[25] The Tiger & The Phoenix

Chapter 25: The Tiger & The Phoenix

—

Enrique didn't waste any time after deciding on Anna's admission. Just a week after the new year, as the holidays ended, he grabbed Anna and flew to Midtown High School.

The students were startled to see him descending from the sky. This was his third visit, yet the spectacle never failed to surprise them.

"Huh?"

"It's Supernova again!"

"Is he here for Parker?"

They were excited to see him, naturally. But they were surprised too. Because he didn't come alone, there was a passenger in his arms.

"Wait, who's that girl in his arms…? She's so hot."

"What the hell?! How dare you look at our Queen with bad eyes?"

"W-wait—ah! It hurts, stop—ah!"

It seemed Rogue caught most of the attention this time. Being in his arms as they landed, she drew the students' focus. This was her first time visiting, and her growing popularity over the past two months had clearly left an impression on the nation's youth.

Enrique ignored the commotion and landed near the entrance. A different group of kids rushed over, eager for autographs or selfies, but today wasn't their day.

"Later, kids." Enrique waved them off and flew past, narrowly entering the school and landing inside. "The Principal's office, anyone?"

He asked a nearby student, who stuttered before pointing westward.

"Thank you." Enrique nodded, continuing to fly until he found himself in front of a door. However, the sign above read [Teacher's Room] instead.

It seemed the nervous student had misdirected him. Regardless, Enrique gently lowered Anna to her feet and knocked on the door, hoping someone inside could help.

"Ah—? Come in." A strangely familiar voice called from the other side. Enrique frowned as he pushed the door open.

On the other side stood a red-haired woman with glasses, clutching a stack of books. The Host of the Phoenix Force looked at Enrique and Anna with a surprised expression.

"…Why are you two here?"

Enrique frowned deeply at her question. No, why in hell's name are you here?

[Image Here]

****

Enrique's first instinct was to leave immediately. While he was safe around mind readers, Anna was not. It wouldn't be good if this woman started digging through Anna's memories.

"Anna, pray." Before they left, Enrique nudged Anna's shoulder, prompting her to pray for protection from Mut.

"A-alright. Hi, Professor Jean." Anna cleared her throat, clasped her hands in front of her chest, and closed her eyes to pray aloud. "Our lord and savior, the great mother, please protect me from mind-reading evil witches…!"

"Good." Enrique patted her head as he felt a strange energy, possibly magic, envelop Anna's mind like a protective cocoon.

"…."

Meanwhile, Jean Grey remained still, blinking as she processed the scene. Soon, she sighed.

This level of protection wasn't something she couldn't break, but it wasn't something she could bypass without being noticed. If she tried to force her way through, Mut would be alerted, and Enrique would be notified. Enrique could then distract Jean long enough for Anna to escape.

Jean didn't look amused by this development and rubbed her temple.

"I just expressed my surprise, you know? The first thing I do when I see you two wouldn't be to barge into your heads. Am I really that untrustworthy? You two have a rather low opinion of us telepaths." Jean's tone was exasperated as Enrique continued to frown at her.

"I'd suggest you don't play the victim here. You took over Anna's body to sit on my lap two months ago, remember? It's a pity if you've forgotten. Perhaps next time you sit on me, I should give you an unforgettable experience."

Jean frowned and looked at Anna questioningly. "Anna, are you sure you're fine being with a man like this? Someone who speaks this way even with you right beside him?"

"Again, you're assuming things. You're speaking as if Anna and I are dating. Anna, are we dating?" Enrique glanced at Anna, who gently shook her head.

"We're not. Professor Jean, I don't mean any disrespect, but I agree with Enrique. Maybe he just wants a woman like you, since he's single. Why must you put him in a bad light? You'll hurt his feelings."

"…."

While Enrique looked at Jean with a mockingly pained expression, Jean gave both of them a dry look. She knew they were joking about the "hurt feelings," but she was uncertain about his earlier comment.

At last, she shook her head and sighed. "I swear, the way the media presents you two, you don't seem like a normal master and sidekick."

Enrique shrugged. "Media presents me nicely enough; it's social media that's the problem. Anna isn't even 18 yet, you know? How could we be dating?"

"Well…" Jean tried to reason it out but failed. In the end, she sighed again and apologized.

"Alright, sorry, it seems I made the situation uncomfortable."

"I don't really care. Speaking of, how did you know about my plan to admit Anna to this school? I didn't even tell her, so the possibility that you read her mind in the last two weeks and learned about it is nigh impossible." Enrique's direct question earned an annoyed look from Jean.

"Perhaps you're just paranoid, and this is a coincidence. Have you thought of that? I should be the one antagonizing you after what you did to the X-Men last time—but it's you who's calling me out."

Enrique remained nonchalant in the face of her barrage of words, which only deepened Jean's frown. Finally, she sighed once more as her frustration melted away.

"I'm on my professor training. As a professor at Xavier's School, I have to stay updated on how normal schools educate their students. This ensures the students at Xavier's School don't feel left out from the modern world."

"Aha."

"Yes, Mr. Nova. Not just me, but my fellow professors are also undergoing similar training. This year, there was a small change to the system. The owner of Midtown High happens to be a friend of Professor Charles, so he agreed to one of Charles' requests."

Enrique's frown deepened as he had a strange feeling about what Jean was about to say next.

"We've arranged for some students from Xavier's to come here as transfer students." She said. "They're not permanent, but a group of mutant students will study here twice a week."

Huh. Why did they suddenly decide this was a good idea? He was confused. As if his mental block no longer worked against Jean Grey, she answered the question blooming in his mind.

"Because we mutants are building a better reputation. And that's thanks to your heroic actions along with Anna, much as I hate to admit it. The human kids are becoming more open to us; superpowers are beginning to be seen as a gift rather than a curse, just as Professor Charles dreamed. So he planned this little move. Depending on the students' reactions, we'll decide on larger steps later."

"Okay," Enrique stepped forward. "Let me get this straight. Basically, this school's gonna be a mutant fest from now on?"

Jean looked a bit taken aback by his bluntness. She slowly answered, "Yes…?"

"Alright then, Anna. Let's leave." Enrique turned around, grabbed Anna, and started to walk away.

"Huh? Hey? Mr. Nova, listen here—" Jean called out, but Enrique didn't stop. Just as he was about to exit, the door slammed shut on its own. Jean had used her telekinesis to close it.

Enrique turned back with a frown. "Are you trying to instigate a fight?" 

"I am not. I'm simply delighted that you plan to admit Anna here, and it saddens me to see you go like this. Can't we talk about it?"

"Listen, what can I do? I don't want my girl growing up around a bunch of lowly, racist brats who think they're hot shit."

"…."

Enrique walked up to Jean and pressed a finger against her chest. "You know I'm not wrong. Your school tried to make mutant kids feel more confident, but instead, you only succeeded in creating racist brats who think they're an entirely superior race to humans."

Enrique knew the kids' thoughts weren't entirely unfounded—but that was exactly the point. Their mindset contradicted the whole purpose of what Xavier claimed to be teaching them. Enrique didn't want Anna to be around that.

There was another point, the main one: Superior race? No, they were not. Few mutants had useful powers, most were, as people said, freaks.

Enrique believed in individual superiority, not racial superiority. There were monkeys smarter than certain humans—did that mean the entire race of monkeys was superior to humans?

It did not.

So, if Anna Marie wanted to see herself as superior to others, Enrique Nova would teach her how to do that—in a competent way.

Before leaving, he decided to offer some advice to the Host of the Phoenix Force. "This is infighting, Miss Grey. Mutants are humans too, but with superpowers. Learn to think that way instead of assuming you're an entirely different race. Because there are truly different races out in the universe—races that are far from friendly. When they attack humans, they won't hold back just because you identify as 'Mutants.'"

Enrique spat these facts at her. Seeing her eyes flutter in doubt was a feast for his eyes, but he didn't linger to enjoy it. He wanted to leave. He was just about to turn towards the door when the red-headed woman grabbed his arm.

He frowned and turned to growl but was instead met with a pair of twinkling stars in her eyes.

The ends of Jean Grey's hair caught fire, her eyes blazing like twin suns. No, it wasn't Jean Grey anymore. Those eyes belonged to a Beast.

"Hey," 

The Phoenix had descended. 

Fuck.

"That was quite a great speech. I just wanna say I agree." Her voice was ethereal, a melody to his ears, but her expression was that of a devil. "However, I couldn't care less about any of that."

"...."

The Phoenix stepped closer, bringing her face near Enrique's. "Say, you met with that old tiger, didn't you? I can smell it. And that thing on the girl's neck… Isn't that the White Tiger's amulet?"

Enrique suddenly found himself in a very dangerous situation. Who could have predicted things would turn out like this? Well, part of him did expect it but had discarded the possibility.

Rulers of opposing forces, and therefore natural rivals. That was what the Phoenix Force and the White Tiger were.

Her hand wrapped around his forearm, protected by his indestructible suit, yet he could still feel the intense heat radiating from her palm.

The Phoenix's eyes bore into his, as if trying to peer into his soul, as if her mind was attempting to dive into his own. As if she wanted to know what he had discussed with the White Tiger.

…It seemed that while giving Jean a lecture, Enrique had entirely forgotten the monster that was hidden inside her.

At that moment, something strange began to stir in the deepest part of his being, and Enrique couldn't be sure if it was a good sign… or if the Phoenix had just dived into his mind.

X-x-X

With eyes fiery red, the Phoenix stared deep into Enrique's silver pupils. Enrique never expected to confront the goddamned Phoenix Force in this manner—certainly not today—but it was happening.

And it was happening in a way that left him far from holding the upper hand. He could die today.

The air in the room was thick with an oppressive aura, and neither Enrique nor Anna could move an inch. A telekinetic force weighed down on them like tons of steel, immobilizing their bodies.

What was it trying to do?

Was it trying to read his mind?

Enrique knew his 'blank' state wasn't entirely unreadable. The Great Weaver could read his surface thoughts. But then again, the Great Weaver could only read his surface thoughts. She was attuned to reading even the fate of the multiverse, so that level of power wasn't surprising.

Compared to that, was the Phoenix in its base form powerful enough to read his mind?

Should I just shoot Heat Vision into her eyes?

No. That's a bad idea. It's the fucking Phoenix Force in front of him, the personification of fire. How could it be hurt by a heat-related attack?

Behind him, Anna was gritting her teeth, her rage evident. She didn't like seeing his forearm burning. It hurt him too, but he couldn't even scream, so he just endured it.

So this is the face of true power?

The Phoenix Force. The peak of each universe in the Marvel multiverse. Was this it?

It felt… shallow.

Perhaps it was because the Phoenix was inside Jean, a human vessel? Enrique didn't feel fear. Or did this have something to do with his Tiger powers?

Looking again, wasn't he already in his beast form?

Suddenly, the Phoenix pushed deeper into him. Enrique was no telepath, but he felt it on the surface of his mind. And that's when it happened. A pure black aura erupted from Enrique's arm and entwined with the fiery energy pressing down on him.

Then, a natural reaction occurred. When two opposing forces meet, something loud and flashy is bound to happen.

– Boom!

Void and Light collided and exploded. A tremendous shockwave burst from between them, sending both flying backward, slamming into the wall and the door.

Enrique was the one who crashed through the door, breaking it and flying out into the hallway, where he hit the opposite wall.

"Ugh…" As he groaned, lying on his back, he realized he could move again.

This was his chance to escape. He tried to push himself to his feet, but he was caught off guard by someone standing right there in the hallway.

"Uh," Enrique exclaimed in surprise, seeing a man in a long black coat staring down at him with one eye. The other eye was covered by an eye patch, but even so, the shock was visible in his expression. However, he quickly masked it when Enrique greeted him.

"Hello?"

"...Hi, it's Nick Fury. The Director of SHIELD."

Why the fuck was he here?

****

The Asgardian God of Mischief, Loki, had come down to Earth.

Wielding the Scepter, the weapon that housed the Mind Infinity Stone, Loki had taken down a SHIELD facility.

Now, Loki was threatening humanity with the grandiose goal of conquering the entire planet Earth.

"...Motherfucker."

Naturally, the Director of SHIELD was losing his mind over all this.

Fury had barely escaped Loki earlier, but it cost him a few competent and important agents. Some died, and some were mind-controlled by Loki to aid him in his conquest.

At this turn of problematic events, the Avengers Initiative was the only solution Fury could think of. So, he started executing the recruitment process for the prior-planned Avengers.

Colson went to Stark. Romanoff went to Banner… Maybe I should have sent Hill here instead of coming myself?

Standing in the hallway, Fury barely contained his shock as he saw the powerful superhero lying on the floor.

Who did this?

Just then, Jean Grey, the mutant professor from Xavier's School, walked out the door. The ends of her hair were lit up with fire, and her eyes blazed with the same fiery intensity. Her cheeks were flushed red, but that was probably related to the fire too.

...Motherfucker.

Fury was standing a few meters away, so the girl didn't see him in her strange state. Or maybe she just didn't care.

Either way, it allowed Fury to slowly reach for his gun. He didn't know what was happening to her, but having met Jean once before, he knew this wasn't her normal self. She was under the influence of something—and that something was so dangerous that it had brought Supernova to the floor.

"Oh my~" Before Fury could grab his gun and fire, the strange Jean Grey dropped onto Enrique's lap. With him lying on the ground, she leaned in far too close to his face.

"How strong. You turned me on. I couldn't get into your little mortal head at all… Anyhow, that explosion really did make me horny. That power of yours, which you can't yet control, is very strong." 

While Fury stood there, gun in hand, Enrique was stunned on the floor as the strange Jean Grey leaned in... and kissed him deeply.

"Mhm~" The kiss lasted for a minute, growing deeper and rougher as time went on. Fury's surprise only grew when he saw Enrique's hands wrap around her butt, feeling her up.

Fury's eyelids twitched.

…Did he come at the wrong time? Were these two just engaging in some bizarre sexual play?

Was there no fight in the first place?

The kiss finally ended, and the girl raised her head to look at Enrique. Her lips were glossy with saliva, making her look even more alluring in the light from her flaming hair and eyes.

"A few decades, and you might just be worth a shot~ Goodbye, little darkness. Work hard and grow for me." She said, and Enrique stared at her silently. 

A few decades? If that was a cosmic entity's calculation, it should be fairly accurate.

Then according to my plans, which she isn't aware of, I suppose a few years should suffice.

Enrique thought as the being looked down at him, smiling. Then, the light vanished from her hair and eyes, and the real Jean Grey returned.

"...." Her butt was still being groped, which she realized after a second, but she was too shocked to move. That, and someone was watching them.

…Fury quietly put his gun away and decided to leave for now. He figured it was best to wait in the car outside the school and give these weird supers some alone time. After all, he had only coincidentally seen Enrique enter the school while he was passing by.

****

After the Phoenix left, Jean Grey was a flustered mess. Although the Phoenix had been in control, Jean still shared the five senses, so she was understandably shaken by all this.

However, she called them back into the office and pretended it had all been the Phoenix. Jean decided it was better to blame everything on that oddly horny cosmic being.

"I am really sorry. That must have been uncomfortable. The Phoenix has never done that before, to anyone, so I can't say why it did this to you. But please accept my apologies."

"It's alright." Enrique waved it off, while Anna silently hugged him.

This encounter had hit Anna the hardest. She now had a clearer understanding of just how weak she was in the grand scheme of things. She couldn't even protect herself, let alone try to save him. Even with the power to steal anyone's abilities, she was still so weak because she hesitated to steal people's powers permanently.

Her hug was tight around Enrique, and he could feel her emotions. So he didn't voice the few flirty lines he had in mind for Jean. It was better to console Anna right now.

"Anyhow," Jean sighed, rubbing her temple.

"I know it's a lot to ask after what just happened, but I still think it's better to put Anna in this school. If you're worried about Bobby or Cyclops, fear not—they're assigned to another school. It's just me as the professor, and a few other students who shouldn't have any issues with Anna." Enrique stared at her silently before nodding.

"I'm not outright rejecting the offer, since I like you more now. Anyhow, I'll think about it. After what happened today, it's entirely up to Anna where she wants to study."

"Huh? Like me more now…?" As the glasses-wearing, nerdy-acting Jean Grey muttered to herself, Enrique waved his hand and started to fly toward the window.

"Anyway, someone important should be waiting for me outside. If what I fear is true, then Anna and I will be quite busy soon. We'll talk more about this later. Goodbye."

With that, Enrique leaped out of the window with Anna in his grasp.

It was only after they left that Jean realized the room was a mess, and the door was broken. That… wasn't a good sign, especially for a new exchange professor.

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Author Note: We've Officially caught up to the original release!! So I'm hoping for continuous support from now on, with power stones and all. The next chapter will be on Tuesday, but if we score 150 powerstones in 24 hours, I'll post it tomorrow! 

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