"As for their ultimate goal in doing so, it's probably just to continue profiteering off of Shi'ar Empire's economy. For years, they've been stirring public opinion, leaving their opponents caught up in damage control without the resources to implement new economic policies, and slipping punches in a defensive position."
"And eventually, the ones to annihilate this group of robots may well be the people of the Shi'ar Empire, because they don't want their enemy's smear campaign to succeed. As for the ones who hunted you down…" Shiller's voice trailed off, as if he was lost in thought.
But Rocket Raccoon stared at Shiller with his shiny black eyes, eager for him to provide an answer. Shiller paused for a moment, then said, "I don't think it was any of the other two major empires or the Shi'ar Empire."
"Why is that?"
"Because, as we've deduced, the robots probably weren't made by the Shi'ar Empire. So even if there are alarms in the final agreement, the Shi'ar Empire wouldn't be able to receive them. And even if the Kree Empire or the Skrull Empire received the warnings, they wouldn't care."
"To stir up massive public opinion, it can't be done with just a few people running their mouths. There must be a full-scale promotional plan behind the scenes. If you, not them, are the main targets, and if no one arranged the promotional plan for you, even if they know you're still alive, they won't go through all the trouble for a raccoon who isn't even a humanoid."
"I'm not a raccoon!" Rocket Raccoon's tone became somewhat resentful. He paced back and forth on the table, spreading his hands out and asked, "Then why did all of this happen to me? I'm badly injured, I nearly died from torture!"
"You were right about one thing. Your experiences in the Half-World Insane Asylum and the plan in your underlying protocols could very well be the most valuable parts of you." Shiller said, resting his chin on his hand.
"Whoever's after you probably wants that part too. Did what's written in your underlying protocols say how they're going to execute the plan?"
Rocket Raccoon paused before answering, "It's all very vague. Just some experiments or something. I didn't pay much attention. Fine, if you're interested, I'll take a look. Let me see…"
"What's all this? These data must be outdated, none of this works …" Rocket Raccoon muttered to himself continually. Suddenly, he let out a startled cry, "Wait, it says here they want to use the power of the 'Crystal'… what's this Crystal?"
"Crystals?" Shiller repeated the word, and leaned in to meet Rockets' eyes. "What Crystals? Does it have a name?"
"M'Kraan... Crystal?"
With some difficulty, Rocket managed to spit out the word. He opened his mouth to say, "Just the name. It doesn't say what it is."
Shiller paused for a moment, finding this name familiar. But he could not recall which comic, which storyline it came from.
For a more thorough search, he would need to return to the archives in his high tower and flip through each comic book. But he didn't have time for that now, so he opted to put that line of inquiry on hold.
Just when Shiller was about to say something else, his phone suddenly rang. He made an apologetic gesture to Rocket Raccoon, then picked up the phone.
"Hello? Oh, JARVIS. What's up? Wanda is looking for me? What does she want? She's coming over here herself? Why would she…"
Before Shiller could finish his sentence, a red light flashed in the air, and the Scarlet Witch teleported into the room. Shiller looked at her helplessly and remarked, "I forgot, Wanda isn't one to let a little thing like Asgard's protective shield stop her."
"Doctor Shiller, I'm sorry for my impoliteness, but I'm really in a rush!" Wanda rubbed her wrists, her eyes wide as she said to Shiller, "This involves Professor Charles' life!"
"Huh?" Shiller let out a surprised note.
With a look of urgency on her face, Wanda pulled Shiller down onto the sofa and poured herself a glass of water which she gulped down. Then she looked at Shiller and said, "I've just come back from Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. The X-Men called me over."
Miss Witch swiveled her eyes, adopting a gossipy look as she turned to Shiller. "You have no idea how crazy Professor Charles' past relationships are. They took me all afternoon to hear!"
"Um, so?"
"Fine, the other relationships aren't important. The key one is the Queen, Lilandra from Shi'ar Empire! Professor Charles never forgets her!"
Shiller blinked in confusion, placing one hand on his hip as he looked at Wanda. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but mind reading is Professor Charles' ability, isn't it? So how do you know too? How do you even know he hasn't forgotten her?"
"We wouldn't have known from the get-go." With an emphasis in her voice, Wanda said, "But Charles' actions showed it. As soon as he heard Queen Lilandra was coming to the King of Asgard's wedding, he immediately took an invitation from Magneto. He wants to reunite with the Queen at the banquet!"
Shiller's eyes widened, he turned to Wanda and asked, "Professor Charles is here too? Why didn't I see him?"
"That's the problem." Wanda sighed. "Magneto is staunchly against their reconciliation. He's been keeping Charles indoors and preventing him from socializing. That madman is trying to play spoil sport and ruin Charles' chance for happiness in his later life!"
"What?"
With a sigh, the Scarlet Witch said, "It's a mess. I spent hours just hearing half of it... forget it, there's no time to explain. I'll cut to the chase."
"Jean Grey and the others told me that the current Queen of Shi'ar Empire wasn't originally the first successor. Back then, Lilandra Neramani was just a lesser-favored princess, while her brother, D'Ken Neramani, was the crown prince."
"After D'Ken ascended the throne, he got lost in the whirlpool of power, always wanting to use a divine artifact, a... some sort of crystal, to accomplish a certain plan. Lilandra repeatedly advised him against it, which resulted in her being hunted."
"After Princess Lilandra fled, she used the mental magic unique to the Ferocious Feather Tribe to establish a vague connection with Professor Charles. She came to Earth and asked Charles for help. The mutants, under Lilandra's guidance, went to the Ferocious Feather Star, defeated D'Ken, and only then the Queen was able to ascend the throne."
"Wait a minute!" Shiller interrupted Wanda. Rocket Raccoon also jumped over to Shiller's side, and the two of them stared at Wanda. Shiller asked:
"That Emperor D'Ken you mentioned, what is the name of the crystal he wanted to use?"
"Err, the name is a bit of a mouthful, let me think… I think it's the... M'Kraan Crystal?"