The Invisible Net

"Madeleine... wake up..."

"Wake up..."

In Madeleine's mental world, Miles desperately reached toward Madeleine amid the firestorm, calling out to her again and again.

Yet this time, the girl seemed completely unable to hear his voice. She lay curled into a ball amid the boundless sea of flames, motionless as the fire relentlessly devoured her mind.

The entire world was gradually falling into dead silence.

Three hours after the Battle of Roosevelt Island Bridge.

Xavier Institute, underground medical ward.

"Whew..."

Miles awoke from Madeleine's mental world and abruptly opened his eyes wide.

Several full minutes passed before he recovered from the agony of having his soul scorched by blazing flames. Then, he slowly lowered his gaze toward the girl.

On the cold metal hospital bed, Madeleine lay with her eyes tightly shut and her brow furrowed. Her skin carried an unnatural flush, and the heat radiating from her gave off a faintly terrifying aura.

[The situation is getting worse. Even entering her mental world did nothing...]

"Mr. Joshua's assessment was correct. The conflict between the Phoenix Force within Miss Madeleine and her own cells is intensifying. While it grants her immense power, it is also frantically consuming her cellular vitality."

"Continue the simulation." Miles stood before the screen, a sharp gleam faintly shining in his eyes.

At the Essex Corporation's underground base, Miles had forcibly used his ability to read all the data stored in the mainframe. Aside from ordinary data such as lists of test subjects, experiment logs, and base maintenance plans, the remaining eighty percent consisted of Essex Corporation's most critical genetic technology files!

They even included the complete experimental data for the Apocalypse Plan, as well as portions of the Metempsychosis technology that Obadiah had completed with his own expertise in genetics!

It was no exaggeration to say that these were the true foundations of Essex Corporation as one of the world's premier genetic medical conglomerates. If Miles and Aurora could fully master these technologies, he could even begin, like Obadiah, to attempt advancing a second Apocalypse Plan!

But the problem was that even though Aurora had already begun digesting Essex Corporation's core technologies, she still found Madeleine's condition extremely difficult to handle.

After another data simulation, Miles looked at the string of exceptionally glaring abnormal readings on the screen and let out a deep sigh.

Still no good?

"I'm sorry, Miles... I'm helpless in the face of Miss Madeleine's condition as well," Aurora said in a low voice.

"Why did she suddenly become like this..." Miles muttered instinctively. "She was clearly fine during the first few days after she arrived at the Institute."

"When Miss Madeleine first arrived at the Institute, I performed a physical examination on her. Her condition was unusual at the time. The Phoenix Force and her body had reached a delicate balance, which was why she appeared relatively stable," Aurora slowly answered. "But now, that balance has clearly been completely shattered."

"Can you conduct a further analysis?"

"Using Essex Corporation's latest technical theories, I would need to conduct an in-depth analysis at the genetic level and attempt to simulate a model of the interaction between Phoenix Force energy and her genes. But that will require a considerable amount of time, and... the accuracy will not be particularly high."

"Time..." Miles asked weakly, "Aurora, tell me first. How much longer can Madeleine hold on?"

"Less than two days."

"..." Miles fell silent.

"...I'm sorry," Aurora said.

The medical ward fell quiet.

Miles gazed blankly at Madeleine on the hospital bed and gradually sank into thought.

Even Obadiah's technology was powerless... Did that mean the only one who could save Madeleine now was her creator, Dr. Stasis?

"Wait!" Miles's expression shifted as something suddenly came to mind.

Dr. Stasis...

Miles forced himself to calm down and began sorting through every incident Xavier Institute had encountered so far.

Up to this point, their primary enemies were Obadiah, who had fused mutant genes to become an Artificial Apocalypse, as well as Project ATHENA and the human authorities represented by Ritts Yoel...

Ritts's target was Obadiah, and that included mutants like them...

Then what was Obadiah's goal?

Miles sank into deep thought.

Based on what he currently knew about Obadiah, his objective should have been to collect more mutant genes in order to fight Ritts and the human authorities...

From that perspective, Obadiah suddenly appearing at Xavier Institute to kidnap them was understandable... but why did he choose this particular time?

Then Miles recalled his brief exchange with Obadiah beneath Essex Corporation. When he had asked Obadiah whether he intended to kill them, Obadiah had seemed to tacitly admit it. However...

At that thought, Miles looked at Madeleine.

[Except for her.]

His target was Madeleine?!

Come to think of it, when Obadiah first appeared, he had also targeted Madeleine first and knocked her unconscious. Yet once Madeleine awoke and saw Obadiah, she immediately lost control...

Following that line of thought...

Madeleine had been the mission target assigned to them by Ms. Ritts from the ATHENA Office. Yet afterward, when Charles requested that Madeleine be allowed to stay, Ritts did not seem to insist on opposing it...

Then "Obadiah Apocalypse" had appeared.

"..."

Miles looked at Madeleine again, at this innocent girl shrouded in countless mysteries, then slowly exhaled and forced himself to remain calm.

Now, start over from the beginning...

Regarding Madeleine's creator, Dr. Stasis...

He was Obadiah's brother, another child of Dr. Nathaniel. He was also a top-tier geneticist, and he had created Madeleine...

"..."

Miles gradually frowned.

[The loop is complete.]

He had discovered a problem. Obadiah, Dr. Nathaniel, Ritts, Dr. Stasis, Madeleine... the existence of these people seemed to form a closed-loop "net." They were connected in certain ways, yet also hostile toward one another...

In a daze, Miles realized that he was already standing at the center of this "net." Around him stood Obadiah, Reyes, Charles, Madeleine, Ritts, Dr. Stasis, Dr. Nathaniel... and countless other figures, some visible, some hidden.

Then, as if sensing something, Miles slowly turned around.

At the very center of that "net," Miles vaguely saw a terrifying figure... concealed in darkness.

That person had never appeared, yet had been watching everyone in this "net" from beginning to end...

[Who is that?!]

At that thought, instinctive horror rose within Miles.

If that were really the case...

Wouldn't it mean that whether it was them, Obadiah, or Ritts... everyone had been turned into chess pieces by someone hiding behind the scenes?

"Hello, Miles."

Suddenly, an aged yet steady voice came from behind him.

Miles turned around and discovered that Magneto, Erik Lensherr, had somehow appeared in the doorway.

"Hello, Mr. Erik," Miles replied politely.

"You seem a little tense. Are you worried about this girl?" Magneto slowly walked to his side, his eyes falling on Madeleine's face. A trace of complicated emotion entered his voice. "It truly is unbelievable..."

"A younger Jean, with even greater potential," Magneto murmured slowly. "She inherited Jean's appearance and power... Sadly, she also inherited that tragic fate belonging to the Phoenix."

"Mr. Erik," Miles said seriously as his gaze slowly shifted toward Magneto, "her name is Madeleine Pryor."

"Oh, Madeleine." Magneto nodded, then said, "Sorry. Old men like us, who have lived too long, always tend to get sentimental..."

"I've witnessed too many sacrifices... First my parents, then friends, companions, even my daughter... We mutants have lost too much. Far too much..."

After reflecting for a moment, Magneto said to Miles, "Thank you for telling me her name. Madeleine—I will remember her."

"Mr. Erik." Miles's expression did not change as he continued, "I want to save her."

"I can see that you truly care about her," Magneto said. "So, what do you intend to do?"

"I'm going to find Dr. Stasis," Miles answered. "He is Madeleine's creator and father. Perhaps only he knows how to cure her."

"So what are you trying to tell me?" Magneto asked.

"..." Miles fell silent for a moment, then said, "Aurora cannot find any trace of Dr. Stasis online. Not every clue in this world is left on the internet. I need to leave the Institute for a while and personally search for something."

"While I'm gone, I hope you can help Charles watch over this place, Mr. Erik... Please."

"Why say that?" Magneto asked with some surprise. "Do you not even trust your teacher?"

"It isn't that I don't trust Charles," Miles replied. "I simply believe that after what happened, the government and ATHENA will never let this go. Charles is powerful, but he isn't 'hard' enough... because he has never been good at turning 'power' into the necessary 'deterrence'!"

"Deterrence?" Magneto repeated to himself, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. "I'm glad to hear you say that, Miles. It seems the 'heroic shackles' Charles placed on you have not completely bound you."

"I have never considered myself a righteous hero," Miles answered. "I understand both your ideals and Charles's, but I have my own ideas as well. I hope you can understand."

"Of course." Magneto nodded and patted Miles on the shoulder. "I look forward to seeing you forge a third path, one different from both Charles's and mine."

"Thank you for your support, Mr. Erik."

"No need to be so formal."

After chatting for a little longer, Magneto bid Miles farewell and left.

Clearly, their conversation had been a form of "assessment" of Miles, and the result was probably "basically satisfactory."

Because of Miles's unique ability, if he continued to grow, he would undoubtedly become someone capable of profoundly influencing the struggle between mutants and humans. From Magneto's perspective, there was naturally no reason to ignore such a "strategic deterrent weapon."

After Magneto left, the medical ward returned to silence.

"Aurora, can you investigate the specific details of the research center where Madeleine originally came from?" Miles suddenly asked.

"'Aegis Bioscience Research Center,' located northwest of the Wachino Mountains in Oklahoma. Nominally, it belongs to a private defense contractor, but it is actually a secret outsourced project formerly under Northern Command."

"Due to the test subject containment breach three days ago, several key facilities at the research center were damaged. All research projects have been suspended, and the site is currently under military lockdown pending further damage assessments. In addition, the former person in charge, Dr. Stasis, is currently missing and his whereabouts are unknown."

"Is that all the information you can gather online?"

"There is also some research data, but none of it is especially important."

"I understand. The real core data would naturally be safer stored on local servers." Miles sighed. "Aurora, prepare the Blackbird. I'm going there myself!"

"No problem."

Miles nodded and was about to say more when he suddenly saw Madeleine tremble on the hospital bed before slowly opening her eyes.

"Miles..."

The girl spoke weakly.

"Madeleine, you're awake?" Miles quickly bent over and asked, "How do you feel? Are you any better?"

But Madeleine did not answer his question. She only asked, "Just now... who was that person?"

"That person just now?" Miles froze, then realized she was referring to Magneto. He explained, "That was Magneto, Erik Lensherr. Professor Charles's old friend. He was the one who saved us on the bridge earlier..."

Xavier Institute, principal's office.

It was barely dawn when a group of representatives from the upper levels of government arrived at the Institute. They gathered around the desk and argued fiercely with Charles.

"...Acting without authorization, releasing numerous high-risk mutant test subjects, severely damaging the city's infrastructure... Professor Xavier, you need to give us an explanation for these accusations!"

"After your agents led us into a trap and prepared to send us and the citizens of New York into the sky with thermobaric bombs, what exactly do you think I still need to explain to you?"

Faced with the government representatives' relentless pressure, rare anger appeared on Charles's face. He argued his case without yielding an inch!

"That was an unauthorized action by Long Island Base!" the government representatives continued to argue.

"You mean something like 'deploying fighter jets to drop bombs in a city' can also be called an 'unauthorized action'?!"

"That was merely strategic deterrence. There were no casualties in the end!"

"That was because we responded in time!" Charles growled. "If we had been any slower and allowed those bombs to detonate in the city... Forget New York, the entire United States would have gone insane!"

"Magneto threw them away!"

"Don't forget, those were your bombs!"

Click—

Just as the standoff reached a deadlock, the office door was gently pushed open.

Magneto strolled in as if nothing had happened. He said nothing, merely sweeping his cold eyes slowly across every person present.

The government representatives, who had been so aggressive moments earlier, instantly seemed to have their throats seized. They fell silent instinctively.

"The situation is complicated. I need to report to my superiors."

"We also need to return and discuss this further."

Under Magneto's deterrence, the representatives of every side unanimously decided to set the dispute aside for the time being, then hurried away.

Before long, only Charles and Magneto remained in the room, staring at each other.

"..."

After a long while, Charles said, "It seems you've recovered well, Erik."

"That kid named Joshua is indeed quite skilled," Magneto replied, then asked in return, "And you, Charles? What frame of mind are you in when dealing with these hypocritical politicians?"

"Making our position clear," Charles answered. "This is not the time to completely provoke them. We need to buy a little more time."

"Is that all?" Magneto asked. "That truly surprises me. I thought you would never abandon your naive ideals in this lifetime."

"I haven't abandoned my ideals. It's just that this time... the situation is different." Charles shook his head. "No matter what, we must stop Project ATHENA!"

"Project ATHENA?"

"This is a secret plan targeting mutants, proposed by Ritts Yoel a year ago..." As Charles explained, he took out an X Terminal and projected a three-dimensional map covering the entire United States between them.

Then red dots gradually appeared across the three-dimensional map, spread throughout the country according to major cities and densely populated areas!

"Using Super Leech technology as its foundation, they intend to establish thousands of Leech Towers across the country, covering most cities and suppressing the abilities of every mutant hidden within human society! If the plan succeeds, it will expand into more regions and even be promoted worldwide. Like network signal stations, it will completely cover every inch of the world and usher Earth into a true 'age without mutants'!"

As Charles spoke, the red dots representing Leech Towers on the holographic map steadily multiplied, even spreading toward other countries and continents.

In the end, the map's perspective continued pulling back until it became a virtual model of the entire Earth. Upon it, countless red dots covered everything, densely packed everywhere!

Every red dot represented a Leech Tower. Once he understood what the sight before him represented, even Magneto could not help feeling a chill rise from the depths of his heart.

"When did this begin?" Magneto narrowed his eyes and asked in a low voice.

"Super Leech technology was essentially perfected years ago, but large-scale cultivation only began within the past year." Charles sighed. "Originally, in an era when mutants were declining, this proposal was not taken seriously. But after the incident at Whiteman Air Force Base, along with the arrival of the global 'New Mutant surge,' those people in government could no longer sit still. That was why Ritts Yoel was able to rise to power through this plan and establish the ATHENA Office... From the very beginning, she intended to catch us all in one net!"

As he spoke, Charles put away the Earth projection and the X Terminal, then continued, "Over the past year, they have secretly established hundreds of Leech factories around the world, cultivating Super Leeches day and night..."

"Think about it, Erik. If we stand by and do nothing, within a few years, countless Super Leeches will spread into every corner of Earth. This world... will no longer have a place for us!"

Charles took another deep breath, his gaze turning cold. "I truly do not want us to solve problems through extreme means... but this time, the circumstances are exceptional!"

"The new era for us mutants has only just begun. I cannot stand by and watch them erase our future like this!"

Magneto listened quietly to Charles's account, his face cold to a frightening degree.

"Can you locate those Leech factories?" Magneto asked in a deep voice. "We must act as soon as possible!"

Magneto's meaning was simple: he would personally strike and destroy those "Leech Factories." It was what he had once been best at, and what he had always done.

"That's the troublesome part, Erik," Charles replied. "The military and ATHENA know us well. Every Leech Factory has been equipped with a Psychic Shielding Device. I used Cerebro for a global search not long ago, but I barely managed to locate more than thirty Leech Factories..."

"Aurora has also been gathering information through the network, but they're cunning. They seem to have realized that we possess cyberattack capabilities, so all major facilities are under closed information management. Their operations are becoming increasingly covert as well, and Aurora has only found a little over twenty so far..."

"Damn..." Magneto muttered, then suddenly asked, "Telepathy alone can't find them, but what about Miles's ability?"

"If Miles's telepathic range could expand worldwide, then theoretically, he could instantly obtain all the data in the world! A Psychic Shielding Zone can block Telepathy, but it can't completely block the data exchange of electronic devices! Those facilities all use electricity!"

"His psychic power isn't strong enough!" Charles shook his head. "To truly withstand Cerebro's mental strain, he would need at least Alpha-level Telepathy!"

"Erik, I need you to help me improve Cerebro again. Ideally, it should counter the Psychic Shielding Devices, or lower the requirements enough for Miles to use it."

"Neither of those will be easy." Magneto muttered before slowly continuing, "But if we do that, Miles won't be able to leave whenever he wants."

"He's leaving?" Charles froze.

While Charles and Magneto discussed matters in the conference room, Miles left the underground base and headed to the academy's recreation room.

Since returning from the Roosevelt Island Bridge, a large group had gathered there. It included the young X-Men already at the academy, as well as the mutants rescued from Essex Corporation.

"Everyone, I'm leaving the academy to find someone." Standing before the group, Miles got straight to the point. "There may be some danger involved. Is anyone willing to come with me?"

The group exchanged glances before Richter spoke up. "Miles, who are you leaving to find?"

"I'm going to find Dr. Stasis," Miles replied. "I have a feeling that, as Obadiah's brother, he must be plotting something in secret too. Besides... he may be the only one who can save Madeleine now."

Faced with Miles's request, the others looked at one another.

Then Laura, X-23, was the first to stand and walk over to Miles.

There was no need for words between her and Miles. A single glance was enough for them to understand each other.

"I'll go with you too." Prosta, Warpath, rose as well. "Consider it repayment for saving my life."

"I'm not leaving." Sunspot said, "I just told my father where I am, and he's already on his way."

"I'll go too." Dani, Moonstar, stood as well.

"I'll stay at the academy." Richter, Quake, said, "My abilities are better suited for defense."

"Miles... I..." Sam, Cannonball, the most severely injured of them all, opened his mouth before saying helplessly, "Sorry, I can't move for the time being."

Whether during their escape from Essex Corporation's underground base or the desperate battle on the island bridge, Sam had always been at the front. He had truly burned through everything he had and fought until the very end.

"You don't need to apologize, Sam." Miles comforted him. "We really had you to thank earlier. Otherwise, it would have been hard for us to escape the Essex base alive."

A few minutes later.

"Whoosh..."

As the low rumble of engines rose, the Blackbird parked on the academy grounds slowly lowered its hatch.

Miles secured the freshly reloaded X-0 Reaper onto the Flying Dragon S and boarded the aircraft first.

Behind him, Prosta, Warpath, Laura, X-23, Dani, Moonstar, and Charlotte, Wraith, all followed without hesitation, fully equipped and ready to go.

"Are you sure you don't need me to come with you?"

Logan, who had just returned, called out from outside the plane.

"No need." Miles replied. "Logan, honestly, I won't feel at ease without you protecting Charles."

"With Helmet Guy around, no one can hurt him." Logan said dismissively. "Just be careful out there."

"I will." Miles nodded.

"Miles!"

At that moment, Charles's voice suddenly rang out in his mind. "You're leaving to find Dr. Stasis?"

"That's right."

"You should know that the military and ATHENA are focused on us right now. It's dangerous for you to leave on your own like this."

"I understand, Charles." Miles replied. "But I have a feeling too. Obadiah, Dr. Nathaniel, Stasis, Madeleine, Ritts, Project ATHENA... there must be some kind of connection between them!"

"Given the current situation, going after Obadiah or Ritts is obviously unrealistic. Dr. Stasis may be our last remaining lead to investigate!"

"Is that so?" Charles considered it for a moment before speaking again. "Are you confident?"

"To be honest, not particularly." Miles replied. "But I think it's worth trying."

"...In that case, be careful."

"We'll act as covertly as possible, so you don't need to worry about us protecting ourselves... Since I've already faced a Super Leech once, I've made the necessary preparations."

"Good." Charles sighed. "Stay in contact. If anything happens, I'll immediately ask Clarice to find you!"

"Thanks, Charles." Miles continued, "Come to think of it, are you about to report my whereabouts to the local government?"

"Do you really think we still care about that agreement at this point?" Charles asked in return.

"Hah, I knew it..." Miles laughed and said no more. "We're leaving."

In the headmaster's office, Charles ended the telepathic conversation.

"You shouldn't have allowed him to act on his own!" Magneto said. "His ability is unique. What he should be doing now is staying at the academy and improving his powers as quickly as possible! Then helping us counter Project ATHENA!"

"Developing telepathic abilities isn't something that can be done overnight, Erik." Charles replied. "And besides, I trust Miles."

"Since he made this decision, he must have his own reasons."

"Perhaps." Magneto neither agreed nor disagreed as he turned to leave.

Just then, Charles suddenly asked, "Erik, have you worn that helmet all these years?"

Magneto paused and glanced back at him. "Of course."

As Logan left, the Blackbird's hatch slowly closed.

At that moment, another figure hurried over.

"Madeleine?" Miles froze, then hurriedly called out, "Aurora, lower the hatch!"

The hatch descended again, and they saw Madeleine approaching unsteadily, her face pale.

"Why are you here?" Miles asked as he pulled Madeleine aboard.

"I was worried about you, Miles." Madeleine replied.

"You should worry about yourself first." Miles said helplessly. "Listen to me. In your current condition, what you need most is to rest in the medical room, not fly around with us."

"I know my own condition. My time... is probably running out." Madeleine looked at Miles and spoke softly. "For the time I have left, I hope... I can be with you."

"..." Miles fell silent. He instinctively looked toward the others and, as expected, saw them all turn their heads away.

"Ah..." Miles sighed. "All right, I understand."

Then Madeleine continued, "Also... I have a feeling that staying at the academy is dangerous..."

"Dangerous?" Miles froze. "What danger?"

"...I don't know. I just have that feeling."

Madeleine answered softly.