Inside the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters, the silence felt almost unnatural.
Leaves rustled gently outside, and the distant laughter of students mixed with the low electric hum of lights in the corridors.
But inside the main office, the air was dense, heavy—almost suffocating.
Professor Charles Xavier remained perfectly still in his wheelchair, hands resting on the armrests, his mind immersed in telepathic waves stretching for miles.
His face, normally calm and composed, was pinched with deep concentration.
He had tried countless times, diving deeper and deeper, pushing the limits of his own mind.
But still—he couldn't reach Jean Grey.
Every attempt ended the same way:
An echo.
A hollow void.
As if her very presence had been ripped out of reality.
Finally, Xavier opened his eyes, exhausted.
The late afternoon sunlight spilled through the window, casting a long shadow behind him. He took a slow breath and murmured under his breath, voice trembling:
"Could it be… Logan has already found Jean?"
His words were little more than a whisper.
Rubbing his temples, he tried again—this time searching for Logan.
His consciousness expanded outward, crossing thoughts, distances, and mental barriers.
But… nothing.
No response.
Not even the faintest trace.
His heart skipped a beat.
"That's impossible… I can't sense Logan either?"
Worry sharpened into alarm.
Jean Grey and Logan had vanished—without a trace.
And worse: not even Charles Xavier knew how.
With a determined breath, he closed his eyes again. His voice echoed across every mind inside the Institute:
"X-Men, report to my office immediately."
---xXx---
Ten minutes later, the X-Men stood before him—every face marked by controlled concern.
Scott Summers, ever the disciplined leader, spoke first:
"Professor, what do you need us to do?"
Xavier rotated his chair slightly to face them.
"The situation is… extremely serious."
His tone was steady, but a faint quiver of unease lingered beneath it.
"Jean and Logan—whom I personally sent on an important mission—have both vanished."
[Author's Note: Of course, that mission was a complete lie…]
A wave of disbelief rippled through the group.
Storm frowned. "Jean is missing? And Logan too? That doesn't make any sense. Neither of them would disappear without contact."
"I've tried communicating with both," Xavier explained, "but… there's no answer. It's as if their presences have been erased from the psychic network."
He paused, scanning each face.
"That's why I need all of you to head out immediately and search for them. Alone, if necessary."
Scott nodded, adjusting his visor. "Understood, Professor. Any place we should start?"
"I'm almost certain they're still somewhere in New York. Begin there."
Xavier inhaled deeply, the weight on his mind growing heavier.
A troubling premonition stirred—something larger was moving in the shadows.
Within minutes, the room was empty as the X-Men split into groups and fanned out across New York.
---xXx---
At that moment, Ororo and Anna were already lost in the rush of New York City.
Cars honked, street vendors shouted impossible discounts, tourists took pictures of absolutely ordinary buildings—and in the middle of this chaos, the two mutants were attempting the impossible: finding Jean and Logan with zero clues.
Ororo walked with a deep frown, scanning every passing face as if Jean might magically appear from the crowd.
Anna, meanwhile, looked like someone casually browsing a mall on a Saturday afternoon.
"New York is huge, and we've got no leads. How are we supposed to find those two?" Anna groaned, nearly colliding with a passing skateboarder.
Charles had gathered all the X-Men, ordered a full-scale search—
And given absolutely nothing more than: go look.
It was like searching for a needle in a haystack…
If the haystack was the size of Manhattan and the needle was invisible.
Ororo ignored Anna's complaints. Anna huffed dramatically.
"Hey, what if they went on some secret romantic date or something?"
Ororo gave her a blank stare, far too tired to dignify that with effort.
"Anna… you know that's impossible. Jean is still obsessed with that man."
Anna smirked, practically sighing as she remembered Arthur.
"Yeah, yeah… that walking temptation is definitely hard to ignore."
"Anna. Focus." Storm muttered.
"Oh come on, Ororo. You've also thought about jumping ahead of Jean."
Anna teased—and immediately shut up when Storm glared.
"The Professor couldn't find them even with his powers. Something must've happened." Storm said.
They all knew how powerful Charles' telepathy was. With Cerebro, he could locate anyone on the planet—even mutants who tried to hide.
But Jean and Logan had simply vanished.
Evaporated.
Poof.
That wasn't normal.
Anna, however, seemed to be treating all this like a sightseeing tour. Ororo could practically hear cheerful elevator music playing inside her head.
Just then, Scott's communicator crackled:
'Storm, we've found nothing on Jean or Logan. Anything on your side?'
Ororo let out a heavy sigh.
"Nothing. We've already searched from the sixth to the eleventh district. No sign of either."
Anna then spoke up—mixing sarcasm with pure naïveté:
"What if we just call Jean? Like… have we tried that?"
Everyone mentally ignored her.
Ororo verbally did as well.
"What good is a phone call if the world's greatest telepath can't even locate her?!" Ororo snapped.
"Stop fooling around, Anna. Let's keep going. Maybe the Brotherhood kidnapped them…"
Everyone immediately stiffened.
Okay.
That actually made sense.
Scott's tone darkened.
'We should report that to the Professor.'
Ororo hesitated.
She knew Charles better than anyone.
"No. If this has anything to do with the Brotherhood, the Professor will hesitate."
She crossed her arms and continued firmly:
"We're infiltrating and rescuing the two of them ourselves."
Everyone agreed.
They knew Charles would avoid direct conflict—
Even to save Jean and Logan.
---xXx---
A few minutes later, the entire group regrouped—right as Ororo finished beating the living daylights out of some petty criminals in an alley.
"Now get lost."
The thugs ran like they'd seen the devil himself.
"We need a solid plan," Scott announced, dramatically adjusting his visor.
Anna rolled her eyes and pulled out her phone.
"Yeah yeah, you guys plan. I'm gonna try calling Jean."
"I already told you that won't work," Ororo sighed.
Too late.
Anna had already pressed the green call button.
Ringing… ringing…
Then—
Beep. Connected.
"Hey! Jean, where are you?" Anna asked casually.
The team stared at her like she had just performed forbidden sorcery.
Ororo snatched the phone from her hand, horrified.
"That's impossible! If the Professor can't even sense her mind, how did YOU manage to call—?!"
'Ororo? …Can someone explain what's going on?'
Jean's perfectly normal voice echoed through the speaker.
---
Meanwhile…
Jean sat comfortably on a couch, watching some random afternoon commercial.
Gwen sat beside her with a bowl of popcorn.
Saeko lounged on the other end, holding a tablet she definitely wasn't old enough to use unsupervised.
As Storm explained the situation, Jean's eyebrows rose higher…
and higher…
and higher—until they practically vanished into her hairline.
"All that happened? I was gone for ONE day…"
Once they confirmed Jean was safe, Storm asked:
'Jean, is Logan with you?'
"Logan? No. He's not here."
'The Professor sent him to find you, but he disappeared.'
Jean let out a long, weary sigh.
Find her…?
Or watch her?
The thought passed through her mind with mild irritation.
"Alright, alright… I'll look for him," she said, standing.
'We'll wait for you.'
The call ended.
Jean sighed again—longer, heavier.
"Sorry, girls, but I need to head out."
Gwen and Saeko turned at the same time, like two puppies called by their owner.
"Want me to help?" Saeko asked immediately, puffing out her chest heroically. "I'm great at finding things. Like the lid to the hazelnut spread Gwen lost earlier."
"Saeko!!" Gwen turned scarlet. "I—I didn't lose it! It fell!"
Jean laughed softly and patted Saeko's head.
"Thanks, but no. I'll be quick."
Gwen spun the popcorn bowl nervously in her hands, clearly wanting to say something—until Saeko cut her off.
"Well… someone has to stay here so you don't freak out thinking about Dad." Saeko said plainly.
Gwen's face turned tomato red.
"S-Saeko!!!"
Jean looked at them with a dangerous smile.
"And what exactly do you mean by that, Saeko?"
Saeko looked at Jean.
Then Gwen.
Then gave a mischievously wise smile utterly unfit for someone her age.
"I'm just saying the truth. You two get weird when he's not around."
"Weird how?" Gwen asked, sweating.
Saeko raised two fingers:
"One of you sighs too much."
Jean choked.
"The other keeps staring at the door like Dad is going to walk in and propose to her."
Gwen dropped the popcorn bowl.
Jean covered her face.
Gwen covered hers with both hands.
Saeko watched them like she was enjoying the best soap opera ever created.
Jean exhaled slowly and tapped Saeko's head.
"You're way too sharp for your age."
"I had good examples," Saeko replied, staring at both women with knowing eyes. "And you two are way too obvious."
Gwen attempted to salvage some dignity.
"Well… I'm staying here until Arthur comes back. I can't exactly take Saeko home and say she's—"
Saeko finished for her:
"—the future daughter of your boyfriend."
Gwen collapsed against the couch, defeated.
Jean burst into laughter.
"Saeko… you really love watching us suffer, don't you?"
"No." Saeko said with total seriousness.
"I just think it's funny. I've never seen you two act like this."
Jean collected herself and stood.
"Alright. I'm going before Logan gets himself hit by a taxi."
Jean opened the door.
"I'll be back soon. Try not to panic, Gwen."
"I don't panic!" Gwen snapped.
Saeko whispered beside her:
"She panics."
The door closed.
Jean was gone.
Saeko crossed her legs and grabbed a handful of popcorn.
"So, Gwen… want me to tell you about the day you tried to—"
"NO!!" Gwen screamed before she could finish.
---
(End of Chapter)
"Hmph. If you really want to be useful, then entertain me, try to throw those pathetic power stones at me. Let's see if even your insolence can amuse a king."