Chapter 117: Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters

If there was any other difference, it was the unique hormonal scent emanating from Mystique, which was utterly unlike the real Audrey Hepburn's.

Henry had simply not taken this anomaly seriously at first, assuming it was merely a chemical effect from perfume, and thus had truly been deceived.

"So, you've figured out where this place is, haven't you, brother?" said Mystique, revealing her true form.

"I guessed this was probably the base of the X-Men or the Brotherhood of Mutants—"

Henry continued playing dumb, since this was classified information.

"—but now that I've seen the infamous Mystique, it's not hard to guess whose territory this is. But I'm not your brother; don't call me that."

Mystique said, displeased: "Why deny it, brother?"

To persuade the man before her, Mystique said seriously: "Don't think the world is kind to us just because you haven't seen news of mutants being persecuted.

"The suffering we've endured is beyond your imagination. To prevent those tragedies from happening again, we must unite, contribute our strength, and overcome these hardships together."

"No need, and it's none of my business. Because I truly am not your brother," Henry declared firmly.

Mystique did not give up, continuing: "Why deny all of this, brother? Do you think if you refuse to acknowledge it, the truth ceases to exist? To survive in this world built by savages, we can rely on nothing but each other."

"I'm giving you my final answer to this idiotic question—I'm not a mutant, I fucking am an alien!" Henry shouted.

Rather than continue hiding his alien identity and getting dragged into mutant conflicts, Henry felt it better to expose his true nature.

Because the mutant dilemma in the Marvel Universe is a massive shitpile, worse than racial minorities, at the very bottom of the hierarchy of contempt—even parents might reject their own children. Where would you even go to plead your case?

Whether Magneto or Professor X, both are masters of moral coercion, only to be uniformly discriminated against by the government. Either way you join, there's no good outcome.

Better to draw a clear line with them, Henry decided. Don't let yourself be dragged down by a group still lost in its own self-identity.

Besides, he truly had nothing to do with mutants. This wasn't just about cutting ties or pretending not to care.

I'm an alien, and I'm proud of it!

Whether it was the sheer force of Henry's shout that stunned Mystique, or whether his words were so absurd they frightened her—

This was one of the most fantastical aspects of this Marvel Universe. Mutants could walk in daylight and were accepted by most people, as long as there was no conflict of interest.

But aliens… were still terms found only in tabloids and sci-fi movies, or else confined to undisclosed government intelligence.

Mystique stared in disbelief, pointing at Henry with a trembling finger: "Walt! You… an alien?"

Henry sneered: "Isn't your mind filled right now with some tiny, wrinkled, brain-shaped like Wellington steak, eyes like searchlights, neck thinner than a matchstick, brown classic image?"

"Not all aliens are ET, okay? Besides, that's just a Hollywood-created alien image—it doesn't mean real aliens actually look like that. Even those in Star Wars don't necessarily."

Not sure who he was mocking, Henry mimicked the movie version of ET, extending one index finger to his chest, dryly reciting the movie line: "E. T., I'm your friend."

"Do you think all aliens have to look like that idiotic thing?" roared the Kryptonian, now restored to normal, completely overpowering Mystique with his presence.

Suddenly, Henry froze in place, like a lifeless statue.

Seeing this, Mystique knew who had acted. She spat: "Charles."

Sure enough, a group emerged from inside the estate. Most conspicuous was the bald man in the wheelchair—Professor X. His fingers pressed against his temples, eyes locked on the stranger.

The others were Hank McCoy, Jean Grey, Cyclops, Storm, Nightcrawler, and Quicksilver. All active X-Men members were present.

Professor X, wheeled forward, said: "Raven, I told you—he has no X-gene."

"Fine, he has no X-gene, then let him go. What are you doing?" Mystique challenged.

"He says he's an alien—I must verify this and find out why he came to Earth… wait, what are you doing? Stop! No! Stop!"

Professor X seemed to be enduring excruciating pain, his eyes bloodshot, blood streaming from his nose and ears, his entire face grotesque—even his bald scalp seemed swollen with veins.

With a sudden scream, one of the mutant leaders collapsed unconscious.

Henry, back to normal, looked at the unconscious bald man in the wheelchair and said: "Oh, I only calculated pi to the bytrillionth digit—can't handle that? I haven't even started on infinite geometric shapes yet."

One major reason Henry didn't want to enter the X-Men's territory was precisely to avoid encountering Professor X, who possessed the strongest telepathic ability in the Marvel Universe.

Only Magneto's helmet and the Red Tank's armor could fully block this power. Even Black Phoenix or Apocalypse had to strain to resist its intrusion—otherwise, like now, they'd be controlled just like this, even Omega-level mutants like themselves.

Who knew this self-proclaimed moral paragon, the good gentleman, would immediately launch a mind-control and mind-reading combo the moment he heard Henry was an alien?

No self-restraint against invading others' privacy—does this mean aliens have no human rights in the mutants' eyes?

Looks like mutants have finally found someone even lower on their hierarchy of contempt. Or perhaps aliens aren't even considered human at all.

Henry certainly wouldn't sit idle. But Kryptonians' low psychic resistance? That's practically a running joke.

He had zero confidence he could withstand Professor X's mental control like other mental masters. So he had to take an indirect route.

First, assess his situation. Though his body was controlled, for some reason, his consciousness remained clear.

Unlike others who'd been subjected to Professor X's mental freeze—whose awareness was completely halted, leaving them unaware of anything that happened after they were freed—

Since his mind was still functional, and the other side wanted to read his thoughts, he'd test the limits of his super brain. See just how far he stood from the strongest telepath.

(End of Chapter)