Bonus chapter for every 100 PS and 10 reviews.
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HYDRA had its eyes on the Mutants—and more specifically, on the X gene that gave them their powers. Countless lone Mutants had already been captured by HYDRA for live experimentation.
They'd launched many rescue missions.
Most of the time, they only recovered bodies.
And the number of Mutants who could actually fight? Way too small.
Which was why, at this critical juncture, they had no choice but to seek cooperation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
After listening to Professor X's explanation, Fury immediately pushed back. "HYDRA's been our Bureau's enemy since forever. But I don't think they've got the muscle to go after Mutants on a wide scale like this."
"Director Fury," Professor X said, shaking his head, "whether before or after your memory wipe, your understanding of our people has always been... lacking."
"Strong mutants—true warriors—are exceedingly rare. It's not an exaggeration to say that the X-Men behind him are one in a million. The vast majority of mutants have powers so weak that they cannot defend themselves—or worse, powers that disrupt their ability to live normal lives."
Dante stepped in to help clarify.
"I used to think," Professor X said, his tone distant and bitter, "that we could blend into normal society and live quietly in hiding. But HYDRA's return shattered that illusion."
"Hiding in the shadows… eventually just makes you easier to swallow whole."
Fury didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he turned to Dante and lowered his voice.
"How much of this guy's story can we actually believe?"
"His character's solid. He's the world's strongest psychic. If he wanted to, brainwashing the entire United States would just be a matter of free time and bad morals. But he didn't. He only wiped your memory when you threatened his people."
"He brainwashed me. How am I supposed to trust him?"
"You're something else, you know that? Think about the crap the Bureau used to pull. He only erased the Mutant stuff. That's already way more restraint than I'd show."
Fury visibly shuddered.
"So what's your opinion on all this?"
"Huh?" Dante blinked. "Director, you sure you're not going senile?"
He looked at Fury like he'd just called him "Grandpa" and offered him a Werther's.
"Did you forget we're also painfully understaffed? From what I heard, nobody at the Federal Bureau of Investigation has had a single day off in four months. We've got people from Internal Affairs working night shifts in other departments just to keep up."
"So you're saying…"
"You've got a team of ready-made supers in front of you and you're not recruiting them into the Bureau? What, you waiting for HYDRA to brainwash them and add them to their lineup?"
Fury slapped his own forehead.
Yeah, okay. He was tired. Bleeding. Probably had a concussion.
But he really hadn't thought of that.
The FBI needed people to deal with supernatural threats. The X-Men needed allies to fight off HYDRA.
Partner up.
Solve both problems.
Win-win.
The second they reached mutual understanding, Dante stood up and powered down his Green Lantern form.
Finally.
He really wasn't made for those skin-tight tactical suits. Seriously, he felt like a Christmas ham wrapped in neon spandex.
"Now that we're cooperating," Dante said, stretching his back, "can we go somewhere a little more… not surrounded by corpses? I'd rather not negotiate in the middle of a zombie biohazard buffet."
…
Led by the X-Men, Dante, Ada Wong, and Harley Quinn made their way to the outskirts of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.
Fury, after handing full responsibility for the negotiations to Dante, had already retreated to the Airbus's automated medical pod to "play dead."
Old bones crack easy.
On the way, a few young Mutants sprinted past now and then.
Dante didn't even flinch. He'd seen weirder.
Ada was curious.
Harley, meanwhile, was about this close to joining the kids' soccer game before Ada yanked her back by the collar.
Mental instability really did boost her energy levels.
Eventually, they arrived at the Headmaster's Office—aka, the original site of Xavier's estate.
Calling it an "office" was generous. It was an entire mansion.
But instead of going inside, they stopped at a nearby open space.
Beast casually walked over to the second flowerbed on the right, tapped something a few times—and boom. Secret underground passage.
Because of course there was a secret underground base.
As they descended, the scenery changed dramatically.
Tech everywhere. Full sci-fi layout.
A few more X-Men were stationed here:
White Queen. Cyclops. Jean Grey. Mystique.
Cyclops stepped forward, speaking softly to Professor X.
"Professor, what's the deal with these three? Are we really bringing them in here?"
"If nothing goes wrong, we'll all be colleagues soon," Professor X replied. "There's no need for secrets anymore."
Dante gave the man a respectful nod.
White Egg really did know how to read the room.
Hearing that, Cyclops looked up behind his visor, sizing up Dante, then motioned toward a large conference table.
"This way. Please, Agents."
After they sat down, the negotiation began in earnest.
"Professor X, I understand your position completely," Dante said. "Honestly, our needs line up pretty damn well. We need people to handle the supernatural chaos that's been skyrocketing lately and keep civilians from bumping into things they really, really shouldn't. You need to keep HYDRA from targeting and abducting your people."
"HYDRA's on our hit list too," he added. "One of our top targets."
"Which is why I think merging the X-Men into the Bureau isn't just logical—it's ideal. Most of our veteran agents have retired in the last couple decades. That's why we're so understaffed. The X-Men can fill some of those senior-level gaps."
In other words—join the Bureau, become one big dysfunctional family.
Dante was even considering shoving them straight into upper management. Professor X would basically be one of the shot-callers at HQ.
"I completely agree," Professor X nodded. "But I'm more concerned about the children in our school. They're young. They have potential. And they're HYDRA's prime targets…"
"That's easy," Dante said, already thinking it through.
"If the X-Men are joining the FBI, then why not merge Xavier's School with the Bureau's own training academy?"
"Graduate, and you're guaranteed a job. Salary's great. Government pension. Full civil servant benefits."
(To be continued.)