The Academy for Advanced Children is the earth-8 equivalent to the Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters from the Marvel universe.

The Academy for Advanced Children was an educational institution created by Hans Leckter, a metahuman activist than opposed strongly against the metahuman Act than wanted force all people with superpowers to register their existence and be recruited by the Meta Militia. Leckter believed than his academy could be a place where the metahumans students could explore their abilities and grow as people without to became living weapons for the goverment. His more talented students became part of his metahuman team, the Zen-Men.

Originally, the academy was located in Westchester, where the Zen-Men had to defend the students from protestors and Meta Militia incursions. However, after the surrender of Dr. Leckter and the following tragic events, the school was relocated in West Germany, where Leckter, now as Dr. Diehard restart his pedagogic task, now with a more agressive agenda under the auspicie of Lord Havok.

The Academy for Advanced Children was destroyed when Americommando gave carte blanche to Monarch to retaliate against the Extremist and force a confrontation. The destruction of these and other installations however didn't cause the desired effect, depiste the protest of Dr. Diehard.