Meanwhile, elsewhere—
Justin Hammer and Aldrich Killian had not abandoned their plans for revenge against Tony Stark.
During Karl's rise to power, the two men secretly found someone capable of challenging Stark.
The Mandarin.
This was not the fake Mandarin that Killian had once created as a front in another timeline.
This was the real Mandarin, the mysterious warlord who controlled the legendary Ten Rings.
It was the same man whose organization had once kidnapped Tony Stark in the Middle East.
Convincing the Mandarin to cooperate had come at an enormous cost.
Hammer Industries had nearly exhausted its remaining resources in order to secure the alliance.
Afterward, the three began planning their revenge.
However, before confronting Tony Stark, they first intended to complete their research on the Extremis virus.
Only then would they move against Stark Industries.
The Mandarin himself had very little knowledge about Karl's true strength.
Hammer and Killian had intentionally hidden any footage of Karl's battles.
They never showed him the videos of Karl fighting Captain Marvel or Dark Phoenix.
Because of that, the Mandarin believed Karl was simply another powerful superhero—nothing more.
Meanwhile, he himself possessed the Ten Rings.
Each ring held a different supernatural ability.
With such power in his possession, he felt completely confident.
In fact, he even looked down on the overwhelming admiration Karl received online.
Another reason for his ignorance was the global suppression of information.
Governments and militaries had deliberately blocked most recordings of Karl's cosmic battles.
As a result, very few people still possessed the footage.
But the Mandarin had his own ambitions.
His true goal was Stark Industries.
Once the world's largest weapons manufacturer, Stark Industries still possessed unmatched technological influence.
If he could control Stark's company, the Mandarin could mass-produce advanced weapons.
With that power, he believed he could one day rule the world.
Years ago, the Mandarin had accidentally discovered an alien spacecraft and obtained the Ten Rings.
If that accident had not occurred, he might have died long ago.
The rings had granted him a second life.
But they had also amplified the darker desires buried within him.
Since he had only possessed the Ten Rings for a relatively short time, the sudden gain of power had caused his ego to grow rapidly.
That arrogance was precisely why he had formed the Ten Rings organization in the Middle East and acted recklessly.
It was also why his subordinates had dared to accept Obadiah Stane's deal and kidnap Tony Stark.
At the time, the Mandarin had not even known that Tony Stark himself had been captured.
If he had known, he would never have allowed Stark to escape so easily.
That incident was also one of the reasons he agreed to cooperate with Hammer and Killian.
Meanwhile, back at Karl's side—
After finishing her research on the Divine Tablet, Yan eventually returned it to Karl.
Karl then teleported with her to the island he had purchased.
There, he instructed her to begin constructing the Skyblade VII using vibranium and adamantium.
Wakanda had already begun assisting with the project.
They constructed a concealed energy shield around the island and continuously supplied vibranium shipments.
Meanwhile, additional adamantium was purchased, refined, and transported to the island for Yan's use.
After delivering the materials and instructions, Karl teleported away.
Yan glared at him with murderous intent as he vanished.
Although she possessed the full construction data for the Skyblade VII, building such a celestial warship alone would take considerable time.
The Wakandan workers were responsible only for transporting materials.
They had no involvement in the actual construction process.
After returning to his manor, Karl spent several peaceful days with Black Phoenix and the others.
Until one day—
Charles Xavier arrived at Karl's manor.
He was accompanied by two people:
Magneto—still frozen in the state Karl had previously sealed him in.
And Scott Summers.
Scott had wanted to come for a long time.
He had always loved Jean Grey.
But Jean had never truly reciprocated his feelings.
In this universe, Jean and Scott had never become a couple.
Nor had she developed a romantic relationship with Logan.
So when Charles finally came to see Karl, Scott insisted on accompanying him.
Karl naturally had no intention of avoiding them.
In fact, he was curious about something.
He wanted to see Charles's reaction when he saw the current Black Phoenix.
After all, Charles had always treated Jean like a daughter.
But the woman before him now—
Was no longer the Jean Grey he had known.
Karl believed Charles understood that perfectly.
Which was exactly why Karl was looking forward to seeing his expression.
"Charles," Karl said casually while sitting on the sofa.
One arm rested around the waist of the mature and captivating Black Phoenix beside him.
"What brings you here?"
"You're not here to exchange lifespan, are you?"
Karl had grown increasingly fond of the Black Phoenix.
She seemed to understand his thoughts effortlessly.
Occasionally she even played along with his teasing.
And her mature beauty made her difficult to resist.
Charles looked at them calmly.
"Well," he said gently.
"Could you please release Eric from the freezing state you placed him in?"
"And I would also like to ask about… Jean's condition."
Scott stood nearby, his expression dark.
Seeing the woman he had once loved resting in another man's arms like a gentle bird was not easy for him to accept.
If Karl had been anyone else, Scott might already have shown him why people called him "Cyclops."
Before Karl could answer—
The Black Phoenix suddenly erupted with red energy.
"Jean is dead!"
Her eyes burned with anger as she glared at Charles.
"Old man!"
"From now on, my name is Phoenix!"
"And if Karl hadn't stopped me before…"
"I would have killed you already!"
"You locked me inside that mental cage for so long!"
"I haven't even settled that score with you yet!"
Her voice was filled with fury.
Karl gently pulled her closer.
"Alright, Phoenix."
He then looked back at Charles.
"I can release Eric."
"As for Jean… she's probably dead, just like she said."
"But since Eric is here, there are two people he should probably meet."
Karl turned his head slightly.
"Honey, go call Wanda and Pietro downstairs."
After all—
Magneto was their father.
Whether they chose to acknowledge him or not was their own decision.
Charles sighed quietly.
"Alright."
"Thank you."
He had seen the hatred in Phoenix's eyes.
And Karl's words made the situation very clear.
Scott, however, had gone completely pale.
Jean was dead.
He couldn't accept it.
Without saying another word, he turned and rushed outside.
Karl casually raised his hand toward Magneto.
A stream of blue energy flowed from his palm and entered Eric's frozen body.
The ice-like seal quickly dissipated.
Moments later, Magneto slowly returned to normal.
When Eric saw Karl, his body instinctively tensed.
But after noticing Charles beside him—and realizing he was no longer in the original base where he had been captured—Eric understood what had happened.
He had lost.
Charles must have come to ask Karl to release him.
After a long sigh, Eric simply sat down on the sofa.
Just then—
A red glow appeared at the staircase.
Wanda Maximoff floated down slowly, surrounded by swirling crimson energy.
"Karl," she said playfully.
"Who did you call us down here to meet?"
"We're still in the middle of class."
As she approached Karl, Black Phoenix immediately returned to his side and leaned into his arms again.
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