Chapter 390: [494] - Humans, Mutants, and Us

Now that the Sentinel was officially called an "alien artifact," Professor X and his team stayed at the Quantico base. They worked with government scientists to figure out what the machine really was.

Xavier made this assignment his top priority. After all, just one machine had nearly shut down the government in the capital.

In reality, Washington's elite had heard about the situation and quietly left town over the past few days. Many took sudden "vacations" or went on "medical leave," leaving offices empty across the city.

While the streets of D.C. were still full of regular people, most of the country's leaders had either left the capital or hidden in secure bunkers.

President Turner was a good example. Everyone knew there was a nuclear bunker under the White House, and Turner had spent most of the last few days inside it. The generals at the Pentagon had done the same.

Their quiet panic had a simple cause: the Sentinel.

In the last three days, the giant robot found in Texas started to change in worrying ways. At first, scientists thought it was completely inactive, and Xavier's telepathy agreed. But then its internal temperature began to rise. Thermal scans soon found a strong heat source deep inside the machine.

As the temperature kept rising, it became clear that the so-called alien artifact was waking up.

No one knew when the machine would fully wake up, but the scientists thought it would activate once its core got hot enough. Because of this, the team at Quantico spent all day running tests on the five-meter-tall robot, trying hard to figure it out.

Still, none of them wanted to talk about the most obvious danger.

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That morning, when Xavier walked into the lab, he saw scientists gathered around the machine. Then he turned to Mr. Ada, the presidential aide who was there to escort him.

"I must repeat my recommendation, Mr. Ada. We need to move this machine away from the capital before it wakes up."

Ada glanced down at Xavier and gave him a strained smile. "Professor, we've already discussed this. The Quantico research facility is brand new, and it's the best the federal government has to offer. You know how much it costs to construct a laboratory on this scale."

Xavier chuckled. He knew the government could waste eighty thousand dollars on something trivial, so by that logic, Ada's excuse made sense. Xavier always tried to give people the benefit of the doubt, so he accepted the explanation.

Ada's next words made the intention behind that excuse even clearer. "Besides, we have you here, Professor. We trust you, and it's precisely because of that trust that the President has been working so hard to push the Mutant Peace Accord through Congress."

Xavier kept a polite smile, but his eyes went back to the huge metal figure.

"For all the resources we have, we still know almost nothing about it."

For days, top scientists from around the world, along with Xavier, had run every test they could think of on the machine. They learned nothing useful. The only thing they knew for sure was that the Sentinel came from somewhere beyond Earth.

Ada started to reply, then stopped and looked hesitant.

Xavier noticed the change right away.

"Ada?"

"Well…" Ada paused, choosing his words carefully. "There might be one way to figure out what this machine is and end all the uncertainty."

Xavier immediately understood what the aide was suggesting. "You're referring to Hawk Phoenix. Jean's father."

"Yes." Ada's face grew serious. "People suggested this as soon as the artifact arrived, but after what happened two years ago, no one wanted to try it. If this machine was one of his weapons, telling him about it could have made things worse. That risk was enough to put the idea aside."

A weapon?

Xavier thought about that word as he looked at the Sentinel. He had already felt a weak yet familiar energy coming from the machine. Could it really belong to Hawk?

Not wanting to show his suspicions, Xavier looked back at the aide. "And now Washington has changed its mind?"

Ada let out a dry laugh. "Professor, do you know what's scarier than death?"

"Waiting for it."

"Exactly." Ada nodded.

"The Pentagon has decided we can't just wait anymore. If this machine is his weapon, or holds his power, then we're facing something we don't understand and can't control."

Xavier frowned. "If that's true, we should be hiding it from him, not asking him to come and take it back."

"You know better than most what that man did to this country." Ada's bitter smile grew. "The government wants to reach out. If the machine is his, Washington needs a promise. We want him to repeat what he said two years ago: once he gets his power back, he leaves our world and never comes back."

Ada looked Xavier in the eye. "And you, Professor, are the only one who might be able to make sure he keeps his word."

Xavier's brow tightened. "You want me to contact him?"

"Professor, no one in Washington wants to deal with Hawk Phoenix directly," Ada admitted. "You know as well as I do that even the IRS refuses to set foot on Palm Street."

Most Americans thought the FBI could do whatever it wanted, but the real power in the government was the IRS. People say nothing is certain except death and taxes, but Hawk had scared the IRS so much that they blacklisted an entire street. That alone showed how much fear his name caused in Washington.

Xavier stayed quiet, and Ada quickly took the chance to push his point.

"We're running out of time, Professor. We don't know how much longer we can keep this quiet. Reporters are already looking into what's happening at Quantico. You know how the media is. The White House has denied everything, but many tabloids still blame mutants for the attacks on D.C. two years ago."

Ada kept going before Xavier could answer.

"President Turner is using a lot of political power to get the Mutant Peace Accord through Congress. If this machine activates and the news gets out, not even the President can save the bill. The backlash will ruin the progress mutants have made."

He paused to let his words sink in, then made his final plea. "So we need you, Professor. Humans aren't the only ones at risk. Mutants need you to act, too."

As soon as Xavier hesitated, Ada knew he had convinced him. He had spoken sincerely, using the threat of a failed peace accord to corner Xavier and put him on the moral pedestal he had built over his life.

Xavier looked at the aide's serious face. After a long pause, he finally nodded.

Once he left the research laboratory, Xavier returned to the barracks housing the X-Men and sought Jean out immediately. "Have you told your father anything about the machine?"

Jean looked confused. "Professor, we signed nondisclosure agreements. I know how to follow the rules. Besides, my dad is even stricter about them than I am."

Rules set boundaries, and Hawk now had enough power to make his own rules. It made sense that he respected them. Xavier's loyalty to human society worked the same way. He had gained a lot from its institutions, so even his idea of humans and mutants living together was based on human standards.

"Good. Then I need you to call your father." Xavier nodded slowly.

"Call my dad?" Jean frowned, remembering what her mother had told her before she left New York. Hawk was going through a rough "power tide," which was exactly why Jean hadn't reached out. She didn't want to distract him while he handled something dangerous.

"Why?"

"Aren't you curious about why that machine carries your father's energy signature?" Xavier asked.

"No." Jean shook her head right away. "My dad always says curiosity is useful, but it still kills the cat. Even if I wanted to know, I could just ask him when I get home. He'd tell me then."

There was no reason to bother him about a strange machine in Quantico, even if Jean still wasn't sure what a power tide really meant.

Seeing that curiosity wouldn't convince her, Xavier stopped hiding his real reason. He told her about his talk with Ada, explaining what Washington was afraid of and the promise they wanted from Hawk.

Jean listened quietly. When he finished, she looked at Xavier in his wheelchair for a few seconds.

"And what about you, Professor? Do you also believe my dad will take back his power and refuse to leave?"

"I have to protect our world, Jean." Xavier met her eyes without pause.

She felt disappointed.

It wasn't because Xavier thought her father was a sociopath. Many people saw Hawk that way, and even Hawk wouldn't have argued. Jean was upset by the words Xavier chose.

Our world.

She understood what he really meant. When Xavier said our, he didn't mean her, her father, or her family.

For the first time since coming to Washington, Jean truly regretted it. She no longer knew why she was there. She had joined the mission to do one last good thing for the Professor before going back to her own universe.

But now, Xavier had drawn a line between them, and Jean knew exactly which side he had put her on.

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