On the way back, Fang Yuan didn't bother with another plane ride.
Logan gets airsick.
Besides, Fang Yuan had finished inspecting Atlas Military Industries, so he simply asked Red Devil to teleport them to New York.
But when Red Devil arrived, he gave Fang Yuan a helpless look.
(￢_￢)
Fang Yuan read his mind—"You could teleport yourself, you know."
Fang Yuan planted his hands on his hips, righteous as ever. "I'm giving you a chance to butter up the Group Chairman—why waste it?"
Red Devil looked away; he knew Fang Yuan had entered shameless mode. In that state, the man was invincible.
Pop!
Logan and Viktor blinked—and found themselves dumped from deep forest straight into the city.
Both stared at Red Devil, stunned; they hadn't expected this ruddy-skinned giant to pack such power.
"I've lived over a hundred years, and you're the most unusual man I've ever met," Viktor marveled.
By "unusual" he meant both the man's looks and his ability.
Crossing half the planet in a heartbeat was genuinely jaw-dropping.
Viktor's mention of a century was meant to flaunt his own gift. Competitive as he was, he hated coming in second; since he couldn't slash himself open just to prove his healing factor, he let his age speak for him.
Yet his boast drew no reaction from Red Devil—no surprise, not even a glance.
Red Devil only loosened up around Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan filled Viktor in: "Remember I told you Vought has an Awakened who's over three thousand years old?"
"That's him."
Both Viktor and Logan whipped their heads around, eyes wide, suddenly understanding.
Living a mere century already felt so dull they chased battlefield thrills; hit three millennia and you'd act like Red Devil—too jaded to bother with people.
As it stood, Red Devil, Logan, and Viktor were the three eldest in Vought Corporation.
Combined, they hadn't produced a single descendant… or scraped together the price of one New York apartment.
Red Devil had once owned fortunes, but immortality bred ennui; if he hadn't joined Vought, he'd be as broke as Logan and Viktor.
None of them nursed grand ambitions—Red Devil was zen to the extreme, Logan drifted with the current, Viktor hunted only thrills. Give any of them a sweeping dream and the World map would look very different.
Fang Yuan gave the wolf-and-tiger brothers a quick tour of Vought Tower, blowing their minds.
Awakened who were rarities outside were everywhere here, each in perfect order, clearly a routine long established.
"Jimmy, when did we last see normal kin—uh, Awakened?" Viktor asked.
Logan thought. "Twenty years ago, European front. A guy with crazy agility—till you tore him in half."
"Right, that annoying monkey," Viktor spat, recalling how troublesome the man had been.
"Back then we stumbled on one every few years; now they're everywhere," Logan mused.
Viktor shook his head. "Deformed Ones were common enough. It's the normal-looking ones that are popping up more."
Plainly, Viktor didn't count warped Awakened as people.
Or rather, the weak ones.
Someone like Red Devil clearly earned a different attitude.
Fang Yuan had mulled over the same topic.
Mutants had shown up since Apocalypse's era millennia ago; after so many centuries, Awakened should never have stayed obscure.
Yet only after the Cuba Crisis did their existence go public—clearly abnormal.
But this was a cinematic universe; compared with the X-Men franchise's tangle of retcons, bugs, and contradictions, this hiccup barely rated.
In-universe, it's because the main cast are modern, so heavy-hitters cluster in the present.
Real-World logic: the X-gene keeps evolving, so stronger Awakened keep emerging.
The tour moved on, and the brothers' amazement deepened.
Even Awakened with twisted bodies found roles inside Vought.
They worked hard yet looked upbeat; one three-armed Awakened was chewing out a Normal Employee for a mistake—unthinkable outside these walls.
On the way to the executive elevator they passed Vought's cultural gallery, charting the misery of pre-Vought Mutants and the better life after its founding.
Even the footloose Logan and Viktor grasped Vought's stature, their goodwill soaring.
If they'd joined purely for Fang Yuan's offer, now they felt genuine allegiance.
An Awakened belongs in Vought—period.
Sensing their shift via Telepathy, Fang Yuan mentally patted himself on the back.
Every scene they'd seen—Awakened at work, the gallery—had been curated so first-time visitors would quickly warm to Vought.
Hey, it's Vought; a little stagecraft is child's play.
Fang Yuan led them to White Queen, and she swiftly processed their paperwork.
Both were graded "E1" employees.
First-tier elites.
Since Fang Yuan had hand-picked them, no starting at the bottom.
He wasn't worried about resentment; from day one Vought had decreed only Fang Yuan could recruit elite staff.
Who dares argue with Black King?
Sure enough, the title Black King had leaked out.
Sebastian Shaw himself vouched for Fang Yuan's worth—nobody questioned it.
Other elites: Banshee and Alex and Riptide at E2, Darwin and Mystique at E3, Red Devil at E4, Angel, Professor X, Magneto, and White Queen at E5.
Angel is the public face; Professor X's trio are pillar assets—naturally top-tier.
Red Devil's high rating was earned, and unanimously approved.
Global instant transport is priceless for celebrities on press junkets.
You will get 90 chapter ahead for this fanfiction.
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