In Lin Feng's headset, a mechanical voice echoed with finality.
"Ten… Nine… Eight…"
Each number ticked like the beat of a war drum in Lin Feng's ears. His hands gripped the aerospace seat handles tightly. No matter how tough he believed himself to be, riding a rocket into space for the first time? That was no small thing. Even Iron Man himself might've cracked a joke to hide the nerves.
"Seven… Six… Five…"
Lin Feng swallowed hard. He was used to stress, yes. He'd seen danger, faced off against experimental Stark Tech drones for training. But this—this was raw, pure reality.
"Four… Three… Two… One… Ignition!"
A thunderous roar erupted from the base of the launchpad, a violent blast of flame and heat shooting from the rocket's tail. The force rattled the entire structure, sending tremors down Lin Feng's spine. Pillars of fire painted the ground beneath with a furious orange as the rocket surged upward, slowly at first, then climbing faster, faster, faster.
The pressure hit him like a freight train. His body sank into the seat from the intense G-force. The whole world narrowed into vibration and sound. His breath was shallow, but not panicked.
That sensation—like being pinned by a giant's palm—was more intense than even the most brutal acceleration tests he'd done with Tony's Audi R8 back at the desert base. No doubt. Rockets weren't made for comfort.
He wasn't wearing a full pressurized suit, either—just a reinforced flight uniform designed by Stark Industries. But even without one, Lin Feng's genetically enhanced physique, thanks to his partial Kryptonian physiology, held firm. The G-force that would render a regular person unconscious was nothing more than an inconvenience to him.
Stage after stage, the boosters detached with a mechanical rumble and hiss. Lin Feng felt the weight lessen with each release. The main module pressed forward, leaving Earth's atmosphere behind like a swimmer breaking through the ocean's surface.
Then… stillness.
A strange, dreamlike quiet filled the cabin. The low hum of systems, the beeping of life support, and his own heartbeat were all that remained.
Weightlessness arrived like a whisper.
He loosened the harness and floated up, cautiously at first. It was like learning to walk again, but with air replacing the ground. Lin Feng turned slowly, grabbing the capsule's interior wall and pulling himself toward the small round porthole.
And there it was.
Outside the glass, infinity waited.
The void of space stretched out in every direction—black, beautiful, and endless. Stars shimmered like scattered diamonds on velvet. And then his gaze found something else… something vast and magnificent.
A massive sphere of blue and white spun slowly in the distance—Earth.
Lin Feng's breath caught.
Photos didn't do it justice. Seeing it with your own eyes was different. This wasn't just a planet—it was home. The origin of every life, every story, every breath. The cradle of humanity, and his own past.
"Magnificent…" he murmured.
He fumbled with his phone, still surprisingly functional at this altitude—Stark tech, after all—and took photo after photo through the porthole. One picture stood out: Earth centered perfectly, the sunlight catching the curve of the globe. He set it as his lock screen.
If he made it back, he was definitely posting that one.
But then—"Ding!"
A familiar chime rang in his ears. The system.
"Host detected in outer space. Please exit the capsule and face the sun to begin evolution."
Lin Feng froze mid-photo. Did he hear that right?
"…Come again?"
"Host, please exit the capsule and face the sun to start evolution."
He rubbed his ears. "Okay, wait. Get out of the capsule? Out? In space?"
His eyebrows twitched, mouth slightly agape. "Outer space is negative 270 degrees Celsius! This isn't some sci-fi holodeck…"
"Yes, Host. Please proceed. All safeguards are in place. Trust the system. Your evolution requires direct exposure to solar radiation."
"…Are you messing with me?" he asked, genuinely incredulous. "I'm not Superman yet, you know! What if I get frozen like a popsicle in five seconds?"
"Host, your Kryptonian cells require direct contact with yellow solar radiation. Risk is calculated. Begin."
He groaned and leaned his head back against the wall of the capsule. His fingers trembled slightly—not from fear exactly, but from the overwhelming weight of the moment.
This was it.
Trust the system. Trust Tony's faith in you. Trust yourself.
If he couldn't do this now, how could he ever stand against real threats—the kind that destroyed cities, the kind that wore golden gauntlets?
No. There was no turning back.
He activated the emergency override and unlocked the hatch.
With a sudden hiss, the door blew open. A vacuum suction yanked him outward, and Lin Feng was launched into the star-speckled void.
But the cold? The suffocation? It never came.
Instead, silence.
Peace.
He drifted—free, unbound by gravity or pressure, and his body, to his astonishment, remained stable.
He turned slowly, adjusting his orientation until his chest faced the source of all life in this system—a glowing, golden star.
The sun.
A yellow dwarf, burning with immense power, bathed him in radiant warmth. As its rays washed over him, Lin Feng's body began to respond.
He felt it immediately.
A tingling warmth spread through his skin, then his muscles, then deeper—into bone, into marrow. It was like being submerged in molten light, but not painful. No, this was… euphoria.
His cells absorbed the energy hungrily. His mind began to blur, overcome by the sheer magnitude of sensation.
He extended his arms, embracing the light, eyes fluttering shut.
Every fiber of his being was singing.
And then… sleep.
A deep, calm, healing sleep overtook him, and he began to float motionlessly, bathed in starlight.
---
Meanwhile, back on Earth…
In a hidden facility under Stark's private observatory, Tony Stark was having a full-blown meltdown.
"WHAT THE HELL IS HE DOING?!"
Tony had been watching Lin Feng's vitals from a compact monitoring device—his portable StarkPad. When he saw the capsule hatch open and Lin Feng float out into the vacuum of space, he nearly dropped the screen.
"Jarvis, tell me I didn't just send my friend to do space sudoku with death."
"Sir," Jarvis's calm voice responded, "Mr. Lin Feng exited the reentry capsule voluntarily. No malfunctions are detected."
Tony's eyes darted over the live telemetry. "Heart rate's up—but not erratic. Brainwaves steady. Body temperature… normal?"
He blinked.
"That's not possible."
"Sir," Jarvis continued, "I can confirm Mr. Lin Feng appears biologically adapted to the current environment. No signs of distress. Rather, he appears to be in a regenerative state."
Tony leaned back in his chair, stunned. "…Lin Feng, what the hell are you?"
---
Elsewhere… SHIELD HQ, Washington D.C.
"Say that again," Director Nick Fury said flatly.
Agent Coulson shifted uncomfortably and tapped the tablet screen. "He's been in space for over two months, Director. No food, no water. Not even a suit."
Nick Fury stared at the photo. Lin Feng, floating peacefully, bathed in sunlight like a god sleeping in the stars.
"And he's alive?"
"Yes, sir. Stable vitals. Same position. No signs of deterioration."
"…Mazefak."
Coulson hesitated. "Should we inform Stark? The data indicates he's involved in this launch—"
"No," Fury interrupted. "Let Tony Stark keep building his toys. Keep monitoring Lin Feng. If anything changes, I want to know before it hits the media."
He leaned back, then slowly opened a drawer in his desk.
Inside was a red-stamped file labeled: Avengers Initiative.
---
To be continued...