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[Frog] Chapter 214: The Maximoff Siblings, Tony’s Fallout with Nick Fury
🕑 Added 2024-12-15 05:28:16 +0000 UTCOutside the X-Mansion
Professor Charles Xavier sat in his wheelchair, with Jean Grey standing behind him, gently pushing it forward.
"Professor, you mentioned that two new members would be joining the school today," Jean said curiously. "Is that true?"
Charles had announced the news in the dining hall earlier that morning. To avoid giving the new arrivals the wrong impression about the X-Mansion, he decided not to have brawnier figures like Wolverine present. Instead, it was just him and Jean waiting at the entrance.
"Yes," Charles replied with a calm smile.
"Where are they coming from?"
Naturally, the professor couldn’t disclose that this was a favor requested by the Secretary of State. Their cooperation was still a secret.
"An old friend found these two children in a war-torn region," he explained. "They’re struggling to control their abilities, so he decided to send them to me for guidance."
Jean nodded knowingly. Most of the children at the X-Mansion had similar stories—traumatic and filled with hardships.
After a while, a black sedan slowly approached and stopped in front of the mansion. A middle-aged man with a warm demeanor stepped out from the driver’s side.
"Hey, Charles! Long time no see," the man greeted enthusiastically.
Professor Xavier was momentarily surprised but quickly recovered, impressed by the agent’s performance. Though they’d never met, the man acted as if they were old friends.
Since Jean was present, Charles motioned for her to push him closer and responded with equal enthusiasm. "It’s been a while, Jack. Where are the children you mentioned?"
Whether the agent’s name was Jack or not, Charles didn’t know. He had simply made up a name to play along.
The agent gestured toward the back seat and knocked on the window. A young man and woman stepped out—a pair of twins.
Both were cautious, their eyes darting around nervously. Faint traces of fear lingered in their expressions. Around their necks were black collars, a sight that made Jean’s brow furrow deeply.
As a mutant herself, Jean immediately recognized the devices: power-suppressing collars.
Once a mutant wore one, their abilities would be nullified, rendering them no different from ordinary humans. Some mutants who relied heavily on their powers for survival had even lost their livelihoods due to these collars.
It was no secret that these devices were the invention of anti-mutant scientists from the U.S.
But why would the professor’s "friend" have access to such equipment?
Sensing Jean’s doubts, Charles calmly offered an explanation. "These two children recently awakened their abilities and haven’t learned to control them yet. I arranged for them to wear the collars temporarily for safety."
Jean nodded faintly at his explanation and refrained from asking further, though she still felt something was amiss but couldn’t pinpoint what.
"They’re twins," the agent explained. "The boy is the elder brother, Pietro Maximoff, and the girl is Wanda Maximoff."
"Hello, Wanda, Pietro," Charles greeted warmly, extending his hand while subtly using his telepathy to convey his goodwill.
The siblings felt the professor’s genuine kindness and tentatively shook his hand.
"Those collars must feel uncomfortable," Charles said with a gentle smile. "Let me help you remove them."
With a slight motion of his fingers, the collars around their necks unlocked with a click and fell to the ground.
The siblings instinctively touched their necks, ensuring the restrictive devices were truly gone.
Wanda was the first to react, asking, "Are you a mutant too?"
Charles nodded. "I’m the headmaster of this school, but you can call me Professor X. If you’re willing, you can stay here from now on. I’ll teach you how to control and use your abilities properly."
At his words, a flash of resistance crossed the siblings’ eyes—something Charles immediately noticed with his keen perception.
It immediately occurred to Charles that Hydra must have used some extreme methods to force the siblings to quickly utilize their abilities.
"Don’t worry," he said gently. "Here, you won’t suffer any harm. I promise you that."
Turning to the agent standing nearby, Professor X gave a meaningful look. The agent quickly caught on.
"I’ve delivered the kids, but I have other matters to attend to," the agent said.
"Very well, we won’t see you off," Charles replied.
As the agent left, the professor signaled Jean to push his wheelchair back into the mansion. Wanda and Pietro exchanged a glance. Remembering the professor’s earlier display of kindness, they chose to follow him.
After all, anything was better than returning to those two prison cells.
"What are your abilities?" Charles asked suddenly as they made their way inside.
Before either sibling could react, Pietro had already moved ahead of them in the blink of an eye. Appearing in front of the group, he proudly declared, "Just now, I ran around the entire mansion."
Before Charles or Jean could respond, a nearby stone became enveloped in a dark red energy and slowly levitated.
Jean, startled, turned her gaze to the source of the phenomenon. Wanda stood behind her, both hands raised, her palms also glowing with the same dark red energy.
"I can control objects," Wanda said calmly.
Professor X nodded with approval. "Very good control. Come, follow me into the mansion."
"This academy is home to people like you, individuals with extraordinary abilities," he explained as they walked.
At the X-Mansion, they avoided using the term "mutants" due to its discriminatory connotations.
As the group’s figures disappeared into the mansion, a faint flash of light flickered in the distance.
The earlier agent sat in his car, holding a high-powered telescope and observing as Wanda and Pietro entered the building.
"Mission accomplished, sir," he reported over the phone.
"Good. Return now," came the reply.
On the other end of the line, a man in military uniform ended the call. Standing before his desk, he turned to the Secretary of State. Placing a fist to his chest, he said, "Sir, the two test subjects have successfully infiltrated the X-Mansion."
The Secretary of State didn’t even lift his head, focused intently on his phone. After a moment, he finally spoke.
"For matters like this, it’s best to leave things to the professionals—journalists."
He paused, then added with venom in his tone:
"I want the so-called Emperor to become a rat everyone in this country wants to kill the moment he shows up."
Raising his head, the Secretary of State turned to the military officer. "What’s the status with Nick Fury?"
"Sir, our agents have remained highly discreet," the officer reported. "The photos and video footage we stole were handed to that journalist. The agent responsible for this mission has already sacrificed himself for Hydra’s glorious plan."
The Secretary of State nodded in satisfaction. A dead man was the best keeper of secrets.
"As long as Nick Fury remains, he’s a major obstacle to us taking control of S.H.I.E.L.D. It’s time to deal with him..."
---
Inside S.H.I.E.L.D.
Nick Fury stood at the command center, surveying the agents and logistics personnel below him.
Ever since the nuclear missile was launched, Fury knew there was a traitor in S.H.I.E.L.D. But identifying them? He had no leads at all.
To make matters worse, earlier today, S.H.I.E.L.D.’s internal surveillance footage had somehow been leaked by a no-name journalist.
...
At that moment, Hill quickly walked up behind Nick Fury, leaned close, and whispered a few words.
Nick Fury’s face instantly filled with shock as he looked at Hill.
Hill nodded solemnly.
“Damn it!” Fury growled, slamming his fist against the railing in front of him. “To tarnish Emperor’s name, they sacrificed a mole embedded in S.H.I.E.L.D.!”
“These people... they’re willing to pay any price.”
“It seems,” a sudden voice interrupted from behind them, “there are things in S.H.I.E.L.D. even you can’t control.”
Both Fury and Hill turned around immediately.
“Tony, what are you doing here?” Fury asked, clearly surprised to see him.
Tony Stark walked up nonchalantly, stopping beside Fury. “You guys have hacked into J.A.R.V.I.S.’s system multiple times,” Tony said coldly.
“And let me make it perfectly clear.”
“I. Am. Very. Angry.”
“Tony, let me explain—” Hill started to speak, but Fury raised a hand, silencing her before she could finish.
“Tony,” Fury said firmly, “this is S.H.I.E.L.D., not a place where you can act recklessly. As a high-ranking citizen of the United States, you’re bound by its rules. Occasionally obtaining some information from you? That’s just par for the course.”
Hill couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Fury was standing his ground against Tony Stark without flinching!
Tony jabbed a finger at Fury’s chest. “Listen up, Fury. From this moment on, I have nothing to do with S.H.I.E.L.D.”
“As for the Avengers? You and Rogers can figure that out yourselves.”
While nearly everyone present was too engrossed in the confrontation to notice, Tony casually brushed his hand against S.H.I.E.L.D.’s control console as he stepped closer to Fury. Beneath the console, he discreetly placed a small circular device.
Fury, unrelenting, shot back: “If it weren’t for your father, you’d be nothing right now.”
Tony’s eyes blazed with fury. Without another word, he turned on his heel and stormed out.
Hill called after him repeatedly, but there was no stopping him.
Below, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were all watching the spectacle unfold with expressions of sheer amusement.
—(To be continued)—
