"Who?"
A hoarse voice came from the wheelchair, accompanied by clouded eyes that hid in the shadows.
"Don't worry, it's me, Logan."
Logan slowly entered the water tank and spoke cautiously.
Charles Xavier wheeled the chair forward a little, and light penetrated through the broken hole in the top of the tank, illuminating his face, full of wrinkles and age spots.
He looked up, his clouded eyes constantly scrutinizing Logan, and then, startled, he pulled the wheelchair away.
"No, you are not Logan, the Logan I know is not like this."
Logan hurried, approached the wheelchair, bent down, and whispered gently: "Don't worry, Professor, look closely at me, it really is me."
Charles, panicked, stared at Logan's face; his spirit gradually calmed down, and his clear blue eyes revealed disbelief.
"My God, Logan, you have aged so much! You look like an old man."
He extended a trembling hand, his palm like a withered tree, against Logan's wrinkled face, with an expression of distress.
"Professor, I am almost two hundred years old," Logan said indifferently, handing him the medicine bottle. He then took a bottle of water from a nearby table and uncapped the vial.
The Professor suffered from Alzheimer's and had a poor memory. He often miscalculated time and even people. During an attack, even if Magneto were standing in front of him, he probably wouldn't remember the old friend he deeply loved and hated.
Now, he was no longer the respected Professor X, but a fragile old man who couldn't even urinate by himself.
To avoid being chased and to prevent a catastrophe due to an accidental loss of control, he was confined to a small water tower, breathing dense, rust-smelling air.
"That's impossible! You have a healing factor. You should be in your prime now!"
The Professor's face suddenly darkened. "This must be a conspiracy! They are poisoning you, trying to choke you with their short life!"
Logan looked helplessly at the Professor, who had suddenly become furious. He handed him the medicine container and reassured him patiently: "Take your medicine first."
The Professor looked at the pills in the container with a face full of resistance. But when he looked up into Logan's unseeing gaze, he was like a child fearful of his parents. He extended a trembling palm, put the pill in his mouth, and swallowed it with water.
As the drug took effect, he gradually regained consciousness, and the Professor's clear blue eyes lit up again.
He looked at Logan and unconsciously asked, "Logan, when did you get back?"
Only then did the Professor regain his composure. He slumped in his chair, sighed, and said with some dejection: "I'm sorry, I lost my mind again."
"It's okay," Logan nodded, putting the bowl on the table next to him. "Do you want to lie down?"
The old man nodded. "I'm a little tired."
Logan picked up the Professor and carefully laid him on the bed, covering him with a blanket. "I met a wealthy client today. He's invited me into a big business deal. I can earn a lot of money."
"That sounds dangerous."
The Professor lay on the bed, holding the blanket in his hands, looking at Logan silently. "You're not in the shape you were when you were young."
"It's okay, don't worry, I'll be careful," Logan said, patting his shoulder reassuringly. The two sat by the head of the bed, chatting, like family, like father and son.
However, Logan was a hundred years older than Charles, who lay on the bed.
"Are you still thinking about buying a boat?" Charles suddenly asked. Without waiting for Logan's answer, he added: "Do you plan to spend your whole life on a boat with me, living such a miserable life? Are you willing to do that?"
"That's where we're going," Logan slowly shook his head. "We're old now, the mutant population has dwindled, and the government is chasing us. At sea, you, me, and anyone else normal would be safer."
"But that's not the life you want," Charles sighed, turning away from Logan.
He had always known Logan's feelings. He was not one to settle for mediocrity. The sea was not his true destination. It contradicted his original vision.
He didn't want to see Logan end his life drifting at sea. He could have had a more glorious life, but now Logan was abandoning it.
Logan was silent for a long time, then whispered: "I plan to look for a mutant sanctuary soon."
Charles was visibly stunned and quickly turned to look at Logan, making sure he wasn't just trying to humor him.
The frail old man suddenly smiled, pleased: "That's the real Logan. Difficulties will never trouble him."
He knew that finding a mutant sanctuary, finding his own community, meant Logan was ready to regroup.
This was the real Logan, not a drunken Uber driver.
The Professor looked him directly in the eyes, with a firmness hidden beneath his aged gaze. "Go and do what you want. You will be a great leader, and our community needs you."
Logan nodded silently.
Until yesterday, he had wanted to find a boat to sail the seas with the Professor, even finding a seller. Even the boat's name, the Sun Chaser, was the same one he once chose.
But, as the Professor had said, he was not willing to give up.
As a traveler, how could he accept it?
But now he was too old. His healing factor had been suppressed by the genetically modified food, and the adamantium was constantly poisoning his body.
Even if he was unwilling to age, this body could no longer endure his torment.
However, with the awakening of new abilities, his silent heart began to beat again yesterday.
New abilities, new hopes—perhaps, it's not over yet.
Logan slowly raised his head and looked outside through the hole in the water tower.
It was already night, and the setting sun on the horizon dyed the desert glow red.
"Ah."
Charles yawned a long, sleepy yawn.
He got sleepy after falling ill. Like many elderly people, he needed a lot of sleep, but his sleep was very shallow, and even slight noises could wake him up.
"Go to sleep."
Logan gently patted his shoulder and reassured him.
After Charles closed his clear blue eyes and his breathing gradually stabilized, Logan slowly stood up.
"Logan."
Charles suddenly woke up and grabbed Logan's wrist, like a child afraid of falling asleep.
"I'm outside."
Logan gently patted the back of his hand. "Don't worry, sleep, nothing will happen."
"Yes."
Charles carefully withdrew his hand and continued to close his eyes.
After making sure Charles was asleep, Logan sighed softly and carefully left the water tank.
After Logan left, Charles, who should have been asleep, suddenly opened his eyes.
His clear blue eyes shone, staring intently at the entrance to the water tank, muttering something meaningful to himself.
"Logan, Logan Howlett."