"What do you need us to do? Just tell us," Charles said, though a bit puzzled.
Ultron pulled out two small patches and handed them to Charles and Erik, saying, "Place these on your temples."
Charles examined the patch. It was a small, thumb-sized soft gel pad. A gentle squeeze revealed a tiny chip embedded inside. Following Ultron's instructions, both Charles and Erik adhered the patches to their temples.
Ultron nodded in satisfaction and explained, "These are neural connectors. I'm going to transmit your consciousness into a mental space. Think carefully about everything that happened when you encountered Jean Grey, especially the scenes when she attacked you. Even an approximate recollection will help me gather the data I need to build the suppressor."
Charles and Erik exchanged nods, signaling their readiness. Ultron gave an "OK" gesture and began a countdown.
"You're about to enter the mental space. You may feel some discomfort, but don't panic. Stay calm and focused, and recall that day's events as clearly as you can. 3, 2, 1—initiating connection!"
As soon as Ultron finished speaking, Charles and Erik both jolted, their breathing growing rapid.
In their consciousness, they felt as if they were falling into a bottomless abyss, plunging endlessly. The sudden sensation of freefall triggered an instinctive tension. Their hands gripped the armrests of their chairs tightly.
Charles's nervousness activated his subconscious control over nearby metallic objects. Anything containing metal, no matter how small, began to float slightly.
"What the heck is happening?"
Pietro, alarmed by the scene, immediately ducked behind Ultron. As a speedster, his reflexes always pushed him to seek safety first, and hiding behind the battle-ready Ultron seemed the wisest choice.
Ultron rolled his eyes at Pietro's behavior but then focused on Charles and Erik, commanding in a low voice, "Steady your minds!"
The stern tone jolted Charles and Erik again, helping them regain focus.
"That's right. Ultron mentioned there would be discomfort. I need to calm down."
Charles's breathing gradually evened out. In his consciousness, his freefall slowed until he came to a halt. The surrounding environment began to change, and soon he found himself in the memory of the small town where Jean Grey resided.
"Charles, are you alright?"
Erik, already present in the mental recreation of the town, hurried over to him. As a telepath, Erik had better control over such situations and had arrived in the mental space earlier.
"I'm fine. Let's get to work," Charles replied, waving off Erik's concern.
Erik nodded and placed a hand on Charles's shoulder, activating his telepathic ability. The scene around them shifted, bringing them closer to Jean Grey's house.
There, they saw two figures—it was themselves, from the past. Being inside a memory, the scene naturally included their previous selves.
The two observed their past confrontation with Jean Grey from a close distance. They both focused on recalling as much detail as possible to provide Ultron with precise information.
In the memory, Jean was still a mutant child, so Charles and Erik hadn't taken aggressive measures, opting instead to deflect her attacks.
Suddenly, the Jean Grey from their memory was enveloped in a golden light. Her movements diverged sharply from what Charles and Erik remembered.
Then, to their shock, the space around Jean twisted violently. She turned her gaze toward the real Charles and Erik, the ones observing the memory.
"What is this? Your memory?" Jean said, her voice resonating eerily. "To be able to do something like this—you two are impressive."
Her unexpected awareness left both Charles and Erik frozen in place, their scalps tingling with fear.
A single, ambiguous remark from Jean Grey was enough to leave Charles and Erik completely stunned. Their gazes locked on the 15 or 16-year-old girl floating before them.
"This is impossible! Absolutely impossible! This is our memory space—how could she have independent awareness here?" Erik muttered, disbelief clouding his voice. Such a feat was beyond his own abilities. After all, this was someone else's memory; it should be impossible for her to control herself within it. "Her power is definitely more than simple telepathy!"
At this moment, Jean Grey, still in her mid-teens, radiated an air of raw power. Her eyes glowed with a golden light, and her hands and feet were surrounded by shimmering orbs of golden energy.
As the golden light enveloped her, she rose into the air, hovering above the ground.
The radiant glow made her appear almost godlike, and an unsettling feeling crept into Charles and Erik's hearts. It was a feeling they wouldn't fully understand until years later—a primal sense of imminent death.
"You weren't satisfied fighting me outside? Now you've come here, into your own memories, just to lose again? Fine. I'll grant you that wish!"
Jean raised her right hand, summoning a brilliant golden orb of light in her palm. With a flick of her wrist, she hurled the orb at Charles and Erik. As it traveled through the air, faint distortions and cracks appeared in the fabric of the memory space itself.
Charles and Erik immediately realized they couldn't withstand the attack. Just as the orb approached, the space in front of them twisted into a swirling vortex, swallowing the golden orb before it could reach them.
"Well, well! Having independent action within someone else's memory—she truly isn't an ordinary mutant!"
The space in front of Charles rippled and warped again. From the distortion emerged two figures—Ultron and Pietro.
"Good thing I can control space," Ultron said with a faint chuckle. "Even though this is just a mental construct, it still counts as a type of space. Without that, your attack might've been too much for me to handle."
His casual tone carried a hint of confidence, a testament to his mastery of spatial manipulation. This ability came from his current body—a construct called the Heavenly Fiend Puppet.
The Heavenly Fiend Puppet originated from the Fire Continent, crafted by the Flame Emperor Xiao Yan. Refined to the pinnacle level of Dou Zun, it granted control over space itself—a power Dou Zun-level beings were known for.
Ultron hadn't wasted the potential of this extraordinary body. Rather than treating it as just another vessel, he had thoroughly explored its abilities, mastering its spatial control to perfection.
Standing beside him, Pietro looked at Ultron with envy, his voice tinged with playful frustration. "Man, it's so unfair! You always get all the coolest powers. And me? All I've got is speed. And let's face it—speed isn't exactly something a guy wants to brag about. Seriously, what kind of guy wants to say he's 'fast'? Ugh!"
Ultron let out an amused laugh, while Charles and Erik exchanged relieved but bewildered looks.
The tension lingered as the group prepared for whatever might come next.
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