"Are you here for Deadpool?"
Seeing that Alex had remained silent for a while, Petra caught on quickly and asked directly.
"More or less," Alex didn't deny it. Deadpool's existence was crucial to this universe — he might very well define the nature of this timeline.
"Maybe I know where we can find him… if he's still alive, I mean." Petra thought for a moment and continued. "If we can rescue the Professor, with his telepathy, he could definitely pinpoint Deadpool's location."
"You just want my help to rescue Charles, don't you?" Alex glanced at Petra, stating her real motive outright.
"I— I just…" Feeling Alex's eyes on her, Petra was suddenly overcome with a chill — like she was being watched by something dark and predatory. Her heart skipped a beat.
It was only then that Petra realized… the man in front of her wasn't as easygoing as she'd thought.
This man who called himself the Death Crow seemed friendly enough, and he had saved her right from the start. That had made Petra instinctively treat him as "one of us."
Even though he wasn't a mutant, he clearly wielded some kind of supernatural power — and his combat strength far surpassed that of the senior mutants Petra remembered.
In Petra's worldview, anyone with supernatural abilities was on their side. After all, the Sentinels didn't just hunt mutants — they targeted all beings with powers.
To those robotic enforcers, anything non-human had to be eliminated. No exceptions.
But now, staring into Alex's eyes, Petra realized this man was carrying far too many secrets. Judging by his actions, he didn't seem to care much about what was happening in this world.
"I really don't want to say this, Petra… but I hope you understand — this world can't be saved anymore."
Alex looked at her and sighed quietly. "Its creation was a mistake to begin with. It's one of the unstable elements among countless parallel universes."
A ripple of unease surged through Petra's heart. Her gaze toward Alex changed dramatically. "Parallel universes?"
"Some things aren't worth knowing too deeply," Alex said. "But fine. In the progression of a primary timeline, there are often branches — that's what we call parallel worlds."
He lifted his head slightly. "And the one you're living in… is one of those branches. And it's approaching its end."
Petra swallowed hard, her mind reeling from the revelation.
In her mind, parallel universes were still just a theory Professor Beast had once proposed — unproven speculation. She never imagined they were real — or that her world was on the brink of destruction.
"So what you're saying… is that our existence is just a substitute for another universe?" she murmured, eyes downcast.
"No," Alex shook his head. "No one is a substitute for anyone else. Even variants from another world — each universe develops uniquely. That's undeniable."
"Then why us?" Petra frowned. She raised her head and stared at him again. "Why is our world the one to suffer this fate? We just wanted to live a normal life."
Alex didn't respond right away. He simply looked at her in silence.
This kind of thing — it wouldn't be acceptable to anyone. A doomed destiny… it was a torment too cruel for people to bear.
But Alex didn't want to dwell on it. After a brief pause, he said: "You may not be able to save your world. But if you're willing… maybe you can help save others. Other worlds that are suffering just like this one."
"What do you mean?" Petra's eyes were full of fear and uncertainty.
"I already told you — your world branched off from a primary timeline. But it's not the only one. Other branches are also being plunged into chaos."
Alex's tone was serious. "The primary timeline is like the roots of a tree. The branches are the parallel timelines. As long as the root remains stable, the branches usually hold together too."
Petra blinked, stunned. But then a thought struck her. "Wait — are you saying… something's gone wrong with the primary timeline?"
Hearing this, Alex nodded heavily.
"Yes. Your primary timeline reached its end due to a series of disruptions. And because of that, your branch timeline — along with other parallel universes — has been severely affected.
Among the many parallel timelines, one strong enough must emerge to take over the role of the main timeline — to provide energy and stability to the others. Otherwise, everything will collapse."
There was one thing Alex didn't say: according to Miss Minutes's assessment, this wasn't even a direct offshoot of the primary timeline — it was a branch of a branch.
In other words, this timeline was a smaller offshoot born from another branch. And in the chaos of the multiverse, these fragile, distant offshoots are always the first to be wiped out.
It doesn't even take interference from other parallel worlds. If the internal energy of the timeline becomes unbalanced, it will spiral into self-destruction — just like what was happening now.
Petra quickly pieced everything together. And in her heart, Alex became even more mysterious and uncanny.
She was a smart one — back when she studied at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, many professors had recognized her as a highly talented student. That's how she'd earned a spot on the X-Men's trainee squad.
It was this intelligence that stopped Petra from prying into Alex's secrets right now.
Now she finally understood why Alex had seemed so indifferent toward this world — it wasn't that he didn't care about its fate. It was because, in the eyes of someone like him, there were many worlds facing trouble.
"So…"
Petra carefully glanced at Alex and asked: "What exactly is your goal?"
"My goal is simple, Petra. I want to find out what caused the main timeline's collapse — and more importantly, I want to uncover who or what is behind it all," Alex said.
"I understand now, Mr. Crow." Petra's expression turned serious too. "I'll help you — even if only for the sake of the X-Men."
"You don't understand." Alex shook his head. "This has nothing to do with the X-Men. The order of this world is beyond your understanding. Do you know why I'm looking for Deadpool? Because some answers… only he can give."
"Deadpool, huh…"
Petra murmured. While she didn't know Deadpool that well, she was familiar with him — but she couldn't imagine he was that important.
"I still think rescuing Professor X is the right move. Believe me, this time it's not for myself. His abilities could really help us find Deadpool."
But Alex simply waved his hand slightly.
"There's no need for that. I can locate Deadpool without Charles' help."
Morning mist drifted across the land. The sun was rising in the east. At the Canadian border, where the temperature shift between night and day was stark, the air carried a crisp chill that made it hard to leave the warmth of a blanket.
Deep within the forest, a well-armed squad of humans was setting up camp — fully loaded with firearms and gear. Leading them was a man whose entire body, except for his head, had been replaced with cybernetic enhancements.
At that moment, a soldier came running over and spoke to the man in charge.
"Captain Pierce, the squad is fully assembled. According to HQ, they want us to wrap things up here quickly and then head to the Pacific."
"The Pacific?" The man called Pierce paused for a moment, then quickly understood. "Looks like the ones assigned to destroy Atlantis screwed up. Hmph."
Seeing the cold look on Pierce's face, the soldier couldn't help but chime in.
"Boss, that job should've been ours from the start. But just because we're not official military, they dumped us in this godforsaken place. Well, now those guys are toast — and it's finally our turn to shine.
Those regular troops? All show and no bite. Without the Sentinel robots, they're worthless.
Everyone knows the record of us Reavers. Back in the day, it was us who took out those big-name X-Men — even the Hellfire Club was wiped out by our hands.
If it hadn't been for you, the plan against Charles wouldn't have gone half as smooth."
Pierce let out a cold laugh at that, but quickly masked it with a stern look. "Alright, talk like that is fine among ourselves, but keep your mouth shut in public."
"Yes, sir!" the soldier responded immediately.
Pierce looked out into the dense forest and twisted his neck, releasing a series of crisp cracking sounds from his cybernetic joints. Then he spoke in a deep voice: "The battle's entering its final phase. Those mutant freaks won't last much longer. Pass down my order — tell the boys to get ready."
"Yes, sir!" the soldier shouted and ran off to carry out the command.
Pierce stood up, stepped forward, and stomped out the fire in front of him. A cold, bloodthirsty smile crept onto his face.
"What a shame, Wade. I was hoping to toy with you a bit longer, but plans change. So… it's time to send you off."
..........
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