Storm, Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Wolverine stood silently in the treatment room. The one they had gathered around was Professor X, lying on an examination table.
At that moment, Professor X's gleaming bald head and bare upper body were covered in monitoring equipment. His eyes were open, but there was not a trace of light in them. If not for the normal heartbeat shown on the monitor, anyone would have mistaken him for dead.
But the result was much the same. He had completely lost his mind, and was no different from a vegetable.
An air of sorrow filled the room. To Storm, Cyclops, and Jean Grey, Professor X was far more than just a teacher. He had, to a great extent, made up for the lack of family affection in their lives. They had always regarded him as a father.
On top of that, Professor X was the trusted—and even relied upon—leader of the X-Men. Losing their leader, teacher, and father all at once was an unimaginable blow. It had left the three of them so shaken that they seemed at a loss as to what to do next.
"We have to do something." Watching the three of them stand there for nearly two hours, Wolverine finally couldn't hold back any longer.
"Magneto has taken Rogue. By using her ability, he can achieve his goal, even if it means sacrificing her." Logan was extremely anxious. Rogue had come to Mutant School with him, and if anything happened to her, he would never be able to forgive himself.
Unlike Logan, Storm and Jean Grey continued to adjust the equipment in silence. Cyclops, seated in front of Professor X, raised his head.
"Logan, give us a little more time to confirm the Professor's vital signs. We can't... we absolutely can't lose him."
Snikt! Silver metal claws extended from Logan's hands.
"I'm sorry, but I've never been a patient man. I'm in a hurry." Logan gave his claws a shake, glanced at the three of them, and turned toward the door.
He had decided to go alone. But as soon as he opened the door, someone who had been leaning against it to eavesdrop toppled right onto him.
"Hey!" Lu Yifang greeted Wolverine, who stared at him in surprise. He even tried to shake the older man's claw in a show of friendship.
"Who are you?" Logan looked rather bemused as the boy tried to fiddle with his claws.
"My name's Lu Yifang. I'm this year's top student, admitted early on the strength of my excellent grades," Lu Yifang introduced himself.
"Yifang, what are you doing here?" Storm turned to look at him, surprise on her face.
"Professor X got hurt, and you were all so flustered you let your guard down. So word got around to some of the students." Lu Yifang shrugged as he explained, but his eyes kept drifting toward Professor X on the table.
"It looks pretty serious."
"Kid." Wolverine patted Lu Yifang on the shoulder.
"As a good student who follows the rules, you don't belong here. You should be in bed, telling your roommate good night and getting a good night's sleep."
"But it isn't bedtime yet," Lu Yifang replied with a shrug and a grin.
"Oh, is that so?" Logan gave the grinning Lu Yifang a look, then tightened his grip on the boy's shoulder.
"Well, I'm telling you bedtime has changed." Logan put his strength into it, intending to drag Lu Yifang out.
"Hm!" Before he could even take a step, Logan felt that something was wrong.
He looked at Lu Yifang in confusion and pulled again, only to find that not only could he not drag him away, the boy didn't even budge.
For a moment, Logan felt as though the kid in front of him wasn't human at all, but a boulder. His strength had vanished like a stone dropped into the sea, achieving nothing.
And that was exactly what had happened. Lu Yifang had manipulated the vectors, redirecting the force Logan used to drag him across the entire room. Unless Logan could lift the whole lab, there was no way he could move Lu Yifang even an inch.
"Yifang, we'll handle this. You should go back," Storm said, trying to smooth things over.
"Handle it? Because from where I'm standing, you're all a mess, about to fall apart." Lu Yifang grabbed Logan in turn and, to his utter disbelief, dragged him over to Professor X.
"Then you should go back. Getting involved will only make things worse," Cyclops said, raising his head and frowning.
"Oh? What if I told you I had a way to cure the Professor?"
"What did you say? You can cure the Professor?" Cyclops immediately stood up and grabbed Lu Yifang, visibly agitated.
The others turned to look at him, waiting for an explanation.
"Well, I have a pretty good idea, but to be safe, tell me why the Professor lost consciousness first." Under everyone's gaze, Lu Yifang remained composed.
"Let me explain," Jean said, stepping forward. She rarely went on missions and usually handled the school's administrative work.
"You've probably heard from others at school that the Professor has a Cerebro Amplifier. It can magnify his mental power, allowing him to search for Mutants over a wide area. After Magneto took Rogue, the Professor guessed what he was planning and hurried to use the Cerebro Amplifier—but someone had tampered with it."
"Who?" Lu Yifang asked in confusion.
"Mystique, Magneto's right-hand woman. She can perfectly disguise herself as anyone. While we were focused on searching for Rogue, she slipped in." Jean brought up a recording. In it, another Jean approached the Cerebro Room.
Then, before everyone's eyes, she crouched down and transformed into Professor X, fooling the Cerebro Room's security system.
"Can you really cure the Professor?" After explaining what had happened, Jean couldn't help asking again.
"I can't promise a hundred percent, but I'm at least eighty percent sure." Now that he had learned the problem was more or less what he'd expected, Lu Yifang gave them a cautious answer.
"My ability is unusual. It lets me sense a world made up of energy, which I call the Vector World. That's why I can detect what's wrong inside the Professor's brain." As he spoke, Lu Yifang gently placed his hand on the Professor's forehead and closed his eyes.
"The Professor's mental power is immense. Because the Cerebro Amplifier malfunctioned, his mental power became chaotic when he projected it. Now, several powerful currents of mental power are clashing inside his brain. That's what caused him to lose his mind. I can manipulate vectors and calm those conflicting forces."
Lu Yifang withdrew his hand, opened his eyes, and looked at the others. "Of course, that's just my theory. Whether you want me to try is up to you."
Cyclops fell silent as he watched the Professor. Just then, Jean went over to him and whispered in his ear, "Maybe we should let him try. We don't know what the Professor's condition is. Maybe he'll wake up tomorrow, or maybe... he'll never..."
Hearing Jean's words and remembering the high praise Professor X had once given Lu Yifang, Cyclops gritted his teeth and finally nodded.
"Then let's begin. I'll only be calming the few rampaging currents of mental power in the Professor's brain. It's not a precise operation, but this is still a brain, so I'd like as few distractions as possible while I work," Lu Yifang said.
"Fine. I'll have everyone else leave, but I have to stay here in case anything happens to the Professor," Cyclops replied.
Looking at Cyclops's resolute expression, Lu Yifang finally nodded. "Fine."
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