A clue

From what the Professor told me. It would seem that Sebastian Shaw and Mr. Sinister have some sort of connection. Shaw has a lot of influence over the government and he is one of the key people involved in Stryker's experiments. I don't know what his deal is with Sinister, but he's working with Shaw for some reason. And I can guess what that reason is... Mutant and human experiments. That insane freak could experiment to his heart's content with Shaw backing him up and providing resources. He must be the one who exploded Stryker when he was about to reveal the truth.

Finally, I got a clue to uncover the truth.

"Where can I find Hellfire Club?" I asked the Professor.

"I'm not sure. They are a very secretive group. Their location changes all the time. They even have teleportation technology they stole from the Baxter Industries to travel between their different locations. To make things hard, even with the cerebro, I am not able to locate any of their facilities. They are either using telepathy-blocking devices or there is a strong telepath among them. Maybe both."

Sigh! Technology...

It seems I'll have to do this the hard way. As far as I remember, there should be a Hellfire Club base in New York, operating as a Strip Club. They extract information from the people and VIPs, not to mention those old government bastards seeking pleasure... Those horny fools don't know how much they are being manipulated by the people behind the curtains.

If I'm correct, it should be in Manhattan, somewhere. I remember that famous strip club, been there a couple of times, delivering packages, when I was working as a delivery guy. It might be that place. 

Emma Frost should be in charge of that place.

But before that... Oh boy, here she comes...

The door opened and Jean walked inside the room, with an angry face. She looked at the professor and then at me, glaring. Then before I could say anything she blasted me with a powerful telekinetic force that sent me flying into a wall.

"Jean!" the professor shouted, "What are you doing?"

She ignored him and turned toward me as I got up.

"Oouch! Ok. I deserve that," I said.

"Shut up! You don't get to talk! What the fuck are you thinking, huh? You should have called and let us know you were alright. You just disappeared, didn't answer any of our calls, and made us all worried. We thought something happened to you!" she yelled angrily. I could see her Phoenix Force flaring up as she was glowing with a golden hue.

I raised my hand in surrender, "Ok, ok. I'm sorry, but I had no other choice."

Jean threw another telekinesis blast at me. I raised my hand, and a purple psionic shield appeared in front of me, blocking her attack.

"Stop it, Jean!" the Professor shouted. "He's telling the truth."

"That's why he deserves a nice smashing. There's always a choice, isn't that what you told me when we first met?" She asked the Professor as she kept throwing blasts at me. The shockwaves from the blasts destroyed the furniture and the wall. "No matter how powerful you are, don't do everything alone. What if something had happened to you? There are people who care for you, Aron. What will you do then?"

"But, I..."

"No excuses!" Jean walked to me and placed her fist on my chest. "Next time, you are thinking of doing something like this, let us know. Have a little faith in us. Or else..." she left her threat hanging in the air.

Sigh! She has a point, doesn't she? Things could have gone bad had they managed to seal my Phoenix Flames. But still, it was fun to dismantle Stryker's operations without spilling any blood. The best part was to make those people surrender without any violence. Well, with that much blow to their operation, Shaw might back down for the moment to stabilize the situation.

I nodded in resignation, "Alright, I'm sorry."

Jean smiled and pulled me into a tight embrace, "Good."

"You know, there is something you can do to make me feel better," she whispered in my ear.

I whispered back to her, "There are people here."

Jean chuckled as she pulled back and cleared her throat. "Since your house was destroyed, why not stay here till you find a new one?" she asked while giving the professor a sidelong glance. "Your old room is still there..."

"Yeah, it's not a problem. You can stay here as long as you want," the Professor agreed immediately before turning to Jean. "And Jean, you better repair the wall before you even think about spending time with your boyfriend. And next time when you two are having a couple-fight, please do it in the open ground. There's a field back there, you know."

"Uhh... Sure Professor," Jean blushed a bit as she went to do what he asked.

After that chaotic encounter with Jean, I decided it was probably best to make a strategic retreat while she repaired the room and calmed down. The professor gave me a knowing look, his lips twitching like he was trying not to laugh. Yeah, it was definitely time to leave.

As I made my way down the hall, I couldn't help but smile. Despite the insane situation we were in, Jean's outburst hit me right in the feels. It was nice to know someone cared that much. I mean, sure, getting thrown into a wall wasn't exactly how I pictured an affectionate reunion, but hey, it's the thought that counts, right?

"Aron!" Kitty called, and before I could react, she phased through the wall and stood in front of me, arms crossed, tapping her foot impatiently.

Oh boy, here we go again.

"Uh... hey, Kitty," I said, awkwardly rubbing the back of my neck. "About—"

"Nope, don't even start," she interrupted, her eyes narrowing. "You just disappeared. No calls, no messages, nothing. You made us all worry, Aron! What the hell were you thinking?"

Great, now it was her turn. I raised my hands in defense, bracing for impact. "Look, I know it was a bad move. But I had to go dark. I was up against Stryker and—"

"I don't care if it was Stryker or Magneto or whoever," Kitty spoke before I could finish what I was saying. "You could've at least let us know you were okay. Jean wasn't the only one freaking out. What if something happened to you? What then, huh?"

I sighed. "I get it, I really do. I'm sorry. I just didn't want to drag anyone into it."

Kitty's expression softened, but she was still fuming. "Yeah, well, you're not alone in this. You don't have to handle everything by yourself."

Her words hit harder than I expected, and for a moment, I felt like the weight on my shoulders got just a bit lighter. She was right. Again.

"Alright, alright. I won't ghost you guys like that anymore. Promise," I said, meaning it this time.

Kitty stared at me for a second, as if judging whether to accept my apology. Finally, she sighed and shook her head. "You better not, or next time it'll be more than just Jean throwing you into a wall."

I smirked. "Noted. By the way, were you watching her blasting me?"

Kitty's lips quirked up into a small smile. "Maybe. It was quite amusing to watch her give you a beatdown."

I rolled my eyes. "Ha-ha. Very funny. Anyway, I gotta go to my old room. Jean's busy, so... Wanna tag along?" I asked with a flirty grin.

Kitty laughed and smacked my arm playfully. "Sure. I need to make sure you aren't hurt or anything."

"Doctor Kitty, huh?" I asked with a smirk. "You wanna give me a checkup?"

She chuckled and looped her arm through mine, pulling me close. "Something like that."

We made our way to my room in a comfortable silence, both of us lost in our own thoughts. The last few weeks had been intense, and while I wanted nothing more than to curl up in a ball and sleep for the next three days straight, I knew there was still much to do. Like spending some quality time with Jean and Kitty. Maybe train a bit more with Storm and Psylocke.

So, we went to my old room...

Just when we sat and things were about to get fun... Kitty and I both jumped when the door suddenly swung open. I forgot to lock it.

"Ohhh, sorry. Didn't mean to interrupt," Jubilee said, grinning mischievously as she waltzed in.

"Yeah, looks like you two were having a moment," Rogue added, following her with an equally teasing smile.

I groaned inwardly. So much for quality time.

Kitty shot me a quick glance, half-annoyed, half-amused. "I swear, we can't get five minutes alone, can we?"

I shrugged. "Guess that's the price of being popular around here."

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[13 advance chapters] [No double billing]

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AN: Tomorrow, I might take a break. 70% chance.