Chapter 156: The Official's Dangerous Attitude

In Professor X's office, Hank McCoy, in his beast-like human form, sat before the principal's desk. Scattered across the desk were the results of his research together with Reed Richards.

Having just finished a phone conversation with the White House liaison, Professor X still looked troubled and restless.

Hank asked urgently, "What did the White House say? Is the President willing to talk with us?"

Shaking his head, Professor X said, "Not optimistic. Their wording was not harsh, but it amounted to nothing; it was all diplomatic rhetoric."

"But we presented evidence. Jean's loss of control was not her own will; she was influenced by those aliens. Didn't the photos clearly show that alien warship?"

"That is not enough."

"What is not enough? Are the photos we faxed not clear enough, so the White House doesn't believe our account? If so, I'll go to Washington myself and bring the original photos for them to see."

Holding the original photos he had developed with Reed, Hank was about to rush out. Professor X called him to a halt, saying, "The White House's position is that photos alone are not enough.

"Even a judge requires witness testimony and physical evidence to convict. With only a single photo, how can you make the White House believe our account? Not to mention that even we cannot convince ourselves of that account; everyone knows it is merely an excuse."

Hank asked anxiously, "Then what evidence does the White House want?"

"Alien corpses, living aliens, one who knows their entire plan, a high-ranking living alien, or even that space warship. Or perhaps..."

"Or perhaps what? Jean? You want to send her out like a lab rat?" Hank said angrily.

Professor X, equally agitated, said, "I never said that, and I would never do such a thing!"

"Then... shall we hand over that Henry Brown? Didn't he say he was an alien?" Hank offered a stupid idea.

No matter how confused he was, Professor X could not possibly agree to such a flawed, stupid idea. He countered, "How can you be certain Henry Brown is on the same side as those aliens?

"And how would you hand him over? A group of people, scattered and disorganized, have all been beaten by him once. Moreover, we are currently wounded or fled; we are not a complete fighting force.

"Or should we tell the White House people to figure out how to catch him themselves? Have you considered that if he truly has no connection to that warship in outer space, we would merely offend a powerful enemy for no reason. He was harmless to begin with."

Hank also knew his idea was unrealistic; he simply didn't know what to do either. The official attitude has always been the greatest obstacle in mutant affairs.

As long as the US government shows a friendly attitude toward mutants, even if some act behind the scenes, at least mutants generally would have a chance to catch their breath.

A neutral stance of non-commitment is the most troublesome, because at such times, the US government could do anything.

If the US government shows a hostile attitude, not only would the Sentinel Program, which was shut down, be restarted; the overwhelming oppression and targeting from official forces would make it difficult for mutants even to catch their breath.

Even Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters was targeted and destroyed by the military. If the headquarters, gathering several Omega-level mutants and the X-Men, was treated this way, how could ordinary mutants fare?

It was in this squeezed predicament that Professor X constantly pondered the future of mutants. Magneto was the same, except he chose a different path from Professor X.

This is why these two are called the two spiritual leaders of mutants; no one else is qualified to use such a title.

Fortunately, Charles Xavier is bald; otherwise, he would not have stopped pulling out his own hair. Professor X slammed his fist heavily on the table and said, "This won't do; we must have our own people within the government."

"How? Use mind control to control a congressman, or a White House official?" Hank continued offering stupid ideas.

Professor X immediately refuted him. "That certainly won't do! We cannot use mind control. If it were exposed, our situation would become even more difficult. We must truly have our own person, prominently placed in those positions."

Hank said, "How? Elect congressmen, have mutants strive for the support of ordinary people? Even if you pour astronomical sums of money into this bottomless pit, success is unlikely.

"The only possibility is to persuade the government to establish an agency specifically handling mutant affairs, with our own people holding positions within it. But such a thing cannot be done immediately, nor would it help Jean."

"I know." Slamming the table heavily again, Professor X maneuvered his wheelchair to face away from the door, seeing no one. He said, "I know; let me think quietly for a moment."

Seeing his long-time friend apparently unwilling to continue communicating, Hank McCoy, helpless, could only leave the office. He had to inform another person of the entire situation. And that person was even more troublesome.

In the infirmary, older students from the school were temporarily filling the nurse's role. Normally, this place was managed by Jean Grey, but she was not here now.

A stack of physics books, ranging from basic to advanced, was piled beside Quicksilver. He was using some tools to assist him, struggling to read these books.

Meanwhile, Mystique, in her original form with blue skin and red hair, lay resting on the hospital bed.

Her vital signs, after the ups and downs of the first twenty-four hours, had now stabilized. Perhaps she would recover faster than expected, Hank thought while checking the instrument data.

In fact, Mystique had noticed Hank as soon as he entered the infirmary.

She was merely adjusting her breathing to alleviate the pain in her internal organs. Doing so would help her mutant ability accelerate her body and internal organs toward a 'normal' state.

Once she had reached a small milestone, she opened her eyes and looked at the man beside the bed who was gazing at her with affection.

"Any good news?" Mystique asked.

"Raven, you shouldn't put too much thought into this; you need more rest," Hank advised.

"When I'm dead, I'll have plenty of time to rest properly. Now, give me some good news."

Knowing full well that this woman had such a personality, Hank had come to the infirmary prepared to tell her of the latest findings.

Nevertheless, he still couldn't help but advise her. As expected, he received a soft rebuff.

Hank could only dutifully tell Mystique of his and Reed Richards' discovery, and after notifying Professor X, Charles's response and the White House's attitude.

(End of this chapter)