Inside a high-security military facility, far from the prying eyes of the public or press, four of the most powerful men in the United States were gathered in a classified emergency meeting. Emotions were flaring.
"I can't believe this!" Admiral Scudder, the top commander of the military, slammed his fist onto the table, nearly shattering the coffee mug in front of him. "That idiot Ross swore there was no problem! Said we'd have a fully functional green titan army in no time—and now look!"
He paced furiously. "He walked right into a trap... and dragged us all in with him!"
The other three men in the room—Vice President Rodriguez, President Matthew Ellis, and Alexander Pierce, Secretary of the World Security Council—watched in silence, their expressions cold.
Admiral Scudder's attempt to shift the blame onto General Ross was transparent. But it didn't matter—his next words struck at the truth.
"Mutants set us up," he admitted. "And they didn't even hide it."
They all knew it. First, the Mutant-controlled Daily X had used their platform to manipulate public opinion. Then somehow, they'd convinced Moira MacTaggert, a former CIA operations director, to appear publicly and throw the entire weight of her reputation behind a pro-Mutant stance.
It was no longer just about saving face. It was a threat to the entire system.
"The CIA, the police, the courts..." Vice President Rodriguez said darkly. "They've been infiltrated. Mutants are in our institutions now."
He paused, allowing the tension to rise.
"This isn't like the Stryker situation. That was revenge. Stryker hunted and experimented on them for years—they exposed him because it was personal. But General Ross? This was strategic. Deliberate. Aimed at destabilizing the power structure."
Rodriguez's tone sharpened. "They're not just fighting for reputation anymore. They want power."
All four men understood what was truly at stake now.
The White House had initially floated the idea of a "Mutant Affairs Department," a harmless division under CIA control—purely symbolic, meant to keep public sentiment pacified. But this new push was for something entirely different:
The Mutant Affairs Bureau.
Not a division. Not a token office.
A Bureau—a full-fledged government agency with law enforcement authority. Equal in power and status to the FBI or S.H.I.E.L.D.
The thought alone made their stomachs churn.
President Ellis broke the silence. "The behavior we've seen... It's too precise, too coordinated. This doesn't feel like the Professor X approach. And Magneto? He's not capable of this kind of political subtlety."
He looked around. "There's someone else. A new player. Someone we don't know—and that's what worries me most."
Scudder and Rodriguez exchanged glances, both of them visibly disturbed.
"If that's true," Scudder said slowly, "we cannot allow the Mutant Affairs Bureau to be established. This has already gone too far."
Rodriguez nodded gravely. "Agreed. We must not give them a foothold."
But Ellis leaned back in his chair, frowning. "You're both ignoring the larger problem."
His tone turned solemn.
"This isn't just public opinion anymore. We're not just dealing with angry civilians posting online. We're facing division within our own ranks."
That caught their attention.
"The super soldier project nearly flattened half of Twister City. Casualties are still being counted. Civilians, agents, and government employees—people from all branches of our own institutions—are demanding change."
Ellis gestured to the tablet on the table. "Look at the list. That female judge—Kate Mara—she's not some activist. She's one of ours. And she's presiding over the case against Ross."
"And Catherine Bergert," he added. "Just a small-time precinct chief, right? Well, she's a local hero now. Took down Stryker's base. Won the trust of her entire department. You think we can remove her with a single phone call?"
The others fell quiet.
Ellis continued. "And don't even get me started on Moira MacTaggert. She trained a generation of CIA agents—half of whom now sit in key administrative posts. You think they'll sit by and watch her be publicly discredited?"
Scudder sat down, his rage now simmering into dread.
Rodriguez pinched the bridge of his nose.
They hadn't realized just how deep the ripple effect of Joseph's plan ran. It wasn't just a protest anymore.
It was an uprising from within.
"Public opinion can be ignored," Ellis said. "But we can't ignore our own people. This storm has already reached the inside."
After a long pause, Scudder spoke again. "Then we throw Ross under the bus. Officially end the super soldier program. Give the public a scapegoat, calm things down."
"Fine," Rodriguez agreed, though reluctant. "But under no circumstances do we approve that Bureau."
As they were mulling over the details, a quiet, amused voice broke the tension.
"Isn't this all a bit dramatic for a new department?"
All three turned toward the fourth man—Alexander Pierce, Secretary of the World Security Council, and the official who oversaw S.H.I.E.L.D.
His voice was calm. His smile, knowing.
"Pierce, do you have a suggestion?" Scudder asked, eyes narrowing.
Pierce leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. "You're all treating the creation of the Mutant Affairs Bureau like it's the fall of the Republic."
He waved a hand. "It's just a name. A structure. No funding, no staff, no weapons, no operational control. Even if it gets formed, it's toothless."
He smiled wider.
"And more importantly, if it's under the White House's authority, we control it. It doesn't empower Mutants—it just brings them into the light."
Ellis and the others exchanged glances. Pierce's logic was unsettling... but sound.
"We can't even locate Xavier's School right now," Pierce went on. "Our surveillance has gaps. But once the Bureau is formed, Mutants will come to us. Apply. Register. Operate openly. It's the perfect cover."
Rodriguez still looked skeptical. "You think it's worth the risk?"
"Of course," Pierce replied smoothly. "We buy time. Time for Worthing Lab to finish its Mutant suppression agent. Time for Ross's team to fix the flaws in the green titan serum. Once we have those weapons, we don't need to fear a Bureau or a school."
Ellis arched an eyebrow. "You seem awfully well-informed, Pierce. Know all our secrets."
Pierce shrugged. "That's what S.H.I.E.L.D. is for, isn't it?"
What he didn't say—what none of them knew—was that HYDRA was alive and well, buried deep within S.H.I.E.L.D., and Pierce was one of its highest-ranking infiltrators.
And all this chaos?
Perfect.
With Mutants stirring unrest, with threats from within and without, global fear would rise—and HYDRA fed on fear.
The stronger S.H.I.E.L.D. became in response, the stronger HYDRA's influence would grow.
"Besides," Pierce added casually, "we've got bigger problems."
He pulled out a small projector and activated it, casting a video onto the wall.
A desert. A rainbow-colored beam split the sky.
Then—an enormous machine, humanoid but alien, descended in fire and steel.
The Destroyer.
The footage showed a hammer-wielding warrior flying into battle. Lightning flashed. The earth cracked. Raw power filled the screen.
Ellis stood, eyes wide. "That's… Thor. The god?"
"Alien," Pierce corrected. "From a place they call Asgard."
"This footage was taken by S.H.I.E.L.D. in New Mexico during a covert operation. We're still piecing together the story, but the short version? The gods of old myth have returned."
A long silence followed.
"So Mutants aren't our biggest threat," Pierce said softly. "They're just the beginning."
He stood now, face grave but voice full of purpose.
"We need more power. More funding. The world needs S.H.I.E.L.D. to grow."
He glanced at the screen, where Thor and the Destroyer clashed in a storm of cosmic force.
"And when that happens," he thought to himself, "HYDRA wins."
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