He had done it again. As long as he finished learning John's latest research notes, his [X Genetics] would finally reach Level 5.
Top-tier talent like John was rare—and Norton wasn't about to let him burn himself out.
The learning system allowed Norton to bypass traditional bottlenecks, but that didn't mean progress came free. To improve, he needed a constant stream of fresh knowledge. Once he exhausted what's available, he had two choices: find something new to study or develop it himself.
Unfortunately, knowledge in the real world was finite.
Eventually, every subject hit a wall unless you pushed the frontier yourself. But Norton's time and energy were limited, and he couldn't master every subject personally. To solve that, the system unlocked a master-apprentice function: any of Norton's official students could share system bonuses, allowing them to progress without bottlenecks in fields he had already opened.
In other words, everyone at Carnegie Mutant Academy—staff or student—was technically his student.
Once trained, they became efficient learning nodes for the system. That was why the facility behind the academy was called the Mutant Research Base—not because mutants were the test subjects, but because all the researchers were mutants themselves.
After bringing Anna to the school, Serena personally introduced her to the upperclassmen—students in grade six and above. Each one shook her hand. No one flinched at her ability.
That surprised her.
For the first time, she felt like she belonged.
Living like a normal girl—that had always been her greatest wish.
Now that the emotional burden was lifted, traces of her girlish personality began to resurface.
"Sister Serena, why doesn't my ability affect you?" she asked, genuinely curious.
"Because we've trained for stronger control over our X genes," Serena replied. "Once you finish the basic curriculum, you'll be able to manage your ability just like we do. One day, even contact with ordinary people won't be an issue."
"Really?" the girl asked with disbelief, but hope had already begun to bloom in her eyes.
"Absolutely." Serena's words were calm but carried an infectious certainty.
Anna hesitated only a moment before asking, "Then when do I start classes?"
It was a small moment—but one that told Serena she had accepted the school as her new home.
The plan was working.
The X gene was unique. Most breakthroughs came from the individual's own perception and experimentation. It was nearly impossible to fully decode it from the outside. That's why participation from the gifted was necessary—not as subjects, but as researchers.
Rogue's X Ability filled a key gap in Norton's X Genetics theory. Losing her was not an option.
Everything—from her rescue to her reintegration—had been carefully planned to guide her to this point.
****
Charles Xavier arrived at the school alone to inspect Cerebro.
The metal door opened with a soft hiss, revealing a familiar silhouette.
Professor X was only briefly surprised to see Erik.
Sneaking into Xavier's School unnoticed was child's play for Magneto. He had been here countless times. For him, this was almost like coming home.
The professor didn't question it. He simply wheeled in, the doors closing silently behind him.
Magneto turned.
His expression was calm—too calm. No sign of last night's defeat could be read from his face.
"You failed, old friend," Professor X said softly.
Magneto didn't deny it. "I did," he admitted, without hesitation.
He had followed Norton's advice. After leaving the Statue of Liberty, he'd infiltrated to verify Councilor Kelly's test data.
It confirmed what he'd begun to suspect: the plan was doomed from the start.
Even so, failure didn't weaken Erik's resolve. He was an idealist—setbacks didn't change his endgame.
Charles, knowing this all too well, tried again. "Don't go down this road again, Erik."
Magneto's voice was steady. "I won't make the same mistake twice."
"This path only leads mutants deeper into the abyss."
"We're already there," Magneto replied sharply. "I'm the one dragging them out. Without me, most of them would be dead—guinea pigs for human experiments."
His eyes flashed with restrained anger.
He wasn't wrong. It was persecution that had pushed him this far. Years of seeing his people hunted had turned him from activist to militant.
Neither man would convince the other. They never had.
As Magneto turned to leave, he offered one final warning.
"Be careful. Humans can't be trusted."
The battle at the Statue of Liberty had caused considerable damage. While the U.S. government didn't yet know the full cause, it didn't matter. The damage itself was enough to stir political pressure in Washington.
Someone would seize the moment. There was already movement in the shadows.
Magneto had seen the lists—familiar names, dangerous agendas.
The Brotherhood had gone into hiding, led by Erik himself. But Xavier's School? It was wide open.
That was why Magneto had come. Old grudges didn't matter. The school was full of mutants, and for that alone, it deserved protection.
As for Norton, neither Erik nor Charles brought him up.
With their respective resources, both had easily traced his background. His steady, impartial rescue of mutant children was no secret. Carnegie Mutant Academy had never discriminated based on power or pedigree.
Both men had developed a silent respect for him.
…
That afternoon, Norton returned to Carnegie Alloy Company. No sooner had he arrived than General Manager Hannah Watson met him with a stack of documents.
"Boss," she said briskly, "the military just placed three emergency orders—all of them are for non-magnetic alloys."
"It seems last night really shook the military," Norton chuckled.
The three orders were sizable, but Norton knew this was only the beginning. The military wasn't the only sector that would need non-magnetic alloys.
He felt he ought to thank Magneto—once again, the man had unintentionally helped him strike gold. Non-magnetic alloys weren't cheap, and demand was about to explode.
"Immediately increase production," Norton instructed. "Get the backup smelting workshop online. These alloy orders will keep surging."
"Got it, boss!" Hannah responded quickly, jotting everything down.
"Anything else?" Norton asked.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
There was a knock at the door.
"Come in!" Norton called, then turned back to Hannah. "That's all for today."
As the door opened, Penn Miles stepped in. Norton smiled and walked over.
"Uncle Miles!"
"Master, Madam asks you to return home as soon as possible," Penn said calmly.
"I'll head back now," Norton nodded.
His mother had summoned him—he wouldn't dare keep her waiting. Fortunately, his work was wrapped up for the day.
Their home wasn't far from the company, just outside Washington. It was only a short drive.
Originally, the family lived in New York, but Norton had insisted they relocate. New York had become far too risky. If it were up to him, he'd have moved them all the way back to Georgia—if not for the hassle of constant travel.
Their home in Washington was modest for their wealth: a single-family villa with a peaceful garden.
Norton let out a breath of relief when he saw Mary tending to the garden as if nothing had happened.
Carrying a watering can, he approached. "Mom, what happened today?"
Mary didn't stop her work. Her tone was casual, even serene.
"Your father sent word. A number of people in Congress expressed strong dissatisfaction with Mutants today. Some factions in the military are also preparing to take action."
"The military wants to mess with my academy?" Norton asked, raising an eyebrow. His voice carried a hint of mockery.
"Who dares?"
Mary's reply was soft, yet unshakably firm:
"No one dares."
Norton didn't doubt her for a second.
Everyone in the upper echelons of the U.S. government knew he had rescued and protected countless Mutants. It wasn't a secret. But no one had ever dared to challenge him for it.
Because in America, true power didn't lie with the politicians. It belonged to the conglomerates—the families who owned them. The Carnegie family was among the most powerful.
On the surface, senators and military brass might seem to hold authority, but in truth, they were just employees.
And what kind of employee dares meddle in their employer's personal affairs?
Magneto and Professor X had gathered many Mutants. The military viewed them as unstable threats.
But Norton had done the same, and no one saw him that way. No one would ever dare view the Carnegie family as dangerous.
They were beneficiaries of the existing order—why would they ever tear it down?
After helping trim the garden, Norton asked again, "Mom, if Dad reached out personally, there's got to be more to it than that, right?"
Mary didn't beat around the bush.
"The military asked your father for help. They want access to your Mutant gene bank."
"The gene bank, huh…" Norton weighed the matter silently.
The gene bank was important—but not too important. He couldn't hand it over lightly, but it also wasn't something he needed to keep completely secret.
It was just a gene archive. In terms of research value, it was limited. The military had poured countless resources into studying it for years—with barely any success.
To Norton's knowledge, they hadn't produced even one reliable result.
The two half-finished products taken down by Wolverine were unstable at best, with no guarantee of long-term success.
After some thought, Norton came to a decision.
"They can have it—but not for free. I want all of their Mutant research data in return. That includes the gene bank they're holding."
The deal went through smoothly.
Norton gave them over a thousand genetic samples and, in exchange, received hundreds of samples from the military along with a huge amount of classified research data.
The number of valuable X-gene samples was lower than expected—but not surprising. Mutants were rare to begin with. Globally, the chance of Awakening was less than one in 100,000. And of those, truly valuable X Abilities were even rarer.
The military had spent decades accumulating their samples.
Most of Norton's samples didn't have much combat value. But most of the military's samples were combat-ready or had significant practical uses.
The samples helped fill out the gene bank. Once the research data was processed, the lab's foundational knowledge base expanded.
Still, it wasn't exactly a profitable deal—not in Norton's eyes.
"These are just foundational materials. Nowhere near enough to push X genetics to Level 5," Norton muttered with a frown.
The key to that breakthrough still lay with Anna. But she was still studying and wouldn't be ready to join the lab anytime soon.
"Well, it's only year 2000. Still a few years before the Marvel universe becomes mainstream," Norton sighed, trying to comfort himself.
Despite the disappointment, there were some unexpected gains.
For example:
[Space-Time Science LV3 (1)]
The military's research into space-type X Abilities allowed Norton's previously Level 2 space-time knowledge to advance to Level 3.
Even more importantly, this advancement granted him a rare new skill: Spatial Vision.
With this ability, Norton could intuitively perceive spatial phenomena—such as movement traces, distortions, or spatial fluctuations.
Unfortunately, this new power was focused purely on space. His time-related knowledge remained lacking. Without a breakthrough in time science, spatial vision couldn't evolve into temporal vision, nor could it unlock true space-time manipulation.
Norton frowned.
"Now… where can I find reliable knowledge about time?"