A Woman's Request

After Mystique heard his story, she asked, "And Jean? Have you found him?"

"Scott, Ororo, and Kurt have all gone out to search, and the older students have also gone out to gather information."

"That means no one has found the instrument yet. Very good."

Mystique shifted her body, trying to sit up. Hank quickly adjusted the bed's folding mechanism, allowing his upper body to be supported by the raised bed so they could speak face-to-face.

"Hank, I need you to find the piano yourself and bring him to a safe place," Mystique said.

Hank didn't understand and said, "Isn't everyone doing their best to find the violin?"

"No, that's not safe enough. I don't trust Charles," Mystique stated her concerns frankly.

"Why?"

"I've had enough of you men, your indifference to small sacrifices in pursuit of grander goals. Who knows what Charles is thinking? Maybe he's willing to sacrifice one person for the greater good of all Mutants?"

"Charles wouldn't do that, would Charles?" Hank wanted to defend Professor X, who wasn't present, but he just couldn't bring himself to say it.

Mystique exploded, "All I wanted to do was take care of Bolivar Trask, the executor of the Sentinel Program, and stop that ridiculous plan. But you all listened to Wolverine, who claims to be from the future, and tried to stop me."

"Erik even said I was a threat to the future and wanted to kill me outright. He wanted to kill me, he actually wanted to kill me. Before that, would you have believed such a thing?"

It's said that women hold grudges the most, Hank said quietly, "That's because Wolverine from the future reminded us that if Bolivar Trask gets your X-gene, it will greatly enhance the Sentry ' abilities."

"So, this is your reason for wanting to kill me? Even you think it's the right thing to do!"

Seeing the electrocardiogram and blood pressure readings skyrocketing, Hank quickly comforted the ailing Mystique, saying, "Of course that's wrong! So don't be angry. If anyone suggests that again, I'll definitely spit in their face for you."

Taking deep breaths to calm herself, Mystique lowered her voice and said viciously, "So how can you expect me to trust Charles under these circumstances? He's exactly the same kind of person as Erik. Arrogant and blind."

"Look at what he's been doing lately. Sending the X-Men on government missions, good or bad, dangerous or not. We've risked our lives more than once to do things that have nothing to do with us."

"Then he gave us a few medals and that was it. I warned you that his actions were dangerous and unfair. But you wouldn't listen to me, choosing instead to believe him one or two more times, and ultimately, you continued to believe him."

"Alright, alright." Reassuring Mystique, whose monitoring equipment was starting to show alarming readings again, Hank asked directly, "..."

What do you want me to do?

Mystique said decisively, "Find Jean first and protect him. Don't hand him over to anyone, whether it's Charles or Erik."

"Whoever tries to stop us, aliens or the U.S. government, if you don't want to kill anyone, just blow them away. Can you promise me you'll do this for me?"

"This—" Hank looked troubled. This was practically challenging three authorities at once; he was really not suited to do such a thing.

Seeing this, Mystique immediately said, "What If...? you can't do it, I won't force you. I'll do it myself." With that, she was about to pull out the surveillance camera and IV needle from her body and get out of bed.

Seeing this, Hank hurriedly tried to restrain the person. He quickly said, "I'll do it, I'll do it. You just rest and don't think too much."

After glaring at Hank's face for a while, Mystique finally lay back down on the hospital bed. But he was still restless and suggested, "Go find that Henry. What If...? he wants to prove he's not with those aliens, fight them."

"Anyway, you're worried that the two sides might be working together. Rather than letting him hide in the shadows, it's better to bring him out into the open so that we can be more vigilant."

"Then we need to find Erik. Whether it's fighting aliens or controlling Jean, the X-Men alone can't do it. We also need Erik's help."

Hank said in surprise, "So we don't mean to hand the people over to Erik or let him handle the aftermath, but we do mean to ask him to help?"

Mystique gritted her teeth and said bitterly, "He owes me! Tell him not to think that hiding on Genosha Island means the matter is over. It's not over! He won't help me this time, but next time I'll make him pay a much higher price."

Everyone says never to offend a woman. Hank felt a strange sense of satisfaction thinking about the expression Erik would make when he relayed these words to him.

"Okay, okay, I'll listen to you, I'll do whatever you say. I'll relay your words to Erik. Is there anything else you want to tell me?"

Mystique added, "Take Scott, Ororo, and Kurt with you all. Don't leave any manpower for Charles. Without his help, he can't do whatever he wants."

Okay, so they've got everyone involved. Hank just wants to ask Charles and Erik, why did you offend Raven?

He helped Mystique lie down and tucked her in. Hank asked, "Is there anything else you want to say?"

"Yes!" Mystique reached out with difficulty from under the covers, grabbed Hank, and said, "Promise me..."

Bring the instrument back intact. He shouldn't have to endure all of this.

"We made a mistake by putting all this on him. We need to get rid of those malicious people from his side. He needs us now more than ever."

"Okay, I understand." Hank tucked Mystique's outstretched hand back under the covers.

"Besides."

"Hmm, anything else?"

"You have to come back safe and sound. It doesn't matter if it's you or anyone else. What we do shouldn't be at the expense of any one of us."

That simple sentence warmed Hank's heart. His previous worries seemed to vanish. He smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'll handle it. Everyone will come back safely."

Mystique went further, warning, "What If...? Charles follows us, be careful of Charles ideas. Especially be wary of the U.S. government and the U.S. military."

"You can't even imagine how cruel they are in the shadows. Even a true demon would feel as pure as an Angel after witnessing their actions."