Maxim briskly walked through the corridor, his mind still lingering on Katerina as he thought of the methods he'd use in the future to make her more powerful. These thoughts swirled until he reached the polished metal door at the end of the hall.
~CLICK!~
Maxim slid open the door, revealing the chamber beyond, an open space of warm wood floors, tall windows and sitting behind a desk was Charles Xavier.
"Maxim," the Professor greeted with a nod, gesturing for Maxim to take a seat at the table, "Thank you for coming."
Maxim just nodded and stepped inside, "No problem." Soon, he took a seat across from Charles, his hand resting on the chair's frame.
"Then let's be courteous and cut straight to it. How are the X-Men and the other Mutants holding up. Is everyone feeling comfortable now?" Maxim asked, taking a sip of tea that was prepared for him.
Professor X took a couple moments to think before responding, "Better than we've been in years. This place is a sanctuary in the truest sense. They can finally be themselves in public without camouflage or restraint."
"Yeah, but make sure they don't slack on their training, we can never know what will happen." Maxim said and Professor X nodded.
"Of course, this world may still become a battlefield. Mutants are being born in greater numbers than before, and people's powers are evolving, growing stronger. Tensions between nations are already growing beneath the surface, they fear what they can't control, and this place is far beyond anything they can control."
Charles said, but there was no accusatory tone in his voice, only observation, and Maxim understood, nodding in agreement.
"Don't worry, more than enough precautions have been made, and they're all constantly updating. Astral Overlays, Dimensional Anchors, Psionic Barriers. There's nothing in this world that can breach this place."
"I've taken precautions," Maxim said. "Shielded Madripoor's critical sectors with failsafes. Strategic defenses. Astral overlays. Dimensional anchors. No outside force will take this place easily."
Charles nodded approvingly. "Good. That will become more important in the days ahead. Madripoor may one day be the capital of mutantkind."
Maxim raised an eyebrow, "I'm not trying to start a mutant empire, Professor."
"No," Charles agreed, "but you've created the foundation of one. And the world will see it that way, regardless of your intentions."
Maxim just chuckled and nodded. He didn't mind if Madripoor became the Capital of Mutantkind, it was his base of operations under his control, and more friendly Mutants just meant heightened defenses.
There was a brief lull in the conversation, but Charles eventually spoke, "There are other Mutants we need to discuss."
Maxim leaned back slightly, eyes narrowing. "You mean Erik."
"Yes," Charles confirmed. "He's been gathering his Brotherhood again. More mutants disillusioned with the dream. They've been traveling—Berlin, Cairo, Bangkok. Last confirmed sighting was in Northern India."
Maxim raised his eyebrow and sank in thought. When he was younger ( in his past life ) he always just blindly thought Magneto was wrong and the X-Men were always right, but as he grew up, he grew to understand the underlying philosophy of why Magneto did what he did.
Still, at this point, Magneto was firmly in his stance of Mutant Superiority and dominance, wanting to accomplish this based on his belief that Humans would inevitably hunt down all Mutants in the future, and this stance made him a threat to Maxim.
"So what do you suggest we do to handle this? We can always just take a more forceful approach." Maxim said.
Charles shook his head no and spoke, "I prefer a more passive approach. We've accomplished so much here, if we can convince him this is the future, maybe he'll change his mind."
Maxim wanted to roll his eyes but held it back. He couldn't say he was surprised at what Charles said, he was always the ultimate optimist of Marvel.
"Do you think this place will be enough to convince him and his underlings. Some of them are probably more war addicted than he is. You'll need more leverage." Maxim said.
"Which brings me to the Hellfire Club," Charles said, his voice carefully neutral.
Maxim's eyes flicked to him immediately,"Emma Frost?"
"The White Queen," Charles confirmed, "She's… complicated. She has clashed in the past multiple times with the X-Men, but she's helped us before when our goals align If we can convince her to align with us, openly, others will follow."
"She's not exactly known for playing well with others," Maxim said dryly, basing what he knew from the limited X-Men comics he read in his past life.
"No, but she's pragmatic. She believes in protecting mutants, and she believes in influence. The Hellfire Club's leadership is fractured right now. Sebastian Shaw's recent moves have made her enemies. If we offer her something greater."
Maxim gave a slow nod, mulling it over. "I can work with her. But I want full discretion. If she betrays us—"
"She won't," Charles said with unexpected confidence. "I know Emma. She's many things, but not a fool. She understands what's coming. And she knows that if Madripoor falls, then Mutantkind will truly never succeed. This is all of our best chance for peace. This world won't offer second chances."
Maxim stood from the chair, fingers tapping lightly against the polished wooden table as he gave a small, thoughtful nod. "Alright. I'll go talk to Emma. Better to get ahead of whatever Shaw is cooking up anyway. If the Club's fractured, she might be looking for allies she can actually trust, or control."
Charles just nodded and carefully looked at Maxim, taking a final sip of his tea before he asked, "Will you be going alone?"
Maxim paused at that, eyes shifting to the side for a moment as he considered the idea. He could go alone. He usually did. But something tugged at him, not caution, but preference.
"No," he said at last. "Send Monroe."
A brief smile flickered across Charles's face, "Ororo would be honored. I'm sure with her there things would go much smoother."
"For sure," Maxim muttered with a slight grin, remembering those nights reading comics in his past life, always cheering when Storm summoned thunder in battles.
"Very well," Charles said, standing slowly. "I'll inform her. She should be ready to depart within the hour."
Maxim gave a curt nod and started toward the door, pausing only briefly as Charles spoke one last time.
"Maxim… thank you. For all of this. I know you didn't have to create this sanctuary, or welcome us here. But you did. And I won't forget it."
Maxim didn't turn around. He just lifted a hand in a casual wave as the door slid open before him.
"Don't thank me yet, Professor. We still have a lot of work to do."