Sebastian did not stay long at the settlement. He said goodbye to the Avengers and the other heroes before disappearing completely from view.
Reed and the Fantastic Four were not participating in this particular operation. Their recent intense battle against the Mole Man had been quite troublesome and exhausting, consuming much of their time and energy, so Sebastian had not called them in at this time.
Returning to Hogwarts, Sebastian rested briefly to recover his strength, answered the five students' numerous questions about the mission, and under their somewhat resentful gazes, assigned some additional homework before finally returning to his own private office.
Retrieving a complex diagram densely inscribed with mystical symbols and intricate magic circles, and gathering along with it sufficient materials for his project, Sebastian once again activated the Space Stone's immense power, transforming himself into a beam of brilliant azure light that soared into the sky, tearing through the fabric of reality and returning to the X-Men world.
The azure light descended from the sky like a falling star, causing a celestial phenomenon and unusual atmospheric events that immediately caught the attention of everyone at the X-Men Academy.
As Sebastian emerged from the falling azure light with his characteristic dramatic flair, he immediately spotted Wolverine, Logan, and Storm, Ororo, waiting there for his arrival.
"Hey, long time no see everyone."
Logan shrugged casually and said with his typical gruffness, "Not that long, only about a year or so."
Walking towards the academy building with Logan and Ororo like old friends reuniting, Sebastian asked with genuine interest, "How has the academy been going lately? There are not any major problems, are there?"
"Since the Sentinel incident was resolved, mutants from all over the world have gradually begun to integrate into human society. Following your wise suggestion, we X-Men and the human government have joined forces to capture those dangerous individuals and mutant criminals who refuse to coexist peacefully.
Eric and the others have cooperated with the United Nations to build a specialized mutant prison specifically designed for holding mutant criminals securely.
Although the deep-seated hatred between humans and mutants has not been completely eliminated from society, it is at least much better than it was before. At least some young people who are quick to accept new ideas have begun to get along with mutant teenagers in a genuinely friendly manner."
"In that case, it is a very good start for both communities. We only need to wait twenty to thirty years, and as generations pass and change, humans and mutants will sooner or later become indistinguishable from one another. After all, you are all human beings at your core, and in fact, you are all compatriots sharing the same world."
"That is exactly right, humans and mutants are fundamentally the same."
Hearing this familiar voice from ahead, Sebastian immediately smiled warmly and looked forward, saying to the gentle middle-aged man sitting calmly in the wheelchair, "Long time no see, Charles."
"It has indeed been a long time, Sebastian."
Walking forward, Sebastian stretched out his hand to take control of Charles' wheelchair. As he began pushing it toward Charles' office, he said to him with curiosity, "Charles, is not Raven at the academy right now?"
"Raven took Scott, Kurt, Jean and several others to investigate a case of missing mutants. It seems that there have been numerous cases of missing mutants recently. We have cooperated with the special task force of the United Nations and started investigating this troubling matter."
Frowning slightly with concern, Sebastian said, "Logan did not mention this just now when we spoke. He said that nothing particularly special has happened recently."
Sighing with weariness, Charles said, "This is indeed not a special thing in the way you might think, because mutants disappear every year unfortunately. It is just that mutants have always been hiding underground in society, so even if they disappeared, no one knew or cared. Now that the status of mutants has been improved and we are more visible, the problem of disappearances has become much more apparent. In fact, the problem of missing mutants has already existed for years. Strictly speaking, this is indeed not a special incident, just a newly visible one."
"No clues at all?"
"No concrete clues yet. The missing mutants did not leave any traces or clues behind, so we suspect these abductions might have been done by other mutants with specific abilities!"
Sebastian nodded thoughtfully. He did not continue to talk about this troubling topic with Charles. The two of them changed the subject tacitly and sat down comfortably in Charles' spacious office. Charles gave Sebastian a glass of cold soda water, and he poured half a glass of wine for himself.
"Sebastian, from what I know about you and your patterns, if you do not have other important things to do, it is unlikely that you will come to our world, so can you tell me what you want to accomplish this time you come here?"
"It is actually quite simple. I plan to set up a permanent teleportation array here, a stable teleportation array connecting my world to your world!"
Hearing this ambitious declaration, even someone as steady and composed as Charles could not help but look at Sebastian in surprise. After a long moment of stunned silence, he said, "Have you actually completed this part of the technology?"
"It is completed in theory, but it requires Hank's help to make it work. There are still some significant technological issues involved. I asked two friends to help me with the magical aspects. I want to handle the technological things by myself, which is a bit beyond my capabilities I must admit."
"Of course we will help, in fact, Hank has been locking himself in the laboratory recently, except for spending time with Raven, to study the fragment of the Cosmic Cube you left behind. I think he should be able to help considerably."
Charles knew very well that Sebastian could travel between the two parallel universes because of the Space Stone. Naturally, the fragment of the Cosmic Cube that is closely related to the Space Stone must be connected to the Space Stone somehow.
"If that is the case, that is absolutely fantastic. I will stay here for a while until the teleportation array is completely functional. I am planning to build it somewhere near the academy. What do you think about that, Charles?"
"We can definitely build it near the academy so we can properly maintain the array as well. But Sebastian, you are planning to build a permanent connection between the two universes. Are you planning to recruit students to learn your magic in this universe as well?"
Sebastian did not hide anything from Charles. He nodded and said, "Yes, I do have that idea in mind. It also allows us to support each other across dimensions. If there is any problem in my world, my power in that world can come here for sanctuary or reinforcements. Otherwise, it would be a bit stretched if I were alone trying to manage both worlds."
Sebastian did not finish all his thoughts out loud. If there was any problem in this world, Sebastian could send someone to help, and if there was any problem in his world, Charles could also send someone to help in return. Charles understood this unspoken arrangement perfectly, so neither of them said anything more, but tacitly agreed to the mutual defense pact.
Time passed quickly. When Raven and her team finally returned to rest after their investigation, Hank also walked out of the lab in perfect synchronization, washed up thoroughly, and greeted Raven at the entrance.
Flowers, a romantic dinner, a clean and well-dressed man.
Sometimes, when honest people become romantic, they are the most deadly effective.
Sebastian did not disturb them at this time, but chose to have dinner with the other academy members instead. Looking at these familiar faces gathered around the table, Sebastian did not talk about anything particularly important. He just ate and listened to the others' interesting stories and amusing anecdotes, and once again experienced the pleasant days of his previous life at school.