The Saint Kent Academy Security Brigade, often just called the School Security Team.
Their sole duty was to protect the academy and handle all unruly incidents like fights and brawls, all within the bounds of the school's regulations.
Their most common task? Dealing with the fallout when male students got into jealous squabbles over female students.
The team maintained a standing force of around fifty members, which had once peaked at a hundred and forty outnumbering the teaching staff!
Without exception, they were all mutants.
In the past, Saint Kent Academy had no such security team. Old Man Kent's prestige was so high that trouble rarely came knocking.
And the kind of trouble that did show up wasn't something a few security guards could handle.
But later, as public sentiment turned increasingly against mutants, and graduating students found fewer and fewer paths forward, Old Man Kent thought it over and established this organization.
Mutants with nowhere to go could stay here temporarily until they found their way.
Clark once said that Saint Kent Academy felt less like a school and more like an orphanage.
There was some truth to that.
The current security team had fifty-four members. Their captain was Antonio.
Right now, these fifty-plus men stood at the school gates, watching the Mandarin charge towards them with several hundred thugs. Not a single face showed fear. They were cracking their knuckles and stretching, looking ready for a real fight.
Truth be told, they'd been stifled, having to maintain a gentle demeanor with those pesky students every day. They were itching for a release.
Seeing the Mandarin bring a small army of enforcers, they almost felt like thanking him!
Let fate decide! This fight will determine whose fists are harder and whose bones are tougher!
The phrase "rolling up their sleeves for a fight" perfectly described the scene.
Even seeing the opposing side armed with numerous firearms didn't faze most of the guards.
Real tough guys fought with fists and raw muscle! Who needed those childish toys!
Antonio stood imposingly at the front of the security team, fists clenched, his eyes smoldering with anger and bloodlust.
He felt he had given Clark faulty intelligence!
He couldn't forgive himself for that.
To atone, he needed to earn a major merit! Only then could he forgive his own failure.
But before he could step forward and say anything, Jean, holding a stack of files in her arms, walked out of the school gates.
Her slender figure caused a stir among the men behind the Mandarin, a stir that was instantly suppressed by the Mandarin's cold snort.
"Is Saint Kent Academy out of men? Sending a woman out to face me?" the Mandarin taunted.
Jean wasn't provoked. She spoke calmly, "Leave now, and you might still have a way out."
"Clark is on his way. Once he arrives, you can start seriously considering your last wills and testaments."
Jean's tone and expression were utterly sincere as she said this.
The old Headmaster hadn't passed away that long ago.
She didn't want to see the school entrance turned into a river of blood.
But the response was only a chorus of scornful laughs, curses, and a torrent of vulgar, obscene language!
Jean's beautiful hair seemed to stand on end as if electrified, mirroring the fury rising within her!
The Phoenix Force had diverse uses, but with Jean's current control, she could only unleash its more... destructive aspects.
...
...
"Director Fury, the two sides haven't engaged yet. From Saint Kent Academy, that assistant has stepped out but she looks furious, probably seething."
Agent Hill acted as a battlefield correspondent, remotely reporting the scene to Nick Fury.
Fury wasn't concerned with that. His mind was already working on a different angle he wanted to uncover the true identity of "Mr. S"!
Jean was also on his list of suspects!
"What did they say?"
"Too far, and they're both facing sideways from my position. I can't even try to read their lips."
Agent Hill explained the difficulty.
Fury didn't press further, just instructed Hill to keep observing, not to miss a single detail, and to make sure the cameras recorded everything!
Nick Fury swore that after this was over, he would go through the footage frame by frame, even if it meant pulling all-nighters, to confirm "Mr. S's" identity!
...
Jean's anger was so intense her hair seemed to bristle. A scorching, destructive aura flickered around her, ready to erupt if her emotions slipped just a little.
The Mandarin also sensed something amiss. He looked surprised.
"So this pretty woman is a mutant too? How interesting."
A smile spread across his face as he addressed the crowd from Saint Kent Academy.
"All of you! The Ten Rings wants you!"
"Come with us quietly now, and I promise no harm will come to you. We'll all be brothers from now on!"
"Don't think about refusing. You know perfectly well how poorly mutants are treated out there. But I guarantee you won't face that in the Ten Rings!"
"You can rise through the ranks purely on your own strength!"
The Mandarin raised his right hand, pointing to the snake-like lieutenant beside him.
"See him? He's a mutant too. Because of his strength, he became a lieutenant of the Ten Rings. And Sandman, who came from your academy? He was a lieutenant."
"Work hard, and you can reach that position too!"
The Mandarin's sugar-coated bullets left the guards looking at each other in confusion.
Silently, Clark appeared beside Jean. He reached out and gently smoothed down her bristling hair, calming her raging emotions.
His sudden, noiseless appearance made the Mandarin's heart skip a beat. A sense of foreboding washed over him.
Clark then turned his gaze to the Mandarin, his expression one of clear distaste.
"Recruiting right at my doorstep? That's some smooth brainwashing patter you've got there. But did you get permission from me, the Headmaster, first?"
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