Bab 101: [100] : Clarice
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The Black soldier flew out like a cannonball, leaving the group of soldiers who had barged into Roger's room completely stunned.
Then, they realized that this guy was also one of them. Without hesitation, the captain gave the order:
"Open fire!!!"
But before the others could pull the trigger, Roger's figure moved like a specter, appearing right in front of the captain. Grabbing the captain's collar, he lightly pushed upward, causing the captain's body to crash into the ceiling. He then fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes, instantly losing consciousness.
Roger then swiftly moved among the remaining soldiers, using his immense strength and lightning speed, throwing each of them out through the window with one hand.
Tatatatata!
Just as Roger finished dealing with the enemies inside the room, a sudden barrage of bullets rained down on him.
Looking back, he saw the Black soldier he had embedded into the wooden wall earlier now crawling out, covered in blood, and unleashing a frenzied hail of bullets at Roger.
"Die! Aaaah!!!"
The soldier screamed like a madman, as if the shouting could give him courage. He kept pulling the trigger until the gun was empty.
However, when he saw that Roger was completely unharmed, the soldier's eyes became vacant, his gaze filled with despair as he continued to mechanically pull the trigger, producing only clicking sounds.
Empty bullet casings scattered on the ground as Roger, expressionless, turned back to look at the Black soldier.
The soldier instinctively took a step back, fumbling to grab a spare magazine, trying to reload and continue the attack. But before he could replace the magazine, he noticed that the gun in his hands suddenly lifted into the air on its own, disassembling into a pile of parts right before his eyes!
"What the…"
He was about to curse when the magazine in his hand suddenly smacked him hard on the head.
Thud!
The blow was not light, and the soldier collapsed unconscious, the rest of his curses unspoken.
Witnessing this, Roger turned his head to see Jean Grey, who had just been woken up by the sound of gunfire. She looked at Roger with confusion and asked:
"What's going on? Who... who are these people?"
"It's a long story. To put it simply, I've gotten myself into some trouble."
Roger answered Jean Grey, then turned back to the room, opened the cabinet, and revealed a little girl hiding inside.
The girl, clinging to a pillow in the cabinet, trembled, her eyes filled with fear and confusion as she looked at the two of them.
Roger gestured towards the girl and said:
"These guys are after her. Looks like someone's hunting mutants... We should talk somewhere else."
Roger intended to explain things to Jean Grey, but he heard footsteps approaching and decided to find a different place to continue their conversation.
Late at night, there were no nearby hotels that didn't require ID verification. After searching for a while, Roger finally settled for a still-open KFC.
After ordering some food for the girl, Roger and Jean Grey sat down and continued their discussion:
"She suddenly appeared in my room. Her ability seems to be teleportation, but she probably just awakened her powers recently, sometimes she can't even use them."
"You mentioned earlier that someone is after her?"
"Yeah, it's the military. Maybe someone's researching mutants behind the scenes."
Roger didn't mention Stryker specifically, even though the girl had been kidnapped by Stryker's men, it was just his guess.
However, Stryker was the prime suspect since, in the X-Men series, he was pretty much the only military antagonist.
Jean Grey looked at the little girl, who was devouring her food, with a gentle expression. Then she asked:
"What's her name?"
"I haven't asked yet."
Roger shrugged and turned to ask the girl her name. Just then, the girl wiped her mouth and answered:
"My name is... Clarice, Clarice Ferguson."
The little girl introduced herself.
Jean Grey continued to ask, "Clarice, right? What about your... family?"
"…I don't have a family."
Clarice lowered her head and continued to eat quietly.
Others might assume that the girl's family had passed away, but Jean Grey, with her telepathic abilities, sensed more than that. Although she didn't read Clarice's mind, she could feel her anger, sadness, and fear.
This anger wasn't directed at those who had kidnapped her but rather at her own family. It seemed that Clarice's family had done something to her.
Jean Grey asked no more questions, and Roger took the opportunity to say:
"It's not safe for this girl to stay here. You should take her back to Xavier's school. Handing her over to the Professor might be the best option."
"…"
Jean Grey remained silent.
Roger frowned and said:
"This isn't the time to be stubborn. Even if you don't consider yourself, you should think about this child. She needs a safe environment right now."
"I'm worried that the Professor will erase her memories…"
After a long pause, Jean Grey finally expressed her concern.
Charles had once sealed parts of Jean's memory, which led to her mistrust of him now. She believed that many of the kids at the school might have had their sad memories sealed by Charles, just like she did.
Jean Grey felt that whether memories were sad or happy, they were all part of a person. No one had the right to seal them, not even Charles.
That's why she didn't want to return, nor did she want to take this little girl to Xavier's school.
"I doubt Charles would do something like that…"
Roger didn't think Charles would manipulate minds like that. Whether it was the older or newer version of Charles, he was always portrayed as a mentor figure, a true hero.
Still, Roger couldn't be entirely sure.
From the incident where Charles influenced Jean Grey's memory, Roger thought that Charles could be a bit arrogant at times.
He trusted his abilities too much, believing that under his power, any thoughts or emotions could be managed.
So maybe, in subtle ways, he had been influencing the students at Xavier's school.
"But she still needs a place to stay."
Roger reluctantly agreed with Jean Grey's viewpoint and decided not to send Clarice to the school for now. But if they didn't take her there, she'd have to stay with Roger and Jean Grey, essentially wandering around, which wasn't great for a child's development.
Jean Grey hesitated. After thinking for a long time, she finally told Roger:
"I know a place where we might be able to stay for a while."
"?"
Roger looked at Jean Grey in confusion.
He didn't know she had a place to stay outside.
It wasn't until about ten minutes later, when Roger and Jean Grey stood outside her father's house, that he understood where Jean had been talking about.
It was her home.
More precisely, it was where her father lived now.
"Is this the... place you meant?"
Roger pointed at the house in front of him.
Jean Grey retorted, "Is that a problem?"
"It's not that it's a problem, but didn't you have a falling out with your dad?"
"…I'll just influence his mind a little, make him let us stay here for a while."
Jean Grey spoke softly.
Roger replied:
"Is that really okay? You know what you're doing is practically the same as Charles. You don't want to become the kind of person you dislike, right?"
Using her abilities to influence others, Jean Grey's actions weren't much different from Charles'.
And right now, Jean Grey wasn't sure how to face her father. Could she handle living with him for a long time?
"…I'll talk to him."
In the end, Jean Grey decided to be honest with her father.
She wouldn't use her powers to manipulate his thoughts or control him, but would instead communicate verbally, making him understand her current situation and thoughts.
If he refused, Jean Grey would figure out a different plan.
If it came to it, they could just stay there for a night and find another place in the morning.
After all, Roger had some money. He had gotten quite a bit from Charles, so renting a place as a temporary base wasn't a problem.
Seeing Jean's decision, Roger decided not to press further. He followed Jean Grey and knocked on the door, which was soon opened by a heavily intoxicated man.
He was Jean Grey's father, John Grey, the same name as Roger's original identity as Homelander.
At that moment, John was stunned to see his daughter returning so soon. And when he saw her bringing a strange man and a little girl, he rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
"W..What's this…?"
Today's interaction between John and Jean had been far from pleasant. Jean had tried to probe his thoughts, reminding him of his late wife, which angered John greatly.
In his anger, he had said to Jean, "I considered you dead a long time ago," and threw her out of the house.
Later, John regretted saying that to his daughter, but then he convinced himself that maybe it was for the best. His daughter didn't belong in his world, perhaps life at the mutant academy suited her better.
John had mentally prepared himself to never see his daughter again, but not even a day later, she was back, bringing strangers with her. John genuinely didn't know how to react.
"We… ran into some trouble, and we'd like to stay for the night…"
Jean spoke to the man in a polite tone.
Roger added:
"Just for one night. It's late, and we have nowhere else to go."
While they could technically stay at a hotel, there weren't any in the area that didn't require ID. Roger didn't have a legal status in this world, so even with Jean's identification, it wouldn't work.
Moreover, Jean had left in a rush and hadn't brought her driver's license.
"…Come in then."
For reasons he couldn't quite understand, John finally allowed Roger and the others inside.
Roger expressed his thanks to John, and Clarice, who had been sticking closely to Roger's side, followed his lead and also thanked John.
But when it came to Jean, she didn't say anything to John. The two of them just stood at the doorway, looking at each other, and the atmosphere felt a bit awkward.
...
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