Phoenix Force Out of Control

Without any hesitation, Mystique agreed, and she did not inform Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.

Before setting out, she merely transformed herself into the female agent.

"Maybe I can fool those aliens."

That was what Mystique said.

"I don't think it'll work."

Ke Chen remarked, then led her straight into the car.

The D'Bari might not have been as formidable as the Skrulls, but they surely had ways to tell whether someone was one of their own.

Perhaps they had some identifying method known only to them, like a particular scent.

Otherwise, if such an ability failed, it would be far too easy for enemies to infiltrate their ranks.

Still, Mystique's power was undeniably impressive, like some kind of monster girl...

She could become anyone she wanted. Once transformed, she even had their voice, fingerprints, and more. Even her manner of walking was identical.

That was definitely not something cosplay could achieve.

With Mystique around, there was no need for other women. She could play whoever he wanted.

Thinking that, Ke Chen pressed down on the accelerator and sped up.

They had to get there early. It would be no fun if those aliens had already fled by the time they arrived.

He had never driven the Dodge Challenger this fast before.

They tore down the road, and it felt as though he was about to crush the accelerator pedal.

Fortunately, no one was fishing for traffic violations that day. Otherwise, they would definitely have been chased.

"I need a self-driving car."

Ke Chen was naturally referring to an Autobot like Bumblebee.

But Mystique did not understand. As a battle-hardened woman, she thought Ke Chen was hinting at something.

"When we make it back alive, I'll reward you."

Still wearing the female agent's appearance, she gave Ke Chen a seductive wink.

"..."

Had she misunderstood him?

Though he did have the ability to drive a Ferrari one-handed, and he certainly had that dream.

He did not have a Ferrari, though.

Under cover of night, they soon reached the D'Bari gathering place.

It was in a forest. Some people had held a gathering here before, only to be slaughtered by the D'Bari. Truly pitiful.

On a cosmic scale, all humanity naturally shared a common enemy. Ke Chen's face turned cold as well.

He and Mystique got out of the car, and a group of people immediately surrounded them.

Mystique glanced at Ke Chen and received his signal. These were all aliens.

"I'm back."

Mystique, disguised as the female agent, called out loudly.

"You're not our leader. Who are you?"

However, that trick failed.

The D'Bari quickly saw through her disguise.

Unless Mystique transformed directly into one of them, they would be able to identify her.

Mystique looked at Ke Chen regretfully. Then Ke Chen made his move.

"Then all of you can die!"

Intense Heat Vision burst from Ke Chen's eyes.

"Sizzle!"

A red laser beam appeared, instantly slicing the forest before them in half, let alone the D'Bari hiding within it.

Mystique was stunned by the sight.

It was as if she were looking at another Cyclops.

But what she did not know was that Heat Vision was not something Cyclops' power could compare to.

Cyclops fired red concussive beams from his eyes, drawing energy from the surrounding environment, such as solar radiation, photons, and cosmic rays.

Even by comic-book standards, Cyclops could only destroy an asteroid.

It could not even begin to compare with Superman's Heat Vision.

Even Homelander's Heat Vision was inferior to Ke Chen's.

With Ke Chen's current full-power Heat Vision, the temperature exceeded six thousand degrees Celsius, and the time ratio was more than a hundredfold. In other words, being hit for one second was equivalent to being irradiated for over a hundred seconds.

Therefore, no enemy could survive beneath Ke Chen's Heat Vision.

Moreover, he could freely control its energy output and temperature.

If he got the chance, he wanted to compare his power with Cyclops' and see whose was stronger.

"Let's go."

Ke Chen looked at Mystique. He had already confirmed that no one had survived.

"Okay."

Mystique replied blankly.

"Why can you freely control your Cyclops beams?"

She could not help asking.

"This isn't Cyclops' power. It's called Heat Vision."

Ke Chen said helplessly.

Cyclops beams, my ass.

That name was unbearably awful.

"You're not a Mutant?"

Hearing that term, Mystique asked in surprise.

"I never said I was a Mutant, did I?"

Ke Chen smiled.

"..."

Mystique could not understand it.

How could someone who was not a Mutant be so powerful?

The Mutants did not yet know that a new era was about to arrive.

Forget the future—even now, this was not the era of Mutants.

If they truly became as arrogant as Magneto and tried to control the entire world, they would certainly pay the price.

"I should go home."

Ke Chen said.

Mystique raised an eyebrow.

But before she could speak, Ke Chen added, "I don't mean anything by it. My women are waiting for me at home."

After looking deeply at him, Mystique finally snorted and got into the car.

Ke Chen was not lying. He had not told Carter and Lorna that he would be home late.

If he got back any later, the two women would get angry.

Meanwhile, at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.

Jean Grey watched as everyone held a bonfire party.

The new century seemed especially noisy to her. She was not someone who enjoyed lively crowds.

This party was meant to celebrate their victory and welcome the new century.

But she had always been withdrawn, so instead of joining everyone else, she sat silently by herself off to the side.

Ever since entering Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, she had had no friends. Even the other Mutants treated her like a freak.

After all, whenever she had a nightmare, the entire school experienced an "earthquake." Who would not fear her power?

No one's Mutant ability could compare to Jean's.

Yet she had also realized that she was changing.

She had begun to want things she had never cared about before, and her impulses had become stronger.

For example, alcohol. Jean had never drunk before, but at this party, she drank quite a lot, pouring one glass after another into her mouth as if her body no longer belonged to her.

Suddenly, as the clock struck midnight.

The world became even noisier.

The cheering crowds, the fireworks everywhere, the thunderous clamor—all of it surged directly into her mind.

Amid that endless noise, Jean suddenly clutched her head in agony.

"Bang!"

The wineglass filled with red wine crashed to the ground and shattered, as though it had broken Jean's final barrier.

"Aah!"

Jean screamed.

A powerful shockwave erupted from her body, and the faint silhouette of a fiery phoenix could be seen.

The fierce shockwave flattened the mound before her, snapped every nearby tree, and sent all the Mutants flying...

Fortunately, after doing all that, Jean herself fainted.

But every Mutant was stunned. They all felt that Jean Grey had lost control.

No one knew just how terrifying she would be when out of control, but she had once torn apart Apocalypse, the strongest Mutant in the world!