The research wing of Site 999 hummed quietly around me, the soft drone of high-grade machinery and life-support tubes blending into a familiar background rhythm. Months of work had been poured into the X-Gene Project, and with the acquisitions of Apocalypse and Mystique, the project had finally crossed the threshold into something… historic. Something that would reshape what the Foundation—and humanity—could become.
Apocalypse's body was still suspended inside the reinforced bio-containment tank across the lab, sealed in layers of anti-telepathic shielding, energy-nullifying seals, and runic suppression fields even I considered overkill. But considering who he had been, no one objected.
Orochimaru stood beside me, hunched slightly forward, golden eyes scanning through the holographic render of Apocalypse's genetic structure. To anyone else it looked like madness. Thousands of branching sequences, overlapping structures, impossible cellular patterns constantly rewriting themselves.
To us?It was a roadmap.
"We've successfully separated all major X-gene clusters," Orochimaru reported, voice clinical and hungry with scientific excitement. "Each ability can now be isolated into its own serum. But attempting to combine two of them into the same body…" He glanced up at me. "Even your body would destabilise without cellular reinforcement."
I nodded. "Apocalypse cheated evolution itself. We're not mass-producing living gods. One power per person is more than enough. Too much power in one body creates unpredictability."
Orochimaru smiled slightly. "And yet… it's an impressive collection."
He flicked his hand, and holographic windows opened one by one—each labeled and colour-coded.
• Cellular Control Serum – The primary mutation that allowed Apocalypse to restructure his body at will.• Immortality Sequence – His cellular stasis mechanism.• Superhuman Physiology Serum – Enhanced strength, durability, stamina.• Telepathy Serum – A weaker but stable version of his telepathic cluster.• Telekinesis Serum• Energy Manipulation Serum• Matter Transmutation Serum – Extremely unstable. Locked behind triple-approval.• Self-Enhancement Serum – The ability to copy and integrate other X-genes. This one was immediately classified as "Never To Be Used."
Separating each ability had been a nightmare of genetic engineering, rune stabilisation, dimensional folding techniques, and sealing arts. But we had done it.
At the center of the display stood a column labeled AP-α PRIME, Apocalypse's true original gene. Untouched. Unmodified. Locked behind every security protocol we had.
I was the only person allowed access.
And I wasn't planning to use it.
Mystique's body floated in a stasis tube a few metres away. Her genetic structure was far less chaotic than Apocalypse's, but no less useful. The shapeshifting X-gene had already been copied, stabilised, and labelled.
SH-X1 — Perfect Morphogenic ReplicationAnother gene that would almost certainly never be used by anyone outside the O5 Council. And even then, none of us trusted each other enough for that.
The Iceman samples were far easier. His Omega-level power had been scaled down, controlled, and rendered safe.
CRYO-β — Cryokinesis (Controlled Variant)Strong, versatile, but far from the universe-breaking power of an Omega mutant.
We had dozens more samples from mid-tier mutants. Their abilities had been catalogued, sequenced, and refined. But it was these three—Apocalypse, Mystique, Iceman—that mattered. These were the ones that allowed the project to reach completion.
I finished reviewing the new data when Julius entered my office, closing the door behind him. He looked exactly the same as he always did—impossibly calm, elegant, almost too perfect—but now his right eye carried the swirling pattern of the Isshiki dōjutsu. The Kokugan glowed faintly beneath his eyelid.
Of course he bought it from the system. With what we faced on a daily basis, none of us could afford to stay "normal."
He sat across from me, folding his hands. "So. What's the status of the X-gene project?"
I leaned back in my chair. "Progress is excellent—but not perfect. I can replicate X-genes, I can stabilise them, I can control their activation. But I can't create new mutant abilities from nothing. I need original genetic templates. If a power doesn't exist somewhere out there, I can't manufacture it."
Julius nodded slowly. "Limiting, but expected. Still… Apocalypse. That's a massive leap."
"It gives us options." I tapped the screen, bringing up Apocalypse's genetic cluster. "But even then, we can't stack abilities. One X-gene per person. That's all the human body can handle, even with enhancements."
Julius smirked. "Unless you give yourself the Cellular Control gene."
I raised an eyebrow. "I'm not turning myself into Apocalypse."
He chuckled softly. "Fair enough."
I continued, "The Council will each receive one X-gene—once we vote on which abilities we want and once I stabilise the serums further."
"And the others?" Julius asked.
"Restricted to elite personnel. And only with unanimous approval." I exhaled softly. "We're not creating an army of mutants. We're creating tools."
"Good," Julius replied. "Because if someone like Iceman became Omega-level again… we'd be dealing with a global extinction event."
He was right.
Everything we were doing was dangerous. Necessary—but dangerous.
I looked at the wall of gene samples and serums behind the glass.
This was the future of human evolution.
And we were the ones writing the blueprint.