1992

Howard had thrown money around for months trying to find Qin Yi, but he hadn't uncovered a single bit of information about him.

There were no border-crossing records, no surveillance footage showing even a glimpse of Qin Yi, and not a single document at any hospital that could prove anything about him.

It was as if he'd appeared out of thin air. But how could that be possible?

Besides, Maria liked children, so Qin Yi had been staying at the Howard Estate for the past few months.

After spending several months together, Tony Stark had clearly given up on studying Qin Yi's supernatural abilities.

He figured that with an ability like this—one that couldn't be replicated—even he couldn't think of a good way to develop it.

Tony lay deep in thought on the living-room sofa. He glanced over at Qin Yi, who was staring blankly at the television.

The day's news was playing.

"Qin, give me one of those Healing Spells."

Tony had suddenly remembered that he'd arranged to exchange pointers with some magazine cover girl that evening.

Qin Yi looked at him helplessly. For the past few months, the guy had been studying his superpowers day and night.

He'd practically stopped sleeping. If Qin Yi hadn't worried that he might drop dead and mess up the timeline, he never would've given him a few Healing Spells.

And now the guy was hooked. He'd even sworn that a genius like Tony Stark couldn't waste his time sleeping.

Fortunately, Howard Stark had retired from S.H.I.E.L.D.—still known at that point as the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division—after Qin Yi suggested it.

Maria, who stayed home to look after him, had also talked him into it.

Only then had he given up studying the superpowers and returned to his old routine.

"Are you planning to date all twelve cover girls this year?"

Qin Yi watched Tony suddenly get to his feet.

"Oh, that's a good idea. It suits me perfectly. Want me to show you the ropes, Qin? You'll find it useful when you're older."

Faced with Tony's sudden teasing, Qin Yi helplessly shrugged. He casually tossed a streak of white light at him.

Tony puffed out his chest and sucked in his stomach, waiting for the light to sink into him. Qin Yi was speechless.

Just then, a news report on the television caught Qin Yi's attention.

"After the X-Men's tireless efforts, all the passengers aboard the spacecraft that encountered trouble in space have been rescued. They arrived at the airport this morning. A large crowd of reporters and the passengers' families witnessed this miracle. The X-Men have earned our respect through their repeated acts of bravery..."

Hearing the report, Tony turned to Qin Yi. "Do you know anyone in there?"

"No. Tony, go enjoy your cover girl. I'm going to get something to eat."

"All right. I'll bring you a few hamburgers tomorrow morning. There's also a Turkish kebab place nearby that's pretty good."

Watching Tony head out to have some fun, Qin Yi fell into thought.

This was the beginning of the Dark Phoenix storyline.

So this really was the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the danger level had just gone up.

During this incident in 1992, Phoenix had accidentally absorbed Cosmic Energy from outer space while rescuing the stranded spacecraft. The Phoenix Force grew so powerful that even Phoenix couldn't control it.

After that, the D'Bari came to Earth. Their leader, Vuk, took on a human form to absorb the Cosmic Energy inside Jean.

The movie hadn't scored very well, and Qin Yi hadn't paid much attention to it. As he recalled, Vuk had been overwhelmed and blown apart while absorbing the energy, and eventually Phoenix couldn't withstand the Phoenix Force and disappeared, too...

Wait...

The Phoenix Force! Cosmic Energy! He should be able to make something of this.

Then Phoenix wouldn't have to disappear because she couldn't bear the Phoenix Force's power. He might even be able to increase his Fairy Force fusion rate. He'd have to plan this carefully.

Qin Yi checked his status.

Qin Yi (male)

7 years old.

System sleeping...

Fairy Force fusion rate: 1% ...

Hunger: 50%

Healing Spell (can heal and cleanse all negative effects; can be upgraded).

Seeing the 1% fusion rate, Qin Yi couldn't help losing his nerve.

At the moment, the abilities he had mastered were reality alteration, molecular manipulation, and freely reading or controlling other people's thoughts.

More importantly, the energy he could use with a 1% fusion rate was limited. He hadn't had a chance to test how strong his new body had become after fusing with the Fairy Force.

He really had no idea how powerful the Fairy Force was.

In the comics from his previous life, it had only appeared a handful of times in parallel universes. It hadn't even shown up in the movies.

His abilities probably wouldn't amount to much against the show-stealers and Professor X. The D'Bari leader who took on a human form couldn't even handle the show-stealer.

And that was before considering Dark Phoenix, whose power would explode after absorbing the Cosmic Energy.

He'd probably get wrecked the moment he showed up. This was going to be tricky.

The best thing to do was stay out of their storyline as much as possible and look for a chance to ambush them. With so many Mutants around, there'd be plenty of opportunities.

Besides, in theory, the Phoenix Force could manipulate time, space, matter, and energy in the universe without limit. It was a power that broke all the rules.

That sounded a lot more comfortable than the constant hunger caused by his Fairy Force, though that was without taking the Phoenix Force's own will into account.

If he waited for his body to fuse with the Fairy Force naturally, who knew how long it would take?

Captain Marvel and the Kree would show up over the next few years, too. One villain after another would take their turn.

Fuck it. The greater the risk, the greater the reward.

Two days later

"Hey, Qin, your little friends are in a pretty bad spot. That Jean Grey girl is strange. A few days ago, she was being called a superhero, and now the government's put out a warrant for her."

Tony handed Qin Yi more than ten hamburgers and some Turkish kebab, speaking in his usual smug manner.

Qin Yi took the hamburgers and teased him. "So that's why you've been buying burgers for two days?"

"Hey, all I can say is, that Healing Spell of yours lasts a long time..."

Qin Yi stared at Tony speechlessly. Then he suddenly thought of something, looked up, and said, "Hey, big bro, do me a favor?"

Tony immediately backed away several steps. He seemed to remember something unpleasant and hurriedly raised his hands.

"Don't pry into my thoughts. Don't control my mind."

Qin Yi smiled helplessly.

"Relax, relax. I promised Uncle and Auntie I wouldn't misuse my powers. I just want you to find out where Jean Grey is."

Tony sat down on the sofa and looked at Qin Yi in surprise.

"What do you want with her? That girl seems pretty dangerous."

Qin Yi thought about what would happen next. I have to follow her. If she disappears, where am I supposed to find an energy source this good? Two huge energy sources, actually.

"I'll let you study my superpowers for another six months," Qin Yi said after a moment's thought.

"Three years," Tony replied at once.

"One year, maximum. Tony, you should be taking care of Stark Industries. Uncle Howard's already retired."

"One and a half."

"Deal," Qin Yi said helplessly.

"Okay. Finding a lost, dangerous little girl is easy for a genius like Stark, Qin. You really should read more. You can't keep relying on your big brother for simple things like this."

Tony sauntered over to the computer and started fiddling with something, looking unbearably smug.

"Aunt Maria contacted the Xavier Institute, but after all this, that probably won't happen."

Qin Yi thought bitterly, Damn it. I'm going to have to start school.

I've already crossed into another universe, and I still can't escape going to school? And I have to start in elementary school, too.

Just destroy the world. I'm tired.

A moment later, Tony turned back to Qin Yi, who was deep in thought.

"The military's communications say there was a battle on a street in New York just now. They've been arrested, though. Let me see... It says they're being sent to the Mutant Control Center."

Qin Yi hurried over to the computer and said to Tony, "Tony, why don't we go take a look? Some aliens are about to show up."

Tony rubbed his chin, thinking it over.

"Is this another one of your predictions about the future? For the sake of the aliens, I'll add another year to your research time. Two and a half years."

Damn that two and a half years.

Without a second thought, Qin Yi raised his middle finger at Tony.

"Let's go, Tony."

Tony thought for a moment, then added, "If Mom asks, you're in charge of calming her down."

"Okay. We'll be too late if we don't hurry."

Qin Yi dragged Tony toward the garage.

On the way to the Mutant Control Center,

Qin Yi stared at the phone in Tony's hand, hesitating for a long time.

Tony drove and said, "I'll buy you one later."

Qin Yi thought for a moment.

"Tony, do you think it'd be possible to remove the keypad from a phone and make the screen bigger? Then we could add other features, like navigation and video calls. Do you think that could work?"

Good heavens, Steve Jobs. I swear I'm not stealing your idea on purpose.

The phones in 1992 were just too awful to look at.

Even though this was the Marvel universe,

the technology tree in this era had grown in a strange direction. The phones still had huge keypads and tiny screens.

They didn't even have any other features. They were more useful than bricks in a fight, though.

After hearing Qin Yi out, Tony thought for a while before suddenly saying, "I never expected you to have such a genius idea, Qin. I'll set up a new company and we can look into it. How about Tony Stark Communications?"

"Whatever works, whatever works. Let's hide when we get there. It'd be even better if we could get our hands on an alien to study."

When Tony heard the word "alien," he sped toward the Mutant Control Center.

By the time Qin Yi and Tony arrived, the Phoenix had torn apart the moving train.

Amid the explosions and rising flames, the rest of the X-Men had been safely set down on the ground by the Phoenix.

Qin Yi pulled Tony behind a pile of rubble and waved his hand. A surge of energy concealed them, blending them into their surroundings.

"Why does that bald guy look so familiar?"

Tony nudged Qin Yi and glanced toward the X-Men.

Qin Yi looked at Professor X, who was lying on the ground.

"Professor X. He's a man worthy of respect, devoted to peaceful coexistence between Mutants and humans. He just thinks too simply. The United States' leaders have always aimed to wipe out Mutants.

"On the other hand, Mutants are also part of humanity's strength. Without external conflicts or threats, simply preserving the peace won't keep the internal conflict between humans and Mutants balanced for long."

"External conflicts and threats? Like what?"

Qin Yi pointed toward the people rushing at Jean from all directions.

"These guys. The alien race known as the D'Bari."

"So we came here for these D'Bari people? They don't look much different from us. Holy shit, that girl's brutal."

Tony stared in amazement as Jean slaughtered her way through them. With a wave of her hand, the D'Bari charging at her burst like punctured bubbles and vanished.

"Is that the same as your molecular manipulation?"

Seeing that Tony had become interested in Mutant powers again, Qin Yi suddenly had a bold idea. Maybe he could work with Professor X and set up the Avengers or the Illuminati early.

He'd be the leader himself. That beat working for someone else.

What do you mean, U.S. president? I'm going to be the Progenitor...

But with his current strength, forget it. He'd let them off the hook for now.

He'd better keep a low profile.

Later, when the X-Men came under attack from the U.S. government, he could have Tony negotiate with them.

"More or less. They're both about controlling energy," Qin Yi told the dumbfounded Tony.

Suddenly, Vuk, the white-haired D'Bari leader, rushed toward Jean and grabbed her by the neck. A surge of energy poured out of Jean and into Vuk's body.

The scattered Phoenix Force swirled around them, as if water were being pumped from one pool into another.

But Jean's pool was like an ocean. Before long, Vuk's little pool couldn't hold any more.

She struggled in agony, watching her skin split apart as she tried to pull the hand gripping Jean's neck away.

Jean instantly grabbed her hand. "You want this energy? Then take it."

The Phoenix Force swirling around them surged outward like floodwater bursting through a dam. In moments, it filled the space around them and began spreading in every direction.

Cyclops watched Jean in the swirling vortex of energy, worried. He couldn't help stepping forward, but the moment he touched the energy, his hand slowly began to disintegrate.

"Jean." Cyclops's voice rang out in pain.

Seeing her boyfriend and the rest of her X-Men family consumed by her own energy, Phoenix hesitated.

Then Vuk cried out in agony, "You can't control this energy. If you kill me, you'll kill them, too!"

Phoenix cast a resolute glance at Professor X. As he watched her with a look of grief, she took Vuk with her and shot into the sky. Like a phoenix surrounded by a vortex of energy, they flew straight into space.

"Holy shit." Watching the two of them fly into space like a phoenix, surrounded by a vortex of energy, Qin Yi's vision swam.

How could he have forgotten about this? The duck was already cooked, and it had flown away...

Tony had been enjoying the show, but suddenly he sensed a terrifying presence awakening beside him.

It was like some primordial beast that had been imprisoned for tens of thousands of years. Its pressure made it hard for him to breathe.

Tony struggled to pat Qin Yi on the shoulder, but the aura around Qin Yi flung him away. He flew through the concealment field and slammed into a tree behind them before finally coming to a stop.

Tony got back to his feet and watched helplessly as Qin Yi flew straight toward the energy vortex.

The remaining X-Men immediately spotted Tony and surrounded him. Beast carried Professor X over to Tony.

"I think you owe us an explanation."

Wrapped in the Fairy Force, Qin Yi reached outer space in no time.

Phoenix and Vuk, the leader of the D'Bari, were caught in the Phoenix Force's energy vortex, struggling to resist its corrosive power.

Qin Yi's eyes glowed green. He looked like a big bad wolf who'd just spotted two little lambs fighting.

Good thing I didn't miss this. I'm not going to hold back. Fairy Force, activate.

Like a black hole awakening, a massive energy vortex appeared above Qin Yi's head.

The vortex's terrifying suction tore through the Phoenix Force surrounding Phoenix and Vuk. The scattered energy was forcibly dragged to the center, where the Fairy Force vortex devoured it in a frenzy.

As the Phoenix Force around them gradually dissipated, Phoenix and Vuk both froze in surprise.

Vuk was relieved to still be alive, but when he realized that the energy he'd just acquired was disappearing, he flew into a rage. "Who are you?"

Qin Yi watched the energy vortex above him devour the Phoenix Force, never satisfied, as it merged with his body.

Two energy arms instantly formed behind Qin Yi and reached for them.

Caught in the energy arms, Phoenix and Vuk felt their own energy rapidly draining away.

A surging torrent of energy poured from the vortex into Qin Yi's body. Cracks began to appear in his skin and spread in every direction, making him look like a shattered glass bottle.

Qin Yi drove the Fairy Force recklessly while casting Healing Spells on himself.

The cracks in his body repeatedly disappeared and split open again. Yet even as huge amounts of energy poured in, Qin Yi's body only felt hungrier.

Once Phoenix and Vuk had been completely drained of their energy, they both passed out inside the energy arms.

Suddenly, a golden circle appeared in front of Qin Yi.

Looking at the golden ring of light, Qin Yi grimaced. Had he really attracted the attention of this big shot?

A graceful figure stepped out of the golden circle. Her eyes, bright with wisdom, fixed on Qin Yi.

"Little one, if you keep this up, you'll kill her."

Qin Yi paused, wondering whether he could take on the Ancient One right now and snatch the Time Stone.

Devouring the Time Stone's energy would bring great rewards, but the risk was pretty high at the moment. Maybe I should wait a little longer.

Having talked himself into it, Qin Yi rubbed the back of his head and chuckled. "Hello, Sorcerer. This alien wants to destroy Earth. I was just about to eliminate her."

Qin Yi pointed at Vuk, whom he had trapped in the energy arms, then glanced at the Ancient One. She hadn't interrupted him.

Vuk's body was pulled straight into the energy vortex above Qin Yi's head and vanished. A surge of energy then merged with Qin Yi's body.

Time to make a run for it.

"Come with me," The Ancient One said to Qin Yi, who was preparing to flee.

Qin Yi smiled awkwardly.

He secretly checked his status panel.

Qin Yi (Male)

7 years old.

System dormant...

Fairy Force fusion: 6% ...

Hunger: 55%

Healing Spell (can heal and cleanse all negative effects; can be upgraded).

Consumed: Phoenix Force (incomplete), D'Bari leader Vuk

The Ancient One glanced at Qin Yi, then carried Phoenix into the golden circle.

Qin Yi hesitated, then lifted his leg to follow her. "Sorcerer, we'd better hurry, or my family will worry about me!"