Chapter 111: The Uproar Over Allen's Expulsion
"At last, you're here."
A deep, magnetic voice rang out.
Charles turned his chair around at the sound of approaching footsteps.
The moment he saw who it was, he felt a headache coming on.
Allen had a sausage dangling from his mouth, while Wade, wearing a pink wig, sat in his lap with an exaggeratedly seductive pose.
"Surprise!"
Allen grinned mischievously. "Bet that gave you a scare, Professor X."
"I can just picture the look on his face, trying to make sense of this," Wade chimed in smugly.
The two were immediately thrown out of the office.
Charles needed to interrogate Stryker using his telepathy.
This was something he couldn't ignore. He had to get justice.
If it weren't for Allen and the other two rescuing everyone, the entire school—over a thousand students—might have died in agonizing experiments.
The thought filled Charles with guilt. He had nearly made a terrible mistake.
The school he had poured his heart and soul into had almost become a testing ground in the eyes of the military. With that, his previously soft stance began to harden.
As for how everything was ultimately handled, Allen had no idea.
The next morning, the breakfast stall opened as usual.
This time, Allen was selling steamed buns with a variety of fillings.
Thanks to yesterday's "promotion," business was even better than the day before.
"I'll have one meat bun and one veggie bun."
Jean Grey, having heard the other X-Men rave about the potstickers, decided to let go of past grievances and give the food a try.
"You got it."
Allen packed two snowy white buns for her, but his eyes happened to catch Illyana walking across the field.
"Hey, Secret Girl!"
Without hesitation, Allen abandoned Jean, buns in hand, and gleefully ran toward the trio.
Jean's rage surged.
Ignored. Again.
Her brow twitched in fury.
"Senior, I'll pack it up for you," Pietro offered, trying to ease the awkwardness.
"No need."
Jean was already fuming to the point of losing her appetite. Tossing her red hair, she turned and stormed off.
Pietro and Kurt let out helpless sighs and glanced at the bouncing Allen, unsure what to say.
Of all the people to provoke—why provoke the Phoenix Girl? One snap and she'd blow the whole school sky-high.
"Hey, Allen."
Yukio greeted him warmly.
"Good morning, Snowy."
Allen replied casually, though his eyes never left Illyana. He handed her breakfast and said shyly, "This is a special love-infused breakfast. Made to match a D-cup."
"I saw you pack that for Jean Grey," Ellie called him out bluntly.
"Damn, you caught that?" Allen narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Are you spying on my private life?"
Ellie rolled her eyes. Why would she bother spying on a nutcase?
Still, after the recent rescue mission, the girls had a much better impression of Allen. At least, they no longer outright rejected him.
"Thanks."
This time, Illyana accepted the bun without comment, a sign she now saw him more as a friend.
"What about us?" Yukio asked, disappointed.
"Didn't prepare any," Allen said seriously. "I'm a loyal man. I'd never mess around with multiple girls. Please keep your lust for my body in check. You'll never have me—and you'll end up in pieces trying."
"…"
What a delusional lunatic.
Yukio stood there, slightly embarrassed.
"Don't you ever get tired of being this annoying?" Ellie mocked.
"Hey, we're both named Allen. Can't you cut me some slack?" Allen grumbled.
"My last name is Phimister. We're not the same," Ellie snapped with a laugh.
"Sorry, didn't remember."
With a smug toss of his head, Allen turned and swaggered back to the breakfast stall.
The three girls shared the two buns—none had big appetites—and found themselves genuinely impressed by the flavor.
"Mmm... I smell the stench of a lovesick simp."
While tending to the stall, Allen glanced at a bashful Kurt, then toward the girl walking away with a bun. A knowing look crossed his face. "Blue Elf, you've got a crush."
"I do not."
Kurt mumbled so quietly it was like a mosquito's buzz.
"Your skin may be blue, but I can see you blushing."
Allen grinned triumphantly. "Chasing girls isn't hard. Secret Girl's already fallen for me."
Fallen? More like he never stopped shamelessly chasing her.
"Master of Romance, help out our little Blue Elf. We know you've got the best moves," Wade teased.
"In that case, let me show you amateurs how it's done. Pick any girl—I'll win her over in minutes."
The three exchanged glances.
Oh, this would be good.
"She looks sweet and quiet. Eating alone. Might be easier to approach," Wade pointed toward a senior girl sitting alone on the steps with her breakfast.
"Piece of cake."
Allen confidently gave a thumbs-up and strode toward her.
"Maybe this isn't a good idea… that's Rogue's friend, Shadowcat. Not someone you want to mess with," Pietro warned.
"I think the lunatic can handle it," Wade said, munching on a bun.
"Kurt, he's already eaten six buns," Pietro whispered.
"Shh. Just watch."
After being away on a mission, Kitty Pryde was enjoying a rare moment of peace.
She'd heard good things about the breakfast stall, so she'd gotten up early to try it out.
Privately, she was annoyed her friend Rogue (Anna) was running late. They were supposed to eat together, but she'd been waiting half an hour.
"Ah!!!"
A sudden scream startled her, making her drop her bun.
She turned in shock to see a man in a patient gown yelling beside her.
Every head in the courtyard turned.
"What's your problem?" Kitty asked, annoyed.
"You're asking for my name? So forward!" Allen covered his face bashfully.
Her irritation spiked.
She quickly realized the guy wasn't mentally stable. Trying to stay calm, she said, "You made me drop my food."
"What?! I'm your precious sweetheart!"
Allen clutched his chest and took a step back, feigning shock.
"Are you deaf or just dumb?" Kitty looked at him with disdain.
"You're crying for me!"
He bared his front teeth and held his face in mock shock.
Kitty sighed. "Talking to you is exhausting."
"I'm your baby!" Allen said, shoving his fingers in his mouth.
"I'm seriously getting angry."
"You've secretly loved me all along!"
"What are you even trying to do?"
"You want to give me happiness!"
"You're driving me nuts."
"You want to marry me!"
…
They went back and forth. Kitty's expression grew increasingly exasperated, while Allen's antics only became more outrageous—he now had all five fingers in his mouth.
"Please stop bothering my friend."
A hand landed on Allen's shoulder. He turned, fingers still in his mouth, and saw a girl with black hair and a streak of white—like a nightclub hostess.
"Rogue?"
Allen recognized the one who touched him.
Rogue—Anna Marie—could absorb and copy mutant powers through physical contact.
Right now, her abilities weren't at their peak.
In the comics, she could eventually absorb non-mutant powers and even multiple abilities at once.
Anna said nothing, only stared at Allen in wide-eyed shock.
"Keep staring and I'll get embarrassed," Allen mumbled, looking away.
"You're not a mutant!" Anna exclaimed.
She was stunned. Upon touching him, she hadn't absorbed anything.
Normally, new powers would overwrite old ones through contact. But this time, nothing happened.
"I never said I was," Allen boasted. "I'm a time-traveling system user from Timeline Unit 9527 at Greenhill Rehabilitation Center."
"…"
No one cares where you're from—the real issue is you're not a mutant.
Word spread like wildfire.
This was a school exclusively for mutants. Why was a regular person here? Worse, a lunatic?
"What's going on here?"
Storm—Ororo Munroe—passed by with a book in hand, only to see Allen causing another commotion. She remembered how he'd acted out in her class.
"Ms. Munroe, he's not a mutant," Anna tattled, pointing at Allen like she was accusing a criminal.
Allen instantly pulled a misdirect, pointing at Kitty. "She's in love with me!"
"You… I… you…"
Kitty stammered, utterly speechless, with fury boiling inside her.
For Ororo, student squabbles were nothing. But when it came to the school's mutant-only policy, this was serious.
Since the school's founding, Charles had made it clear: mutants only.
Now a non-mutant student had slipped through. If the rules were bent now, who's to say they wouldn't crumble altogether?
"This goes to the headmaster."
She led Allen toward Charles' office.
Back at the breakfast stall, the trio grew anxious.
"Allen's getting expelled!" Wade cried.
"We have to do something. He saved everyone," Kurt said anxiously.
"He can't get kicked out—what about our business?" Pietro added, grave-faced.
They all regretted letting Allen mess around like that. Now they might lose him entirely.
"I'll get Ellie and the others. You two rally support from the students."
The trio sprang into action.
Word of the incident spread fast.
Aside from the X-Men, nearly every student had received help from Allen and expressed willingness to support him.
Even the tasty breakfasts alone were enough to justify keeping him.
But not everyone agreed.
The faculty and many senior X-Men stood firm, citing the school's core principles: the rules must be upheld. No exceptions.
Still, the majority stood with Allen. Soon, a crowd gathered on the school grounds, hoisting signs and chanting slogans:
"Keep Allen! Keep the breakfast!"
"Free the hero! Save the breakfast!"