บท 24: The Reincarnator

"Follow me," Xavier said as he led Richard out of the hangar and into another section of the mansion's underground areas.

This new area was even more protected than normal, with multiple blast doors that required either a biometric scan, a retinal scan, or a voice code. The protection was somewhat excessive, but considering all the powers they had in this school, Richard found it effective. However, it was clear they hadn't accounted for a shapeshifter, as any shapeshifter could open all these doors with ease.

Hell, even he could do the same, and he didn't major in shape-changing. If he rearranged his cells to match those of the bald man, then he could cruise past all this security with ease. The X-Men really needed to do better if they wanted him to take them seriously.

A few minutes later, they arrived at their destination. Waiting for them was the scruffy-looking Wolverine and a woman Richard had no memory of. He wasn't exactly much of a comic reader to know all the X-Men members, and on top of that, it was impossible to recognize someone based on a bad drawing.

"Mrs. MacTaggert, I am sorry for keeping you waiting. This is Richard, an external adviser. He will help us in locating this man of yours. And Richard, this is Mrs. Moira MacTaggert. She works for the CIA," Xavier introduced, and immediately a look of realization appeared on Richard's face.

"CIA?… then this is an apocalypse-level thing, isn't it?" Richard said while looking at the woman.

He had said that hoping to trigger some movement from her. Moira MacTaggert may not be a popular name, but in recent years… well, before he died, there were many talks about her and the fact that she was a mutant who could reincarnate whenever she died, so basically a universal reset button.

The statement had a double meaning, but it had clearly flown over her head, so Richard decided to shut up and focus on his mission. Moira had hers, and he had his. They shouldn't get in each other's way.

"Yes, the mutant you are to find is a being known as En Sabah Nur. He is at least 5,000 years old. Documents have shown that nothing good ever comes from him being awake, and now he is. Your mission is simple: find him in the next 72 hours, or we are all enslaved by this being," Moira explained.

"So just a basic villain, then… doesn't matter, as long as I get to know what I am looking for," Richard said with a shrug.

In truth, he already had a fix on En Sabah Nur's location. He had located the man after Queen had informed him of his existence. He had millions of tiny but extremely powerful satellites orbiting the planet. It would be shocking if he didn't already have a fix on the man who was barely bothering to hide his location.

"By the way, do I get paid for this? After all, this is the CIA we are talking about here," Richard chimed in again.

"We will negotiate prices later on. Find him first," Moira said.

"You've got some mouth on you, boy," Logan said with a chuckle as he followed after Xavier, who chose to continue his journey instead of dealing with their squabble.

Soon, they arrived in front of a massive blast door, which Xavier opened to reveal a large spherical room. The room was empty except for a weird metal table at the end of a walkway that led to the table.

"Follow me and be careful. We actually have no means of saving you if you fall, so you may starve to death," Xavier warned as he wheeled himself into the room.

"Where is this?" Richard asked, voicing the question that was on Moira's mind. He already knew because of his meta-knowledge, but he shouldn't, hence the question.

"Welcome to Cerebro… a device that allows me to reach everyone on Earth at once."

"The elusive Cerebro," Moira said.

"Wait… if you have this, then why call me?" Richard asked.

"Cause the little bastard is telepathic too and seems to be even more powerful than the professor here," Logan said.