Chapter 4
Farewell
Gray clouds hung over New York City.
A gentle rain fell from the heavens, as though the sky itself mourned the loss of two brilliant minds.
Rows of black umbrellas surrounded a pair of polished mahogany coffins.
One belonged to Dr. John Xavier Javier.
The other...
Dr. Elizabeth Xingbing Javier.
Scientists.
Business partners.
Husband and wife.
Loving parents.
Family members, close friends, former colleagues from S.H.I.E.L.D., and executives from Morgenroete Industries stood in respectful silence as the funeral service came to an end.
At the front of the gathering stood a single child dressed in a black suit.
Five-year-old Edison.
His clear sapphire-blue eyes remained fixed upon the coffins.
They were the same gentle blue eyes his mother often said resembled a calm ocean.
Today...
They held no light.
No joy.
Only grief.
He never cried.
Not because he wasn't sad...
But because he still couldn't understand that his parents would never come home again.
The priest closed his Bible.
"They have returned to their Creator."
"May they rest in peace."
One by one, white flowers were placed upon the coffins.
When it was Edison's turn...
He quietly stepped forward.
Holding a single white lily in both hands, he carefully laid it between his mother and father.
"...Goodbye..."
His small voice trembled.
"I'll be good."
"I promise."
The wind carried his words away.
Several people quietly wiped tears from their eyes.
---
Later that afternoon...
Inside the headquarters of Morgenroete Industries.
The atmosphere inside the executive boardroom was completely different.
Instead of sorrow...
There was uncertainty.
Twelve members of the Board of Directors sat around a long conference table.
At the head of the room stood the company's chief legal counsel.
"According to the final wills of Dr. John Javier and Dr. Elizabeth Xingbing Javier..."
He opened a sealed envelope.
"...their only child, Edison John Xavier Javier, is the sole heir to all personal assets, patents, intellectual property, voting shares, and ownership of Morgenroete Industries."
Silence filled the room.
One executive finally spoke.
"He's only five years old."
"He cannot run a multinational corporation."
The lawyer nodded.
"Which is why Dr. Javier anticipated this possibility."
He unfolded another document.
"Until Mr. Edison reaches the age of eighteen, Morgenroete Industries will be managed by a Board of Trustees."
"No member may sell company shares."
"No member may divide company assets."
"No outside corporation may acquire a controlling interest."
"Every major decision must receive unanimous approval from the Trustees."
Several executives exchanged uneasy glances.
John had planned for everything.
Even his own death.
The lawyer continued.
"Upon reaching adulthood, all authority, ownership, and executive control shall immediately transfer to Edison John Xavier Javier."
No one objected.
The founders' final wishes were absolute.
---
That evening...
The enormous Javier Estate felt colder than ever.
Every hallway echoed with silence.
Every room reminded Edison of memories he wished were still real.
He slowly walked into his father's study.
The scent of old books still lingered in the air.
His small fingers brushed across a family photograph resting on the desk.
His father smiled proudly.
His mother gently held him in her arms.
A perfect family.
Gone.
"...Mom..."
"...Dad..."
For the first time since the funeral...
Tears escaped his sapphire-blue eyes.
He hugged the picture tightly against his chest.
"I miss you..."
At that moment...
A sharp pain struck his head.
"Ah...!"
Fragments of memories flashed before his eyes.
A busy street.
A motorcycle.
Bright headlights.
The sound of crashing metal.
A white room.
A roulette wheel.
A God smiling.
Marvel Comics.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Another life.
Another name.
"I..."
"I remember..."
The little boy collapsed onto the floor, breathing heavily.
His memories from his previous life had finally begun to return.
Not all at once.
Only fragments.
Enough to remind him of a terrifying truth.
This world...
Was not an ordinary world.
Heroes existed.
Monsters existed.
Hydra still lurked within the shadows.
And somewhere...
The assassin who murdered his parents was still alive.
As more memories awakened, something deep within his body responded.
His heartbeat accelerated.
His senses sharpened.
Time itself seemed to slow.
Without warning...
The sapphire blue of his eyes gradually changed.
They became a brilliant Green amber.
For a brief moment, a faint Green light shimmered within his pupils.
The dormant Coordinator genes had entered their heightened analytical state.
At the same time, the Innovator genes quietly awakened, releasing the first traces of his Quantum Brainwaves.
The phenomenon lasted only a few seconds.
As his breathing steadied, the green glow faded.
His eyes slowly returned to their natural sapphire blue.
Edison never noticed the change.
He only knew that his mind felt clearer than ever before.
Edison slowly clenched his tiny fists.
His body belonged to a frightened five-year-old child.
But his heart carried the memories of two lifetimes.
He looked toward the rain falling outside the study window.
"I couldn't save them..."
"...but I won't lose anyone else."
Those words became the first promise he ever made to himself.
A promise that would shape the future.
The future of Morgenroete Industries.
The future of New York.
And the future of the boy who would one day become...
Red X.