Logan lay helplessly on the operating table, blood pooling around him. Technicians moved quickly, collecting every drop.
Nolan set down his clipboard and gave clear instructions. "Extract his blood, red marrow, yellow marrow, interstitial fluid, germ cells, stem cells... prep the tissue slices."
"If he resists, inject him with ether and the nerve toxin I prepared. Those are vibranium magnetic cuffs he won't break free. Be cautious of his claws."
With that, Nolan slipped off his lab coat and exited, research notes in hand.
He was headed to his room to review Logan's healing data when his phone buzzed. The screen displayed Klaue's name.
"I found the person you're looking for," Klaue reported. "But they're in the city, so I couldn't send in a team. I've had the intel forwarded to your computer."
"Oh—and the Golden Panther wants to meet you. Said he'd like a talk."
"Day after tomorrow. I still have some experiments to run tomorrow. Also, send me a batch of test subjects and note the life-threatening risks."
"Understood. Also, I've hired you a secretary, background checks clean, and already signed over her employment rights. Use her as you see fit."
"I told you I don't need one."
"Trust me, you do. Otherwise, you'll forget to eat. Balance your work and rest, partner I don't want my collaborator dying on a lab table."
Nolan hung up and returned to his room.
They were now living in a lavish suburban villa one of Klaue's many safe houses, hidden in plain sight. Being within city limits meant Hydra wouldn't dare pull another large-scale search like before.
The lab was directly beneath the house. To keep close to his research and isolate the materials from others, Nolan had moved his quarters underground.
Back in his room, he organized his data. Wolverine's healing factor was roughly five thousand times stronger than an average human's. At its core was the "regeneration catalyst" a factor that dramatically sped up recovery without depleting energy reserves.
"There's more to this than I imagined," Nolan muttered, staring at the regeneration data. "A healing factor that doesn't consume energy... this catalyst is rewriting biology."
Each mutant's genome was a treasure trove.
And from Logan alone, Nolan had already discovered that the fabled X-Gene could bend the laws of physics in startling ways.
"Idiots at the top. Every mutant is a living goldmine, and they chose to exterminate them out of fear."
His frustration boiled. The U.S. still enforced anti-mutant policies. If Nolan wanted to unlock his full potential, he'd need those laws repealed.
He recorded the data, then powered up his computer. Klaue's intel opened on screen an individual profile.
A classic all-American beauty. Her school history caught Nolan's eye.
"Midtown High... Peter Parker?"
He narrowed his eyes.
"I'll need to find a way to buy into Oscorp or at least acquire their biotech division."
Pushing that thought aside, Nolan refocused. Jessica was his next target.
A woman with super strength and flight.
She'd been Peter Parker's classmate. During a family road trip to Disneyland, an argument with her brother had distracted their father while driving. Their car collided with a military truck carrying radioactive chemicals. Everyone died except Jessica.
She fell into a coma for months. When she awoke, she discovered she had gained superhuman strength and the ability to fly. She was later adopted by the Jones family and took on the name Jessica Jones.
Her flight ability was Nolan's primary objective. There were stronger candidates like the Human Torch or Thor but they were backed by teams. The Fantastic Four, the Avengers... not people Nolan could afford to antagonize yet.
More importantly, her powers came from post-accident radiation exposure making her abilities potentially replicable.
Even if the odds were low, with Nolan's scientific prowess and the Evolution Core in his body, he could push those odds to one hundred per cent.
"Alias Investigations... closed for years? Has she already encountered the Purple Man?"
He began analyzing and drafting a plan.
In the early days, Jessica had tried being a superhero. That ended when she met a man known only as Kilgrave the Purple Man.
His power was psychological control. Despite her physical strength, Jessica had no mental defences. Kilgrave enslaved her, body and mind.
It wasn't until Jean Grey the Phoenix rescued her that she broke free. But the trauma lingered. She withdrew from society, sinking into depression, until she met Luke Cage.
"You two are a damn goldmine," Nolan murmured as he closed the file.
This one would be tricky. Logan, for all his raw power, was a loner. Once they discovered his weakness, Nolan's team had simply mobilized and bagged him.
If he messed this up, she'd vanish into the sky and the next opportunity might never come.
Worse, this was New York.
Throw a rock in any direction, and you might hit a superhero.
A direct operation, or even Nolan moving personally, would risk exposure. And that one-eyed bastard from S.H.I.E.L.D. Fury was practically obsessed with monitoring superhumans.
Any clash involving supers would bring S.H.I.E.L.D. down on him like a hammer.
Hydra was already after him. If Fury joined in?
And Fury had his own trump card—
A cosmic-level powerhouse Nolan definitely couldn't deal with yet.
Still, he had to obtain the power of flight.
"What kind of Superman can't even fly?" he scoffed.
The flight was a hallmark ability. Most supers fought on the ground. If Nolan could take to the skies, he'd dominate the battlefield.
With that, he locked his room tight and made final preparations.
Tomorrow, he would begin the real exploration—
The secrets within Wolverine.
100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter!