At this moment, Ethan Cole had already achieved exactly what he intended.
Jean Grey's original personality had been suppressed, replaced by the darker consciousness born from the Phoenix Force itself. The balance between the two had shifted completely. The woman now standing before Ethan was no longer the gentle Jean Grey of before.
She was the Dark Phoenix.
In the original storyline, the Dark Phoenix was vastly more powerful than Jean Grey's normal state. Her mastery over the Phoenix Force exceeded the ordinary host by an enormous margin. When it came to pure control of the cosmic fire, the Dark Phoenix stood in an entirely different league.
Strictly speaking, the only one who could surpass her was Ethan himself.
By this point, Ethan had already reached the middle stage of the second tier of the Phoenix Force. His body could now absorb energy autonomously, constantly strengthening his power without conscious effort.
Even more impressively, his control over matter had reached a microscopic level.
If that level of control were measured by a clear standard, Ethan could now break matter down to the scale of individual cells. Of course, that still left a large gap between cellular control and true subatomic manipulation.
But for him, that distance would not take long to cross.
Because now he possessed something that would accelerate his growth dramatically.
The Dark Phoenix.
Although both of them wielded Phoenix power, the origins of their energy were different. Ethan's Phoenix Force came from a strange dimensional boundary, an existence that hovered between the present world and the outer cosmic layers beyond it.
The Dark Phoenix, however, drew her power directly from the deepest void of the universe.
Both were manifestations of the Phoenix Force, yet the meanings behind them were not identical.
Most importantly, Ethan controlled the Phoenix Force.
The Dark Phoenix had been born from it.
That alone created a fundamental difference between them.
Even so, their essence was still the same.
The Phoenix Force was their shared core. The only real distinction was that Ethan represented the origin of that power, while the Dark Phoenix functioned as its vessel.
The crimson optic beam fired earlier had already disintegrated before reaching them. The energy seemed to vanish into thin air, erased by an invisible force.
In reality, the energy hadn't disappeared.
Ethan had simply absorbed it.
Scott Summers stood nearby, furious.
His relationship with Jean Grey had always been complicated, but recently the two had grown very close. They were on the verge of becoming something more.
Now he was forced to watch the woman he loved standing in another man's arms.
Worse still, she showed no resistance.
Love could be blinding.
It could also be humiliating.
Scott's anger burned hotter with every passing second.
After hearing Ethan's words, the Dark Phoenix paused briefly. For a moment it seemed the remnants of Jean's original personality were still influencing her thoughts.
Then she glanced at Scott.
Her gaze carried no warmth.
"Let's go," she said calmly.
A faint smile appeared on Ethan's lips.
Right in front of Scott's eyes, Ethan slid the hand resting on Jean's waist slightly lower. His palm settled firmly against the curve of her hip before he nodded casually.
"Alright," he said. "Let's leave."
"No!"
Scott roared with rage.
Another optic blast erupted from his eyes, the powerful crimson beam streaking toward Ethan with destructive force. Unfortunately for him, the attack was completely useless.
Ethan waved his hand lightly.
The raging beam collapsed instantly, breaking apart into harmless fragments of fading energy.
He didn't even bother looking at Scott afterward.
Instead, Ethan leaned closer to the Dark Phoenix and kissed her lightly on the cheek. His expression carried an obvious hint of provocation.
Scott's face turned green with fury.
Ethan simply smiled.
Then, in the next instant, both he and the Dark Phoenix vanished.
They disappeared from Scott's sight entirely.
"No!"
Scott's roar echoed across the empty rooftop.
His voice was hoarse with rage as he unleashed another barrage of optic blasts into the sky. Crimson energy beams fired wildly into the distance again and again.
Of course he recognized Ethan.
But what he couldn't understand was why Ethan possessed the same Phoenix power as Jean. The discovery left him both shocked and furious.
After the two vanished, Scott continued venting his anger for several seconds.
Eventually, something seemed to occur to him.
He turned toward a certain direction as if preparing to chase them.
At that moment, however, a voice suddenly sounded inside the small communicator attached to his ear.
Scott froze.
As he listened to the message coming through the headset, his expression changed drastically. His fists clenched tightly, veins bulging in his arms as anger and frustration twisted across his face.
He glared fiercely toward the direction Ethan had disappeared.
But in the end, he had no choice.
Scott forced himself to turn away and leave.
The message from the communicator was simple.
Professor X had suddenly fallen into a coma for unknown reasons. Every member of the X-Men had been ordered to return to headquarters immediately.
Between Professor X and Jean Grey, the priority was obvious.
As Scott left, he cast one last resentful look toward a distant structure.
A towering sword-shaped skyscraper.
That building was Ethan Cole's residence. By now, almost everyone knew where he lived. His reputation had spread far too widely for his home to remain a secret.
Meanwhile, Ethan and the Dark Phoenix appeared inside the upper residence of that very building.
Jean's eyes moved calmly as she observed the sudden change in surroundings. However, she showed no sign of surprise. Teleportation was something she herself was capable of, so the experience didn't disturb her.
"From now on," Ethan said with a relaxed smile, "you'll be my companion."
"Okay."
Jean's voice was cold.
More accurately, it belonged to the Dark Phoenix personality, which held little emotional attachment to most things.
Ethan nodded with satisfaction.
"Then let's merge our powers," he said calmly. "I'm curious how much stronger we can become together."
This time the Dark Phoenix remained silent for a little longer.
Nearly a full minute passed.
Finally, she nodded slowly.
Without hesitation, she reached for the zipper of her combat suit and pulled it down. The tight suit slipped off her body, leaving her proud figure exposed to the open air.
.....
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