Whoosh!
Accompanied by a dazzling, radiant beam of light—
Alex's figure appeared rather abruptly in Krakoa.
The people of Krakoa had long since grown used to things like Bifrost teleportation.
It didn't cause any disturbance at all.
"Your Majesty!"
"Your Majesty Alex!"
Seeing Alex appear, everyone merely greeted him calmly and paid their respects—nothing more.
Alex nodded back lightly in response, said no unnecessary words, and headed straight into the royal hall.
"Alex, is everything settled?"
Charles and several core mutant leaders were handling official affairs. Seeing Alex arrive, Charles casually asked.
"Has Alex ever failed at anything?"
Hank, who was rarely out of his lab, chimed in from the side, giving Alex a bit of flattery.
Though in truth, it wasn't really flattery at all.
Ever since the battle in Cuba, Hank had been following Alex closely and had personally witnessed Alex's growth and rise.
Big problems or small ones—when it came to Alex, there really hadn't been anything he couldn't handle.
Hank, Raven, and many other mutants had long since developed an almost blind confidence in Alex.
Hearing this, Alex simply smiled.
"Asgard ran into some trouble, but nothing too serious."
Alex said it lightly, though none of the mutants present were naïve enough to believe it was truly a "small" issue.
After all—
Thor had made it very clear: the opponent was someone capable of killing gods.
"Oh right, Alex."
After a bit of casual chatter, Raven walked over to Alex and brought up something important.
"While you were gone, Ajak came looking for you."
Ajak?
Alex raised an eyebrow slightly and looked at Raven to confirm.
"You mean that Ajak?"
Just in case there was a namesake, Alex asked again.
"That's right—Ajak of the Eternals."
Raven nodded firmly.
The Eternals were a secret to ordinary people, after all—aside from the Deviants, they didn't involve themselves in worldly affairs.
But due to the "mutants' total disappearance crisis," some of Krakoa's core leadership had paid close attention to the Eternals.
So to the mutant leaders, the entire Eternal race was no secret at all.
"Did Ajak say what it was about?"
After a moment's thought, Alex asked Raven.
Given the Eternals' usual behavior, why would they seek out someone like Alex—who wasn't even an Eternal?
"No."
Raven shook her head. "She didn't say, but it was obvious she had something important to discuss. Do you want me to contact her?"
"No need."
After brief consideration, Alex shook his head.
He had no interest in getting involved with Eternal affairs.
Of course, one reason was the Celestials—but for Alex, who had already defeated Galactus, fear of the Celestials wasn't what it once was.
A fully assembled Infinity Gauntlet could counter Arishem—there was little doubt about that.
The real issue was—
There was no profit in dealing with the Eternals.
Alex carefully recalled the related plotlines.
That tiny group of Eternals didn't possess any special energy sources worth harvesting.
The only possible "gain" would be triggering some kind of mission.
But Eternal-related missions almost certainly involved the Celestials.
Those were missions best avoided.
After all, the Celestials weren't just Arishem alone—they were an entire race.
"I understand."
Raven nodded and didn't say anything more.
She felt the same way—better to keep the Eternals at arm's length.
While chatting with the mutant leaders, Alex's expression suddenly shifted slightly.
His super senses had picked something up.
Sure enough—
Not long after, a brilliant golden beam of light descended from the sky.
A woman bathed entirely in golden radiance slammed down into the courtyard outside.
"Danvers!"
Raven also spotted the golden figure, excitement immediately appearing on her face.
Krakoa's second-strongest individual—after Alex—was back!
That's right.
The newcomer was none other than Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers.
"Everyone—miss me?"
Danvers strode energetically into the royal hall, greeting the mutants with familiar ease.
"Now this is rare. Danvers actually decided to come back."
Hank chuckled as he teased her, and the atmosphere instantly became lively.
"Alex, you finally decided to come back too?"
After greeting everyone else, Danvers walked up to Alex.
"This time, you don't really have the standing to criticize me anymore, do you?"
In truth, Danvers had returned once five years ago—but at the time, Alex had been off wreaking havoc in the DC universe and wasn't in Krakoa at all.
In fact, by the time Danvers returned, Alex had already been absent from Krakoa for four or five years.
In terms of being away from home, the two were perfectly matched.
"Alright, you've got leverage on me now."
Alex laughed, chatting casually with her.
"So—how many planets did you save this time?"
"No idea. Didn't count."
Danvers casually sat down beside Alex.
"There are just too many planets in the universe suffering without the power to change their fate."
And what does that have to do with me?
Alex couldn't help but complain internally.
But if saving the universe made her happy, then so be it.
Alex naturally wasn't going to say anything.
As long as Danvers was happy.
Besides, if Krakoa ever truly needed her, one message would be enough—she'd rush back at top speed.
Though, to be fair—
These days, there were hardly any situations left that would require Danvers to step in.
"No, Alex… you feel different."
After chatting briefly, Danvers' eyes locked onto Alex.
"You're… stronger than before."
Now, even Danvers could vaguely sense a kind of pressure—almost suffocating—coming from Alex.
Without a doubt, during the time she'd been away, Alex had grown stronger again.
"That's a good thing, isn't it?"
Alex didn't deny it, instead flashing her a cheeky smile.
"That it is."
Danvers nodded emphatically, then looked at Alex with blazing curiosity.
"I want to know—just how far you've gone now."
In all her years roaming the cosmos, Danvers had hardly encountered any real opponents.
The only one had ever been Alex.
And in the beginning, Alex hadn't actually been that much stronger than her.
Now—
She truly wanted to see his real level.
"Just don't say I bullied you."
Alex agreed.
Just as Danvers was curious about his strength, he was equally curious about hers.
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