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*****
"Could I borrow your phone for a moment?"
As the truck started up again, George immediately asked Gabriella.
Before devising a plan to rescue Tony Stark, he needed to thoroughly understand the history and current situation of this world to make a more accurate judgment and create a comprehensive plan.
The fastest way to gather information in this era, of course, was to use the internet on a smartphone.
"Sure, here you go."
Without a second thought, Gabriella handed her phone to George.
George began searching for the information he needed as the truck crossed into the Mexican border. He only returned the phone to Gabriella as the sky darkened.
"So that's how it is."
The history of this universe was not significantly different from the movie universe, except for the presence of mutants.
According to online news reports, mutants first became widely known in 1973.
The mutant Mystique attempted to assassinate Trask but was stopped, and Mystique became a hero to mutants while humanity gradually began accepting their existence.
In 1977, Quicksilver broke eight world records in sports, leading to a ban on mutants from participating in professional sports.
This differed from the movie universe, where Quicksilver was not born until 1990, and the movie versions of Quicksilver and Wanda were born in that year.
This discrepancy reminded him that he couldn't rely solely on movie plotlines to address future events.
Subsequently, the X-Men superhero team gained immense popularity, leading to numerous X-Men spin-off comics, including the one Little Wolf and the others had.
Many stories in these comics were based on real events involving the X-Men, though there were also many fictional elements, such as the so-called Eden.
In 1983, the Apocalypse event occurred, followed by the Westchester incident shortly thereafter. Professor X suffered a seizure, causing him to lose control and kill all the X-Men and mutant students at the school, as well as over 600 innocent humans.
Since then, Professor X was labeled a "weapon of mass destruction" by the U.S. government and was hunted down. Mutants went into hiding.
Now, more than twenty years later, most people had forgotten about mutants, with many new generations considering them merely fictional characters from comics.
Governments around the world seemed to be downplaying the history of mutants, as if to emphasize that the government, not mutant superheroes, was humanity's greatest support.
Before 1973, there was almost no news about mutants, which is why events like Steve Rogers becoming Captain America through the super-soldier serum and defeating Hydra in 1943 occurred.
At that time, Wolverine and Sabretooth were still ordinary soldiers, Professor X and Magneto were still children, and the Hellfire Club was hidden in the shadows.
"Have you considered searching for Wolverine and Professor X, who might still be alive?"
At this point, George had a rough plan in mind.
Although the history of this universe conflicted with what he knew, some things remained unchanged. He couldn't rely entirely on known information but couldn't ignore his advantages in this area either.
The initial reason for Tony Stark's kidnapping was likely still Obadiah Stane's attempt to eliminate Stark and monopolize Stark Industries.
However, his psychic abilities were not sufficient to extract information about the Ten Rings from Obadiah Stane to locate Tony Stark's captivity. This required Professor X's assistance.
Despite Professor X's seizures causing occasional loss of control, medication had greatly improved his condition, and his mind was mostly clear.
While he might not be as powerful as before, basic telepathic memory reading should still be feasible.
After all, Professor X could still occasionally communicate with Little Wolf from a distance.
With Wolverine as a formidable physical shield and his abilities in conjunction with Professor X's, rescuing Tony Stark would not be too difficult.
Though Wolverine was older, he was still a formidable force that even the most dangerous terrorists couldn't easily stop. Additionally, Gabriella had brought along several temporary enhancement serums for mutants during their escape, which could help restore some of Wolverine's strength.
"Also, the most important thing is that both of them have extensive experience in planning and executing missions, which is something Gabriella and the mutant children lack."
Truthfully, George was just as clueless abroad as Gabriella, if not more so.
"Have you considered searching for Wolverine and Professor X, who might still be alive?"
Gabriella replied, "We have looked for information about them before, but the only lead we found was that someone resembling Wolverine was working as a driver in El Paso. We have no other clues. Also, considering that Professor X is a fugitive, he might not be able to help us."
George nodded. In some respects, Gabriella's concerns were valid. Wolverine and the others were indeed in a precarious situation.
"I have a plan. If it succeeds, the children might be able to live freely without anyone controlling them, just like normal people."
He shared his plan with Gabriella openly.
His idea was simple: if Gabriella agreed, he was willing to invest more effort to help, seeing it as an investment in their future. If she did not agree, he wouldn't push it. He was not a saint; after delivering the children to their destination, he would leave and complete his plan, settling in New York.
Moreover, his choice might not necessarily be the best for the children. They might fare better in Canada.
Hearing George's plan, Gabriella fell into deep thought.
She was very conflicted. To be honest, she had little faith in the Canadian government. As someone who grew up in Juárez, she found it hard to trust any government.
But George's plan also carried significant risks.
If George failed to rescue Tony Stark and missed the agreed-upon time with the Canadian government, the children would inevitably be recaptured by the lab and cruelly killed.
Also, would Wolverine and Professor X be willing to help?
Seeing Gabriella's dilemma, George added, "If Wolverine and Professor X are unwilling to help or if we don't return by Friday at five, you should proceed with the original plan and cross the border into Canada."
Today was Saturday, giving them six days until next Friday. If everything went smoothly, six days should be enough to rescue Tony Stark.
"Alright, George. Thank you so much!"
Gabriella nodded gratefully.
In fact, George could have left on his own without helping them. Given his abilities and intelligence, escaping the lab's pursuit would not have been difficult.
Yet, he chose to stay and help them, trying to find a better way for them to survive.
"No need to thank me. I'm like them—an experiment from the lab. I guess I'm their older brother in a way."
George smiled with a sense of resignation.
"Actually, given your creation timeline, you're probably the youngest among them."
Gabriella seemed to have a sudden realization and laughed.
Hearing this, George couldn't help but smile. It was true; his current body had only been created less than a year ago, making him indeed the youngest mutant in the lab.
(End of Chapter)