Chapter Twelve: The School of the Mutants.
Matt finished speaking and what he left in front of them were faces utterly shocked by what they had heard, especially after Karen produced conclusive evidence of Wilson Fisk's corruption, which quickly brought Jessica Jones and Luke Cage to their side.
The silence that followed Karen's words was heavy, as if a glass wall separated an exposed truth from an environment that could no longer believe what it saw.
For brief moments sounds seemed distant: a muffled breath here, the scrape of a chair there, exchanged glances that revealed only more questions.
Jessica lifted her head slowly; her eyes shone with the residue of both anger and sorrow, and in a low, booming voice laden with resolve she said, "If this evidence is real… then we truly have to act."
Luke turned his head to the table and clenched his fist; his hands trembled with the urge to strike and to act, not to sit and listen for more.
Matt stood without affectation, his eyes scanning the scene quickly as if his mind tried to arrange a plan despite the shock.
As for Iron Fist, he joined the team once he learned that Fisk had been collaborating with the Hand — their fiercest enemies — and that alliance between Fisk and the Hand was no trivial matter.
It was enough to awaken memories of old conflicts and to forge a joint plan with those who knew the Hand was not to be underestimated.
The three of them had fought the Hand alongside Matt before; that fact had not changed, but it had now become a decisive resolution: working together again was not an option but a necessity.
Lest Fisk destroy the city with his hand.
Yesterday, when Daniel spoke with Matt about his past, Daniel wanted to make sure that the discrepancies between the information he would hear and the information he already had were minimal.
Daniel found that Matt's account of how he gained his power remained as he knew it: chemicals that struck him in the eye as the result of a car accident.
That truth remained fixed in Matt's narrative, unchanged in essence.
Also, the fact that Stick — the blind man — existed and his whereabouts were unknown remained the same; that mysterious side persisted as it had — a trace of the past without excessive disclosure.
Likewise, the fact that he and the three — Iron Fist, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage — had collaborated in fighting the Hand in the recent past still stood.
What Daniel found different in this world was that the Hand did not possess a power that made them temporarily immortal; rather, they had chi in their bodies similar to Iron Fist's, but they could not overcome the Dragon.
Their level of chi did not compare to Iron Fist's in terms of internal magnitude.
This detail did not alter the history of the gang, but it explained a fundamental difference in the way they obtained their power.
They found a different method to increase the volume of chi inside themselves: by capturing ordinary people and forcibly extracting the small chi in their bodies and inserting it into themselves.
This brutal method matched the grim truth that every person carries a certain small amount of chi — a real point perverted into evil.
The scene: ordinary people dragged mercilessly, each body losing something vital, then collapsing and sinking into an immediate death.
From each person they exploited a small, fixed amount of chi, and naturally the ordinary people who had their chi taken died instantly.
This horrific fact was and remains a sufficient moral cause for absolute hatred of the Hand.
Their goal in New York — as it became clear — was that there were traces of a dragon with dense chi beneath New York; therefore, they were digging tunnels in an organized search for a legendary power source that could multiply their strength.
Daniel was stunned by this difference in this world because in his memories of the Hand there were almost no details about the method of "sustaining" power by stealing people's chi in such a violent way — the new information did not change the contours of the past but added a terrifying depth about what they were willing to do for power.
....
In the present, when the three stood shocked, Daniel said: "It seems now that you agree to join us as well. Know that we will attack Fisk's headquarters in just three days."
His words were steady and clear, but the tone carried weight — the weight of responsibility and of limited time under which they would work.
Preparation had already begun in their eyes: quick planning looks, questions about gear, mental assignments of roles.
Then Daniel asked Matt, "I'm leaving now—will you come with me?"
Matt said, "All right, I'm coming."
The answer was swift; doubts did not deter it.
Daniel and Matt hired a private car because the place they were heading to now was the school for mutants and no taxi would take them there.
So Matt had to rent a car — a simple but important practical step: getting to the location.
Deep in the state of New York, specifically in a small town called Salem Center in Westchester County, stands a grand mansion surrounded by woods on all sides, known as Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.
To the eye, the place looks like an upscale private educational institution, but in truth it holds a greater secret; it is the main headquarters of the X-Men and the safe haven for anyone born different.
Within its walls new mutants learn to control their powers, and plans are forged to protect a world that fears them more than it understands them.
The mansion itself is a blend of antiquity and advanced technology; its lower corridors conceal vast facilities, laboratories, and training rooms, the most notable of which is the "Danger Room," used to simulate battles and develop abilities.
Daniel and Matt now stood before the mansion and found someone greeting them with a smile as soon as Daniel's presence was noticed — he recognized him as Beast, the blue-bodied, powerful-bodied scientist with a brilliant mind.
He seemed to lean his head over books more than battle, but when needed he transformed into an agile beast of incredible strength.
The reception day showed no menace; Beast wore ordinary clothes, his glasses perched on the bridge of his nose, and his smile carried a spectrum of warmth and scientific curiosity.
Beast said, "Welcome to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. May I ask if either of you is a mutant and wishes to join?"
On the surface the question was conventional, but it carried something else behind it.
Daniel knew inwardly that this was not the actual intent of the question for Professor X; Charles knows all the mutants in the world with his device, and he must have read Matt's mind when they approached.
And they now knew why they were here.
In the past Daniel had been asked a question by Luna that was one of the most important questions because she noticed the greatest weakness in his system — that although in the future Daniel could acquire a very powerful template that no one could defeat, it was likely that someone could control his mind and make him switch to a weaker template or cancel his template, then easily eliminate him.
But Luna's reply was: [Daniel, do not fear — no one can control your mind because I am present and that is impossible since I exist in your mind; however other types of control such as control of the body I cannot intervene in, but you can also eliminate that control through different template skills like E, Marjana's, or tools like the Edge of Night].
This memory remained in Daniel's mind as an inner reassurance, something that echoed in his depths when he faced fears of losing control.
Back to the present: Daniel answered Beast, "Truthfully, we are not mutants, but we would like to speak with Professor Charles for a bit."
Their desire was clear and simple.
Beast looked at them for a moment and then smiled, saying, "Follow me."
He showed no hesitation.
Beast took Daniel and Matt to a place to sit where many young students were playing with their mutant powers.
The sounds of childish laughter and small displays of abilities formed a scene that eased the tension a little.
Daniel sensed inwardly that this was Charles's intention — to show the human side of mutants to strangers to lessen their phobia.
Seeing those children learning to control their powers without violence or malice granted them a temporary sense of safety; the school wanted to create that inner feeling in anyone who visited.
Charles Xavier dreamed of a world where a person would not be judged for what they were born as.
He saw mutants as the next step in human evolution, not a threat to it.
To him, power was not a reason for domination but a responsibility to protect.
He believed that fear could be healed by understanding, and that dialogue was stronger than war.
For this reason he founded Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters to be a bridge between two worlds — the world of humans who fear what they do not understand, and the world of mutants who seek acceptance, not control.
This belief had not changed, and it had now crystallized as a good reason to welcome people like Daniel and Matt.
That was why he put them in front of the young mutants as if to say to the two: look, they are just like human children and there is no danger from them.
The scene aimed to break down barriers and show that the real danger lies not in differing appearance or ability, but in intent.
And the people themselves entered.
Daniel was then surprised by the appearance of two more members of the X-Men, Scott Summers and Jean Grey.
Scott Summers (Cyclops), the team's field leader, whose eyes emit beams that can only be restrained by his special visor.
Despite his stern appearance, he carried a deep sense of responsibility and treated the team as if they were his family.
Then there was Jean Grey, the woman who blends beauty with an inner storm, possessing telepathic abilities that make her one of the most powerful mutants ever, yet she always fears the immense power within her — the power of the "Phoenix."
Daniel's heartbeat changed automatically when he saw Jean, and Matt noticed this — it was natural because Daniel now stood before some of the most powerful people in the Marvel world, who could destroy this world with forces they could not control.
It was a small moment of awe and terror, but it did not alter the facts: the presence of these people meant the possibility of strong support.
The first to speak was Scott: "Hello, I'm Scott, a teacher here at this school."
Daniel and Matt introduced themselves, then Jean did the same, and after a little conversation the two left.
Daniel, who knew them well, found this somewhat odd, but he kept those thoughts to himself as he pondered: (It seems Logan has not come here yet, or I do not know if he will come at all in this world.)
...
In Professor Charles's office he sat in his special chair with Beast standing before him, and when Jean and Scott entered the room they closed the door because they knew of Matt's power.
Professor Charles asked Jean, "Were you able to read his thoughts or not?"
Jean replied in surprise, "No, this is the first time I cannot read the thoughts of someone other than you."
The words were brief but heavy with an exception that raised real concern.
The suspense in the room waned, as if everyone there examined what that exception might mean.
Professor Charles inclined slightly and said, "I also cannot read his thoughts, but the other blind person who came with him is a good man indeed, no — he is wonderful. He has a good character and he did not look at us as monsters but as humans like himself, so I say we welcome them."
His statements were calm, measured, and wrapped in long experience in judging souls.
Here Scott objected: "No, this is very dangerous. A person whose thoughts you and Cerebro cannot read — that indicates how dangerous he is, and in my opinion we should throw them out of here or at least we should host Matt only."
His voice carried a practical fear — fear of the unknown.
Charles replied calmly: "If we do not want others to judge us for being different from them, then we must not do that ourselves."
His answer was a principle, not merely an opinion — a founding principle of the whole
school.
Scott hesitated on what he wanted to say and then fell silent.
Professor Charles said, "Then bring them in."