At the Rasputin family farm, Amon leaned against a sun-drenched wall, basking in the warmth. Mikhail had been safely returned, and with one of his clones now possessing the Commander at the Space Agency, Amon had no further worries about his nominal brother's safety. It wouldn't be long before the news of Mikhail's well-being officially reached his parents, finally putting their minds at ease.
Suddenly, a pair of small hands reached out from within the wall behind Amon, playfully covering his eyes.
"Hehe, Amon, guess who I am?" a cheerful voice chirped.
"I guess it's a Charmander!" Amon played along with a guess.
"Wrong guess! It's Ilyana!"
Ilyana's entire body phased through the solid wall and she pounced onto Amon's back with a giggle.
"Amon, you're so boring," she declared. "You're always just looking at the sun. Look at me! I can walk through walls now!"
To demonstrate her newfound ability, Ilyana walked toward the wall, seamlessly disappearing into it, and then casually walked out of it again.
"Amazing! Amazing!" Amon clapped his hands and praised her.
"Amon, why do I feel like you're not really praising me?" The girl pouted; she always felt as though Amon wasn't genuinely praising her, but rather mocking her in a subtle way.
"Of course I'm praising you," he said with a smile. "You're my dear younger sister!"
"It's older sister!" Ilyana instinctively retorted at the mention of being the younger sibling.
After some more playful banter, Ilyana sat down beside Amon, her expression suddenly turning downcast. "Amon, is our brother really still alive? Dad and Piotr didn't say anything when they came back. Did our brother die?"
"Our brother is definitely still alive," Amon assured her. "He's on his way home right now."
"I'm not a child anymore," she mumbled. "You're just trying to comfort me, aren't you!"
"How could that be? What I'm saying is absolutely true." Amon paused, then adopted a joking tone. "Ilyana, actually, I'm a reincarnated god. I can grant any wish you have. You can wish for our brother to return safely."
Ilyana clearly didn't believe him. She pouted and said, "You, a god? I don't believe it. If you're really a reincarnated god, then I am also a fairy queen!"
"You still don't believe me? Then I'll have to show you." With that, Amon placed his hands under his chin and whispered, "I wish for us to travel into the galaxy and witness the beautiful cosmos!"
As his words fell, their surroundings first blurred, the sun vanished, and the void around them was suddenly dotted with countless brilliant stars, forming a breathtakingly beautiful galaxy.
"Wow! It's so beautiful!" Ilyana exclaimed, her eyes wide with wonder. She had never seen such a magnificent sight.
"See? I didn't lie to you," Amon said with a proud smile.
"Mhm, mhm," Ilyana was completely captivated by the beautiful scenery, only managing a simple two-word reply.
After a while, Ilyana came back to her senses. She looked at Amon, her eyes now filled with adoration. "You really can grant wishes! Then, I want to make a wish to you: I hope our brother Mikhail can come home safely!"
Clap!
Amon clapped his hands together. "Alright, your wish has been granted. Our brother is on his way home right now!"
"Thank you, Amon!" the girl whispered, wiping away the tears that had formed in the corners of her eyes.
"Alright, don't cry," Amon said gently. "Oh, and don't tell Mom and Dad about what happened today; they'll only worry. And don't tell Piotr either! And definitely don't tell them about you being able to walk through walls, yet!"
"Mhm!"
Illyana trusted amon and she would do whatever he asks of her.
Mikhail was in a car, on his way home. He felt that the recent events of his life had been too surreal to comprehend: a disastrous accident during a lunar mission, being trapped in another world for over a month, being rescued by a suspected divine being, and then his sudden return to the Space Agency.
He had fully expected to be subjected to extensive interrogation. After all, their experience was too fantastical, involving both a world made of toys and a mysterious, powerful entity. But unexpectedly, after only a brief record-taking, he was informed that everything was fine and that he had been granted a month's leave. He had asked the Commander-in-Chief about it, and the Commander's explanation at the time was simply, 'You've been missing for over a month. Your family is very worried. Hurry home and see them!'
He forced himself to stop thinking about those strange things because they were almost at the farm. He wondered how Amon and Ilyana were doing; it had been a full year since they had last met.
"Il! Over here!"
Soon, the car arrived at the farm. From the vehicle, Mikhail saw his entire family waiting for him. The news of his return had been sent to his family a day in advance, so Amon and the others were all waiting outside to greet him.
Quickly parking the car, Mikhail didn't even bother with his luggage. He first ran over to hug his parents, then gave Piotr a firm, brotherly bump. Mikhail then turned his gaze to the two youngest members of his family on the side.
"Hi! Amon, Ilyana, did you miss your big brother?"
"Hmph! Dont you dare go missing again or else, i won't talk to you!"
"I am happy that you came back safely," Amon added calmly.
"Haha! Amon is still the sensible one," Mikhail laughed. "Your brother won't go missing again. This time, I have a whole month's leave, so I'll be sure to play with our little princess properly!"
Piotr took Mikhail's luggage from the car and said to the group, who were chatting animatedly, "Brother, let's not stand outside in the cold anymore. Let's go inside and catch up properly. You can tell us all about your experiences during this time."
"Okay!"
Meanwhile, far across the ocean in the United States, in Westchester County, New York, at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.
Professor Charles Xavier, still possessing his full head of beautiful black hair, emerged from the Cerebro chamber. Every so often, he would use the powerful device to search for mutants around the world, inviting them to the X-School to be educated and helped in mastering their unique abilities.
Beast, Hank McCoy, came up behind Charles, pushing his wheelchair. As they walked outside, he asked, "Professor, did you find any new mutants?"
"I found three, and they seem to be a family, all together. But the location is a bit far, in Siberia."
Hearing this, Beast continued to ask, "Should we go and invite them now?"
Charles waved his hand, dismissing the idea. "No, we'll go after tonight's evening class. If we go now, it will still be nighttime there due to the time difference. We can't disturb their rest."
"You have a point. Haha, you're still so thoughtful, Professor."
It was already the next day at the Rasputin family farm. Mikhail's excuse for his disappearance to his family was that during a mission on the Moon, they had encountered a small solar flare. The powerful electromagnetic shock had damaged many of the spacecraft's instruments, causing them to lose contact with Earth. It had taken the cosmonauts a long time to re-establish contact with Earth and successfully return.
Now, Ilyana was being taken out to play by Mikhail. Amon didn't join them, choosing instead to enjoy the rare opportunity to quietly bask in the sun alone.
Suddenly, Amon's eyes narrowed. He sensed something approaching. After carefully sensing it, he thought to himself, 'Such strong psychic power. It's the same person as last night. On Earth, the only being with such powerful psychic abilities could be Professor X! Is he here to recruit students after sensing that Piotr and the others have become mutants?'
Soon, a loud roar echoed from the sky. A sleek, black fighter jet, clearly far beyond the technology of this era, descended from the sky and landed gracefully on the open ground in front of the farm.
The cabin door of the fighter jet opened, and Professor Charles Xavier, dressed impeccably in a suit, was pushed out of the plane by Beast. It was a mystery how Professor X could disembark from the plane wearing only a suit in the frigid Siberian weather. Perhaps he was wearing thermal underwear.
Seeing Amon, Professor X signaled for Beast to push the wheelchair over.
"Child, is that your home?" Professor X asked Amon, pointing at the farmhouse behind him.