The dust of the Pennsylvania wilderness was a world away now. Huang Wen stood amidst the silence of the forest, watching the last of General Ross's transport helicopters disappear into the gray horizon. The heavy lifting was done, but the fallout—both political and personal—was only just beginning.
"Well then, it's time for us to pack it in too," Huang Wen said, turning back toward the group of mutants who were still looking at him with a mixture of reverence and lingering fear. He glanced at the Hulk, who was currently sitting on a large boulder, looking quite pleased with himself. "By the way, Hulk, how did you even get out here? I don't remember seeing a ticket for you on the flight."
Hulk let out a booming, gravelly laugh and thumped his chest. "Hulk jumped! One jump, one mile! Many jumps, many miles!"
The green giant looked incredibly proud. It had been a while since he'd been allowed to stretch his legs like this. Ever since Bruce Banner had reunited with Betty Ross, the "Other Guy" had been shoved into a dark corner of Banner's mind. Banner had stopped training, stopped boxing, and focused entirely on trying to suppress the beast within. But today, the beast had been the hero, and he wasn't about to let anyone forget it.
"Impressive," Huang Wen praised, offering a genuine smile. He knew how important validation was for the Hulk's developing psyche. "You're definitely the fastest traveler I know who doesn't need a plane."
He then turned his attention to Logan, who was standing near Jean Grey, looking like a man who wanted to be in two places at once. "Uncle Wolf, what's the plan? Are you staying here to play ambassador for the new mutant nation, or are you coming back to the gym with me?"
Logan shifted uncomfortably. He looked at Jean, who gave him a soft, encouraging nod, and then back at Huang Wen. "I'll head back. I'm better at breaking things than building governments. Besides, if I stay here, I'll probably just end up getting into a fight with Summers again."
"Good choice," Huang Wen agreed. "I've got some things to discuss with you anyway."
With a casual wave of his hand, Huang Wen tapped into his spatial abilities. A shimmering light enveloped the small group—Huang Wen, Logan, Hulk, and Yuriko. In the blink of an eye, the desolate forest was replaced by the familiar, polished wood floors and the faint scent of incense at the Wing Chun Martial Arts Academy.
They hadn't even been back for ten seconds when a blur of movement hit Huang Wen's chest.
"You're back!" Belle cried out, her arms wrapping tightly around his waist. She didn't care about the Hulk or the brooding Wolverine standing nearby. She pulled back slightly, her sharp, intelligent eyes scanning every inch of him, looking for scratches or bruises. When she found none, her relief quickly turned into a pout. "You promised! You said as soon as you were done with your 'meditation,' you'd come straight to me. Instead, you go off to some middle-of-nowhere battlefield!"
Huang Wen laughed, patting her head gently. "I know, I know. I'm sorry, Belle. My strength took a bigger leap than I expected, and I had to go pick up our resident trouble-makers before they got themselves killed. How's the school life treating you? Not too boring, I hope?"
"Boring? No way!" Belle's eyes lit up instantly, her annoyance forgotten. "The university library is incredible! I've seen more books in the last month than I thought existed in the whole world. I've started a reading list, but it keeps growing faster than I can finish."
"You're planning to read the entire library, aren't you?" Huang Wen asked, a bead of sweat nearly forming on his brow. He knew her thirst for knowledge was bottomless.
"Well, yes. Is there a problem with that?" Belle tilted her head, looking genuinely puzzled. "If the information is there, why wouldn't I want to know it?"
"No problem at all," Huang Wen said quickly, waving his hands. "Actually, if you run out of physical books, talk to Silly Girl. She can hook you up with digital archives that would make the Library of Congress look like a pamphlet."
"Silly Girl has digital archives?" Belle's excitement hit a new peak. Without another word to her boyfriend, she turned and bolted upstairs, her mind already calculating the data transfer rates.
Huang Wen watched her go with a fond smile, then turned to find Logan watching him with a suspicious glare.
"Alright, Boss," Logan grunted, crossing his arms. "The girl is gone. What's the 'mutant affair' you needed to talk about? You had that look in your eye back in the woods—the look that usually means I'm about to have a very long day."
Huang Wen leaned against a training wooden dummy and smirked. "It's about Jean Grey, Uncle Wolf. I told her you'd be moving out soon. You know, once she gets a place set up in the new territory."
Logan's jaw dropped. "Moving out? Getting a house? With Jean? Boss, we haven't even had a conversation about what this is yet! You can't just go around promising my domestic services to people without asking me!"
"What are you so panicked for?" Huang Wen teased. "Are you planning on being an irresponsible deadbeat again? Because that's not the vibe I got when you were staring at her like a lost puppy earlier."
"I... it's complicated!" Logan stammered, his face turning a rare shade of red.
"It's about to get a lot less complicated and a lot more busy," Huang Wen's voice dropped to a more serious, gentle tone. He stepped closer and lowered his voice. "Logan, when I was sensing Jean's energy earlier—when her emotions were flaring up—I felt something else. A second spark. A life force nestled right inside her."
The world seemed to stop for Logan. His healing factor might have made his heart beat steadily, but right now, it felt like it had skipped several rhythms. "A second... spark? What the hell are you saying, kid?"
"I'm saying you've got a third one on the way," Huang Wen said softly. "You missed Yuriko's first years. You weren't there for Laz. Are you really going to tell me you want to miss this one too?"
Logan's brain seemed to short-circuit. For a man who had lived nearly two centuries, he looked remarkably like a deer in headlights.
Slap!
A sharp sting across his cheek snapped him out of it. Yuriko was standing right there, her expression icy. "I'm moving in too," she stated flatly. "Someone has to make sure the mother is safe while you're busy being an idiot. And I want to meet my sibling from day one."
"Oh... oh, right. Yeah. Of course," Logan muttered, completely dazed. He didn't even argue about Yuriko moving in, which would undoubtedly lead to a very crowded and very dangerous household.
Just as the domestic drama reached its peak, the sound of a high-performance engine screeched to a halt outside the academy gates.
Huang Wen glanced toward the window. Outside, a sleek, custom-built luxury car had pulled up next to the graveyard of five other sports cars that John had frozen and thawed over the past few months.
The door opened, and a figure clad in red and gold stepped out. The mechanical whir of the Iron Man suit was unmistakable, but as the helmet retracted, the face underneath wasn't the cocky, grinning billionaire the world was used to.
Tony Stark looked like death warmed over. His skin was pale, almost translucent, with dark, spider-webbing veins creeping up his neck from beneath his shirt. His eyes were sunken, and he walked with a slight tremor that the suit was clearly working overtime to compensate for.
John, who had been downstairs dealing with some administrative tasks, blocked the entrance. He looked at Stark with a deep sense of irritation. "You again? I thought the Boss made it clear he was busy."
Stark didn't fire back with a witty remark. He just looked at John, his breathing a bit shallow. "I know he's back. Jarvis saw the energy signature. Just... tell him I need a word. Please."
John paused. The "please" was what did it. Tony Stark didn't say please. John tapped his watch, sending a quick ping upstairs.
A moment later, Huang Wen's voice crackled through the intercom. "Bring him up to the fourth floor, John."
"Follow me," John said, his tone softening slightly as he led the armored billionaire through the halls.
As they rode the elevator, a voice whispered from Stark's wrist. "Sir, I am detecting a highly sophisticated AI presence within this building. Its architecture is unlike anything in my database. I believe this is the entity that breached our security months ago."
"Not now, Jarvis," Tony whispered, his voice cracking. "I don't care about the tech right now. My blood toxicity is at 84 percent. If I don't get an answer here, there won't be a 'later' to worry about security."
The elevator doors opened to the fourth floor. Huang Wen was waiting, standing by the large window overlooking the city. He turned as Tony walked in, and his eyebrows shot up. He knew Tony was supposed to be sick during this arc, but seeing the physical toll of the palladium poisoning in person was a different matter entirely.
Tony took a few shaky steps forward, then leaned against a training rack. He forced a weak, self-deprecating smile.
"You're a hard man to track down, Huang," Tony said, coughing into his hand. "I've been knocking on your door for three months. I've sent emails, I've sent lawyers, I even considered buying the block just to get a meeting. This is officially the most effort I've ever put into seeing another man."
Huang Wen looked him over, his gaze sharp. "You look terrible, Tony. I assume you're not here to ask for Wing Chun lessons."
Tony unlatched the chest plate of his armor, revealing the glowing triangular arc reactor and the dark, necrotic lines radiating from it. "I'm dying, Huang. My own heart is poisoning me, and I've run out of elements to try. You... you're the guy who does the impossible. You deal with aliens, monsters, and gods. I'm hoping you have something in your pocket that's better than green juice and hope."