Answer to the World(Part-2)

Diamondhead and Jean finally came to a stop, having reached their destination—the upper atmosphere of Earth. More precisely, they floated in the thermosphere, just below the exosphere.

From here, the planet stretched out beneath them like a vast, glowing marble.

Mark had never imagined that one day, he'd see the full Earth from this height. But now he was. Well, not with his human eyes, but through Diamondhead's crystalline senses—but still, it was breathtaking.

"Okay, we're here," Jean said, glancing at the Earth, then back at him. "What now?"

The air was thin, but she had no trouble breathing. The Phoenix Force shielded her from the extreme altitude and temperature. Diamondhead, being non-human, didn't feel the heat, cold, or lack of oxygen either.

He turned to her, nodding. "First, I need to change forms before we begin."

He focused.

Chromastone.

His body began to shift.

Though still crystalline, the transformation was striking. It began from his legs—his blue crystal limbs turning deep purple. The change spread upward. His bulky frame slimmed down, becoming more streamlined, more refined. His hands took on a more humanoid shape—sleek, with red crystal tones.

He grew taller, now nearly nine and a half feet. A long, red crystal horn emerged from his forehead. Matching horns flared from his shoulders and chest. His two eyes narrowed and merged into a single, glowing green one.

The transformation completed.

Jean blinked, genuinely surprised. He still looked like a crystal being—but entirely different from before. Sleeker. Stranger. More… alien.

Chromastone opened his eye, and for a moment, the world changed in his vision.

Energy lines danced around him—through the sky, through Jean, through the very fabric of the Earth below. He could see the Phoenix Force burning inside her like a star ready to go supernova.

And more than that—his empathic ability had evolved.

He could feel her emotions with crystal clarity. Not just what she was feeling, but why. Her curiosity, her cautious awe, her unspoken question about his new form. He didn't hear thoughts—this wasn't telepathy—but it was close. A different kind of knowing.

He'd never felt it this strongly before. As Grey Matter, he'd barely accessed his empathy—too logical, too emotionally disconnected. As Diamondhead, he had felt like a strategist, a warrior-general—logical, but still human in spirit.

But Chromastone was different.

Here, emotion and energy flowed together.

He could see them more clearly.

"I'm Chromastone now," he said gently, noticing her tension. "Don't worry—it's just another one of my forms."

A pulse of calming energy radiated from him, wrapping around her like a warm wind. Her unease vanished almost instantly.

Clarity returned.

Jean looked at him and asked, "I see… okay. So, what should I do now?"

Chromastone turned his gaze toward the void above them.

"First, power up. I'll use everything I have to contain your emotional storms. Once you've reached full intensity, I want you to attack me with everything you've got."

Jean hesitated. "You can absorb powers?"

He shook his head.

"No. I can only absorb what's thrown at me."

Jean nodded slightly, understanding now. He wasn't talking about absorbing the Phoenix Force itself—just the attack. Like a mutant with the ability to absorb or deflect incoming energy. Knowing that helped settle her nerves.

She turned her focus inward.

There was still a sliver of fear. The kind that always came before she called on too much of the Phoenix force. But... with him here, standing firm, offering that calm presence, she was willing to try. To see how far she could really go.

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and let go.

The Phoenix Force began to rise within her.

Chromastone, watching the emotional storm form once again, immediately pulsed his soothing energy—and shattered it before it could even take shape.

Clarity returned to Jean's mind.

And with clarity, her power surged.

Another wave of emotion flared—then vanished under Chromastone's pulse.

Again.

And again.

A cycle formed—Phoenix power rising, emotional chaos swelling, then peace, then more power.

For two straight minutes, it continued. Jean's energy expanded, her presence growing wilder, brighter, more celestial, until her body could handle no more. She'd reached the current limit of what her anatomy could safely contain. If she wanted to go further, she'd have to keep evolving, pushing the Phoenix Force deeper into her being.

But for now—it was enough.

She was no longer just a woman with fire on her back. She was the flame now. A massive, burning Phoenix took shape around her, wings stretching wide across the heavens.

Chromastone floated a short distance away, watching as the enormous, radiant entity unfolded from her body. At least fifty meters tall, it towered in the sky like a god-bird of fire and fury. Jean floated at its core, her red hair dancing like living flame, her eyes burning like twin suns.

He felt the limit of her power reach its peak.

"Alright," Chromastone said calmly. "Now… you can fire."

He braced himself.

Jean opened her eyes fully—and they were no longer human. Twin torches of burning energy flared from her sockets. There was no hesitation in her expression. No fear.

She nodded once. Then raised her hand.

And fired.

A beam of pure Phoenix fire tore through the upper atmosphere, roaring with unimaginable force as it crashed directly into Chromastone.

He didn't retreat.

He moved forward—straight into it.

And then something unexpected happened.

There was no explosion. No shockwave. No recoil.

The beam didn't push him back—it merged into him. Absorbed directly through his chest.

Jean's eyes widened. But instead of stopping, she pushed harder. She increased the intensity of her attack, pouring more and more power into it. The destructive core of the Phoenix, raw and burning, filled the sky.

And yet… Chromastone took it all.

He absorbed it completely.

This power wasn't just fire—it could destroy planets. It was made to burn everything it touched. Yet he stood there, unmoved, unaffected. No backlash. No resistance.

The Phoenix surrounding Jean's form began to shrink.

The more power she poured out, the smaller it became—and with it came the creeping weight of fatigue. A very human fatigue. She was still, after all, using her own life force, her own body, to channel that cosmic power.

But Chromastone… he was different.

With each pulse of energy she gave, he absorbed it—not just storing it, but evolving with it. He could feel himself being filled, bit by bit, until his core thrummed with raw, overwhelming light. His senses sharpened. His vision became clearer. The lines of energy threading through the Earth, the atmosphere, even Jean herself—they pulsed brighter now.

He sensed it. His core was nearly full.

Raising both arms high, he finally released it.

A colossal beam of pure energy shot upward—not fiery like Jean's Phoenix flame, but blinding, divine light. It ripped through the upper thermosphere and halted at the edge of the exosphere, right where space began.

And then—it spread.

The beam bloomed outward like a flower of light, expanding across the sky in every direction. A sky-born explosion of radiance.

Jean, still pushing the last of her power into him, watched in awe as the world above was bathed in that strange light. Her Phoenix avatar, once enormous and fearsome, was now only a fading silhouette. And yet, the brighter the world became, the smaller she became—until all of it was gone.

She was back in her original Phoenix form. Her body was trembling, barely holding on to consciousness.

And above her… the Earth had changed.

The sky was white.

The entire planet glowed.

And she wasn't the only one who noticed.

Lily, Martha, Scott, Tony, Logan, Magneto—they all looked up from their respective corners of the world, their expressions mirroring the same thought:

This isn't normal.

The time of day no longer mattered. There was no night. No afternoon. No morning. Just light. Endless, omnipresent light.

"What is that guy trying to do?" Erik—Magneto—muttered from his hidden island, squinting against the blinding glow. Sabretooth stood beside him, growling under his breath.

"Rrrgh… too damn bright."

Erik didn't respond. He didn't like this light either. Not one bit.

Back at the Black bird, Professor Charles Xavier gazed up from his wheelchair, frowning. "Why is he doing this…?" he whispered.

This kind of overwhelming show of power—it would only make the world fear them more.

Ororo remained silent beside him, her face unreadable.

Tony Stark stared skyward, speechless. Martha's lips were parted, eyes wide in disbelief.

Scott Summers, meanwhile, couldn't shake the feeling twisting in his gut.

That light—it had something to do with Jean.

He didn't know how. He just felt it.

Lily stared up at the glowing sky with awe shimmering in her eyes. She gripped her mother's hand and exclaimed, "Mom! It's Big Brother Mark! He did this!"

Martha blinked, pulled out of her stupor by her daughter's voice. Her mind raced, remembering the crystalline figure from earlier. Her lips moved on instinct.

"…What's really going on today?"

And she wasn't alone in wondering that.

Across the world, people stood in the streets, on rooftops, in office windows or in disaster shelters, looking up with a mix of awe, confusion, and fear.

First the Kaiju attack.

Then a crystal man crafting a massive robot statue from the ruins of the Golden Gate Bridge.

And now this—this impossible light.

What was happening today?

What was so special about this day?

While the world asked those questions in stunned silence—

Chromastone unleashed the final wave of radiant energy into the skies above, enveloping the world in his light.

Looking at the reach of their combined energy, Chromastone nodded to himself.

Yes. It really was enough.

The Phoenix Force, at it's current full output, could blanket the entire world.

He turned his gaze toward Jean. She was panting heavily, her breathing ragged, beads of sweat trailing down her face—only to evaporate instantly under the residual heat of her Phoenix form.

Without hesitation, Chromastone enveloped her with his telekinetic field.

Jean's eyes widened in surprise, but before she could react, she was already floating toward him. A heartbeat later, she was in his arms.

Before she could ask what he was doing, he spoke—softly, almost like a whisper only meant for her.

"You've done enough. Rest, now."

Something in his voice… calmed her.

She gave a small nod, her strength too far gone to argue. He was massive—towering even in his lean form—but right now, all she could feel was the warmth of his presence.

She just wanted to see what he would do next.

She would save the last of her energy for that.

Chromastone didn't keep her waiting.

He extended his free hand toward the sky.

Then he clenched his fist.

Above them, the glowing canopy of light began to pulse—first gently, then brighter, then brighter still. Until the radiance became almost too intense to stare at.

And then—it began to fall.

Not as fire.

Not as lightning.

But as rain.

Light fell like water, like glowing droplets descending gently through the atmosphere. Like the world was weeping stars.

Jean felt the first drop land on her shoulder.

A soft warmth pulsed through her. Not much—she didn't need healing—but she felt it soothe her emotions, calm her heart, like a lullaby to her soul.

And that was only the beginning.

The droplets didn't discriminate.

They fell on everyone—not just those outside in the open, but through rooftops, walls, windows. Into homes, hospitals, shelters. Into the ruins of warzones. Into the shadows of cities. Into the quiet corners of pain the world had long ignored.

And everywhere the drops touched—

The sick began to heal.

The wounded stood again.

Those emotionally shattered found balance.

The dying opened their eyes.

Limbs regrew. Scars faded. Broken minds, shattered hearts, were made whole.

Even animals stirred. Birds sang louder. Trees shimmered with new life. Flowers bloomed in places long forgotten. The earth itself responded—as if the very soul of the planet had been kissed by a higher force.

Jean, cradled in Chromastone's arms, could only look down.

From up here, she saw it all.

The world… was healing.

And for the first time in a long, long while, the world looked back.

Across every continent, in every town and village, people raised their eyes to the light above them. Many of them didn't understand what they were seeing. But they felt it. Felt that this moment was something beyond human comprehension.

Something divine.

Something unforgettable.

And those who did understand—those who had witnessed what had happened earlier—they knew who was responsible.

In a ruined city, the female officer who had stood by him raised her hand and gave a salute to the sky.

Others around her followed.

First in ones and twos.

Then in waves.

Rescue workers. Civilians. Soldiers. Scientists. Children.

All saluting. All staring upward with reverence.

The silence that followed was the kind that only came after miracles. The kind that didn't need to be explained.

And in that moment, across languages, borders, and beliefs, a single word rose up—soft, sincere, shared by billions:

"Thank you."

Gratitude.

Awe.

Regret—for not recognizing that power sooner.

But mostly… just thanks.

Chromastone stood silently, letting the last of the divine rain fall from the sky. Holding the exhausted avatar of the Phoenix in his arms.

No words needed.

This was his answer to the world.

***

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