Chapter 119: Good Causes, Bad Consequences

Nightcrawler, whose courage hadn't yet matched his heart, hung his tail low and looked helplessly at the only companion still standing beside him.

Jean Grey could become an X-Man; she did have courage. Yet unlike other brutes, she didn't believe she alone could fight the man who had nearly wiped out the entire X-Men team.

Even with Nightcrawler added... she had almost forgotten him, still standing there.

So Jean Grey didn't attack rashly; instead, she asked, "What exactly do you intend to do?"

Henry fell silent, tossed Cyclops's visor from his hand to the other party, and said, "That question should be mine to ask you. What do you intend to do to me? Luring me here was bad enough, but the moment we met, you started digging into my brain."

Suddenly remembering something, Henry realized that Marvel character settings and origins were like drinking water when it came to retcons. Although one could brush it aside with the multiverse explanation, every character's personality showed slight differences in details under different universe frameworks.

Therefore, he couldn't define a character based on a vague understanding and then predict their actions. Such stereotypes could cause trouble.

Just like the suspicion he'd had before: was this world's Tony Stark really Howard Stark's biological son?

Though he hadn't taken that father-son pair for DNA testing, based on others' accounts and their behavioral traits, the odds of them being biological were fairly high.

And this group of mutants before him—what template of the X-Men were they following?

With doubts weighing on him, Henry raised his guard against the mutants before him a few notches higher.

He couldn't rely on his Kryptonian physique and end up crashing. After all, mutant abilities were bizarre and varied; who knew which one could conjure Kryptonite out of thin air?

Facing this person's rude behavior, Jean Grey truly felt an impulse to teach him a lesson. So she stepped forward.

But as soon as she took her first step, someone shouted to stop her. The voice belonged to Mystique, who restrained her, saying, "Jean, don't be impulsive. Check the others' injuries first."

Jean Grey paused, abandoned her original thought, went to Cyclops's side, and returned the visor to him. Only then did she have Nightcrawler cooperate with her to check everyone else's injuries one by one.

Mystique was indeed a melee specialist; her body's flexibility and resilience far exceeded normal human levels. So after taking Beast's leaping heavy strike, she stood up within moments, clutching her head.

As for the big guy who hit her, Cyclops had blasted him out again, so his injuries were actually worse than hers. But with Beast currently knocked out, Mystique prioritized stopping Jean's rash action.

She looked at Henry with a complex expression, then at her nearly wiped-out teammates. Though no one appeared dead, and not even necessarily seriously injured, the gap in power was already obvious.

The other party claimed he wasn't a mutant but an alien. At that moment, Raven believed most of it.

Because mutants rarely possessed multiple abilities. Most had only one ability, which they then dug into and developed specifically, resulting in varied manifestations.

Watching Mystique struggle to support her own body, Henry didn't want to continue yielding to their initiative. He directly launched a soul-question: "What evil deed did I commit to make you treat me this way? And without even asking, you invaded my mind."

Mystique didn't answer directly; instead, she asked, "What happened to Charles?"

"Who is Charles?" The Kryptonian was habitually playing dumb.

"That bald, stupid donkey who sits in a wheelchair!"

It seemed this mutant big shot also held grievances against Professor X. Henry said calmly, "Rest assured, nothing major. The human body has self-protection mechanisms. He simply overused his brain and temporarily fainted. He'll be fine once he wakes up."

As for whether he could wake up, Henry thought to himself, we make no guarantees.

Mystique answered the earlier question, saying, "You did nothing. The FBI merely requested Charles's assistance in investigating the Miracle Crash incident. He saw your performance in Captain Luca Rizzo's memory, which sparked our curiosity."

Henry frowned and asked, "You told the FBI about my situation?"

"No. The FBI only wanted to investigate whether terrorist infiltration was involved, meaning the innocence of those on board. We told the truth. We didn't mention anything extra."

"Oh ho." Henry looked at this version of the X-Men with amusement. Cooperating with the government while privately concealing intelligence. What were they up to?

Then recalling Professor X's behavior of diving into people's brains the moment he appeared, Henry's resolve not to mix with this group grew even firmer.

He couldn't help but look at Mystique with a pitying expression and say, "I recall Professor X is the leader of the X-Men, right? With such a leader, you must have it rough."

"On what basis do you say that!"

Compared to Mystique, who had witnessed more and constantly played others, the Jean Grey before him was younger and less patient. She couldn't tolerate criticism of her mentor, who was like a father to her, so she stepped forward to confront the 'alien' before her.

Though Mystique's emotions weren't as intense, dissatisfaction still showed in her yellow-dominated eyes.

Henry shrugged and said, "Thinking that someone would do things that are neither proper nor moral under the banner of 'I'm doing this for your own good'—isn't that enough to make people afraid?"

"You think we are lying." Mystique challenged.

"No, I should say you yourselves believe this is right, which is even more terrifying. In history, the Crusades launched several eastern expeditions, killing infidels and committing various acts of rape, plunder, and pillage. Did those people think they were committing crimes?"

"We are not Crusaders; we are the persecuted." Mystique angrily refuted.

Raising both hands, Henry feigned surrender and said, "Perhaps my example was too extreme. But you can think for yourself: under the drive of 'goodwill,' how many things have you done that go against your conscience? For instance, this one—"

Henry pointed again at his own head, implying the invasion by Professor X. Truly endless, bringing it up again and again.

"—For instance, you went to read a heroic captain's memory. That's like stripping someone naked without their consent and letting you scrutinize them. Is that really right?"

"Oh, I understand. Regarding the captain incident, because the FBI ordered it, you think any fault lies with the FBI. And in my case, since aliens have no human rights, you don't need to worry about such trivial details, correct?"

"It's like the niggers who were discriminated against by whites for hundreds of years; they became obsessed with discriminating against brown-skinned, yellow-skinned, red-skinned, and mixed-blood people from South America. As long as they could still discriminate against others, it seemed to prove they weren't the lowest group."

"Enough!" Mystique and Jean Grey couldn't help but shout in unison.

Raising both hands again, Henry took two steps back and made a zipping motion across his mouth.

(End of this chapter)