Chandilar, Throneworld of the Shi'ar Empire
The great dome of the Imperial Court shimmered with a soft golden hue, filtering the twin suns of Chandilar into a cascade of radiant beams.
Beneath its vaulted ceiling, Majestor D'ken Neramani sat upon the obsidian throne studying the holographic war-table flickering before him, depicting a three-dimensional rendering of Earth's solar system.
His High Chancellor stepped forward, robes billowing behind him, his hands folded in reverent anticipation as he spoke,
"The Death Commandos have arrived within the target system," he reported, voice like polished steel, "They are currently phasing along the shadow edge of the local star. Their warp trail was masked according to protocol. No known Earth defense systems detected the entry. They will complete their mission soon."
D'ken's fingers curled under his chin, his eyes gleaming with that distant madness that came with centuries of calculated cruelty, "Soon… yes. That place has birthed far too many anomalies and now the Phoenix is there. I can't wait to hear the mission successful message."
He stood, letting his voice echo across the grand chamber.
"This time, we will prune the vine before it bears fruit."
"Shall we prepare the next wave?" the Chancellor asked.
D'ken's smile was like a blade unsheathing.
"No. If they succeed, there will be nothing left to escalate."
Back on Earth – Madripoor
The moment they crossed into the solar system, Maxim felt it.
A ripple, deep and silent through the astral currents, like a pebble cast into a still, sacred pond. No sensors triggered. No satellites pinged.
But Maxim knew because of the Mind Stone. He always had the stone active, pulsing out waves of its power to sense when potential attackers arrived, and it had just picked up on them.
Ten presences. Quiet. Cold. Focused.
He stood alone on the upper balcony of his estate, overlooking the silver curve of Madripoor's bay. But his mind was elsewhere. Reaching.
Through thought and will, he wrapped his consciousness around the intruders like a cloak of silk, and whispered.
"I see you."
And they paused.
The Shi'ar Death Commandos, elite killers bred for silence and efficiency, felt the alien presence press into their minds.
They immediately tried to react, as this was an unprecedented situation. A foreign force invading their mind and immediately threatening them as soon as they arrived was a dangerous situation.
Especially as they arrived and no-one but their Empire was supposed to know, meaning someone on Earth was advanced enough to detect them.
However, it was already too late, Maxim used the Mind Stone to guide their thoughts, whispering directions as if it were their own instinct.
Without knowing why, they adjusted course, veering away from the palace. They descended toward a wide, rocky plateau near the southern cliffs, isolated, far from civilians. A battlefield of someone else's choosing.
Maxim inhaled slowly. He had made his move.
He turned and walked back inside the estate. Down the long halls. Through the reinforced psychic gates. Until he reached the Phoenix Chamber.
It was a makeshift room he had made over the last two days, using advanced alloys and the Mind Stone to create an environment to maximize Jean's training efficiency.
It had proven useful so far, as Jean barely, if ever, left the room once it was created, spending the majority of her time in their training.
Once he arrived, he saw Jean there, sitting cross-legged in the center of a marble disc, hovering inches above the floor.
Phoenix flames flickered across her shoulders like resting wings, and constant waves of psychic energy emitted from her. Once she sensed Maxim, she opened her eyes and stared at him.
"They're here," she said as soon as she saw his expression.
"They are," Maxim replied. He had already told her all of the potential dangers that could be upcoming after some thought.
"Ten of them. Elite assassins. I diverted them to the cliffs." He said.
Jean floated gently back down, her boots touching the floor without sound. "How soon until they strike?"
"They're already landing," Maxim said. "They'll regroup before making their move. We've got about ten minutes, maybe less."
Jean stood still, arms at her sides, her fingers twitching once with residual psychic tension. "What are they?"
"Shi'ar Death Commandos," he said, "Designed for assassination. They were bred to kill beings like you. They won't stop until you're gone."
She exhaled slowly, absorbing the weight of that. Then she looked up, meeting his gaze.
"Are you going to fight them alone?"
"I can," Maxim said simply, "But I thought I should ask."
Jean tilted her head, searching his face. "Why?"
"Because they're here for you," Maxim replied. "Because I won't force you into battle, not like Charles used to. But I'm going, whether or not you do. And I know part of you wants to end this running. You said you'd feel the right time."
She was quiet for a long moment. Then she stepped toward him.
"I'm done hiding," she said, "Let's show them what happens when you hunt a Phoenix."
A small smile tugged at Maxim's mouth. "Then follow me."
***
Southern Cliffs of Madripoor – Ten Minutes Later
The heat of the sun beat down against the windblown plateau. Jagged stone outcroppings jutted like teeth from the earth, and beyond them, the sea churned against the rocks far below.
The Shi'ar had landed in precise formation, their boots silent against the stone. Their armor was sleek, black with indigo piping, and each one bore a different weapon, plasma blades, psi-disruptors, hyperdense grav-knuckles.
Their faces were hidden behind visors shaped like the wings of the Shi'ar crest. They looked around for any signs of danger. Once Maxim's psionic control wore off, they knew they were in a lion's den.
They said nothing.
They didn't have to.
The air shifted and Maxim appeared first, stepping from thin air as if the world had made space for him.
Clad in dark tactical armor edged in silver veins of psionic light, he stood tall, his expression calm. The wind tousled his dark hair slightly as his eyes flared with golden power.
Behind him, flames erupted, and Jean stepped forward.
She hovered just above the ground, a corona of fire blooming behind her like a star being born. Her eyes were lit from within, golden embers sparking beneath the green. She wasn't out of control. Not wild. But powerful.
Complete.
The ten assassins raised their weapons.
Maxim raised a hand, and the battlefield changed.
With a thought, he rewrote the gravity, sealing the edge of the cliffs with invisible barriers. No escape. No witnesses. No reinforcements.
"This is your only warning," he said. "Leave. Now, or I'll be sending your bones back to where you came from."
The commandos charged as they heard that. The first bolt of plasma screamed through the air, and Jean caught it mid-flight, folding it inward and launching it back in a blaze of fire. It struck one assassin dead center, erupting in a burst of heat and psionic dissonance.
Maxim vanished in a blur, reappearing behind another, his blade of pure thought slicing through armor like paper. The warrior didn't even have time to scream.
They moved in unison. Jean's flames tore through the sky, sweeping the cliffs in arcs of burning light. Maxim's movements were surgical, his strikes deliberate. He used telekinesis, time dilation, teleportation, every advantage.
One of the Death Commandos fired a null-field that dampened psychic fields. Maxim countered with a wave of Mind Stone power that shattered it and left the user clutching his head, brainflooded with his own memories that caused him to screech in pain.
Another tried to cage Jean in an anti-energy trap, but her willpower overwhelmed it, breaking the construct with a scream that echoed across the sea.
The battle was very one sided, with Maxim and Jean easily taking them down until 9 of them were knocked out cold, and only one of them remained conscious.
That one was on one knee, its armor cracked, visor shattered.Maxim approached him slowly, eyes still glowing.
"Tell your empire," Maxim said, voice low, "Tell D'ken. If he sends more… they won't return, like your teammates over there."
Maxim said, wrapping the 9 of them in a bind that would keep them knocked out under his control until he felt his necessary to wake them up.
it wasn't everyday he had a group of highly advanced aliens he could memory read and learn more about, so keeping them was valuable.
Plus, it would send a big message to the Empire about his strength. Of course, Maxim wasn't going to just let them attack him the entire time, soon would be his moment to counterattack.
Meanwhile, the warrior hesitated for a moment, but it knew there was zero chance it could succeed, and Maxim could easily force him away anyway, so it eventually teleported using Shi'ar technology.
Jean hovered down beside Maxim, the wind catching her hair as her flames slowly withdrew.
"That… felt right," she said. "Not vengeance. Not fury. Just… balance."
Maxim gave a slow nod, his gaze lifting toward the horizon.
"This was just the beginning. Soon, we'll be going on the offensive."