Conflict

Polaris had heard Sean say that her future, including her children's, would belong to the ledger.

Of everyone there at the time, she was probably the only one who thought Sean meant she'd be responsible for the debt.

The naive young woman thought a debt was just a debt. It wouldn't turn into something else.

Sean was pretty helpless about the whole thing, too.

The Black Ledger was completely beyond his control in that regard.

It had its own rules.

"So you mean I belong to you, body and soul?"

"Basically, yes."

"So does that mean I don't have to pay off the debt anymore?"

Polaris's heart suddenly leaped, and she found herself hoping for Sean's answer.

Sean knew she'd misunderstood, so he patiently explained:

"Think of it this way: right now, you're basically a check for 1.7 billion. Until it's cashed..."

Sean didn't finish, but Polaris understood immediately.

"Heh..."

Polaris gave a bitter laugh.

Sean shot her a look. How much better off was he, really? He couldn't spend a single cent either.

If the owner of the Black Ledger was treated this way, what could a debtor facing forced collection expect?

"Let's go!"

Sean stood up after finishing his ice cream.

"To the clinic?"

"No. We'll go tomorrow, after they've put the house back up."

Polaris wiped her mouth and asked, "What about me? Where am I supposed to go now?"

"You don't have the fare to get back to the school, do you?"

Sean glanced at Polaris. He knew her situation all too well. It was just like how he hadn't been able to get back from Xavier's.

"Do you really have to ask? You know perfectly well whether I do."

Polaris was annoyed, so she wasn't being very polite to Sean.

Sean chuckled a couple of times and didn't take it personally. She was a young woman, after all. It was only natural for her to have a temper.

Yuriko drove them to Vanessa's bookstore.

On the two- or three-kilometer drive, they came across two groups of people marching with signs. Neither group was very large, with only about a dozen people each.

The signs read things like "Stop discriminating against Mutants" and "Mutants are human, too."

"Has it already gotten this bad?" Sean murmured as he watched the marchers outside.

"More or less. It's happening in every major city."

"What's the point of these marches?"

"Isn't it better than doing nothing?" Polaris countered.

"Actually, the opposite. These marches will make more people pay attention to Mutants. Once they learn what Mutants have done... Well, you know Mutants aren't exactly popular."

"Your girlfriend is a Mutant, too. Why aren't you on the Mutants' side?"

Polaris was puzzled by Sean's attitude.

"I'm only on the side that's right. I stand with whoever's right."

"But Mutants are the ones being persecuted."

"Are they really being persecuted while running amok and shouting about how persecuted they are?"

Sean didn't seem to care.

"The ones you're talking about are only a small minority of Mutants. They can't speak for all of us."

Polaris was getting worked up. She thought Sean's view was seriously flawed.

"I know. They can't speak for all Mutants. But the rest of them are still being judged by their actions."

Sean leaned back in his seat, looking listless. He could only sympathize with what Mutants were going through. As for anything else, they'd just have to leave it to fate.

Sean wasn't wrong. A small group of Mutants had indeed damaged the reputation of all Mutants.

But the real root of the problem wasn't that small group. It was the abilities some Mutants possessed.

Everyone had once imagined being a superhero. But very few people could actually become one, simply because they had no superpowers.

Mutants, on the other hand, didn't have to do anything. They were born with special abilities.

Envy was the source of hatred.

The main reason humans and Mutants could still coexist peacefully, at least to some extent, was the existence of Mutants with weak abilities and strange side effects. They let humans hold on to some sense of superiority.

If every Mutant were like Storm, Phoenix, or Mystique... Sean was sure of one thing:

Humans and Mutants would have long since become irreconcilable enemies!

Being too exceptional was a sin, especially between races.

Lauren Strucker was still behind the bookstore counter. The young girl politely greeted Sean.

"Vanessa isn't here?"

"Vanessa's upstairs."

Lauren smiled sweetly.

As soon as Polaris heard Lauren's answer, she hurried toward the stairs.

Watching her rush ahead of him, Sean found it amusing. No matter how fast she ran, Vanessa was still his girlfriend.

Lauren watched Polaris's retreating figure curiously, then turned to Sean and asked:

"Mr. White, is that Miss Dane?"

"Her codename's Polaris. She's an odd one, even among Mutants."

It felt strange to gossip about someone behind her back.

"Why do you say that?"

Lauren acted curious, but Sean could tell from her expression that she was only pretending.

A thought crossed his mind, and he immediately understood why.

Could Lauren Strucker be a Mutant too? It seemed very likely.

"Are you that interested?"

Sean decided to tease the girl.

"No, no, I just... I was just curious!"

Lauren jumped and quickly waved her hands.

Seeing that he'd frightened her, Sean burst out laughing.

Lauren didn't know how to react. Her face stiffened into an awkward, peculiar expression.

"Mr. White, that's very rude!"

Lauren was starting to get annoyed with him.

"Is someone picking on our little Lauren?"

Vanessa's voice came from upstairs. A moment later, she descended the stairs, swaying as she walked. Sean's heart seemed to thump along with each of her steps.

After two days without a taste of her, Sean couldn't help swallowing.

"How could anyone pick on our sweet Lauren? Who's spreading such rumors?"

Sean joked along with Vanessa.

After saying that, he leaned close to Lauren and whispered:

"Want me to tell Polaris you're interested in her?"

He was only teasing her, just messing with the girl.

Lauren blushed and shook her head. "Vanessa, Mr. White said he's inviting me out for drinks tonight!"

Lauren sure had a lot of nerve, trying to frame Dr. White like that!

"That's right. Lauren's already agreed to have a couple of drinks with me tonight!"

Sean's words made Lauren laugh.

Vanessa shot them both an exasperated look. How did her boyfriend manage to chat and joke with every girl he met?

"Then we'll all have a couple of drinks tonight!"

Not only Sean was taken aback. Lauren Strucker looked just as confused.

She wasn't even twenty. How could she drink?

"I don't think my dad would approve," Lauren joked.

"I remember your dad worked for the FBI?"

"Yes, he did. Then he was transferred to a new department. It's pretty secretive."

"A secret department? Sounds interesting."

Sean didn't think much of it. There were plenty of mysterious departments in this world.

He wasn't particularly interested.

Only after Vanessa had waited for Sean and Lauren to finish talking did she say to Sean:

"Sean, Lorna's coming home with me today."

"So there's definitely no room for me?"

It's a transitional chapter. I revised it several times, but I'm still not satisfied.

I really don't have time, so please bear with me.