"Can we talk?"
Professor X regarded Martin with a calm, placid gaze.
"Sorry, Professor, but I'm not interested. We're not on the same path."
Martin declined without hesitation, his tone steady and unemotional.
"I see. Even if I can sense your aversion to me, surely we don't have to be enemies, right? You and this world… neither should be your adversaries." Charles' words carried a deliberate weight.
Martin fell silent for a beat, then nodded slightly. "As long as they don't get in my way, I have no reason to stand against them."
"That's all I needed to hear. Let's go, Jean."
Professor X smiled gently.
Jean and Martin exchanged a look, a glance laden with unspoken meaning.
As Charles and Jean walked away, Martin exhaled deeply, reflecting on the momentary pressure he'd felt radiating from Jean just now.
So that was just an incomplete version of the Dark Phoenix... terrifying enough as is. Once she gathers more Phoenix fragments and ascends to White Phoenix or even the White Phoenix of the Crown…
He shook his head. The Phoenix Force, one of the Three Primal Forces of the Multiverse, was a cosmic obsession, pursued relentlessly by countless beings across reality.
Just then, a blood-soaked figure staggered out from one of the nearby ruins, blinking in confusion at the surrounding devastation.
"Guys… did I miss something? Did I get beat up or what?"
Everyone turned to look.
Martin gave a wry smile. "Yes, Bruce. Hulk got pounded so hard by Megatron he reverted mid-fight. I doubt we'll be seeing the big guy anytime soon."
Banner frowned in disbelief and instinctively tried to reach out to his alter ego. But after a few failed attempts, at the very brink of transformation, Hulk caught a mental glimpse of Megatron's mocking grin, screamed "NO!" and bolted back into the shadows of Bruce's subconscious.
Yeah. He got scared. Really scared.
"It's time to head back," Martin said, waving casually. At his command, the immense army, numbering in the millions, began transforming back into their vehicle forms. Within moments, the towering legions of metal titans dissolved into what appeared to be ordinary machinery.
Tony Stark, soot-covered and thoroughly exasperated, stomped over. "I've been standing here forever. You couldn't at least acknowledge me?"
Martin raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, Mr. Stark, but I honestly didn't have the bandwidth to entertain you."
He gestured toward the exit. The message was clear: you can leave now.
Tony looked around, baffled, as if expecting someone to explain this strange twist of fate. Eventually, he locked eyes with Banner. A silent exchange passed between the two geniuses. Then—slam!—the door shut in Tony's face.
He stood alone, stunned. Tony Stark, billionaire, genius, playboy, philanthropist… rejected. By a bunch of guys and piles of sentient metal.
Unbelievable.
"O Great Creator, what's our next move? Should we strike Magneto's Atlantic base next? They've stockpiled vast quantities of rare metals, valuable assets to our cause."
Megatron's optics glinted with excitement, tinged with bloodlust.
Banner, still aching from his encounter, recoiled slightly from the Decepticon leader.
"No," Martin replied. "We've got a better target." He spun the globe on the table and jabbed his finger down. "How about we conquer a sovereign kingdom sitting on a practically limitless supply of Vibranium?"
His finger landed squarely on Africa.
The Kingdom of Wakanda.
"A brilliant strategy," Megatron snarled, optics flaring with malevolent energy. "If you permit it, I will lead one million warriors to raze this kingdom to the ground!"
Banner gawked. "You're talking about invading a sovereign nation. God, that's a blatant violation of international law! You'll be branded terrorists!"
That earned him a curious glance from both Martin and Megatron.
"Bruce," Martin said with a chuckle, "you misunderstand. The worst this world could call me is a super-criminal. The most wanted man on Earth. But a terrorist?" He smirked. "They wouldn't dare. Just like no one dares call Doctor Doom a terrorist for what he does in Latveria."
He let out a low laugh.
There were indeed beings on Earth that gave Martin pause, powerful figures like the Ancient One of Kamar-Taj or the Yu-Ti of K'un-Lun, but Wakanda wasn't one of them.
At least, not the Wakanda from the movies.
If that's the version we're dealing with, Megatron's million-strong army could blitz them into extinction in a single charge.
Black Panther, White Panther? They'd all fall.
Unlike Thanos' organic cannon fodder, the screaming, mindless Chitauri from the movies, Martin's Cybertronian army could think, shoot, analyze, adapt. They were weapons of war, not wild beasts.
But… if it's comic-book Wakanda?
That would be another story.
In the comics, Wakanda is divinely protected.