Chapter 254: Splitting Up S.H.I.E.L.D.
Professor X offered no defense against Magneto's harsh rebuke, his face still etched with profound guilt.
He turned his head and glanced at his student, who had fainted in Scott's arms, then sighed.
"I originally thought this could help Jean walk out of the shadows. But I never expected it would instead cause her to develop another personality."
"Another personality?"
Everyone present froze in place.
Seeing their confusion, Professor X explained what had happened during Jean's childhood.
It was, essentially, the same old story. After enduring a series of tragic misfortunes, the young Jean had been brought to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters by the Professor.
However, he soon discovered that she suffered from terrifying nightmares every night. Whenever one struck, an unimaginable power would erupt from her body, capable of manipulating matter itself and reshaping the very structure of her room.
Professor X immediately realized that the little girl possessed a power far beyond his own.
He tried to soothe and guide her, yet nothing could put Jean at ease. From the bottom of her heart, she resisted that power and feared it.
As time passed, Jean's condition grew increasingly severe, eventually beginning to affect the other students as well.
Left with no other choice, Professor X used his telepathic powers to forcibly seal that power away.
Unfortunately, he had never expected that power to affect Jean and give birth to another, darker, more negative personality.
Over the years, because that negative personality could not break free from the mental cage Professor X had created, it remained locked away in the deepest recesses of Jean's mind.
With no senses, no emotions—only loneliness and darkness.
As a result, those negative emotions grew stronger and stronger, until even Professor X could sense them.
Professor X had also thought about ways to solve it.
But in his expectations, even if Jean's problem were to erupt, it should have been much later. Yet strangely, it had awakened just now, at that critical moment, and had broken free from the mental cage he had set.
After hearing Professor X's explanation, Magneto gave a disdainful cold snort.
He had always looked down on Professor X's approach.
It was simply insane.
The two of them had once been close friends through life and death, originally inseparable. But it was precisely because Magneto believed Professor X was too weak and too obsessed with so-called kindness that they had gone their separate ways.
"But why did this happen?"
Scott Summers looked puzzled. "Professor, Jean didn't show any abnormal signs or warnings before, so how…"
He did not finish the rest, but everyone present knew what he meant.
Professor X shook his head, equally baffled. It truly should not have happened.
Skye and Jessica, who had been listening in silence, exchanged a quick glance. Skye turned to Professor X and the other X-Men, then raised a key question. "Professor, are you sure that, according to your calculations, she shouldn't have had a problem by now?"
"That's right. I can be certain."
Professor X spoke with absolute confidence.
He had always paid enough attention to his student, especially knowing that Jean had such a major hidden danger.
Over the years, after realizing that the negative emotions inside Jean's body were constantly growing, he had watched her closely while also searching for a solution.
As one of the strongest telepathic mutants in the world—
He had enough confidence to be sure that his judgment would not be wrong.
Professor X's certainty only made the situation seem even stranger to everyone present. Logan wanted to say something, but Storm stopped him with a hand on his arm.
Skye paid no mind to Logan's hesitant expression and pressed further: "Before coming here, did she come into contact with anyone else?"
"No. Jean has been with us the entire time," Scott answered this time.
Hearing that, Skye nodded. Then she looked at Nightcrawler, who had been timid and uneasy the entire time.
In a voice that allowed no doubt, she said, "You need to come with us."
"Huh? Me?" Kurt pointed at himself, full of confusion.
…
Washington, top-floor office of the Triskelion.
The conference room door was pushed open.
S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Coulson walked in.
Beside him was Melinda, the agent with the codename the Cavalry.
Inside the conference room, Nick Fury was sitting in a chair at the conference table, watching the footage playing on the projection screen in front of him.
Of course, it was not from the news or social media.
It was footage recorded by agents at the scene.
Seeing the two arrive, Nick Fury casually picked up the remote and pressed a button, freezing the image.
"Director."
"Director."
"How is it?" Nick Fury asked.
"Not good. Alexander's mouth is very tight. His identity is special. Without authorization, we can't interrogate or detain him for too long."
Coulson looked rather troubled.
Alexander was HYDRA, but openly and officially, he was still Secretary-General of the World Security Council, as well as Secretary of Defense. With these identities, Coulson could not go too far against him.
Otherwise, it would easily bring questioning from multiple sides.
This was no small matter.
Although S.H.I.E.L.D. was powerful and directly connected to the White House Oval Office, Coulson could not act recklessly without authorization.
Nick Fury nodded. He understood the key point here.
Not just Coulson—even he himself had a headache.
As the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury's hidden authority was extremely high, even higher than the FBI and CIA.
But at the same time, he was limited by the Oval Office. Even if his authority was high, it was not much higher.
To some extent, Nick Fury did not want to reveal that HYDRA still existed. He could not tell the President.
Putting aside the inside of his own department, he had no idea how many HYDRA members were hidden among the higher-ups in the government.
What Nick Fury wanted was to wipe out every hidden HYDRA agent in one fell swoop.
But he couldn't directly expose the fact that HYDRA still existed.
Doing so would threaten S.H.I.E.L.D.'s very existence.
If he reported the news to the President, and they saw that a portion of HYDRA was hiding inside S.H.I.E.L.D., there was no doubt there would be only one outcome.
Whether S.H.I.E.L.D. could continue to exist would become an open question.
Most likely, it would be investigated and split apart.
S.H.I.E.L.D. received too much funding every year, and the resources and authority it held were far too great.
Great enough that the FBI, the CIA, and countless other agencies would all pounce on it, each eager to take a bite.
Nick Fury still wanted to preserve S.H.I.E.L.D.'s existence.
So he had to keep the information completely under wraps.
The search for and arrest of the hidden HYDRA agents had to be carried out in secret.
But Alexander Pierce's public position was too important. If he remained out of sight for too long, it would inevitably raise suspicion.
The real headache was that Pierce was a veteran agent who had undergone rigorous resistance-to-interrogation training.
Ordinary interrogation methods were out of the question. Even the truth serum S.H.I.E.L.D. had developed at this stage would have little effect on him.
"We're running out of time. If he doesn't show up soon, certain people on the inside are going to get restless."
A cold light flashed in Nick Fury's one eye, and an idea immediately formed in his mind.
He had to find outside help.
"Keep watching Pierce. No matter what, don't let him escape. Next, we're taking him to see someone."
"Yes, Director."
...
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