Marvel: Master Of Role-Playing

"You really weren't going to give in that easily, were you?"

Jean wasn't surprised by the scene before her. Even though she had never truly interacted with Reid, the version of him in her heart had been shaped entirely by her own imagination. But once she realized that the one in her mind was nothing more than a fantasy, it was only natural that she'd start guessing what the real one was like.

She wanted Reid to stay by her side because of all those years of imagining him. She wanted to fulfill that long-held desire. But at the same time, she wanted the man who stood by her to be someone strong and unshakable.

If one word from her was enough to make him submit, she wouldn't be able to accept that.

She looked at 'Hal' and Diana, who stood beside Reid, both ready for battle. Her instincts told her that the weakest link among them was the man in the green suit.

Without hesitation, Jean launched her attack. Invisible telekinetic force surged forward like a powerful shockwave aimed directly at the man.

'Hal' reacted instantly. The Green Lantern ring on his finger glowed brightly, forming a green energy shield to block the incoming force.

However, Jean's instincts had been spot on. 'Hal' was, in fact, the weakest of the three.

According to the New 52 storyline, Green Lantern's combat ability would be on par with Superman and Wonder Woman, right at the top tier, slightly above Aquaman.

But the one that Reid's clone was portraying wasn't quite the same. With other characters, as long as he started the role-play, he would receive their full abilities.

The Martian Manhunter had natural psychic powers from his race. The Joker had a unique body altered by his experiments with laughing gas. Batman had honed his skills through years of relentless training.

All of those powers were tangible and real.

But Hal, as a Green Lantern, got his strength from the power ring.

The clone had automatically obtained a Green Lantern Ring when he played the role. And this version of the ring didn't require recharging like in some versions of the lore.

Still, truly unlocking its full potential was something only Hal himself could do. Even though the clone was playing as him, he wasn't the real Hal Jordan.

The Green Lantern ring's power came from strong willpower, a righteous heart, and a vivid imagination. Aside from willpower, the clone fell short in the other areas compared to the real Hal. Naturally, that meant he couldn't bring out the ring's full strength.

The green shield shattered the moment it collided with Jean's telekinetic blast, and 'Hal' was blown away by the impact. If not for the green armor that had formed around him, the force alone would've severely injured him.

As he was sent flying, Reid and Diana launched their counterattack.

Diana, with a body as strong as Hercules and wielding the god-forged sword of Hephaestus, struck with power even Jean dared not meet head-on. She had no choice but to retreat quickly.

But that retreat meant she had completely lost the upper hand.

Reid closed the distance in an instant. As heat vision shot from his eyes, his raised fist came crashing down toward her.

With no other option, Jean was forced to meet the attack directly. A telekinetic barrier flared around her just in time, blocking the punch and the heat vision. But the price was being slammed deep into the ground by the force of the blow.

She wasn't hurt, but when she burst back out of the ground, she found that 'Hal,' whom she had just knocked away, was now back. This time, he wore a heavy green armor. Alongside Reid and Diana, he now had her surrounded.

"You're not going anywhere!" 'Hal' shouted as his power ring shone with an intense glow, projecting a massive, glowing green vault that locked Jean inside.

And that wasn't all. The vault began multiplying. Every 15 millimeters, another layer formed, stacking over and over again in an endless loop.

This wasn't a move he had come up with using his own imagination. It was copied directly from a comic where Lex Luthor designed a containment structure to imprison an elderly Superman.

The clone recreated the design in an attempt to trap Jean. After all, even if he wasn't exactly righteous, his willpower was still decent.

But the result was far from ideal.

As the green energy layers continued stacking around her, Jean didn't sit still. Orange flames of the Phoenix suddenly erupted around her. In a blink, the green constructs were consumed by the fire and burned away. She broke free from the prison.

This time though, she didn't attack again. She ignored Diana and 'Hal' entirely. Her eyes locked onto Reid, the man who had been by her side in illusion for so many years. She stared at him without looking away.

"Looks like I really can't force you to stay by my side."

Their fight was never about life or death. Once Jean realized that even with all her power, she couldn't win against him and his allies working together, she naturally chose not to push further.

"But I won't give up so easily. One day, I'll keep you by my side forever."

Reid smiled slightly at her words. She spoke with such conviction, so full of emotion, like something out of a romance novel.

But both of them knew the truth—there were no real feelings between them.

After learning that everything she had believed about Reid was just a dream, any affection Jean once had had already faded away.

There was only one reason she was doing this now: selfishness. She simply wanted to make herself feel better. That was all.

And Reid was no different. He was selfish too. He had changed Jean's personality using Joker Infection, yet never once thought about taking any responsibility. It had only been an experiment—a small attempt to gain the Phoenix's power.

"I'd like for us to stay together too," Reid said, his tone calm, "but it'll be you following me... just like the others here."

He nodded toward 'Hal' and Diana beside him. Jean immediately understood what he meant.

"Then you'd better be careful," she replied with a faint smile. "I can feel my power still growing. Don't let me catch up to you."

With that, she took off into the sky. Reid didn't stop her. He simply watched her disappear into the distance.

Only after a long pause did he finally let out a slow sigh.

"Ugh… what a pain…"

Infecting Jean with the Joker Infection had indeed brought him plenty of advantages. The early exposure of the mutants had disrupted their plans and halted their growing strength. It also forced a split among their factions and pushed them into openly interacting with human society.

All of this might have seemed like minor consequences, but in reality, they weren't. The fact that Emma Frost could lead so many mutants away from Charles might very well have been due to that interaction. Maybe it was only after seeing humans up close that some mutants realized their future didn't have to be built solely on conflict.

And Jean, despite not taking direct action against the mutants, had still accelerated their downfall just by changing.

If she hadn't changed, Charles likely wouldn't have chosen that do-or-die plan. He would've continued to endure and stay in hiding.

But a group of mutants in hiding, showing no immediate threat, would be extremely hard to target unless Reid gained full control of the United States. And that kind of delay would've dragged out Batman's mission far too long.

Still, nothing came without a price. With her personality now altered, Jean had set her sights on him. If he didn't grow stronger fast enough to keep up with her awakening Phoenix powers, Reid had no doubt she would one day try to keep him by her side like a pet.

"How troublesome…"

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