"Stop it!" Raven bellowed in panic. "What did you do?!"
"Emergency protocol!" The Iron Man suit flew right into the small clinic on its own and lifted Tony's body from the floor.
On its own, it also pulled Tony into the armor and shrouded him to run all sorts of diagnostics. Soon enough, it realized an interference in the brain and deployed a blast of Electromagnetic Fields for a split second, consuming fifty percent of the Arc Reactor's stored power.
"Jean! Stop this!" Raven rushed up close and grabbed the red-haired telepath by her shoulders. "You're bleeding through your nose!"
"What?" Jean responded with a confused voice and looked left and right as if unaware of where she was. Her fingers touched her nose sensing wetness and saw blood. "What did I do?"
Right then, Tony started getting up in his suit. Groaning, feeling a throbbing headache still. "Ugh… Thanks for the heads-up before I threw in my name for you guys. Nice touch. I'm leaving."
For Tony, getting out of there as quickly as possible was the best course of action. Initially, he was confident about dealing with those superpowered humans. But now, he felt a little panic. Whatever the red-haired woman did made him feel helpless. As if his mind was being torn open, memory after memory, searched and controlled as if a puppet. The Mutants were a dangerous breed and dealing with them with mindless compassion was no longer on the table.
"Tony! Wait!" Raven chased after him.
But Tony continued to walk away to step out of the building and fly away. For now, he wanted to put the Mutant business on hold until he could find a solution to the threat they posed to him.
"It wasn't me!" Jean Grey also chased after. "I wasn't in control. It took over and… looked! You're not supposed to be the President… This isn't how your life's supposed to go."
Is she drunk? Tony glanced back at the redhead. "I guess I know who you won't be voting for then."
"Tony! Please listen to us once." Raven ran at superhuman speed and caught up to his armored body. "She didn't mean to hurt you."
The clinking of metal stopped, and Tony spun around, catching Raven's gaze. Out of all the mutants, she was the one he actually liked. "That's just fantastic, Raven. You're telling me she's a loose cannon with superpowers. I get the whole Mutant rights thing, but I waltzed in here with zero prep and no fancy gadgets—The suit doesn't count. So I need to go and prepare."
A frowning storm of worry overtook Raven. What was supposed to be a life-changing, mind-changing experience for Tony was now a disaster. The plan for a better future seemed to be in shambles.
"What's going on here?"
All heads turned towards a new voice. A tall woman with white hair, dusky skin, and a charming allure.
Tony's eyes stayed on her form a little longer than the rest. He felt interested, but also realized the entire place was like a trap. Filled with dangerous women who looked too pretty to be normal.
"Ororo, can you take Jean back to the clinic?" Raven requested, gesturing with her eyes to be quick about it.
The white-haired woman looked at Tony's suit of armor while walking closer, smiling softly and sizing it up. Then she whispered something into Raven's ear and walked up to Jean before grabbing her hand and taking her along.
Finally with some privacy, Raven got closer to Tony. "It wasn't an attack, Tony. I assure you."
"That doesn't matter anymore." Tony moved the faceplate to reveal his face. "The point is that she proves the dangers of Mutants if mindlessly integrated into the society. When attacked, not everyone thinks like me. Most grab their gun—if not worse."
"I'm really sorry."
Tony didn't respond to that and turned around to leave for good this time. Thankfully Raven didn't follow anymore and Tony soon walked into an open area from where he lifted off.
The lingering sensation of his mind being gripped and shrouded by an unknown force still kept him on edge. It felt… violating, to have memories probed like that.
"Jarvis, fire up the initial research on those X-Gene samples we snagged," he commanded while cruising south. "And let's make it a priority."
####
Charles Xavier's office looked overcrowded with all of the school faculty reporting. Yet, there was an uneasy silence in the room. Raven briefed everyone about what had occurred in the school clinic.
"How is Jean?" Scott Summers inquired, ready to bolt to his girlfriend.
All the heads turned to him with a silent sneer. This wasn't the time to worry about Jean. She was possibly the most powerful telepath and being in the entire world. It was good enough that Tony wasn't hurt.
Finally, Hank broke the silence. "The past is immutable. Our focus must now shift to rectifying the present circumstances. There is no doubt that a mistake was made."
"His first impression of this school... is now forever tainted," Charles remarked, seated with a heavy heart. His gaze swept across the faculty. "We have two urgent matters at hand. First, we need to understand why Jean suddenly assaulted Mr. Stark's mind in such a manner. Second, we must de-escalate this situation. It's only natural that Mr. Stark is now highly wary of us, and rightfully so—"
"We're doing well on our own." Scott Summer interrupted all of a sudden, arms folded and proud. "Why bother with that narcissist? Have you ever seen his interviews? He openly calls himself a playboy."
Charles sighed and tapped on the keyboard in front of him. Then, he turned the monitor around so the faculty could see. It showed a CCTV video of a young boy suddenly bursting into flames in the middle of a mall.
"His whereabouts are unknown," Charles said gravely. "Likely taken by a government agency or worse. We're doing well on our own, but only for ourselves. There are countless mutants out there—hopeless, desperate for saving. We can't do that without the backing of the man who holds the most political authority in this world."
"He's right." Hank agreed without hesitation. "But Stark is a lot more than just that. A man like him at the forefront opens so many doors. The country will officially focus on technological advancement. If my assessments of him are right, he's not going to bow down to lobbyists and special interest groups either. With his own highly functioning mind, this country is bound to grow in leaps once he takes office. Being on his bad side is no different from joining Magneto's side."
Silent until then, Raven finally stepped forward. "I'll try to meet him again. We can try to explain Jean's abnormal situation to him."
"What?! But didn't all of you decide to keep it a secret?" Scott protested, putting the interests of his girlfriend first.
Charles didn't bother responding to Scott. "It can't be you this time, Raven. You have someone else to meet and persuade."
Raven frowned at that and silently nodded. It wasn't hard to realize that it was Eric. If there was anyone whose words that man would listen to, it was her. "Then who will contact Stark?"
"Ororo. She's wise, calm, and graceful. Emotions won't easily sway her, nor does anger cloud her judgment." Charles glanced at the white-haired dark-skinned woman. "Patience and tolerance will be essential in dealing with Mr. Stark. Do you believe you're up to the task, Ororo?"
Ororo deeply pondered over the matter. Her blue eyes never left Charles' form. Wearing simple black jeans and a black jacket, her aura lacked no regality. "I'm willing as long as it doesn't affect my students."
"It's decided then. Try approaching Stark tomorrow. Consult with Raven to gain insight into his character. Even if persuasion eludes us, securing his neutrality is imperative," Charles concluded and ended the meeting. But he asked for Raven to stay back so they could discuss the Magneto problem.
As for Ororo Monroe, she went straight to look up Tony Stark on the internet to study her assignment.
Clearly, she lacked the understanding that with Tony Stark, no amount of pre-planning would help.
In the end, it's all just a game for the billionaire genius. There was no person born in the world who could persuade him with simple words, yet. What he required was hard facts and information to base his decision on.
For now, the decision was to find a counter against the Mutants in case they chose to raise their voice in a less-than-friendly manner.
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