The documents the Pope handed over were an invitation from Charles Xavier.
Professor X wanted to meet him.
"Interesting." Adrian looked at the invitation in his hand, a slight smile playing on his lips.
He did have the idea of meeting Charles.
Ever since their brief conversation through Logan's body last time, he knew this meeting would come sooner or later.
"Alright, then let's meet."
"After all, we have to meet eventually."
Adrian casually handed the invitation to Clarisse.
Professor X was one of the two great leaders of the Mutants, a spiritual belief for a lot of Mutants for a long time, with countless followers, some even willing to die for him.
Seeing Adrian accept the meeting invitation, the Pope immediately arranged for staff to reply to Charles.
Inside Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, Phoenix, Jean Grey, walked into the study with the news that had just arrived from the Vatican.
"Professor, the Vatican has agreed to our meeting invitation."
"However, the meeting location is set for the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican."
She said softly.
Charles sat in his wheelchair, gazing quietly out the window, and slowly turned around upon hearing her words.
"I understand, arrange a time. We'll go to the Vatican in two days."
He had no objection to this meeting location.
Or rather, he had absolute confidence in his ability to go anywhere in the world.
Current tech hadn't developed to the point where it could completely block his telepathy yet, and there weren't many items that could resist his abilities.
After receiving Charles's reply, Adrian didn't leave the Vatican, but just meditated in the Apostolic Palace.
"The Hand..." Adrian began to think about how to deal with this organization.
Adrian didn't have much interest in the five leaders of The Hand.
Even though those five had entered the supernatural realm, they were at most at the initial level of the supernatural.
However, the Dragon Bones in their hands did catch Adrian's interest.
The Dragon Bones came from the Eastern secret realm of K'un-Lun, and were the bones formed after the death of the immortal dragon Shou-Lao, possessing the miraculous effects of prolonging life and even bringing the dead back to life.
And whoever defeated Shou-Lao could receive his gift of "chi" and become the contemporary Iron Fist of K'un-Lun.
However, judging from the performance in the Marvel universe, the strength of successive Iron Fists varied.
The strongest was Wu Fengji, who defeated and absorbed the Phoenix Force several centuries ago, while later Iron Fists were generally not as strong as before, and even Danny Rand performed pretty mediocrely.
If he could get the Dragon Bones, or even directly find Shou-Lao, Adrian would be able to get an inexhaustible source of life.
This way, he wouldn't have to go to great lengths to extract life energy from nature.
Simply put, an organization like The Hand—destroying ten of them wouldn't be too much.
He already had an idea in his mind.
Time quietly slipped away in meditation, and two days passed in a flash.
Charles, Jean Grey, and Cyclops, Scott, had arrived at the Vatican.
The three, led by Clarisse, walked through the solemn corridors to the depths of the Apostolic Palace.
"My Lords, this is where the Divine Emissary resides."
"Please wait a moment."
Clarisse politely led the three to the training ground next to Adrian's residence.
Before Clarisse could go in to announce their arrival, Adrian opened the door and appeared before the three.
"This should be our first meeting in the true sense." Adrian spoke first, his gaze calmly sweeping over the three.
"Indeed, I didn't expect you to grow this quickly." Charles said with some emotion.
The last time he sensed Adrian, he was still really frail, and even with extraordinary abilities, he couldn't hide his disheveled state during those difficult times.
But at this meeting, the guy's almost perfect appearance and transcendent vibe made his heart involuntarily tighten.
The group sat in the lounge area next to the training ground, and sunlight streamed through the stained-glass windows, casting colorful light and shadow on the floor.
"I wonder what the Professor wants to discuss, having come all this way to see me?" Adrian went straight to the point.
"I want to know, what exactly do you want to do?"
"Your actions during this period have put serious pressure on the Mutant community. The original balance has been broken."
Charles looked directly into Adrian's eyes.
He paused, then continued, "From what I know, a lot of consortiums and higher-ups from various countries have taken action against you, and have even contacted me and Erik."
Charles stared at the handsome young man before him—the only thing that hadn't changed was his calm eyes.
His dark pupils were like an abyss, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
"I just want to use my own method to secure more living space for Mutants."
"The Vatican is a pretty good cover, isn't it?"
Adrian responded indifferently.
"Are you trying to steal divine authority as a Mutant?"
"Like Apocalypse in the legends? Claiming to be a god? Enslaving everyone?"
Charles's gaze sharpened.
Upon hearing these words, Jean Grey and Scott unconsciously shifted their positions, and the atmosphere instantly became tense.
Clarisse, on the other hand, stood behind Adrian, her eyes sharp, ready to act at any moment.
In an instant, the air in the training ground seemed to freeze.
"I've got no interest in becoming a god."
"It's just that under the current social structure, divine authority is the best cover."
Adrian's voice remained calm.
A mocking smile played on his lips: "Plus, you and Erik have fought for so many years, causing all kinds of incidents—and what results have you achieved?"
Throughout the history of Mutants in the Marvel universe, the timeline had been reset countless times, with almost no good outcomes.
In Adrian's view, both Charles's and Erik's ways of handling things were way too extreme.
"But at least we haven't made things worse." Charles responded after a moment of silence.
Facing Adrian's questioning, he was momentarily lost in thought.
Thinking carefully, he genuinely couldn't remember what real results he and Erik had achieved.
It seemed they'd always been in opposition, fighting—one planned, the other thwarted, caught in this weird cycle.
"Charles, with all due respect..."
"Do you really think you've made enough contributions to the existence of the Mutant race?"
Adrian's gaze became sharp.
He paused, then continued, "Not to mention things far away, just take this one beside you."
His gaze swept over Jean Grey.
"She's a hidden danger way beyond any previous crisis. What have you done? Or do you really think your existence is the stabilizing force, the nuclear weapon of the Mutant race, enough to scare off everyone who wants Mutants?"
Adrian's voice remained calm, but full of pressure: "Then what about my experiences in the lab? What about the countless Mutants who were experimented on?"
In his opinion, Charles's overly idealistic thinking contributed even less to the Mutant race than Magneto's.
"What do you mean?" Scott, standing behind Charles, became restless, his hand already on his visor.
On the other side, Jean Grey's eyes also became complicated.
"Literal meaning."
Adrian responded calmly.
"Everyone goes their own way, in peace. If you really want to stop me, change my mind..."
He paused, his tone firm: "Then we're enemies!"
The words fell, leaving zero room for negotiation.
Charles looked deeply at Adrian.
This personal meeting gave him a deeper understanding of Adrian.
The guy wasn't without ambition, but was good at hiding it, and knew how to take it slow.
Plus, Adrian being able to sense the power within Jean, and daring to say such words, made him have some theories.
"An Omega-level Mutant?" Charles muttered to himself, his eyes growing deeper.
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