----
Nolan didn't respond to Connors' comment.
He was still deep in meditation, focused entirely on the surge of Dragonforce coursing through his body. The power rooted itself in the dragon bone implanted at the base of his spine, then began climbing upward rewriting every vertebra it touched.
His bone marrow, spinal tissue, and even his red and yellow marrow were being transformed infused by the milky-white energy from the Elder Aura.
And then Nolan began directing the flow consciously replicating the Iron Fist's internal chi pathways from memory.
But unlike demonic energy, which always leaked or scattered, Dragonforce obeyed him completely. It moved as he commanded, traveling through his spine like a conduit and reconstructing the same internal circuit Danny Rand used to focus his own power.
Suddenly, energy flooded into Nolan's arms.
He opened his eyes. His hands glowed with brilliant, pearly light.
Simultaneously, his internal meridians ignited triggered by the spinal route of the Dragonforce.
"This is on a whole other level," Nolan whispered, awed. "Stronger than any demonic energy I've ever used."
And that was only the beginning.
He was tapping into less than one percent of the Dragonforce now. The rest remained stored within his spinal column dormant, waiting.
He recalled dissecting Danny's body after their final confrontation. The dragon sigil on Danny's chest wasn't tied to his DNA. There were no genetic alterations just a supernatural brand grafted to his muscle tissue.
It wasn't a physical mutation. It was mystic imprinting.
That's why Nolan chose the dragon bone for his experiment.
It was the only known material outside of high-density magnetic materialscthat could bind and contain mystic energy like Dragonforce and demonic essence.
He'd already modeled the bone's molecular lattice structure.
Now he had proof: it worked.
"Connors, start running diagnostics. I want to know how much amplification I've achieved."
One by one, Connors attached electrodes across Nolan's body. Initially, with the Dragonforce suppressed, readings came back normal.
Then Nolan activated it again.
The readings instantly maxed outvevery meter flashing error symbols, registering beyond measurable range.
"Boss… the data's scrambled. It's off the scale."
"I can see that. I'll test manually."
Nolan glanced in the mirror at his back. The dragon emblem was glowing beneath his skin.
He smirked.
"Guess I'm Dragon Superman now."
He walked to the reinforced alloy wall the same one he'd tested demonic energy against.
Last time, using one unit of demonic force (1 SP), he'd managed to register a 35-ton punch.
Now, Dragonforce just a single measure contained 10 SP, ten times the power.
And this time, the energy wasn't leaking. It was focused pure.
He exhaled. His fist flared with glowing force.
BOOM!
The punch created a shockwave that rattled every piece of equipment in the lab.
CRACK!
The alloy wall didn't dent. It exploded disintegrating into fragments that scattered across the room.
Connors, watching through the camera feed, swallowed hard.
That wall had been rated to withstand over 100 tons of force.
And Nolan had barely put effort into that punch.
"Is he even human anymore?" Connors whispered. "He's practically a god now…"
Nolan stood calmly, unfazed.
It wasn't surprising.
His base physicality had always been superior to Danny Rand's. Now, with Dragonforce he wasn't just enhanced.
He was reborn.
Still, there was more to do.
If he could somehow acquire the Iron Fist's Codex the full legacy of K'un-Lun's dragon wielders he could unlock the full potential of the Dragonforce. Especially if he found K'un-Lun's original meditation technique, which might surpass even the one he'd received from the Sanctum.
But Danny wasn't talking.
This meant Nolan would just have to extract the memories manually perhaps with help from Xavier's psychic templates.
Nolan stepped outside, sunlight breaking through the tower windows. The morning had arrived without his notice.
"Connors," he said, glancing back. "Take a break."
Even though Connors had injected himself with Phoenix Formula-3, giving him insane regeneration, he still needed mental rest.
Even Logan had to sleep eventually.
"I'll dive back into the Jessica serum," Connors replied, nodding. "I think I've cracked it."
Nolan didn't argue. He appreciated Connors' drive it made him stand out among the others.
"Hardworking as always," Nolan muttered. "More people around here should follow his lead."
But there was no time to rest.
He had to begin modeling Xavier's genome—focusing on isolating telepathic pathways and refining them for surgical integration.
Now that the mystic system had stabilized, the next stage was psionic evolution.
If Danny wouldn't talk, he'd extract the memories directly from his mind.
The mystic series was complete for now. Next up was Project Demonbone designing bone-based implants that could store demonic energy without external tech.
"Gene mapping complete," the AI chirped.
Nolan scanned the screen.
Now came the hard part editing Xavier's genome, grafting it with extreme precision to match his body's unique markers.
"Let's get to work."
---
Two Days Later…
A man and woman walked through Oscorp's front doors.
The man was tall, handsome broad-shouldered, refined, dressed in a sharp suit that clung to a body honed by war.
The woman?
A vision of raw power and grace. Crimson hair cascading down porcelain skin, cheekbones sharp enough to carve glass. Every step she took radiated mystique and strength.
They turned heads instantly.
At the front desk, the man smiled warmly.
"Good morning. I'm Steve Rogers. Is Dr. Nolan available?"
Despite the circumstances, Steve remained courteous. He had, after all, come to negotiate Scott Lang's release.
It had taken him two full days to convince Wanda Maximoff to leave her apartment and accompany him.
"Do you have an appointment?" the receptionist asked, momentarily stunned by his charisma, then regaining her professional composure.
"No appointment," Steve said gently. "But can you inform Dr. Nolan that Captain America would like to speak with him."
The woman's eyes widened. "Captain America?"
But almost instantly, her admiration turned to revulsion. Her warm gaze soured.
Across the lobby, whispers erupted. More heads turned. People recognized him but not with respect.
They looked at Steve like he was a venomous snake.
Something dangerous. Something they wanted to stay far, far away from.
Steve stood still, caught off-guard.
'What the hell happened?'
'Why was everyone looking at him with such unfiltered contempt?'
'Why… did it feel like the world had turned against him?'
----
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