After finishing his class, Erik arrived at Hank's lab, where they had agreed to meet.
"Hey, leader!" As soon as he entered, he was recognized by Mariano Arini, a fan of Magneto, whose face was full of surprise.
It seemed that after the real Magneto was imprisoned, his fans had moved on. Though Mariano knew Erik wasn't the same person, he still insisted on calling him by the old name.
"Hello, Arini." Erik smiled and nodded at the young man, who he also liked.
At that moment, many people walked out of the break room. They were all mutants with various abilities, but they shared one thing in common: they all had some kind of defect.
Take Mariano, for example. His physical strength was incredibly powerful, almost as strong as Colossus, but God had given him this gift in exchange for his health. His joints were as stiff as rusted robot parts, and whenever the weather was cold, he would writhe in pain on the ground.
Then there was Nick Reines, the overweight man in his fifties who once thought of Erik as Magneto. He had been abandoned by his lover and had fallen into Stryker's hands, undergoing inhumane modifications. Sometimes, blades would spring from his body, causing excruciating pain, just like the sharp agony Logan had experienced.
There were many others like them, and in the past, Hank was their only hope. The serum he invented when he was younger could temporarily suppress their mutant transformations, allowing them to forget their troubles.
But now things were different. They had a new option. The data obtained from the persecution of mutants had been redirected and was now benefiting these poor people, helping them escape from their suffering.
Erik handed over all the materials he had brought back from Stryker to Hank. By studying them, Hank had found many useful methods. These mutants finally had a glimmer of hope, and Hank made sure to let everyone know. As a result, Erik was met with a lot of gratitude.
"Mr. Erik, thank you." A mutant with a face full of wrinkles, looking even older than Professor X, grabbed his hand, tears streaming down his face.
"Thank you, sir." This was a man in his forties, mature and composed, who restrained his emotions but couldn't hide the moisture in his eyes.
Many mutants Erik had never met came forward to thank him. They shook his hand one by one, and the room became so crowded that the door was blocked. After a while, he finally managed to make his way into the break room, surrounded by people.
The break room had now been transformed into a bar-like setting. Someone had moved a liquor cabinet over, and it was filled with many bottles. In the center, there was a table with several cups scattered haphazardly.
"You're here, Erik." Hank, standing by the table, was injecting Nick with a drug. He glanced up and casually greeted Erik.
"I've gotten used to it. If it's too quiet, I can't concentrate. I always feel like something's missing," Hank explained when he saw Erik staring at the cups, pulling the needle out.
Nick, lying shirtless on the table, felt a little embarrassed when he saw Erik. It wasn't because he was naked, but because the last time he had gotten drunk, he had mistaken Erik for Magneto and cursed him out. Now that he knew Erik had gotten the information from Stryker, he felt ashamed and wasn't sure whether to accept Hank's treatment. It was only because Mariano and an old friend of his had dragged him here that he decided to come.
Everyone knew Nick's temper. Aside from his short fuse, he was a sincere and trustworthy guy.
Erik knew this as well, so he wasn't going to hold a grudge against Nick.
"Can I help?" Erik asked. He was aware of Nick's suffering and had participated in Hank's research. Together, they had developed many treatment plans. Erik could use his precise magnetism control to help relieve their pain. About one-third of the mutants who frequently visited here had been modified by Stryker, and six of them had metal injected into their bodies. These were the predecessors of Logan. It was through experiments on them that Stryker had found the successful method.
So once Nick was treated, the issues of the other five would also be solved. They no longer had to endure the agony of metal blades emerging from their skin.
"Of course, I need you." Hank pointed at Nick's body and explained in detail. Erik followed Hank's instructions and quickly removed a layer of metal alloy.
As the bloodstained metal clinked against the table, striking the scattered cups, Nick suddenly felt lighter. The sound of the metal hitting the surface was like an angel's whisper, resonating deep inside him. His luck hadn't run out yet, and another layer of metal was removed. One by one, the alloy strips came out, and the excess metal in his body was mostly cleared. He no longer had to worry about the injected foreign material going wild inside him.
The simple surgery was a success. Erik and Hank exchanged smiles, and people outside the break room cheered. Today it was Nick, tomorrow it could be their comrades, and maybe in the next few days, it would be themselves.
With Hank's continued research into Stryker's data, one day, they would eliminate the mutants' pain.
"Thank you." After the surgery, Erik was about to go upstairs to wash his hands when he heard Nick's quiet words of thanks.
Mutants had much stronger healing abilities than ordinary humans, and Nick had some self-healing abilities too. So, he didn't need a sterile environment. A regular residential home would suffice. With his worst problem now resolved, he felt much better, though his long-term suffering had left him slightly weak.
"We're all brothers." Erik smiled at him before heading upstairs.
Nick watched Erik's figure disappear up the stairs, then turned to find his ecstatic friends rushing toward him. They surrounded him, laughing and cheering, making a ruckus.
"Stryker is really a genius," Hank said as they reached the top of the stairs.
"Yes, he's remarkable," Erik agreed. A regular person had done what even most mutants couldn't achieve with years of hard work. Just look at Logan, who could be considered a perfect creation.
The only pity was that they were on opposite sides.
A woman walked over, holding a towel.
She was beautiful, with a slender figure, dark hair, and kind eyes. This was Yuriko, the woman Erik had rescued.
Hank took the towel from her, exchanged a few teasing words, and casually patted her rear. It was clear that their relationship was heating up.
It seemed Hank had finally moved on from his feelings for Raven and found a late-blooming spring in his life.
"Should I congratulate you?" Erik winked, and Hank burst out laughing.
"She's wonderful. Gentle, kind, and smart. I love her." Hank didn't hide his feelings at all, and Yuriko smiled at them without the typical shyness of an Eastern woman, showing off her grace and composure.
It was clear that she was a woman with a story, and she and Hank made a great match.
After washing their hands, Erik and Hank went downstairs again. Their friends were still waiting for them to celebrate. They planned to get Hank and Erik drunk to show their gratitude.
Surrounded in the middle of the break room, the atmosphere was lively.
"Mr. Erik, we've all seen the news about you. You've been on the front pages of many newspapers, and the world is paying attention to us. We feel much less pressure now. Do you think humans will accept us?" A female mutant, her eyes shining with hope, asked. She was a mother of two children, also mutants. Her husband had kicked them out, and they were barely surviving with the help of others.
Her question wasn't just for herself; all the mutants present wanted to know.
"It won't be smooth sailing," Erik said, raising his glass and looking around. "Life is like that. There are flat, easy paths and rugged, difficult ones. This is a good start, but we still have to move forward step by step."
"A factory engineer uses a hammer to hit the barrel of a cannon until it dents. Then, he fires the cannon repeatedly until the barrel bursts. Which strike caused the damage? It was every single strike. Which explosion caused the barrel to break? It was every explosion. We are on the right path, and as long as we persist, we will see results."
"Help yourself, and Heaven will help you. The key is that we must unite, stop drifting aimlessly, and walk together side by side. The suffering is ours, but the happiness is for our children."
Erik's voice was like the ringing of steel, with a resonating metallic echo. The determination in his words deeply moved his listeners. As soon as he finished speaking, everyone stood up and applauded enthusiastically.
"Sir, that was truly inspiring," Mariano clapped his hands, then struggled to pull something from his pocket and handed it to Erik.
"More and more people are coming for treatment. Hank always treats us for free, but we know he's not wealthy. We've discussed it privately and hope to contribute something for our fellow mutants. This is the money I earned working as a chef, and Nick's too. He works as a doorman. We've pooled our savings, though it's not much, but we hope you'll accept it. This is for our brothers and sisters, please, accept it." Mariano said, taking out a thick envelope. The warmth of his hand could still be felt on it, and inside were colorful bills, including Franklin hundred-dollar bills and Grant fifty-dollar ones. Clearly, they had gathered all their savings.
Such heartfelt kindness made Erik feel guilty for refusing. He stood up solemnly to accept it. When the envelope was handed to Erik, everyone cheered.
The atmosphere reached another high point, and the sick people forgot their pain, losing themselves in the intense joy.
"I've changed these people's fates with just a wave of my hand. Everything went as I planned, just like a chess player moving his pieces. I should be happy, right?" Erik stuffed the envelope into his coat, drank from his glass, and suddenly had this thought. But he quickly set it aside and threw himself back into the lively celebration.
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