Chapter 156: Experiment

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As they left the school, before Mike could say anything, Gwen lowered her head and whispered, "I'm sorry." 

"Sorry? What for?" 

Mike glanced down at her, puzzled. 

Gwen lowered her head even further. "I caused you trouble." 

"Trouble?" Mike chuckled. "Sometimes trouble comes looking for you. And besides…" 

He winked at her playfully. "This wasn't trouble at all." 

Gwen hesitantly looked up at Mike. Seeing that he wasn't angry, she let out a quiet sigh of relief. 

Mike gently ruffled her hair, then suddenly asked, "By the way, what did you call me back there when you were arguing with that chubby girl?" 

Gwen's eyes flickered with unease. "I… I won't do it again—" 

Mike had never asked her to call him "Dad," so she assumed he didn't like it. 

"Say it again. I liked it." 

Gwen's eyes widened in surprise. She looked at Mike, who was smiling warmly at her. Her eyes turned red as she softly mumbled, "D-Dad… Daddy." 

Mike burst into laughter, scooping her up in his arms and kissing her chubby little cheek. "You finally said it!" 

Gwen giggled and returned the gesture, kissing him on the cheek before happily repeating, "Daddy!" 

Mike grinned, bumping his forehead gently against hers. "Alright, let's go home." 

"Mm!" 

As they walked away, Mike glanced back at the school and scoffed. 

What a joke of a school—having teachers like that. 

Next semester, Gwen was definitely transferring. This place wasn't worth another second of their time. Luckily, there were only a few days left in this term anyway. 

Speaking of which, Christmas was coming up soon. 

Mike stroked his chin, already planning how to make it special. 

After all, this would be Gwen's first Christmas with him. 

---

 X Academy 

Hank McCoy sat at his desk, a few blueprints spread out in front of him. He scribbled furiously, making adjustments to the designs. 

A knock at the door interrupted his work. 

Hank paused, marked his place, and rubbed his forehead before calling out, "Come in!" 

The door opened, and Charles walked in. 

"Hank." 

Charles greeted him and leaned casually against the desk. "How's it coming along?" 

Hank snorted. "You think this is easy? And besides, you'll need a lot of space to install it." 

Charles thought for a moment. "What about underground? Beneath the school?" 

Hank rubbed his chin. "It's possible… but building it underground would be a huge undertaking." 

Charles nodded. "I'll take care of that. Just focus on designing the schematics." 

"No problem." Hank nodded, then smirked. "Although the final design isn't complete yet, I've already built a prototype—a miniature version of the 'Brain.'" 

"A miniature one?" 

"Exactly!" Hank's excitement grew as he explained, "If this works, it proves our theory is viable. Then, I'll move on to completing the final version. If it doesn't work, well, there's no point in wasting time on it." 

Charles nodded in agreement—then suddenly paused. 

"…Hmm?" 

Hank was staring at him with an odd expression. 

"What are you waiting for? Let's test it!" 

Hank rubbed his hands together, his eyes gleaming with anticipation. 

Charles hesitated. Hank's enthusiasm for experiments was always a bit… intense. 

"Come on!" 

Before Charles could protest, Hank grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the room. 

---

 Moments Later – The Rooftop 

Standing on the rooftop, Charles finally saw the so-called "miniature Brain." 

"This used to be a small radar I built," Hank explained while lifting a helmet covered in antennas. "I modified it into the 'Brain.'" 

The device was about the size of a single person—definitely miniature compared to their planned full-scale version. 

"Even though I threw it together pretty quickly, it should function just the same. It shouldn't have any major issues." 

Charles stared at him. "You threw it together? Shouldn't have issues?" 

Hank beamed at him. 

Charles forced a smile. "…Maybe we should wait until you're sure—" 

"No time like the present! Let's activate it!" 

Before Charles could finish his sentence, Hank had already powered up the Brain. 

"Use your ability!" 

Charles hesitated for a moment, then focused. 

Immediately, he felt his mental awareness expand rapidly. His mind filled with the images of countless people appearing all at once. 

Seconds later, Hank switched off the device. 

"How was it?" Hank asked excitedly. 

Charles twitched. 

A string of drool trickled down the corner of his mouth, and his eyes began rolling wildly in all directions.

 Did Something Go Wrong? 

Hank McCoy froze for a moment, his face turning pale. 

"…Did I mess up?" 

"HAHAHAHA!" 

Charles suddenly burst into laughter and threw his arms around Hank, squeezing him tightly. "Hank! You're a genius!" 

Hank blinked, then smacked Charles twice on the back—hard. "You bastard! You scared the hell out of me!" 

Charles grinned sheepishly and released him. "Come on! Forget the experiments for now—we need to get ready for Christmas. Jean and Ororo are waiting for us. Let's go shopping." 

Hank adjusted his glasses and smiled. "Alright." 

---

 Christmas Preparations 

Christmas tree, stockings, twinkling lights… 

Mike returned home with his arms full of Christmas decorations, and he and Gwen got to work right away. 

"Daddy, have some water!" 

Gwen handed Mike a cup of water. 

Mike took it with a huge grin. 

Having a daughter is the best. 

"What do you want for Christmas?" Mike asked casually. 

Gwen tilted her head, thinking for a moment. Then, she hugged Mike tightly and said, "As long as it's from you, I'll love it!" 

Look at that! 

Daughters are amazing—like little angels! 

If it were Clark and the others, they'd already be chattering away with a long list of demands! 

Thinking about his three sons, Mike sighed. 

I wonder what they're up to now… 

"Daddy?" 

Mike looked down at Gwen and said, "I forgot to tell you—you have brothers." 

"Brothers?" 

Gwen blinked in surprise. "Where? How come I didn't know?" 

"You'll meet them eventually. They're busy right now." 

"Oh!" 

Gwen nodded, feeling both excited and a little nervous. "What if they don't like me?" 

"They will," Mike assured her. "And if they don't, I'll kick them out!" 

Gwen giggled. "No, you can't do that! That's not right!" 

Mike chuckled, pinched her chubby little cheeks, and put down his cup. "Alright, let's get back to work." 

"I'll help you, Daddy!" 

Gwen raised her hands enthusiastically. 

(End of Chapter)