Chapter 150: Action Plan

"Can't you stay and help?" Mystique asked, her voice tinged with reluctance.

It wasn't a question of whether using him as a scapegoat was practical. Rather, with Professor X's credibility now diminished, Mystique needed more hands to hold the X-Men back from plunging the entire team into the abyss.

Compared to this self-proclaimed alien, the Brotherhood of Mutants led by Magneto was unsuitable because their label was too obvious. The children studying at the Xavier School wouldn't work either; they had received no combat training.

After much thought, this guy was the most suitable. Even setting aside everything else, he could serve as an excellent meat shield just by taking hits.

"What would I stay here to do? This is a family matter. If I get involved, I'll only be adding fuel to the fire," Henry continued to make excuses. He casually added, "Call me when we're fighting aliens. I don't want to get mixed up in Earthlings' affairs."

"Then get out."

Having just suffered a major defeat, the X-Men were in high spirits. So regarding Henry's attitude of wanting to withdraw, no one else thought to stop him.

Since persuasion failed, he didn't want to open his mouth a second or third time, as that would make it seem like begging. Mystique thus gave a rather unfriendly response.

On the other hand, Mystique had some internal matters to discuss. If Henry was unwilling to integrate with them and become one of them, then having an outsider present to listen was clearly inappropriate. That was why he bluntly and decisively told the man to get lost.

Granted permission, Henry was overjoyed. Why not live a peaceful life, but insist on coming through fire and wading through water? What was the point? Superheroes didn't even get a salary.

Henry slapped the shoulder of Nightcrawler, who was the easiest to startle. As expected, it scared the other guy.

However, Henry's slap was just a reminder; he didn't use much force. He smiled and said, "Buddy, take me out. I don't know the way down here. What if I get lost and end up in places I shouldn't? Like the women's restroom or the women's locker room."

"Hmm, those places all have signs. Ordinary people wouldn't accidentally wander in, right?" Nightcrawler said.

"I'm an alien. I don't recognize Earth writing," Henry lied.

"Oh, well. Then I'll take you out." The simple-minded Nightcrawler believed him. Grabbing Henry's arm, with a "Poof!", he vanished in smoke.

Seeing the outsider leave, Mystique perked up. Although unable to sit up, he still asked while lying down, "Where is Charles?"

Storm replied, "The Professor is in his own office."

"Tsk, a useless man."

As someone who had once witnessed the US military sending mutants to cruel experiments, yet dared to infiltrate a national-level peace summit alone to assassinate a specific target, namely Trask, the mastermind behind the Sentinel Program, Mystique was not merely a sidekick or an assistant to the two leaders.

He not only possessed immense initiative but also held a certain weight among the mutant population. After all, during the period when Mystique acted alone, he had helped many mutant compatriots.

So now that Professor X was unable to function, he naturally took over command and said to the group, "Hank, I need you to analyze what that thing Jean absorbed. What exactly is it?"

"Solar flare? Who came up with that theory? Jean's abilities do not include absorbing energy. I need to know exactly what she absorbed and what effect it has on her."

Beast said awkwardly, "But I still need to take care of you."

Mystique glared at him, and Beast immediately changed his wording, saying, "I am not very familiar with astrophysics. The analysis I performed before has reached its limit."

"But I know a genius who should be able to help. The only concern is whether he will refuse to help us, citing that this matter is too simple."

"Who?" Mystique asked.

"Reed Richards."

"Is he reliable?" Mystique's implied meaning was the other party's attitude toward mutants.

Hank said resentfully, "That guy is a true genius. So in his eyes, mutants and humans are equally stupid, with no great difference. So if we really find him, he might say some very rude things, but absolutely without malice."

Looks like another headache-inducing guy. Mystique said helplessly, "Forget it. As long as he can help, it doesn't matter how he is. Go find him."

"Okay, I'll try to contact him." Immediately, Hank walked to the side and made a phone call.

Mystique then addressed the remaining people, "Scott, use our intelligence sources to track down Jean's whereabouts. Ororo, go to Genosha Island to find Erik and ask him if he knows anything."

With a "Poof!", Nightcrawler teleported back, landing right in the middle of the crowd.

He looked blankly at the people around him, his movements appearing somewhat at a loss. Mystique could only say, "Kurt, you go with Ororo. Go out and gather information."

Cyclops suggested, "Raven, let me go find Erik. Ororo can gather information."

Storm did not particularly oppose this opinion. Seeing this, Mystique said, "You two discuss it yourselves. As long as someone does the job, it's fine."

"Okay." The three nodded. Immediately, they looked at each other, not knowing who should speak first.

Seeing this, Mystique immediately urged, "Get moving, kids. Staying here won't make any progress."

"Oh, yes." The three immediately ran out of the infirmary. Mystique, lying on the bed, sighed, "Hmm, young people."

Meanwhile, in low Earth orbit, on the bridge of a drifting Di'Berry warship, a discussion concerning the survival of their race unfolded.

The Science Officer reported before their leader, Wu Ke, saying, "Previously, as we tracked and destroyed the cosmic energy that annihilated our home planet, we found it was not a specific civilization's interstellar weapon, but an independent and unimaginably vast free-floating energy."

"The purpose of this energy is not solely destruction. During our pursuit, we observed more than once planetary landscapes altered by the cosmic energy, as well as the birth of primitive life."

"All along, we had no reason to tamper with this cosmic energy simply because we lacked a concrete method to utilize it. However, the natives of this planet have given us an excellent demonstration: using a specific individual as a vessel to absorb this energy."

"Through our tracking and observation, the target was able to act normally after absorbing the cosmic energy and displayed abilities different from most natives. It is reasonable to speculate that after training, this native target can fully unleash the characteristics of the cosmic energy."

"Your humble servant hereby suggests that to rebuild our home planet, we should launch an operation to seize the cosmic energy. Select clan members as vessels to completely master that cosmic energy in the hands of us Di'Berry people."

Wu Ke looked at all the Di'Berry people and asked, "Who opposes this operation? State it now."

(End of Chapter)