"Understood. Get them settled first, then return for a detailed mission debrief."
Nick Fury hung up the phone and pulled a folder from his desk that he had been preparing for years: the "Avengers Initiative." Opening the file, he added the names of Professor X and Logan to the candidate list. He paused for a few seconds, then added "Son Goku," followed by a large question mark.
Professor X was a master telepath and a genius of psychology; if he wanted to lie, even the Black Widow wouldn't be able to tell. Therefore, the question of whether Goku was the Great Ape remained open.
Fury hadn't sent the group back to the original school in Westchester. Instead, he chose a secluded, repurposed base on an island near New York to serve as the new mutant academy.
This was a strategic precaution. If Goku truly was the beast and transformed again, an island surrounded by miles of ocean would minimize the damage. Furthermore, by the time that happened, Professor X would have his powers restored and could use telepathy to subdue the creature.
This was one of the primary reasons Fury had promised to help the Professor and Logan recover. He had spent years studying Charles's personality: the man was a genuine ally to humanity and fit the criteria for an Avenger perfectly.
He was also unparalleled at developing and guiding mutant talent. Under his mentorship, those refugee children would likely become formidable assets.
Of course, even while trusting the Professor's character, Fury prepared countermeasures. A telepath of Charles's caliber was a sharp blade, but in the wrong hands, he could lead humanity to ruin. Fury decided he would only fully restore the Professor's X-gene once a fail-safe "neutralizer" was successfully developed.
...
The S.H.I.E.L.D. convoy arrived at the New Mexico base and boarded a transport plane to North Dakota. There, they picked up the sixteen mutant children at the border and took off toward the private island near New York.
As the plane soared over the glowing skyline of downtown Manhattan, the sky outside turned a deep, velvety black.
On the plane, Goku watched the dark night through the window, then settled back into his seat and slowly closed his eyes. It was late, and he was a growing boy; it was time for sleep. He figured that once he saw Auntie Gabriela and the others safely to their new home, he would leave to continue his journey of self-improvement.
Three seconds later, Goku's silhouette vanished from his seat.
Laura, sitting right next to him, witnessed the event with wide eyes. She scrambled up and shook the back of Logan's seat violently.
"Son Goku is gone!"
"You... you can talk?" Logan turned around in shock. He looked at the empty seat beside her, not yet grasping the severity of the situation. "Did the kid just go to the bathroom?"
"He vanished! He just disappeared in a blink!" Laura insisted loudly.
Her shouting drew the attention of the Professor, Natasha, and the other agents. They searched every inch of the plane, including the cargo hold and restrooms. When they finally pulled the internal security footage, they saw it: Goku had simply blinked out of existence while sitting perfectly still.
"Professor, do you have any idea what happened?" Natasha asked, her brow furrowed in frustration.
Charles gave a naturally puzzled shake of his head. "You have to remember, Agent, we only met the boy two days before you did."
Only after Natasha left to report to the Director did Charles murmur to himself: 'Good luck on your own, Little Goku.'
S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't know Goku was the Great Ape, but Charles did. Because of that, he had noticed a detail they had missed: the Great Ape had vanished at the end of the battle, and Goku had reappeared in the morning. Through quiet questioning, Charles had discovered Goku's unique "sleeping habit"—he vanished whenever he fell asleep and reappeared in the same spot when he woke up.
Charles had intentionally stalled for time in North Dakota so the plane would be in the air when Goku fell asleep. He had told the boy they were safe now, giving him the silent "green light" to continue his own training.
Charles didn't want the boy to be imprisoned on an island, even a comfortable one. Without S.H.I.E.L.D.'s permission, the island was just a gilded cage, and Goku was far too free a spirit for that.
As for whether Goku would be caught later? After seeing him hold his own against Magneto, Charles felt that as long as the boy didn't want to be caught, no one could force him. Besides, with his tail removed, he looked like any other human child. He could disappear into any city in the world.
...
The next morning, Goku woke up in the white void, his stomach grumbling for breakfast.
"Aw, man! I forgot I'd come back here if I fell asleep!" He scratched his head, looking around the familiar empty space. "Oh well, at least Auntie Gabriela and the others are safe."
He quickly tossed the minor inconvenience aside. This was just another part of his journey—like helping Upa defeat the Red Ribbon Army, or saving the Princess in the Demon Realm. His work in that world was done. It was time for a new stage of his training.
He walked toward the door labeled "MARVEL," but paused just as his hand touched the handle. He felt a strange pull from the door next to it.
"HARRY POTTER."
The doors in this white space were gateways to different worlds. In the last place, he'd met Gabriela and fought that super-strong old man, Magneto. He'd also eaten some amazing food. It had been great training, and he felt significantly stronger.
Why not try a new door? Why not see where this one led?
A normal person might have spent hours or days agonizing over the risks of entering an unknown reality. But Goku wasn't a normal person. Driven by pure, unadulterated curiosity and the hope of finding more strong opponents to spar with, he pushed open the door to the "Harry Potter" world without a second thought.
He'd find some master fighters here, and once the Dragon Balls turned back from stone, he'd go find Bulma, get the radar, and wish back all those soldiers he'd accidentally killed as a monster.
***
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