The X-Men were filled with excitement, all immersed in the wonderful fantasy of mutants being able to overcome the flaws in their abilities.
For a while, no one spoke.
Professor X clearly knew what they were thinking and did not interrupt their fantasies, quietly waiting for them to compose themselves.
Wolverine, Logan, was the first to come back to his senses. His long life and all his experiences of suffering had made his mind exceptionally resilient.
"Professor, since we've confirmed his unique situation, let's just go bring him back!"
"Someone who can free mutants from the limitations of their abilities and X is too important. Even if his condition can't be replicated, he's still a source of hope!"
"Who knows? Maybe this damn lucky bastard can even give my bone spurs a proper treatment!"
As far as Logan was concerned, now that they understood how important their fellow mutant was to mutantkind, there was nothing to hesitate over. Couldn't they just bring him back?
Although his proposed approach was blunt and crude, and his words vulgar and teasing, there was no denying that it was the right approach.
The others also came back to their senses. Hearing Logan's words, every one of them was tempted.
Even Cyclops, Scott Summers, did not argue with him at a time like this.
Clearly, everyone agreed with Logan.
A fellow mutant who could remedy mutants' flaws was someone they had to protect properly, no matter what. After all, they all understood deeply just how bad mutants had it in the United States of America.
Nothing could be safer than bringing him straight back to their school for protection. After all, the X-Men were no pushovers, and they also had Professor X as their pillar of strength.
But the professor had not simply sent them to bring him back. Instead, he had gathered them together, so there had to be something troubling him.
"Professor, Logan is right. This is our hope of changing mutants' circumstances. If they can overcome the flaws in their abilities, many mutants could stop suffering discrimination in society from then on."
"Maybe someday, no one will reject mutants anymore!"
Cyclops, Scott Summers, grew more excited as he spoke. He thought of all the persecution he had seen mutants suffer, and of the students at the school troubled by their uncontrollable abilities.
He unconsciously reached up and touched his red quartz glasses.
He thought about how, ever since his optic blast ability had awakened, he had never again been able to look freely at the world with his own eyes. Unless something unexpected happened, these glasses would stay with him for the rest of his life.
He had already accepted that outcome. After all, compared with his fellow mutants whose bodies had undergone severe mutations, he was already very lucky.
But when he heard the professor introduce this fellow mutant whose ability had recently awakened, his heart still involuntarily skipped a beat.
If possible, he still wanted to overcome the flaw in his optic blast ability, throw away those red quartz glasses that seemed welded to his face, and become a normal person.
Professor X did not immediately answer Logan and Scott. He simply swept his gaze across the X-Men's faces, one by one.
"Professor, let's go bring him back!"
Phoenix, Jean Grey, could not help making the request.
He was undoubtedly the one among the X-Men who most hoped to control his own abilities. After all, she knew all too well how terrifying her abilities were.
Her past losses of control had already made it abundantly clear that she could not control her abilities.
As she grew older, her abilities became increasingly powerful, but they also made her feel that she could lose control at any moment.
She feared that she might lose control at some point and hurt the friends around her, causing irreversible consequences.
This fellow mutant had been able to control his own ability shortly after it awakened, and had even freed himself from the restrictions his X-Gene imposed on him.
This gave her hope.
"Professor, if there's a problem, you can tell us directly. We'll solve it together!"
Storm, Ororo Munroe, wore a determined expression. Rather than urge him on, she directly asked what the difficulty was.
Her emotions were delicate and rich, while the hardships of her earlier life had forged her resilience.
So, although she was excited too, she did not urge him on outright. Judging by the professor's reaction, there was probably some reason he could not make up his mind immediately.
And of course, she wanted to find out what it was and resolve it.
"Hey! Professor, if there's a problem, just tell us. All this hemming and hawing is just wasting time!"
Logan's words were as blunt and direct as ever. As a beast who had fought his way through battlefields, he preferred a simple, forceful way of doing things. What he could least stand was Professor X's indecisiveness.
Seeing the X-Men's reactions, Professor X knew it was time to state his position. He did indeed have some concerns.
"All right! It seems you all want to bring that fellow mutant back. So do I."
"But you've all overlooked one problem!"
"Since he can already break free of the X-Gene's restrictions and completely control his own ability, he could easily keep himself hidden forever."
"He can simply cast off the label of mutant!"
"Would he still acknowledge himself as a mutant, then?"
"Would he be willing to step into the mire that mutants are trapped in?"
Professor X's words swept through like a cold wind, scattering all the X-Men's wonderful hopes at once.
They could not help asking themselves.
That was right!
If they, too, could break free of the X-Gene's restrictions and completely control their abilities, who would know they were mutants as long as they did not expose themselves?
After all, once the X-Gene, that most important identifying marker, no longer worked, he was just an ordinary person with superpowers.
They all knew that, in this world, there were many ways to gain extraordinary power besides being a mutant.
Gods, magic, human modification...
People did not feel such strong aversion toward powers obtained through other methods. After all, those methods were secretive and rare, difficult to obtain, known to few, and not widely spread.
Mutants were different. They were numerous and widely scattered, and there was also the widespread loss of control when their abilities awakened, along with the government's extensive publicity.
Living in such an environment, people's rejection of mutants became a matter of course.
In such an environment, that fellow mutant probably did not want to bear the mutant label and become embroiled in such a mire.
He probably wanted more to hide himself and continue living his peaceful life.
This was not running away from his mutant identity, but the reasoning of a normal person.
In America, no normal person wanted to shoulder the burden of a mutant identity for no reason.