Dust Settled, Father and Daughter Reunited

In a hidden cave somewhere in the Himalayas, Avengers Wanda and Mutant Wanda stood facing each other. Their fiery figures swayed in the flickering torchlight, their shadows trembling faintly on the walls, as if two Arabian dancers were gracefully dancing.

Mutant Wanda gently raised both hands, while Avengers Wanda placed her hands atop those of her counterpart from another parallel world. As their eyes met, both girls wore relieved smiles.

Just now, Avengers Wanda had finally managed to persuade Li Congxin, at the critical moment, to spare Mutant Wanda’s father—the man surnamed Wan whom Li Congxin had nearly killed earlier.

But now was not the time for them to relax. On the contrary, what came next was the most important matter for both of them!

The two girls, who understood each other perfectly, needed no words. With a glance, they simultaneously adjusted themselves to their peak condition. Then, as Chaos Magic surged outward, they spoke in unison: "Let every Mutant who participated in the battle in the Himalayas learn the truth!"

The moment they finished speaking, both of them felt a wave of weakness. This was the backlash of Chaos Magic.

Fortunately, this spell was nowhere near as powerful as the one that had erased all Mutants from existence, so the backlash was much milder. Once divided between the two of them, it became negligible, leaving them merely weak and exhausted.

As the Chaos Magic jointly cast by the two Wandas spread to every Mutant on the battlefield, everyone, who had just recovered from the shock of Magneto being killed instantly, finally understood what had happened.

So that was the truth!

It turned out that everything had been orchestrated by that villain named Dormammu. These outsiders from another world, who called themselves the Avengers, were actually the good guys!

So they had misunderstood them!

What a mess this had all been!

Among the crowd, Magneto and Professor X immediately used their abilities to notify everyone present to cease fighting. Then Professor X looked apologetically toward Li Congxin. "Mr. Clark, we’re truly sorry about the misunderstanding earlier. We…"

Li Congxin waved his hand dismissively, then shifted his gaze to Dark Phoenix.

When Dark Phoenix saw the teasing look in Li Congxin’s eyes, she did not hesitate. She immediately gave up control of Jean Grey’s body and returned it to its true owner.

Without the support of the Phoenix Force, Jean Grey’s body suddenly went limp and began falling from the sky. Li Congxin casually waved a hand, using his divine power to cancel out the force of her descent, allowing her to land safely.

The moment her feet touched the ground again, Jean Grey suddenly felt extremely cold. She instinctively hugged herself and looked around in confusion. "Oh my God! What happened? Is Mr. Clark really a villain who wants to destroy our world? I don’t believe it!"

"He isn’t, my child." Professor X stepped forward and explained, "We misunderstood Mr. Clark and the others earlier. In truth, what they did was correct—they were saving our world, while we were misled into obstructing them… The enemy we must face together now is Dormammu. He is the mastermind trying to devour our world."

Then he turned to Li Congxin and said, "Mr. Clark, may I invite you to stay at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters for a few days? We can discuss how to work together against Dormammu."

Li Congxin gently shook his head. Just as Professor X was about to give a disappointed, bitter smile, Li Congxin said, "There’s no need for cooperation. Dormammu has already been completely killed by me. However, there are loopholes in the laws of your world. Even without Dormammu, one day you might get a lesser Dormammu, or some kind of neither-more-nor-less-Mammu."

"To prevent something like Dormammu from happening again, I need to construct a Sky Punisher Sword Array in your world to resist invasions from outside gods and demons. However, during my battle with Dormammu, four of the six Sky Punisher Divine Swords serving as the array’s cores were severely damaged. I need a quiet place to reforge them."

Hearing this, Professor X immediately wore a sincere smile. "Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters welcomes you."

Indeed, Charles was quite good at handling people when he was in his right mind.

However, Li Congxin shook his head bluntly. "I have to make one thing clear first. I brought these people here, so I have an absolute obligation to ensure their safety. We can stay at your school temporarily, but if anyone attacks my people during that time, I won’t care whether they’re Mutants or ordinary humans… Do you understand what I mean?"

Professor X immediately understood Li Congxin’s concern.

Quite a few Mutants had died in today’s battle. Although none of the Avengers had died, many had been injured. The grudge had already been formed, and there was no guarantee that someone harboring resentment would not strike from the shadows.

Of course, besides the Mutants present, there were also potential enemies of the Mutants who might take advantage of the chaos to attack these visiting Avengers—such as the anti-Mutant faction led by Major William Stryker.

The meaning behind Li Congxin’s earlier words was equally clear. He had to guarantee the absolute safety of his people. No matter when or where, anyone who dared attack the Avengers—whether Mutant or ordinary human—would be killed, no matter how many there were. He would not consider the consequences, much less show mercy.

Professor X gave a bitter smile before finally nodding. "Since I invited you to the school, I’ll naturally be responsible for your safety. To be honest, I envy you. As superpowered people, you don’t seem to worry at all about being excluded or oppressed by ordinary humans."

"Achieving that is actually quite simple." Li Congxin did not mind sharing some advice. "First, exclude and suppress those who intend to exclude and suppress us, driving them down from the top of society. Then establish the idea of treating ordinary people and superpowered people equally as a form of political correctness. Naturally, there won’t be so many voices of opposition."

Li Congxin and Professor X reached an agreement in principle, which also signaled that the war had come to a complete end. Everyone began dispersing across the battlefield.

High in the air, Ghost Rider had come to help with his own supplies. Seeing that the battle was over, he immediately turned and walked toward his Flaming Batmobile. But then a white blur flashed before him, and Mindy, clad in white and carrying a golden spear, blocked his path.

His eyes, burning with searing hellfire, settled on the girl blocking his way. After a brief silence, he said in his distinctive hoarse voice, "Move."

"No!" Mindy shook her head firmly. Her large eyes remained fixed on the Flame Skull before her. "I sense something very familiar from you. You must be someone I know—someone I know very well."

"Tell me. Who are you?"

Ghost Rider remained silent.

Seeing this, Mindy grew bolder. She stepped forward and reached toward his skull, which was wreathed in blazing hellfire.

Strangely enough, as Mindy’s delicate hand approached, the hellfire around the Flame Skull began to dissipate, revealing a face with skin just like a human’s. It was the same old face that had often appeared in Hit-Girl’s dreams over the past ten years.

"Big Daddy!"

It turned out that this Ghost Rider was Hit-Girl’s father, Damon Macready!

He had not been burned to death by the villains in that warehouse. Instead, he had made a contract with Mephistopheles and transformed into Ghost Rider.

That was why, immediately after obtaining his power, he had gone to Frank D’Amico’s tower to take revenge. When Li Congxin and the others arrived, all they saw, besides the flames that had consumed everything, was the Batmobile that Ghost Rider had modified.

Mindy buried her head in her father’s chest and cried for five or six minutes, leaving everyone who saw it heartbroken and everyone who heard it in tears…

Only after a long while did the little girl finally raise her head. She turned to Li Congxin and asked, "Brother Clark, did you already know about this?"

Li Congxin gently shook his head. "I really didn’t. Later, when he appeared to save you, I had some suspicions, but they were only suspicions. I didn’t confirm them until today…"

This could not really be blamed on Li Congxin for being slow to realize it. He remembered that, in the original story, Ghost Rider had been a man named Johnny Blaze. Who would have thought the role would suddenly change hands?

He did not think he had done anything before then that could have affected Ghost Rider’s fate.

Ghost Rider reached out and stroked Mindy’s hair. In a gentle voice, he said, "Now you know the answer you wanted. I have to go, too."

"Why do you have to leave?" Mindy turned back, looking at her father unwillingly. "Can’t you stay and spend some time with me?"

"No!" Ghost Rider refused with absolute firmness, his tone leaving no room for argument. "I’m a jinx now. Anyone who gets involved with me will meet a bad end. I can’t hurt you, Mindy. You know that. Daddy loves you."

"But I can only protect you silently from the shadows. I absolutely can’t get too close to you. Otherwise…"

Seeing the father and daughter looking as if they were being torn apart forever, Li Congxin finally could not help interrupting. "Are you worried about Mephistopheles?"

Ghost Rider turned back and looked seriously at Li Congxin. "Thank you for taking care of Mindy all these years. Today is the first time we’ve met, but I have to admit that you’re very knowledgeable. Mephistopheles is a devil. You must stay far away from him."

"Looks like you don’t know much about me." Boundless confidence shone in Li Congxin’s eyes as he met Ghost Rider’s worried gaze. "Actually, Mephistopheles is the one who should stay away from me. He’s nothing more than a demon from Hell. If I want to, killing him won’t be difficult!"