An Invitation from the Mutants

Catherine Hepburn, who was tidying up, saw Henry bring Kitty back and asked, "Why don't you play a little longer?"

"Just getting some exercise will help. I bought some really good green peppers today, and I want to go home early and cook them."

"Should we make it into a salad?"

"No, no, no, have you ever had stir-fried pork with green peppers? The pork delivered this morning included a great piece of pork tenderloin, which will come in handy."

"Oh, then I'll have to savor it properly."

With Henry's help, the art supplies and easel were quickly packed away. The small box, tied with a rope, was hung on Kitty's back. Henry carried the larger items, making sure to fasten Kitty's chain and hand it to the old lady to hold.

As a Tiger is always well-fed and can't compete with the Krypton two-legged creatures, Kitty has the mentality of an old monk. There has never been a situation where she was dragged along by some kind of provocation.

Other animals, the smart ones, wouldn't get close to a Tiger. And if any of them were a bit dim-witted and got too close, they'd be swatted away with a single paw! Henry didn't even try to stop them.

Paying for the animal's medical expenses is a minor matter; as long as it doesn't hurt anyone, that's fine. Usually, once those small dogs that dare to bark hysterically are swatted away, no owner would dare to go up and yell about fighting Tiger.

However, Henry still tried his best to prevent such a thing from happening.

Although it's unclear what enjoyment Catherine Hepburn might have from walking Tiger around, Henry figured the old lady was happy, so he let it be.

The journey home was uneventful. Maria Stark Tom helped Catherine clean up, while Henry prepared dinner himself.

Kitty, as usual, ate her meal from her metal bowl. The meat from the butcher shop in New York wasn't any worse than what she found in Los Angeles.

I heard it's a place that supplies only the top restaurants in New York; if you don't have the connections, you don't even qualify to buy meat there. Without Catherine Hepburn's influence, Henry could only be turned away.

Just as he was preparing the meal, a phone call came through to Henry's cell phone.

The displayed number was unfamiliar. In those days, phone scams weren't common, so Henry didn't suspect anything and answered the phone. Holding it to his neck, he said, "Hello, who is this?"

"I am Mystique. Henry Brown, isn't that you?"

The woman, who was already on his blacklist, startled Henry so much that he jerked his hand and cut his finger with the cleaver!

Looking at the chipped blade, Henry felt a pang of heartache. "What is it, Ms. Raven Darkholme?" His current position wasn't conducive to hanging up, and he didn't want to throw the phone out the window, so Henry patiently asked.

"Call me by my real name, Mystique! You're in New York now, aren't you? How about we meet up tonight?"

"Want to hook up? I thought you were with Hank. That Beast can't satisfy you?"

Shut your stinking mouth! You're just reminding me that when I see you, I should tear your mouth apart.

"Magneto wants to see you, but he's busy, so I'm making this call."

Henry asked curiously, "He went back to the United States from Genosha Island? Without the permission of the U.S. government, right? Maybe I should call the police and have you both arrested."

"Go ahead and call the police to their deaths. What If...? it were me, I wouldn't do something so pointless."

"Okay, calling the police won't do any good. Should I notify Professor X?"

"I have serious business to discuss with you, I didn't intend to start a fight. What If...? you feel we have to fight before we can sit down and talk, then you can come over yourself. There's no need to push someone else along," Mystique said angrily on the phone.

"I don't have anything important to discuss with Mutants. I'm an alien, do you remember me?" Henry continued to deflect.

"Come on, Superman. Do you really think you can still take advantage of the Mutants name after the U.S. government has stripped Mutants of their human rights?"

"You don't actually think that if you put the word ' Superman ' on me, I'll hesitate to beat you all to a pulp, do you? On a scale of one to ten, would you prefer it thinner or thicker?"

"I can't talk to this guy anymore, Magneto. You take the call yourself!" Mystique shouted into the phone.

A moment later, the phone was answered by another person. It was an elderly, yet vibrant, voice. "Hello, Mr. Brown, it's been a long time. Or rather, we haven't officially met."

"Hello, Mr. Lehnsherr. I hope you can understand that being discovered meeting with a notorious Mutants terrorist would be quite distressing for me. Therefore, I hope this meeting will never happen."

"Please call me Magneto. I've completely abandoned human names. And there's no need to resist me so much. I have no intention of using your power to overthrow the government or fight the military, even if those things are easy for you."

"I'm a law-abiding citizen, someone who wouldn't even dare to shoot and kill animals. What help could I possibly offer?"

Henry wasn't lying; he truly never shot or killed animals. He only used a bow and arrow occasionally, but most of the time he would simply chase after them and kill them by hand.

After being repeatedly rebuffed, Magneto remained patient and said, "Mr. Brown, What If...? you are truly as law-abiding and kind as you claim, you wouldn't want to hear me say inappropriate things on the phone, would you?"

"That's right, Magneto. Please apologize to Ms. Mystique for me. My comment about turning her into mincemeat was just a joke. I have no ability to do such a thing."

"Remember when Phoenix merged? She also showed some dangerous signs. What If...? you care about that, you know where to find me." With that, Magneto hung up the phone.

With such an obvious explanation, how could Henry not guess the location Magneto had arranged to meet?

This is the location where, during the Diberians invasion, the U.S. military, unaware of the situation, wiped out the Mutants and was transporting them to Mutant Control Center when their vehicle derailed.

There, the Mutants and the Diberians fought their final battle. It was also there that the two Phoenix Force were absorbed by the same person.

Magneto mentioned something unusual about the Phoenix. What was that situation?

"Henry, who are you talking to? Has anyone come to the house?" the old lady asked loudly from afar as she came out of her bath.

"Oh, I was just on the phone. Nobody's visiting." Henry casually straightened the chipped edge of the cleaver in his hand, then swiped it a couple of times on his Krypton skin, and the cleaver was as sharp as new.

He rinsed the knife and then deftly began chopping vegetables again. Seeing Maria Stark Tom peek into the kitchen, Henry smiled and asked, "Maria Stark, would you like to stay for dinner?"

"No, I need to go back and prepare dinner for the children. I'd feel guilty if I ate my fill here."

Guilt?

"I ate such delicious food, but my child can only eat what I cook. I'm starting to lose confidence as a mother."

"It can't be that bad," Henry laughed. Catherine Hepburn then said, "Maria Stark, you can have your children come and eat with us."

The private nurse declined with a wry smile, saying, "I have a husband to consider. It wouldn't be right to keep bothering Henry."

"It's better to let them get used to my cooking."