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Charles's funeral was held rather hastily.
No important people were invited, nor was a priest asked to offer condolences or deliver a eulogy.
On an uninhabited island, everyone erected a tombstone for Charles and buried his remains there.
No one felt this was an insult to Charles.
Perhaps, in his final moments, this was exactly what Charles wanted.
To find a beautiful, tranquil place where no one would disturb him, to fall into an eternal slumber, allowing this old man, who had toiled his entire life for mutants, to finally rest in peace.
Kevin presided over the funeral, giving a brief eulogy for Charles. After everyone expressed their condolences, Charles was laid to rest.
Charles's body was placed in the coffin and buried, and a stone tombstone was erected. Only then did this simple funeral conclude.
After the funeral, neither Kevin nor Wolverine mentioned Charles's last words.
They didn't have much conversation either.
Wolverine returned to the ship and started drinking again. This time, no one stopped him; not even Caliban, who had become like a mother hen, tried to dissuade Wolverine.
Caliban was looking after Laura, who was watching TV in the cruise ship's cabin.
Kevin… just stayed on the deck, staring at the sea, lost in thought as he recalled Charles's words to him.
Everything seemed unchanged.
Except for the absence of an old man's nagging, whose memories were fading.
After a few idle days like this, when Wolverine finally stopped drinking and woke up from the cabin, Kevin found Wolverine and said to him:
"I'm leaving."
"?"
Wolverine, who had just washed his face and sobered up a bit, looked at Kevin in surprise.
He seemed not to have heard what Kevin had just said clearly.
Kevin repeated:
"I said, I'm leaving. What I needed to do is done. From now on, this world is up to you all."
"You… aren't going to look for Jean anymore?"
"No need. I've found what I was looking for."
Kevin opened his palm to Wolverine.
There was nothing there, but Wolverine instantly understood that it was the hand Kevin had clasped with Charles that day.
"What did Charles give you in the end?"
"He gave me… an old man's advice, and a very important gift for me."
Kevin looked at his palm and said with a smile.
Kevin never would have imagined that the Phoenix Force, which he had yearned for, would come into his possession upon Charles's passing.
More precisely, the Phoenix Force had always resided within Charles's body, and only after he died and the Phoenix Force left him did Kevin come into contact with it.
It was a pity, though, that the Phoenix Force did not choose Kevin, and this Phoenix Force was not what Kevin had imagined.
It was too weak.
So weak that it seemed a single breath could extinguish it.
Kevin didn't know why, but the reason no longer mattered.
Having touched the Phoenix Force, he successfully completed his second profession advancement. Now, if he wished, he could gain the second profession at any time and become an Ocean Mage.
But Kevin didn't do that; he planned to wait until he returned.
So now, Kevin was saying his final goodbyes to Wolverine.
In the world of Wolverine 3, Kevin's mission was complete, and he had no reason to stay.
As for the future of mutants.
That was Wolverine's responsibility.
Realizing that Kevin was serious, that he was truly leaving, Wolverine scratched his head:
"Alright, as long as you got what you wanted. So where are you going now?"
"Not sure. Maybe back, maybe… I'll travel around the world a bit, and help you all solve a problem along the way."
"Alkali…?"
Wolverine retorted.
Kevin smiled without directly answering, instead taking out his phone and the device Rocket had given him, placing them in front of Wolverine:
"This phone still has some videos and future arrangements. You probably don't know how to handle public opinion on the internet, right? The methods for handling it are all left here. If necessary, you can also go find Paul."
"Paul?"
"He's that 'hero' who exposed Alkali's 'dark side' with me. Don't worry, he'll definitely stand with the mutants until he loses his fame."
Paul was now tied to the mutants.
Although those who knew him well understood that Paul wasn't that kind of person, in the public's perception, he was a hero who bravely stood with the mutants and championed their cause.
Especially after Kevin's death, Paul's reputation soared after he cried out to the public.
As long as his fame hadn't disappeared, Paul would never betray the mutants.
And if Paul wanted to betray them after his fame disappeared, Kevin's phone also contained methods to deal with that.
"And this." Kevin pointed to the black tech given by Rocket, telling Wolverine:
"Locking trending topics, locking hot searches, and even invading Alkali's servers—I did it all with this thing. It's not hard to learn; you'll get the hang of it with a little fiddling. It's yours."
"Isn't this thing very valuable?"
Wolverine didn't immediately take the black tech Kevin offered, asking with a frown.
Kevin shook his head and replied:
"Not too valuable. It's a… little toy my friend gave me. I can always ask him for another one, and compared to me, you all need it more."
This thing, which looked similar to a portable power bank, was just a casually made toy for Rocket.
Kevin could always return to the Marvel Universe and ask him to make another one; it wasn't rare at all.
In contrast, Wolverine needed such a device more to help him control online public opinion.
After this incident, Wolverine should understand how terrifying the current internet truly is.
If you control the discourse on the internet, you can deal with most enemies.
Conversely, if you lose the right to speak online, you can only be passively beaten.
No matter if you are an X-Men or something else.
Even if you've saved the world, if people online say you're a demon, then you are a demon.
Wolverine and these mutants definitely couldn't handle the internet. Without the hacker device, their future online public opinion battles would be a complete defeat.
That's why Kevin left the device as Wolverine's trump card.
At the same time, this could also be considered a gift prepared for Wolverine to establish his school.
Kevin certainly wouldn't be able to see Wolverine establish the school, but giving him a gift was no problem.
"Thank you."
Wolverine didn't say much, accepting the device without further refusal, and thanked Kevin.
Kevin smiled and shook his head, motioning that he was welcome, then left the ship, using the water vapor on the sea surface to hover in the air.
"Well then, I'm off. Perhaps one day I'll return, and when that time comes, let's drink together again."
"You're leaving already? Aren't you going to say goodbye to Laura and the others?"
"No need. I don't really like saying goodbye to people. If it weren't for needing to give you these things, I'd probably just leave a note and slip away quietly."
"Don't you have anything you want to say to them?"
"Everything I want to say is in the videos on the phone. I won't bore you with more words. Anyway… goodbye, Wolverine."
Water currents condensed beneath Kevin's feet, lifting him higher and higher. At the highest point, accompanied by a sonic boom, Kevin's figure vanished into the clouds.
Wolverine watched him leave, holding the things Kevin had left behind, silent for a long time before finally uttering a single comment about Kevin:
"Goodbye, you bastard."
...
Kevin, having left the rising sun, did not immediately return to his own world.
Before leaving, he intended to deal with the biggest trouble for Wolverine.
The Alkali-Transigen.
Because he was about to leave, Kevin's actions were audacious.
Wearing a mask, he descended directly from high altitude, crashing into the Alkali-Transigen headquarters building, and found the Alkali-Transigen's executives.
Coincidentally, when Kevin arrived, they were holding a meeting, discussing how to deal with the mutants.
Kevin's sudden descent startled everyone. The chairman of the Alkali-Transigen nearly slid off his seat.
He looked in horror at the Mysterious Man, who had descended from the sky like a god, and asked in a panic:
"Who… who are you?!"
"The one who's taking your lives."
Kevin had no time for idle chatter with them. He snapped his fingers, and the eyes of all the Alkali executives present suddenly bulged, then they all collapsed onto the table without a sound.
Destroying their brains with the blood inside their bodies—this clean method of killing was now deeply favored by Kevin.
It wasn't bloody, nor did it leave overly obvious evidence.
Although anyone investigating could probably guess that a mutant did it, what did that have to do with Kevin?
His ability was water control, not this evil ability, right?
And Alkali had done so many outrageous things to mutants; what was it if a mutant foe came knocking?
So Kevin had no psychological burden doing these things, nor did he worry about causing trouble for Wolverine.
"So now…"
Having dealt with the Alkali-Transigen's people, Kevin stroked his chin in thought, looking at the increased skill points.
Then he walked out of the conference room and headed straight for Alkali's research and development department.
Since he was already here, he might as well see what those potions that could turn ordinary people into mutants were, and take a copy of their genetically modified food research report as well.
After all, their methods were similar to Vought's, and Kevin could use their research files as a reference.
As Kevin walked down from the Alkali-Transigen's conference room, he finally encountered some decent resistance.
Countless Alkali-Transigen security members rushed over, trying to 'rescue' their bosses, only to end up with the same fate as their bosses.
Kevin was like the Grim Reaper walking among men; no one could stand alive before him wherever he went.
It was along this path, where death followed his every step, that Kevin reached his desired destination.
The Alkali-Transigen's experimental base.
With most of the new mutants having already escaped and the research director Zander Rice dead, Alkali's experimental base was basically in a semi-廢状態.
Because there was no new research director capable of taking charge, this place gradually became less important to the Alkali-Transigen.
At least for now, it wasn't prioritized.
When Kevin entered, he didn't see many competent researchers.
Fortunately, although there weren't many researchers, it wasn't completely without a person in charge.
Kevin casually grabbed someone who looked like a person in charge, and without even needing to threaten or entice, just a slightly fierce look made that person spill everything he knew like a potato.
"No challenge at all…"
Kevin muttered to himself, having obtained what he wanted without obstruction.
He had originally thought that there would be more powerful, more excellent 'perfect test subjects' within the Alkali-Transigen.
He had even prepared for a big battle with that test subject.
But now it seemed X24 was their highest achievement.
He didn't know why they were so fixated on Wolverine; there were clearly plenty of powerful mutants, yet they insisted on milking Wolverine dry.
"Forget it, I'm going back."
Having obtained what he wanted, Kevin was ready to return.
After contacting Paul to transport the X24 he had apprehended to a designated location, Kevin personally received X24 and returned to the The Boys world with him.
The advancement to the second profession should also be put on the agenda.
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