Apocalypse's body lay suspended in a fortified containment cradle—layered with anti-telekinetic locks, psychic dampeners, molecular stasis fields, and six separate failsafe sigils personally carved by me. Even dead, En Sabah Nur was a cosmic cheat code wearing skin. If there was ever a mutant who represented the peak of X-gene evolution, it was him.
And now his power was mine to dissect.
I stood beside the examination platform, arms folded, while Orochimaru and three of our mid-rank geneticists ran the extraction procedures. Apocalypse's ancient blue skin had already been opened at the forearm, exposing dense, almost metallic musculature. His blood shimmered faintly with energy—alpha, psionic, cosmic, and something else we still couldn't classify.
Even I had to admit: this was beautiful science.
Orochimaru almost purred with fascination."His X-gene is… exquisite. It's not a single mutation—it is a living network."
I nodded."That's why we're not copying his ability as one package. We isolate each mutation into a separate serum. No one can handle all of this at once—not even an O5."
The room hummed as our centrifuges spun cells that defied classification. My mind raced alongside the machines, calculating thousands of possibilities per second. Julius wanted a report soon, and he'd get one—but this work needed to be perfect.
We had already extracted and cataloged the first major categories:
1. Cellular Control Serum
A shimmering silver liquid. The distilled essence of Apocalypse's molecular-level manipulation.
Orochimaru handled it like sacred treasure."Injected into someone with a stable genetic framework… they could reshape their body at will."
I added, "And become effectively immortal."Useful—but dangerously tempting.
2. Superhuman Physiology Serum
Strength. Speed. Durability. Healing.All in one.
This serum glowed a dense crimson, radiating raw aggression.Even Julius would drool over this one.
3. Telepathy & Telekinesis Serum
Pale violet.We had to keep it triple-sealed so it wouldn't accidentally broadcast stray psychic noise.
4. Energy Manipulation Serum
An indigo mixture with arcs of light dancing inside like a storm in miniature.The potential? Omega-level devastation.
5. Matter Transmutation Serum
This one was horrifying.A translucent, almost colorless fluid.One drop on a piece of metal turned it to dust instantly.
Even I felt a chill.
6. Self-Enhancement Serum
We agreed not to test this one yet.It allowed Apocalypse to copy OTHER mutant abilities.Too risky. Too unpredictable.Even for us.
After twelve hours of nonstop refinement, we finally had nine isolated serums—each containing one of Apocalypse's godlike gifts.
I stretched my shoulders, cracked my neck, and observed the results.
"Not bad," I muttered. "For a world-ending mutant whose corpse could probably bench-press a tank even now."
Orochimaru smirked."I admit… this is the most exciting research I've done in centuries."
The junior researchers looked exhausted, terrified, and exhilarated all at once. Good. That meant they understood the scale of what we were doing.
I activated my holographic communicator and prepared to brief Julius and the rest of the O5.
"Tell them," Orochimaru asked, "that we can now manufacture mutant abilities on demand?"
I shook my head."No. Tell them we can manufacture Apocalypse's abilities. That should get their attention."
And it would.
Because each of us—each O5—would only ever have one X-gene.
Which meant we were now choosing from the most powerful collection of mutant abilities in existence.
And the entire multiverse was about to change because of it.