Moving out

"The Terminator approaching Kamar-Taj has lost its signal."

Skynet's notification echoed through Brad's mind.

Brad closed his eyes, raised his prosthetic hand, and pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger, rubbing it.

"Magic doesn't get along with technology... How's the cloning research coming? I want to see whether Kamar-Taj will reject a clone."

"Still in progress. In fact, we can already grow a clone of you."

"You know me, Skynet. What I need is a clone with a recessive X-Gene."

"That is more difficult. After your awakening, the expression of the X-Gene in your body became dominant. Any clones made from your genetic material will awaken X-Ability."

Brad considered this for a moment, then issued a mental command.

He wanted to see how the current clones were coming along.

All he could say was that it was fascinating.

The expression of the X-Gene was very strange. In theory, a clone originating from him should awaken powers much like his own.

In reality, however, the most successful clone so far only had an ability resembling his. It was actually different.

Besides interfering with electrical currents in external mechanical structures, this clone could also control the bioelectricity within his body to a certain extent.

That was something Brad couldn't do.

"It's as if, in his understanding, the human body is also a precision machine, so bioelectricity naturally falls within his control."

"I can think of the human body as a machine too, but I still can't manipulate my own bioelectricity. Well... that makes sense. These powers don't work just because I think they should."

"Set up a project for him. This is an interesting direction. It might come in handy someday."

Brad waved his hand, and the cryogenic chamber holding the sleeping clone slowly sank underground.

With authorization to monitor the base in real time, Brad could view the footage from Canada Base through electronic eyes as though he were standing right there.

"What about Kunlun?"

"The Terminator was successfully greeted by warrior monks from the Kunlun Realm, but contact was also lost after it entered."

"...These fantasy factions with their own inner worlds are such a pain. It was probably destroyed too."

"The remaining factions..."

"No arrangements have been made yet. Actually, sir, our spending has been rather high lately. We are close to exceeding our budget. If spending continues at this rate, the company will enter bankruptcy in another five years."

Brad looked up in surprise.

Hadn't he only made some T1000s and derivative models, sold a few hundred thousand smart home robots at low prices, and launched three satellites?

"Bring out those two technologies gathering dust. Hold an auction. Give them to the highest bidder."

FK Reaper-Reaper

Equipped with the most basic artificial intelligence and two powerful mechanical legs, capable of standing on one leg. Intelligence comparable to a dog's. Height: 2.5 meters.

HK Hunter-Killer-A Terminator with exceptional aerial combat capabilities and anti-tracking capabilities.

These two were among the earliest nonhumanoid Terminator models, several versions behind even the T800. Bringing them out now was perfect for making a fortune in this era.

It would also give him a plausible reason to assign these outdated Terminator models to his various factions as bodyguards, concealing what he was really doing.

According to Brad's plans, releasing the T500 model sometime after 2010 would be just right, and the public would find it relatively easy to accept.

But now a new problem had arisen.

Where should Brad take his own development after the T1000?

Back then, he had focused on recording the future computer technologies in his mind, along with the inspiration and directions for development. That was nothing to worry about. Even when Earth entered the space age, Brad's computer technology would still be thousands of versions ahead.

But Terminator technology...

Honestly, Brad's lab had already produced the T800 not long after World War II ended.

It was more than sufficient, so he had consciously avoided researching the field further. Naturally, he had also triggered related inspiration fewer times.

Brad quickly issued Skynet a command.

"Have Beth insult Bolivar whenever she's got nothing to do. Rile up that little runt and see if we can force him to take Sentinel technology a step further."

Brad wasn't determined to follow the Terminator development path provided by that Nanobug's technological inspiration all the way to the bitter end.

He could add some versions of his own along the way.

After all, during his battle with Ultron outside the universe, Brad's mutant ability had analyzed and recorded both his body's construction and the nanosuit generated using the Infinity Stones.

Unfortunately, the Nanobug had been stripped from him shortly afterward. He hadn't managed to fully crack the technology in time, so it amounted to memorizing it by rote.

He hadn't fully cracked the technology, but he certainly had the ideas and direction.

However, after his preliminary research, Brad discovered that the Vision body Ultron had possessed wasn't a combat robot!

It was a utility robot!

The Mind Stone and the vibranium body-two incredible creations-had simply given it such ferocious combat capabilities that Brad had been misled into thinking Vision's body was designed for battle.

Of course, it was still extremely valuable as a reference.

While analyzing Vision's body, Brad felt as though he were discussing research with a brilliant scientist from decades in the future. Although Ultron had designed the body himself, his thinking followed directly from Tony Stark's.

Looking at it that way, calling Ultron Tony's son didn't seem wrong.

Thinking of Tony reminded Brad of Howard.

With nothing else to do, he pulled up the surveillance feed from Howard's house and saw Little Arnie crawling across the floor, one hand still clutching the Universal Joint metal rod Brad had given him years ago.

He crawled so fast that the maid behind him was calling out anxiously.

A faint smile tugged at Brad's lips, and he turned back to his research.

But soon, he received a message.

Charles needed him to lead the X-Men on a mission. The Hellfire Club was planning to hijack a prison transport in New Jersey.

This was the first X-Men mission Brad had ever been given.

He had nominally been a member of the X-Men all this time, but he had never even visited their training room.

It wasn't that Brad was uncooperative.

The training room, the mechanisms inside its walls, the guns, the traps... all of them were metal machinery operated by computer commands.

When Erik trained, they could at least use metal bullets to test his reaction speed and his ability to control multiple targets.

Brad could walk in, wave his hand, and shut down the entire training room.

That sort of training was meaningless for Brad unless Charles ordered him not to use his mutant ability.

But weren't the combat classes at the mutant academy meant to help the X-Men fight more effectively using their abilities?

Tell Wolverine not to use his Bone Claws or Cyclops not to use his beams, and what the hell was the point of training?

It wasn't as though Charles hadn't considered arranging hand-to-hand combat lessons for Brad.

But Brad was strangely formidable in a fight. Without either of them using their powers, he could toy with Logan like a puppy using just one hand.

In the end, Brad simply watched everyone's training videos occasionally and offered some pointers.

As long as he understood them well enough not to enter a battlefield without knowing what his teammates' abilities were, that would do.

Everyone boarded the Blackbird, full of praise for Hank and Brad's research.

Brad rested his elbow beside the window, his forefinger against his temple, reviewing surveillance footage and information from the scene.

Fast and steady, the aircraft filled the X-Men with pride and a sense of responsibility every time they rode it out on a mission.

Below, the children pressed against the windows to watch the aircraft take off, their eyes full of envy.

"I heard Mr. Brad is leading the team this time!"

"I can't wait."