"Mr. Xavier, what do you mean by 'Superheroes'?"
"Are you really going to be a Vigilante fighting crime everywhere like in the comic books?"
The reporters squeezed forward frantically, throwing out questions one after another, eager to shove their microphones right into Charles's face.
Charles sat in his wheelchair, that gentle smile always fixed on his face.
He raised both hands and pressed them down.
The noise at the scene gradually subsided, and everyone held their breath, waiting for his answer.
Charles spoke slowly, "I believe everyone should have heard of Sebastian Shaw, right?"
The reporters below nodded one after another.
Sebastian was a regular on the headlines now.
After the truth of the Cuban Crisis was exposed, his name appeared on the front pages of major media outlets almost every day.
According to the leaked information, Sebastian was an extremely powerful Mutant who could absorb any form of energy and then release it; the Military's various weapons posed no threat to him at all.
If Charles and the others hadn't stepped in to stop him back then, perhaps no one could have stopped Sebastian.
Seeing everyone nod, Charles continued, "However, Sebastian is not an isolated case. Dangerous individuals like him are not uncommon in this World."
"They openly disrupt social order, threaten the lives of ordinary people, and create instability throughout society. At times like this, someone must stand up to stop their evil deeds."
"So, I have stood up."
Charles nudged his wheelchair forward a step.
The reporters blinked.
I'm thinking, you didn't actually stand up though.
Charles wasn't using his powers and didn't know their thoughts. He said seriously, "I have always believed in one saying: with great power comes great responsibility. Since God has gifted me with special abilities, I should use this power to do something meaningful."
"Because of this, I chose to become a Superheroes, to guard social order and help more people."
This speech was a script prepared for him in advance by Marvel Industries.
Truth be told, the line 'with great power comes great responsibility' really resonated with him; he wondered who had written it.
Charles continued, "But rest assured, I am not some Vigilante. All actions will be carried out within legal bounds, have already been officially approved, and will be subject to supervision. I will never interfere with the normal law enforcement of relevant departments, and if necessary, I will fully cooperate with their actions."
These words weren't spoken casually.
Long before the press conference, the Brotherhood had already negotiated with the authorities through the CIA.
Although the authorities no longer classified Mutants and humans as two opposing groups, the threat posed by Mutants was indeed real. Who could guarantee that another madman like Sebastian wouldn't pop up?
The problem was that Mutant abilities were diverse and varied, making it difficult to have a unified defense.
Even if the Military developed the most powerful weapons, they would be useless against a Mutant like Eric who could control metal. Even if they swapped the materials for plastic, they would inevitably encounter a Mutant like the Master of Plastic or something.
Unless they built weapons like the Sentinel Robots that attacked indiscriminately, there was simply no way to deal with all Mutants at once.
But the problem was, ever since they learned that humans themselves were potential Mutants, plus the accident where the Sentinel Robots went out of control and attacked those high-ranking officials last time, the authorities now didn't dare to casually build weapons targeting Mutants, fearing they might accidentally wipe out both humans and Mutants on Earth. So after much thought, the most reliable way was to use Mutants to deal with Mutants.
Of course, the main reason the authorities agreed so readily was their wariness of the Brotherhood, a Mutant organization.
Every member of the organization had extraordinary abilities, especially the two giants, Charles and Erik, whose powers were much stronger than those of other Mutants.
According to intelligence held by the CIA, the two of them working together would be enough to turn the official armed forces upside down, and it was unknown if they were holding back.
What made the authorities even more wary was that there was a mysterious leader behind the Brotherhood.
According to the Bespectacled Fat Man in the CIA high-level management, this leader was a Mutant who could use magic, even though that magic looked very scientific. But being able to lead two powerful Mutants like Charles and Erik, his abilities definitely couldn't be underestimated.
Because of this, the authorities chose to turn a blind eye, allowing the Brotherhood to appear so brazenly in the public eye.
Since these Mutants weren't causing trouble and even offered to help maintain order, the authorities were naturally happy to go along with it.
As for the mentioned supervision, it was just a formality to save face for both sides; neither side took it seriously.
"Mr. Xavier!"
A reporter below suddenly raised their hand and asked loudly, "May I ask why you chose to join Marvel Company?"
Charles looked over; it turned out to be a reporter arranged by Marvel Industries.
He smiled, "I chose to join Marvel Company mainly because our philosophies are completely aligned."
"Marvel Company's original intention was to allow those with genetic mutations to coexist peacefully with ordinary people, providing a platform for them to showcase themselves positively, so that more ordinary people can truly understand our group."
"At the same time, we hope to guide more Genetic Mutants onto the right path, so they don't go astray like Sebastian." Charles couldn't help but mourn for Sebastian in his heart.
The grass on his grave was already several meters high, yet he was still being used repeatedly by Marvel Industries as a negative example, brought up in almost every sentence.
But looking at it from another perspective, this could be considered his final contribution to the Mutant community. By providing such a perfect negative example, Sebastian would surely feel comforted in the afterlife if he knew.
Charles continued, "So Marvel Company strongly supports my ideas and is willing to provide me with all-around support. In the future, all my public actions will be fully live-streamed and recorded, completely open and transparent, and subject to public supervision."
There was another uproar below.
This was completely different from what they had imagined.
According to what Charles said, he wasn't a masked Vigilante like in American comics, but a formal and public Superheroes?
Someone soon caught the key point and asked loudly, "Wait, you just mentioned providing a platform for Genetic Mutants to showcase themselves. Does that mean Marvel Company will have more than just you as a Superheroes in the future?"
Without a doubt, it was another reporter arranged by Marvel Industries.
Charles's eyelid twitched slightly.
He quietly activated his powers and scanned the room, only to find that more than half of the reporters below were their own people.
The remaining media had basically all taken favors from Marvel Industries and would only speak well of Marvel Company.
To think he had spent so much time preparing seriously over the past few days, anticipating all sorts of tricky questions from the media.
It turned out that this press conference was just a large, pre-set recording studio; except for him, everyone else was a paid actor. Despite his complaints, Charles continued following the script.
He nodded, "That's right. My companions will also be joining Marvel Company one after another. Not just them, Marvel Company also extends an invitation to all well-intentioned Mutants. We welcome everyone to join us, become a true Superheroes, and together protect this World we live in."
As soon as these words were spoken, the reporters below went into a frenzy.
More than one Superheroes?
There would be more in the future?
Even though most of them had been paid, they knew this was definitely a major news story that could explode across the entire internet. They could already imagine how the public opinion would blow up after the press conference ended.
There wasn't much to say about the following Q&A session.
Everyone had their own script; Charles and the reporters were just going through the motions like a play—you ask, I answer—and the process was very smooth.
Occasionally, a few real reporters asked some sharper questions, but Charles easily defused them.
As soon as the press conference ended, pre-written press releases from major media outlets instantly flooded the entire America, with front-page headlines all about the news.
"The World's First Superheroes is Born!"
"Real-life Superheroes!"
"With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility! Xavier's Heroic Declaration!"
"Marvel Company Public Recruitment: Everyone Has a Chance to Become a Superheroes!"
These headlines were more eye-catching than the last, and the content was even more explosive.
Soon, public opinion across the U.S. completely exploded.
The vast majority of ordinary citizens expressed their support.
After all, Charles was already a hero who had prevented the Cuban nuclear crisis and saved the World, so they had considerable trust in him.
And to be honest, they were also afraid of other Mutants committing evil deeds at will.
Now that powerful Mutants like Charles were willing to step up and handle these matters through official channels, cooperating with law enforcement, everyone naturally agreed with both hands raised.
Of course, there were also many people just in it for the fun.
If it were to be live-streamed throughout, wouldn't they be able to see real-life superpower battles in the future?
Wouldn't that be much more exciting than other shows on TV!?
In an era where entertainment options were already limited, this event undoubtedly raised everyone's expectations to the max, and they all urged Marvel Company to start the live streams quickly.
However, those even more excited than the ordinary citizens were the Mutants scattered all over America.
Most of them had suffered no small amount of unfair treatment since childhood because of their unusual abilities.
Looking at Charles standing on the stage surrounded by flashing lights, they couldn't help but feel incredibly envious.
Which Mutant wouldn't want to stand in that position?
And now, Marvel Company was willing to provide them with this opportunity; these Mutants simply went wild.
Not long after the news was released, Marvel Company's registration hotline was immediately jammed.
The registration emails sent were even more exaggerated, piling up high in front of the company; staff members could only use small carts to transport them inside load by load.
"This is too much."
Psylocke, the secretary, stared at the mountain of emails before her, dumbfounded.
Darian chuckled, "Who wouldn't want to reach the top in a single step? I just happened to give them this opportunity. This way, we won't have to go through the trouble of looking for Mutants; in the future, there will be a steady stream of Mutants coming to our door voluntarily."
He set up this Superheroes company partly because he wanted to see the fun, and partly because he wanted to recruit Mutants.
After a trip to the future World, he realized he had previously underestimated this group.
Although most Mutants' abilities seemed ordinary, once placed in specific fields, they were all top-tier talents.
If it hadn't been for the help of so many Mutants in the future World, it really wouldn't have been that easy to change that desperate future World within a month relying solely on him, Charles, and the others.
Darian finally understood.
The most valuable resource in this World wasn't Adamantium or some high-tech, but the Mutant community itself!
Mutants' abilities were more unreasonable than the last, throwing all physical laws to the dogs.
Creating things out of thin air was a standard operation; things that scientists spent decades studying without success could often be accomplished by them with just a thought.
As long as there were enough Mutants, changing the World would be a matter of minutes.
Because of this, Darian had the idea of searching for Mutants on a large scale.
However, having Charles use Cerebro to search globally and then visiting them one by one was far too troublesome, so he thought of this method to attract Mutants and have them come to him.
It was called a Superheroes company, but it was actually a large-scale Mutant recruitment Base.
Darian specifically instructed, "Remember to have our people do background checks. I don't want to recruit some useless trash with no talent and poor character. Not only would it ruin the company's reputation, but we'd also end up having to clean up after them."
Psylocke couldn't help but ask, "What if they have talent but their character isn't great?"
Darian said as if it were obvious, "Is that even a question? Of course, we recruit them into our Hellfire Club. Such talents are exactly what our organization needs."
Was I also picked by this standard when I joined the organization?
Darian had always hated waste, wanting to eat every grain of rice, so he set four standards.
Mutants with talent and good character could join Marvel Company, sign a contract, undergo training, and become high-profile superheroes.
Mutants with ability but questionable character would be taken into the Hellfire Club.
He wasn't afraid of those Mutants being disobedient.
Once they entered the Hellfire Club, he had plenty of ways to make them behave.
Mutants without outstanding abilities but with good character would be hired for various departments of Marvel Industries, with positions arranged according to their specific abilities to maximize their potential.
As for Mutants with no talent and poor character, they couldn't be let go either; they were rare materials.
Since there were superheroes, there had to be Supervillains to set them off, right?
This was the role of those Mutants.
Darian had people dig up the dark past of these Mutants one by one, filing them all away to be used later for the superheroes to carry out justice and settle accounts. In short, they couldn't be wasted.
The corner of Psylocke's mouth couldn't help but twitch a few times.
Too black-hearted!
It's just too damn black-hearted!
Even capitalists don't play like you. You should be hung from a streetlight outside the company!