"Professor Xavier, to be honest, I only gained this ability through a lucky encounter."
"If you're willing to believe me, I don't mind telling you the truth."
"I'm just afraid you'll think I'm insane."
Helen Cho gave Professor X a somewhat helpless look.
There was no helping it. The whole Devil Fruit thing was just too bizarre. It went far beyond anything people considered normal, to the point where it sounded like pure fantasy.
On top of that, Helen's field was biological nanotechnology, and the Regeneration Cradle she created was itself a high-tech product built on using bio-nanotech to repair the human body.
So when people saw the miracles she performed, most would rather believe she had healed them through some incredible application of nanotechnology than accept the existence of something like Devil Fruits.
Even though her so-called "treatment" had always been done entirely with her bare hands.
People were like that. Whenever they ran into something they couldn't understand, they would instinctively try to force it into whatever framework they were already familiar with.
Some had even suspected she was a mutant.
The only thing left unsaid was that they thought she might be crazy.
"Well, now I'm even more curious, Dr. Cho. Go on."
Professor X looked at her with bright, interested eyes.
The truth was, Orks had already told him the rough outline of what happened. He'd heard the Devil Fruit explanation before.
At this point, what he felt wasn't ordinary suspicion.
It was genuine curiosity.
Helen then led Professor X into the reception room of the research center.
She politely helped settle him in, then asked her assistant to bring coffee for both Professor X and Hank.
Only then did she begin.
"Professor Xavier, the truth is, I didn't heal Orks using biological nanotechnology. Even if I had used the Regeneration Cradle, I could have repaired his leg, yes—but not that perfectly, and certainly not that efficiently."
"The Regeneration Cradle has broken through some technical barriers, but it's still far from perfect. I still have a long way to go."
"What I used to heal Orks... was the power of a Devil Fruit."
"A Devil Fruit?"
Professor X wore a faint smile, gesturing for her to continue.
"That does sound fascinating, Dr. Cho."
Seeing that he wasn't immediately dismissing her, Helen pressed on.
"It's a kind of fruit that exists completely outside ordinary human understanding. Once someone eats a Devil Fruit, they gain a supernatural ability."
"The one I ate is called the Heal-Heal Fruit."
"So the power I gained is the ability to heal others."
"A fruit that grants superpowers?"
Professor X clicked his tongue in wonder.
"To think something like that exists in this world."
"Professor Xavier... you believe me?"
Helen couldn't help staring at him in surprise.
She had told many people about Devil Fruits before, but this was the first time someone had believed her so readily.
It almost made her wonder whether Professor X was just humoring her.
After all, what she was describing really was difficult to believe.
Of course, Helen only knew that Professor X was a mutant.
She had no idea what his actual power was.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have been so shocked.
"Well." Professor X smiled. "I can tell when someone is lying. And what you just said, Dr. Cho... was the truth."
"Thank you for trusting me, Professor Xavier."
Helen froze for a moment, then thanked him sincerely.
"No need to thank me, Dr. Cho."
Professor X set down his coffee, and a trace of anticipation appeared on his face.
"I'm the one placing my hopes in you."
"So I think... we can begin now."
"Of course."
Helen nodded, then turned to Hank.
"Mr. Hank, could you wheel the professor over here for me? To this open area."
"Certainly."
Hank nodded politely and pushed Professor X to a more spacious part of the room.
Helen crouched in front of him and placed a hand on his shoulder, smiling with calm confidence.
"It'll only take a few minutes, Professor. It'll be over very soon."
Then she activated her power and began healing him.
Professor X immediately found himself growing tense.
After so many years in that wheelchair, he had long since accepted his fate.
But that was only because, until now, his legs had been beyond saving.
That acceptance had been built on despair.
Now, though, for the first time in years, he could actually see hope.
And once real hope appeared, how could anyone stay calm?
Who would willingly choose to remain crippled for the rest of their life if they had a chance to stand again?
Especially when the moment that could decide everything was finally here.
Professor X, of all people, suddenly felt like a student checking exam results—hopeful, nervous, anxious, afraid.
All those emotions piled together until his heart was a tangled mess.
Three short minutes felt as long as three years.
"Alright, Professor Xavier."
Only when Helen's voice reached his ears did he finally snap out of it.
Professor X took a deep breath.
And then—
He felt his legs.
For the first time in far too many years, he could feel them again.
"This... this..."
His face flushed red with emotion, and he could barely get the words out.
Gripping the arms of his wheelchair, he pushed himself up—
and stood.
"Professor! You're standing!"
Hank cried out, both shocked and overjoyed. His eyes even started to glisten.
Ever since that first battle, Hank had stayed by Xavier's side without wavering. After all these years, nothing had changed.
The bond between them needed no explanation.
More than that, Hank had personally witnessed the moment Professor X lost the use of his legs.
"Yes, Hank... I'm standing."
Professor X shouted it aloud, grinning like a child.
Then, unbelievably, he actually took two steps forward.
It was the long-lost sensation of walking.
Because Helen's healing was perfect healing, even the muscles in Xavier's legs—muscles that had atrophied after years of disuse—had been fully restored.
So the moment he was healed, he could walk again.
It was that absurd.
"Incredible... absolutely incredible!"
Professor X couldn't stop marveling, his voice overflowing with shock and excitement.
"So this is the power of a Devil Fruit? It really is a miracle!"
He had already witnessed the miracle of Orks standing again.
But seeing it happen to someone else and experiencing it yourself were two completely different things.
"Professor Xavier, congratulations on standing again."
Helen smiled from the side, offering her heartfelt congratulations.
Seeing the joy on a patient's face the moment they were healed—that was Helen's greatest source of strength.
"Dr. Cho, thank you."
Professor X spoke from the bottom of his heart.
"You're the one who let me stand again."
"I never dared believe I would have a day like this."
Then Hank hesitated for a second before speaking up in a small voice.
"Um... Professor... do you want Dr. Cho to do something about your hair too?"
Professor X: "..."