Despite his reservations about certain ideological stances taken by Professor Xavier and the X-Men, Richard had to acknowledge their fundamentally altruistic nature. When mutants genuinely needed help, the X-Men rarely turned them away.
"Call them?" Sabretooth regarded Richard with evident surprise.
"Yes, just call them directly," Richard confirmed. "As long as you explain the situation clearly and emphasize that Clarice wishes to attend Xavier's School, they'll likely dispatch someone to retrieve her."
Though Richard harbored no interest in attending the school himself, he saw no harm in offering Sabretooth and Clarice this practical advice.
"Are you certain that would work?" Skepticism tinged Sabretooth's voice; he clearly doubted the X-Men would so readily dispatch someone on his behalf.
"I can't guarantee a hundred percent success rate, but the probability hovers around eighty percent at minimum," Richard replied. "Unless, of course, you and Clarice have committed some particularly heinous acts recently."
After hearing this assessment, Sabretooth fell momentarily silent.
A few seconds passed before he spoke again. "I don't have their contact information."
Seriously...?
If you don't have it, find it! Richard inwardly groaned.
Aloud, he said, "Don't look to me—I don't have their information either. But if you're genuinely motivated to find it, their contact details shouldn't be particularly difficult to uncover."
"Well, I've offered all the advice I can. If there's nothing else, I'll be on my way."
With that, Richard prepared to activate Blinkstep and depart. While his current maximum Blinkstep distance was limited to 500 meters, it remained more than adequate for travel purposes.
Unlike Clarice's spatial gateways, executing Blinkstep required minimal exertion on his part. He could perform it hundreds of consecutive times without experiencing any significant strain.
Just as he was about to vanish, Sabretooth hastily interjected: "Wait!"
"Something else?" Richard asked, pausing.
"I've reconsidered. I'm no longer planning to send Clarice to Xavier's School," Sabretooth stated. "Do me a favor—come with me to deal with my clones. In exchange, I'll reveal your father's current imprisonment location."
The offer landed with precision, immediately capturing Richard's attention. Although he merely occupied the original Richard's body rather than being the genuine Richard, the prospect of learning his "father's" whereabouts intrigued him deeply.
On his first day in this timeline, he had briefly entertained the notion of rescuing his "father" as recompense for occupying the original Richard's body. However, lacking both the man's location and the capability to extract him from Department of Mutant Affairs custody, he had shelved the idea temporarily.
After a moment's consideration, he addressed Sabretooth: "It's not that I doubt your sincerity, but I'm curious—how exactly do you know where my father is imprisoned?"
"To my knowledge, only a select handful of individuals know the precise locations of mutant detention facilities, even within the Department itself."
This represented a significant intelligence gap. Numerous mutants opposed the Mutant Restriction Act, and many unregistered mutants had been apprehended by agents. Yet Richard had never heard of anyone successfully orchestrating a prison break from a mutant detention facility.
Even the formidable Magneto had failed to extract Brotherhood members after their capture. This wasn't due to any lack of power on Magneto's part in this universe, but rather because detention facility locations remained carefully guarded secrets.
Despite having Mystique—essentially the perfect infiltrator—Magneto still couldn't pinpoint these facilities. Otherwise, given his character and modus operandi, he would have orchestrated a mass breakout long ago.
"I never claimed to know where the mutant prison is," Sabretooth clarified carefully. "I said I know where your father is currently being held."
"Is there a different?" Richard asked, brow furrowing.
"Of course there is!" Sabretooth insisted. "Your father was indeed apprehended by the Department of Mutant Affairs, but he hasn't been transferred to a dedicated mutant detention facility yet."
Though Sabretooth hadn't explicitly stated the location, Richard immediately deduced it.
"The Los Angeles branch," he stated with certainty. "My father remains lock up at the Los Angeles branch of the Department of Mutant Affairs, correct?"
"Yes, your father is still at the Los Angeles facility," Sabretooth confirmed without hesitation.
"How did you come by this information?" Richard pressed.
"From one of our guards—the one whose head you severed. The agent with energy-projecting hands."
"While guarding Clarice and me, he was conversing with a colleague and happened to mention it in passing."
"More significantly, he threatened Clarice, stating that we would undergo the same detailed examination in the branch laboratory as your father."
Sabretooth spoke rapidly, his expression earnest, betraying no signs of deception.
Yet something about the scenario struck Richard as incongruous.
Are Department of Mutant Affairs agents truly so careless?
Do they lack even rudimentary operational security protocols?
After careful consideration, Richard questioned Sabretooth further: "Could your clones also be Department of Mutant Affairs creations?"
Sabretooth offered no verbal response—just a solemn nod.
Capturing mutants while simultaneously cloning them.
How quintessentially American.
Though Sabretooth presented no corroborating evidence for his claims, Richard sensed no deception in the feral mutant's account.
Just as Richard prepared to accept Sabretooth's proposition—to accompany him to the Los Angeles branch of the Department of Mutant Affairs—the system issued a new mission. The mission parameters materialized instantly before his eyes:
[Mission: Son of the Devil (II)]
[Mission Content: It is impolite not to reciprocate. Go to the Los Angeles branch of the Mutant Affairs Department and kill 12 mutant agents!]
[Mission Reward: Phantom Sword]
[Task Time Limit: 3 days]
Why is it Vergil's ability again?
I'm currently utilizing Sephiroth's template!
Even if you won't reward me with Supernova, Heartless Angel, or the One-Winged Angel form, couldn't you at least offer Hell's Gate, Shadow Flare, or Meteor?
Despite his genuine appreciation for Vergil and the undeniable aesthetic appeal of Phantom Sword, Richard couldn't help but feel slightly disgruntled at the system's selection.
After dismissing the mission panel, he addressed Sabretooth: "I'll accompany you to the Los Angeles branch of the Department of Mutant Affairs. However, I should caution you—even if you eliminate every clone currently housed there, nothing prevents them from creating more 'versions' of you in the future."
"The mutant cloning technology, along with your blood samples and genetic material, undoubtedly exist in multiple secure backups."
Upon hearing this assessment, Sabretooth retorted sharply: "I understand your meaning. I simply refuse to tolerate these people casually creating copies of me!"
"Even if I can't destroy their cloning technology or purge all my genetic samples from their archives, I intend to make abundantly clear the consequences of producing unauthorized Sabretooth clones!"
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