Chapter 269 Behind The Kidnapping

With bated breaths, Jean Grey approached Midoriyama Tatsuki and extended his hands in a greeting. This was the first time Tatsuki met Jean Grey and he was oddly concerned that his son was friends with a middle-aged man. Then again, Jean Grey seemed like a good person so he didn't send him away. Instead, he called Satoshi just when he was about to head inside.

"Satoshi, your friend's here," Tatsuki called out, garnering everyone's attention as they stopped by the doorway.

Emma and Satoshi immediately ran up toward Jean Grey to greet him. "Jean Grey-san? What are you doing here?" Satoshi asked out of concern since Jean Grey seemed like he was having a hard time. Whatever it was that he was going through, it was evident in the worried expression he wore on his face.

"I need to talk to you," Tatsuki said under his breath. "Ash... he's been kidnapped,"

"Your son? Kidnapped? But why?"

In the background, Tatsuki couldn't help but listen in on the conversation since he missed the timing to walk away. Never did he think that Tatsuki had a son, and what's more, he was kidnapped. The sudden turn of events left him in bewilderment as he intently listened. He still had no idea how Satoshi came to know the middle-aged man and at this point, he was too afraid to ask since the situation seemed rather urgent.

"I don't know. I received a strange phone call and a message that directed me to a certain coordinate in the Beast Dimension. They were prompting me to go there and rescue my son. I have no idea what their motives are since my family's just simple and I've never had enemies all my life." Jean Grey seemed to be breaking out of character. His usual nonchalant attitude was nowhere to be found, and all that was left is a bag of nervousness that assumed Jean Grey's form. It was obvious that he was worried about his son more than he was worried about his life.

He was met with silence since Satoshi and Emma had no idea what to say next. Finding his timing, Tatsuki cleared his throat before he spoke. "Did you look for your son or did you go here as soon as you heard the news? It might just be a trap."

Jean Grey shook his head, outrightly denying the claim. "I checked our place, and I checked the research center where he was supposed to be. He wasn't at these places."

"I see, then that means the kidnapping is real. We have to go there right now. I'll go with you." Tatsuki volunteered before saying a quick farewell to his wife and the other girls.

"Let's go, there's no time to lose." Tatsuki continued. Kidnapping is not something he could just overlook, that's why he volunteered to join despite being exhausted from the Dungeon Spire Clear he just did with his party a few hours ago. While he has no idea who this person is or how he came to be friends with his son, he just had to help no matter what. After all, he's the number one superhero in Japan.

"I'm coming with you as well, sir," Emma said, joining the group. The only reason why she wanted to join was so she could spend more time with Satoshi, nothing more nothing less. Besides, she's personally acquainted with Jean Grey and his son Ash Grey, so there's that.

"So, where are we going?" Tatsuki asked, going towards his car. "I'll drive all of us there."

Just then, Emma activated her superpowers, creating a dimensional portal right in front of everyone. "I can teleport us directly to the Dimensional Portal that leads to the Beast Dimension." Emma pointed out. "Or we can teleport directly to the Beast Dimension if that would be easier."

"Wow, that's a pretty convenient power." Jean Grey commented, clapping his hand as he admired the huge portal that swirled in front of them. "Let's teleport inside the Beast Dimension and then we can work our way from there."

"Ah right, you have that. I guess we don't have to drive over there." Tatsuki chuckled. "Let's not waste any more time. Let's go."

Without thinking twice, the four of them headed into the portal. One moment they were on Earth, the next moment they found themselves surrounded by barren wastelands. They've clearly reached the Beast Dimension in a snap of a finger, all thanks to Emma's superpower.

"Still, that was my first time going to your planet Earth. It's pretty good. I even tamed a new beast." Jean Grey said out of nowhere before he pulled out a Gren (Pokeball for crying out loud) from his pocket. He then threw it on the empty field and a familiar beast came out.

"A CAT?!" Satoshi screamed, wondering if the cat that Jean Grey tamed had an owner.

.....

Back in the Nichijou Region,

"I'm home,"

At first, Dahlia thought that her husband came back after looking for their son, Ash. But to her surprise, it was actually Ash who came entering by the doorstep. "Welcome back, did you see your dad? He was looking for you."

"Really? I didn't see him." Ash responded casually before sinking his rear side on the couch and letting his beast partner Sarugaso sit with him while they watched tv. "Did dad say anything? Maybe he discovered a new beast?"

"I don't know, he seemed rather worried about you though. I wonder what's up." Dahlia muttered, wondering why her husband seemed to be acting weird when he showed up.

Unbeknownst to everyone, Ash wasn't actually kidnapped. The reason why his dad didn't see him was that he went to a nearby cafe to meet up with a friend after he had gone from the research center. It was weird timing not running into each other— and in turn, Jean Grey was left with no choice but to go into the Beast Dimension and confront his son's presumed kidnappers.

"Maybe dad's planning to go to the world beyond the Dimensional Portal? And he wanted me to come with him. Aww man~ I missed such an opportunity!" Ash grumbled under his breath. "I wonder what kinds of beasts exist in Satoshi's world."

While Jean Grey and his newly formed party was worried sick for Ash's well-being, he leisurely lay down on the couch as a famous classic song started playing on the television. Satoshi sang his heart out with the song, even using Sarugaso as a makeshift microphone when he did so.

"To catch them is my real test, to train them is my cause~~~" He continued.

....

Back at the Beast Dimension.

After a couple of failed attempts jumping around the portals, the group finally arrived at the coordinates specified in the text message. Emma heaved a sigh of relief. Of course, she had no idea what to expect since she never explored the entirety of the entire Beast Dimension, it was only normal that they'd get lost a couple of times while trying to pinpoint the coordinates.

"We're finally here." Jean Grey said to himself not knowing what to expect. When they got to the specified coordinates, he was expecting a group of kidnappers to meet them, threatening them with his son before they get into a fight to the death.

Quite honestly, Tatsuki was also expecting the same scenario since the threat seemed legitimate. But when they got there, there was only one person present.

It was none other than Star-Spangled Banner.

"Jean? Satoshi? Tatsuki? What are you all doing here?" Star Spangled seemed even more surprised than the four of them.

"Jack? Why are you here?" Jean asked, referring to the Star-Spangled's real name instead of his superhero name.

"I was called here. I received a suspicious phone call and I decided to check it out."

"A phone call? And here I was thinking that you kidnapped my son." Jean Grey heaved a sigh as if he was disappointed that Star-Spangled wasn't the one who kidnapped his son.

"What? Your son got kidnapped? By whom? Why didn't you tell me?" Jack blurted out, slightly disappointed that his friend didn't even inform him about something so serious.

"I didn't have enough time. I received a suspicious phone call and a message telling me to go here so I went. Along the way, I grabbed Satoshi and the others. I didn't have the time to tell you anything."

Clap.

Clap.

Clap.

Silence filled the area as a lone figure started walking toward the group. He wore all-black, and none of them could tell whether he was wearing a robe or he just grabbed a huge black blanket and put it on his back. A sinister smile was written on his face, and he didn't stop clapping even though he was already in plain sight.

"So you brought company, huh, Jean Grey and Jack S. Michael. I hope the two of you are prepared to die." He muttered as smoke filled his vicinity.