Black Phoenix

"No problem. I’ve been wanting to retire too. When the time comes, I’ll find a resort villa and go fishing and play chess with Erik."

The Professor said, "After all these years of hard work, we can finally rest. Bert, thank you."

"I’m a mutant too. You don’t need to thank me."

Bert Wang smiled. "Professor, do you still have a resort villa?"

The Professor froze, then gave a bitter smile. "I sold my last resort villa ten years ago. Looks like I’ll have to find a way to make some money first."

Bert Wang smiled without speaking. With the Professor’s abilities, making money would probably not be easy. In fact, he was only good at squandering it.

"Professor, there’s something I need to tell you first."

Bert Wang said, "The Hellfire Club has overreached. I’m preparing to deal with them once and for all."

"What they did last time was wrong, but we’re all mutants. I hope you’ll show mercy and try not to kill them."

The Professor said, "Uh, perhaps you could hand the Black King over to me as well. Three people would be livelier than two. The Black King looks young, but he’s actually older than I am."

"We’ll see when the time comes. I’ve always felt there’s something off about the Black King. He shouldn’t be that foolish."

Bert Wang said, "He sent Shadow to assassinate Brigadier General Lance. Perhaps he was trying to lure me to the Hellfire Club."

"I don’t know what the Black King is plotting. I can only tell you that he is definitely not stupid."

The Professor said.

"It’s not a big problem. At worst, I’ll bury him in money."

Bert Wang smiled. "To be honest, I wouldn’t mind at all if the Black King gave me a little surprise."

"I’m afraid the surprise might be too big. Bert, nothing can happen to you now."

The Professor cautioned, "You’re tied to the safety of mutants and the entire world."

"Don’t worry. The one who can kill me hasn’t been born yet."

Bert Wang was unconcerned. He said, "Professor, I have to go. I’ve been a little busy lately, preparing to take over the Department of Defense."

The Professor nodded. "All right, I won’t keep you. Oh, if possible, please help Kurt recover. The Mutant Affairs Department can’t function without him."

"Easy."

Bert Wang smiled and left the room for the Medical Room.

"Iron Man!"

When the students saw Iron Man appear at the academy, they surrounded him in delight. Rogue, especially, excitedly stepped forward to ask for an autograph.

"I heard about you from Logan."

Bert Wang signed an autograph for Rogue, then took a bottle of green poison from his pocket. "This is poison I had specially developed for you. It’s a gift."

"Poison?"

Rogue was a little dumbfounded. Her idol was giving her poison. Was she supposed to thank him?

The other students were equally confused. Bert Wang smiled. "This poison can temporarily suppress a mutant’s abilities. If you drink one-tenth of it, it should last around an hour. I think that’s enough time for you to get intimate with your boyfriend."

The students burst into laughter. Blushing, Rogue snatched the poison away and said coyly, "Iron Man, you’re a bad person."

With the students egging her on, Rogue turned and fled. Bert Wang shook his head and stayed behind to satisfy the fans who wanted autographs and photos.

Iceman Bobby also saw Bert Wang, but he did not come over. He was clearly still bothered by what had happened with Human Torch. How should he put it? He did not resent Bert Wang, but he did not want much contact with him.

Bert Wang did not go looking for Bobby either. His potential was indeed great, but Bert Wang had never lacked subordinates.

In the Medical Room, Jean looked at Bert Wang as he entered and smiled. "Bert, you’re even more popular than I imagined."

"Can’t be helped. That’s what happens when you’re handsome."

Bert Wang shrugged, then walked over and sat down in front of Nightcrawler. "Kurt, how are you?"

"I’m all right, just a little weak."

Nightcrawler hesitated, then asked, "Mr. Wang, is Azazel really dead?"

"He’s dead."

Bert Wang said.

"That’s good."

Nightcrawler sighed in relief. "He wasn’t God’s angel. He was a true demon. He deserved to die."

Nightcrawler actually believed that rumor?

Bert Wang silently mocked. He took out a stack of Banknotes and said, "Kurt, return to normal."

The next second, the Banknotes vanished. Nightcrawler felt his weak body fill with strength once more. He climbed to his feet and asked excitedly, "Mr. Wang, what kind of ability is this? It’s incredible!"

"Money Power."

Bert Wang said, "Though recovery may not necessarily be a good thing for you. The moment you recover, you’ll have to go right back to work, and the kind where you work overtime every day."

"I don’t mind. I like that job. It lets me help a lot of people."

Nightcrawler said, "Mr. Wang, Jean, I’m going back to work."

"Wait, let me examine you again."

Jean hurriedly called out, but Nightcrawler had already turned into blue smoke and disappeared.

"If my employees had Kurt’s enthusiasm for work, I’d laugh myself to death."

Bert Wang laughed. Jean shook her head. "Kurt may have the appearance of a demon, but he has the heart of an angel. Bert, if you don’t mind, there’s something I want to ask you."

"Is it about Logan? He’s doing great with Silver Fox. He probably doesn’t have time to flirt with you anymore."

Bert Wang blinked and asked teasingly, "Feeling a little disappointed?"

Jean rolled her eyes at Bert Wang. "That’s not what I want to ask. I want to know why the Professor kept failing while you succeeded."

"That question?"

Bert Wang leaned back in his chair. "Have you heard of a simp?"

"I heard about it from Logan. He said you told him."

Jean said irritably, "I think that word is vulgar, so I banned it from the academy. Unfortunately, the students have already learned it."

"What the Professor does is simping."

Bert Wang said, "He silently devotes himself to humanity, hoping that one day humanity will be moved and accept mutants. Unfortunately, simps never end well, and neither did the Professor. Not only did he fail to win humanity’s heart, humanity became increasingly brutal toward him."

Jean thought for a moment, then asked, "What about your method?"

"My method is to directly possess humanity."

Bert Wang said, "Step one: become a Super Hero and gain the support of ordinary people. Step two: become part of humanity’s upper ranks and gain power. Humanity’s body and heart are now both under my control."

"That metaphor…"

Jean was speechless. She asked, "Bert, can mutants and ordinary people really coexist peacefully?"

"Of course they can. I’m proof. If the two sides couldn’t coexist peacefully, I couldn’t possibly have become a major star, much less Secretary of Defense."

Bert Wang shook his head, stood up, and said, "All right, I’ll be going. By the way, how is your son doing lately? I haven’t seen him in a long time."

"My son? You mean Cable?"

Jean was stunned for a moment, then answered, "He’s accepted reality and is preparing to live in this era. However, he doesn’t want much contact with Scott and me. He plans to become a private detective in New York."

"A private detective? That’s not bad."

Bert Wang said.

Jean hesitated, then asked, "Bert, why did a copy of me appear in the future?"

"You’re asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?"

Bert Wang shrugged and turned to leave. Jean walked over to see him out. At that moment, her eyes suddenly turned completely black. Then she pressed herself against Bert Wang and forcibly kissed him.

Bert Wang was dumbfounded. What was going on? Had Jean just molested him? Should he call the police? Then Jean stepped back and laughed loudly. "Wanda, your man is mine now."

"You know Wanda? You’re Black Phoenix?"

Bert Wang froze, then hurriedly asked. It seemed that, like Original Sin, Black Phoenix had retained her memories after the world restart.

As Bert Wang spoke, black clouds suddenly gathered over Mutant Academy and rapidly pressed downward. Countless bolts of lightning raced wildly through the clouds like silver serpents, making it feel as though the end of the world was about to arrive.

The students were astonished, then all thought of Storm. Storm blinked, indicating that she had done nothing.

"Wanda’s ex-boyfriend, remember to protect me."

Black Phoenix blew Bert Wang a kiss and retreated back into Jean’s body. Jean’s eyes returned to normal, and she asked in shock, "Bert, what just happened?"

"Damn it, Black Phoenix, you treacherous bitch."

Bert Wang was speechless. Black Phoenix had clearly started something and left him to deal with the consequences. He said, "I’ll explain later. Let’s move somewhere else first, before meteorites smash the Professor’s retirement fund."

With that, Bert Wang grabbed Jean and vanished. When they reappeared, they were already on an uninhabited hill nearby.

The moment Bert Wang appeared, the black clouds overhead followed. Jean stared at the apocalyptic sky and could not help swallowing. What was going on? Too bad she isn’t from the Great Foodie Empire. Otherwise, she’d definitely be shouting, ‘Which fellow cultivator is undergoing tribulation?’ Or maybe, ‘It’s raining, bring in the laundry.’

Bert Wang raised his head toward the sky. "Looks like the first wave is lightning."

"Bert, what exactly is happening? Why do I feel danger everywhere? And why did I kiss you just now?"

Jean looked utterly confused. She had no idea why she had suddenly kissed Bert Wang. There was no reason for it. Even if she wanted to kiss someone, it should have been Scott or Logan. Ahem, better forget the latter.

Although Jean admired Iron Man, it was purely admiration, without any romantic feelings involved.

"The one who kissed me wasn’t you. It was someone else."

Bert Wang did not explain further. At that moment, the lightning in the sky gathered together and formed a massive pillar of light that blasted toward Jean. Bert Wang swiped a finger, and a spatial gate appeared out of thin air. The pillar of light entered it and disappeared.

Jean sighed in relief and was about to say something when the ground beneath her feet suddenly shook violently. Jean was dumbfounded. An earthquake? Bert Wang did not steady her. Instead, he took out a banknote and used Money Power, causing Jean to rise from the ground into the air.

The moment Jean flew up, the earthquake immediately stopped. Then the lightning in the sky continuously struck toward Jean, as if she had some kind of lightning-attracting physique.

Jean was even more stunned. "Those attacks were all aimed at me?"

Bert Wang continuously tapped the air with his finger. Each tap made a bolt of lightning disappear. Soon, all the lightning in the sky had vanished.

But the disaster was not over. Next, Jean suffered all kinds of attacks, including meteorites, spatial rifts, and hurricanes. If Bert Wang had not been there to protect her, she might already have died—Jean could die, but Black Phoenix could not.

Could this be Black Phoenix’s goal? No, she knows I’ll protect Jean.

Bert Wang silently thought. More than an hour later, the disasters stopped. Jean looked at Bert Wang in a daze and asked, "Am I having a nightmare right now?"

"Yes, you’re having a nightmare."

Bert Wang smiled slightly and tapped with his finger. Space turned into a hammer and lightly struck Jean. Her vision went black, and she collapsed toward the ground.

Bert Wang caught Jean and carefully laid her down. Then he used the Soul Secret Technique to sink his consciousness into Jean’s mindscape—he wanted to see Black Phoenix.

The moment he entered Jean’s mindscape, Bert Wang immediately found Black Phoenix—the other party had transformed into a Black Sun, hanging high in the sky.

It was worth mentioning that a slightly damaged Mind Barrier surrounded the Black Sun. The Professor had set it up. The reason Black Phoenix had never been able to seize Jean’s body was because of this Mind Barrier.

Why could the Professor seal Black Phoenix? Because he had established this Mind Barrier when Jean was a child. Its power, combined with Jean’s own power, meant that even Black Phoenix could not break through.

Bert Wang asked coldly, "Black Phoenix, why did you kiss me? Aren’t two men enough to satisfy you?"

"You make me sound like some bad woman."

Black Phoenix’s voice came from within the sun. "I was just stealing Wanda’s man. That bitch not only restarted the world, she even mocked me for being killed by my own man. If I don’t get revenge on her, can I still call myself Black Phoenix?"

Bert Wang was speechless. He asked, "Why did Wanda restart the world? What exactly happened back then?"

"You want to know?"

Black Phoenix chuckled. "Help me destroy the Mind Barrier, and I’ll tell you everything. Also, I’ll let you experience the hottest woman in the Entire Universe."

"You’d burn me to ashes."

Bert Wang rolled his eyes. "Sorry, you’re too dangerous. I can’t let you out. This is a critical time, and I don’t want anyone causing trouble."

"Why do you care about those ants?"

Black Phoenix sneered. "Besides, this planet is just a false planet. Destroying it would solve the problem of the real Earth, wouldn’t it?"

"Sorry, my character setting is savior, not world-destroying Demon King."

Bert Wang said, "Black Phoenix, tell me about Wanda. Otherwise, don’t blame me for strengthening the seal and making sure you never get out for the rest of your life."

Black Phoenix was speechless. She gritted her teeth and cursed, "You and Wanda really are a perfectly matched bastard couple."

"Looks like Wanda set you up before."

Bert Wang smiled. "My Money Power can definitely seal you. I believe you know that very well."

"Fine, I’ll tell you… I’ll tell you my ass. Did you really think Black Phoenix would submit?"

Black Phoenix cursed, "Go ahead and strengthen the seal. The stronger it is, the greater the pressure on Jean. When that happens, I might be able to leave the seal even sooner."

"Then I won’t strengthen it. I’ll only repair it. As long as I’m here, don’t even think about getting out."

Bert Wang said.

"You don’t want to know about Wanda anymore?"

Black Phoenix asked.

"Will you tell me?"

"Of course not, unless you let me leave."

Black Phoenix said maliciously, "Bert Wang, Wanda is struggling terribly in the future. Without your help, she might die."