Forge ran a set of diagnostics on me using a cluster of gadgets that looked like they belonged more in a sci-fi lab than a school. Scanners hummed, sensors flickered, and holographic screens danced with lines of data as he paced around me with a mix of fascination and disbelief.
"Unreal," he muttered, eyes locked on the projections. "Your external form's human, but inside… your anatomy's been restructured. The nanomachines didn't just enhance you—they rebuilt you."
My muscles tensed slightly. I had always felt different, but seeing it laid out in glowing data made it official. I wasn't just modified—I was remade.
We ran more experiments. Forge had me lift weights, take direct hits from kinetic energy weapons, test speed, agility, perception. One test involved dismembering part of my forearm—and within moments, the nanomachines swarmed, reforming the lost segment as if nothing happened. Full mechanical regeneration. Not healing—rebuilding.
Forge stood there slack-jawed. "This isn't tech I've ever seen—not even close. It's like alien-grade biotech, but smarter. It doesn't just react. It learns. "
By the end of the week, I had a working handle on what I could do—at least on the surface. I could generate thrusters from my feet and back, enabling me to fly at will. My arms could morph into artillery-grade cannons, and I could summon optic lasers strong enough to burn through reinforced steel.
Electromagnetic pulses, energy force blasts, and temporary body armor were all in the toolkit. It felt like every day I discovered a new feature—like my own body was a system still unfolding.
And yet, I knew this wasn't the full extent. Something deeper was still locked away.
Ororo, Logan, Scott, Rogue, Jubilee, and Kitty stepped in to help with live combat training. Forge had set up a specialized zone for us to test my limits—and I was about to face off against all of them.
Boom! Boom!
The training field was wrecked—potholes, scorched dirt, fragments of rock and steel everywhere. It was one against five. The odds were supposed to be against me—but I wasn't going to roll over.
Rogue came in from behind, fast and direct, but I'd been tracking her. My neural systems pinged her trajectory before she even reached me. I sprang up, vaulting over her, twisted midair, and landed on her back. My right arm shifted, humming as it transformed into a cannon.
Boom!
A point-blank energy blast took her and Jubilee off their feet.
Then came Logan—propelled forward by Storm's wind gust like a battering ram. He slashed at me, claws gleaming. I ducked the first swipe, but he followed with a vicious combo, each move flowing into the next. Scott joined in, firing pinpoint laser blasts that forced me to keep shifting my position.
Logan's claws grazed my shoulder—hot, sharp, real. One wrong move and I'd be sliced open.
But I had my own plan.
In a blur, I activated speed-boosters and vanished from sight. Afterimages tricked Logan's instincts. As he swiped at the illusions, I came in behind him and slammed an uppercut into his chin, lifting him off the ground. Before he even hit the dirt, I blasted him mid-air with optic lasers of my own.
Scott didn't let up. His lasers sliced through the chaos, sharp and rapid. I dodged two of them, then countered. Our beams collided—his red with my electric-blue, locked in a battle of force and intensity.
"Let's see who's got more juice," I growled, pushing more power into mine. The clash cracked the air like thunder.
Out of nowhere, Kitty phased up through the floor and kicked me clean in the jaw. My focus snapped, my optic beam went wide—and Scott capitalized. His blast hit me square in the chest, sending me skidding across the dirt.
Wind howled. The sky turned gray. Storm lifted her hands, and lightning danced between her fingers. A deafening crack split the clouds as a bolt shot down—right at me.
Pain exploded through my systems. My sensors shorted, balance wavered. For a moment, I was down on one knee, struggling to breathe—not that I needed to, but the habit lingered.
My systems buzzed on the edge of shutdown. But I wasn't done yet.
"I'm still standing!" I shouted, sparks flying from my back.
They all rushed me—every one of them. But I wasn't holding back anymore.
I released a full-force energy blast, a spherical shockwave that exploded outward. The training field lit up like a supernova. The ground cracked. Walls buckled. The blast knocked Kitty and Scott off their feet. Jubilee was out cold. Rogue and Logan staggered but stayed upright—barely.
I stood alone in the smoking crater, breathing heavily, systems
recalibrating. Only Logan and Rogue remained. Of course, it'd be them. Rogue had endurance and flight. Logan had healing and sheer grit.
They squared up, but before they could move
—
The world around us blinked out.
The scorched field, the injured teammates, the smoke—it all vanished in an instant. The simulation dissolved, replaced by the metallic sheen of the Danger Room's true interior.
The session was over.
"You've leveled up fast, Cole," Forge's voice echoed through the overhead speakers. "Even I'm impressed. And I built the system."
I looked up toward the control booth. "This new training setup is something else, Forge. Seriously—next-level work."
There was a pause, and then his voice came back, clearly flattered. "Took me months to build that sim layer. Glad someone around here finally appreciates it."
I smirked. "You should show Oro. I bet she'd be impressed too."
There was a long, awkward silence. I could practically feel him blushing over the intercom.
Right on cue, the doors hissed open. Storm walked in, cool and elegant as always.
"Speak of the goddess," I muttered.
"Cole, the Professor wants to see you," she said.
Then she glanced at both of us. "And... am I interrupting something awkward?"
I raised my hands in mock innocence. "Not at all. We were just admiring something beautiful."
Storm arched a brow. "What exactly were you admiring?"
"I'll let Forge explain that one," I said quickly, walking past her. The poor guy looked like he might melt into a puddle.
....
I made my way to Xavier's office, heart pounding a little harder than usual. I couldn't shake the thought: Did he find out? Did he figure out I wasn't from this universe?
I knocked once.
"Come in," his voice answered gently.
I stepped inside. He sat behind his desk, calm and composed, the same look of quiet power always etched into his face.
"I hear you've been making exceptional progress," he said. "Forge's reports are quite detailed—and glowing."
"Thanks," I said, still wary. "I was told you had something for me?"
Without a word, he slid an envelope across the desk.
I opened it.
My breath hitched.
Inside was a letter—signed and sealed. A formal invitation to join the X-Men as a full team member.
"You've earned this," Xavier said. "But before you share the news... I have one more place to show you."
Something about his tone sent a chill down my spine. Whatever was next—it wasn't just a celebration.
It was a turning point.