5 Chapter 5

In a Deerfield, Illinois street with sparse car traffic, an unusual olive-colored car passed by. Unlike the other vehicles, the driver and passenger were far from ordinary. Logan, also known as "Wolverine," raised his hand to adjust his ill-suited clothing while muttering quietly. Seated in the other chair was a giant human, calmly observing the surroundings.

As Logan wrestled with his attire, he sensed a mental connection, prompting his alertness. He heard Charles' voice speaking calmly in his mind: "Logan, where have you reached?"

Logan ceased his attempt to make his clothes more comfortable and transitioned his grumbles to a mental lament. "We're close, Chuck, but didn't you find someone better suited for this?" he continued, "You should have sent Ororo or gone yourself. I don't think a A two meter tall child and me make the best choice for convincing a family to let their daughter join school."

Logan cut his complaints short, saying, "I understand sending the kid on the mission, but you could have sent someone else with him. I'm not good with kids."

Charles responded, "My old friend, you may not see it, but I'm certain you're the best fit for this place; you just haven't realized it yet," with a smile that Logan could almost sense, even without seeing it.

Logan sighed, feeling a smile creep onto his face. He continued speaking when he sensed the Professor withdrawing from his mind, "Wait, for the shop owner, that's..."

Charles didn't take long to respond, "You may not be the ideal choice, Logan, but I believe in you. Besides, it's good activity that might help Rasputin gain experience. Regardless of who we send, our school has the persuasive credentials to win over any parent; just give them the papers. The crucial thing is for the young girl, Kitty Pryde, to adjust to her new reality, and Rasputin is one of the finest youth mentors at the academy, dealing with those his age or younger, and among the most mature."

The Professor's presence returned in Logan's mind, and he responded, "Regarding that person, I mentioned he had the scent of corrupt generals and politicians, but even with our research, we couldn't find any link between him and the international stage or anything noteworthy about him. He's just an ordinary shop owner." He continued before Logan interrupted, "I trust your instincts and abilities, which is why I wanted to probe his mind, but for some reason, I couldn't gain access."

"Does that mean...?" 

"No, he's not one of the mutants; he doesn't carry the X-Gene," 

Logan found this news peculiar but quickly accepted it, as life was crazy enough to expect the unexpected.

"Damn, what do we do with him? Don't tell me we just leave him; he's dangerous among a group of regular folks," Logan expressed his concern.

"Logan, there's nothing we can do. His record shows he's innocent of any crimes, and I didn't sense any violent tendencies or mental instability in him. He's just an ordinary person, at least for now. All we can do is wait," Charles explained.

Logan slammed his palm against his leg as his words escaped his mind and were spoken through his lips, "So you're saying we leave a creature surrounded by all that bloodshed among the population without taking any action? I knew I should've ignored you and finished it right there."

The sudden outcry startled Rasputin, who had been enjoying the scenery. However, Logan remained unfazed and continued his conversation with Charles.

"Logan, we can't resort to violence for everything. Even if that man is a killer, we know nothing about him; he might be like you," Charles advised.

Logan ceased his argument, refocused on the road, and withdrew a cigar from his coat, seemingly unconcerned about the Professor leaving his mind.

"Um, I think it's best not to smoke right now; we're almost there," Rasputin suggested.

Logan acknowledged Rasputin's advice, glanced around to confirm, and let out a sigh as he returned the cigar to its place, remarking, "This day just keeps getting worse and worse."

At the grocery store owner's house, far from Deerfield, he stood in front of the kitchen, waiting for the water to boil, his thoughts swirling relentlessly in his mind. His hasty modifications had left him somewhat bewildered, making it challenging to keep up with everything.

These alterations to the Earth's crust, pushing minerals to the surface within the mountainous region in the western continent, had unexpected consequences. Amid the ice-capped peaks, the ground erupted angrily, expelling all its heat and molten orange fury for several days, eventually forming a traditional composite volcano. It melted most of the ice and claimed several square miles as its territory, proudly rising thousands of meters in an attempt to challenge some of the mountains.

This addition brought a semi-moderate climate to the surrounding area, but overall, the volcano didn't cause significant changes. The only noticeable change was the emergence of sticky bacterial colonies near the volcano's center and in the vents continuously expelling heat from the Earth's interior.

His previous attempts to control single-celled organisms had succeeded, but modifying them proved more challenging than plants. Unlike animals, his inability wasn't due to impossibility but rather a lack of skill.

It felt like a giant with oversized fingers trying to press the right small button among many buttons whenever he attempted to force them to alter their structures.

Away from the western continent, the Growth Fruit had spread vigorously in the central continent, and many inhabitants began consuming it. So far, no negative side effects such as allergies or associated diseases had been observed. This brought him a sense of comfort, even though he hadn't noticed significant growth in height yet. He understood that everything takes time, and he possessed the patience to wait.

The Flower of Longevity and Intelligence were still under development, so he focused all his attention on his current plans. Without accomplishing them, he couldn't consider other ways to enhance himself. And these plans became even more challenging: creating a massive creature.

Not gigantic in the sense of tens or hundreds of meters, or even thousands. To create a creature visible to the naked eye in the vast cosmos, it needed to be at least the size of an average planet in the miniature galaxy. And this was just to make it visible, far from what he truly aimed to achieve.

The creature had to be at least the size of an ant. Such immense size made his mind race to figure out how to create it. He could contemplate solutions for gravity, sustenance, responsiveness to stimuli, and blood circulation. Most of these aspects could be controlled.

But what drives a being to become this size in the first place? Nature is a miraculous thing, and the more you claim it can't do something, it surprises you with the truth: "You can never predict the limits of nature." It always finds a way and a solution.

However, what he desired couldn't be easily created, not in thousands of years or even billions of years of the evolution of species, at least as he saw it. So, he had to intervene personally to accomplish it, and this caused him a headache.

This cursed kettle didn't want to remain silent. 

A kettle? 

He glanced at the rising steam from the kettle, recalling what he was initially doing. Quickly, he turned it off before using the boiling water to prepare a teapot, placing it on the tray with two cups before leaving. He opened the store and set the tray on the table before sitting in his usual chair and tuning in to some random radio stations.

And so, he spent about half an hour not thinking about much, occasionally tending to customers. Until a shadow quietly stood nearby, causing him to look at this shadow with a smile. "I reckoned you wouldn't show up," he said, only to be replied to by the owner of the shadow with his own unique grin. "You know me, William, I'll never pass up a chance to snag a free cup of tea," he said before picking up the second empty cup and pouring tea into it, leaning on the table.

William turned down the volume of the radio before responding, "Kyle, oh Kyle, just like always, nothing lures you in quite like the aroma of food."

Kyle sipped the tea calmly, casting a thoughtful glance at his friend before broaching the topic with a playful grin.

"So,William" he began, "when are you finally going to tie the knot? The world's changing, man, and I can't be your wingman forever."

William let out a quiet sigh while pulling out a newspaper. "It's not that I don't want to, Kyle. I just don't even know how to explain it."

"Yeah, yeah, do as you wish. But you're in your thirties now. If you don't hurry, you won't find a nice young wife to take care of you. You'll remain a bachelor for life," Kyle teased.

William was annoyed by the remark but before he could respond, a young child approached them, holding something wrapped in newspaper.

"Hello, Uncle William, and you too, Uncle Kyle."

"Oh, little Jack, what brings you here?"

"I got your book, sir," he said, extending the wrapped book towards William.

"Oh, thank you. How much is it?"

"Just 7 dollars," Jack replied.

William pulled out 10 dollars from his pocket and handed them to young Jack. "Take this, and consider it a small gift. Make good use of it, and thank you again."

Jack accepted the money and expressed his gratitude before leaving. In the meantime, Kyle continued the conversation. "Speaking of collections, I remember the last time it was a cassette tape from a band called 'Nass El Ghiwane ' or something like that. When did the hobby of collecting things become more important than getting married?"

William sighed as he removed the newspaper wrapping from the book. "You could say that. But it's better than playing Pac-Man for hours."

"At least I'm married," Kyle remarked.

"Damned bastard" William retorted.

"Les Miserables?"

"Yes"

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Uploading the chapter was delayed due to a malfunction in the application, so I had to use the site. Sorry for the long delay, even though I did not originally set a date for uploading the chapters. 

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