Chapter Summaries

William Stryker struggled to find a way to make James willingly undergo the painful Adamantium procedure, then asked why James’s abilities could not be replicated in other mutants. Dr. Carol Foster explained that mutant ability levels depended on control and development of the X-Gene, not simply destructive power.

• Dr. Carol Foster said the Adamantium procedure required James’s full consent because the pain could undermine its success.
• William Stryker abandoned his plans to trick or capture James and considered manipulating him through a romantic relationship and a staged conflict with Chen Mo.
• William Stryker questioned why researchers could not replicate James’s abilities in other mutants for the experiment.
• Dr. Carol Foster explained that ability levels reflected a mutant’s control over and development of the X-Gene, and could increase through combat, training, and time.

Dr. Carol Foster explained how mutant ability levels affected the success of copying powers and surviving Adamantium enhancement. William Stryker learned that only James, Victor, and Chen Mo were suitable candidates for the first experiment, but Chen Mo’s political protection made him an impossible choice.

• Dr. Carol Foster classified X-Force members by ability level, placing Fred, John Wraith, and Bradley at Level Three, Wade and Agent Zero at Level Four, James and Victor at Level Six, and Chen Mo at Level Eight.
• Dr. Carol Foster explained that copied abilities weakened according to the recipient’s ability level, so another mutant would not gain regeneration as powerful as James’s.
• Dr. Carol Foster told William Stryker that the captured mutants were mostly Level One or Level Two, making Wade and Agent Zero poor candidates for Adamantium enhancement.
• Dr. Carol Foster said a successful first Adamantium enhancement could improve the process and raise the later success rate for Wade and Agent Zero.
• Dr. Carol Foster named James, Victor, and Chen Mo as the only current candidates, with Chen Mo’s success rate reaching ninety-seven percent after receiving copied regeneration.
• William Stryker rejected Chen Mo as a candidate because General Munson valued him too highly to risk putting him on the operating table.

William Stryker considered who to enhance with Adamantium and weighed keeping Chen Mo as X-Force's commander against turning him into an X-Weapon. Dr. Carol Foster advised him to approach James through Chen Mo, leaving Stryker to consider how to persuade them without raising suspicion.

• William Stryker decided Chen Mo was more useful commanding X-Force than undergoing the X-Weapon procedure, and kept James as his intended candidate for enhancement.
• Dr. Carol Foster suggested that Stryker speak with Chen Mo after noting that James was drawn to the Adamantium claws she had designed.
• Dr. Carol Foster explained that James would seek Chen Mo's opinion and might refuse if Stryker bypassed his captain.
• Dr. Carol Foster revealed that she was also a doctor of psychology, and William Stryker recalled her expertise from her résumé.
• William Stryker's doubts about Dr. Carol Foster eased, though he continued to regard both her and Chen Mo as tools.

William Stryker accepted Dr. Carol Foster’s assessment that James was the only viable subject for the Adamantium procedure and went to discuss the problem with Chen Mo. Chen Mo realized Stryker intended to turn James into X-Weapon and reacted with open hostility.

• Dr. Carol Foster reassured William Stryker, then examined The Thing with fascination after Stryker left the laboratory.
• William Stryker reviewed Dr. Carol Foster’s suggestion in his office and concluded that James was the only suitable subject and Chen Mo was the best person to approach.
• William Stryker entered Chen Mo’s Training Room and sent Wade and Agent Zero away after Chen Mo dismissed them to train with the others.
• William Stryker told Chen Mo that Dr. Carol Foster’s mutant ability replication technology had succeeded and explained that James alone could withstand Adamantium enhancement.
• Chen Mo fixed William Stryker with an unfriendly stare and asked whether he intended to turn James into X-Weapon.

Chen Mo agreed to let James undergo the Adamantium enhancement, while insisting he be present, and William Stryker arranged the experiment and invited military leaders to witness it. The next morning, six high-ranking officers arrived at the secret X-Weapon base.

• William Stryker assured Chen Mo that James would not be turned into a weapon and claimed the Adamantium procedure had at least a ninety-five percent chance of success.
• Chen Mo agreed to the experiment on the condition that he be present, and privately reflected that he had been pretending to believe Stryker.
• Chen Mo persuaded James to undergo the enhancement, and James eagerly anticipated receiving an Adamantium skeleton and claws.
• William Stryker ordered Dr. Carol Foster to prepare the experiment and invited General Munson and other military leaders to observe it.
• Six high-ranking officers arrived by helicopter at the disguised landing pad of the X-Weapon Project's secret base.

James prepared to have Adamantium bonded to every bone in his body as General Munson and other military officials watched. William Stryker presented the procedure as a medical breakthrough, while privately intending to turn James into his X-Weapon.

• General Munson arrived at the base with five other generals after reviewing William Stryker's report on the X-Weapon Project.
• Dr. Carol Foster marked James's bones and warned him that the enhancement would be painful, but James eagerly welcomed the procedure.
• William Stryker watched the preparations and privately resolved that James would eventually become the X-Weapon in his hands.
• The staff restrained James on the platform and fitted him with a respirator after James saw Chen Mo's reassuring nod.
• William Stryker welcomed the generals and announced that the procedure would make James's bones indestructible by injecting them with Adamantium.

James underwent the Adamantium bonding procedure, enduring unbearable pain as the heated metal spread through his bones and his vital signs deteriorated. As the laboratory staff watched anxiously, memories of Thomas Logan, Victor, and Chen Mo surfaced in James’s mind.

• William Stryker ordered Dr. Carol Foster to begin the procedure, and the staff lowered James into the tank and prepared the drills and liquid Adamantium.
• Dr. Carol Foster activated the drills, which pierced James’s bones before the heated Adamantium began flowing into them.
• James was overwhelmed by intense pain and trembled as the Adamantium spread through his skeleton.
• General Munson questioned why James had not been anesthetized, and William Stryker explained that anesthetics had no effect on him.
• The laboratory staff reported James’s rising body temperature and heart rate as General Munson asked whether he would survive.
• James’s childhood memories returned as he endured the procedure, including Thomas Logan’s cry, Victor’s words, and Chen Mo’s offer to help them escape.

James underwent Adamantium enhancement, and his heart stopped after the metal was injected. His healing ability revived him, and the experiment succeeded.

• James's heart rate and blood pressure soared as the Adamantium spread through his bones.
• The Adamantium injection finished, and James's heart stopped, making William Stryker believe the experiment had failed.
• William Stryker, Dr. Carol Foster, and General Munson worried about Chen Mo's reaction, but Chen Mo remained calm because he trusted James's healing ability.
• James's heartbeat gradually returned as the tank continued to boil.
• The researcher confirmed that the Adamantium was fully injected and that there was no rejection response, and William Stryker and Dr. Carol Foster celebrated the successful enhancement.

James awakened after the Adamantium procedure and broke free from the tank, frightening everyone in the laboratory as he nearly lost control. Chen Mo calmed him by calling his name, while William Stryker remained intent on turning James and the others into obedient X-Weapons.

• William Stryker suppressed his urge to brainwash James, deciding to wait until Dr. Carol Foster improved the Adamantium process.
• James awoke in agony, snapped the drill bits embedded in him, and discovered that Adamantium claws had replaced his bone spikes.
• James tore free of his restraints and rose from the tank, sending William Stryker, the generals, and the researchers into a panic.
• Chen Mo called James's name, and James quickly regained his senses before attacking anyone.
• James examined his new claws as William Stryker wondered how Chen Mo had stopped him, unaware that only Chen Mo or Victor could rouse James from a berserk state.

After recovering from the Adamantium experiment, James left the laboratory with Chen Mo and chose the name Logan Howlett. William Stryker accepted the successful experiment while planning to use future X-Weapon subjects, and Dr. Carol Foster said she could improve the process within two days.

• Chen Mo's voice restored James's consciousness, and he took him away from the laboratory after the experiment succeeded.
• James told Chen Mo he wanted to be called Logan Howlett, and Chen Mo accepted his new name.
• Logan remembered his biological father Thomas Logan and kept the Howlett surname in honor of John Howlett.
• Victor was pleased that Logan had taken a name connected to their shared father.
• William Stryker asked Dr. Carol Foster about the experiment data, and she said the process improvements could be completed within two days.

William Stryker showed General Munson the frozen mutants he had kept as experimental material and argued that humanity had to strike first. General Munson halted the project and confronted Stryker about concealing that his mutant son had killed his wife, provoking Stryker's fury.

• William Stryker assured General Munson that the Adamantium enhancement had succeeded and led him to the mutant containment room.
• General Munson examined the frozen mutants and stopped before The Thing's chamber.
• William Stryker declared that mutants threatened humanity and insisted they had to be attacked before they struck first.
• General Munson ended the project and accused William Stryker of hiding that his mutant son had killed his wife.
• William Stryker erupted in anger when General Munson confronted him about his son.

William Stryker tried to kill General Munson to protect the X-Weapon Project, but Chen Mo intervened and stopped him. General Munson remained unharmed, and Stryker was left wounded and disarmed.

• General Munson ordered William Stryker to end the X-Weapon Project, and Stryker admitted that his mutant son had caused him trouble.
• Stryker revealed his plan to exterminate mutants and drew a handgun to shoot General Munson.
• Chen Mo deflected Stryker’s first shots away from Munson and into the nearby cryogenic chamber.
• Chen Mo shot Stryker in the wrist, disarming him, then checked that General Munson was unharmed.
• General Munson thanked Chen Mo and said he had trusted him to act.

After General Munson removed William Stryker from command, Chen Mo spared him and ordered him sent to the laboratory as an experiment subject. Stryker realized Chen Mo had secretly shaped his rise and the country’s power structure, but Chen Mo left his identity unanswered and had Logan take Stryker away.

• General Munson relieved William Stryker of his duties and handed control of the X-Weapon Project to Chen Mo.
• Chen Mo stopped General Munson from killing William Stryker and ordered him used in a future experiment.
• William Stryker suspected Chen Mo had secretly guided his decisions and demanded to know who he really was.
• Chen Mo reflected on his vast control over America’s economy, political parties, and military but did not answer William Stryker.
• Logan arrived, and Chen Mo ordered him to take William Stryker to Dr. Carol Foster for the next experiment.

Chen Mo replaced William Stryker as head of the X-Weapon Project after General Munson announced Stryker’s punishment. Stryker was left imprisoned in the experimental holding cell, while X-Force welcomed Chen Mo’s command.

• Logan carried William Stryker away after Chen Mo took control of the base.
• General Munson announced Stryker’s punishment and appointed Colonel Chen Mo to lead the X-Weapon Project.
• Dr. Carol Foster ignored Stryker’s orders and left him imprisoned in the mutant holding cell.
• X-Force welcomed Chen Mo’s appointment, recalling his respect for them and his promise to protect and eventually release innocent captured mutants.

Chen Mo transformed the imprisoned mutants’ quarters into a school where they received better living conditions, education, and training while remaining confined and subject to research. He offered them supervised trips outside if they could escape the guarded compound, giving them an incentive to develop their powers.

• Chen Mo replaced the mutants’ iron cages with shared dormitories and arranged classes, training, labor, and recreation in an enclosed space beneath the base.
• Chen Mo and X-Force taught the young mutants academic subjects and how to develop their abilities, while Dr. Carol Foster persuaded William Stryker that the program improved cooperation and aided research.
• The mutants grew more cooperative after experiencing better treatment and feeling safe under Chen Mo’s protection.
• Chen Mo established the Mutant School as a place where mutants could openly display their appearances and use their powers without facing ordinary people’s hostility.
• Chen Mo offered mutants a supervised one-day trip outside if they could use their abilities to escape the school past its armed guards and steel gate.

After Chen Mo took command of the base, he reviewed the X-Weapon Project’s progress with Dr. Carol Foster. She reported that Adamantium reinforcement was nearly perfected, but experiments combining replicated mutant abilities had caused some test subjects’ genes to collapse and their bodies to explode.

• Mutants continued breaking through X-Force’s defenses to earn supervised day trips outside, though Chen Mo captured every escapee who tried to flee for good.
• Chen Mo maintained the Mutant School and improved the captives’ treatment, education, and training while keeping them confined for the time being.
• After General Munson announced Chen Mo as the base’s new commander, Chen Mo formally took charge and visited the X-Weapon Project research division.
• Dr. Carol Foster told Chen Mo that Adamantium reinforcement could now be performed on mutants above Level Four with a success rate exceeding ninety-five percent.
• Dr. Carol Foster explained that experiments combining replicated mutant abilities had caused some mutants’ genes to collapse, killing them in explosions.

Dr. Carol Foster explained that mutants could safely possess no more than four abilities, and Chen Mo ordered experiments to test whether ordinary humans could gain abilities through X-Gene fusion. The chapter ended with William Stryker gaining the ability to blow bubbles and the codename Bubble Dragon.

• Dr. Carol Foster told Chen Mo that mutants could have up to four abilities and that exceeding the limit caused their genes to collapse.
• Chen Mo considered how Apocalypse might combine many abilities, but decided to avoid powerful mutants he could not defeat.
• Dr. Carol Foster said Logan possessed four abilities, leaving him unable to acquire another one through the copying technology.
• Chen Mo asked whether ordinary humans could gain mutant abilities through X-Gene fusion, and Dr. Carol Foster said it was theoretically possible but untested.
• Chen Mo ordered Dr. Carol Foster to verify the theory, and William Stryker later gained the ability to blow bubbles and the codename Bubble Dragon.

Dr. Carol Foster tested whether William Stryker could receive multiple mutant abilities, giving him bubble-blowing powers and enormous butterfly wings. William Stryker raged at her from inside the sealed cage while she admired his fairy-like appearance.

• William Stryker discovered that his first mutation made him hiccup colorful bubbles, and Dr. Carol Foster subjected him to another enhancement.
• William Stryker struggled and blew streams of bubbles, but they burst harmlessly against Dr. Carol Foster and the others.
• After the experiment, William Stryker saw enormous colorful butterfly wings on his back and spat blood in shock.
• William Stryker cursed Dr. Carol Foster and pounded on the soundproof Reinforced Glass, unable to reach her.
• Dr. Carol Foster watched William Stryker blow bubbles and shed multicolored dust, wishing he had been a pretty girl, and revealed that she had chosen abilities she liked.

Dr. Carol Foster confirmed that mutant ability replication could safely give ordinary humans mutant powers, and Chen Mo decided to use it rather than risk changes from Pure Blood. He chose Logan's healing as one of his four enhancements but had not settled on the other three.

• Dr. Carol Foster finished experimenting on William Stryker and confirmed that ordinary people could gain mutant abilities through replication technology.
• Chen Mo was relieved that he could receive mutant enhancements without relying on Pure Blood and risking unwanted physical changes.
• Chen Mo decided Logan's self-healing ability was essential because it would let him survive injuries that would kill ordinary people.
• Chen Mo weighed Mystique's shapeshifting and Cyclops's energy blasts against his existing abilities and technology, but had not chosen his remaining three powers.

Chen Mo assessed his Marvel power levels and decided teleportation would improve his abilities more usefully than Quicksilver’s speed. He began comparing the different forms of teleportation used by John Wraith and the two Nightcrawlers.

• Chen Mo rated his unaided abilities highly in intelligence and fighting skills, but identified speed, durability, and energy projection as weaknesses.
• Chen Mo planned to copy Logan’s regenerative ability to greatly improve his durability.
• Chen Mo rejected Quicksilver’s speed as a gene-slot choice and selected teleportation for its speed, combat, and escape advantages.
• Chen Mo compared John Wraith’s blink-like teleportation with the cloud-like effects accompanying the Nightcrawlers’ teleportation.