Phoenix in The Marvel

Tony stood in silence for a short while in the lab. In front of him was a furry, shiny and rather mysterious creature, and right now his biggest problem was...

He did not know how to feed it.

He put his hands on his waist and looked at the creature. The little thing was still trembling slightly between the broken shells, studying Tony with its big eyes.

"Jarvis, let's scan this creature first. Does it have internal organs, and if so, what are they? Does its digestive system function? Or does it eat light? Because judging by that glow, it certainly has a strange biology."

"Immediate analysis in progress, sir."

The scanning equipment in the corner of the lab went into action. As several laser beams danced across the tiny creature's body, Tony folded his arms and waited for the results.

The baby bird looked up at the scanning lights with small eyes that suddenly seemed to frown. As if it were angry.

Then... it opened its tiny beak and let out an angry 'chirp' towards the scanning device.

Tony narrowed his eyes.

"What the hell was that? Is it mad at me, or is it mad at my machines?"

"Apparently it didn't like the scan, sir." Jarvis' voice was as calm as ever. "But I completed the data acquisition."

"Good, what did you find?"

"The internal organ structure is similar to that of birds, but there are some differences. For example, the stomach structure is that of a typical carnivorous bird. Also, its body seems to have a cellular system that produces energy at a much higher rate than normal birds. This energy production could explain the high body temperature."

Tony raised his eyebrows. "So this energy production is the reason it has a temperature of about 125 degrees Fahrenheit?"

"Most likely, sir."

Tony thought as he looked at the little bird.

"So what's its physical condition now? Does it look hungry?"

"His metabolic rate seems to be higher than normal. If he's like a typical bird, he probably needs to be fed."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Great. So we found a super-powered, glowing, unidentifiable bird and it's hungry. This is definitely not going to be a disaster."

The baby bird was staring at Tony.

Tony turned to him, eyebrows raised. "What? I can't even make a joke?"

The bird tilted its head slightly to the side, but its eyes still looked angry.

"Okay, okay. Let's do an experiment. Let's start with this birdseed. If it's too simple for you, I apologize, but I don't run a Michelin-starred restaurant."

Tony opened the small food cabinet in the lab and took a handful of regular birdseed and placed it on a small plate.

He placed the plate in front of the baby bird and waited.

The baby bird didn't even look at the food.

In fact... it wrinkled its nose.

Tony raised his eyebrows. "Really? Normal birds love it."

The baby bird looked briefly at the food, then back at Tony.

And... it pulled its whole body back, away from the food.

Tony's face fell.

"So what? Are you a gourmet? Do you think this food is inferior?"

The baby bird turned its head solemnly.

"Wow. You've just been born and you're already acting like a critic."

Jarvis interjected. "Apparently he has no interest in standard birdseed, sir."

"I noticed that myself, Jarvis."

Tony took a piece of lettuce from the cupboard.

"So you like greens?"

He placed the lettuce in front of him.

The baby bird examined the lettuce, tilting its head to one side.

Then... he nudged it gently with his little beak.

For a moment there was hope...

But then it grimaced in disgust and pushed the lettuce aside.

Tony turned to Jarvis in surprise. "Did he really push that with his hand?"

"Looks like it, sir."

Tony shook his head from side to side. "What kind of bird hates greens?"

On the next try, he cracked some nuts and walnuts and put them in front of him.

This time the baby bird seemed a little more interested.

He put his nose close and sniffed.

But then he let out what sounded like a deep sigh and walked away.

Tony frowned and folded his arms.

"You're kidding, right? You don't like walnuts either? What, you want a protein bar?"

Jarvis interjected calmly. "I think we should try fruit next, sir."

With a sigh, Tony picked up a piece of apple and placed it in front of him.

This time... the bird's eyes widened a little more in interest.

It took a tiny bite with its beak.

Tony blinked. "Hah! That's it. See, we should have tried that in the first place."

But then...

The baby bird shook its head slightly.

And it took a single bite and pushed the apple away.

Tony was shocked. "Are you really a gourmet?"

The little bird gave Tony a look of disdain.

For the first time in his life, Tony Stark was humiliated by a tiny bird.

Jarvis analyzed Tony's confused look and drew conclusions. "Apparently we still haven't found the right food."

Tony took a deep breath.

As a last resort... he took a small piece of meat from the lab's food cupboard.

"Well, would you like to try this?" he said as he placed the piece of meat in front of the bird.

The baby bird's eyes widened immediately.

Tony stepped back in surprise.

The bird that had seemed uninterested a second ago was suddenly attentive.

It quickly snatched at the meat with its little beak.

It began to enjoy it.

Tony turned to Jarvis with an open mouth. "This thing is carnivorous! Did I give birth to a little eagle or what?"

Jarvis' voice echoed. "We need to gather more data on the feeding habits of the unknown species, sir."

Tony watched, still amazed, as the little thing devoured the meat.

So... what exactly was this creature?

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