Chapter 157: The Woman

After hearing the account, he asked, "What about Jean? Have you found his whereabouts?"

"Scott, Ororo, and Kurt have all gone out searching; the older students are also out gathering information."

"So no one has found Jean yet. Good."

Mystique wriggled, trying to sit up. Hank quickly activated the bed's folding mechanism, raising her upper body to face him.

"Hank, I need you to find Jean yourself and take him somewhere safe," Mystique said.

Hank didn't understand. "Aren't everyone already doing their utmost to find Jean?"

"No, that's not enough. I don't trust Charles," Mystique said bluntly.

"Why?"

"I'm tired of men treating small sacrifices as insignificant for some grander goal. Who knows what Charles is thinking? Will he sacrifice one person to protect the broader mutant cause?"

"Charles… Charles wouldn't do something like that… would he?" Hank wanted to defend the absent Professor X, but the words wouldn't come out.

Mystique snapped, "I only wanted to eliminate Trask, the man behind the Sentinel Program, and stop that damn plan. But you listened to Wolverine, who claimed to come from the future, and stopped me."

"Even Erik said I'm a threat to the future and should be killed outright. He wants to kill me—he actually wants to kill me. Would you have believed that before?"

They say women hold grudges longest. Hank mumbled awkwardly, "It's because Wolverine from the future warned us that if Trask gets your X-gene, he can drastically enhance the Sentinels."

"So this is why you wanted to kill me? Even you think it was right!"

Seeing her heart monitor and blood pressure readings spiking, Hank quickly soothed her. "Of course it's wrong! So stop being angry. If anyone ever suggests something like that again, I'll spit right in their face."

Taking deep breaths to calm herself, Mystique lowered her voice and growled, "So how am I supposed to trust Charles now? He and Erik are the same kind—arrogant, blind."

"Look at what he's been doing lately. Sending the X-Men on government missions—good or bad, dangerous or not. We've risked our lives more than once for things that have nothing to do with us."

"Then they hand us a few medals and send us away. I warned you—his actions are dangerous and unfair. But you refused to listen to me. You kept choosing to believe in him again, and again, and again."

"Alright, alright." Hank, soothing the now-restless monitoring equipment, asked directly, "So what do you want me to do?"

Mystique declared firmly, "Find Jean first. Protect him. Don't hand him over to anyone—not Charles, not Erik."

"If anyone tries to stop you—aliens, the U. S. government—don't kill them, just knock them out. Can you promise me you'll do this for me?"

"This…" Hank looked troubled. This was practically declaring war on three authorities at once—he was utterly unsuited for this.

Seeing his hesitation, Mystique immediately said, "If you can't do it, I won't force you. I'll do it myself." She reached for the monitoring probes and IV needle to pull them out and get up.

Hank panicked and pinned her down. "I'll do it! I'll do it! Just rest, don't think too much."

She stared at Hank's face for a long moment, then lay back on the bed. But she wasn't done—she added, "Go find Henry. If he wants to prove he's not with those aliens, make him fight them."

"You're already suspicious whether they're working together. Better to drag him out into the open than let him hide in the shadows—then you can watch him properly."

"Then go to Erik. Whether you're fighting the aliens or controlling Jean, the X-Men alone can't do it. We need Erik's forces."

Hank exclaimed in surprise, "So we're not handing Jean over to Erik or letting him clean up the mess—but we still want him to help? Is that it?"

Mystique gritted her teeth, seething. "He owes me! Tell him don't think hiding on Genosha makes what he did disappear. It's not over. If he doesn't help me this time, next time I'll make him pay a far greater price."

They say never anger a woman. Hank couldn't help but feel a quiet thrill at the thought of delivering these words to Erik—wondering what expression he'd wear.

"Alright, alright, I'll do whatever you say. I'll pass your message to Erik. Anything else?"

Mystique added, "Take Scott, Ororo, and Kurt with you. Don't leave a single person behind for Charles. Without help, he won't be able to pull any tricks."

So she'd assigned everyone. Hank wanted to ask Charles and Erik: What did you do to provoke Raven?

She settled back into bed. Hank tucked the blanket around her. "Anything else?"

"Yes!" She struggled to reach out from under the covers, grabbing Hank's hand. "Promise me you'll bring Jean back whole. None of this was his burden to bear."

"It's our fault—we dumped all this on him at once. Drive away those malicious bastards from him. He needs us more now than ever before."

"Alright, I understand." Hank gently tucked her hand back under the blanket.

"One more thing."

"Hmm? What else?"

"You have to come back safe too. All of you. What we're doing shouldn't require sacrificing any one of us."

Those simple words warmed Hank's heart. His earlier worries seemed to vanish. He smiled. "Don't worry—I'll get it done. Everyone will come back safe."

Mystique added further warning: "If Charles follows you, watch out for his suggestions. Especially beware the U. S. government and the military."

"You can't imagine how cruelly they'll act in secret. Their deeds would make even real demons feel pure as angels."

(End of Chapter)