After leaving Tony's house, Sam didn't fly straight back to his empty mansion. He decided to take a walk.
He landed in a quiet, hidden alley and walked out into a large, busy shopping mall in the city.
The mall was loud. People were talking, laughing, and rushing around with shopping bags.
For Sam, the noise was easy to handle. His Qi kept his mind calm and perfectly focused.
But as he walked past a clothing store, he noticed a group of teenagers.
They looked like students on a weekend trip.
One girl in the group stood out. She had long, bright red hair. She was holding a shirt, trying to buy it, but she looked like she was in terrible pain.
She kept rubbing her temples. Her eyes were closed tight, and her face was pale.
Sam knew exactly who she was. Jean Grey.
He could feel the wild, unstable energy coming from her brain. She wasn't physically sick. She was listening to everyone in the mall at the exact same time.
Her telepathy was out of control.
The hundreds of thoughts, worries, and loud voices from the crowd were crushing her mind.
Sam felt a pang of sympathy. He knew what it was like to have power you couldn't fully control yet.
He walked quietly toward the red-haired girl.
He didn't touch her. He just stopped a few feet away. He took a slow breath and let his warm, pink Qi flow out of his Dantian.
He didn't use it to attack or show off.
He used his Qi to create a soft, invisible blanket of energy. He gently wrapped it around Jean's mind, acting like a wall against the crowd.
Instantly, the mall went completely quiet for Jean.
The hundreds of screaming voices in her head just stopped. There was only pure, peaceful silence.
Jean dropped the shirt.
She gasped, her green eyes opening wide. She looked around, confused but incredibly happy. The sharp pain behind her eyes was instantly gone.
She felt like she could finally breathe.
Then, she turned her head. She saw a handsome man in a simple black suit standing near her.
When Jean instinctively tried to read his mind, she found nothing. It was like looking into a deep, calm ocean.
Her telepathy couldn't pass through his Qi.
Sam looked at her and gave her a warm, gentle smile.
Jean's breath caught in her throat. She knew it right away.
This stranger was the one who had stopped the noise. He had saved her from the pain.
"It is very loud in here, isn't it?"
Sam said. His voice was soft, deep, and incredibly soothing.
Jean nodded slowly, stepping a little closer to him.
"How... how did you do that?"
She whispered.
"It's so quiet. It hasn't been this quiet in years."
"Sometimes, an open door lets in too much wind. You just need to know how to close it,"
Sam said kindly.
"You have a very powerful mind. But right now, your power is controlling you. You are carrying too much weight."
Jean looked at him with wide eyes.
She wasn't scared. His energy felt too safe to be scary. It felt like standing in a warm sunbeam after a freezing storm.
"I don't know how to stop it,"
Jean admitted, looking down at her hands.
"My teacher says I just need to build mental walls, but the voices are too heavy."
"Mental walls can break,"
Sam explained gently.
"But if you learn to flow with the energy of the world, you won't need walls. The voices will just pass right through you, like water over a smooth stone."
Jean looked back up at his face. For the first time in a long time, she felt a real spark of hope.
Jean took a deep breath, savoring the beautiful, empty silence in her mind.
"I'm Jean,"
She said softly, giving him a small, grateful smile.
"Jean Grey."
"I am Sam,"
He replied, his voice calm and steady.
"It is very nice to meet you, Jean."
Jean didn't want him to leave. For years, her head had been a loud, painful prison.
The Professor helped her, but he always told her to build walls and fight the noise. Sam's way was different. It didn't hurt. It felt free.
"Sam... can you teach me?"
Jean asked. She stepped even closer, her green eyes full of hope.
"Can you show me how to be like water? I really need this. I can't keep fighting the voices forever."
Sam smiled gently and was about to answer, but a sharp voice interrupted them.
"Jean! Step away from him."
A young man with brown hair pushed through the crowd. He was wearing dark sunglasses with thick red frames.
It was Scott Summers.
Scott stood between Jean and Sam. His jaw was tight, and his shoulders were tense. He looked at Sam from head to toe.
Sam was handsome, dressed in a sharp black suit, and Jean was looking at him like he was an angel.
Scott immediately felt a hot spike of jealousy in his chest.
"Is this guy bothering you, Jean?"
Scott asked, his voice hard. He grabbed Jean's arm gently but firmly.
"Come on. We need to get back to the others. The Professor wouldn't like you talking to strangers."
"Scott, let go,"
Jean said. She pulled her arm away. She wasn't angry, just desperate.
"He isn't bothering me. He helped me. He made the noise stop."
Scott frowned, confused and defensive.
"What are you talking about? Only the Professor can help you with your telepathy. We don't know who this guy is. Let's go."
"No!"
Jean said firmly. She didn't want to leave the protective blanket of Sam's Qi.
If she walked away from him, the hundreds of loud voices in the mall would crash back into her brain.
"You don't understand, Scott. Because you can't feel it. It's quiet right now. Sam is the only one who has ever made it completely quiet. I am staying here."
Scott didn't like that at all. His face turned slightly red. He wanted to be the one to protect Jean.
He wanted to be her hero. Hearing her say that this stranger was the only one who could help her made him feel weak and angry.
"Look, buddy,"
Scott said, stepping closer to Sam. He was trying to look intimidating.
"I don't know what kind of trick you are playing, but leave her alone."
Sam didn't flinch. He just stood there, completely relaxed.
Compared to the giant Iron Monger or the angry politicians in Washington, an insecure teenager was nothing. Sam's energy remained as calm as a deep pond.
"I am not playing any tricks,"
Sam said simply.
"I am just offering a moment of peace to someone who is carrying a very heavy burden. Peace is not something to be jealous of."
Scott gritted his teeth. He hated how calm Sam was. It made Scott feel like a child throwing a tantrum.
Before Scott could say anything else, three more people walked out of the clothing store to see what the arguing was about.
A young girl with brown hair peeked around Scott. It was Kitty Pryde.
"What's going on? Are we fighting someone?"
Kitty asked, looking nervously at Sam.
Beside her stood Kurt Wagner. He pulled his hat down lower to hide his blue, fuzzy features.
"Is everything alright, mein Freund?"
Kurt asked Scott, his yellow eyes darting to Sam.
Finally, a tall, beautiful woman with striking white hair stepped forward. Ororo Munroe.
She walked with the grace and authority of a queen. As a teacher, she immediately sensed the tension.
"Scott, Jean, what is happening here?"
Ororo asked. Her voice was soothing but commanded respect.
Then, she turned her eyes to Sam.
Ororo could sense the weather and the energy of the world. When she looked at Sam, she felt something incredible.
He didn't feel like a normal human, and he didn't feel like a mutant. He felt like the earth itself—solid, ancient, and deeply powerful.
"And who are you, sir?"
Ororo asked, looking at Sam with deep curiosity.
"Are you a friend of Jean's?"
"I am just a man taking a walk,"
Sam answered politely.
"But I saw a young woman who was drowning in noise. I simply helped her find the shore."
Jean looked at Ororo pleadingly.
"Please, Ororo. He's telling the truth. My head... it doesn't hurt anymore."
Ororo looked at Jean's peaceful face, then at Scott's jealous frown, and finally back to Sam.
The situation was complicated, but Ororo knew one thing for sure. This man was completely unique.
Craze: 30 more chapter at [email protected]/phelio