~Yo! We've hit 200 Powerstones, here's your Bonus Chapter as promised!
~Next milestone: 300 Powerstones! Let's keep the momentum going!
----
"It's done. I'm leaving. Tell Charles I said hello."
Nolan's voice was calm as always, even as the wind howled around them.
He didn't immediately absorb the sample from Shadowcat experience had taught him better. Not all abilities are integrated cleanly. If it was like Susan's psionic phase powers, his body might undergo sudden, violent changes.
When his existing powers, like the Red Hulk's radiation absorption, were enhanced, his body naturally optimized them.
The solar energy powers of Sunspot and Human Torch, for instance, had merged effortlessly into his cellular network both being radiation-based.
But when a completely new ability was introduced, like Susan's psionics, his body had to create an entirely new genetic structure. That wasn't just evolution.
That was reconstruction.
It was why his cells had learned to adapt. Symbiote-based [Adaptive Genome] tech allowed for this—a concept he'd dubbed:
[Autonomous Evolution].
Even so, Shadowcat's phasewalking wasn't something he wanted to trigger in the middle of a battlefield.
The shattered golden fragments of the Mirror Dimension collapsed like broken glass.
The town returned—at least, visually. But something was off.
Storm's eyes widened as she felt her connection to the atmosphere return. But the storm she'd once controlled?
It had kept brewing on its own.
Now, it was a full-blown tornado—and it wasn't listening to her anymore.
"Shit…" she cursed.
Storm strained, trying to wrest back control. But the system had been out of her hands too long. It was pure chaos—air pressure diving, trees bowing, rooftops tearing away, and screams echoing across the town.
"Ororo!" Logan barked.
He could already see the damage unfolding—homes splintering, civilians fleeing. If this kept up, half the town would be torn off the map.
"I can't stop it!" Storm snapped, gritting her teeth. The cyclone was too far gone. She'd never had to regain control of a storm before—because she never lost it.
This was a first.
Everyone slowly turned to Nolan.
His coat snapped in the growing wind.
"I figured," he said. "You trained under Charles, didn't you? I thought maybe you'd have improved."
He took a step toward the storm.
"Lost control for just a minute, and you let the whole thing spiral."
Nolan glanced back at her. "Didn't you just say there's no storm you can't control? That you were the queen of the skies?"
Storm looked away, humiliated. She had said that—loudly. And now her own words felt like a slap.
Nolan stared into the eye of the storm.
Then, he exhaled.
Ice-cold vapor burst from his lungs like a dragon's breath, spiraling into the tornado. The wind whistled in protest, absorbing the frost.
"What are you doing?!" Storm shouted.
Nolan didn't answer.
Instead, he muttered something—more to himself than anyone else.
"Cold air drops. Hot air rises. Force convection. Accelerate microvortices. Collapse thermal gradient."
Storm blinked. What?
He wasn't using power. He was using science.
Everyone watched as the furious tornado began to waver. The spiraling chaos started to slow. Bit by bit, it lost its teeth.
Bobby and Colossus exchanged a look—both stunned.
"Is he… reversing it?"
Bobby's jaw clenched. "He's… changing the temperature of the air. The layers are equalizing. It's killing the convection."
Storm felt it too. The air was stabilizing. The pressure she once manipulated was now slipping into balance without her help.
Nolan glanced back one last time.
"My advice? Learn the principles behind your powers. Stop relying on emotion and intuition."
He looked right at Storm.
"You've been wielding a rifle like a club."
The winds eased. The clouds thinned.
The storm… was gone.
Storm stood frozen. She was decades older than him, yet she'd just been lectured like a child—and proven wrong with cold precision.
Her face flushed.
"…empty years and shallow knowledge."
Nolan waved a hand. The destroyed Sentinel pieces floated up and arranged themselves behind him like a procession.
A golden portal opened ahead.
He walked forward—robot debris following in silent formation.
Max glanced at Colossus, then smirked. "You heard the boss. Hit the books."
"Oh, and if you want one of these Sentinels?" Nolan's voice echoed through the portal. "Either hand over Mystique's DNA… or have Tony Stark show up himself."
The portal closed.
Nolan, Max, and the rest of the Osborn team vanished.
Gone.
Storm looked to the distance townspeople were emerging, shaken but safe. Logan stepped beside her, still dazed.
"We should head back," she said. "Let's ask the Professor whether to renegotiate or try another capture."
Logan nodded, jaw tight. "Yeah…"
In truth, he was still shaken.
Nolan wasn't just getting stronger. He was getting smarter, faster, and deeper. His powers made no sense anymore.
He remembered Nolan's words clearly:
"If Charles were here, he'd know better."
Logan frowned.
What does Charles know that we don't?
----
[Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter]
For early access to advanced chapters on p@treon:
P@treon/iamxeno
Thank you so much for your support and for reading!q