Chapter 567

The man blocking Ororo Munroe's path saw the stall owner knocked to the ground and, without a second thought, swung the club in his hand down at her.

It was obvious he had mistaken Lauren and Raven for Ororo Munroe's accomplices as well.

"Since your accomplices have made a move, I'm making a move on you. That's fair, right?"

Ororo Munroe: "I don't even know them."

To be fair, it was clear Lauren and Raven had come for her, so saying they were in it together wasn't exactly a stretch.

Ororo Munroe wouldn't truly call it an injustice; after all, regardless of the circumstances, they had come to save her.

"Hum!"

Just as Ororo Munroe instinctively raised her arms to block, a wall of air appeared out of thin air, shielding her from the descending club.

Ororo Munroe was stunned, and the man swinging the club was stunned too.

Immediately after, Ororo Munroe widened her eyes and looked at Lauren, who had raised her hand.

She did it!

She, she had special abilities too!

"Let's go, the Master is still waiting."

Raven called out to her, and Ororo Munroe walked over hesitantly.

"Where's the stolen money? Give it back to them."

"..."

Ororo Munroe hadn't expected her to make her return the money; this was money she had stolen with such hard work, why should she return it?

These two might be her own kind, but their skin tone, temperament, and attire clearly showed they were from a different world than her, so naturally, they looked down on her thieving methods.

Fine, she only thought that in her heart; her hands honestly placed the stolen money back onto the stall owner, and then she followed the two out of the alley, through the market, and into a restaurant.

As soon as she stepped inside, Ororo Munroe froze.

In the restaurant, several young, beautiful women with outstanding temperaments were looking at her with all sorts of strange expressions.

It made her skin crawl and she became even more reserved.

Su Quan was the only male in the restaurant, and Ororo Munroe, relying on the keen eye she had cultivated from years of thieving, guessed immediately that this man was the "Master" they spoke of, and the one who wanted to see her.

Ororo Munroe walked up to the table where Su Quan sat, feeling insecure, lacking confidence, and puzzled as she said, "Th-thank you for having them save me, but I don't understand, wh-why?"

Su Quan tilted his head to look her over and asked with a smile, "Why do you think?"

Ororo Munroe shook her head and said, "I don't know, I... I'm just a thief."

Jean Grey smiled sweetly: "You're more than just a simple thief; you're a mutant!"

"We—are all mutants!"

Ororo Munroe asked tentatively: "So you want me to join you?"

Su Quan asked with a smile: "Interested?"

Ororo Munroe had never even thought about meeting her own kind, let alone being with them; the sudden invitation left her unsure of how to choose.

Agree?

Who knew who they were or what they would make her do?

And if she left, what would happen to the children who had no one to look after them?

A large part of the reason she became a thief was for those stray children who had no one to care for them and no ability to survive on their own.

Disagree?

Since they had sought her out and even saved her, they were clearly prepared and determined; would they allow her to refuse?

Having grown up on the streets and living by theft, she knew very well that one shouldn't offend the rich and powerful; they could crush her as easily as an ant!

Ororo Munroe was caught in a dilemma, but Su Quan didn't disturb her thoughts, instead drinking his wine and eating unknown snacks in a slow, leisurely, and relaxed manner.

Su Quan wasn't in a hurry, and the others were even less so; after all, they were all very familiar with 'Ororo Munroe', even if it was another version.

But precisely because of that, they were even more eager to watch the drama!

Especially Jean Grey, who came from the same world as Storm and had spent the longest and most intimate time with her, so she wanted to watch the drama of her best friend from another version even more!

"The others are one thing, but have you forgotten that we'll be going to the Professor's later?" Seeing Jean Grey's eager expression, Su Quan teased with a slight upturn of his lips.

The others don't have 'doubles' in this world, but you do!

Now you're watching someone else's drama, but soon someone else will be watching yours!

Jean Grey's expression froze instantly; she was the one being watched now.

The Professor in this world wasn't much different from the others; he was still crippled and had still founded the Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.

And also...

He had still taken her as a student.

The only difference was that the Professor in this world wasn't bald yet!

Jean Grey blinked at Su Quan: "You aren't going to call Ororo to go with us, are you?"

Ororo Munroe, who was still caught in her dilemma, heard her own name and asked subconsciously: "Go where?"

"I wasn't talking about you!" Jean Grey shook her head.

Not talking about me?

You clearly said Ororo? Did I mishear?

Ororo Munroe looked confused, so Jean Grey explained: "I really wasn't talking about you; I was talking about the other Ororo Munroe."

The other Ororo Munroe?

Fine, now Ororo Munroe was even more confused.

Su Quan shrugged at Jean Grey and said, not fearing the drama: "You and she are both mine, and I'm closer to her, so... you know!"

Jean Grey rolled her eyes at him, speechless: "Are you serious? I've never refused you; it's you who aren't proactive, and now you're using this as a condition?"

Su Quan smiled noncommittally and explained: "That's because there wasn't a natural, opportune moment before; I couldn't just suddenly find you and make that kind of request, could I?"

"That would be so disrespectful to you."

Jean Grey twitched her mouth: "You'd be better off being direct; making it a condition now... I don't feel very respected either."

"That's not important."

"What's important is that this way, it feels more natural, doesn't it?"

Su Quan teased playfully, not worried that Jean Grey would be angry; after all, they had spent twenty years together on Void Island, and while they hadn't done 'that', the emotional foundation was deep, and they had long been as close as family.

Not just Jean Grey, the others were the same.

Having spent twenty years together, whether or not they did that sort of thing wouldn't affect their relationship and feelings for Su Quan.

Twenty years—even the most indifferent people could develop feelings.

Of course, while the feelings were deep, some things weren't easy to just jump into.

Isn't there that saying: it's hard to make a move on an acquaintance!

The more familiar you are, the harder it often is to just charge in.

"Say whatever you want, but you can't call her over until I've seen her," Jean Grey said.

The two 'her's left Ororo Munroe very confused, but Su Quan and the others understood who was being referred to.

The former 'her' referred to Jean Grey's double, the younger version of Jean Grey; the latter 'her' referred to the older version of Ororo Munroe.

Of course, this 'older version' didn't just refer to age—well, although Ororo Munroe was indeed older than the one before them, it mainly referred to the older timeline.

Or, one could also distinguish them by size.

Big Storm and Little Storm.

Big Phoenix and Little Phoenix.

This could be considered the pain and joy of the multiverse; if you want double the happiness, you have to be prepared to distinguish them.

For now, two of each is fine, but if there were three, four, or even more, just coming up with names to distinguish them would take quite a bit of effort.