would be hard to explain afterward.
Even asking Wolverine to take him to check the Cerebro earlier was inappropriate, but Wolverine was thick-skinned so it didn't cause any issues; if it had been Professor X, he would have suspected him long ago.
Moreover, saying it now was useless. Stryker's Base was far away, by a large lake in Canada, and without the school's X-Jet, he and Wolverine couldn't fly there.
Of course, he couldn't completely ignore it. If Stryker succeeded in killing all Mutants on Earth, then little Pietro would not be spared, and his original plan of freeloading food, drinks, and Justice Points at the Mutant School would also be ruined.
Or, if Magneto eventually seized the opportunity, changed his goal, and killed all normal humans on Earth, that would be even worse, because he would also die.
Huh, he didn't seem to be a normal human anymore; he was a Saiyan.
But you never know with these things.
Leaving his fate in the hands of others was not his style.
"Steel boy will continue to contact Professor. I'll take the night watch, so you get some good rest!"
Wolverine patted Hawking's shoulder, telling him not to worry too much.
In his eyes, no matter how strong Hawking's combat power or how mature he was, he was still a child, and some things shouldn't be borne by children.
However, Hawking's stomach suddenly rumbled several times.
"Um... is there anything to eat here? I need to fill my stomach."
All the food he had eaten in the evening had been mostly consumed during the hour-long battle just now.
Seeing this, Wolverine smiled:
"Follow me, the Underground Room has everything!"
This was an emergency shelter Professor X had prepared for the school's students, so naturally, food and Water were considered. The beer in his hand was taken from the Underground Room.
After comforting Wanda and Pietro, Hawking followed Wolverine to the Villa's Underground Room.
"At this moment, I want to sing 'Heaven.'"
Looking at the boxes and boxes of chocolates, sausages, bread, drinks, and other miscellaneous foods piled up, Hawking's eyes immediately lit up.
His body was already ravenous and desperately needed these high-sugar, high-fat, and high-energy items for replenishment.
"Oh, damn it, I finally know who Yog was talking about, that kid who could eat so much!"
Watching boxes of food disappear, Wolverine's half-drunk beer froze in mid-air.
The next afternoon, a stealth fighter landed steadily on the lawn behind the large Villa.
"Jean, you're much later than the agreed time. I was worried you might have run into some trouble."
Looking at Phoenix emerging from the plane, Logan stepped forward and embraced her.
Storm, who was behind Phoenix, led a Mutant who looked like a legendary demon. She pointed to the plane door and explained:
"There were some unexpected incidents along the way; we met two unforeseen individuals."
Wolverine turned his head to look, and an old man wearing a special helmet and a blue-skinned female Mutant walked out.
"Friends, long time no see."
The old man raised his hand and greeted them with a smile.
Wolverine's expression immediately turned fierce, and his Adamantium claws instantly extended.
The arrivals were none other than Magneto and Mystique. Two years ago, they had a fierce life-and-death battle at the Statue of Liberty.
In that battle, Rogue was almost killed by Magneto.
"Logan, they are not enemies right now."
Seeing this, Phoenix quickly stopped Wolverine and patiently explained.
It turned out that after Stryker took Professor X, Mystique rescued Magneto from prison, and then he proactively contacted the X-Men to seek cooperation, saying they wanted to rescue Professor X together and save all Mutants.
"Magneto's goal isn't just to save Mutants; he also wants to take the opportunity to kill all humans."
Hawking, who was watching everything from the second-floor window, shook his head while gnawing on a large Virginia sausage.
He definitely had to go on the mission to Canada to rescue Professor X.
Whether it was saving Mutants or saving humans, either one would bring him a large amount of Justice Points, and perhaps the progress bar would be directly filled, unlocking a second protagonist template.
Again, he was unwilling to leave his fate in anyone's hands.
In the movie, this operation did succeed, but this wasn't a movie, and it was likely not the same Universe. The same events could very well have different outcomes; who could say for sure?
His very appearance had already created a butterfly effect, and everything in the future was bound to change significantly. The plots he knew in his mind could only serve as reference, never as dogma.
Otherwise, he might be tragically killed one day.
"Wanda, Pietro, you two stay here and watch TV with everyone. I'm going downstairs for a bit."
Seeing Magneto and the others enter the Villa, Hawking patted Wanda and Pietro's heads, gave them a few instructions, and then walked towards the stairs, arriving at the living room on the first floor.
"Still no news from Professor?"
"Child, don't worry, Professor is fine and will be back soon. We'll also be back at school very soon."
Storm saw Hawking come downstairs asking about Professor X, immediately stepped forward, and bent down to comfort him as if soothing a child.
She knew Hawking was a child Professor had just brought to the school, and she had seen him yesterday.
With the school in its current state, Hawking, a child who had just joined, must be very scared, especially with the only familiar Professor X absent.
Logan, who was behind her, showed a strange expression. This scene felt very incongruous to him.
Hawking was indeed a child, but after yesterday's battle, he really couldn't treat him entirely as one.