Marvel's Alien Force

***

Important Announcement for Chapter 13:This chapter turned out to be quite long—over 3,000 words—so it has been split into two parts. If you're reading Part 1, please remember that Part 2 is a direct continuation and belongs to the same chapter. Don't skip it just because it's labeled as "Part 2."

***

Jean and Diamondhead experimented with their powers mid-air, running test after test—but the result was always the same. His empathic ability would get overwhelmed, crushed beneath the weight of her emotional storm, only to leave behind something... strange. Something deeper.

Each time his ability shattered, it seemed to take her chaos with it.

That wasn't how his powers usually worked. With Lily and her mother, his empathy had simply calmed their minds, softened the sharp edges of their emotions. It soothed. It healed.

But with Jean—especially when she was cloaked in the Phoenix Force—it didn't soothe. It didn't suppress. It annihilated the storm completely.

It surprised him—truly.

But even then, he wasn't the one most shaken by what had just happened.

Jean had been certain his powers wouldn't work. That nothing would work. Not when the Phoenix was in play.

But it did.

And not just "did"—it tore through the chaos like a blade of divine light. It didn't touch her core emotions, didn't alter her identity or numb her feelings. It simply destroyed the violent surge—like it was never there.

It was weird. Impossible, even.

She didn't know what to feel. Joy? Shock? Cry? Laugh?

It felt like chasing a solution for years—bleeding for it, dying for it—only to have it fall into your lap when you'd already given up hope. The kind of solution that shouldn't exist. And yet, here it was.

She turned her gaze to the crystalline being before her. He looked the same. But also... different.

She didn't know what to say to him.

Should she thank him? Hug him? Cry?

She was confused—so incredibly confused—unsure of how to react or what she was even supposed to feel. The chaos inside her was building, spinning out of control. But just as they began to spiral too far, she felt it again.

That same soothing sensation.

The one she had slowly grown used to.

It swept through her like a soft tide, easing the chaos within, bringing calm back to her heart and clarity to her mind.

She looked at him again. And after a deep breath, she spoke.

"Thank you."

Just that. Nothing more.

Diamondhead smiled faintly at her words and replied, "You're welcome."

He could see her inner turmoil. Maybe not fully, maybe not deeply, but enough. Enough to understand where she was coming from.

A person who had already given up on a dream... suddenly finding that very dream come true out of nowhere—it made sense she wouldn't know how to react. Emotions were spiking all at once—joy, disbelief, fear, hope—so much that she couldn't even tell what she was supposed to feel.

So he did what he thought was right.

He helped her calm down. Gave her the space to feel. Let her express herself in her own way.

Jean Grey. A character both beautiful and powerful.

His human self had always liked her—not romantically—but still, he admired her. Because she was someone who could both create and destroy the universe itself with the power of the Phoenix Force.

It was just that… she had never been able to control it.

But now, with his help, she could.

Unfortunately, this might be the only time they ever teamed up. He had no intention of joining any superhero team, no interest in donning a cape and calling himself a hero. His goals were different—bigger, in a way. He wanted to build something else. Something new.

And now that his identity was exposed, he knew what came next. Humans—and other beings—would come for him eventually. It was inevitable.

But that was fine.

In fact, that was part of the plan.

By using his power so openly, he was sending a message: if you're going to come after him, you better be someone on Magneto's level—or higher. Someone with real power. Because if you're just some government agent or a military general with a badge and a title, thinking you're untouchable because your country backs you...

You'd better think again.

He wanted that message burned into the world's consciousness.

And to some extent, he'd already done that. His previous actions had taken care of 80% of the work. But once he executed his large-scale healing plan, it wouldn't just shock the world governments—it would scar them.

At the same time, it would elevate him. Not to godhood—he didn't want that.

But if playing god was what it took to make his next moves possible… then he wouldn't mind.

His goal was simple: earn the unwavering trust of the common people. Win their hearts so completely that, no matter what politicians or public figures said about him in the future, they'd be met with nothing but scorn, mockery, and hatred.

He wasn't thinking about building a legend.

He was thinking about building a belief.

"So, now you can help me, right?" Diamondhead asked, still hovering in the sky with Jean floating just ahead of him.

Jean nodded. "I can. Just make sure your soothing waves don't stop when I start increasing the intensity of the Phoenix Force."

Diamondhead gave a small nod, confident. "Don't worry. I can multitask."

With that, he ascended higher into the sky, and Jean followed close behind.

Something felt different now.

She looked at him—not as the strange crystalline being she'd met minutes ago, but as someone else entirely. She didn't know how he had done it, how his empathic ability had affected her the way it did. She wanted to know… but at the same time, she didn't.

She'd grown up among mutants. She understood the unspoken rule—don't ask about someone's powers unless they offer to share. It was a boundary, a quiet respect they all lived by.

So she wouldn't ask.

Not unless he decided to tell her himself.

And honestly? There was a good chance he didn't know how it worked either.

So… let it be.

Nobody needed to know, unless one day, not knowing became a problem.

***

Please read the next part and throw some powerstones and comments if you like this novel.