Hank let out a sigh.
“Magneto believes mutants suffer all this injustice because of human stupidity, prejudice, and small-mindedness.
So he argues that mutants should conquer the world by force and become its rulers.”
“From the oppressed to the oppressor…
mm, that does follow a certain logic.”
Angela couldn’t help a small smile.
“People like Charles—who’ve been hurt and wronged and still want nothing more than to push for their rights peacefully—really are the rare exception.”
She certainly wasn’t one of them.
Hank added one more thing.
“Still, ever since the assassination attempt, Magneto’s been off the radar for a long while. The President was grateful to Raven for stepping in to save his life, and he passed new legislation banning discrimination and unequal treatment against mutants… Over these past years, things have gotten a lot better for mutants than they used to be. Maybe Magneto’s come around by now too.”
Scott clearly didn’t share Hank’s optimism.
“Or maybe he’s just brewing up something bigger.”
Seeing the two of them on the verge of bickering again, Jean Grey stepped in and ended the topic outright.
“Only Magneto himself knows what he’s thinking. Once we find him, we can just ask him to his face. Angela, the military has all sorts of special weapons for dealing with mutants, and your abilities aren’t suited to a fight. If things get dangerous out there, your first priority should be protecting yourself.”
Angela blinked.
Was this a gentle hint that she was free to “turn tail and run”?
She couldn’t help a wry laugh.
“Jean, thank you for the thought. But my abilities are exactly the kind that need teammates to reach their full potential… Don’t worry. I’m no rookie. I’ve been on a battlefield before. I know when my power is needed, and I won’t be a burden to you.”
Jean Grey nodded with a smile.
Scott said under his breath, “Let’s hope so.”
In all the X-Men’s past missions, they’d never once brought along a pure “doctor” like this, and he worried about whether a “doctor” might come to harm in the chaos of a fight.
The Professor had only said “Mercy is someone you can trust,” without spelling out just how capable she actually was.
He could only pray she wasn’t the type to go weak in the knees at the sight of a gun.
Well—even if she really was a greenhorn, surely he and Jean could keep her covered.
The supremely confident Cyclops was about to learn, very soon, what it felt like to eat his words.
The X-Men’s jet was fast, and after the group had whiled away a stretch of time aboard it, they were nearly at their destination.
Angela raised a very practical question. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
“Since Magneto’s gone into hiding, he’s surely changed his name and taken on a new identity.
How are we supposed to find him?”
It wasn’t as though she could count on “Athena” to “borrow” a satellite and run facial recognition.
Jean Grey answered with a touch of pride.
“That’s exactly why I’m here. Angela, the Professor told you that a mutant’s brainwaves are a little different from an ordinary person’s, didn’t he? When I use my telepathy, I can pick the mutants out of a crowd. With a mutant as powerful as Magneto, as long as he isn’t too far off, I’ll be able to feel him.”
A human brain-search?!
Angela marveled, and meant it.
“That really is incredible.
But—reading so many people’s minds at once, doesn’t it give you headaches, or muddle your own thoughts?”
“It used to, yes.” Jean Grey’s smile widened, and she gave Angela a wink.
“It’s much better now.
Although—Angela, aren’t you the least bit worried?
I can read your mind too, you know.”
Angela made a show of mulling it over, then said, entirely unbothered, “As long as it isn’t while I’m on a date, Jean, you’re welcome to take a look inside my head—it’s no big deal.
Besides, I trust you wouldn’t do something like that on purpose.
The brain is an organ that tires easily; to shake off that fatigue, it even came up with a function called ‘forgetting.’ Keeping my own thoughts in order is trouble enough.
Cramming someone else’s in on top of that would be asking for a headache.”
Jean Grey looked faintly surprised, then shot Scott a smug little glance, one that said plainly, I’m the better judge of people than you are.
Picking up Angela’s thread, she made a joke of it.
“So if I happened to take a peek while you were on a date, you wouldn’t fall out with me over it?”
“Mm—as long as you don’t go telling anyone what I was really thinking at the time.” Angela shrugged and gave Jean a you-know-how-it-is look.
“You know how it is. There are plenty of dates a woman has to put on an act just to get through. Otherwise, the moment you come right out with, ‘The smell of smoke on you is awful—do you have any idea how easily all that smoking can give you lung cancer?’, the date’s as good as over.”
Jean Grey burst out laughing and walked over to loop an arm through Angela’s.
“You’re absolutely right, Angela. So, to keep that from happening, even if I really did catch something by accident, I promise I’ll keep it to myself.”
Scott’s first reaction was to duck his head and sniff at himself, checking for any trace of smoke.
The jet set down on a stretch of open plain, and Jean Grey took point in the search, leading the other three into the forest.
The woods were in an uproar.
Jean Grey said, a little puzzled, “I’m sensing a mutant up ahead, but it shouldn’t be Magneto… His emotions are wildly agitated, though.”
Scott caught her meaning.
“Magneto won’t come to any harm if it takes us a little longer to find him. Let’s go see what’s happening over there first.”
So the four of them pressed on into the trees.
By the time they caught sight of figures ahead, a tragedy had already unfolded.
A squad of uniformed men had their bows drawn and aimed at a woman and a child.
A dozen-odd arrows loosed at once; the woman threw herself in front of the girl, and several shafts punched clean through her body, driving from her back out through her chest.
The girl screamed, calling out to the animals around her.
Another arrow came flying—and struck her square in the heart.
The girl let out a cry of pain and crumpled, limp, to the ground.
“We won!
We killed the ‘monsters’!”
The uniformed men whooped, riding high, and broke into a clamor about going to “collect the monsters’ bodies.”
Scott pulled off his glasses.
Jean Grey called upon the Phoenix’s power, ready to tear these brutes to pieces.
But neither of them was faster than someone else.
In the blink of an eye, Angela had changed into her combat suit, Caduceus Staff in hand, and was already streaking toward the fallen girl.
Golden wings of light swept across the forest.
A white-clad angel descended upon the scene, and the “hunters” froze where they stood.
In that very instant, a clear, ringing call had already gone out.
“Heroes never die!”
Golden light poured from the angel’s hand and settled over the woman and the girl lying arrow-struck on the ground.
As if by a miracle, the two who had already stopped breathing opened their eyes once more.
In the dazzling glow, the girl instinctively reached out and caught hold of the “angel’s” sleeve.
“Angel…”