Nolan didn’t care how many surveillance satellites were locked on him.
In fact, he wanted them to see.
Every show of power was a calculated signal a line drawn in the sand. He wasn’t afraid of being studied. Let them look for weaknesses. That only helped him adapt, improve, and evolve.
He didn’t fear opposition.
He craved worthy adversaries.
But he had no patience for flies.
Let the U.S. government throw superhuman weapons at him, not tanks or nukes. If they couldn’t even counter his [Frozen Domain], they didn’t deserve to waste his time.
Back at Oscorp Labs, Nolan returned with Carl Creel still locked in ice. He placed the frozen body on the bio-lab’s elevated table. As the chamber’s temperature slowly increased, Nolan activated his heat vision, slicing through layers of cryo-seal.
Carl’s metallic frame, still in vibranium form, began to reemerge.
"Do you have any idea who you’re messing with?" Carl roared. "I work for the U.S. government. You’re committing treason!"
Chains of electromagnetic force restrained him. Vibranium made Carl nearly indestructible but it didn’t make him strong. He struggled, but the cuffs held firm.
"I know exactly who you are," Nolan said, donning a lab coat. "ATCU Special Ops Commander. Personal enforcer to General Glenn Talbot. Hydra’s little pet project."
He gestured, and two scientists entered.
Dr. Curt Connors and Dr. Samuel Sterns. Both are experts in experimental bioengineering.
"Let’s begin," Nolan said.
Carl thrashed in his bonds. "This is illegal!"
Nolan ignored him. "The subject has retained his vibranium state post-defeat. Likely due to a psychological trigger."
He approached Carl’s hand.
"You can keep resisting or help me understand your physiology."
Carl spat, "Go to hell."
Nolan shook his head and reached for the back of Carl’s skull. A surge of [Dragon Force] and telepathic energy pulsed from his fingers.
Carl’s body went limp.
His fist unclenched. A shard of vibranium clattered to the table. His body returned to human form muscular, but no longer silver-skinned.
Connors and Sterns got to work.
"Analyze all internal structures," Nolan instructed. "If he’s Inhuman, I want the gene structure modeled and compared with the X-gene."
"Understood," Sterns said, beginning the dissection protocol.
Connors collected samples and began genomic sequencing.
Nolan headed to a separate terminal and pulled up Oscorp’s database on mutant DNA. He began cross-referencing the Inhuman genome with archived X-gene models d, extracted, or recovered from prior encounters.
Soon, results began coming in.
"Surprising," Sterns said. "His cells are virtually indistinguishable from baseline humans."
"But his powers..." Connors added, "...stem from a very specific mutation. Here—look."
Nolan studied the genetic display.
"X-Gene confirmed. But... this one’s different."
"Yes," Connors said. "There are cut marks. The gene was altered. Edited."
"Gene splicing?" Nolan asked.
"More like bio-locking," Connors replied. "There are residual amino acid compounds near the splice sites. Something akin to... an enzyme inhibitor. The gene was active, then sealed off. Later, something forcibly broke the lock."
"Terrigenesis," Nolan said. "But Carl was never exposed to Terrigen Mist. So how did he awaken?"
Connors hesitated. "That... is the strange part."
Nolan didn’t wait. He returned to Carl’s unconscious body and placed his hand on his forehead.
He dove into Carl’s mind, peeling through his life like flipping pages.
And then—a flash of green and gold.
The Battle of New York. Germany. The mind-control scene in Stuttgart. Nolan saw it—Carl was there. Not a major player—just a civilian. But when Loki stabbed someone with the Mind Stone, a ripple of energy surged through the crowd.
He collapsed—but survived. Days later, he discovered he could absorb the properties of the materials he touched.
"It was the Mind Stone," Nolan murmured.
Carl’s powers hadn’t come from Terrigen Mist.
They had come from an Infinity Stone.
He pulled away from the mind-link and stared at the glowing amulet on his own chest:
"If the Mind Stone unlocked powers in Carl... what can this do?" Nolan whispered.
More pieces clicked into place.
All enhanced no, forged—by Infinity Stones.
Could the Stones be keys to triggering superhuman evolution?
Could they reshape the X-gene?
Could they unlock the full potential of Inhumans without Terrigen?
"Inhumans and mutants," he said, turning to his researchers. "Two branches of the same tree. One natural. One manufactured."
"The Inhumans," he muttered, "are just X-Gene carriers with designer locks installed by the Kree for mass production."
"Well then. Let’s figure out how to pick the lock."
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