"Someone's here to see me?"
Fenris blinked. "All right. I'll go take a look."
Before the last note of his voice had even faded, two clusters of dazzling light suddenly flared behind him. Two pairs of radiant wings spread wide, and with a single beat, his figure dissolved into a streak of light and vanished from the training grounds.
"He could've just run over there, but no, he had to show off."
Logan made no effort to hide his contempt for that kind of behavior, grumbling from the side.
"But it really is cool."
Having just been fed a huge helping of inspiration, Pyro suddenly sprang to his feet, confidence restored.
"Bobby, let's go again!"
...
The school grounds were enormous, but crossing them through the air only took Fenris a breath or two, even a little faster than opening a dimensional gate.
When he landed lightly from the sky, an unexpected figure was waiting for him.
"Coulson?"
The light wings vanished, and the colorful patterns on his skin faded away. Fenris smiled and greeted the man before him.
"Fenris!"
Seeing how completely different Fenris looked now, Coulson's eyes widened at once.
He circled him, looking him up and down from every angle, then even tugged at his perfectly intact shirt.
"What is going on with you? Were those real wings just now?"
"They can become real, but if I do that, they get too big. Not exactly ideal for showing up at school. Besides, clothes don't grow on trees."
Fenris tossed out the joke lightly, then shifted the subject.
"By the way, why did you suddenly come all the way to the school? Did Nick Fury send you again?"
"No." Coulson shook his head. "This time, I came with the director."
"Nick Fury actually came?"
A flicker of surprise flashed through Fenris's eyes.
Nick Fury was secretive to the bone, with no telling how many dirty secrets stuffed in that head of his. A man like that had actually dared to show up in front of the Professor?
"The director didn't come in person."
Coulson looked helpless. "But I did bring him here."
"Hm?"
Fenris blinked, about to ask what that meant, when the Professor's voice suddenly came from inside the room.
"Fenris, if you're here, come in. Director Fury has something he wants to discuss with you."
Creak.
The wooden door Fenris had once kicked to pieces had now been replaced with a brand-new one.
When he pushed it open and entered, he saw Professor Xavier seated calmly behind his desk. Across from him, three brand-new devices were projecting a life-sized hologram.
It was Nick Fury.
The two of them had apparently already spoken about something. Fury's expression was noticeably dark, and the pressure around him felt even gloomier than usual.
"So that's what Coulson meant."
Fenris laughed in realization.
"Sit."
Professor Xavier smiled warmly and nodded to him, clearly in an excellent mood.
"Fenris, about the deal we discussed before…"
Nick Fury cut in from the side, prompting him.
"William Stryker was the one behind the planned presidential assassination. I have all the evidence you wanted."
Fenris nodded cleanly and directly. The rare bit of good news eased the expression on Fury's face slightly.
"William Stryker?"
Fury tapped the desk unconsciously with his fingers, the dull thudding carrying through the hologram.
"But he hasn't shown his face for quite some time."
"He was probably killed by someone."
The calm reply immediately drew the scrutinizing looks of two bald men. Fenris's expression did not change in the slightest as he answered evenly.
"All right. Understood."
Fury gave Fenris a look full of meaning, then spoke with unusual decisiveness.
"The four reactors I promised you have already been coordinated. You can use them whenever you want. They'll be reserved for your exclusive use."
Seeing Fenris nod, Fury gave a quiet grunt.
"Just hand over the evidence when you have time."
"I can give it to you today."
Nick Fury, who was normally so tightfisted, had for once refrained from haggling at exactly the moment he usually would have. It was strange enough that Fenris found him almost unfamiliar.
"Then I'll wait for you."
As soon as the words fell, Fury's hologram shut down completely without hesitation.
"He's practically a different person."
Fenris clicked his tongue and threw the comment toward the Professor in mild amazement.
"That's because he wanted to discuss compensation for this incident with me, and I sent him away."
Professor Xavier narrowed his eyes with a smile. He looked harmless and perfectly gentle.
This time, while Magneto's plan had failed, the Professor's power had still caused a certain degree of public panic in the aftermath.
So Nick Fury had put that clever little brain of his to work and set his sights on the school, hoping to squeeze some benefit out of the Professor.
For example, Fenris.
"Then he picked the wrong person."
Fenris let out a laugh.
Although Professor Xavier was nothing like Magneto in how extreme or forceful he was toward humanity, one thing was beyond question. The Professor was absolutely not some softhearted pushover.
He was simply an ordinary man who knew how to restrain his own power. Expecting an elderly scholar who had witnessed all kinds of human darkness to be some naive innocent was clearly unrealistic.
"Fenris, very often, understanding a person doesn't require telepathy at all."
Professor Xavier casually picked up a copy of The Once and Future King from the desk and spoke softly.
"More often, we rely on our own hearts and sufficient knowledge, not on deceiving ourselves with some irrelevant projection."
"Back when Howard and Carter were still alive, I already knew about the organization Nick Fury belongs to. Decades have passed, and that organization is now riddled with holes, but Fury remains completely unaware of it. He still needs time to be tempered."
"Oh?"
Fenris looked up at the Professor in surprise. He had not expected Xavier to know even that much about S.H.I.E.L.D.
"I didn't read their minds, and I'm not interested in such things. Nick Fury told me all of that himself just now. He simply hasn't realized it yet."
The Professor offered the explanation simply.
"I see."
Fenris nodded in understanding.
Still, he had no real interest in those sorts of stolen-replacement intrigues, so after touching on it briefly, he quickly let the subject drop.
"Fenris, I was glad to hear you say those things to John just now."
Professor Xavier shifted the topic and spoke in a warm voice.
"I know you killed Stryker. Whether you tormented him or gave him a quick death, in the end I only hope you do not become a puppet filled with hatred and violence."
"I have never objected to revenge. Settling a score is natural, and whatever means one uses in seeking revenge can still fall within reason. But you must not let your hatred spill over onto innocent ordinary people. That would be a desecration of the power you possess."
"Just like Erik. I have never believed that his original intentions were wrong. But once he began to abandon all restraint, someone had to tell him that he was wrong."
(End of Chapter)
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