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Jean pushed open the heavy doors and stepped into a conference room that was already crowded.
Scott looked up right away. Their eyes met for a moment, then Jean looked away, pulled out her chair, and sat in her usual spot at the table.
Scott felt a dull ache in his chest.
He and Jean hadn't exactly been childhood sweethearts, but they did grow up together. Professor Xavier found them both when they were young and brought them to the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters. From the first time Scott saw her, he could hardly look away.
Jean had become a striking young woman. She had Hawk's fierce, almost predatory intensity, balanced by the mysterious quality she got from Wanda. Together, these traits made her captivating and sometimes a little dangerous.
Jean never said anything about what was between them, but Scott knew he wasn't imagining it. Something had been growing for years. When Apocalypse attacked the mansion, they almost crossed that unspoken line.
Then Hawk and Wanda showed up.
Everything changed after that.
Since coming back from Cairo, Jean had been keeping her distance on purpose. Scott thought he knew why. She would probably leave with her parents soon and go back to their universe.
The thought made him feel empty inside.
Luckily, his custom ruby-quartz visor hid his eyes. Without it, everyone would have seen the heartbreak on his face.
Professor Charles Xavier sat at the head of the table in his wheelchair, his head freshly shaved and bald again. He noticed Scott's expression and thought about saying something, but nothing helpful came to mind.
Some things just couldn't be talked about.
Xavier held back a sigh and focused on why he had called everyone together.
"President Baron Turner has finally agreed to move forward with our Mutant Peace Accord. Congress will hold a hearing on the bill next month."
The room was silent for a moment.
Then everyone reacted at once.
"The White House agreed?" Angel asked in disbelief.
"You're serious?" Storm leaned forward, her eyes widening.
Colossus looked between them before allowing himself a broad smile. "At last."
The Mutant Peace Accord—officially called the Mutant-Human Peace Accord—had been Xavier's main political goal since he came back from Cairo. He spent months pushing the administration to send it to Congress and make it federal law.
It was very different from the Mutant Peace Act passed twelve years ago. That law was only meant to be temporary, and in Washington, anything called temporary could be ignored, suspended, or quietly dropped when it was no longer convenient.
Only a bill passed through the full federal process would have lasting legal power.
Right now, Sentinel Services still secretly abducted and detained mutants. But once the accord became law, those actions would be clearly illegal.
Xavier always chose to put as much faith in humanity as he could. He believed that once the bill passed, Sentinel Services would have to disband.
Jean felt excited like the others, but her excitement quickly turned into suspicion.
"Professor, the White House liaison said last month that the President was still considering the proposal. Why change his position now? This is an election year."
That detail was important.
A normal presidential term lasted four years, but Baron Turner had never been elected to the office. He had assumed the presidency two years earlier after his predecessor died in an unfortunate meteorite incident at the White House.
Turner was, in effect, an unelected successor completing another president's term. Before he could even think about winning a general election, he first had to survive his own party's nomination process.
His chances didn't look good.
Turner's political faction had built much of its support on a hardline anti-mutant platform. After taking office, however, he had abruptly fallen silent on the issue. He had not publicly issued any new anti-mutant orders, but that appeared to be the limit of his willingness to help.
Since the Cairo incident, Xavier had repeatedly urged the administration to submit the accord to Congress. The proposal had remained stalled at every stage.
Now, with Turner's poll numbers dropping, the President suddenly agreed.
Jean thought about the situation for a moment longer.
"So he wants to make a deal."
This was a common political move. Power doesn't last forever, and people rarely let it go to waste.
For a president who never won a national election and now looked likely to lose his own party's nomination, selling the chance to bring a big bill to Congress wasn't surprising.
"It is a deal," Xavier admitted, meeting Jean's gaze. "But not the kind you are imagining."
He gave a gentle smile.
"President Turner intends to use this proposal to settle the conflict between humans and mutants permanently. If he succeeds, he believes it will completely reverse his political fortunes."
Scott frowned.
"How would supporting us help him win?"
"Do not forget what our draft guarantees," Xavier replied. "Under the accord, mutants would receive the same federal rights and legal protections as every other American citizen."
Technically, federal law never took away mutants' citizenship. But in reality, people treated mutants who were outed as if they weren't even human, let alone American.
This attitude was common in much of the world. Many governments and people quietly accepted that mutants were a separate group from the rest of humanity.
"Once this bill becomes law, equal citizenship will no longer be a matter of interpretation," Xavier continued. "Mutants will possess the same rights under federal law as anyone else."
He folded his hands in his lap.
"If President Turner brokers the first permanent peace between humans and mutants, he can present himself as the architect of a historic national settlement. That achievement could give him enough momentum to transform the election."
Jean watched him quietly, still not convinced.
Xavier's smile grew a little. "Naturally, Xavier Technologies will also make an anonymous contribution of fifty million dollars to his campaign fund."
Jean's face stayed perfectly still for a moment.
Then she sighed.
"I knew there was more to it."
A few people around the table smiled quietly.
"When is the hearing?" Jean asked.
"The fifth of next month. Congress will convene a preliminary session, and both Erik and I are required to attend."
Storm's eyebrows shot up.
"You and Magneto?"
"They are allowing Magneto into Congress?" Angel asked. "Are they not afraid of what he might do?"
"It is a nonnegotiable condition," Xavier explained. "For the accord to pass, Erik and I must personally guarantee that mutantkind will honor it."
Even if Xavier didn't like to admit it, he and Magneto were the two main leaders in mutant society.
Xavier stood for coexistence and restraint. Magneto stood for resistance and fighting back.
One was the shield for mutantkind. The other was its sword.
To Congress, Xavier's signature could only promise the support of mutants who already wanted peace. They needed Magneto's word to believe the more militant groups would also follow the agreement.
Jean felt even more uneasy.
"Will you and Erik be the only mutant representatives?"
"Yes."
"This does not feel right." Jean studied Xavier's face. "What if the hearing is a trap?"
That possibility came easily to her mind.
Wanda might have lived as a homemaker for much of Jean's childhood, but Hawk had never been an ordinary father. When Jean was young, he had not put her to sleep with gentle fairy tales. He had told her stories about military stratagems, deception, feints, ambushes, misdirection, and scorched-earth warfare.
She remembered those lessons well.
To her, the government's demand that Xavier and Magneto be in the same place at the same time seemed less like diplomacy and more like a plan to take out both leaders at once.
Xavier kept his calm smile.
"President Turner has demonstrated considerable sincerity. Permanent peace sometimes requires both sides to accept a degree of risk."
"But specifically demanding Magneto's presence makes the trap obvious," Jean said. "You cannot seriously expect me to believe no one in Washington has considered using this opportunity against both of you."
"We are permitted to bring escorts," Xavier clarified. "Erik and I will merely be the only ones authorized to speak for mutantkind during the hearing itself."
Beast, sitting farther down the table, shifted in his seat.
"The regulations permit us to bring three security personnel. Erik may bring three of his own as well."
Scott spoke up right away.
"I'm going with you."
"So am I," Storm said.
"You can count on me." Colossus nodded.
"I'm in." Angel raised his hand.
"I can go to Washington next month too." Jean looked toward Xavier.
"No, you cannot!" Xavier met her gaze.
"Why not?" Jean blinked.
"As a precaution."
"A precaution against what?" She noticed the tension in his face and quickly figured out the reason. "Wait. You do think it could be a trap."
"I believe both humans and mutants genuinely desire peace. What concerns me is the possibility that you might go to Washington and suffer an accident." Xavier shook his head.
"Professor, are you worried about my father?" Jean stared at him. Then she understood.
"Yes..." Xavier answered without hesitation.
That was exactly what scared him.
If Jean went to Washington and even got caught by a stray bullet, the results would be disastrous.
Two years ago, Hawk destroyed Quantico, the Pentagon, and the White House just because he was looking for her. He did all that without even knowing if Jean had really been hurt.
If something really happened to her this time, Xavier doubted their world would survive Hawk's reaction.
He still remembered the first time he met Hawk. Acting on instinct, Xavier had touched Hawk's mind.
What he found there chilled him more than anything he had ever seen.
There was no peace in that mind. Only endless battles, nonstop violence, and destruction repeating over and over in what seemed like a limitless void.
Fight.
Destroy.
Then fight and destroy again.
Even now, remembering those images made Xavier's blood run cold.
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