"Damn it! What just happened?"
Coulson jumped up from his chair in a panic, flames flickering on his clothes and hair.
Blake stood nervously beside him, trying to help extinguish the flames by patting them with his hands.
But the more he patted, the bigger the flames grew.
"Move aside!"
"Ssssssss!"
Tony shouted and grabbed a fire extinguisher, spraying the flames furiously, finally saving Coulson's life.
Though Coulson's collar was singed and his hair… well, it now resembled a monk's hairstyle, only thinner, with a hint of burnt pig hair smell.
Thankfully, he wasn't seriously hurt, except for some redness on his neck and scalp from the burns.
Blake had just returned from Asgard after fortifying some things, and his phone was flooded with messages from Coulson, urging him to return to the New York base immediately.
Blake had the Ancient One teleport him near the base.
He met up with Tony and headed to the base. Before he could even start explaining his experiences in Asgard, the scene above unfolded.
"Blake, you hell-bound bastard! If you want me to honor the bet, you can just tell me! Why did you set me on fire from behind? Damn it! This suit is brand new!"
The usually mild-mannered Coulson was fuming, his face as red as a monkey's butt. With his scorched curls, the sight was almost comical.
"I didn't start the fire! I just walked up behind you. You have to believe me!"
Blake raised his right hand, holding up his index and middle fingers, swearing his innocence.
"I can vouch for him. He really didn't start a fire. He didn't even—damn it, Blake! Your hand is on fire!"
Tony's sentence was cut off as he stared in horror at Blake's hand.
A small flame was dancing on Blake's raised index and middle fingers.
"Oh, damn it!"
Still not fully accustomed to his new identity as the God of Fire, Blake quickly shook his fingers to extinguish the flame.
"You're still saying it wasn't you?!"
Coulson jumped up and grabbed his gun from the table.
"Calm down, Coulson. Listen to me, it was an accident!"
Blake quickly tried to explain.
"Explain it to God, you bastard..."
Coulson wasn't interested in listening at all.
*Thud!*
Tony, still holding the fire extinguisher, smacked Coulson on the back of the head with it.
"What are you doing, Tony? I was just about to explain!"
Blake said helplessly.
"He was going to shoot you! I've heard this guy spends most of his salary on hair care. He would have killed you! He needs to cool down."
"But I'm not even afraid of bullets. He couldn't possibly kill me..."
"Oh, I forgot about that. My bad. I mean, Coulson, how about we go grab a coffee and then come back?"
Tony looked a bit concerned at the lump growing on the back of Coulson's head.
Half an hour later...
Blake sat dejectedly on the fireproof floor.
A now calm Coulson sat on the sofa with an ice pack on the back of his head, staring intently at Blake.
His mournful gaze reminded Blake of the woman in *Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons*, who had just lost her husband.
Tony stood next to Blake, spinning a cigar in his hand.
None of the three said a word, but Tony and Coulson both kept staring at Blake.
The awkward silence lasted for about a minute.
Suddenly, a small flame the size of a medicine bottle appeared on Blake's head.
"There it is! I told you, Coulson, look!"
Tony called out to Coulson, pointing at the flame on Blake's head, while hurriedly using it to light his cigar.
While Coulson was unconscious, Blake and Tony had explained the events in Asgard, including how Blake had become a Fire God.
During that time, two small flames had spontaneously appeared on Blake's body.
And when Coulson woke up, Blake had to explain it all over again.
But Coulson absolutely refused to believe that flames could spontaneously appear on Blake's body.
They waited for a while, and now...
"You mean..."
Seeing that flames could indeed emerge from Blake's body, Coulson stood up, preparing to take a closer look.
"Auntie, I swear I don't have a husband... No, I mean, what do you want to ask? Didn't I already explain it to you?"
Blake, lost in the moment, accidentally blurted out a movie line, quickly correcting himself.
"What I want to ask is, Odin sealed his daughter in Hell, which is one of the Nine Realms that truly exists. So, if this person called Hela ever breaks free, the Nine Realms will face a godlike evil ruler, and we'll be plunged into war, right?"
"Exactly. But for now, Odin can still keep her suppressed, so we don't have to worry about that just yet."
Blake spread his hands as he spoke.
The flame on his head extinguished, but a small flame suddenly popped up in the area near his crotch.
Tony, who had instinctively been about to light his cigar with the flame, recoiled as soon as he saw where it was, grinning and pointing at Blake's crotch.
"I think I smell roasted chicken. Congratulations, Blake. At least in winter, you won't need a heater or fireplace anymore!"
"Shut up, Tony. Hurry up and start your tests. I can't go out looking like this!"
Of course, the tests had to be done.
The random flames on Blake's body were clearly a result of him just starting to learn how to control fire and not being able to manage it properly yet.
After several hours of testing with equipment Tony had specially built and with JARVIS assisting, they reached a conclusion.
The appearance and timing of the flames were completely random, likely tied to Blake's emotions.
The temperature ranged anywhere from 280 to 1500 degrees Celsius, also fairly random.
It was obvious how poorly Blake was currently able to control his newfound abilities.
However, according to Tony and JARVIS's analysis, if Blake continued using the flames regularly over the next few days, this uncontrolled behavior would gradually disappear.
This conclusion aligned with what the system had already told Blake.
For the next few days, Blake stayed in a special fireproof room Tony had designed for him, continuously using and testing his new abilities.
As a result, strange sounds often echoed throughout the Avengers' secret base in New York.
With a small flame burning on his right index and middle fingers, Blake would focus intently, staring at the wall in front of him.
"*Great Serpent Slash!*"
A tiny flame, barely enough to kill a mosquito, would flash briefly on the wall.
"Aramasa! Oni Burn! Eight-Headed Cup!"
---
By the way, I just looked it up—kerosene burns at a temperature of up to 1700 degrees Celsius, so the 1500 degrees mentioned earlier wasn't quite accurate!
But I also found out that lighter flames are only a few hundred degrees, so keeping Blake's fire ability within that range for now works well with the story progression. I won't change the temperature from the previous chapter—it makes sense this way!
Also, the *Black Widow* solo movie has already premiered in North America, and the timeline is set between *Captain America: Civil War* and *Avengers: Infinity War*.
I've decided to pull some of that storyline forward. After all, I want to develop the relationship between Blake and Black Widow a bit more, explore her character deeper, and fully open up her heart.
Plus, having Blake help rescue a group of female spies who have been mind-controlled sounds like a pretty good idea, doesn't it?
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