X-Jet and Modified Motorcycle

"There's actually a plane?"

George stared at the X-Jet before him, utterly stunned.

He had not expected the X-Jet to still be kept in the school basement. He had assumed Wolverine and Professor X had flown it away when they fled for their lives.

Wolverine took off his suit jacket and shirt, changed back into his old favorite jacket, and explained to George with a cigar clenched between his teeth:

"Too bad I can't fly a plane. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had to flee so miserably with the Professor back then."

Back then, the Professor had lost control of his mind and killed every mutant in the school. To save him, Wolverine had driven him straight to the hospital. Although the Professor's condition later stabilized, the FBI began sending large numbers of agents after them.

If he had known how to fly back then, he could have taken the Professor directly out of the United States to seek treatment in another country and avoid the government's manhunt.

"It's good that it's here. We'll have a use for it eventually."

Only then did George remember that Wolverine not only could not fly planes, but also seemed to be a little afraid of heights and prone to airsickness.

In the movies, it was usually Beast, Mystique, Storm, Cyclops, and Phoenix who took turns piloting the X-Jet.

Still, that was not a bad thing. Although this X-Jet was more than twenty years old, it had been modified by Beast, that genius scientist, so it was not much inferior to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s most advanced Quinjet.

Not only was it fast, but it could also turn invisible and evade satellite surveillance.

As long as one of them learned how to fly in the future, they could use the X-Jet to evacuate everyone in time should they encounter any danger.

For example, if the Chitauri invaded New York and could not be effectively stopped.

"By the way, when you go into the city to gather intelligence in the future, you can ride this motorcycle. It was Scott's Favorite. It's been specially modified and is three times faster than the fastest motorcycle in the world."

After showing George the X-Jet, Wolverine took him to find a perfectly ordinary-looking motorcycle in the basement.

Wolverine, the Professor, and Calliban were all too conspicuous to show themselves in the city often. Otherwise, the government would inevitably discover them. They could only step in to help at critical moments.

That meant George would have to handle the task of going to Stark Industries in Manhattan to gather intelligence on Tony Stark himself.

"Looks like Scott had good taste."

George sat on the motorcycle and took it for a brief test ride, a satisfied look appearing on his face.

Since everything had gone smoothly so far, and Mutant Academy was even better than he had expected, he no longer planned to contact Tony Stark so soon and expose himself to forces such as S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra.

Naturally, he no longer needed to go to Manhattan to gather intelligence, nor did he need to kidnap Obadiah and interrogate him about Tony Stark's location in the Middle East.

However, he would still need this motorcycle to go into the Bronx and gather intelligence on the local gangs and unscrupulous businessmen.

Because before Tony Stark escaped, he planned to pull off something big in the Bronx.

His current plan was to spend the first three months studying magic as hard as possible.

Then, after three months, he would sweep through every wealthy and powerful gang in the Bronx, obtain a huge sum of money, and buy Stark Industries stock like crazy while it was at its lowest.

Once Tony Stark returned and Stark Industries' stock rose again, he would sell it all.

Then, when Tony Stark announced the closure of Stark Industries' weapons division and stopped selling weapons, he would buy in heavily once more. That way, he could instantly gain a vast fortune, ensuring that neither he nor the children at the school would have to worry about money.

Of course, he could only do something like this once. If he kept sweeping up gangs every day, he would inevitably draw the attention of Kingpin, the ruler of the underworld, and other forces.

If you walk by the river often enough, your shoes are bound to get wet. If he did it too much, both he and Mutant School might be exposed.

But if he only did one job, ran after finishing it, and never showed himself again, then in the camera-scarce Bronx, not even Sherlock Holmes could find him.

So this job had to be a big one. He needed to scout the area and gather intelligence in advance.

"He did have good taste, especially in women. I used to hate that guy, but now I kind of miss him."

Wolverine looked at the motorcycle and could not help falling into memories.

George immediately understood. He knew that both Cyclops and Wolverine had liked Phoenix, but Phoenix had ultimately chosen Cyclops.

"By the way, if we use these facilities in the basement, we'll definitely need electricity. Could that attract the government's attention?

Maybe we should buy some generators instead. The power supply wouldn't be as sufficient, but it would be much safer."

Twenty-five years had already passed. The government had probably long forgotten about this castle, much less kept a special watch on its electricity usage. Still, George felt it was better to be careful in all things.

It had not been easy to find such a good hiding place. If it was exposed, they would have to find another one.

Once he learned the Muggle Repelling Charm, he would not need to be so cautious anymore. Even reopening the school would no longer leave him worried about the government discovering it.

"You can rest assured about that. The power supply for the two basement levels underwent special modifications after a certain incident in the past.

Beast installed a special power system separate from the castle's main power supply and added extensive defensive upgrades. Even if all the facilities are running, no trace of electricity usage will be detected."

Wolverine waved off George's concern.

"That's good."

A special incident? Apocalypse's invasion, or William Stryker leading troops into the academy?

George did not ask further. Neither possibility mattered. What mattered was knowing that this place was safe and that he could study magic here without worry.

"I'll find time to go outside and gather intelligence during this period. If possible, I think you and the Professor can help guide these children and teach them how to better use their abilities in battle."

Finally, George made a suggestion to Wolverine.

Since the Basement Combat Simulator was fully operational, they could use it to train the children in combat with their abilities.

Unlike the crude training by amateurs at the Experimental Base, true experts like the Professor and Wolverine could better develop the children's potential.

He did not expect these children to play much of a role in battle anytime soon. It would be good enough if they could at least protect themselves and not become a burden.

Arkley Gene Company would never let them go so easily. It was only a matter of time before they followed the trail and found them.

When that happened, it might not just be Wolverine's clone arriving. There might also be clones of the Professor, Magneto, Cyclops, and others.

Of course, George believed those clones would certainly be far weaker than the originals.

Aside from a few special cases, many mutants needed to develop and comprehend their abilities after birth before they could unleash greater power.

Take Magneto, for example. He had not been nearly so powerful when he first appeared. It was only after Professor X developed and guided him that he gained his later strength.

The clones created by Sandor Reis had intelligence roughly comparable to young children. Their actions were also basically controlled remotely, so how could they possibly develop their abilities?

In the movie, Major William Stryker had used Wade as a base and implanted so many mutant abilities into him, yet Wolverine and Sabretooth still cut off his head together.

The facts proved that unless the mental control was lifted, clones could never grow beyond their originals. They could only become cannon fodder.

Still, having too much cannon fodder was also a headache.