Chapter Summaries

Logan returned to the X-Men Academy and was asked to lead the Mutants against the United States government’s increasingly powerful Sentinel Program. A new paper by Shen Fei warned that Mutant abilities could be replicated technologically, and Charles feared Raven’s genes were already helping the Sentinels do just that.

• Logan reunited with Charles and Erik, then learned that the inhibitor plan had failed and that the United States government had begun testing advanced Sentinels.
• Charles asked Logan to lead the Mutants in the coming war, but Logan questioned the plan and brought up Shen Fei’s theory that superhumans might have dormant X-Genes.
• Hank arrived with Shen Fei’s paper, which proposed that X-Genes worked by amplifying magnetic-field frequencies and that technology might imitate Mutant abilities.
• Charles explained that Raven’s genes had fallen into government hands after her 1973 capture and might be enhancing the second-generation Sentinel Robots.
• Charles concluded that Shen Fei’s theory could guide the government’s weapons against Mutants and said they should talk to Shen Fei.

Shen Fei discovered how Storm’s gene caused fatal breathing problems and modified his formula to combine it with Iceman’s gene. After injecting himself, he gained the ability to breathe out freezing wind and flew off to test its strength.

• Shen Fei examined the lungs of the test subjects and found that excess carbon dioxide blocked oxygen from entering their blood.
• Shen Fei adjusted the formula so Storm’s gene would affect only some lung cells, then combined it with Iceman’s gene.
• A test subject breathed out a freezing gale, but his lungs dissolved and he died.
• Shen Fei injected himself with the new drug and breathed out a faint cold wind.
• Shen Fei flew out the window to test how powerful his deep breath could become.

Shen Fei unleashed a colossal tornado and hailstorm from the rooftop of Osborn Tower, stunning observers across New York. Tony and Hank recognized the display as a sign of Shen Fei’s extraordinary power, while Hank headed to the tower to investigate.

• Max and Aleksei went to the rooftop and watched Shen Fei create a tornado that swept through the clouds and brought down hail.
• Tony watched footage of Bucky’s death and considered forming an independent organization to regulate superhumans.
• Friday showed Tony satellite footage of Shen Fei’s tornado, leading Tony to call him a possible “Celestial Weapon.”
• Hank located the storm over Osborn Tower and suspected Shen Fei had combined Storm’s and Iceman’s abilities.
• Charles told Hank to go to Osborn Tower immediately to investigate the powerful Mutant who had awakened.

Shen Fei demonstrated his weather-controlling power, discussed solving Max’s energy limitations, and learned that the X-Men and Tony Stark had arrived to meet him. As Shen Fei approached the office, Charles and Erik sensed his formidable presence.

• Shen Fei assessed how Max’s Electrosensitive Cells affected his healing and explained that he had only been experimenting with an ability.
• Shen Fei told Max that Otto was making him a Multi-Energy Charging Core and discussed the possibility of researching Tony’s energy technology.
• Norman informed Shen Fei that Wolverine, Professor X, Magneto, Beast, and Iron Man had come to Osborn Company.
• While Tony waited with the X-Men, Charles sensed a fragment of his thoughts and revealed his telepathic ability.
• Charles and Erik sensed Shen Fei approaching and recognized that he was no ordinary person.

Tony met with Shen Fei and the Mutant leaders to propose a superhuman council that could restrain its members without government control. He named the organization the Illuminati.

• Shen Fei joined Tony, Charles, Erik, and Beast, and Tony explained that he had come to discuss Shen Fei’s idea for an organization to restrain superhumans.
• Erik challenged Tony’s confidence in his Iron Man suit, but Charles stopped their argument so they could hear Tony out.
• Tony argued that powerful heroes could cause disasters, citing the Battle of New York and the Ultron crisis, and admitted that he had caused the Ultron crisis himself.
• Tony proposed an independent council of influential superhumans that would supervise its members and require them to obey decisions made by vote.
• Tony told Shen Fei that he had chosen a name for the organization: the Illuminati.

Tony proposed forming the Illuminati to oversee superhumans and protect Earth, then invited Shen Fei and Charles to join as founders. Shen Fei agreed to consider joining after reviewing Tony’s plan, while Tony left with Charles’s contact information and hopes of recruiting him.

• Tony explained his plan for a small Illuminati decision-making group with authority to assess superhumans and impose measures such as detention and supervision.
• Tony invited Shen Fei to become a founding member so Shen Fei’s power could help restrain other superhumans, and Shen Fei recognized the reason for the invitation.
• Charles praised Tony’s efforts to address relations between ordinary people and superhumans, and Hank spoke of Charles’s lifelong commitment to improving relations between Mutants and ordinary people.
• Shen Fei agreed to review Tony’s overall plan before deciding and asked for a stable research environment in return for joining.
• Tony exchanged contact information with Charles and left in high spirits, hoping Charles would join the Illuminati.

Shen Fei showed Charles and Hank how he had decoded and replicated Mutant abilities, provoking Erik into attacking him. After subduing Erik and revealing that he had copied Charles’s Mind Power as well, Shen Fei drew Erik’s blood and warned the X-Men that their pride would be tested by the Sentries.

• Shen Fei invited Charles and Hank to his laboratory to explain how he had replicated Ororo’s storm-controlling ability.
• Shen Fei showed Charles and Hank the decoded X-Gene and explained that his research on Logan had produced healing products.
• Erik became enraged at the prospect of Mutants being studied and attacked Shen Fei with metal objects.
• Shen Fei stopped Erik with a Magnetic Field Isolator, while Charles intervened and discovered that Shen Fei had copied his Mind Power.
• After Max reported a fighter jet above the building, Shen Fei drew blood from Erik and warned the X-Men about facing the Sentries.

Shen Fei dismissed Charles and Erik after Erik disrupted their attempt to negotiate, then reflected on the power he hoped to take from Magneto. At the laboratory, Beast pleaded to make a deal with Shen Fei in exchange for his release.

• Shen Fei criticized Erik's use of magnetism and told Charles and the X-Men to leave, warning Charles not to bring Erik next time.
• Aboard the X-Jet, Charles and Hank argued that Erik had driven away a potential ally who might help Mutants recover from the X-Gene Eliminator.
• Shen Fei considered how Erik could use magnetism more effectively and resolved to obtain his ability.
• After receiving a call from the cage area, Shen Fei went to see Beast, who asked whether making a deal would earn his freedom.
• Beast reflected on Shen Fei's daily extraction of his Demon Power and pleaded to escape the torment of being kept as a source of power.

Shen Fei learned occult spells from Beast and tried to open the Hell Dimension, but Ancient One intervened and warned that doing so would expose his special soul to demons. She offered to teach him magic as a safer way to obtain Demon Power and named him as a more suitable successor than Strange.

• Shen Fei examined Beast’s spells, learned that only demons could use the first three, and obtained the ritual for opening the Hell Dimension.
• Shen Fei began the blood ritual in his laboratory, but Ancient One appeared and told him not to open the Hell Dimension.
• Ancient One explained that other timelines were merging into Shen Fei’s because his soul was unique and could attract demons.
• Ancient One proposed that Shen Fei become her disciple and use magic to obtain Demon Power without revealing his soul to demons.
• Shen Fei asked about Strange, and Ancient One said she considered Shen Fei a more suitable successor to the Sorcerer Supreme.

Ancient One offered to train Shen Fei as a potential Sorcerer Supreme, and he accepted after learning that her offer could give him access to powerful research opportunities. Back at his lab, Shen Fei punished Beast and learned that Otto had made a bionic structure capable of storing Demon Power.

• Ancient One told Shen Fei that he was unique among the versions of himself she had encountered and offered to make him her disciple, and he accepted.
• Ancient One said Shen Fei would begin studying at Kamar-Taj in a month and warned him not to open another dimension.
• Shen Fei cleared away the magic circle and told Max to forget what had happened.
• Shen Fei accused Beast of trying to set him up, then drained its accumulated Demon Power with the Strong Magnetic Field generator.
• Otto showed Shen Fei a replicated structure for a Bionic Dragon Bone that could store up to 20 Qiang Spectrum of power.

Shen Fei reviewed Otto and Connors’s experiments before beginning research on Erik’s blood. At a military base, Ross’s attempt to recreate Luke’s enhancement method ended in the test subjects’ deaths, and Abomination killed the project’s lead researcher, prompting Ross to consider Shen Fei and the Phoenix Potion.

• Otto showed Shen Fei a simplified bionic mechanical creation and discussed his plans to use artificial intelligence to develop the Daredevil design.
• Shen Fei asked Connors to assist Otto and advised Connors to test Aleksei’s genes in the Little Superman Potion.
• Shen Fei returned to his laboratory and began researching Erik’s blood.
• Ross observed the forty-third attempt to recreate Luke’s enhancement method, but the test subjects died when their bodies could not sustain the drugs’ energy demands.
• Abomination crushed the lead researcher’s head, and Ross thought of Shen Fei after hearing a suggestion to buy more Phoenix Potion.

Shen Fei analyzed Erik's X-Gene and created a Magnetic Control gene tailored to his own abilities. After injecting it, he lost control of his Mind Power and other powers as severe pain and bleeding overtook him.

• Shen Fei spent three days analyzing Erik's X-Gene and concluded that Magnetic Control could amplify his other abilities through magnetic fields.
• He used Al and his existing genetic models to calculate shared alteration points and design his own Magnetic Control gene.
• Before nightfall, Shen Fei synthesized a blood-red medicine containing the new gene and prepared to inject it as a core power.
• After injecting the medicine, Shen Fei's Mind Power surged out of control, his head filled with intense pain, and his nose began bleeding.
• Shen Fei's lungs and eyes also began going out of control, and he ordered them all to stop.

Shen Fei recovered from awakening Magnetic Control, tested its destructive power, and ordered Otto to develop Anti-Magneto Armor. After examining T'Chaka and learning the military wanted him to lead Ross's Luke replication project, Shen Fei demanded all of the Hulk experiment data and refused to guarantee the project would create a new Luke.

• Shen Fei recovered from the effects of awakening Magnetic Control, studied the changes in his body, and tested his ability by causing an explosion with a scalpel.
• Shen Fei told Otto to send him the artificial intelligence information and begin developing Anti-Magneto Armor that could demagnetize instantly.
• Shen Fei concluded that studying T'Chaka could not reveal the Heart-Shaped Herb's power, and Klaw pushed the already-dead T'Chaka into the incinerator.
• Shen Fei asked Klaw about Ross's experiments and learned that the military wanted to appoint him as a professor on its Luke replication project.
• Shen Fei demanded all of the Hulk experiment data and said he would only promise to develop an injectable substance, not to create a new Luke.

Shen Fei agreed to help Ross with the Steel Body experiment and quickly identified why the previous attempts had failed. He proposed a slower procedure with a weaker effect but a ninety percent success rate, and Ross approved trying it.

• Ross agreed to provide the successful Hulk experiment data, and Shen Fei also requested the data from Abomination's experiment.
• Shen Fei and Connors arrived at Ross's military base, where they saw Abomination being kept there.
• Ross led Shen Fei and Connors to the underground laboratory and ordered Jason to provide the Steel Body Project data.
• Shen Fei rapidly reviewed the data and recordings, identifying the energy and ATP breakdown problems in the experiment.
• Shen Fei proposed extending the experiment to reduce its effect by around thirty percent while raising the success rate to ninety percent.
• Ross approved Shen Fei's experimental plan.

Shen Fei analyzed Luke Cage’s experiment and prepared a sustained-release Steel Body Enhancement Potion to prevent test subjects’ bodies from destroying themselves. At the laboratory, he began six trials at once, leaving their outcomes unknown.

• Shen Fei reviewed Luke Cage’s files and experiment footage, then asked whether Billy’s yelling could have affected the results.
• Jason reported that Billy had not touched the equipment, and Ross ordered Shen Fei to use his slower, less risky experimental plan.
• Shen Fei explained that the potion’s rapid energy consumption caused severe cellular autophagy and ordered Jason to prepare the previous reagent.
• Shen Fei mixed a Sustained Release Agent and directed the assistants to divide the Steel Body Enhancement Potion into six portions.
• Shen Fei began six experiments simultaneously, ordered 500 milliliters of glucose solution injected into each subject, and assigned Connors to monitor the trials.

Shen Fei led the Steel Body Enhancement experiment, adjusting reagent doses in real time until four subjects survived and gained enhanced traits. General Ross celebrated the breakthrough as a way to fight Hulk, while Abomination grew furious at the prospect of sharing that role.

• Shen Fei ordered rapid treatments as the six subjects reacted to the Steel Body Reagent, but Experiment Subject No. 2 died after the enhancement caused fatal organic-acid buildup.
• Shen Fei calculated corrective sodium bicarbonate doses for the remaining subjects, and Jason ordered the researchers to follow Shen Fei’s instructions.
• Jason told Ross that Shen Fei’s reagent had successfully triggered enhancement and explained that further trials could refine the formula.
• Shen Fei and Connors continued adjusting the experiment, and four subjects survived with changes including enlarged muscles, thickened bones, hardened skin, and scales.
• Ross celebrated the successful experiment, but Abomination struck the ground and angrily insisted that only he could fight Hulk.

Abomination went berserk in the laboratory, killed all four enhanced experiment subjects, and then attacked Shen Fei. Shen Fei faced Abomination’s punch as Ross ordered him to stop.

• Abomination ignored Ross’s tranquilizer darts, smashed through the reinforced glass, and charged into the laboratory.
• The researchers freed the four experiment subjects, and Shen Fei told Connors to wait while a computer at the control console ran a program on its own.
• Abomination killed Subject 1 with a punch, then stomped Subject 3 and crushed his head while his body tried to recover.
• Abomination ignored Ross’s order to fire and killed the two remaining subjects before pulling out the tranquilizer darts.
• Abomination spotted Shen Fei, leaped at him, and threw a punch despite Ross shouting for him to stop.

Shen Fei defeated Abomination, took one of his arms, and used the laboratory incident to increase Ross’s dependence on him. On the way back, Shen Fei learned Wanda had arrived alone and suspected she had lost control again.

• Abomination attacked Shen Fei, but Shen Fei caught both of his fists and beat him into the laboratory floor.
• Shen Fei severed Abomination’s right arm with Laser Beams and left him alive for Ross to restore and use as a research specimen.
• Ross gave Shen Fei the experiment data, and Shen Fei explained that the weakened serum could raise a subject’s strength to at most fifteen tons.
• In the car, Shen Fei told Connors he had disrupted the experiment to make Ross feel urgency and seek his help.
• Norman called to report that Wanda had arrived alone, and Shen Fei headed back while considering her potential as a research specimen.

Wanda asked Shen Fei to help her control her unstable powers, and he offered a plan combining meditation with scientific monitoring. She agreed to move into Osborn Tower for treatment, and Shen Fei began by taking her for a full-body examination.

• Wanda asked Shen Fei for help controlling her abilities, and he questioned whether she understood their origins.
• Wanda revealed that she and her brother had been kidnapped and experimented on, and Shen Fei connected her powers to possible Mutant abilities and Chaos Magic.
• Shen Fei offered Wanda partial control through meditation and scientific monitoring, which could involve blood draws and equipment.
• Wanda agreed to cooperate after Shen Fei said she might be able to revive the dead, hoping to bring back her brother.
• Wanda agreed to stay at Osborn Tower, and Shen Fei took her for a full-body examination.

Shen Fei replicated the Steel Body Experiment using Sonic Wave Device settings, seeking the strongest possible enhancement. Two test subjects survived the transformation, but Shen Fei ordered their dissection to collect data.

• Shen Fei confirmed through DNA sequencing that Wanda was Erik's biological daughter, then asked Al to analyze the stolen Steel Body Experiment records.
• Shen Fei ordered Connors to prepare the Steel Body Reagent and sent Norman, Max, and Aleksei to seek more test subjects through Kingpin.
• Subject 1 received the reagent and 60-decibel sound waves, gained immense strength, then suffered a fatal collapse.
• Shen Fei tested two other subjects at 64.2 and 65.7 decibels; both transformed with healthy vital signs.
• Shen Fei ordered the two transformed subjects dissected, and Connors reported that ordinary scalpels could not cut them.