Just as Henry had guessed, Quicksilver had not remained with the X-Men. He raced all over North America just to take down one or two Vampires or Werewolves.
The X-Men had been able to split into smaller teams during their previous operations in New York because New York City was close enough to their base that some of them could simply drive there.
But once the scope expanded to all of North America, they could only operate together because there was only one X-Jet. Even though Quicksilver had a way to act alone, he had no intention of becoming an X-Man at everyone's beck and call, dispatched by local governments all over the United States.
Although the federal government and U.S. Congress had already permitted local governments at every level to request military assistance in matters involving Vampires and Werewolves, opening that door merely gave them legal grounds to do so. Whether the military actually moved depended on behind-the-scenes exchanges of benefits or conditions.
If a local government could not offer attractive enough terms, even urging the military support teams along would be useless. The military's cumbersome internal paperwork could hold things up for half a year...
At times like this, governments across the United States most welcomed vigilante teams like the X-Men—ones that brought their own supplies, wanted only a reputation, and asked for no tangible benefits.
The credit was theirs, there was no cost involved, and if something went wrong, Mutants would take the blame. Even disposable chopsticks were not this convenient. Who would dare speak badly of the X-Men now?
Professor X, Charles Xavier, naturally understood this hidden predicament. But he could not refuse the requests coming from all over, nor could he afford to. Once humans decided that Mutants could not provide any positive help, who