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Chapter 225: Iron Bones
🕑 Added 2025-07-06 05:34:18 +0000 UTC"What is this?"
Just as Professor Charles was about to stop Logan, a piercing chill suddenly swept through the entire office.
In an instant, Logan froze, turning into a solid ice sculpture halfway toward Fury! The power contained within this icy form was indescribable, something that Professor Charles had never encountered before.
If Logan hadn’t been encased in ice with his eyes still rolling around, Professor Charles would have thought him dead.
"Is this how you treat guests, Professor Charles?" Lance asked, lowering his hand as the golden glow in it faded.
Professor Charles felt incredibly embarrassed.
Not just Lance, but Kate and Evan, too, shared a similar sentiment. In their eyes, professors should be like Flitwick or Snape—only those who had actually taught them deserved the title.
Although Professor Charles did resemble Professor Dumbledore in temperament, he had nothing to do with magicians like Evan. They had merely followed Noah’s lead in calling him “Professor.”
"I’m sorry, it’s my mistake," Professor Charles apologized, still a bit dazed. However, as he regained his senses, he carefully observed the three young men in front of him.
Before, he hadn’t noticed much, but now, under his scrutiny, he realized just how unusual they were. Especially the brown-haired young man, who had wielded the power of frost so quickly and proficiently—it was clear that his ability was highly developed.
Intrigued, Professor Charles began to use his telepathic ability, wondering if these young people could also be mutants.
Although he hadn’t found any signs of it through his instruments, who knew if they had a way to conceal themselves?
"I advise you not to mess with your abilities, Professor Charles," Noah’s voice cut through the air, a frown on his face.
Everyone else mirrored Noah's expression, clearly disturbed. No one liked the idea of their thoughts and memories being explored by others, especially magicians like them who deeply disliked such intrusions.
Even Professor Dumbledore, known for his great magical skill, rarely used magic to delve into someone’s mind. When he did need to extract information, he would use truth serum. Forcing a magical intrusion into a magician’s mind could cause serious complications.
"Sorry, I was just a little curious," Professor Charles responded, his face reddening with embarrassment.
He had stopped using his ability, but the feeling of confusion remained. His mental power had hit an impenetrable barrier. He hadn’t even been able to touch their minds!
The irony wasn’t lost on him: his greatest strength had failed against these four.
This realization only deepened his confusion. While he couldn’t be absolutely certain, he was now inclined to believe that these young people might be his kind—mutants, perhaps—who had joined SHIELD for some unknown reason.
"Forget it, I don’t want to discuss this now," Noah said, shaking his head. With a casual gesture, he breathed out a warm gust of air that began to melt Logan’s frozen form.
What a joke—Professor Charles had tried to invade their minds?
The magicians weren’t amateurs. They had all mastered brain occlusion magic.
To be honest, this magic wasn’t particularly difficult to learn, but it was highly practical for protecting one’s thoughts and memories from being easily accessed.
If Charles had magic, Noah mused, he would have likely been an extraordinary magician. But alas, he was a “natural magician” without any magical powers. If only he could use magic, who knew what level he might have reached!
As Logan began to thaw, Professor Charles nodded, realizing that the SHIELD agents before him likely weren’t keen to share too much information. What he had just done was rather presumptuous, and there were more important matters on his mind than entertaining these agents.
At that moment, Cyclops, Storm, and Phoenix entered the room one by one. Noah knew they were probably going to try to convince Logan of something.
The interesting part, however, was that their conversation didn’t avoid Noah and the others. In fact, when they learned that Noah and the others were “mutants,” the conversation took an unexpected turn.
"We’ve become mutants just like that?" Evan whispered to himself, using magic to shield his voice so only Noah and the others could hear.
They were now heading toward a laboratory. The mutant school was far larger than they had imagined.
"Idiot, they just think we’re mutants. And Fury, don’t talk. You don’t have magic to shield your voice, so don’t give us away," Noah whispered back.
Fury’s eyes widened in realization before he nodded slowly. Was this considered a form of silence?
Lance ignored Fury’s confusion and continued, "But aren’t they being too generous letting us visit like this? Aren’t they worried about exposing their secrets?"
"Maybe they want to turn us to their side," Kate said, shaking her head. "Even if they can’t convince us, they want to show that they’re not a threat to normal humans. Don’t forget, mutants are divided into two camps."
Kate’s insight was sharp. She was the one who had initially suggested taking risks with the little lion in first grade, and now she was providing a solid analysis.
"The Mage Alliance has been able to continue developing because of Noah’s advice," Kate added, smiling.
"Exactly," Noah agreed, "But we can still convince them, at least some of them."
Kate smiled and nodded. "Professor Charles mentioned that the children here feel isolated and misunderstood. Coming here, they finally feel normal. If they were introduced to the magic world, they might realize that they’re not the only ones like this."
Lance nodded. "But what about the other group of people?"
"You mean the ones who want to wipe out humanity?" Kate rolled her eyes. "If they do that, they’ll be gone before long."
Noah gave her a knowing look. She was spot on.
Indeed, the old version of the mutant world was far simpler, with no magic or world guardians. But now, their world was far more complex.
What Magneto was doing now was not much different from what Voldemort had done. It was dangerous—perhaps even worse.
If Magneto succeeded, he might form a “Human Elimination Plan,” much like Voldemort had tried to create, wanting to eliminate all humans or turn them into mutants.
Noah thought about how Magneto’s actions could lead to his own destruction if Professor Charles and the mutants didn’t stop him.
"Noah," Kate interrupted, "You’re thinking too hard."
Shaking his head, Noah glanced at Fury, who was fidgeting anxiously but didn’t dare speak. A sudden chuckle rose in Noah as he imagined how Fury would change in the next seven or eight years. By then, Fury would be the kind of person everyone would find utterly irksome.
Finally, they arrived at a laboratory, where Logan was soon placed under a detector.
After a few scans, an X-ray image of Logan’s body appeared on a large screen. Everyone stared in shock as they saw that his bones were made entirely of steel.
"Wow, this guy’s a steel man? This is the real ‘steel bones’!" Evan gasped.
Not just Evan, but everyone except Noah was stunned by the revelation.
To think that someone could have indestructible bones and still live—this was beyond incredible.
"Fury, do you know anything about this?" Kate asked, her arms crossed in disbelief.
"I know a little, but it’s highly confidential," Fury said, swallowing nervously.
"Tell us," Lance demanded. "We’re curious."
Highly confidential? A truth serum would get everything out of him in a second, but magicians didn’t rely on such things. They used their own magic for security.
Fury glared at Lance, but after a moment’s hesitation, he began to explain.
"This is mutant territory, and if I don’t explain, I might get into trouble. You all nearly got caught earlier." He took a deep breath. "Fifteen years ago, a general performed experiments on Mr. Howlett. They implanted special steel bars into his body via surgery. The records were later erased, and the general kept quiet about it."
"William Stryker?" Professor Charles murmured, his face a mask of recognition. "I remember some things from fifteen years ago, but I didn’t know it was such an experiment."
Now, Professor Charles was even more troubled. He didn’t know what Eric’s true intentions were in finding Wolverine.
