After returning home, Tony Stark immediately began researching new versions of the Iron Man armor.
He focused on developing different specialized models for various combat situations.
Tony had no idea that, somewhere else, a conspiracy against him was already taking shape.
At the same time, Aldrich Killian and Justin Hammer had begun preparing their revenge.
Killian had once admired Tony Stark.
Back then, he had idolized Tony as a genius and visionary.
But when Tony had mocked and ignored him years ago, Killian's admiration turned into hatred.
Later, he encountered Justin Hammer, who harbored his own deep resentment toward Tony Stark.
The two quickly found common ground.
They both wanted revenge.
Even after watching the military footage of Karl's battle with Carol Danvers, neither of them abandoned their plans.
Logically, they knew that attacking Tony Stark might bring them into conflict with the terrifying Gold Saint.
But hatred had already clouded their judgment.
They wanted Tony Stark to experience the humiliation they had once endured.
The ridicule.
The neglect.
The feeling of being dismissed as nothing.
However, neither Killian nor Hammer planned to attack Tony directly.
Killian continued working with Maya Hansen to perfect the Extremis virus.
At the same time, he secretly recruited individuals who held grudges against Tony Stark.
They understood that their own strength alone was far from enough to challenge Tony's current power.
Meanwhile…
At Karl's estate.
"Prophet!"
"We'll be heading back now!"
Thor raised the Tesseract.
"Next time I come to Midgard, I'll bring you some of the finest Asgardian wine!"
"Goodbye, Your Excellency Karl," Loki added politely.
Using a device connected to the Tesseract, the two activated the energy.
A burst of light flashed.
Then both of them disappeared from Karl's sight.
Karl simply smiled.
He didn't take Thor's enthusiastic promise too seriously.
Loki, however, had remained extremely polite toward him during the past few days.
Online discussions about Karl were still spreading across the world.
But Karl himself paid little attention to it.
The U.S. government also refrained from taking any action.
However—
An unexpected invitation arrived.
From the East.
At first, Karl didn't understand why they had invited him.
But after thinking about the Ruyi Jingu Bang in his possession, he quickly realized the reason.
He was of Asian descent.
He possessed a legendary weapon from Eastern mythology.
And he was now one of the strongest beings on Earth.
Naturally, the Eastern governments wanted to establish good relations with him.
Karl did not refuse.
After all, he had been in the Marvel world for quite a while.
Yet he had never visited the Eastern countries.
He was curious how different this world's East would be from the one he remembered.
Meanwhile—
The Avengers had also undergone some changes.
Tony Stark had effectively taken control of the team.
But a surprising new member joined them.
Peggy Carter.
She had replaced Steve Rogers.
Tony had no objections.
Even though Peggy was now the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Tony didn't consider her a threat.
After all—
Everyone knew Karl stood behind him.
S.H.I.E.L.D. would never dare openly manipulate the Avengers now.
After rescuing Steve Rogers earlier, Peggy Carter did not bring him back to S.H.I.E.L.D.
Instead, she drove him to a quiet small town.
There, she gave him several documents and a sum of money.
Then she left.
The meaning was clear.
Steve Rogers understood.
His era had ended.
He had already lost the power of the Super Soldier Serum.
Peggy did not hide the truth from him when he asked.
She told him everything.
Steve Rogers stood there in silence for a long time after hearing it.
Eventually, Peggy Carter simply turned around and left.
The reason she had saved him was simple.
They had once been comrades.
And once—
They had cared deeply for one another.
That was enough.
The current Avengers lineup had now become:
Iron Man — Tony Stark
Hulk — Bruce Banner
Hawkeye — Clint Barton
Black Widow — Natasha Romanoff
Thor — Thor Odinson
Peggy Carter — Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Thor eventually agreed to join the Avengers after Tony spent several days persuading him.
Tony had even invested heavily in Jane Foster's research projects.
In addition, he agreed to several conditions Thor proposed.
Karl did not interfere with this decision.
Though he was slightly surprised that Peggy Carter had joined the team.
Meanwhile…
At Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.
One night, when many of the X-Men were away on missions, William Stryker launched his operation.
He personally led a military unit.
His goal was simple.
To eliminate mutants.
Several military helicopters soon arrived above the academy.
Their roaring engines echoed through the night.
Charles Xavier and Logan quickly noticed the disturbance.
But before Charles could react—
A tranquilizer dart struck him.
He collapsed instantly.
Stryker's soldiers immediately carried Charles onto a helicopter.
The aircraft rose into the air, keeping him far from the academy grounds.
Stryker knew mutant abilities were unpredictable.
He intended to eliminate every possible risk.
Meanwhile, Wolverine, Pyro, Iceman, and Shadowcat fought desperately against the invading soldiers.
Most of their efforts focused on evacuating the younger students.
But they were outnumbered.
The academy was completely surrounded by military forces.
Even Wolverine's powerful healing factor could not keep up after being struck by multiple tranquilizer darts.
Eventually, Logan collapsed as well.
Seeing this, Shadowcat quickly grabbed Iceman and Pyro.
Using her phasing ability, she carried them through walls and floors to escape.
For now, escape was the only option.
They needed to wait until Cyclops, Jean Grey, Colossus, and the other senior X-Men returned.
Fighting Stryker now would only result in capture.
Stryker noticed that several mutants had escaped.
But he simply spoke calmly into his radio.
"Do not pursue them."
"Secure the prisoners."
"Bring all captured mutants back to the base."
Then he personally led a team into Charles Xavier's Cerebro chamber.
They dismantled the entire machine.
Piece by piece.
Stryker stared at the massive device.
Excitement flashed in his eyes.
Once he possessed Cerebro—
His plan would finally begin.
Soon afterward, helicopters lifted off from the academy.
They carried away the captured mutants.
And the dismantled Cerebro.
When Iceman, Kitty, and Pyro returned later—
The academy was already empty.
The once lively school had become silent.
None of them knew what to do next.
They could only wait for Jean Grey and the other X-Men to return.
Even though they were now members of the X-Men—
They were still only trainees.
They had no idea how to handle a crisis like this.
Now both Logan and Professor Xavier had been captured.
They didn't even know who the enemy was.
Furious and helpless, Pyro vented his anger by blasting a classroom wall with fire.
BOOM—
Suddenly—
The roar of a jet engine echoed across the sky.
A sleek black jet descended toward the academy.
Recognizing the aircraft, Kitty, Iceman, and Pyro immediately ran toward it.
The X-Men had returned.
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