The gap between the two teams was razor-thin—only a single point. Until the very end, it was impossible to tell who would win this game. That's why Stephen started thinking fast. Drawing on Logan's longevity and powerful regenerative abilities, he deduced that the correct answer had to be D.
He also urged Pietro and the young Peter not to let their guard down. Buzzing in first was key—it could be the deciding factor in pulling ahead and locking in the win.
Unfortunately, Team A got the buzzer. So even though both teams answered correctly, Team A gained the bonus points for speed, instantly widening the gap—10 points for Team A to 6 for Team B.
Stephen frowned but didn't lose heart. "It's alright. There's still one last question!"
Pietro frowned. "For the last question, we need to buzz in and get it right, and also hope Team A gets it wrong. That's the only way we can win. Doesn't sound too hopeful."
But the young Peter encouraged him, "Hey, it's not that bad. I've been in school trivia contests before—trust me, until the final second, we can't give up on hope or confidence!"
Pietro chuckled quietly. "Kid, sounds like you picked up quite a few motivational lines from Stephen this time."
On the other side, despite holding the advantage, Team A wasn't in high spirits. Erik, Charles, and Logan all seemed preoccupied—especially Erik and Charles. What they really cared about was the fate of mutants in this new timeline.
The previous video had only given a rough outline, and the details were still unclear. They were all waiting for the next video to play.
But this time, no video appeared. Instead, a new question came up on the screen:
[What is the final fate of Logan Howlett in the new timeline?]
[A: Dies in battle
B: Lives on with nothing
C: Becomes a war hound
D: All of the above are incorrect
Hint: This is the final question of this round. Please answer carefully]
It was a back-to-back question round.
Offscreen, Logan twitched his ears and answered without hesitation, "I hope the answer is A."
Charles gave him a sidelong glance. "Last question, I hoped the answer was right too, but that didn't work out."
Erik commented, "A brave warrior dying on the battlefield—that does sound like a fitting end. But Logan, with your healing factor and longevity, even suicide wouldn't be easy."
They'd all seen Wolverine's videos. He had an extraordinary regenerative ability, and after being modified with adamantium, he became a full-blown living weapon.
In one of the videos shown in a previous round, Logan had taken a shot to the head with an adamantium bullet and still survived—that alone proved just how incredibly hard he was to kill.
So logically, answer B seemed more plausible.
But Logan shook his head. "Even my powers have limits. You guys don't know me as well as you think. Let's go with A. We've already secured the lead anyway."
Erik shook his head slightly. "Four points isn't much of a lead…"
He paused, then added meaningfully, "But alright, I'll honor your wish."
After watching so many of the game's videos, Erik had come to understand Logan quite well. He knew that behind this lone wolf's silence was a deep-rooted self-destructive urge.
Immortality and regeneration hadn't brought Logan great power or endless riches—only endless pain and suffering. For him, immortality wasn't a blessing; it was a curse.
The countdown began. Both teams were visibly tense—this last question would determine the winner of the game.
As Stephen prepared to submit their team's answer, he silently prayed they could buzz in first.
Good news: they won the buzzer and earned 4 points. Bad news: Team A answered correctly as well. They only gained 1 point—but that single point was enough to seal the victory.
Stephen let out a long sigh. "Nothing we could do. I tried my best."
Just one point short—it was frustrating and disappointing. He couldn't help but regret not playing things a bit more carefully earlier. Just a point or two more, and the result might've been completely different.
Peter tried to console him. "Mr. Strange, it's just a game. The rules said the winners get to choose the punishment, right? I believe in Charles and Logan—they're not the kind of people who'd pick something too harsh."
Pietro rolled his eyes. "Even if it's not that bad, it's still a punishment."
Truthfully, he wasn't that worried about being punished himself. What concerned him more was Peter—still a kid. If he lost something important because of a penalty, that would be far too cruel.
Stephen was thinking the same thing. He looked up and asked, "Hey—can we skip this kid's punishment? I mean, can someone take his place? Like Tony. I think he'd be perfect for it."
Naturally, the game didn't respond.
Peter couldn't help but grumble, "Mr. Strange, I've learned how to take responsibility now. Isn't that what you taught me? You're not setting a very good example here!"
Stephen, replied matter-of-factly, "You're still a kid. Taking responsibility—that's for the future. When trouble shows up now, your guardian's supposed to step in. And Tony's your guardian, right? This is his responsibility."
Pietro happily jumped on the bandwagon and shouted at the glowing screen above, "Stephen's right! Peter's too young to be punished. Let Tony Stark take the hit instead—sounds fair to me!"
Still, the game didn't respond. But it did broadcast Stephen and Pietro's comments to everyone through the omnipresent light screens.
Sometimes, instead of showing future videos, the game would shift its focus to the players inside the Eternal Space. Every time a round ended, audience members—or just internet trolls—would clip those moments and upload them online. They'd already become a guaranteed source of viral content.
Viewers were thoroughly entertained by Stephen and Pietro's attempt to throw Tony under the bus. One media outlet even posted a headline on the spot:
"Avengers Infighting Again—Iron Man Becomes the Scapegoat of the Civil War!"
Tony Stark, of course, exploded. "Those two lunatics! Are they not afraid of getting electro-shocked or something!?"
Pepper tried not to laugh. "Honestly, they kind of have a point. Peter is just a kid."
Tony paused—then burst out laughing himself. "Useless argument. The game only recognizes players. Got that?"
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T/N:
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