"Oh my god, did we really come to another world?"
Becca looked around in shock, a mix of wonder and anxiety in her eyes. The completely unfamiliar surroundings made her feel deeply unsettled.
Charles stepped forward with a reassuring smile. "Yes, just as I told you before—no one here will try to control you. You can live the life you want."
"This is unbelievable… absolutely unbelievable…" Becca murmured under her breath.
Just then, May walked over. She'd already heard about Becca and her son from Peter and was moved with sympathy. Smiling warmly, she said, "Thank you for taking care of Peter. Becca, like you, I've also raised a child on my own. Since you're new here, why don't you stay at my place for a while and take some time to adjust?"
Becca was immediately touched by the offer and didn't hesitate for long before agreeing.
Seeing this, Bruce asked Banner to escort them out.
Before they left, Charles added, "Ms. Butcher, I hope you'll seriously consider my suggestion. Ryan is a very special child. He needs special guidance."
"To be frank, he's a genius. Once you're settled, I invite you to come visit my school. I promise—it's the perfect place for someone like him."
The moment Charles met Ryan, he sensed the boy's immense potential. He also picked up on the lingering psychological effects from Becca's overprotective parenting and their long years of isolation. That kind of environment could easily warp a gifted child's path.
Charles was determined not to let a child with limitless potential go astray. And coincidentally, his "Super principal System" had just issued a special mission—to recruit Ryan into his school and help him develop. It was a long-term task, with a generous reward. Just getting Ryan enrolled would earn him 80 Teaching Points!
Not long ago, Charles had been racking his brain trying to earn 100 points. Now, this opportunity was too good to pass up: a talented student and points—truly a win-win.
The more he used it, the more Charles appreciated the Super principal System.
Becca was visibly hesitant under Charles' gaze. She had a good impression of him, but they simply didn't know each other well yet.
That's when May stepped in to help. "Mr. Xavier is truly remarkable. I'm even considering letting Peter attend his school. Becca, you really should give it some thought."
Then she turned to Charles and added, "But Mr. Xavier, we can't give you an answer right away. Your school's pretty far, after all."
Far, and let's be honest—dangerous. May had seen the future footage from the X-Men world. If she hadn't genuinely trusted Charles' abilities and character, she wouldn't be saying any of this.
Charles understood perfectly and gave her a grateful smile. "I'll address every concern you have. When you both have time, I'd love for you to visit the school."
"Of course," Becca and May both replied in unison this time.
Once Banner escorted them out, he quickly returned to the conference room. The rescue mission was far from over.
Bruce had agreed to Charles' request and was willing to travel to the X-Men's future timeline to help rescue those poor mutant children.
And aside from that, they still needed to save Stephen Strange.
"We'll split into two teams again, same as before," Bruce said. "I'll lead the team to rescue the mutant kids. Banner will take the other team to get Stephen."
Wanda would once again serve as their living radar. Pietro, however, was concerned about her condition.
But Wanda insisted she was fine. The effects of "Snow of Serenity" had been surprisingly effective. It would buy them enough time to complete both missions and maximize its benefits. Stopping now would just waste it.
With everything in place, Bruce opened a portal and stepped through with Charles and the Spider-Man one.
After the portal slowly closed, Banner opened another one, preparing to step through. But just then, the Ancient One walked in and waved them off.
"No need. Stephen's already back."
As soon as she said that, a portal glowed into existence beside her, and out stepped Doctor Strange.
Tony's eyes widened at the sight and he burst into laughter. "Stephen, what happened to you? You look awful—I barely recognized you."
Stephen really did look like a complete mess. His face was covered in grime, his clothes were torn to shreds, and even his signature Cloak of Levitation had holes all over it—he looked even worse than when Wanda was chasing him in that future video.
He coughed into his hand and shot Tony a glare.
Tony was confused. "Why are you giving me that look? I didn't do this to you!"
"You did!"
Stephen slumped into a chair and downed a large glass of water before catching his breath and muttering, "That world was insane. I'm going to have nightmares for weeks. Tony, do you have any idea how disgusting you look with half your face missing?"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Tony frowned. "It was just a joke, and now you're throwing personal insults?"
The Ancient One stepped in to explain, "The world he visited was… special. There were no living people there."
"No living people?" Everyone—Tony, Bruce, and the others—turned to Stephen in surprise.
He let out a deep sigh. "Yeah. No living people. That world was completely overrun by zombies. And the worst part? Every person we know… was one of them. Zombie versions of you, Captain America, Wanda… even myself."
The expression on Stephen's face was haunted as he slowly recounted his ordeal.
At first, when he arrived in that world, he actually felt lucky. The task seemed simple—just survive for 30 hours.
He didn't realize how bad things really were.
It became clear the moment he stepped onto the street and saw the swarms of zombies.
Still, he remained optimistic. Just a typical zombie apocalypse, he thought. With his powers, lasting 30 hours shouldn't be hard.
But then… he encountered zombie superheroes.
That's when things went from bad to downright hellish.
Stephen had seen it with his own eyes—Captain America, as a zombie, tearing into chunks of flesh, blood dripping from his mouth. Judging from the tattered clothes on the ground, it wasn't hard to guess what—or who—he'd been eating.
Stephen nearly threw up on the spot.
What made it worse was that the zombified superheroes still had their powers. In fact, in some ways, they'd even improved—losing their humanity had removed their limitations. They were faster, stronger, and far more ruthless.
It was a nightmare he wasn't going to forget any time soon.
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T/N: guys this is a new fanfic, please do support by giving it a reading and see if you like it or not.