Chapter Summaries

Logan and the young mutants escaped General Lake’s ambush when Aurora turned the military drones against their operators, but they learned that Miles and the other captives had already been transferred. The group decided to rescue them at Whiteman Air Force Base, and Logan proposed using a plane that could turn invisible to get past its defenses.

• General Lake shot Logan and ordered Bob the Fire Giant to attack him, while Richter, Jonah, Bobby, Rebecca, and Delia fought back.
• Aurora seized control of the drones and turned them against the soldiers, forcing General Lake and Bob to retreat as Logan stopped the children from pursuing them.
• At a cave, Aurora told the group that the captives had been transferred and that General Lake was regrouping nearby.
• Laura proposed rescuing Miles, Gideon, Mona, and the others at the military base, and Aurora explained the base’s formidable defenses.
• Logan suggested they could reach the base in a plane that could turn invisible.

General Lake imprisoned the captured young Mutants and ordered a nationwide search for Logan and the children, while Logan’s group escaped toward Westchester in an autonomous truck. Logan injected himself with the Wolverine Enhancement Serum and began a painful transformation, then started telling the children how he first met Rogue.

• General Lake ordered the captured young Mutants sent to the Gamma Zone, where Charlotte recognized Miles undergoing treatment and saw a silent Beast watching him.
• General Lake questioned Dr. Zander about a supposed second X-0, then ordered an intelligence search across the United States for Logan and the young Mutants.
• Logan and the children learned that Northern Command had issued a nationwide manhunt and boarded an autonomous cargo truck arranged by Aurora to travel to Westchester.
• Logan injected himself with the Wolverine Enhancement Serum, and Aurora warned that the painful transformation would last at least ten hours.
• Bobby asked Logan what a superhero’s life was like, and Logan began recalling how he met Marie, or Rogue, in a bar in the winter of 2000.

Logan returned to Xavier’s School with the young mutants, restored the underground base, and prepared the Blackbird for a mission to rescue Miles from Whiteman Air Force Base. After Charles woke and wished them luck, Logan led the X-Men to the target and leaped from the jet to begin the attack.

• Logan visited the graves of his former teammates at Xavier’s School before taking the youths into Charles’s office.
• Richter broke open the wall to the underground base, where Logan restored the power and found the Blackbird.
• Logan settled Charles in the medical area, gave the youths X-Men uniforms, and prepared the Blackbird for flight.
• Logan and the youths planned to locate and rescue Miles at Whiteman Air Force Base using the tracker in his extractor.
• Charles woke and spoke with Logan and the youths as they flew toward the base.
• Logan ordered the X-Men to move out, then jumped from the Blackbird above the target.

Logan stormed Whiteman Air Force Base to reach the Gamma Containment Sector, where he defeated X-24 and drove off Night Demon before heading toward Impact Elias. The children landed under Aurora’s cover, while Miles disappeared from his laboratory after Dr. Zander moved him.

• Bobby played “The Phoenix” as the children watched Logan fall toward Whiteman Air Force Base.
• Logan crashed through the hangar, survived a barrage of gunfire, and fought his way toward the Gamma Containment Sector as General Lake ordered the base to stop him.
• Dr. Zander sent X-24 to confront Logan, but Logan crippled him and forced Dr. Zander to flee; Night Demon attacked and escaped after Logan slashed his face.
• Richter, Bobby, Jonah, and Rebecca jumped from the low-flying Blackbird, and Delia redirected an incoming missile while Aurora drew fire away from them and blasted open the base’s outer wall.
• Logan entered the containment sector and approached Impact Elias, while General Lake ordered Lightwave Davis to guard Miles.
• Davis found Miles missing from the laboratory, and a researcher said Dr. Zander had wheeled him away.

Miles was caught between Dr. Zander’s escape attempt and Davis’s order to kill him, while the young mutants fought their way through the base to reach him. After X-24 sacrificed himself to save Miles, Laura freed him, and Miles turned the conflict back toward Davis.

• General Lake ordered Davis to stop X-0 from leaving, even if it meant killing him, while Dr. Zander pushed Miles through an underground passage.
• Richter’s group broke into the containment sector and searched for Miles as Jonah and Bobby incapacitated soldiers and Rebecca and Delia learned he was being taken underground.
• Logan killed Elias in a fight, but General Lake’s armored forces arrived and overwhelmed Logan with tanks, vehicles, and drones.
• Davis destroyed Dr. Zander’s getaway vehicle and fired at Miles, but X-24 shielded him and died after calling him his friend.
• Laura and the other young mutants reached Miles, and Laura cut off his suppression collar as Davis prepared to fight them.
• Miles used his power to bring Dr. Zander back, ordered Laura to kill him, then told Davis he was ready to continue.

Miles turned the military base’s weapons against Davis, and the children, Logan, and the Blackbird helped defeat him and General Lake. They left for Westchester with Aurora and Miles bringing a dead friend home and several drones aboard.

• Mona, Delia, and the other children fought Davis while Miles seized control of the base’s weapons and ordered them to attack.
• Davis broke through the group’s traps, but drones and the Blackbird trapped and killed him.
• Miles asked Aurora to help bring his dead friend home, while General Lake fled the burning base in a truck with Bob.
• Bob stopped General Lake from escaping, and Miles destroyed the truck with the Blackbird.
• Miles took military drones aboard the Blackbird, promised Bobby an improved one, and flew toward Westchester with the others.

Charles Xavier negotiated an agreement with the government after stopping the Northern Command’s assault on the Xavier Institute. Miles recovered from surgery, learned he could regain the use of his legs, and chose the surname Zero as Charles and Logan resumed life at the school.

• General Michael led troops into the Xavier Institute, where Charles froze them in place and agreed to speak with Washington’s representatives.
• Charles and the representatives reached the Westchester New Mutant Agreement, allowing the Institute to remain open, Miles to stay in Westchester, and the Transigen children to receive U.S. citizenship.
• Miles woke after surgery and learned from Aurora that he could recover from his paralysis within six months.
• Charles told Miles that Erik was being held at a base in Northern Europe, but chose to let him remain undisturbed; Miles chose the surname Zero.
• Charles welcomed Logan back as a professor and asked him to put out his cigar and make coffee.

The author reflected on the creative choices, criticism, and reception of Volume One, then outlined the plans for the next volumes. Volume Two would continue in the X-Men world with a less depressing cinematic story, while Volume Three would move to the MCU.

• The author explained that Volume One began as an idea inspired by Logan and prioritized an immersive X-Men atmosphere over a conventional, immediately satisfying web-novel opening.
• The author acknowledged problems with Chapter Six and defended or explained story choices involving Miles's powers, X-24, and the character's eventual exit.
• The author described how he chose names and abilities for the young mutants, noting that most names were original and that only Delia remained as a telekinetic character.
• The author thanked readers for the book's unexpectedly strong performance and said Volume Two would be an original X-Men-world story with a lighter, popcorn-blockbuster tone.
• The author said Volume Three would take place in the MCU and explained that he normally planned to update with one chapter per day while working another job.

Miles showed Charles his weaponized drones and discussed his preparations for self-defense before meeting new mutant students Dani Moonstar and Sam Guthrie. As the students began getting acquainted, Caliban called Charles with news that the escaped mutant Madeleine Pryor was being hunted in West Virginia.

• Laura, Rebecca, and Jonah discussed a paranormal show and wondered why Miles had been spending so much time in the basement.
• Miles demonstrated his Flying Dragon drones and Spider robot to Charles, explaining his designs and his plans to prepare for future threats.
• Charles urged Miles to spend more time with his friends, then told him the institute had two newly awakened mutants arriving.
• Logan brought Dani Moonstar and Sam Guthrie into the classroom, where Charles and the students welcomed them and introduced themselves.
• Caliban called Charles to report that the escaped test subject codenamed Red Phoenix was in West Virginia and was believed to be Madeleine Pryor, a clone created by Dr. Stasis.

The newly reorganized X-Men flew to West Virginia to stop a Phoenix-powered girl named Madeleine from fighting the army, while government agents checked that Miles was not on the mission. After helping Madeleine regain control and confronting the soldiers who wanted to seize her, the team learned she was a Jean Grey clone; she then recalled that someone wanted to kill her, but Miles found no one nearby.

• Miles introduced the new X-Men uniforms and terminals as Logan led Miles, Richter, Delia, and Charlotte on their first mission, while Dani and Sam watched from the hangar.
• Government agents visited the academy to verify that Miles had stayed behind, but the real Miles was aboard the Blackbird with the team.
• Near Spruce Hill, the X-Men found Madeleine using immense Phoenix-like power against the army, and Charles psychically calmed her while the team disabled the soldiers' weapons and communications.
• Adjutant Josen demanded that the X-Men surrender Madeleine, but Miles threatened the soldiers with his drones until Josen ordered his troops to retreat.
• Madeleine woke and met the X-Men, then said she had been raised in a destroyed laboratory and that someone wanted to kill her; Miles looked around but saw no one.

Charles spoke with Rets Yoel about Madeleine and the government’s new approach to mutant affairs while Miles and the X-Men tried to earn Madeleine’s trust in the wilderness. After Miles found footage linking her outburst to Josen Kona, Madeleine began losing control, Delia became unresponsive, and soldiers moved in on the camp.

• Charles learned from Rets that ATHENA now handled the mutant affair and that she would try to secure Madeleine’s custody, though the military unit hunting her remained outside her authority.
• Madeleine told the X-Men that a strange woman appeared wherever she went and that people died when her powers erupted; Miles and Delia sensed someone watching them but found no trace.
• The group rested and shared stories, and Madeleine apologized to Miles after learning about Dr. Zander’s abuse of him; Miles accepted and ate one of her cookies.
• Miles and Madeleine watched footage of her battle in Parkersburg, where Miles identified Josen Kona near the scene; Madeleine then clutched her head as flames appeared in her eyes.
• A woman in a black trench coat appeared near the camp, Delia lost awareness, and Aurora warned that the military force was approaching; Josen watched the soldiers close in from his command vehicle.

Miles and Delia entered Madeleine’s raging mental world to bring her back from a hypnosis-triggered crisis while the X-Men fought Task Force 77. Madeleine regained control, killed Jossen, and fell asleep; the X-Men’s mysterious enemy escaped, and Miles collapsed from his injuries.

• Jossen’s hypnosis trapped Miles, Delia, and Madeleine in an illusion while Aurora’s drones and the remaining X-Men fought Task Force 77.
• Madeleine’s power spiraled out of control, and Charles, Miles, and Delia tried to enter her mind to wake her.
• Charles and Delia were expelled from Madeleine’s mental world, but Miles endured its pain and reached her.
• Miles showed Madeleine that Jossen was behind the false visions, and she used his connection to the drones to find Jossen and destroy him with a blast of Phoenix energy.
• A mysterious figure appeared at Jossen’s death site and escaped after saying he would find the X-Men later.
• Madeleine fell asleep, Task Force 77 retreated, and Miles collapsed after Charles confirmed that he had suffered the worst injuries.

After waking from a vivid dream about killing Dr. Zander, Miles discovered his psychic range had grown and learned that the Phoenix Force might have approved of him. At the institute’s welcome party, Madeleine confessed that she liked him, while Caliban warned Charles that Essex Corporation’s power-restoring Rebirth Serum was drawing mutants into dangerous experiments.

• Miles woke after twenty-seven hours of sleep, found his psychic perception had expanded to nearly ten kilometers, and spoke with Madeleine, who had joined the Xavier Institute.
• Charles told Miles that 542 mutants had awakened across the United States in three months and explained that Miles’s mental potential had been damaged by trauma at Alkali Laboratory; Miles suspected the Phoenix Force had approved of him.
• At the welcome party for Dani, Sam, and Madeleine, Madeleine confessed her feelings to Miles, and he evaded answering when Caliban arrived; Madeleine then quietly wiped blood from her hands.
• Miles and the other students discussed their shared nightmares about Alkali Laboratory researchers, while Dani and Sam realized their classmates had killed people.
• Caliban told Charles that Essex Corporation’s Rebirth Serum had restored and strengthened mutants’ powers after they underwent gene experiments, and warned that a storm was coming.

Miles completed and tested the X-0 Reaper, a powerful electromagnetic sniper rifle, then joined the young Mutants as they chose X-Men code names. Sam demonstrated his uncontrolled launching ability, and Miles and Madeleine chose their own names, leaving the group readying for future missions.

• Miles tested the X-0 Reaper and found that its tungsten-core projectile pierced three heavy steel plates; he also considered the greater power of Adamantium ammunition in charged mode.
• Madeleine brought Miles to the common room, where Richter, Delia, Rebecca, Mona, Jonah, Gideon, Charlotte, Laura, Bobby, and Dani chose their code names.
• Sam demonstrated his ability by launching himself skyward, lost control, and was caught by the others as he fell.
• Miles told Sam about Lightwave, then Jonah suggested the name Cannonball, which Sam accepted.
• Miles chose the code name Psypoint, and Madeleine chose Red Phoenix.

Liam Jones regained his Optical Camouflage through Essex Corporation’s Rebirth Serum, then broke into its medical center and discovered a hidden laboratory full of genetically engineered Mutant hybrids. After Liam was killed by Chimera A01-019, Ritts asked Charles Xavier to investigate Essex Corporation, and Charles agreed to seek a visit while Miles planned to uncover its secrets.

• Liam Jones recovered his Optical Camouflage at an Essex Corporation medical center and left with his old thieving ambitions revived.
• Liam sneaked into the medical center’s central laboratory, stole drugs and data, and found a hidden passage leading to a chamber of incubation tanks.
• Liam discovered that the tanks held genetic hybrids, including Chimera A01-019, which combined his genes with Anna Marie’s.
• Chimera A01-019 drained Liam’s life force, and Obadiah Essex crushed Liam’s body and disposed of it.
• Ritts told Charles Xavier that her agent had vanished while investigating Essex Corporation and asked him to find the agent and uncover its plans.
• Charles and Miles agreed to pursue an investigation cautiously, with Charles planning to request a visit and Miles seeking access to the company’s core data or laboratory.

Miles and the Xavier Institute group toured Essex Corporation, where a psychic shield concealed its underground facilities. Madeleine recognized chairman Obadiah Essex as resembling her father, Dr. Stasis, leading Charles to suspect the ATHENA Office had steered them toward a trap and order them back to the Institute.

• Miles distributed X Terminals to the group before they arrived at Essex Corporation's headquarters on Roosevelt Island.
• Miles, Madeleine, and Dani sensed a vast Psychic Shielding Zone beneath the tower, which blocked their attempts to detect the underground facilities.
• Cecilia Reyes led the group on a tour and described Essex Corporation's mutant medical work, while Caliban identified her as a Mutant.
• At lunch, Miles found no suspicious thoughts in Obadiah Essex's mind, but Madeleine said he looked like her father, Dr. Stasis.
• On the bus back, Madeleine recalled testing her Phoenix Force and losing control during the laboratory explosion that preceded her escape.
• Miles shared clues about Dr. Stasis's military ties, and Charles suspected the ATHENA Office had manipulated them into uncovering a conspiracy and told them to return to the Institute.

Miles and the young X-Men fought the Demon Bear, which Dani’s powers had brought into the real world, while Charles tried to help Dani confront her fear. After the bear vanished, an Apocalypse-like stranger abducted Dani and attacked the Xavier Institute.

• Charles learned from Ms. Ritts that Obadiah Essex and Dr. Stasis were biological brothers and both descendants of Nathaniel Essex, then ended their call angrily.
• Miles encountered another Dr. Zander in the corridor as nightmares and frightening figures appeared throughout the institute.
• The young X-Men fought the Demon Bear outside the institute while Charles explained to Dani that her powers had manifested the fears of everyone there.
• Dani decided to face the Demon Bear, but a stranger emerged from a portal in her room as the team defeated the monster outside.
• The stranger blasted open the institute, carried the unconscious Dani into the air, and was identified by Charles as Apocalypse—or someone who looked like him.

Apocalypse attacked the Xavier Institute, overpowering the X-Men and abducting Miles and several others through a spatial portal. Aurora traced the portal’s signal to Essex Corporation’s psychic-shielded underground sector, and Charles asked where Erik was as he considered how to rescue the captives.

• Apocalypse severed Charles’s telepathic link, incapacitated Madeleine, and defeated the X-Men’s attacks while capturing Dani, Madeleine, and Sam.
• Apocalypse seized Rebecca, Charlotte, and Gideon, while Miles and Laura struggled against his telekinetic power and Logan attacked him.
• Charles used the Brainwave Amplifier to restrain Apocalypse long enough for Miles to fire an Adamantium round from the Flying Dragon S, but Apocalypse survived and crushed the drone.
• Apocalypse threw Miles through a spatial portal, and Miles sent a Spider robot back through before Apocalypse crushed it and disappeared through the portal.
• Aurora intercepted Miles’s signal and identified Essex Corporation as the captives’ location, leading Charles to realize they were in its psychic-shielded underground sector.
• Charles concluded the institute lacked the strength to rescue the captives and asked Aurora where Erik was.

Miles and his companions were captured and taken to Essex Corporation’s underground laboratory, where he discovered that Obadiah Essex had become an Artificial Apocalypse. Madeleine’s Phoenix Force erupted during their escape, gravely injuring Obadiah, but he ordered the Chimera Legion activated as Miles led the group out.

• Miles recognized Cecilia Reyes, disabled her control with Mind Control, and was captured after Obadiah returned and closed the spatial gate.
• Reyes imprisoned Miles and the others and collected their blood, while Miles discovered Obadiah’s clones and learned that Obadiah was accelerating his experiments because the federal government had noticed him.
• Obadiah tried to crush Madeleine, but Miles broke the suppressor collars and Sam, Charlotte, and Dani helped him fight back.
• Dani summoned the Demon Bear, freeing Madeleine, whose Phoenix Force erupted and devastated the laboratory before she collapsed in Miles’s arms.
• Miles led the group out, disabled the laboratory’s power, and sealed Obadiah inside, while Obadiah ordered the researchers to evacuate and activated the Chimera Legion.

Miles led the captured Mutants through Obadiah’s underground base, where he uncovered the Apocalypse Plan and discovered that 107 Chimeras were closing in. Meanwhile, Logan’s team infiltrated Erik’s Montana prison, where Charles learned the base housed the ATHENA Project and a Super Leech.

• Miles used Aurora’s subprogram to map the base, read two researchers’ memories, and identify the Chimeras rushing toward the group.
• Miles controlled the Chimeras into fighting one another, and the team defeated the survivors as their bodies rapidly decayed from genetic collapse.
• Miles accessed the core database and discovered that the Apocalypse Plan involved metempsychosis technology; Aurora then detected 107 approaching Chimeras.
• Logan led Charles, Laura, Richter, Delia, Bobby, Mona, and Caliban into the Montana base to rescue Erik, while Charles reflected on his changed willingness to fight for his family.
• Logan found that the base suppressed Mutant abilities, and Charles identified the ATHENA Project and the Super Leech.