An unexpected arrival, legitimacy under worldly rules

The alarm blared, tearing through the silence of the Negative Zone.

The Scarlet light stained the Bone Throne with an ominous blood-red hue, each flicker like a dying heartbeat.

Lynn stood before the Throne.

He had just stood up.

In the center of the hall, Holographic Projection was broadcasting live footage of Abandoned Subway Station in Queens. The enormous, constantly rotating orange portal, like an unhealable wound, was menacingly exposed in the center of reality.

Time was frozen in time.

It arrived twelve hours early.

This figure rendered the meticulously prepared "inspection preparation" plan utterly useless.

Hela, Wanda, Gwen Stacy, who had just rejoined the group, all stood below the main hall. No one spoke. The saying "plans can't keep up with changes" seemed particularly ironic at this moment.

All eyes were focused on the gate of light.

They waited, waiting for the enemy to pour out from behind the door. Would it be soldiers wielding trimmers, or the more terrifying Adjudicators? Hela's Undead Legion had already formed a physical barrier around the subway station as Contingency Plan, but at this moment, that barrier seemed somewhat fragile.

A person walked out of the portal of light.

Not one, but a team.

They weren't wearing the retro uniforms typical of TVA, nor were they carrying any identifiable weapons.

They were dressed in dark suits, their ties perfectly tied, and carrying briefcases. The man in the lead wore gold-rimmed glasses, had a serious expression, and walked with a steady gait.

They stepped out of the portal as if they were stepping out of an ordinary elevator.

The portal closed and disappeared silently behind them, as if it had never existed.

Inside the subway station, only the cold lights and the crisp echo of their leather shoes on the ground could be heard.

Hela frowned.

"What are these?" Her voice held a hint of offended confusion. "A group of mortals?"

Chaos red light flickered faintly in Wanda's eyes. "No," she whispered, "The energy within them... is of the same origin as the previous captives. But it's enveloped in a... strange, worldly shell."

Gwen Stacy didn't speak; she stared intently at the screen. Her "inspection" plan was based on the premise that the other party would conduct the "inspection" in a way that involved "supernatural powers." But the group in front of her looked more like they were there for business negotiations.

The man in the suit at the head of the group stopped and took a document out of his briefcase.

He didn't speak to the empty subway station, but instead slowly unfolded the document towards a hidden Surveillance Camera.

The Holographic Projection in the main hall instantly magnified the contents of the document to the maximum.

A bright red banner, a gold-plated badge.

The United Nations World Security Council United Nations Investigation Order into the Asset Audit and Temporary Supervision of Non-State Actors and Holders of Unconventional Technologies.

Below is a long list of joint signatures from various institutions: the World Security Council, the International Court of Justice, the Global Financial Stability Committee... Each one represents the highest authority in the secular order of the world.

The core of the investigation order is simple: authorize the "United Nations Special Investigation Team" to conduct a comprehensive and unrestricted financial audit and asset takeover of a series of companies, including "Roxxon Energy Group".

Hela's confusion turned into undisguised rage.

"Absurd! They're declaring war on us with mortal trash?" She turned to Lynn and asked, "I request permission to deploy the Stability Maintenance Office to completely wipe these ignorant insects off the face of the earth!"

"And then?" Lynn spoke, his voice calm, having returned to his Throne. "Declare war on the United Nations? Or on the secular order of the entire planet?"

Hela's anger was momentarily extinguished by this rhetorical question.

She can easily destroy an army, or even a nation. But she cannot destroy a "concept".

Gwen Stacy's face was a little pale.

"They... are attacking our legitimacy." She finally understood their tactics. "All our businesses are built on secular business rules. Now they're undermining us, using the highest secular authority to shut us down. If we resist, it's tantamount to openly defying the rules of the entire world."

"If we accept, it's like laying all our assets bare before them, allowing them to take stock and manipulate them at will."

This is an open strategy.

A calculated move that puts you in a dilemma, where you can neither fight nor not fight.

They abandoned their brute force approach and instead took up the weapons of law and rules. In the territory you know best and rely on for survival, they used your own rules to wrestle your way out.

Wanda stared at the cold document on the screen and muttered to herself, "They don't talk to us about power; they talk to us about law."

Jean Grey clutched her chest, coughed lightly, and a look of seriousness crossed her pale face. "They want to redefine us from 'controllers of order' to 'disruptive Variant.' This is denying our existence at its very core."

The atmosphere in the main hall was even more oppressive than when the alarm was sounding earlier.

They have countless ways to deal with weapons and armies.

But when faced with a legitimate Red-Headed Document, all their efforts seemed to fall on deaf ears.

"Ring ring--"

A piercing telephone ring shattered the deathly silence.

It wasn't internal communication, but rather a very ordinary encrypted satellite phone from the Mortal World.

Gwen Stacy's Communicator vibrated, and she connected the line. An anxious voice came from it, echoing in the empty hall.

"Director Gwen! Something's happened! The Roxon Energy New York headquarters building has been sealed off by the NYPD and federal agents!"

"The team leader was someone claiming to be an official from United Nations Special Investigation Team. They presented United Nations Investigation Order of the highest level, demanding that we immediately hand over all server access and financial ledgers to cooperate with their comprehensive audit!"

"Our legal team says this investigation order... is completely legal in procedure, and we... we can't stop it!"