"What? How is that even possible? No one can force the Professor to do something he doesn't want to do."
"There's no such thing as impossible."
Looking at the disbelief on everyone's faces, Fenris explained, "Stryker's son, Jason, has powerful mind-control abilities. And Jason was once one of the Professor's students."
"Stryker extracted fluid from his son's brain. It can make people submit to his control."
"Yes, Fenris is right." Professor X gave Fenris a deep look. The things he had just mentioned were not secrets that the soldiers he killed should have known.
But since Fenris had chosen not to explain further, he did not ask.
"But they're not Magneto. They don't have a telepathic shielding helmet, so how are they supposed to capture the Professor? With an elite squad?" The moment he heard this plot was aimed at the school and the Professor, Scott could no longer sit still. "Besides, the Professor wouldn't just leave the school so easily."
"Wouldn't leave the school easily?" Fenris shook his head. "I wouldn't be so sure."
As he spoke, Fenris turned and glanced at the television nearby.
A breaking news report was playing.
"We are receiving live coverage out of Washington. Just moments ago, an extremely serious attack took place inside the President's office at the White House."
"We do not yet know the full details, but the President was not injured. According to reliable sources, this attack was carried out by a mutant..."
The sudden report left everyone silent for a moment, and all eyes turned toward the Professor.
"Don't worry. For the school's safety, I'm not going to run off and confront Erik right now."
The Professor saw the concern on their faces and smiled reassuringly.
"Professor, do you think Magneto did this too?" Scott asked.
"Probably not Erik. He wouldn't be foolish enough to do something like this."
Professor X shook his head. He knew his old friend too well. A mutant attack on the President would have consequences far too severe, and it did not align with Magneto's mutant-first ideology.
"Let's go back first. Once we find the mutant who attacked the President, everything will become clear."
"Let's go."
Fenris nodded, and a massive dimensional portal appeared before the group.
On the other side was the school's entrance hall.
"Don't touch the edge of the portal."
Seeing how curious everyone looked, Fenris smiled and emphasized the warning.
"When did you learn a sorcerer's tricks?"
Professor X remained at the back. After watching the students and teachers step through the portal one after another in fascination, he studied it for a while before suddenly looking up to ask.
"You know sorcerers exist, Professor?"
Fenris arched a brow, somewhat surprised.
"The existence of sorcerers is secretive, but not completely unknown." Seeing that Fenris did not want to say more, Professor X smiled faintly. "Do not rely on this kind of power too much. For you, your own strength is still what matters most."
"I understand."
Fenris was a little surprised. The Professor had just said almost exactly the same thing as the Ancient One.
"But Professor, do we need to do something about the surveillance footage here?"
"Someone will go delete it on their own in a little while."
"Tch."
Fenris clicked his tongue and followed the Professor out of the museum.
No wonder Apocalypse had coveted the Professor's power so badly and called it a force only a god should wield. Against most intelligent lifeforms, that kind of power was a complete dimensional mismatch.
The instant the dimensional portal closed, the enormous museum returned to normal. Everything resumed as if nothing had happened, and no one had any idea that a few minutes of their time had just been stolen away.
A short while later, inside Charles's office.
The moment Professor X returned, he hurried off to the Cerebro chamber to track down the assassin who had attacked the President, leaving the remaining teachers staring awkwardly at one another.
"After all this time, Fenris has become even more mysterious."
Ever since sitting down, Jean Grey's eyes had barely left Fenris.
At that moment, Fenris was sitting quietly in the corner, yet faint strands of purple-black light occasionally flickered around him.
For some reason, in Jean's eyes, although Fenris was clearly here, he also seemed to exist in some other dimension at the same time.
And for no clear reason at all, Jean suddenly realized that Fenris had somehow become... appetizing.
"Jean?"
Scott's gaze shifted back and forth between the two of them. After a long moment, he saw Jean unconsciously lick her lips, and his face finally darkened as he stepped in to block her line of sight.
"Huh? What is it, Scott?"
Only then did Jean seem to snap out of it. She blinked, looking blankly at her unhappy boyfriend.
"You just..."
"What happened? Why did you call us back in such a rush?"
The office door was suddenly shoved open. Logan's voice came before he did, cutting Scott off mid-sentence.
"Hm? What's that smell?"
A faint scent of blood abruptly entered his nose, and Logan's eyes instantly locked onto the silent Fenris sitting nearby.
"You kill people again, kid?"
At this early stage of learning, sensing other dimensions required intense concentration. If Dormammu noticed him by accident, then even with the three Sanctums and the Ancient One protecting Earth, the backlash would still leave Fenris feeling awful for a while.
The room was too noisy, so Fenris simply pulled his awareness back and answered, "Yeah. Stryker's soldiers."
"Good." Logan bared his teeth in a grin.
He thought Fenris might talk like an asshole, but his temperament suited him just fine.
"I found the assassin."
Professor X's voice sounded at just the right moment. "He's in a church in Boston. Storm, Jean, I need the two of you to go."
"Understood, Professor."
Jean Grey stood up. Before leaving, she cast one more lingering glance at Fenris, and there seemed to be a trace of regret in her eyes.
Scott's face darkened even further at the sight.
"Why not have Fenris draw one of those circles..."
Ororo mimed Fenris's hand movement. "Wouldn't that let us go straight there?"
"If I haven't seen the place before, I can't portal there."
Fenris smiled. He was still nowhere near the level of the Ancient One, who could do that kind of thing effortlessly.
"All right."
Ororo shrugged, clearly disappointed.
Watching the two women leave, Professor X turned to the rest of them and instructed, "Before Stryker and his people attack the school, I will make sure I remain here guarding it. But the rest of you should not let your guard down either."
"Fenris, I hope you'll help us hold the line."
"I can."
Fenris nodded without changing expression.
The ones coming were just a group of heavily armed ordinary people. Now that the Professor was not about to hand him and Cyclops over to Stryker in a neat package, it did not matter how many showed up. They would not pose much of a threat.
Fenris estimated he probably would not even need to make a move.
"But after this is over, I need to leave for a while."
He made the point clearly.
"What are you going to do?" Logan asked.
Fenris pulled out a clear photo of Alkali Lake.
"I'm going to beat their brains out."
(End of Chapter)
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