Iron Lad

New York, Upper East Side, 5:20 a.m.

Chu Hang's avatar stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, a golden speck of light gathering at his fingertip.

His arrangements in the Black-Robed Universe were complete. It was time to leave.

He closed his eyes and extended his perception.

The life signals of all New York surfaced in his mind.

Among them was a faint fluctuation, in the bedroom, inside Starlight.

A new life, tiny, formed less than a week ago. The X-Gene and his power of laws intertwined within that embryo.

Starlight had not told him. She thought she had hidden it well.

He glanced back at the bedroom door. Light spilled through the gap; Starlight lay curled beneath the covers, her hand resting on her lower abdomen.

Chu Hang did not go in. He knew why she had kept quiet—she did not want to tie him down with a child or let personal feelings interfere with the bigger picture.

But she was right. The war across the Multiverse mattered more than any personal attachment.

Chu Hang raised his hand and left a rune in the air. It vanished into the void, ready to activate automatically if Starlight or the child faced mortal danger.

That was all he could do.

His avatar stepped into the rift, and golden light swallowed his figure.

Silence returned to the living room. Three seconds later, the bedroom door opened.

Starlight walked barefoot to the window, leaving faint impressions in the carpet.

Her hand rested on her lower abdomen. Mist drifted over the Hudson River, and the silver shield emblem atop the distant administration building still shone.

Her phone vibrated.

Maeve: Are you awake? Do you need me to come over?

Starlight: No, I'm fine.

She took a deep breath and turned toward the bathroom. Her reflection's eyes