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The name sent visible chills through everyone present. Even Magneto, who had faced down ancient mutants and alien invasions, shifted uncomfortably in his chair.
"Sinister has been behind many of the worst atrocities committed against our kind," Jay continued, his voice heavy with terrible knowledge. "He pursues his goals without any moral constraints, human experimentation, mass murder, psychological and physical torture, anything that advances his research."
He turned to look at Jean, his expression softening with genuine sympathy. "He must have observed your performance against Apocalypse and decided you'd make an ideal test subject. Your connection to the Phoenix Force would be incredibly valuable to someone like him, the power of creation and destruction in a form he could potentially control and study."
Jean shuddered involuntarily, unconsciously moving closer to Scott, who immediately wrapped a protective arm around her shoulders.
Jay turned back to Xavier, his expression becoming urgent. "Charles, if I were you, I'd immediately conduct the most comprehensive physical and mental scans possible on every resident of this mansion. If Sinister has been observing Jean, if he's been planning something this elaborate, he wouldn't have limited himself to just her. He might have left other surprises... sleeper agents, genetic tracers, psychic backdoors, or worse."
Xavier nodded grimly, already mentally cataloging the security procedures he'd need to implement.
Then Jay faced Erik, his expression growing even more serious. "You, Erik, have always recognized humanity's seemingly irrational hatred toward mutants, especially when they simultaneously celebrate other enhanced beings like the Fantastic Four or Captain America. This discrepancy has always been illogical and disproportionate. It's not natural human prejudice... It's been orchestrated for a specific purpose."
Erik leaned forward, his eyes narrowing as he recalled decades of studying patterns of human hatred and violence. Metal objects around the room began vibrating almost imperceptibly as his emotions stirred. "What exactly are you saying, boy? Speak plainly."
The atmosphere in the study grew thick with unspoken fears and mounting dread.
Jay's voice dropped to almost a whisper, somehow making his words more ominous. "Someone... something... is behind all of this. All the hatred, all the suffering directed specifically at mutants while other enhanced humans are embraced as heroes and protectors."
Erik's eyes flashed red with building rage, and the vibration of metal objects intensified. Xavier's wheelchair creaked ominously, and Logan's adamantium skeleton began to ache. "Give me a name," Erik demanded, each word precise and deadly.
"Sublime. A sentient bacterial organism that has existed since the dawn of life on Earth." Jay's words fell like stones into still water, creating ripples of shock and disbelief. "It can possess and control human hosts, but mutants are immune to its influence. It sees mutant evolution as the first real threat to its eternal dominion over life on this planet."
The revelation hit everyone like a physical blow. They sat in stunned silence as the implications sank in of an ancient intelligence that had potentially been manipulating human civilization for millions of years.
Logan finally pushed himself completely off the wall, his healing factor having restored him fully, though his pride remained wounded. "Kid," he growled, his voice carrying decades of hard-won skepticism, "you're askin' us to believe that some ancient microbe has been pullin' humanity's strings since the dawn of time? That's one hell of a claim, bub."
"Logan raises a valid point," Beast interjected, his analytical mind engaging with the enormity of the suggestion. "The coordination required for such manipulation would span countless generations and multiple civilizations. Do you possess empirical evidence of this organism's existence? Genetic samples? Historical documentation?"
Scott crossed his arms defensively. "How exactly do you know all this? This isn't the kind of information someone just stumbles across in a medical journal."
Xavier leaned forward in his wheelchair, his telepathic senses probing carefully. "I've touched millions of minds over the decades, Jay. If such an entity existed and was influencing human thought on this scale, surely I would have detected some trace of its presence."
Jay paused, seeming to consider his words carefully. "This knowledge comes from my... unusual circumstances. I can't provide more details than that," he said. "But consider the logic, why would humans embrace someone who shoots fire from his hands or a woman who can turn invisible, yet fear and hate someone whose only 'crime' is being born different? The hatred is too specific, too coordinated across cultures that have never even interacted. It's not natural human prejudice."
Erik's hands trembled with barely contained fury, every piece of metal in the room responding to his emotional state with creaks and groans. "You're tellin' me that every act of violence, every Sentinel program, all of it orchestrated by some primordial parasite?" His voice rose to a dangerous shout. "Every child I watched die in those camps, every friend I lost... puppet strings pulled by bacteria?"
The words hung in the air like a death sentence. Xavier's face had gone completely ashen. "Social engineering on such a massive scale... the coordination required, the subtle influence over human institutions..." He trailed off, unable to finish the thought.
"Charles," Erik said slowly, his voice carrying the weight of terrible understanding, "think about every government that's turned against us, every scientist who's created weapons specifically designed to kill mutants, every mob that's formed seemingly overnight. Think about the coordination, the precise timing."
Storm finally spoke up, her voice barely above a whisper. "The patterns. All those years I spent traveling through Africa, I observed the same fears, the same specific hatreds in tribes that had never heard of America or Europe. It never made sense before."
"Exactly," Jay confirmed grimly. "Both Sublime and Sinister have survived this long because they understand patience in ways human minds can barely comprehend. They think in centuries, not years or decades."
Jay stood up, preparing to leave, his movement drawing everyone's attention. "I'm advising both of you to only engage these threats when you're fully prepared, when you've verified everything I've told you, and when you have comprehensive plans that account for their vast experience and resources. These aren't enemies you can simply punch your way through, Logan, or outmaneuver with conventional tactics, Scott. They've been playing this game since before any of us existed."
His expression softened slightly. "You might not get a second chance if you move too quickly."
He moved toward the door with measured steps, then paused with his hand on the ornate brass handle. "But here's what you can control," he said, turning back one final time. "You need to prepare to go mainstream, to take control of the narrative before your enemies can weaponize it against you. Just like I advised the Fantastic Four during my recent interview, you need to solve real-world problems and broadcast your successes. Show the world that when disasters strike, it's mutants who run toward the danger to help ordinary people. Make them love you before Sublime can re-teach them to hate you."
As he reached for the door, Rogue stood abruptly, her chair scraping loudly against the hardwood floor. She moved toward him with obvious urgency, catching his hand with her own bare skin. "Sugar, we need to talk," she said, her Southern drawl making it clear this wasn't a request. "Privately?"
Jay studied her face for a moment, noting the determined set of her jaw and the worry lines around her green eyes. He nodded, allowing her to lead him into the hallway as the heavy oak door closed behind them with a soft but definitive click.
Behind them, Xavier sat in his wheelchair among the scattered books, papers, and destroyed furniture... physical evidence of the chaos Jay's revelations had brought to their previously ordered world.
The professor silently vowed never to invite Jay again. Every time the young man arrived, things always evolved for the worse..
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