On the second day of their trip to New York, the sun was as warm as the first day, but everyone's mood was the same.
Wearing sunglasses, the frosty Level 7 SHIELD agent, Melinda May, sat in the driver's seat, the steering wheel turning nimbly in her palm. This was New York, a metropolis, bustling with people coming and going. The area of this city was several times that of Gotham, and its population was more than five times that of Gotham.
However, Saber didn't envy the bustle of this place. He had an instinctive resistance to this noisy environment, and the place they were going to today would take more than an hour by car, so naturally, they could only rely on a guide to lead the way.
A freshly dressed Catherine sat next to Saber. She looked unusually active, forming a sharp contrast with Saber, whose body was sunk deep into the seat.
"Saber, Saber, do you think they still remember me?"
The little girl asked Saber the same question for the seventh time. The young man's eyes under his sunglasses twitched, and he took a deep breath, patting Catherine's head with his left hand.
"They definitely still remember you. Who would forget such a cute little girl?"
Thus, Catherine was satisfied and obediently sat next to him. Yes, today was the day to take her to her home. SHIELD's influence in New York was amazing, and they found the Pride couple's current address in less than half a day.
Catherine's real name was Catherine Anne Pride, and she was a descendant of Jews. According to May's information, Catherine's life before the age of eight was indeed very happy, which was the common state of the American middle class. Her parents were very loving, and she was almost the little princess of the family. However, after the awakening of her ability, the Pride family moved three times within a year. Catherine's ability brought almost endless trouble to Pride's parents.
The reason why the Mutants were called Mutants was because they were different from ordinary people. Mutants were the easiest to ostracize and attack. This was one of the original sins that flowed in the blood of humans, even if the victim was just a child.
Saber didn't know what would happen to Catherine when she returned home, and he didn't want to guess. He had seen a lot of the dark side of human nature, and frankly, he didn't want his guess to be true. However, interestingly, along the way, Saber discovered a little "secret" of the cold Agent May.
She was afraid of children … To be precise, she was resisting contact with a little girl like Catherine. Although she was wearing sunglasses, in Saber's eyes, every time she saw Catherine in the rearview mirror, her body would tremble.
"Interesting … last time, she didn't seem to have this problem."
Saber touched his chin and didn't tell her what he saw. First of all, this was a private matter, and it might involve some taboo. Second, at least for now, they were still in a cooperative relationship.
Agent Plum seemed to have sensed Seiber's gaze, so she was very quiet throughout the journey. Thirty minutes later, the black Dodge stopped outside a small white villa in the suburbs of Brooklyn. The three of them got out of the car, and Seiber looked at the villa in front of him. From the exterior of the villa and the meticulously maintained garden, he could tell that this family pursued quality of life.
The little girl was very lively along the way, but when they stood in front of the villa, she held Saber's hand in fear. She looked at the young man leaning against the car and whispered.
"Saber, can you come with me?"
Hearing this, a smile appeared on Seiber's face. He squatted down, took off his sunglasses, and looked at Catherine who was about to cry.
"Are you afraid?"
"No … I just … I just …"
"Don't be afraid, I'm here."
Saber knocked on her little head.
"If you don't know how to face them, why don't you 'sneak in' and not let them see you? See how they're living now. If they still remember you, you can go see them. If they have forgotten you, you can come out. We'll go back to Gotham together, okay?"
The little girl was so nervous that she couldn't speak. Saber put his hand on her shoulder and said to her.
"Come, take a deep breath … Exhale, exhale … Are you feeling better?"
"Yes!"
She nodded vigorously. Saber extended his fist.
"Don't let them see you! We have a deal! "
Catherine also extended her fist and lightly bumped Saber's fist. Then, she ran behind him and, under Mei's surprised gaze, "melted" into the ground like magic.
Saber put on his sunglasses and stood up. Mei's voice sounded at the same time.
"This child … is also a mutant?"
"What do you think?"
Saber shrugged. "After being with us for an entire day, Miss Agent, you didn't even notice this. It seems like you don't have the ability to detect mutants."
"If a high-level mutant doesn't want to reveal their identity, normal people can't detect it unless they use special equipment."
Mei's voice became colder and colder. Saber could clearly feel the coldness in her voice. It seemed like the news of Catherine being a mutant made her feel terrible. This made Saber more and more interested in Mei's change. But before he could ask, Mei took the initiative to speak.
"This child will probably be very disappointed this time."
"Hmm?"
Saber turned to look at her. At this time, there were almost no pedestrians in the area. Naturally, no one noticed them.
"Yesterday, when I was looking for information on the Pride couple, I found something interesting."
Mei took off her sunglasses and closed her eyes. She leaned against the side of the car as if she was sunbathing. Her voice was low, but it clearly traveled into Saber's ears.
"Catherine's disappearance is a very difficult problem to explain. I think you are also wondering if they deliberately abandoned Catherine because of her ability. But in fact, according to my analysis, this is not likely to be true. Not only because the Pride couple have their own beliefs, they wouldn't abandon a child. More importantly, after Catherine went missing, the Pride couple, who returned to New York, commissioned many people to find traces of their daughter."
"So, miss, you mean this couple is innocent?"
Saber felt the worry in his heart disappear, but at the same time, Saber had his own doubts about this statement.
"According to this, the Pride couple should welcome Catherine's return. Why do you say she will be disappointed?"
"Hmph, I didn't say they were innocent."
Mei snorted coldly. "Even if they didn't have such intentions, the carelessness of bringing an eight-year-old girl to the station is very likely to lead to the loss of a life. They are incompetent parents. Catherine is lucky to have met you. Personally, I also hope that this girl can return to her family, but unfortunately, this is no longer possible."
Saber didn't say anything, but his eyes were fixed on Mei. The latter was silent for a moment before speaking.
"They lost their memories."
"What?"
This answer made Saber's thoughts stop in an instant. A few seconds later, he jumped up from the ground and stood in front of Mei.
"Are you kidding me? Big Sister Agent! "
Mei didn't like this name. She shook her hand and said impatiently, "I'm warning you, if you give me any more nonsensical nicknames, I'll cut off your tongue. I'm in a bad mood right now!"
"Okay, okay!"
Saber raised his hand, indicating that he had surrendered. Only then did Mei finish her story.
"Even though the Pride couple couldn't shirk their responsibility for Catherine's disappearance, they really loved their daughter. After a year of searching without any news, the couple had reached the brink of collapse. Their neighbors called the police twice, saying that they tried to commit suicide in pain. If there were no accidents, they would have been crushed by the pain by now."
"So, an accident still happened, right?"
Saber asked. Mei nodded and turned her gaze to the southeast.
"Just three months ago, when the Pride couple was about to be crushed by regret and pain, a mysterious person paid them a visit. That afternoon, the Pride couple, who had completely recovered, happily moved to this place. They completely forgot everything about their daughter and distanced themselves from the source of pain. And just this month, Mrs. Pride became pregnant. This family on the verge of collapse will once again have a new life."
"That's why I'm saying that you bringing Catherine here at this time is actually a real mistake."
This unexpected news made Saber clench his fists. After a few minutes, he released them. He took a deep breath and said in a low voice.
"I once told my little brother that the uncontrollable pain of losing one's loved ones will continue to linger in one's heart until it transforms one's longing for one's loved ones into a poison that flows in one's blood. One day, he will wish that his loved ones had never … existed. Only in this way can the pain of being entangled in fate completely disappear … How ironic, to think that someone would actually do such a thing …"
He gritted his teeth and looked at Mei again.
"But I'm more curious. How did that mysterious person do it? Did he tamper with their memories? "
"Tamper? No, no, no, that's too low level. He directly 'erased' the painful Pride couple's memories of Catherine. "
Mei stretched out her hand and made a wiping motion in the air.
"It's like you rubbing off the dirty water on the car window, leaving behind a blank space. He only needed to carefully replace the blank space with happy memories, and he could turn two pitiful people who wanted to commit suicide into happy ordinary people. Saber, you look so surprised … It seems that you still don't know anything about the miracle that the blood flowing in your body can create."
The Level-7 agent sighed, a complicated look appearing in his eyes under his sunglasses.
"Sometimes I'm very confused. Why do mutated humans who also have the appearance of an ordinary person have so many terrifying abilities? Yes, the one who did all this is a mutated human, and you will soon meet him."
"To be honest …"
Saber gulped. "After hearing your description, I don't really want to meet this big boss who can casually alter memories. If he works at full power, will he turn me into an idiot who can only eat porridge and laugh foolishly for the rest of my life?"
Mei crossed her arms and a mocking smile appeared on her face.
"With your strength, Professor Charles only needs about one-fifth of his power to turn you into a real idiot. And you can't avoid it. Saber, didn't you come to New York this time to meet Professor Charles at the Xavier Academy for Gifted Youths?"
"You don't really think that one of the two extremes of the mutated human society is an ordinary person that you can casually beat with a punch right? Let me put it this way, Saber, as long as Professor Charles wants to, he can stay in that academy and instantly kill anyone in any corner of the world … It doesn't matter if it's a civilian, a high official, a president, or … a mercenary. "
Saber's breathing became heavy at this moment. He took out a wrinkled cigarette from his pocket and put it in his mouth. After taking a few deep breaths, he shrugged.
"Based on what you said, isn't he no different from a god?"
Mei glared at him. Religion was a thing that shouldn't be said in UA society, especially when Saber's words were unscrupulous. However, she still abided by her responsibility as a guide. She put on her sunglasses again and said to Saber who knew almost nothing about the mutated human society.
"You really think that ordinary people hate mutated humans because you're an" alien "? It's easy to make a person hate something, but it's extremely difficult to make the entire human world fear something. Hitler was called the "devil," but there were still people who worshipped him. What about mutated humans? Do you know how many ordinary people are kind to mutated humans? "
"The number is far lower than you can imagine. Let me tell you, Saber, if mutated humans unite, they have the power to threaten the current human civilization. This is the biggest reason why ordinary people are hostile to you. They are afraid of you! That's why they hate you. "
Mei took a deep breath and looked up at the sky.
"Professor Charles and Magneto worked together once, and it was under the condition that they didn't have complete abilities. At that time, the two of them stopped the Cuban Missile Crisis. They were the two most powerful fleets in the world at that time. The two of them combined … easily turned the future around."
"Learn well, Saber. The reality of this world is much more interesting than you think."
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