The instant a small flaming mushroom cloud rose, Iron Man and Peter instinctively raised their arms to shield their faces, but the blast still sent them flying.
Fortunately, the flames did not spread, and the shockwave was not the heat wave produced by an explosion, but purely a ripple of energy. So while it knocked over everything unsecured in the street and sent quite a few people sprawling, it did not cause much damage.
Iron Man straightened up and narrowed his eyes at the base. "It was Magneto. It had to be him."
"Do you think Magneto was putting on a show, or was Phoenix about to erupt before Magneto stopped her?"
Iron Man slowly shook his head, his expression becoming extremely grave. He adjusted a channel within the Iron Man suit and quickly connected to Professor X.
"Hello, Professor Xavier. This is Iron Man of the Avengers. I saw that the X-Men's base caught fire. What happened? Do you need help?"
Peter stood beside him and watched Iron Man speak with Professor X. After a while, Iron Man said, "He invited us in, but I suggest you stay out here. Your spells only work when they feel like it..."
"No, I suggest you stay out. Did you forget? Once my life is in danger, the god I believe in will pull me into his divine kingdom. No one can kill me, not even Phoenix. But you're different. If Phoenix really erupts..."
"Then hiding at the end of the universe wouldn't help me." Iron Man waved a hand. "Forget it. We'll go in together."
The two returned to the main entrance of the base. This time, someone finally came out to receive them. The moment Peter saw Mystique, he knew Iron Man had been right—Magneto had probably really come.
They