"Mr. Fury." The Professor recognized the man before him.
Nick Fury greeted him like an old friend. "It's been many years, Professor. You've done a great job of keeping out of sight."
"Isn't that exactly what S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted?" the Professor replied calmly. "For Mutants to keep their heads down."
"But some people just refuse to, don't they?"
The Professor's expression turned serious. "But Mutants aren't entirely to blame for that. You know that as well as I do."
Nick Fury certainly did. A large part of the reason so many radical Mutants had emerged was the military's and various secret agencies' illegal research into Mutants. The instigator had been Dr. Trask, who had since died of old age in prison.
The X-Men had destroyed many illegal facilities conducting Mutant research and witnessed countless cruel experiments with no regard for human decency. S.H.I.E.L.D. had also been involved in the cleanup on many occasions. Fury himself had met the Professor during one of those operations.
Many key members of today's radical Mutant groups had been illegally detained and persecuted. Even Wolverine Logan of the X-Men had been among the victims.
If there hadn't been a lack of evidence that S.H.I.E.L.D. had conducted similar experiments, Nick Fury might have been cut into barbecued pork chops the moment he walked in.
"We're not like them." Nick Fury spoke with righteous indignation. "S.H.I.E.L.D.'s goal is to maintain world stability. We don't want to inflame tensions with Mutants either."
The Professor watched him perform in silence. "And what can S.H.I.E.L.D. do?"
"We can offer Jimmy a secure protection program, similar to the FBI's witness protection program," Nick Fury said smoothly. "Of course, ours is more thorough and even more confidential."
"Under our protection, no one will be able to find Jimmy."
The Professor gave no sign of accepting Fury's assurances. Instead, he asked, "You want me to hand Jimmy over to S.H.I.E.L.D., a secretive agency?"
Nick Fury kept a neutral expression, but his heart sank. The X-Men had seen too much of the dark side of secret agencies and paid too high a price to trust people like them.
"I told you, S.H.I.E.L.D. isn't like those agencies. We answer to the World Security Council, not to any national government. We have no political leanings. We're absolutely neutral." Nick Fury tried to salvage their impression of him. "Doesn't the fact that I was willing to show up here openly prove our sincerity?"
An annoying voice spoke up beside them. "You'd seem a lot more sincere if you turned off the Cerebral Wave Disruptor in your pocket, Director."
Nick Fury glared coldly at Xiang Qian, who raised his glass with a beaming smile.
The Professor finally understood how his whereabouts had been exposed.
When he'd entered the hotel, he'd done what he often did: freeze everyone's minds, then stroll right in. He'd once used the same method to sneak into the CIA's Langley headquarters to see an old flame, walking through without a hitch.
But some little brat had come up with the Cerebral Wave Disruptor.
"James, you have your own plan too, don't you? Go ahead and tell us." The Professor looked at Xiang Qian.
Xiang Qian spread his hands. "I've already said everything I needed to. I just want to emphasize one thing: X-Mansion can no longer protect Jimmy. So leaving him in the public eye is actually safer than handing him over to some shadowy so-called protection program."
"As for the rest, I strongly suggest you find a chance to talk to Magneto, Professor, and tell him what I think as well."
The Professor disagreed. "Erik is stubborn."
Xiang Qian gave a cold laugh. "Yeah, we all know that. Magneto treats everyone as an enemy, until he ends up becoming everyone's enemy."
After joining the Professor in criticizing Magneto, Xiang Qian didn't stop there. He continued.
"But, Professor, you have your own flaws too. Unlike Magneto, you always think too highly of people. You keep placing the future of Mutants in the hope that one day this world will grow a conscience. That's just as laughable."
"Gentlemen, gentlemen. Let's be practical and focus on the problem in front of us, shall we?" Nick Fury had noticed that he seemed to have been forgotten while Xiang Qian and the Professor prepared to discuss sociology.
"The problem in front of us is that we don't trust you. You can leave." The one who spoke was Wolverine Logan.
The Professor was even-tempered and disliked harsh words, and Beast was an honest man too. Cyclops still looked livid and ignored everyone.
As for Xiang Qian, he was sipping his drink contentedly, watching with a smile.
"I may be a spy, but we've never pursued political gain." Nick Fury was still trying to salvage the situation. "Motherfucker, what's your problem? Would you rather trust a profit-driven businessman or one with a government backing him?"
Xiang Qian watched Nick Fury's performance with interest. The coarse persona he deliberately cultivated gave people the impression that he was vulgar but straightforward, making his attempts to sow discord seem less like a scheme.
The King of Spies' standard routine!
In the past, Xiang Qian's dealings with Nick Fury had been strictly businesslike, but he'd occasionally heard Zheng Xian talk about the man's abilities. Now he'd finally seen them for himself. No wonder Uncle Xian admired and watched out for this Black man so carefully.
Logan nodded and looked at Xiang Qian. "This little brat is an arrogant, self-important, profit-driven Playboy. He's a complete bastard."
"But if I had to choose between the two of you..." Logan turned to glare at the dark-skinned director. "I don't trust you!"
Nick Fury looked at Logan, then at the Professor and Beast, still hoping for a different answer. But the latter two seemed to agree.
Logan might act recklessly, but his painful life had taught him enough to rule out working with S.H.I.E.L.D. right away.
And in the Professor's and Beast's minds, even if things got much worse, Worthington Industries was still a legitimate, publicly operated company. With Xiang Qian as a shareholder who held neutral goodwill toward Mutants, there could still be some transparency in how the Mutant Gene was used.
If they handed Jimmy over to a secret agency whose very purpose was secrecy, who knew when a pile of genetic weapons might suddenly be aimed at Mutants?
As for Scott, he was certainly hostile toward Xiang Qian, but not enough to oppose the Professor's decision over it. X-Men members had spent years fighting in secret. They understood the logic of choosing the lesser of two evils. There was no way they'd let themselves fall into the trap of a spy agency.
At last, having watched enough of the show, Xiang Qian drained his glass, set it down, and applauded loudly. "Congratulations, Logan. Without even realizing it, you've discovered one of this world's universal truths."
"Namely, distrust of Nick Fury transcends race, bloodline, interests, class, and every other difference. It's a universal consensus."