Jean stood silent, waiting for Ryuuto to shapeshift.
Half a minute passed. Nothing happened.
She finally frowned. "Well? Who exactly can gain Quicksilver's trust?"
Ryuuto just shrugged, expression unreadable.
Jean folded her arms. "You've gotten cocky since your ability awakened, huh?"
"I'm not being mysterious," he replied lazily. "I'm just thinking about who I should pretend to be right now."
Jean raised a brow. "You caught Quicksilver yourself, and now you're saying you can earn his trust? That doesn't sound logical, Red Mirage."
"I'm Mystique," he said simply.
Those three words made Jean's eyes light up.
She clapped his shoulder, grinning. "You're finally using your head! Fine, go make him talk. I'll inform Professor Charles."
Ryuuto smirked. "Wait for my good news, sensei."
The steel door to the confinement chamber creaked open.
Quicksilver looked up, his silver hair messy and his wrists chained to the wall.
"What, here to gloat? Want to see me in chains?" he sneered, shaking his cuffs.
Ryuuto chuckled. "You really don't know who you're talking to."
His body shimmered—skin rippling, bones twisting—until the sly grin of Mystique stared back.
"Magneto sent me to get you out," Ryuuto said in her voice.
Quicksilver blinked, then brightened instantly. "About damn time! I hate your scales, but right now? You're my favorite woman alive!"
"Before that," Ryuuto drawled, eyes narrowing. "He wants to know—did you spill anything about the operation?"
The humor drained from Quicksilver's face. "You're not Mystique."
"Oh?"
"I came here on my own," he said coldly. "This had nothing to do with my old man. I just wanted to race that new kid... and look how that turned out. Who the hell are you? You can't be him—that kid can't morph like this."
Ryuuto reverted to his normal face with a grin. "Surprise. Didn't Mystique tell you someone copied her style?"
"That's—impossible!"
"Welcome to my world," Ryuuto said flatly. "If Magneto didn't plan to attack this school, you wouldn't be here in the first place. If he does show up, though... consider yourself our bargaining chip."
Quicksilver's eyes hardened. "My dad's not coming. He doesn't like Xavier's people, but they're old friends. He calls this place a haven for mutants who don't want war. He'd never attack it—unless Charles attacks him first."
Ryuuto paused at the door. "Then let's hope he keeps it that way."
"Hey! Let me out!" Quicksilver shouted, but Ryuuto didn't even glance back.
In the medbay, Professor Charles sat beside an unconscious Scott Summers, his fingers resting gently on the student's temples.
Sweat beaded down his forehead as his psychic focus deepened, his mind pushing through invisible resistance.
When Jean entered, he opened his eyes, weary.
"Professor, how is he?"
Charles sighed. "Strange. Scott's mind is wrapped in a thick black fog. I can't reach him. Worse, he's fighting me, as if I'm his enemy. It's the first time I've seen this."
Jean nodded gravely. "All students have been evacuated. Only Ororo, Bobby, Piotr, Kitty, Ryuuto, and the three of us remain."
Charles nodded slowly. "If Magneto attacks, his magnetic control will cripple us. Storm's weather powers won't help much. Bobby can defend, but Piotr's steel form makes him easy prey. And Kitty's just a student under Ryuuto... she barely controls her ability."
Jean frowned. "That's why I think Ryuuto might be our trump card."
Charles smiled faintly. "He's our ally, not a weapon, Jean."
"We mutants are weapons," she said softly.
"Forget that line," he replied, gentle but firm. "We're not weapons—just people who happen to be... extraordinary. Learn control, and we're no different from anyone else."
Jean bowed her head. "Sorry, Professor. You're right."
"Ryuuto will be here soon," Charles said. "Let's trust him a little."
Moments later, Ryuuto entered the medbay.
"I talked to Quicksilver," he reported. "He came here on his own—no Magneto involvement."
He approached Scott's bedside, eyes narrowing. "This… reminds me of Loki. Back at the Fantastic Four's base, I fought him once. His scepter can enslave minds. Scott's probably under that same spell."
"Then how do we free him?" Jean asked.
"Mr. Fantastic snapped out of it after Thor's Shockwave hit him," Ryuuto said. "So maybe what Scott needs is the same thing—something powerful enough to shock him back to himself."
He cracked a grin. "And if Thor's not around… guess who's next in line to deliver that hit?"