In a way, Jean was even more troublesome for Saiki Kusuo than Charles.
She was too perceptive.
After realizing her telepathy was ineffective against Erik, she became suspicious of the man. This man, who was being so overly attentive, had ulterior motives.
So Jean played along, pretending to be naive and easily fooled, engaging in a battle of wits with Erik. It was Erik's overconfidence and underestimation of Jean that led him to be fooled by her clumsy acting.
Jean and Saiki Kusuo found Scott and the others. Because they had been delayed in the slum, the three of them had gone nearly mad with worry, thinking something had happened to them. They'd almost gone back to confess everything to Charles and ask for help.
Seeing that the two were unharmed, Scott breathed a sigh of relief at first, then, in the manner of an elder, scolded them, "Jean, you were too reckless, sneaking off to the bar alone. Do you know how dangerous that was? And you, Saiki..."
"This isn't the time for a lecture, Scott," Jean interrupted, her expression serious. "We need to get back to the Professor immediately."
Because they weren't clear on what had happened, the other three were reluctant to confess their unauthorized departure to Charles and face punishment. But Jean didn't care about that. As soon as they got back, she went straight to Charles.
Charles, with his telepathic abilities, greeted his student with his usual smile. However, seeing Jean's hurried appearance, the smile gradually faded.
"Raven, Erik..." Muttering the names of his former friends, a complicated expression flashed across Charles's face. But he quickly pulled himself together, already formulating a plan in his mind.
"So Erik told you he'd be waiting for you at that bar."
Jean nodded.
"Didn't he tell you a specific time?"
A hint of regret flashed across Jean's face, and she shook her head.
"I'm sorry, Professor. I was probably a bit nervous and forgot."
Charles gently patted her shoulder, praising her, "You did very well, Jean."
Then, he looked at Saiki Kusuo.
Receiving his gaze, Saiki Kusuo muttered "How troublesome" under his breath, but still used his clairvoyance to monitor the bar's every move.
The people in the bar, including the leaders, had been dealt with by Erik. They had clearly turned the bar into a Brotherhood stronghold and had leaked the news of their presence to the humans.
Seeing Erik casually walking around in the bar, Saiki Kusuo told Charles, "He and Raven are both inside."
Hearing this, Charles was both relieved and worried.
He didn't believe for a second that Erik had taken over the bar to settle the Brotherhood of Mutants. That guy was simply trying to provoke a war between humans and mutants, thereby destroying humanity.
"Are you hesitating, Professor?"
Jean seemed to sense Charles's emotional fluctuations and couldn't help but ask.
Charles had actually been monitoring Erik and Raven all along. However, Erik was very cunning, slipping away every time Charles was close to catching him. Now that Erik had taken root in the bar, it made Charles suspicious of his motives.
"I don't think you're wrong, Professor."
Having removed his limiter, Saiki Kusuo could clearly understand Erik's plan. The other man had leaked the information to attract both humans and the X-Men, to let them clash first. He would then reap the benefits, wiping out the remaining stragglers.
In the end, Charles decided to wait and see. Jean, understanding, nodded and left with Saiki Kusuo.
"Wait." Charles suddenly remembered something and called out to them.
Saiki Kusuo and Jean both stiffened, exchanging a look.
"Although you did a very good thing, I will still address the fact that you snuck off to the bar, violating school rules."
Charles was indeed settling accounts after the fact.
Jean complained, dissatisfied, "Professor, can't you just let us off the hook, considering we did a good deed?"
"I'm afraid not," Charles said, his smile as benign as a harmless eighty-year-old man. "Breaking school rules requires punishment. As the headmaster, I cannot condone your actions."
As a result, the four of them were punished by Charles to write a five-thousand-word essay of self-criticism and read it aloud in front of all the students during class.
It was incredibly embarrassing.
The only one who escaped was Saiki Kusuo, which made Scott extremely unhappy. He even went to Charles's office to protest, receiving the answer that Saiki wasn't officially a student yet, so the school rules didn't apply to him, leaving Scott speechless.
Charles's hesitation didn't last for many days before he was forced to take action.
Because Erik and Raven had kidnapped a senator and were preparing to kill him brutally.
Although this senator had been persecuting mutants and colluding with Stryker to use mutants for experiments, if Erik killed this high-ranking senator, the relationship between humans and mutants would worsen dramatically.
"We must stop Erik. We can't let him continue to provoke conflict between the two sides," Charles said, his expression serious, as he put on his X-Men combat suit. Seeing Saiki Kusuo's thoughtful expression, he winked at him.
"Of course, that senator is also a bad guy who's provoking conflict. Although we can't deal with him openly, I'll make sure that guy suffers a fate worse than death in private."
Charles, who was striving to maintain peace between the two sides, was not a saint who had compassion for everyone. His starting point for wanting to maintain peace was to allow mutants to gain a foothold. For those who threatened to harm mutants, he would, like Erik, choose to eliminate them, except his methods were gentler than Erik's. At least, he wouldn't do it publicly. It was quite easy for mutants to assassinate a defenseless senator.
Of course, Saiki Kusuo knew that Charles was trying to tell him that he wasn't a completely good person. As for why he was telling him, it was probably because he felt that Saiki wouldn't be able to return to his own world and was planning to recruit him into the X-Men.
Saiki Kusuo scoffed at Charles's plan. He wasn't someone who would easily give up after hearing a few words. Even if he couldn't find the Time Gem in the end and couldn't leave this world, he would never stay at Xavier's School to be a hero who maintained world peace.
He didn't need the protection of Xavier's School. An all-powerful psychic could live comfortably anywhere.
Because the news of Erik kidnapping the senator had been leaked, the bar was now heavily guarded. When Jean and Saiki Kusuo arrived again, they were stopped outside by two menacing-looking bouncers.
Their malicious gazes and questioning made Jean feel uncomfortable and she moved closer to Saiki Kusuo.
These two were Erik's new recruits. Because of their strength, Erik had promoted them to leadership positions.
The short-haired man, called Toad, interrogated them with his long tongue lolling out. The long-haired man, called Sabretooth, bared his fangs and growled, seemingly threatening them to tell the truth.
Jean mustered her courage and explained their purpose.
"W-we're here to see Mr. Erik. Please tell him that Jean Grey and Saiki Kusuo are here to see him."
It seemed Erik had given them instructions regarding the two. Toad's hostility lessened after hearing their names, but he still dutifully looked them over from head to toe before relenting.
"Go on in. The boss is waiting for you."
Jean and Saiki Kusuo entered the bar.
Sabretooth seemed not to understand what they were saying. When the two tried to approach the bar entrance, he bared his teeth and prepared to attack them. Toad slapped him on the forehead.
"Idiot, these are the people the boss wants. Don't mess around."
Sabretooth looked bewildered, then he realized Toad seemed to be picking on him, and turned his aggression towards Toad.
"Argh!" He bit down on Toad's wrist, making the other man shout in pain.
"You moron, let go of my hand! Damn it, you usually act like a retarded child who can't understand human speech, but when it comes to fighting, you know how to retaliate. Are you doing this on purpose?!"
The two started fighting at the bar entrance. Seeing this, Jean and Saiki Kusuo exchanged a speechless look and silently entered the bar.
Due to the influence of Erik's magnetic field, Charles and Jean's telepathic link couldn't be used inside the bar. Fortunately, Saiki Kusuo, having removed his limiter, could still contact Charles, which gave Jean some peace of mind.
When Saiki Kusuo established contact with Charles, the first thing he asked was the whereabouts of the senator.
Saiki Kusuo found Erik leisurely enjoying a drink at the bar counter. From his thoughts, he learned that the senator hadn't been dealt with yet.
"That's great. As long as that guy isn't dead, it's fine. To be honest, letting him die just like that would be letting him off too easy."
Charles's joyful voice came through. He then realized his slip-up and coughed awkwardly.
"I mean, it's good that he's not dead. As long as we rescue him and hand him over to the humans, we can avoid a conflict between the two sides."
(Don't you think that explanation is a bit hard on your conscience, Professor?)
Of course, after rescuing the senator, he would definitely have to be brainwashed, preferably with the glorious image of mutants risking their lives to save him imprinted in his mind.
However, Saiki Kusuo said regretfully, "I think your plan might not work."
Charles frowned. "What do you mean?"
Saiki Kusuo added, "And the situation might be even worse than if the senator had died."
Charles, upon hearing this, felt like his already bald head was about to become even balder. He anxiously asked,
"What exactly happened?"
Saiki Kusuo told him the truth. "Your good friend Erik turned that senator into a mutant."
Charles: "..."
This was a disaster.
If he had known such a terrible thing would happen, he wouldn't have hesitated for the past few days.
"Do you think there's any chance of fixing this?" Charles asked, unwilling to give up.
Saiki Kusuo countered, "What do you think?"
Charles began to consider the possibility of using love to influence the senator. In the end, he resigned himself to the fact that brainwashing the other man would be cleaner and more efficient.
While Saiki Kusuo and Charles were communicating, Erik had already noticed them. Having thoroughly tormented the senator, Erik was in a good mood. He waved to the two of them.
"Hey, Saiki and Jean, I've finally been waiting for you."
He took a sip of his cocktail, and when Jean and Saiki Kusuo approached, he asked again for confirmation.
"It seems you've made up your minds."
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