Marvel: I can learn anything

Ian arrived at the headquarters of the Mutant Brotherhood, known as Home Island. In just a few years, the once desolate island had completely transformed.

A futuristic steel town now stood on the edge of the island. Without a doubt, this was the handiwork of Magneto.

As Ian approached the town, a floating steel bridge extended toward him. Walking along the bridge, he arrived at the top of the central lighthouse in the town, where Magneto was already waiting.

At this moment, Magneto was dressed casually and looked even younger than he had a few years ago.

However, the moment Ian saw Magneto, a hint of disappointment flashed in his eyes, though he didn't show it.

Ian walked to the top of the lighthouse, which offered a perfect vantage point overlooking the entire town.

"Ian, what do you think of this Home Town?" Magneto asked, gesturing toward the town below.

"It's impressive. Erik, your sense of aesthetics has improved!" Ian praised with a nod.

He wasn't just flattering Magneto—this futuristic style truly surpassed the steampunk, post-apocalyptic aesthetic and was more aligned with popular tastes. The bright and sleek appearance better suited the Brotherhood's current philosophy and was conducive to a positive mindset shift.

"All of this is thanks to you. If it weren't for your suggestions, the Mutant Brotherhood wouldn't be where it is today," Magneto sincerely expressed his gratitude.

Over the past two years, Magneto had come to increasingly agree with Ian's advice. Since the Brotherhood transitioned from the shadows to the open, the overt and covert actions against them had significantly decreased.

"Suggestions are just suggestions. If you hadn't listened or lacked the determination, today's success wouldn't exist," Ian replied modestly.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Magneto got straight to the point. "Ian, what brings you here today?"

"I came to discuss something with you," Ian replied. "The Mutant Brotherhood has been recuperating for a long time. It's about time you became more active."

Magneto's expression immediately turned serious. "Is this your personal suggestion, or is it a demand from them?"

"Relax, Erik!" Ian reassured him. "As long as you're unwilling, no one in this world can force you to do anything. This is just a personal request from me."

Magneto's expression softened. "Why?"

"I'm about to undertake an important task that will occupy me for a year or so," Ian explained. "During this time, the actions of the Nova Corps will be significantly reduced. I hope the Brotherhood can step up and maintain order in mutant society."

This wasn't a mere pretext to meet Magneto—it was a genuine thought and necessity.

After some consideration, Magneto agreed to Ian's request. "I agree."

The Brotherhood couldn't remain holed up on Home Island forever. While the island was safe, it was still just an island.

With business settled, Ian, at Magneto's invitation, toured Home Town.

The town was well-designed and constructed, showcasing Magneto's impressive progress in recent years.

The Brotherhood members living in the town also appeared more composed and less aggressive compared to a few years ago.

However, Ian didn't stay long. After a brief tour, he took his leave.

"Not Mystique, not Professor Xavier or Logan, and not Magneto—what exactly is the key node?" Ian pondered as he examined his study system.

[Temporal Studies LV4 (99%)]

Ian was stuck at his Temporal Studies and hadn't reached Level 5. Without reaching this level, he couldn't directly observe the time stream branches and needed to find the branching nodes.

He was currently stuck at this step.

After the successful X-gene transplant experiment with Rogue, Ian had an idea.

As the Elemental Dominator, Ian's X-ability was centered around atomic control. The most compatible abilities would be molecular control or energy-to-matter conversion.

He had no leads on the latter but remembered the former was likely one of Apocalypse's abilities.

However, in the main Marvel Universe, Ian couldn't find Apocalypse. The plot involving Apocalypse's emergence decades ago didn't occur, and his tomb wasn't in Cairo's underground ruins.

Egyptian history did vaguely mention such a figure, which led Ian to conclude that the story of Apocalypse had become part of a time stream branch, much like the Spider-Man world.

This was actually advantageous, as time stream branches were far simpler than the main stream.

An ancient being like Apocalypse, who had lived for thousands of years, would likely possess Level 6 strength in the main world—a formidable opponent even for Ian.

But in a time stream branch, Level 5 was the ceiling, and Apocalypse wouldn't be an exception.

A Level 5 Apocalypse was manageable for Ian.

Yet, when Ian was ready to act, he realized he couldn't locate the branching node of this time stream.

"If none of the main characters in X-Men: Apocalypse are nodes, there's only one possibility: the story of Apocalypse isn't the starting point of this branch," Ian deduced.

His thoughts quickly shifted. "Could it be Days of Future Past?"

Returning to the Carnegie Alloy Company, Ian immediately instructed, "Aisha, I need all the information on Trask Industries!"

The story of X-Men: Days of Future Past began with Mystique. However, Ian couldn't detect the trajectory of that storyline with her.

Similarly, Wolverine who traveled through time, didn't exhibit traces of the storyline either.

With the protagonists ruled out, the node could only be linked to the antagonist—Trask Industries.

Ian's intuition suggested that the node was likely related to the Sentinel robots. The question was, how advanced were the Sentinels in this main world?

Within three minutes, Aisha returned with a document. "Ian, here's some information on Trask Industries."

Trask Industries was a client of Carnegie Alloy, so the company had compiled some of their data.

While it didn't include highly classified secrets, the document revealed that Trask Industries had deep ties with the U.S. Congress, military, and even European organizations.

Though ostensibly focused on war robots, they were undoubtedly working on Sentinel robots.

Within a day, Ian had detailed information on Trask Industries on his desk, including the location of their base for Sentinel robot research and production.

Having found what he needed, Ian set the document aside and turned to Aisha. "Aisha, you'll accompany me this time," he said.

Assuming it was just a trip, Aisha casually asked, "Where to?"

"Time travel," Ian replied nonchalantly.

"Time travel?" Aisha finally grasped the implication and immediately declined. "Why not take Mystique instead? She'd be more helpful in an alternate world. I'd be of no use!"

"Mystique isn't suitable for this mission," Ian explained seriously. "But you're essential this time."

"Alright," Aisha agreed, her face lighting up with a bright smile.

(End of Chapter)