“Stark, you know we can’t offend Marcus over something like this,” Fury said helplessly.
“Why don’t you ask for something else?
S.H.I.E.L.D.
will try its best to satisfy you.”
“Nick Fury, are you serious?” Stark gave his final warning.
So they would rather lose him from the project than refuse Marcus?
Fury had a headache too.
Why did these two have to compete over everything?
But compared to that…
“I understand,” Stark said through gritted teeth.
“As for the Avengers technical consultant position you mentioned, find someone else!”
After throwing out those harsh words,
Stark directly hung up the call and smashed the phone onto the coffee table.
Unfortunately,
The tempered glass table didn’t break, but the shattered phone casing cut his palm.
“Hold still!
I’ll clean it up!” Pepper shouted.
She hurriedly brought over the medical kit and carefully disinfected and bandaged Stark’s hand.
Seeing that he was still furious, she cautiously suggested,
“Tony, why don’t we just move back to Los Angeles?”
“What, run away looking pathetic?” Stark said unwillingly.
“He wants the tallest building, right?
Fine, let him have it!
Go buy the land around Dawn Tower and build an entire ring of buildings around it!”
Pepper opened her mouth…
But Stark was clearly still furious, and there was no point trying to reason with him.
She could only nod.
“Do you still plan to attend the Expo tonight?”
“No!” Stark answered without hesitation.
“You go deal with those boring events yourself.”
“Alright, then I need to catch my flight.”
“We own the private jet.
It should already be waiting.”
“It still needs someone to fly it, doesn’t it?” Pepper replied helplessly.
As soon as she finished speaking,
A Quinjet rose from the rooftop of Dawn Tower across the street, carrying Marcus and Natasha away.
Pepper: “…”
Stark: “…”
…
Inside the Quinjet,
Marcus had no idea that one sentence from him had directly caused Stark and Fury to fall out.
Right now,
He looked around at the luxurious cabin interior and nodded in satisfaction.
“Professor X confirmed the appointment?” Marcus asked.
“Professor X welcomes your visit, boss,” Natasha replied.
“But his telepathy is extremely powerful…”
“Relax,” Marcus said casually.
“He’s strong, but our race has mental defenses in place.
Not only can he not break through them, but if he even tried, our civilisation fleet would arrive immediately.”
That single sentence instantly made Natasha nervous.
No wonder Marcus once said that unauthorized mind-reading counted as an act of war…
Good thing Professor X failed back then.
Otherwise,
Earth would’ve had to face the civilisation behind Marcus!
Marcus alone could fight General Zod.
If an entire fleet arrived…
The consequences were unimaginable.
“Then please rest.
Let me know if you need anything.”
Natasha left the cabin and immediately reported the information.
As soon as Fury received the report, he immediately called Professor X.
Just in case, he absolutely had to warn him!
Otherwise…
If things escalated because of this, it would be a complete disaster.
Meanwhile…
…
New Jersey, Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters.
The Quinjet landed on the academy grounds, attracting plenty of student attention, though they were already used to it.
The X-Men also had VTOL aircraft parked in their underground hangar, so seeing advanced aircraft wasn’t unusual.
After getting off the plane,
Marcus immediately saw Jean Grey pushing Professor X’s wheelchair.
This Jean Grey,
Wasn’t the older version from the classic X-Men movies, but the younger and more beautiful Jean from X-Men: Dark Phoenix.
Blonde hair, blue eyes.
Like a queen walking among people, making others want to conquer her.
Born of the void between states of being, the Phoenix Force is a primordial cosmic entity that predates the universe itself.
While it is a force of creation and destruction comparable in scale to the Infinity Stones.
“As expected.
I wasn’t wrong,” Marcus said emotionally.
“I actually found the Phoenix Force here, even if it’s only a fragment.
But forcibly suppressing it is honestly pretty stupid.”
Professor X and Jean were both stunned.
“Are you talking about the other power inside me?” Jean asked urgently.
“I accidentally absorbed it in space, but I can’t control it, so I can only…”
“You were never going to control it,” Marcus said plainly.
“The Phoenix Force was born alongside the original universe itself.
It’s the beginning of all things.
Nobody can truly control it.”
Jean opened her mouth slightly, not knowing how to respond.
But Professor X reacted quickly.
“Then how can we prevent the Phoenix Force from going out of control again?”
Marcus looked directly at Jean.
“Before that, I need to ask you something.
Jean, if someone hated you and even wanted to kill you, how would you deal with them?”
“I’d definitely kill them!” Jean said without hesitation.
Although the X-Men protected the world, they weren’t naive.
Wait!
Jean suddenly widened her eyes.
“You mean…”
“Exactly.” Marcus nodded.
“The Phoenix Force has emotions.
It’s not some dead power that can’t communicate.
Would you reject your companions?
Or even try to kill them?”
Professor X nodded thoughtfully.
“So what Jean needs to do…
is accept it and coexist with it?”
“The reason the Phoenix Force goes berserk is because Jean fears it and wants to destroy it, so it instinctively fights back?”
Marcus shrugged.
The answer was obvious.
“But once I release the restraints, it’ll escape,” Jean said helplessly.
“It has never tried communicating with me.”
“That’s true,” Professor X said with a sigh.
“The last time Jean lost control, things almost became irreversible.
Even using Cerebro, it would be difficult for me to suppress her again.”
An impossible problem.
But…
Marcus came here specifically because of Jean.
The Phoenix Force was indeed powerful, but if it was only a fragment, Marcus could still deal with it for now.
The system barrier protected him from mental destruction.
And the Phoenix Force’s destructive energy was still a type of vector, which could be reflected by Vector Control.
A perfect counter.
So…
“If it’s only a fragment of the Phoenix Force, it shouldn’t be able to hurt me,” Marcus said with a smile.
“I’m also very interested in this power, that’s why I came here today.”
Jean was stunned.
She immediately stepped forward, completely ignoring Professor X.
“Can you really do it?”
“I have no reason to lie to you,” Marcus spread his hands.
“After all, if I wasn’t confident, I wouldn’t risk my own life.”
Jean was instantly overjoyed.
“That’s amazing!
Really amazing!” Jean said excitedly.
“For all these years, I haven’t even been able to sleep properly because I was afraid it would suddenly go out of control and hurt my friends…”
“Hey, your mindset is still wrong,” Marcus interrupted.
“I already said it.
Treat it like making a friend.
Understand it and accept it.”
Jean smiled awkwardly.
Changing her mentality wasn’t something she could do overnight.
“Jean, go prepare yourself first,” Professor X suddenly said.
“I want to speak with Mr.
Marcus alone for a bit.”
Jean nodded obediently.
She looked at Marcus and said, “Then I’ll wait nearby.”
“Adjust your mindset first.
Leave the rest to me,” Marcus said with a smile.
“Natasha, stay with Jean.”
“Understood.”
“Okay, boss!”
Jean kept looking back every few steps as she walked away.
Marcus simply kept smiling, making it clear he wasn’t going anywhere.
Only then did Jean finally calm down and walk off into the distance.
“Jean has suffered a lot over the years because of the Phoenix Force,” Professor X sighed.
“She’s even avoided physical relationships because she’s afraid of losing control.
She hasn’t dated anyone.”
Oh?
Why mention that specifically?
Meeting Professor X’s meaningful gaze, it was obvious he had already seen through Marcus’s intentions.
“Take a walk with me,” Professor X said.
“I’ll show you around the school too.”
Marcus shook his head.
“I don’t like pushing around another man.”
He casually reached out and rubbed Professor X’s bald head, leaving the older man unsure how to react.
Then Professor X suddenly froze in shock!
He slowly stood up from the wheelchair, staring at his legs in disbelief.
“I…
this…
I’m healed?”
“It’s just repairing damaged nerves.
Pretty simple,” Marcus said casually.
“Consider it part of gift.”
No more hiding it.
He was clearly here for Jean.
Professor X had experienced plenty in life, so he quickly regained his composure.
“Jean’s decision depends on her own wishes.
I can’t decide for her.”
“As far as she’s concerned, you’re practically her father,” Marcus said casually.
“As long as you don’t stop me, the rest depends on fate.”
Professor X nodded and stopped discussing the topic.
“Come on, I’ll show you around.”
Professor X walked forward normally, with no sign he had ever been paralyzed.
The students they passed all cried out in shock.
“Professor, you’re walking?!”
“Professor!
Your legs are healed?!”
“That’s incredible, Professor!”
…
News this huge should’ve spread through the entire school immediately.
But strangely, there were fewer and fewer people around them, until eventually nobody remained nearby.
Professor X suddenly stopped and looked directly at Marcus.
“I only have one question,” Professor X said seriously.
“What is your attitude toward Earth and humanity?”
What attitude…
Marcus honestly hadn’t thought deeply about it before, so he paused to consider it.
Then he answered:
“At the end of the day, I’ve built a home here.
If someone tries destroying Earth, that’s basically the same as destroying my home.
I probably won’t just stand by and watch.”
“As for humans…”
“Our family doesn’t have weird instincts like slaughtering or devouring others.
As long as nobody provokes me, they can live however they want.”
“That’s about it.
Satisfied?”
Professor X stared into Marcus’s eyes.
Since his telepathy didn’t work on him, he could only rely on ordinary observation.
Marcus calmly met his gaze.
Those were genuinely his thoughts, so he had nothing to hide.
Ten seconds later,
Professor X suddenly smiled and extended his hand.
“Charles Xavier.
My friends call me Charles.
Welcome to Earth.”
Marcus shook his hand.
“Marcus.
My friends call me Marcus.
You can be counted as my second friend on Earth.”
“My pleasure.”
From this moment on,
Marcus was officially accepted as someone settled on Earth.
Even if he would still be monitored, the trust level toward him had clearly risen significantly.
Obviously, Xavier’s test had been arranged by Fury from the beginning.
…
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