Chapter 155: Bowery King

Kurt certainly did not believe he would be framed by Ororo and sold to such a place. But being cautious by nature, or to put it bluntly, cowardly, he was quite repulsed by the stench from the bottom of the gutter.

In contrast, Ororo, who had wandered Egypt since childhood and made a living relying on thief and pickpocket skills, was not unfamiliar with such an environment. Though not quite like a fish in water, he knew very well how to deal with such a world.

Walking along the abandoned subway line, following the faint light maintained only by stolen electricity from who knows where, Ororo soon saw the graffiti he was looking for and plunged straight into an open space.

This place looked like it was meant to be built into a subway station, but had been abandoned for some reason. Now it seemed to have formed a settlement, and in the dark corners where the light could not reach, many sharp eyes existed.

"I am here to find Bowery King," Ororo said loudly.

A hoarse old man's voice came from the darkness nearby, saying, "There is no one by that name here."

"Then what about the King of Beggars in New York? Does this person not exist either?" Ororo looked toward the source of the voice and said, "Come on, this isn't the first time I've dealt with him, so why guard against me like this?"

"Storm of the X-Men, you are so dazzling, so brilliantly shining. You don't look like someone who needs to deal with us rats in the sewers."

"There are some things those men in suits cannot do. You help us, and I will help you. I understand such rules," Ororo said.

In the darkness, a murmur of whispers arose. In a moment, an old beggar leaning on an iron cane walked out from the dark.

He seemed to have suffered a stroke; half his face was paralyzed, leaving one eye staring wildly wide while the other squinted at people, making his appearance quite terrifying.

His clothing was hard to describe: dirty, smelly, torn, and heavy, as if he had worn his entire fortune on his body.

He approached, using the only eye that could still move to glance up and down at the two. Watching Kurt made his body go numb, a shivering sensation shooting straight to the top of his head.

Just before Kurt, unable to bear it, planned to grab Ororo and teleport away, the old beggar in front finally turned around and said, "Follow me."

The two slowly followed behind the old beggar, walking up the steps of this abandoned subway station. Then, through a smashed wall, they drilled into the basement of an apartment building.

Do not think this apartment building would be a decent place; street graffiti and cardboard houses of the homeless were no less in number.

Then they climbed up the stairs, which appeared to be unguarded. Kurt heard the sound of that iron cane tapping the ground, and with each tap, it felt as if beasts were beside him, ready to spring out and bite him at any moment, a feeling that would not go away.

Finally, in such a oppressive atmosphere, they reached the top floor. After the old beggar opened the door to the rooftop, he returned along the original path.

Ororo stepped across the threshold first, and Kurt, even though he was reluctant in every way, could only follow and walk out.

They arrived at the rooftop of a building, where pigeon coops were placed everywhere, with pigeons flying out at any time and pigeons flying back.

Ororo, knowing the way well, turned left and right, walking into the very center of the pigeon coop array. This place was much more spacious, like a small park, with several benches placed along the edge of the open ground.

An equally beggar-dressed, elderly fat black man, upon seeing Ororo, immediately raised both hands and shouted happily, "Aha, Storm of the X-Men, Ms. Ororo Munroe, I thought you would descend from the sky as usual, just like an angel."

Ororo stepped forward and exchanged a hug with the old black man, saying, "If I had come by myself, I would have flown over. But today I brought a new friend to get to know the place, and I didn't want to appear suddenly with him and have your people shoot him full of holes with submachine guns."

"Aha, a blue-skinned mutant." The fat black man extended a hand quite gentlemanly and introduced himself, "Bowery King, very pleased to meet you."

Kurt shook hands with the other person in a panic, saying, "Kurt, Kurt Wagner."

"Ah, Nightcrawler of the X-Men, right?"

"Yes, yes, Mr."

"No need to be afraid, Kurt. May I call you Kurt?"

"Yes, Mr."

The fat black man grinned and said, "Kurt, as long as you treat us kindly, we will treat you kindly. You get what you give, that is reasonable, isn't it?"

"Yes, very reasonable, Mr."

The fat black man patted the thin mutant's shoulder and said, "Just call me Bowery. Or call me King; most friends call me that to show their respect."

"Okay, King, Mr."

"No need for Mr., just King," the fat black man said with a smile.

Bowery King stopped teasing that young mutant and turned to the old acquaintance, saying, "So what is the matter today that brings Storm to grace us with her presence?"

"Our companion, Jean Grey, he is missing. I need your assistance to find his whereabouts and then notify us. The reason I brought Kurt over is to have him be responsible for contacting you."

"Oh, another X-Man. What reason makes you so anxious to find this companion? Did he elope with someone? Or did he steal some valuable secret?" The fat black man wore an expression very interested in gossip, probing.

Ororo spoke the truth, saying, "He is in danger right now; he flipped two police cars just by meeting them. The police might have even issued a wanted order, but besides sending more people to die, I don't think they can play any role."

"You don't want a war like the ones in Egypt or Cuba to play out in New York either. Whatever gets blown up, it is not what everyone wants to see. The best way is to notify the X-Men to solve it."

"Heh heh, notify the X-Men to solve it," the fat black man said. "If we cannot solve it ourselves, and it is related to mutants, of course we know to find the X-Men to solve it. Why would we need to trouble you to make this trip? Tell me secretly, do you miss me?"

"I am more afraid that before you think of finding the X-Men, you will bump your own heads first. At that time, if you don't demand an explanation from us, you won't be able to soothe your subordinates. Such a result will only make everyone look bad. You say, is this missing you? My King."

As if tempting, Storm extended a finger and scratched Bowery King's chin. His own white hair began to float up, and his two eyes rolled back directly, looking very much like he would output ten thousand volts at the slightest disagreement.

"Haha, haha." The fat black man who had retreated did not want to taste being electrocuted into a black charcoal again; his skin color was already black enough.

He hurriedly said, "I will notify my people that that rogue X-Man is very dangerous. Just report it; do not have any extra thoughts."

"Yes, that is it. You understand us," Ororo laughed.

(End of this chapter)