Chapter 385: [489] - The Husband and Wife Set the Bait

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The plan was straightforward. Professor X and his team would go to JFK International Airport, get on a private jet to D.C., and then take a Pentagon escort straight to the Capitol for the hearing.

Of course Charles Xavier had a private jet. It wasn't surprising—he was very rich. Without that much money, just paying the yearly property tax on the X-Mansion would cost most people their entire life savings.

Maybe being an important part of the Western establishment was why Xavier worked so hard for mutant-human peace. Or maybe it wasn't. Who could say? People who believed in humanity's basic goodness probably wouldn't see him that way. But Hawk? Hawk thought people were basically bad.

Either way, the next morning, just as the group was piling into the cars to head to the airport, Jean got a call from Wanda.

"What?" Jean blinked. "You want me to come home right now?"

"Mom, you aren't…"

"Oh. Okay, fine!"

Hanging up the phone, Jean looked over at Xavier and the rest of the team. "Professor, I need to make a quick stop at home."

Xavier started to answer, but Beast spoke first. Wearing a neat suit and tie, Hank McCoy looked like a wild animal trying hard to fit in. He said, "Palm Street is on the way to the airport. We can stop by."

Jean glanced at Beast, then back to the Professor. "Or you guys can just head to the airport and wait for me there."

She knew full well that Xavier was terrified of her dad.

Honestly, who could blame him? McCoy was a fake beast—a furry scholar trying hard to act human so others would accept him. Hawk was the real deal: a monster who could destroy people and play with them just for fun.

The good news? That monster was her dad.

So Jean wasn't afraid at all. Instead, she felt completely safe. Before Hawk came to this universe, as soon as Jean's mutant powers showed up, it felt like the whole world turned against her and was full of anger.

But as soon as her dad arrived in this world, all that anger disappeared. Just like that, it was gone. And even if some stayed, she could easily ignore it.

For example, with this D.C. trip, if Hawk hadn't been there, she would have done everything she could to stop Professor X from walking into what was clearly a trap. But now, Jean actually found herself hoping Washington was a trap. Part of her wanted to jump into danger just to find out what would happen.

That was the kind of complete confidence Hawk gave her. If D.C. turned out to be a trap, it didn't matter. Her dad was there. If anyone tried anything, she would just call her parents.

Sitting in his wheelchair, Xavier checked his watch. He decided against splitting up. Like Hank said, Palm Street was a straight shot on the way to JFK.

When the convoy pulled up and Jean hopped out of the back car, Wanda was already waiting at the open front door.

But…

Jean's gaze drifted past Wanda's shoulder, looking up toward the second floor. She could hear low, agonizing groans echoing from the master bedroom. She froze. "Mom, what's wrong with Dad? Did his cold come back?"

Wanda glanced back into the house, then turned to her daughter with a faint smile. "He doesn't have a cold. He's enduring a power tide."

Jean blinked. "A power tide?"

"Yeah." Wanda nodded casually. "His power is actively piercing through the barrier of this universe. The resulting friction is causing a massive fluctuation. Don't worry, it's nothing serious. He'll be back to normal in ten to fifteen days at most."

Jean looked completely panicked. "I'm going to go check on him."

Wanda immediately blocked her path. "No."

"But…"

"His power is rising out of control," Wanda explained very seriously. "I've sealed the room with a magical barrier. If you open that door and break the seal, his energy will leak out. If that happens, half of New York City will be instantly destroyed."

It was a smart, serious excuse to keep Jean from going upstairs. If Jean actually went into that bedroom, she would see Hawk perfectly fine, relaxing on the bed without a care.

Jean only heard Hawk groaning because of Wanda's Chaos Magic. Wanda changed what was real as soon as Jean got out of the car. In fact, she had changed everyone's view in the convoy as soon as they arrived on Palm Street.

Because of this, Professor X, sitting quietly in the SUV, could feel Hawk inside the house. He sensed Hawk's strong energy changing wildly, rising high one moment and falling the next, just like a rough ocean tide.

A power tide?

Xavier's expression turned odd. He had never heard the term before.

But after thinking for a moment, he let it go. Hawk and his family were from another universe, so it made sense their powers worked differently. Still, when Xavier heard Wanda telling Jean that Hawk's power would come back in ten to fifteen days, his heart skipped a beat.

He didn't know why, but his feeling told him that Hawk getting his full strength back would be very bad for them.

It was a strange feeling. Until now, Xavier had really wanted Hawk's power to return so he could leave their world. Hawk wasn't like Magneto. Even when Magneto wanted to destroy everything, Xavier always thought he could convince his old friend to stop at the last minute.

But if Hawk decided to destroy the planet, Xavier wasn't sure he could stop him. Not at all.

So why did he suddenly feel so much fear? Like any strong telepath, Xavier knew these feelings didn't come from nowhere. It was a warning—a feeling of danger coming from the future.

His expression darkened as he tried to trace the source of the dread.

Meanwhile, Wanda gently tapped Jean on the forehead and promised to take care of her father. Jean felt reassured and got back into the SUV. As soon as Jean buckled up, Storm stepped on the gas and sped off to catch up with the rest of the convoy, which was already near the airport with Magneto.

Jean looked back at Palm Street as it disappeared in the distance. She turned to Xavier, ready to say she'd probably go back to her own universe in about two weeks, but stopped when she saw how serious he looked.

"Professor?"

"…Yes?" Xavier snapped out of his daze, meeting her eyes.

Even without the full Phoenix Force, Jean had inherited Wanda's strong mind-reading abilities. She could feel the fear coming from the Professor. She laughed quietly. "Professor, my dad really isn't a bad guy."

It was true. As Wanda always said, Hawk might not be a saint, but he wasn't a villain either.

"If everything goes according to plan, I'll be going back to our universe with my parents in about fifteen days."

"I know." Xavier caught the underlying reassurance in her words and forced a smile. "Congratulations."

"Relax, Professor," Jean said with a bright smile. "My dad has been here for over two years. Except for taking my mom shopping once a week, he never leaves Palm Street. As long as no one bothers him, he won't cause any problems, much less destroy the world."

Xavier listened, still feeling worried. "I hope you're right—"

Hum!

Before he could finish his sentence, a huge shockwave of energy exploded from Palm Street, now more than three kilometers behind them, and spread outward.

The invisible pulse spread out in a huge ring, instantly covering more than half of New York City. Any mutant in that area with a strong mind, like Xavier and Jean, was suddenly hit with a frightening telepathic vision.

They saw a Phoenix.

They saw a majestic bird made of golden fire, flying through space at impossible speeds, heading straight for Earth. Every planet or star in its way was instantly burned to ash by the golden flames.

But the telepaths weren't the only ones who caught the pulse. The federal government's science division registered it loud and clear.

The Demon King Research Lab.

It was a black-site division operating under Sentinel Services, secretly established two years ago in the direct aftermath of the Quantico, Pentagon, and White House massacres. The division had exactly one directive: Research.

They studied Hawk. They analyzed his power, dug into his origins, and desperately searched for a way to neutralize him.

When the invisible shockwave reached the sensors at their hidden safe house just down the street from Palm Street, the lab broke out in cheers.

"We got it!"

"We finally captured the Demon King's energy signature!"

But that wasn't all. Right as they celebrated locking onto Hawk's signature, the audio feed of Wanda and Jean's conversation at the front door was routed straight into the command center.

"A power tide!"

"The Demon King's powers are completely unstable for the next fifteen days?"

"And in half a month, his full power will descend permanently."

Sharp intakes of breath resounded throughout the room.

"We need to get this intel to Washington. Right now!"

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