Alex narrowed his eyes slightly, staring at the television screen in front of him. He wasn't quite sure how to describe what he was feeling.
All he knew was—
The Dark Watcher was truly starting to panic.
"You know where that thing came from?" James' perception had always been sharp—especially now, with most of his powers fading. He paid closer attention to details than ever before, so he instantly noticed the shift in Alex's expression.
"Maybe," Alex didn't deny it.
Before he ever crossed into this world, the Marvel Universe was already in decline. After the cinematic failures of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and The Marvels, the only titles still holding things together were Loki Season 2 and X-Men '97.
Ironically, both belonged to non-movie formats—one a Disney+ series, the other an animated continuation.
And the Sentinel they were now seeing…
Alex was almost certain it was from X-Men '97—the same model responsible for the mass genocide in the mutant sanctuary Genosha.
That Genosha massacre arc in the animated series was adapted from the comics, though the original comic version had been even more brutal.
In the source material, those "Wild Sentinels" were under the control of Cassandra Nova—Professor Xavier's twin sister. They launched a surprise assault on Genosha, sparing no one and ruthlessly slaughtering every mutant in sight.
In that one incident alone, sixteen million mutants died—some of them even members of the X-Men.
If that supercharged version of the Wild Sentinel had actually been transported into this universe, the entire planet would have already been reduced to scorched earth.
Even this "nerfed" version, though, couldn't be underestimated.
"Did the Watcher ever show up in X-Men '97?"
Alex rubbed his forehead. It had been so long that, even as a dimensional warlock, some of the memories had faded into haze.
"What did you say?" James hadn't caught Alex's muttered question. He studied the man in front of him with growing suspicion—feeling in his gut that Alex was hiding something.
"Nothing," Alex deflected calmly. "Just remembering something from the past."
He slowly stood up, eyes fixed on the horrors playing out on the TV screen.
"We're just going to watch this happen? Do nothing?"
Blink's voice was soft, but her distress was clear as she looked at the hellscape unfolding on the news.
"What else do you suggest?" James shot her a look and replied grimly, "We're barely surviving ourselves. This isn't our fight. There are millions of people out there—someone will step up to stop that thing."
With that, James suddenly grabbed Alex and dragged him into the bathroom.
Alex didn't resist. He followed quietly, watching as James closed the door behind them.
"You look like you've got a lot of questions," Alex said, casually sitting on the toilet seat. He pulled out a cigarette and offered one to James.
Taking it, James lit the cigarette and stared at Alex with a heavy, uncertain gaze. Ever since their last encounter, he'd felt an instinctive distance toward the man.
It was a gut feeling—a primal kind of aversion, like animals sensing a predator.
Something deep in his blood warned him: Standing too close to Alex is dangerous.
"You said you had the power to send Petra to a safer universe. Were you telling the truth?"
Alex gave a small smile. "That's not really the question you want to ask, is it?"
He could sense the wariness in James, and he didn't push. "Don't worry, Logan. I cast a ward the moment you shut the door. Right now, no one but us can hear this conversation."
For some reason, Alex deliberately emphasized the word hear.
James turned, bracing himself against the sink with his right hand while placing the cigarette between his lips with the left. He stared at the worn, disheveled man reflected in the mirror—a man far older than he once was—and a flicker of exhaustion crossed his face.
"To be honest," he said hoarsely, "before I ran into you people, life was... decent. Really. Even after what happened before, I had started to come to terms with it. Maybe I owed Charles that much. He found me. Gave me a home. I figured the least I could do was be there for him in the end... even if I've got a few decades on him."
Blowing smoke at the mirror, James watched as his reflection blurred beneath the haze. His voice grew raspier as he continued.
"I don't know exactly what's going on—parallel world invaders, or... things like you," he gestured vaguely at Alex. "This kind of stuff? It was always Beast's domain. Or Storm's. Me? I handled the simple stuff—the jobs where you just had to swing fists. You know. The grunt work. So when you say I want to ask something… I don't even know what I'm supposed to ask."
Alex listened quietly. He didn't interrupt. He simply watched Logan's reflection through the mirror—silent and still.
No one spoke for a long while.
Then, finally, Alex sighed. "It's not your fault, Logan. This was never your burden to carry."
"I know. The world's to blame," James said, letting out a dry, bitter laugh.
"Listen to me," Alex said, his tone turning grave. "There's a massive conspiracy behind all this. I know who's pulling the strings... but I don't know why. Not yet. That's why I need time—to understand what they want."
James shook his head. "So it's not just you. There are others with that kind of power." He exhaled sharply. "And somehow I'm not even surprised. Let me guess—this is all just a game to you 'higher beings.' You manipulate time and space like you own them. Parallel realities, entire universes... under your thumb."
"You can think of it that way," Alex admitted, frowning, "but that was never my intention."
James went quiet again. Then, after a pause, he asked, "Are you saying that even you can't beat them?"
"No," Alex said simply. His lips pressed together for a moment before continuing in a calm, even tone. "It's because I'm too strong… that I can't beat them. I know that doesn't make sense, but this isn't about winning or losing. They're trying to use me—to achieve some unspeakable objective. I just don't know what that is yet."
Silence returned to the bathroom like a heavy fog.
Truthfully, Alex wasn't sure what Logan was thinking anymore. Maybe, for someone like the old mutant, all of this—the cosmic mechanics, multiversal forces—was just too alien to grasp.
Miss Minutes was already doing her best to map the Logan-Verse. Once that data was complete, Alex hoped he could trace at least a thread that would lead him to the Dark Watcher's true plan.
Though whether that would actually help... he wasn't sure.
Miss Minutes had her origins in the TVA, and while Alex wasn't certain if the version he now worked with was the same entity he remembered from his own timeline, the resemblance—both in form and function—was nearly identical.
Which made things complicated. Between the TVA and the Watchers, it wasn't exactly clear who outranked whom in the cosmic hierarchy.
But if Alex had to bet?
The Watchers stood higher.
Much higher.
Even if they'd sworn an oath never to interfere in any universe's natural evolution…
Alex knew better than to believe that meant they stayed out of the game.
But once they decide to intervene, the entire Multiverse becomes nothing more than a plaything of their will. Unless a higher cosmic entity steps in, any alterations the Watchers make to the timeline are irreversible.
Even the TVA is powerless to stop them. In fact, with their limited reach, it's questionable whether the TVA can even perceive the existence of the Watcher race. After all, Watchers are beings of such abstract form that they remain completely invisible to ordinary observation—unseen, untraceable.
While on the surface, both factions—the TVA and the Watchers—seem to stay in their own lanes, fulfilling distinct roles within the cosmic order, the What If...? universes paint a clearer picture: Watchers can freely relocate beings from one universe to another, while the TVA can do little more than observe without recourse.
So whether Miss Minutes can actually detect the Dark Watcher's movements remains to be seen. But right now, Alex had no better choice—he'd just have to counter each move as it came.
"So," James's voice echoed through the bathroom, pulling Alex out of his thoughts, "what you're saying is… there are beings weaker than you, using some method or leverage to force your hand—manipulating you to wield your powers for their ends?"
"That's right," Alex said, lifting his gaze. "You got it exactly."
"Then let's think this through. Why here? Why this universe? And why bring in people from other timelines who clearly don't belong here?"
James turned fully toward Alex, eyes locked.
"Let's flip the perspective. Say you're one of them. No matter your goal, no matter the agenda—what's the strategic advantage of luring someone like you into this universe and then unleashing a bunch of multiversal invaders?"
"Advantage…"
The word made Alex's expression darken as he chewed it over carefully.
"Don't rush your answer, Alex," James said calmly. "You're smart. Smarter than you let on. Think it over. Me? I'm just a relic—an old man about to fade from the world. I don't know jack about whatever cosmic circus you people are involved in."
He paused, then continued in a more solemn tone.
"But I do know this: if a mortal ever wants to fight a god, he better be ready to stage a lie grand enough to fool the entire world… or tell a bloody joke so cruel it forces one god to be used against another."
With that, James turned and opened the door, walking out without another word.
And inside the bathroom, Alex remained alone, staring gravely into the mirror, his mind racing with dark possibilities.
....
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