The hum of machinery echoed like a heartbeat through the facility's command center.
In the central chamber, larger now, colder, bright white light pulsed from ceiling to floor as a series of surgical arms retracted back into their housings, hissing steam into the sterile air.
All For One stood still, silent, watching the final vial being prepared.
The head scientist a pale man with shaking hands and hollow eyes stepped forward with a chrome syringe nestled in a protective case. Within it: a deep golden fluid, faintly luminous, swirling with microscopic strands of synthetic genetic code.
"We call it X-Genesis, sir," he explained, barely above a whisper. "A hybrid sequence spliced from the DNA remnants taken from Logan, Subject X-023, and healing proteins extracted from Subject 001. Accelerated regeneration. Cellular duplication. Longevity beyond any natural lifespan."
All For One didn't respond immediately.
He turned slightly, eyes hidden behind his mask, gaze locked on the syringe.
"And the sedation fluid?" he asked.
The scientist nodded quickly. "We reverse-engineered Jason Stryker's psionic serum, and filtered out the psychic noise, refined it into a neural suppressant. One injection renders even high-level mutants fully compliant. Their powers flicker out like a candle."
A silent moment passed.
Then with a click, All For One lifted the syringe from its case. Without ceremony, he plunged it into his own neck.
A sharp hiss.
His body stiffened. Muscles coiled tight. For a moment, nothing but silence.
Then, his heart roared like an engine.
The veins in his neck and arms glowed faintly golden, then faded back to black. Beneath his armor, damaged tissue began to reverse. Scarred organs realigned. Decades of rot, of injuries long sustained, were erased in seconds.
He exhaled.
Deep.
Slow.
And smiled.
"I feel… alive."
The scientist took a cautious step back. "With respect, my lord, the serum is untested. We don't know the long-term effects"
All For One turned to him sharply.
"I do not need time," he said. "I need dominion. Now I have both."
The monitors behind him flickered showing the outer perimeter of the facility. In one corner, a tracking blip had entered the outer boundary. Unidentified aircraft. Low-altitude. Stealth.
Xavier had arrived.
All For One stepped toward the console, shadows trailing behind him like smoke.
He pressed a button. The intercom activated across the entire facility.
His voice poured through the halls as a smooth, commanding, hollow as the grave.
"Attention: we are expecting guests."
"Some of them will be familiar. Sentimental. Desperate."
He watched as the live feed shifted, showing Xavier's ship hovering over the canyon before descending slowly.
"Charles Xavier has come to find his lost ones. To gather hope."
"Indulge him. Let him think he's close to rescue."
Behind him, several guards readied their weapons, injecting themselves with suppressants to remain unseen by telepathic scans.
"Report to Sector Four. Keep our guest… entertained."
He turned to the viewing deck, staring into the chamber below, where rows of mutants lay in stasis, each hooked into nutrient feeds and psionic dampeners. Machines blinked. Minds slept.
"Let the professor see what his dream has birthed. And when he speaks of peace…"
His voice lowered.
"I will speak of power."
The scientist hesitated. "And… what about the other X-Men?"
All For One smiled beneath the mask.
"Let them come."
He raised his hand. A ripple moved across his fingers as skin started to knit together where he'd once been scarred, bones strengthened, the years melting away.
"Let them see what their restraint has denied them."
"I am the future they feared. The evolution they delayed."
Exterior – Just Outside the Canyon Facility
A black, birdlike jet hovered in stealth mode as it descended between jagged rocks and dead trees.
Inside, Professor Charles Xavier sat calmly, his hands folded in his lap, flanked by two escorts mutants loyal to him, wary but silent.
He looked out the window toward the hidden entrance embedded in the canyon wall.
"He's here," Xavier said softly. "I can feel the echoes of their minds. Suppressed. Shackled."
He turned his head slightly, as though listening to something no one else could hear.
"But he's not hiding them. He wants us to see."
One of the escorts raised an eyebrow. "A trap?"
Xavier nodded once. "A stage."
Back at the Facility – Observation Deck
All For One watched the ship land. Monitors shifted, displaying heat signatures and motion trackers.
His voice returned to the intercom—this time, colder.
"Begin the demonstration."
Lights dimmed. Sedation tubes pumped a higher dosage into the captured mutants' systems. One by one, their eyes flickered beneath sealed lids.
Their dreams were no longer their own.
Jason Stryker's influence, synthesized and weaponized, began to drip into their subconscious, as it begun shaping thoughts. Rewriting fear. Creating loyalty.
All For One placed his hand on the reinforced glass separating him from the chamber below.
"Let Xavier see what his future looks like."
Cut to: Surveillance Drone POV – Outside Xavier's School
Back at the mansion, hidden in the woods, one drone remained.
Its lens focused on the school.
Inside, Jean Grey stood at the window, eyes narrowed, sensing something distant… something wrong.
Her eyes flared red for just a second.
Then she whispered.
"Charles… you walked right into it."