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*****
The Phoenix Force surged forward with a majestic, overwhelming momentum.
It rolled across the void like gathering clouds and mist, yet carried the crushing weight of mountains and seas. Had Mike and his companions not been able to sense the lethal threat radiating from it, they might have mistaken the approaching entity for a magnificent, shimmering nebula.
But reality was far bleaker. Everything that stood in the path of the Phoenix Force was being devoured, erased from existence without leaving a single trace behind.
Suddenly, Jean spoke up, her voice tinged with surprise. "She... she seems very angry."
"Angry?" The group froze for a second.
"Then we need to be even more careful," Mike said flatly.
As the chosen host that the Phoenix Force coveted, Jean being possessed was already a precarious situation under normal circumstances. An angry Phoenix Force, however, was a different level of catastrophe entirely.
"Stay behind me in a moment," Clark whispered to Hope.
Hope nodded. Watching the Phoenix Force approach—so close now that it would reach them in the next heartbeat—she felt a strange sense of numbness spreading through her limbs.
Is this what the Kent family has to deal with? Is this the level of threat I'll be facing from now on? The mere thought of it made her skin crawl.
"It's here!" Mike barked.
In the next instant, everyone was on high alert. Gwen transformed immediately, her entire body erupting in brilliant blue flames. Hela glanced at Gwen, noting that she looked somewhat like the soldiers of her own Undead Legion, though the disparity in power between the two was as vast as the gap between heaven and earth.
The Phoenix Force... how were they supposed to handle a thing like that? Hela mused that if she were alone, she wouldn't have many good solutions. She would have to see what the others had planned.
Clark was harborng similar thoughts.
Just then, Jean detached herself from the group and flew forward to meet the Phoenix Force head-on. The others were startled and moved to stop her, but Mike's voice rang out, clearing their confusion.
"This is part of the plan Charles, Jean, and I agreed upon."
Charles watched Jean's receding figure as she prepared to make contact. "The Phoenix Force has selected Jean as its host. Unless we destroy the Phoenix Force of this universe entirely, or banish it, it will never stop hunting her," he explained rapidly. "And destroying it is a near-impossible task."
More importantly...
"After discussing it, we decided not to destroy or banish it. Instead, we chose to let Jean proactively become the host of the Phoenix Force, so she can eventually master its power."
Master the Phoenix Force? Like the Phoenix from the other world?
So, Mike's earlier warning to be "more careful" had actually been directed at Jean.
"But if Jean actively accepts it, won't there be consequences? After all..." Erik trailed off.
Jean hadn't fully mastered her own innate power yet, and her "dark side" hadn't been completely eliminated. Erik didn't finish the sentence, but everyone understood the implication.
A rampage.
Once Jean became the host, the sheer pressure of that immense power would almost certainly trigger a breakdown in her still-unstable psyche. A Jean who was already powerful, combined with the Phoenix Force and a loss of control...
The group instinctively turned their eyes toward Mike.
Mike raised an eyebrow. "Don't look at me. Even if Jean goes on a rampage, I'm not fighting her."
He wasn't joking. If he stepped in, it would be like beating up his own daughter-in-law.
As he spoke, a flash of light appeared in his hand. He held a card, gave it a gentle shake, and watched as it dissolved into specks of light. In its place, a pair of earrings with yellow orb pendants appeared.
> *Name:* Potara Earrings (Kaioshin Earrings).
He handed one to Charles. "I've already told you how to use them."
Charles took it and passed the other to Erik, whose mouth was twitching. "We had an agreement," Charles reminded him.
Erik's expression shifted through several shades of frustration before he gritted his teeth. "Damn it, Charles! You'd better remember this! You owe me one!"
In the next instant, the cosmic nano-suit covering Erik retracted just enough to expose his left ear, and he clipped the earring on. Seeing this, Charles sighed with a complex expression.
"You bastard! I'm the one who should be sighing!" Erik snapped, looking at Charles with pure disdain.
"Hahaha!" Gwen doubled over, laughing.
"Stop messing around, Jean is about to make contact," Clark warned, his voice grave.
---
Jean was now on the verge of touching the Phoenix Force. Watching the wave of energy loom over her, she felt a surge of apprehension and nerves. But then she remembered the family standing behind her, and a boundless strength welled up in her heart.
It's just the Phoenix Force. So what if I lose control?
With that thought, she no longer hesitated. She spread her arms wide, embracing the incoming tide.
The river of energy that composed the Phoenix Force seemed infinite, yet it now poured frantically into Jean's body. It cascaded down like a cosmic waterfall, forming a golden funnel in the dark expanse of space. It was a spectacle—beautiful, yet heavy with the scent of total destruction.
A few seconds later, the vast Phoenix Force had vanished. Only Jean remained, floating silently in the void.
The group watched her tensely, ready for anything. Charles held his earring to his ear, prepared to put it on at a moment's notice.
Jean turned slowly. Her tightly shut eyes snapped open.
Inside her pupils, it looked as if flames were dancing. Golden veins of energy flickered beneath her skin, making her look like a piece of exquisite porcelain covered in cracks. Yet, there was nothing fragile about her; she radiated a pressure so intense it was suffocating.
"AHHHHH!"
A scream filled with pure rage erupted. Even though they were in the vacuum of space, the sound resonated directly within everyone's minds.
Jean fixed her burning gaze on the group, a manic, wild smile spreading across her face.
She had lost control.
The explosive surge in power, combined with the Phoenix's own fury, had completely ignited her dormant dark persona. At this moment, she wanted nothing but to destroy—to destroy the people in front of her, to destroy everything.
Seeing this, Charles put on his earring without hesitation.
"Heh heh."
A mischievous smirk played on Mike's lips. Since he had created these earrings, he hadn't had the chance—or the right occasion—to test them out. This was the perfect trial run.
Under the jaw-dropping stares of everyone present, Charles and Erik were pulled together by an invisible, irresistible force. A blinding light flashed, and the two of them vanished from the spot.
Before the group could even process what had happened, a single figure emerged where the two had been.
His face was a blend of Charles and Erik—a fusion of their features that resulted in a man who was handsome, yet possessed a hint of wicked charm.
But the most striking feature... was the bald head.
Even fusion can't fix the baldness. Charles's hair is truly beyond saving, Mike muttered to himself.
"Um..." The man looked at his hands in astonishment. "So, I am their combined form?"
Aside from Mike, everyone gasped. What kind of sorcery—or magic—was this?
Mike stroked his chin and nodded, pointing toward the approaching Phoenix. "Go on then!"
The man nodded and flew toward Jean. But after a short distance, he suddenly stopped and turned back.
"Wait... what am I supposed to call myself?"
(End of Chapter)