Professor X had no idea that the psychic cage he had placed around Phoenix after the Liberty Island incident had already begun to loosen.
Although it had not completely collapsed yet, Phoenix was already showing some abnormalities.
Barring anything unexpected, once the Alkali Lake incident occurred and Phoenix used her power alone to hold back the flood from the ruptured dam, the psychic cage Professor X had constructed would be completely shattered.
After arriving at the cafeteria, Roy casually ordered some food and found an empty seat.
Even though he had already been in this world for a week, he still couldn’t bring himself to enjoy everyday American food.
To him, American cuisine was useful for filling his stomach and little else.
He could hardly call it an enjoyable meal.
As he sat there alone eating the high-calorie, high-sugar food on his tray, Polaris—Lorna Dane, who still had no idea that Magneto was her biological father—walked over with her own tray and sat down across from him.
“Why are you eating alone?
Where’s that little girlfriend of yours?” After setting down her tray, Polaris smiled teasingly at Roy.
Ever since that night when they ran into Iceman Bobby and Rogue at the movie theater, rumors had begun circulating around the school that Roy and Clarice were dating.
Rogue had tried her best to deny that she was the one who started the rumor, but it didn’t take much thought to realize she had probably played a part in it.
Bobby was a guy and wasn’t the type to gossip everywhere like some of the girls.
Clarice, who was always shy and introverted at school, certainly wouldn’t have gone around telling people that she and Roy had gone on a “date.” The only person likely to mention the incident to others was Rogue.
Perhaps Rogue had only said that she had run into Roy and Clarice at the theater.
But rumors had a way of becoming increasingly distorted as they spread.
By the end, Roy and Clarice’s “date” had somehow turned into the two of them officially being a couple.
“Aren’t you eating alone too?” Roy calmly shot back.
Although Polaris Lorna had never appeared in the X-Men film universe, Roy had already figured out why she was currently at the mutant school.
Professor X.
Lorna had been personally found and brought to the school by Professor X.
As for why he had done that, if Roy’s guess was correct, Professor X had probably discovered that Lorna was Magneto’s daughter and had deliberately brought her here because of it.
From the moment Polaris arrived at the school, some students had already suspected that she might have some connection to Magneto.
Her mutant ability was the same as Magneto’s—control over magnetic fields.
Of course, having the same mutant ability didn’t necessarily mean two people were related by blood, but it was still enough to raise suspicions.
“I just can’t be bothered eating with those little boys.” Lorna replied immediately.
By “little boys,” she wasn’t talking about girls like Clarice and Rogue.
She meant the male students who were constantly pursuing her.
Unlike Clarice, Rogue, and the others, who were still underage, Lorna was already an adult.
Granted, she had only recently reached adulthood, but she was clearly more mature than Clarice and Rogue.
She not only had more life experience, but also carried herself with a mature, alluring air that made her seem older than she really was.
To the underage boys at the school, a mature beauty like Lorna naturally had even more appeal.
As a result, Lorna had accumulated a large group of enthusiastic admirers.
But unlike the introverted Clarice, Lorna had enough social experience to know exactly how to handle those overeager teenage boys.
So far, not a single one of them had managed to win her heart.
Instead of giving up, however, her admirers had only become even more enthusiastic in their pursuit.
“Stop calling your admirers little boys all the time.
You’re going to hurt their feelings.” Roy laughed.
“If they’re hurt, they’re hurt.
I’m not the one feeling miserable.” Lorna replied without a care.
As time passed, more and more students entered the cafeteria.
After noticing Lorna sitting there, quite a few male students considered coming over to join her.
Before they could act on the idea, however, a single look from Lorna was enough to make them retreat.
“I’m full.
I’m heading out.” With that, Roy picked up his tray and prepared to leave.
“Wait.
Don’t go yet.
I still need to talk to you about something.” Lorna immediately stopped him.
“What is it?” Roy looked at her in confusion.
As far as he knew, although Lorna and the original Roy had been classmates before, they hadn’t interacted much.
For some reason, though, ever since his fight with Morgan, Lorna had started approaching him from time to time.
“You’ve been receiving private training from Mr.
Scott and the others every day.” “Everyone says the Professor wants to train you to become a new X-Man.” Lorna spoke slowly.
“And?” Roy asked.
“Everyone also says you’re the strongest student in the school now.” “Otherwise, the Professor wouldn’t have arranged for you alone to receive private instruction from Mr.
Scott and the others.” “I want to spar with you.” Lorna looked at Roy seriously.
“Spar with me?” Although Lorna’s expression was completely serious, Roy still felt as though she had to be joking.
“Yes.
I want to spar with you.” “You can choose the time and place.” Lorna continued.
Although Roy had interacted with Lorna quite a bit recently, he had never considered sparring with her.
It wasn’t that he looked down on her strength.
There simply wasn’t much point.
If he wanted to gain more combat experience, he would be better off training against Cyclops and the others rather than sparring with Lorna.
Besides, the current Lorna truly wasn’t all that powerful yet.
Her mutant ability was certainly strong, but having a powerful ability and possessing strong combat capability were two entirely different things.
“Why do you want to spar with me?” “Don’t tell me it’s just because you want to prove you’re stronger than me.
You’re not the type to do something like that.” Roy didn’t know why Lorna had suddenly proposed a match, but he was certain that proving herself stronger than him wasn’t her real goal.
Someone else—such as one of the boys pursuing Lorna—might challenge Roy simply to prove they were stronger.
But Lorna definitely wouldn’t.
Lorna didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, she fell silent.
After several seconds, she finally said, “Because I want to become an X-Man too.” “I don’t know why the Professor suddenly arranged for Mr.
Scott and the others to train you privately, but if I can prove that I’m not weaker than you, maybe the Professor will let me receive the same kind of training.” Uh… Roy hadn’t expected Lorna’s reason for wanting to spar with him to be that she wanted to join the X-Men.
Looking at her serious expression, he thought for a few seconds before smiling.
“I can spar with you once, but I have one condition.” “What condition?” Lorna immediately asked.