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*****
The hospital, Pepper's room.
Tony held his daughter somewhat clumsily, smiling at Mike with a face full of anticipation.
Mike shook his head helplessly. "You really are petty. I had planned to give you these blessings after you went home."
Blessings!
On a whim, Mike had turned some fairy blessings into cards and given them as birth gifts to the children.
"Mike, hurry up!"
Maria urged Mike. Seeing him dressed in casual clothes, she couldn't help but say, "Do you want a fairy costume?"
What is a pixie?
It's a little fairy!
She always felt that Mike dressing like this ruined the image of fairies in her mind.
Mike looked at Maria speechlessly.
Maria covered her mouth and laughed softly. "You continue, continue."
"Hmph!"
Mike gave a low snort, and several cards quietly appeared between his fingers.
With a gentle wave of his hand, the cards transformed into specks of light and dissipated. Several beams of differently colored energy appeared above Tony's daughter, transforming into several small fairies of various colors.
The little fairies held hands, dancing in circles above the little one's body, their happy laughter echoing in the hospital room.
Watching this scene, Tony and the other two were amazed.
Suddenly, crisp popping sounds rang out, and the laughter of the little fairies came to an abrupt halt.
The little fairies exploded with smiles on their faces, turning into pure energy that fell like a multi-colored rain, landing bit by bit on Tony's daughter before disappearing.
One second, two seconds, three seconds...
Maria and Tony looked at Mike with puzzled expressions.
Mike raised an eyebrow. "What? Even if you look at me like that, this magic can't be used on you. You're already over the age limit."
"No, that's not it!"
The wrinkles on Maria's face twisted together in conflict, and Tony also looked at Mike as if he wanted to say something but stopped.
"What is it then?"
Mike looked at the two of them in confusion.
"Well, without a spell or some hand movements, it just feels a bit wrong... Mmph!"
Tony couldn't help but complain, but Maria hurriedly covered his mouth, muttering, "Are you stupid? How can you say that out loud?"
"Maria! Your voice is too loud!"
"Sorry!"
"Pfft!"
An exhausted Pepper Potts chuckled softly.
Looking at this pair of comical mother and son, Mike smiled slightly and said helplessly, "Stop talking nonsense. Have you picked a name for the child yet?"
"Morgan. Morgan Stark!"
Tony announced the name they had long since decided on.
"Morgan..."
Mike looked at the child in Tony's arms, his face full of wistful emotion.
Time really flew.
Unknowingly, people like Tony now had children of their own.
Mike had great expectations for the future of these children.
"What's wrong? What's wrong with the name?"
Seeing that Mike hadn't spoken for a while, Tony asked with some concern.
"Nothing. I just think this little one will definitely be more amazing than you in the future."
"More amazing than me? Impossible!"
Tony yelled, then frowned and muttered, "Alright, I hope she's stronger than me!"
Pausing for a moment, he said to his daughter in a very serious tone, "You have to work hard in the future. Your dad is pretty impressive."
After saying that, Tony chuckled, looked up, and saw Mike and the other two looking at him like he was an idiot. Tony blushed and turned his head away.
"Mike!"
Maria patted Mike's arm and pointed to Pepper Potts on the hospital bed. "Quick, help that child."
Only she, as a fellow woman, knew how uncomfortable a woman felt after giving birth.
A card flashed through Mike's fingers. At the same time, a green energy full of life appeared on Pepper Potts, swirling around her continuously.
A few seconds later, the originally weak Pepper sat up from the hospital bed, her face glowing with health.
"I'm so envious. Why didn't I meet you sooner..."
She was willing to call Mike the strongest postpartum recovery specialist!
Maria whispered, opening her mouth as she looked at Mike, but ultimately reached out and pressed her lips shut.
Taking a deep breath, she walked up to Pepper and gave her a hug.
"You're amazing, Pepper."
Pepper Potts nodded, moved, and suddenly asked, "Can I leave the hospital now?"
Everyone froze for a moment, then burst out laughing.
As the laughter faded.
"I'm not needed here anymore, so I'll head back first."
Mike said to the three of them, gently touched Morgan's little face, and turned to walk out the door.
Suddenly, Mike's phone rang.
"Charles?"
Mike murmured and answered the call.
"Dad, the Phoenix Force has appeared!"
Mike's gaze sharpened.
"Where are you?"
"At the school!"
"I'll be right there!"
Mike whispered, nodded to Tony, and vanished along with the dissipating specks of light from a card.
Watching this scene, Tony frowned.
"It looks like they've run into something tricky."
He handed his daughter to his mother and said to Pepper, "I have to go check it out!"
"Tony!"
Pepper's eyes were full of worry.
Mike's tone just now had been very grave, which meant that whatever Mike and the others were facing must be extremely dangerous.
"Don't worry, I'll go back to Avengers Tower first."
Tony planned to contact Mike first to clarify the situation while assembling the Avengers before taking action.
If something could make Mike sound so serious, it must be troublesome, and he didn't have the confidence to handle it alone.
Pepper forced a smile. "Be careful. We'll wait for you at home."
"I know!"
Tony nodded and left quickly.
Watching Tony leave, Maria, who was equally worried, sighed. "Pepper, this is Tony's choice, and also his responsibility."
Ever since Tony created the Iron Man suit and came out of that cave, he had taken on this responsibility that he could never put down for the rest of his life.
"I know, but I still worry every time."
Pepper murmured, then her eyes lit up as if she had thought of something.
Since she couldn't make Tony give up, she could help Tony shoulder this responsibility. That way, Tony might have a much easier time...
Thinking of this, a smile appeared on Pepper's face.
Just as Tony was returning to Avengers Tower, Mike had already arrived on Planet Kent. In the principal's office of the Kent School for Gifted Youngsters, he met Charles and Jean.
"Charles!"
"Dad!"
The tense Charles instantly relaxed.
"How long until the Phoenix Force appears?"
Mike asked. Although his tone was grave, his face remained calm.
"Sorry, Kent..."
"Call me Uncle, or Dad works too."
Mike interrupted Jean with a smile.
Jean blushed slightly and continued, "The exact time isn't certain, but I can feel that she isn't far from Planet Kent. She will appear here very soon."
The Phoenix Force is about to arrive at Planet Kent?
That won't do.
Mike pondered for a moment, then said to Charles and Jean, who were looking at him, "Then we intercept it outside Planet Kent!"
A smile appeared on Charles's face. "Dad! You think just like me! Great minds think alike!"
"Charles! You're still as always..."
Along with a low chuckle, a portal quietly appeared in the office, and Eric and Hela appeared on the other side.
"Shameless brat, you're really slow!"
Charles spoke first, choking Eric's words in his throat.
The corner of Eric's mouth twitched. Looking at that blindingly bald head, he had the urge to knock it full of bumps.
Charles grinned and said to Eric, "Hurry up and come over! Do you expect Dad to go over and invite you?"
"You!"
Eric glared at Charles and rushed forward.
Charles coughed lightly. "Dad!"
Mike looked at the two of them speechlessly, pretending not to see anything.
These two had been like this since they were kids, and they were still like this now that they were grown up. He couldn't be bothered to deal with them.
Anyway... they couldn't kill each other.
Watching the brothers bickering, Jean and Hela were also full of speechlessness.
When these two were together, they were just like children.
Just then, two more portals appeared in front of everyone. Eric, who was flicking Charles's forehead repeatedly, tossed the 'light bulb' aside, straightened his slightly messy clothes, pretended nothing had happened, and smiled at the people walking out of the portals.
Raven and Little Lamb, and Clark and Hope walked out from the two portals respectively.
"What's the situation now?"
Raven asked anxiously.
Mike said calmly, "One to zero, Eric wins."
Raven: -_-
Can you be a little serious?
Clark laughed secretly, looked at Charles rubbing his head, and quietly gave Eric a thumbs up.
"Um... aren't we here to deal with the threat of the Phoenix Force?"
Hope asked in a small voice.
Why does the atmosphere feel like... a family gathering?
Little Lamb tugged at the corner of Hope's shirt and smiled. "Hehe! Sister Hope..."
"Hmm?"
Clark glanced at Little Lamb.
Little Lamb blinked, and Gwen whispered something in Little Lamb's ear.
Little Lamb realized his mistake and hurriedly corrected himself.
"Sister-in-law Hope! Don't be afraid! We've already dealt with one Phoenix Force! We'll handle this one too!"
Clark patted Little Lamb's head with satisfaction.
Just then, Jean's eyes seemed to be invaded by darkness, becoming incredibly deep. Invisible forces quietly emerged, pushing everything around her away.
Mike stood in front of Raven, slowly retreating with Eric and the others.
Not knowing what was happening to Jean, they didn't want to further cause her to lose control by resisting her power.
"Jean!"
Charles cried out softly, pressing his index and middle fingers of his right hand together against his temple.
Instantly, invisible psychic power surged out, rushing into Jean's mind.
"Jean, control yourself!"
Charles called out in a low voice.
Jean snapped back to reality, controlled her power, and her face was full of apology.
Her power hadn't gone out of control just now; rather, feeling the pressure brought by the approaching Phoenix Force, she had subconsciously used her ability for defense.
Jean's power vanished, and her blackened eyes slowly returned to normal.
Taking a breath to calm her gradually agitated mood, Jean said, "She's coming."
"Let's move," Mike said calmly, then added, "Jor, send some equipment over."
Specks of starlight quickly condensed, and Jor-El, formed from starlight, appeared in front of everyone.
He smiled and nodded. "No problem."
With his voice, a blue-glowing portal appeared, and a floating robot brought bracelets appearing before everyone.
"Raven, you..."
Raven interrupted Mike, smiling. "I know. I'll wait for you to come back."
She knew her powers wouldn't be much help in this situation.
And waiting was a torment for her, no easier than fighting the enemy.
Mike nodded and gently patted Little Lamb's head. "You stay here too. No need for you to act this time."
Little Lamb, who had been gearing up for a fight, wilted and said reluctantly, "Oh!"
"Dad, I'm ready."
Clark said, the cape behind him swaying gently like a bright red flag.
He and Mike didn't need equipment for space combat, while the others had already put on combat gear that provided them with oxygen.
"Jor!"
Mike said to Jor-El beside him. A blue-glowing portal quietly appeared, revealing deep space on the other side.
Everyone walked through, and the portal quietly closed.
The moment the portal closed, several X-Men led by Emma rushed into the office.
Looking at Jor-El's phantom which had not yet dissipated, Logan asked anxiously, "Jor! Where are they?"
On his way back to Avengers Tower, Tony had been contacting Mike while assembling the Avengers.
After failing to reach Mike, he could only contact others at the school.
He had acted very quickly, and the X-Men at the school had rushed over immediately upon receiving the message from the Avengers.
But they were still a step too late.
Jor-El crossed his arms in front of him and smiled. "They've already left."
"Where did they go?"
Scott asked in a deep voice.
"To solve the trouble."
Jor-El's tone remained very calm.
Pausing for a moment, before the X-Men could ask further, Jor-El said, "Don't worry, Mike and the others can handle it."
Looking at that family's attitude just now, it was simply like an ordinary family gathering.
Meanwhile, outside Planet Kent, in the deep space dotted with starlight, several figures stood quietly.
Mike, Clark and Hope, Eric and Hela, Charles and Jean, and Gwen.
Gwen looked around nervously, searching for traces of the Phoenix Force.
"She's coming!"
Jean whispered, her voice transmitting to everyone's ears through the communicators inside their space combat suits.
Charles gently squeezed Jean's hand, warming her heart.
One second, two seconds...
Suddenly, everyone's expression tightened.
They felt it.
Before they even saw the Phoenix Force appear, its pressure had already fallen upon them. As the distance between them closed, that invisible pressure continued to intensify.
Finally, energy resembling burning flames or roiling mist surged toward them like a tsunami.
The Phoenix Force had arrived!
(End of Chapter)