Phoenix in The Marvel

Tony sat on the edge of the lab table, arms folded across his chest, staring at the tiny creature.

The bird was curled up in a ball of feathers on the table. Its beak was almost buried between its wings, and its tiny claws were lightly spread across the metal surface.

Tony frowned. "All right, little one... If you're going to hang out with me, you're going to need a name."

The little creature lifted its head and looked at Tony with its big golden eyes.

As if it was really listening.

Tony narrowed his eyes. "How about... 'Fireball'?"

The little bird cocked its head sideways.

Tony shrugged. "Okay, that's a little too easy."

He reached for his coffee on the table and took a sip, squinting thoughtfully.

And then... his eyes drifted to the large star chart taped to the ceiling of the lab.

There was one of the brightest constellations in the sky.

Tony smiled slightly. "Orion."

The little bird's ears pricked up.

Tony murmured the name again. "Orion."

There was a moment of silence.

Then...

The little creature suddenly spread its wings, its tiny feathers fluttering and squealing with delight.

Chirp! Chirp!

Tony raised his eyebrows. "Really? You like Orion?"

The creature immediately hopped up to Tony, touched his chest lightly with its tiny beak, and chirped again.

"Tweet!"

Tony smiled. "All right, Orion. You are now officially my... I'm not sure what you are, my little pet."

Orion didn't seem to understand Tony's words, but he ruffled his feathers in satisfaction.

But... just then a small light flashed in his tiny beak.

Tony narrowed his eyes. "Wait... What are you doing?"

And then...

Suddenly, a small flame shot out of Orion's mouth.

Tony's hand immediately began to burn. The pain was different from the fire burns he had felt before.

"DAMN IT!"

He quickly shook his hand, ran around the lab, put his fingers to his mouth and tried to cool it with his breath.

Orion was frozen.

His big, bright eyes were wide with grief.

Tony gritted his teeth. "Jarvis, water! Get water now!"

Jarvis' voice echoed. "Sir, I'm analyzing the burn levels..."

But Tony wasn't listening. He quickly put his hand on the table, it hurt so much.

Orion shook his tiny bill.

Then he came closer to Tony's hand.

And this time... he exhaled slowly.

But what came out was no ordinary flame... it was a golden flame, hot but not burning.

The golden flame clung to Tony's hand. Like a soft, warm wave.

And then...

The pain disappeared.

Tony opened his eyes. "What...?"

Tony looked down at his healed hand. His skin was smooth, without a single burn mark.

As if he hadn't just felt terrible pain there.

In fact, he felt even better than before.

He squeezed and relaxed his hand, moved his fingers. There was a slight warmth, but it was not an unpleasant warmth... on the contrary, it was soothing.

His eyes moved to Orion.

The tiny creature was still looking at Tony, with a kind of concern in his big, bright eyes.

Tony sighed. "If you want to apologize, I accept, but will you do it again?"

Orion tilted his head to the side.

Tony frowned. "Is that a yes or a no?"

Orion opened his tiny beak and gently touched Tony's finger.

At that moment, Tony felt a wave of warmth pass through his body.

As if something very old was awakening in him.

He narrowed his eyes. "Jarvis, analyze this sensation."

Jarvis' voice echoed. "Sir, your body temperature has briefly risen by 1.2 degrees, but it poses no health risk. Your heart rate is stable and your nervous system activity is... interestingly showing a slight relaxation response."

Tony raised his eyebrows slightly. "Relaxation? You mean that little flame-breathing monster is somehow... curing me?"

Jarvis continued with a slight pause. "It's not exactly a medical cure, sir, it's more of a... calming effect on your nervous system. Your brain may create a sense of security associated with the warmth."

Tony thought for a moment.

There really was a strange peace in him.

It was as if a tiredness he'd been carrying for years had eased a little.

And it was... strange.

For Tony Stark did not live in peace. His life was filled with chaos, stress and constant production. Even the idea of relaxation was foreign to him.

But right now, with Orion touching him.

If only for a moment, the world felt a little less noisy.

Tony sighed. "Okay, little one, you burn me, then you heal me, then you give me peace. Can you decide what it is?"

Orion ruffled his feathers happily and flapped his wings slightly.

Tony shook his head from side to side. "A catastrophe, but an interesting catastrophe."

Orion moved a little closer to Tony's hand and rubbed his beak gently against his fingers.

It was warm, soft and a little... comforting.

Tony hesitated for a moment.

Then he smiled involuntarily.

Jarvis' voice echoed again. "Sir, if you'll allow me to perform a scientific analysis, it may be important to understand the properties of the energy waves Orion is emitting."

Tony narrowed his eyes. "All right, but be careful. We nearly burned down the lab with our last analysis."

Jarvis replied sarcastically. "Yes, sir. Considering your natural ability to blow up your own lab, I'll take extra precautions."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Very funny, Jarvis."

But his smile deepened when he realized that Orion was still leaning against his hand.

This tiny creature... what was it really?

And was it just luck that he had found it, or was it the beginning of something much bigger?

Tony knew in his gut that this was nothing out of the ordinary.

But right now...

He just wanted to focus on the warm touch of a little bird.

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