At a secret research base in Virginia, a supersonic aircraft slowly descended onto the runway.
Lancelot stepped off the plane and immediately saw Senator Humpherson wearing a flattering smile.
"Sir," Senator Humpherson said respectfully as he approached Lancelot, bowing slightly, his eyes filled with reverence.
"How is the construction of the base progressing?" Lancelot asked, glancing at him.
"Fortunately, sir, the mutant evolution base you requested has been completed," Humpherson replied, nodding as he began leading Lancelot into the facility that had been under preparation for an entire month.
One month earlier, after using Geass to control Senator Humpherson, Lancelot had continued to wield its power, forcing the entire CIA headquarters—and every CIA operative—into action within just three days.
The entire CIA, along with all its field agents, had been effortlessly brought under Lancelot's control.
From that moment on, the CIA's intelligence network existed solely to serve him.
After fully taking control of the CIA, Lancelot ordered the construction of a secret base for himself, and the agency immediately began operating at maximum efficiency.
In just one month, his command had been executed flawlessly.
Lancelot entered the base, hidden deep within the forest. The facility covered an area equivalent to hundreds of football fields, with almost the entire underground forest hollowed out.
The subterranean complex was divided into multiple zones, including residential areas, training facilities, research sectors, and various auxiliary installations.
At present, countless people were busy throughout the underground base. Most of them were elite CIA agents, top-tier tactical teams, and logistical support personnel.
But now, under Senator Humpherson's control, they had all become mindless puppets—secretly transferred here to serve Lancelot.
In addition, Lancelot had ordered the CIA to secretly assemble the world's top scientists, with geneticists forming the largest group among them.
"Alright, everyone, put your research materials away."
Upon arriving at the base, Senator Humpherson had already gathered all the scientists without waiting for Lancelot's instructions.
He brought them into a specially constructed auditorium, then bowed deeply and personally guided Lancelot to the highest platform.
Dressed in an ornate robe, Lancelot stood on the platform, looking down at the scientists below.
From their eyes, he could see confusion, doubt, shock, and fear. Most of them had been forcibly abducted by CIA operatives and brought to the base.
Although the research facilities here were extremely advanced, the scientists had spent their days in constant anxiety, with no intention of conducting any research at all.
Now, as they looked up at Lancelot on the platform, they were visibly startled. They had clearly not expected the person in charge of this secret base to be an Asian man—and his gaze was…
"Serve me until death."
Lancelot paid no attention to their thoughts. Within his blood-red eyes, a massive flaming bird appeared. It cried out sharply before rushing into the eyes of every scientist, completely rewriting their minds.
Before Geass, all resistance was meaningless. No matter what thoughts these people held, Lancelot could easily imprint his will upon them.
"I will serve my master unto death."
Under the influence of Geass, the scientists became fanatical and spoke in unison.
"Very good. Continue your previous research," Lancelot said with satisfaction, nodding slightly.
He stepped down from the platform and, under Senator Humpherson's guidance, toured the entire base.
When he finally exited the facility, Lancelot could no longer suppress his laughter and burst out laughing once more.
"Geass truly is invincible."
After laughing, Lancelot regained his composure and glanced indifferently at the dozen CIA executives following behind him.
"Forget everything about the House of Mutants."
The moment his words fell, the eyes of the CIA executives turned blank. The Geass within them instantly erased all memories related to the secret base.
For those controlled by Geass, erasing memories was merely a command. Absolute orders could forcibly alter a person's memories, personality, thoughts, and even their will itself. Memory erasure was the simplest of all.
"Humpherson, how are my mutant companions doing?"
Aboard the supersonic aircraft, Lancelot sat on a luxurious sofa, gazing casually at the clouds outside the window.
"Sir, Professor Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr—Magneto—are still searching for Sebastian Shaw of the Hellfire Club," Humpherson reported respectfully.
"They're still chasing Shaw? Slower than I expected," Lancelot said, frowning slightly as he tapped the table with his fingers.
After taking control of the CIA, Lancelot had been closely monitoring the situation at the secretly established X-Men base.
Unfortunately, the events of X-Men: First Class were still in a transitional phase. The young Professor X and Magneto were traveling across the world, tracking and dismantling the Hellfire Club's schemes.
Sebastian Shaw's attack on the X-Men base and the final island showdown were likely still two months away.
That means by the time the decisive battle begins, I'll have just completed a secondary disciple selection, Lancelot thought with a faint smile.
Although he possessed Geass—the power of absolute order—and could effortlessly imprint commands into anyone's mind, he knew all too well that Geass was not without its flaws.
To activate Geass, the target had to look directly into his eyes. If they could not do so, the ability would fail.
Moreover, aside from Geass, his physical body was far too weak—merely that of an ordinary human. Even with nothing more than a handgun, he could easily be killed.
For this reason, despite knowing this was the first battle of the mutant war, Lancelot did not rush to the X-Men base.
"Have Wolverine—Logan—and Sabretooth—Victor—been found?"
"I'm very sorry, sir. We have found no trace of Wolverine, Logan. However, we have located Sabretooth, Victor," Humpherson replied apologetically.
"That's not completely useless," Lancelot said coldly, glancing at him indifferently.
A month earlier, Lancelot had issued the order to locate both Wolverine and Sabretooth. But after an entire month, the CIA had only managed to track down Victor.
Charles Xavier's cerebral wave amplification device was simply far too slow.