My lips brushed against Jean's, soft and warm, before I pried her mouth open and deepened the kiss.
She tasted faintly of oranges. Her eyes fluttered shut, and soon she was responding, her lips moving against mine, hesitant at first, then more certain. The kiss grew hotter, our tongues meeting, exploring, until I felt her breath grow ragged. Only then did I finally pull back, leaving both of us gasping slightly.
"Haaa… haaa… that was… t-that was amazing," she whispered, her eyes hazy as she looked at me.
"It was more than amazing for me," I said with a smile—as I had just kissed Jean Grey for real, one of my favourite waifus from X-men.
"I… couldn't read your mind, so I wasn't sure if you were interested in a girl like me," she admitted, smiling shyly.
"I can tell you exactly what I'm thinking right now," I murmured before claiming her wet, rosy lips again. It looks like I wasn't the only one hungry for more—as Jean kissed me back with just as much fire.
My hands slid from her sides to her breasts, kneading them through the thin fabric of her swimsuit. They were soft and warm against my palms.
"Ahh… s-stop, Luke," Jean gasped, pushing me back abruptly. Her eyes were wide. "Someone else is nearby." Her breaths came quick, her face flushed.
For a moment, I thought she had stopped me because I was about to pull her swimsuit down.
"Where?" I asked, standing and helping her up.
"There—out in the water, some distance away." She adjusted her swimsuit with a flustered glance.
I had to adjust my trunks too—I was hard as hell. If she hadn't stopped me, I knew I would have gone all the way.
"Can you see anything, D.A.I.S.Y.?" I muttered, irritated at being cockblocked again.
"Not sure. The satellites aren't picking up anything," she replied instantly.
I trusted Jean's powers more, so I closed my eyes and expanded my Clairvoyance in the direction she pointed. "There really is someone in the water," I muttered, sensing a faint, fragile lifeforce.
I stepped forward until the waves lapped at my feet, then stretched out a hand. With a pull of Psychokinesis, I lifted the body from beneath the surface.
"Ah! It's a person!" Jean gasped in shock.
My first worry—that it might be a spy—faded as soon as I felt the person's unconscious state. I laid the body gently on the sand before us.
"This… is she a girl?" Jean asked, hesitant.
"Luke, that is—" D.A.I.S.Y.'s voice cut in, sharp and alarmed.
The figure was dressed in soaked, patient-like white clothes, but it was clear immediately she wasn't a normal human. First of all she was all blue. She had pointed ears, three digits on each hand, two toes on her feet, and a tail curled behind her. She looked like some devilish creature pulled from myth.
But I knew better.
"Yeah… looks like I've fished out an amazing mutant this time. Such luck," I breathed, staring at her in amazement.
"This is Katrin Wagner, the mutant from your list, Luke," D.A.I.S.Y. said directly into my ear.
Originally, I had written down Kurt Wagner—Nightcrawler himself—on that list. One of the future X-Men, a master teleporter. But when I couldn't find a trace of him and instead came across records of a star female athlete from a traveling circus who matched his description almost perfectly, I updated the file to: Katrin Wagner.
This world's Nightcrawler… only female.
However she had already fled the circus years ago, vanishing without a trail. I had always hoped I might cross paths with her one day, but dragging her unconscious body straight out of the ocean? That, I never imagined.
"Yes, she must be a mutant too, just like Helen," Jean said as she knelt beside Katrin, checking her breathing. "She's still alive." She immediately began trying to do some chest compressions.
"Should I do mouth-to-mouth?" I asked, crouching down beside her.
Jean shot me a sharp look. "Don't you have some sort of power that might help in this situation instead?"
"…Yeah, I do," I admitted with a wry smile. Why do I even bother asking first? I should have just acted.
My palms lit up with a soft blue flame as I pressed them against Katrin's chest. The fire spread gently across her body, evaporating the water in her lungs while mending the stress on her system and even making her wet clothes and hair dry.
"These flames… they don't look harmful at all," Jean whispered, entranced by the sight.
I cursed myself inwardly. Using the Phoenix flames in front of Jean Grey of all people—what was I thinking? Thankfully, she didn't react to it abnormally. Maybe it was because I had already merged them with other abilities.
Combining powers… I had been experimenting with that for months now. Most of the time, when I tried to mingle the fog-like balls of energy in my mind, they refused to interact. But last month during training, I had succeeded for the first time—three powers fused into one. Since then, I had been able to repeat the feat with another trio.
This particular fusion was Grand Flame Manipulation, born from combining Hellfire Magic, Holy Fire Manipulation, and Phoenix Magic. When the three fogs merged, they didn't just blend—they transformed into a new, vibrant flame, far greater than the sum of its parts.
With it came new techniques, each more refined than anything I could manage before. The one I was using now was called Flame of Mercy—gentle enough to heal, strong enough to purge, and perfect for saving a drowning girl.
"Is she alright?" Jean asked as I drew the flames back into my palms.
"Yes. Just unconscious—she should wake up soon," I reassured her with a small smile.
"Thank God," Jean said, patting her chest. "Your powers are so versatile… and so cool, Aeon." She hugged my neck and pressed a quick peck to my cheek.
The heat of her body against mine and the glimpse of those rosy lips again made temptation stir, but the unconscious mutant lying beside us was the obvious priority. Jean seemed to realize it too—her face flushed and she pulled back quickly, flustered.
"What should we do with her now? And why was she drowning here of all places?" she asked, worry creasing her brow as she looked down at Katrin.
"We should take her back to the Mansion quickly. I'm afraid this isn't such a simple matter," I said, using my Metal Manipulation to snap off the broken band from her neck.
That collar-like band, along with her patient-like clothes, gave me a very bad premonition.
-----
The resort was far from the X-Men Mansion, so I had to use Elemental Portal Creation several times to get the three of us back. I had already informed the Professor by phone, and he had summoned everyone back.
After some time, the whole team had gathered in Dr. Helen McCoy's lab, where she had just finished scanning Katrin.
"What can you tell us, Helen?" Professor Xavier asked, folding his hands in his lap.
"She's a human girl, around sixteen years old, and definitely a Mutant. For a second, I even thought she might be related to me—since we both have blue fur," Helen said with a light chuckle.
"Wait—fur? You're, like, serious?" Kitty blinked. "I thought she was just blue-skinned, y'know, like those aliens in sci-fi movies."
Truth be told, I had thought the same—until I picked her up and realized she was warm and fluffy to the touch.
"She looks more like some kinda devil ta me," Marie muttered, her accent thick. "That tail, them ears, and that blue skin? Sure don't scream 'human.'"
"Um, hello? Devils have horns and, like, red skin," Kitty shot back, rolling her eyes.
I couldn't help but smile wryly. Whenever these two were in the same room, it always ended up in a pointless spat. Still, Marie had told me more than once that she considered Kitty a good friend.
"No—she definitely has fur," Helen clarified, pushing her glasses up. "It's just very fine, unlike mine. And Professor, she's perfectly healthy. But I suspect that's thanks to Luke's powers, correct?" She turned her gaze toward me.
"Yes. She was unconscious when I pulled her from the water. She's lucky Jean spotted her when she did—otherwise she might not have made it," I said, nodding at Jean, who was now back in her regular clothes.
I was missing her swimsuit look already!
"Wait a minute… Jean, did you sneak out with Luke without telling me?" Scottie asked, her voice sharp with disbelief.
Jean winced and looked away with a wry smile. "I'm sorry, Scottie."
Scottie turned her ruby-shaded glare on me. Hard to read her expression behind those lenses, but the tension was obvious. And not just from her—Marie was pouting in my direction too. Looks like I would have to shower her with some extra attention later.
"Jean and Lucas, you both did well saving this young girl's life," Professor Xavier said warmly, his hands folded in front of him. Then his gaze shifted to me. "Lucas, you mentioned there was something else of importance you wished to share with us all?"
"When I found her, she had this broken metal collar hanging from her neck. Something about it felt… wrong, so I had it scanned," I explained, folding my arms. "The circuitry was damaged, but I still found a broken GPS tracker and some rather advanced systems inside."
"Indeed," Helen said with a thoughtful frown, adjusting her glasses as she gestured to the collar on the table. "It's a remarkable piece of engineering. I've yet to determine its precise function—the internals are heavily fried—but I can say with certainty it's far from ordinary."
"Well, I've already figured it out," I said, a grim edge to my voice.
"Oh? Then please, do enlighten us," Helen replied, leaning forward with academic eagerness.
"This collar… it was designed to suppress Mutant powers," I said flatly.
There was a heavy silence.
"Suppress mutant powers? Through technology alone?" Helen murmured, rubbing her chin, both fascinated and troubled.
"Is such a thing truly possible?" Ororo asked, her voice calm but weighted with concern.
"Yes," I said, lifting my hand. In it, I produced a sleek bracelet using Data Warping. "I had already developed a more stable version myself through months of research. This is the Anti-Mutant Bracelet. My design is cleaner, powerful and far more reliable. Compared to it, this collar is crude—a dangerous prototype at best."
Marie's hand instinctively went to her wrist, fingers brushing the bracelet she already wore. She had been the first to receive one when I perfected the design. I hadn't yet shared this fact with the rest of the X-Men—and it looked like Marie had respected my decision not to.
"If what you've created truly functions as you say, then it is a remarkable breakthrough," Helen said, peering at the bracelet with scholarly interest but an uneasy expression.
It was the same reaction as before. I was more convinced now that Helen carried some psychological reluctance about willingly shutting down her powers. As she had avoided me for many days after I temporarily suppressed Scottie's abilities.
"You're all missing the point," Logan growled, folding her arms. "Kid's got a collar with fried circuits and a damn tracker in it. She wasn't wearin' it for fun—she was locked up."
"Yeah," I agreed with a sigh, rubbing my brow. "That's what bothers me. I didn't even know anyone else out there had tech like this—especially not anti-mutant hardware this advanced. That's why I brought her straight here instead of Watson Tower. This isn't just my problem—it's all the X-Men's."
Professor Xavier's calm face hardened, his brow creasing. "Indeed. This is troubling news for all of mutantkind."
Around the room, the team exchanged uneasy looks, realizing the implications.
"Still," Charles said after a pause, his voice steady, "before we speculate, we should hear the truth from her directly." He placed a gentle hand on Katrin's temple and closed his eyes. A moment later, her own flickered open.
"V-vas? Where am I?" she whispered in broken, accented German-English, eyes darting in fear. Her yellow irises glowed faintly as she pressed back against the pillows.
"There's no need to be afraid, child," Charles said softly. "You're among friends here. You're safe now."
Helen leaned closer, her warm tone matching her words as she took the girl's clawed hand carefully in her own. "This is Professor Charles Xavier, and I am Dr. Helen McCoy. Everyone in this room is a mutant—just like you. You're safe here. You don't need to panic."
Hearing their words—and especially after seeing Helen's kind expression—Katrin's trembling eased.
"I… I am safe, ja. I-I survived," she whispered, her voice breaking as teardrops welled in her eyes.
"Child, can you tell us your name?" Professor Xavier asked gently. He inclined his head toward me and Jean. "Lucas and Jean were the ones who found you, drowning by a beach. Do you remember how you came to be there?"
Katrin glanced at us only for a heartbeat before lowering her gaze again, clearly uneasy under the weight of so many eyes. Normally, the Professor would never press so soon, but even he seemed unsettled by what this might mean. I was about to suggest giving her space when her small, accented voice cut through the silence.
"My name… is Katrin Wagner," she said, forcing a steady breath. "I vas… imprisoned, in a place with many other Mutanten like me… for a very long time." Her eyes glistened as she struggled to continue. "But… only I escaped. A freund helped me—" her voice cracked, "—but the others… they are still trapped."
The room went still.
I felt my fists clench tight. The dread I had carried from the moment I saw that collar was now confirmed. Somewhere out there, scums were capturing and caging mutants like animals. And Katrin's tears were proof of it.