Compared to Jean Grey's Phoenix Force, Lucci's Origin True Fire is purer, more refined, and... more orderly!
If the Phoenix Force is like a primitive mountain range with endless mineral deposits, then the "True Origin of Fire" is a manual that teaches how to mine, smelt, and forge those ores precisely. This is a divine-level contrast! The difference between these two essences is like clouds and mud!
Lucci looked at the red-haired girl before him, a faint smile on his lips. As he raised his hand, a golden-red speck of divine light, no larger than a sesame seed, flickered at his fingertip. That tiny light contained the "Origin True Fire": Lucci's purest understanding and method of sensing, guiding, absorbing, transforming, and controlling.
"Relax. Don't resist." Lucci's voice echoed gently in Jean's mind. Instinctively, she closed her eyes. At that moment, Lucci's shimmering finger softly touched her brow.
Buzz—
That little golden-red light instantly melded into her body, transforming into a warm current that surged through her meridians and poured straight into the sea of her spiritual consciousness.
Her consciousness was layered with blockades! The spiritual barrier that had erected before the infinite heart domain was like empty air—easily pierced!
The "Origin True Fire Marvelous Art" finally surged in, manifesting as a roaring sea of primordial Phoenix fire!
"Now, don't be afraid—feel it." Lucci's voice reverberated deep in Jean's soul.
"Remember, Jean. You are the master of that power, not the other way around."
Boom—
Under Lucci's guidance, the "Origin True Fire" engraved in Jean's mind activated explosively!
For the first time, Jean Grey's consciousness wasn't passively enduring the Phoenix Force. Instead, following the method's guidance, she actively felt the rhythm of the sea of flames! She sensed the rage, the loneliness, the fury, and… behind it all, an endless craving for "life"!
Then she began to try—to guide that power!
Under this method's operation, the violent traces of the Phoenix were carefully stripped from the sea of fire. Then came "absorption" and "transformation"!
The once-destructive Phoenix Force was no longer pure devastation—it slowly began to integrate into Jean's soul and body as the purest nourishment!
Jean felt as if she'd opened the door to a new world! At this moment, her power began to grow at an unprecedented, stable, and controllable rate.
…
Outside.
The moment Lucci's finger touched the center of Jean's brow—
Buzz—
A golden-red wave of energy, visible even to the naked eye, radiated from Jean Grey's core!
Professor X, Hulk, and, in the distance, Hank, all felt their souls tremble as that energy wave swept past them, causing them to instinctively take several steps back!
"This is... this is..."
Hank stared at the scene in terror.
Across the lawn, Wolverine, Storm, and Cyclops instantly sensed the terrifying energy change!
"I feel it... an absolutely terrifying energy!"
Storm's face turned pale in an instant.
"It's Jean!" Cyclops, eyes glowing with lasers, stared at the young girl who had been alone since entering the school!
Then they witnessed a moment they'd never forget—a usually quiet, frail red-haired girl slowly rising from the swing, eyes closed. Around her, golden-red layers radiated like the wings of a mythical phoenix. Flames blazed!
Her red hair danced on its own, as if each strand were aflame! A vast, ancient, terrifying force expanded from her body! Under this pressure, the air twisted and boiled. The ground quaked slightly. The sky changed color!
Every mutant student was overwhelmed by this force! They gazed at Jean Grey as if she were a goddess born to the world, surrounded by the beautiful yet deadly Phoenix flames. Every face showed incomparable shock!
"Oh my god..."
"That's... is that Jean?"
"Her power... her ability is shockingly... terrifying?"
The only one standing before Jean was Lucci, with an unmoved expression. As that terrible power approached him, it softened like a spring breeze—automatically retreating, as if there were an inviolable domain around him.
While all the mutants were struck speechless by this power, their hearts filled with fear and awe, the girl floating in the air, bathed in endless Phoenix fire, slowly opened her eyes.
Hiss—
The moment her eyes opened, two dazzling golden flames flashed deep within!
If Jean had once been a warm, gentle jade carving, then at this moment, she was a peerless sword, sharp enough to cut the stars.
Her emerald eyes no longer held confusion or melancholy, but instead, unprecedented confidence, strength, and insight into all things... Sober, unclouded!
She was stronger than ever before!
For the first time, under Lucci's guidance with the "Origin True Fire," her consciousness truly fused with the power inside her body! She could feel the terrifying, violent energy within that golden-red sea of flames—the power of destruction and creation, capable of burning a planet and all life in an instant!
A surge of intense fear rose within her!
Finally, she understood! Why did Professor X go to such lengths to seal this power? Why had she always felt an inexplicable fear and anxiety since childhood?
Because she had always been standing at the edge of an abyss! Her body was a fragile glass bottle holding hundreds of millions of tons of high explosives!
Without Lucci and the Origin True Fire Marvelous Art he taught, she could foresee—when this power fully awakened, triggered by some opportunity or extreme emotion, her consciousness would be the first to be washed away by that violence! She'd become a mindless puppet, knowing only destruction! She would lose control, destroy the school, kill all her friends, and even the person she respected the most—Professor X. Then, she'd go on destroying until the whole world was gone...
Thinking of such a terrible outcome, Jean's soul couldn't help but tremble!
It was Lucci who pulled her out from the brink of an irrecoverable abyss!
He didn't just resolve the hidden danger within her body—he saved her soul and everything she had! He gave her... a new life!
With this thought, Jean slowly landed from the air. The Phoenix flames that had surrounded her body quietly condensed back inside, as if alive.
She stepped forward, standing before Lucci. And under everyone's utterly shocked gaze, the girl, like the Empress of Fire, bowed deeply to Lucci!
"Thank you!" Her voice was clear and melodious, full of endless gratitude and... worship from the depths of her soul.
"Thank you! You saved me! If it weren't for you, I would have been destroyed in ignorance! I can't even imagine how terrible that would have been!"
She looked up, golden flames flickering in her eyes, and stared seriously at Lucci.
"You didn't just save me. You saved Xavier's Gifted Youngsters School, the entire mutant race's future, and even the whole Earth... You are the savior of mutants!"
Those last words, spoken clearly from Jean Grey's mouth, seemed to freeze the world for an instant.
From afar, Professor X, hearing this heartfelt praise and watching Jean before him, was overwhelmed with shock! The enormous, hidden danger that had troubled him for decades, kept him anxious day and night—a cosmic storm that could destroy the world... had actually... truly been resolved so easily by Lucci!
Such a mighty power—if not a god, what else could it be?
After speaking, Jean gazed at Lucci's handsome face like a deity. After a moment's hesitation, she asked in a low voice, full of hope and a hint of dependence,
"I... I feel like you're so kind... like we're meant to be together... From now on... can I follow you?"
She spoke softly, but Lucci understood her meaning. He looked at the newly awakened girl before him, like a freshly hatched chick, and nodded gently.
"Yes," Lucci replied affirmatively.
A smile brighter than the sun blossomed on Jean's face, pure joy radiating from her heart! Her smile seemed to make the whole world brighter.
…
After resolving Jean Grey's hidden danger, Lucci's life fell into a kind of blissful trouble—because now, he had a beautiful little tail following him everywhere.
Lucci would be reading on the lawn, and Jean would quietly move a small bench to sit beside him, cradling her chin in her hands and gazing at him with eyes that could mesmerize any man.
When Lucci was in the principal's office discussing mutant enhancement plans with Professor X, Jean would serve tea and pour water like the most devoted maid, quietly listening from behind.
Whenever Lucci pointed out another mutant, Jean would follow and use her newly controlled Phoenix Force to create the most perfect energy simulation environment for their training.
She wished she could stick to Lucci 24/7. In her words:
"Your presence brings my powers unprecedented peace and comfort. Staying by your side is the best practice of all."
Lucci, for his part, had no choice but to accept it. After all, when a beautiful woman with power over the universe decided to follow you, refusing would be too inhuman.
And it wasn't just Jean. The entire X-Men and Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters entered an unprecedented golden age of explosive growth!
For example, Storm:
Lucci said to her,
"Your vision should not be limited to Earth's atmosphere. The wind is not just air currents. The flow of particles emitted by stars in space is the solar wind; the shockwaves from nebula explosions are the winds of the sea of stars. If you can sense those, your power will know no limits."
Just one sentence and a demonstration from Jean's simulation, and Ororo felt as if she'd opened the door to a new world!
When she reappeared before everyone, she raised her hand and a golden "solar wind" composed of high-energy particles appeared in the air above the training ground, instantly blasting special alloy targets into sky-high sand! Her power had taken a definitive step from "Earth level" to "galactic level"!
For example, Cyclops:
Lucci said,
"True energy use isn't about brute force, but precision of control. Straight lines are the lowest form. Why not bend your energy like water, split it, or even... entangle it into a web?"
He then translated a magical whip technique into a scientifically plausible principle and taught it to Cyclops. Scott was stunned, then threw himself into practice.
A week later, during a simulated duel, he opened his eyes and stared at a moving target. The red laser beam shot out, then arced in an astonishing S-shape, bypassing obstacles and hitting the target from behind! Everyone was shocked by this miraculous "curved laser"!
The biggest change was in Wolverine:
This wild warrior was crushed by Hulk's absolute power, but instead of being discouraged, his bone-deep stubbornness only intensified!
From that day on, he went to spar with Hulk every day.
"Big green guy! Again!"
Roar!
Bang!!
Then he'd get slapped away.
The next day—
"Big green guy! This time, I'll leave a scar on you!"
Roar!
Pow!!
He'd get pummeled to the ground.
Despite daily "deaths," Logan's mutant healing and beastly combat instincts allowed him to genuinely grow even stronger through this brutal regimen. His claw speed increased, his fighting skills became trickier, and his blocking ability grew ever tougher!
One day, Lucci looked at Logan's bruised and swollen face and suddenly said, "Logan, come here."
"What for?" Logan grumbled.
Lucci didn't answer. He pressed a hand to Logan's chest.
"The Adamantium alloy in your body, when fused, constantly produces trace toxins. Your healing can offset this, but it consumes most of your strength and recovery."
As he spoke, Lucci's palm shimmered with a strange fluctuation—the True Origin Flame, controlled with exquisite precision!
The original flame particles penetrated Logan's skin, muscles, and bones—right down to the microscopic level!
Logan felt a warm current surge through his body! He could distinctly sense toxins incompatible with his cells being stripped away, broken down, burned, and eliminated from his silver Adamantium bones!
The process didn't even take a second. When Lucci withdrew his hand, Logan felt lighter than ever! It was as if his healing factor had been released from shackles—its capacity instantly multiplying! He could feel his strength increasing greatly with this liberated vitality!
"This... this..."
Logan gazed at his hands in shock, feeling the surging power within, rendered speechless for a long time.
…
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