A Baffled Wolverine

The screen displayed yet another question:

[Professor Charles Xavier, overwhelmed with guilt and self-blame for failing to protect his students, falls into deep despair. Who helped him recover from this emotional blow and return to normal?]

[A: Wolverine/Logan Howlett

B: Magneto/Erik Lenhenserr

C: Beast/Hank

D: Mystique/Raven.]

Erik let out a long sigh, muttering, "Charles really failed to protect them. Sean and Alex paid a terrible price for his naivety. He should've listened to me. We have the power to establish a society for mutants ourselves, rather than letting humans divide and pit us against each other so easily!"

Logan licked his cracked lips, craving some whiskey and a cigar more than ever. "You should go talk to Charles yourself after you get back, discuss your plans with him. Telling me isn't going to change anything.

Let's just answer the question. We can rule out option A. In the future videos, my life path diverges completely from yours. At least at the time of those videos, I barely knew Charles."

Erik glanced over at Logan, surprised by how this usually half-hearted guy was suddenly so eager to participate. Perhaps he sensed that this strange game was nearing its end, and his competitive spirit had been ignited.

After a moment of thought, he said, "I'm certain we come from different parallel timelines. Based on your future video, when Charles was mired in self-blame, you were still out on the Vietnam battlefield. But something tells me that A might actually be the correct answer."

Logan fell into deep thought, understanding Erik's implication.

After a few rounds of this Quiz game, both of them—despite being rookies—had picked up on certain patterns or strategies for answering.

For instance, some options that looked completely implausible often turned out to be the right answer. They'd already encountered several of these unexpected questions before.

After silently mulling it over, the two decided to take a gamble and chose the seemingly unlikely answer: option A.

Meanwhile, Wanda and peter decided to play it safe. They, too, were aware of these little tricks in the game, but they weren't universal rules, so they chose B, believing that Erik, Charles's former friend, would be the one to help him out of his slump.

Soon, the countdown began, and both teams pressed their buzzers at the same time. Team A won the race to answer. When the countdown ended and the correct answer was revealed, Wanda and Peter exchanged bitter smiles.

[Team A answered incorrectly. Player Peter Parker and Player Wanda Maximoff each lose 4 points! Team B answered correctly. Player Logan Howlett and Player Erik Lenhenserr each gain 1 point!]

Peter shrugged, "Looks like we're getting farther and farther from winning this game... Miss Wanda, you said this game should be ending soon, right? So that means our chances of catching up are slim."

Wanda thought for a moment and replied, "The good news is that there doesn't seem to be any punishment for losing this time. At the start of the game, I remember hearing no mention of any penalty."

Peter was still a bit confused. "So, as we just discussed, Mr Logan doesn't really have much connection to the Professor or magneto. At least, not in the videos. He even turned down invitations from both the Professor and magneto back then. And based on Mr Logan's own future video, he was on the battlefield with Sabretooth during the Vietnam War. How could he have helped the Professor?"

Wanda shook her head; she wasn't sure either. They'd have to wait for the upcoming video to reveal the answer.

Soon, the screen started playing a video. In the footage, a slightly overgrown, desolate mansion came into view. An iron gate with a sign reading "Private Property - Keep Out" was in the foreground.

A sleek black car pulled up at the entrance. The driver, with rugged features, sunglasses, and a scruffy beard—a classic tough-guy look—was none other than Logan.

The mansion clearly belonged to Charles. Amid the weeds stood another sign: "Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters."

The sign had been taken down, and the former school grounds looked abandoned. Logan ignored the "Private Property" warning and drove directly into the yard, knocking on the door. But the person who answered wasn't Charles; it was Hank.

Hank was wary, not opening the door all the way, and instead peered through a small gap, cautiously assessing the uninvited guest.

Logan started asking him about the "school," only to find out it had been closed for years. Although Hank didn't let him in, he did introduce himself.

"So, you're Beast? Look at you, coming into your own now!" Logan took off his sunglasses, smirking playfully, as if he already knew him.

This made the Logan watching the screen feel even stranger. Judging by Hank's appearance, the video took place not long after the Cuban Missile Crisis. By all logic, Logan shouldn't have known Hank at that time, so why did he act so familiar?

In the video, Logan's offhand joke made Hank even more suspicious, and he was reluctant to let him in. But Logan was undeterred, calling for the Professor as he pushed the door open and barged in.

Hank tried to stop him, but his timid demeanor and appearance made it impossible to keep the tough-as-nails Wolverine out.

Logan was visibly impatient, saying he needed to see the Professor because he had something important to discuss, but Hank kept insisting that Charles wasn't there, even grabbing onto Logan to stop him.

Logan looked him straight in the eye and said, in a gruff tone, "Listen, kid. You and I are going to be good buddies one day." Then he punched Hank in the nose. "You just don't know it yet."

Poor Hank didn't see the punch coming. He staggered back, his nose throbbing, and fell to the ground as anger flooded his face, his skin beginning to turn blue, fur sprouting. But Logan, having thrown his punch, didn't see this transformation; he simply turned and continued upstairs, calling for the Professor.

Watching from outside the screen, Erik raised an eyebrow. "Still as hot-headed as ever, I see. But that conversation with Hank was interesting."

Logan continued watching, feeling a growing sense of strangeness.