Sebastian stood in his workshop, the air humming with the faint crackle of hellfire.

Steve's shield lay secured on the experimental table, its surface gleaming under the dim light.

With precise movements, Sebastian guided the fire wire formed by the hellfire, watching as the vibranium melted into shimmering droplets.

Carefully, he extracted a walnut-sized orb of the precious metal, ensuring the shield's integrity remained uncompromised.

Satisfied, Sebastian waved his wand, conjuring a portal that flickered with azure light, revealing Steve on the other side.

"Hey, Steve," he called with a grin, tossing the shield through the portal. "Good as new." The portal snapped shut, leaving the workshop quiet once more.

The vibranium orb in his hand pulsed faintly, a perfect component for crafting a gem-medium magical artifact. With a flick of his wrist, the orb vanished into his enchanted storage, and Sebastian turned his focus to sketching the intricate magic circuits for his next creation.

His mind buzzed with possibilities, the thrill of crafting something extraordinary driving him forward.

But then, a voice—faint, familiar, yet distant—echoed in his mind, pulling him from his work.

"Sebastian…" it whispered, laced with desperation. He froze, straining to hear it clearly. The Space Gem embedded in his left hand flared with a soft blue glow, and the voice sharpened, cutting through the haze.

"Sebastian, help us…"

"Sebastian, help us…"

"Sebastian!"

It was Charles Xavier, Professor X, his voice clawing across the multiverse from the X-Men's Earth.

How could Charles's voice pierce the vast distance between universes? The Space Gem's glow pulsed in rhythm with the plea, hinting at its role in bridging the impossible gap.

Charles must have unlocked new abilities through the gem, abilities strong enough to reach across realities.

What could threaten Charles now, after Apocalypse's fall? The urgency in that voice demanded action. Sebastian recalled with vivid intensity the promise he'd made to stand by Charles when needed.

He didn't hesitate long. After a moment's thought, Sebastian sought out Alisha, his mother, in their quiet home. Her warm eyes met his, and he forced a reassuring smile. "I'll be gone for a few months, Mom. Don't worry about me, okay?" She nodded, though her brow furrowed with concern, sensing the weight in his voice.

Next, he contacted Tony. "I'm heading out for a bit," Sebastian said, his tone firm. "Keep an eye on Mom for me." Tony, ever the loyal friend, agreed without question, though his curiosity was evident.

With that, Sebastian stepped outside, the cool night air brushing against his face. Above the clouds, he activated the Space Gem's power, locking onto Charles's universe.

His body shimmered, transforming into a streak of blue starlight that tore through the fabric of reality, vanishing into the void.

---------------

Parallel Universe: X-Men World

A deep blue aurora sliced across the sky, a crack forming in its wake.

The light coalesced into a meteor, plummeting to the earth below. Sebastian landed softly, his boots sinking into the cracked, barren ground. His eyes swept over the desolate landscape, and his chest tightened. This was X Academy—or what was left of it. The once-vibrant school was now a graveyard of shattered walls, withered grass, and scorched trees, as if a war had swept through and left nothing behind.

Charles's plea echoed in his mind, and Sebastian's expression grew grim.

He extended his senses, an invisible ripple radiating outward, searching for life.

Nothing. Not a single heartbeat or breath. His jaw clenched as he stepped into the ruins, his wand at the ready. The walls bore scars of battle—gouges, burns, and claw-like marks that told a story of relentless violence.

Sebastian's mind pieced it together.

The attackers weren't random. These were precise, coordinated strikes by multiple humanoid weapons. Sentinels, he realized, his blood running cold.

Charles and the X-Men had defeated the Sentinels before, hadn't they?

Yet these marks suggested a new breed—stronger, deadlier, far beyond what the X Academy's mutants could handle.

With no one left in the ruins, Sebastian prepared to leave, his wand glowing faintly in his hand. But a distant roar shattered the silence, followed by panicked cries for help.

Without a second thought, he dissolved into black smoke, racing toward the sound.

Emerging from the smoke, Sebastian spotted three teenagers—two boys and a girl—sprinting toward the ruins of the X Academy.

Their faces were pale, eyes wide with terror. Behind them loomed a towering Sentinel, its iron-gray body sleek and menacing, red electronic eyes glowing like twin embers. Standing three to four meters tall, its long limbs moved with eerie precision as it closed in on the fleeing mutants.

Sebastian didn't hesitate. He materialized between the Sentinel and the teenagers, his wand crackling with energy. A barrage of red light erupted from the tip, aimed at the Sentinel's chest.

But the robot's body shimmered, dissolving into a cloud of red mist and reappearing behind him. Its arm morphed into a razor-sharp spear, thrusting toward Sebastian's back.

Instinct took over. Sebastian spun, his wand slashing backward.

An invisible blade of force cleaved through the Sentinel's spear-arm, severing it with a metallic screech.

The robot staggered but didn't fall. Its surface rippled, sprouting a layer of diamond-like skin that gleamed under the dim light.

Sebastian struck again, another invisible blade slicing across the Sentinel's chest, leaving a deep gash but no fatal damage.

Upgraded, just as I thought, Sebastian muttered inwardly. The Sentinel's face split open, revealing a grotesque maw that sprayed a stream of corrosive liquid. With a deft wave of his wand, Sebastian redirected the liquid, sending it splashing back onto the Sentinel. The acid seeped into the gash on its chest, eating through its internal circuits. Sparks flew, and the machine collapsed, its red eyes flickering out as it hit the ground.

Sebastian waved his wand once more, and the Sentinel's remains vanished into his storage. He turned to the three teenagers, who stood frozen, their faces a mix of awe and fear. They looked about sixteen, their clothes tattered from their desperate flight.

"You're mutants, right?" Sebastian asked, his voice calm but direct.

One of the boys, braver than the others, stepped forward. "Yeah, and you are too, aren't you?"

Sebastian smirked faintly. "Something like that. Why are you here?"

The girl, her voice trembling but resolute, answered, "We came to find shelter at the X Academy. A year ago, the military unleashed these Sentinels to hunt mutants. Anyone who fights back gets killed. The ones they capture… they end up dead on their experiment tables." Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. "The internet said this was the last safe place for mutants. We had nowhere else to go."

"A year…" Sebastian murmured, his mind racing. The timelines between his world and this one were misaligned. In his reality, less than a year had passed since his last visit, but here, at least a year had unfolded—maybe more.

Something was off, and he needed to understand why.

"Do you know about Apocalypse?" he asked, testing the waters.

The braver boy nodded. "The mutant from three years ago? The X-Men took him down. Why?"

Three years. Sebastian's eyes narrowed. This world's timeline was running at least two years ahead of his own.

The Sentinels had resurfaced a year ago, long after Apocalypse's defeat. Whatever was happening here, it was more complex than he'd anticipated.

Sebastian looked at the three teenagers their faces pale with shock as they processed his words. "I just came from the X Academy," he said, his voice steady but heavy. "There's no one left. It was attacked by a horde of Sentinel robots. The place is completely abandoned. You won't find shelter there."

"What!" Robert exclaimed, his voice breaking.

"How can that be?" Gabriel muttered, his cold demeanor cracking.

"What do we do now?" Anna whispered, her voice trembling with despair.

The three teenagers ran toward the X Academy, desperate to see it for themselves.

When they reached the ruins—broken walls and withered grass—they stopped, the reality sinking in. Their shoulders slumped, overwhelmed by frustration and hopelessness.