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When Hawk's bloodline let out its first cry in this universe.
5.8 billion light-years from Earth, a once-empty region of space saw a galaxy suddenly appear eight months ago. After months of change, shaped by what looked like the double-pupiled eyes of a Phoenix, the galaxy was finally complete.
The moment Hawk and Gwen's bloodline let out their first cry on Earth.
A resonant, metallic clang echoed, originating from the absolute center of the newly formed Phoenix Galaxy.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
The Fire Phoenix burst from its egg, spreading its huge wings and sending a wave of Phoenix Fire sweeping across the whole galaxy.
At the same time.
As the Fire Phoenix stretched its wings, a ghostly image of a huge tree slowly appeared beneath its talons, giving it a place to land.
The giant tree stretched across space, its branches holding nine different worlds that slowly turned within them.
The Fire Phoenix perched on top of the Great Tree, as if it stood above everything else.
A Phoenix's cry echoed through space, sounding sharp and metallic, like steel striking steel.
The next moment.
The Fire Phoenix's eyes grew focused. It lifted its head and stared straight at Earth, 5.8 billion light-years away.
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Inside the Baxter Building
Gwen's screams of pain finally stopped—not because she wanted to, but because she was too exhausted to keep going.
Gwen leaned back against the new pillows, looking tired and pale, but her eyes softened as she looked at the two tiny babies in her arms.
One boy, one girl.
Gwen stared at the swaddled twins, and a sudden thought popped into her head.
"They're so ugly!"
"All newborns look like that..." Sitting beside the bed, Helen couldn't help but laugh at her daughter's blunt assessment. "When you were born, you looked even worse."
Gwen shook her head and looked at Helen, lifting her chin in defiance. "No way. I'm beautiful. I've been beautiful my whole life."
Helen's face was completely deadpan.
"Now I finally understand why George spoils you so much."
"Why?"
"Because you're just as shameless as your father."
"…DAD!" Gwen blinked, and once the insult registered, she immediately turned to George, who was standing at the foot of the bed. "Mom just called you shameless."
George's mouth twitched as he looked at his new grandson and granddaughter in Gwen's arms, his face hard to read. "They really are pretty ugly. Just throw them out."
Gwen's eyes widened in shock.
"What??"
"Too ugly. Just toss them," George said, his voice dry. "They put my precious daughter through so much pain. Be a good girl and throw them out. We don't want them."
"No!"
When she heard that, Gwen hugged her son and daughter closer to her chest without thinking.
George chuckled. "Didn't you just say they were ugly?"
"If you look closely, they're not that ugly," Gwen muttered, blinking fast. "Maybe Hawk looked this weird when he was born, so they just seem odd now. It's fine. Give them some time, and they'll look great."
George opened his mouth to retort, then just shook his head, shooting an exasperated look at Helen.
Helen gave a helpless smile, stood up, and reached for her grandchildren. "Alright, that's enough. You should get some sleep. I'll hold them for a while."
Gwen shook her head.
"No."
"But you need—"
"I'm fine now." Gwen looked at her mother, held her son and daughter close, and spoke with certainty.
And it was the truth.
Gwen's pale face was already regaining color, and the tired look in her eyes from labor was fading fast.
Helen glanced at Gwen, who was holding the babies protectively. After a moment, she nodded. "Alright, fine. We'll leave and let you rest for a bit."
With that.
Helen grabbed George by the arm, and the two of them quietly slipped out of the room.
After Helen and George left, Gwen leaned back against the headboard. She looked down at the twins, who had cried just a little after birth but fell asleep as soon as she held them. A gentle smile appeared on her face.
"Your stupid daddy didn't show up."
"And he didn't even pick out names for you guys in advance."
"So…"
"His naming privileges have been officially revoked."
"Let me think… what should I call you two?"
Feeling full of energy again, Gwen looked at her newborns with bright eyes. She thought of a million different names.
But!
Everyone knows naming a child is hard, especially for Gwen. Even though she said Hawk couldn't name them, she still wondered what names he would have chosen as she thought about names for her son and daughter.
As a result, by the time night fell and George and Helen left the Baxter Building, Gwen still hadn't settled on names for the twins.
Knock! Knock!
"Come in."
Susan Storm pushed the door open, immediately spotting Gwen sitting comfortably on the living room sofa, wearing plush fleece pajamas and cradling the twins.
It turned out that strict postpartum rest didn't really matter here, especially for Gwen, the Queen of Hawk Phoenix. After just one afternoon, she was already back to full strength.
She held the twins with one arm and used her other hand to scroll through baby name meanings on her wrist-computer, which she bought from Xandar during her honeymoon.
Gwen's eyes lit up when she saw Susan walk in.
"Susan, have you and Reed ever thought about names for your future kids?"
"Franklin."
Susan answered right away. She sat next to Gwen and looked fondly at the two quiet babies. "That was Reed's grandfather's name. So, if we ever have a child… Franklin."
"You and Reed will have a child," Gwen smiled. "All we have to do is repair the damaged reproductive genes."
Hearing that, Susan looked at Gwen with gratitude. "Thank you, Gwen. If you hadn't caught it—"
"I only found the genetic problem. I couldn't figure out how to fix it. Reed was the one who thought of using my Regenerative Serum as a genetic repair agent."
Gwen waved off the praise. "By the way, how is Reed's progress on synthesizing the gene-repair serum?"
"He's already got the formula," Susan said with a smile. "He went back to the lab after dinner. If all goes well, once we take the serum, we can finally start our own family."
"That's amazing news."
Gwen smiled and congratulated her, then tapped her wrist-computer. "I still haven't picked names for my two. Want to help me think of some?"
Susan agreed with a smile. The two women leaned in together, scrolling through the long list of names floating in the air.
While the two women were lost in baby names,
Down in his laboratory, completely absorbed in an experiment, Reed Richards was suddenly interrupted by the AI's blaring alert.
"Sir, detecting massive fluctuations in the unidentified galaxy."
"Project the feed."
"Yes, sir."
The moment the AI confirmed the command, a massive holographic projection of the Phoenix Galaxy—which had abruptly spawned 5.8 billion light-years away—lit up the center of the lab.
Reed looked at the projection.
His expression…
Froze entirely. Once again.
He stared at the shape of the Phoenix Galaxy, frowning as he realized it looked a lot like a giant cosmic tree.
"Is that… a tree?"
"Negative."
The AI's voice remained perfectly calm. "It is a highly complex concentration of nebular gas…"
"I didn't ask what it's made of," Reed interrupted. "I mean the shape looks just like a tree. And look at the galaxy's image… doesn't the energy pattern kind of look like a bird? Like a Phoenix?"
The AI paused for a moment, quickly taking a high-resolution snapshot of the Phoenix Galaxy. Then it started to render and highlight the energy patterns.
A moment later.
The AI finished the rendering. It showed a huge cosmic tree rooted in space, and on its wide branches sat a bird made of the galaxy's stars—a Phoenix.
A towering Great Tree.
A Phoenix spreading its wings.
"Holy—"
Seeing the fully rendered image produced by his AI, Reed Richards took a sharp, involuntary breath.
"Did this structural shift just happen?"
"Affirmative."
The AI confirmed, then suddenly triggered a secondary alert, instantly pulling up the real-time telemetry from Earth's orbital defense grid. "Sir, detecting an unidentified energy signature entering the Milky Way. Projected to breach the Sol System in exactly ten minutes. Calculating trajectory…"
As the AI spoke, a glowing trajectory line mapped itself across the holographic solar system.
When the trajectory locked onto its final destination.
The World Tree!
The Phoenix!
When Reed saw the predicted impact point on the map, everything suddenly made sense. His eyes went wide, and he quickly turned and ran out of the lab.
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Up in the penthouse apartment, Gwen also realized something was happening.
She blinked and looked down at her right hand. The diamond wedding ring on her finger was glowing with a bright, steady pulse, like a heartbeat.
Susan noticed it too.
As Susan started to ask about it, someone knocked hard on the door. She turned and saw Reed in the hall, then called for him to come in. As soon as Reed entered, he stared at the glowing ring on Gwen's finger.
"Just as I thought."
Reed cursed silently. He immediately commanded the AI to project the rendered image of the cosmic Phoenix Galaxy, alongside the real-time tracking of the massive, unidentified energy signature currently rocketing toward Earth at impossible speeds.
Susan stared at the fully rendered image of the Phoenix Galaxy, her jaw dropping open.
Gwen listened to the AI's report, feeling a sudden rush of excitement and nerves.
"It's Hawk."
"Hawk is here."
And the exact second those words left Gwen's lips.
A resonant cry shattered the silence.
Gwen, Susan, and Reed instinctively whipped their heads toward the floor-to-ceiling windows.
They looked up into the night sky.
The pitch-black canopy of the cosmos was suddenly dyed a brilliant, bloody crimson. If you squinted, it almost looked as if a colossal Phoenix had just crossed 5.8 billion light-years of dead space in a fraction of a second, diving straight toward the Earth.
The next second.
The blinding red light grew even stronger, passing right through Earth's atmosphere and the Baxter Building's blast-proof glass, and appeared instantly in Gwen's living room.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
When the cosmic Phoenix entered the apartment, it spread its wings of pure energy. A wave of Phoenix Fire burst out, shining so brightly that Reed and Susan had to shut their eyes in panic.
Only Gwen kept her eyes open.
She stared unblinking into the heart of the blazing Phoenix Fire.
Watching—
A familiar figure slowly stepped out from the flames.
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