The Mutants Management Committee's crisis: one move would affect everything
Lynn casually tossed a few thin photocopies onto the long conference table.
The paper slid a short distance before coming to a stop in the center of the table.
The meeting room was quiet. The faint white noise from the air conditioner vents sounded particularly clear at that moment.
The four people sat on either side. Hela and Wanda were on the left, and Jyn and Gwen Stacy were on the right.
"Take a look." Lynn picked up the thermos in front of her, unscrewed the lid, and blew on the rising steam.
Hela was the first to reach out and take the photocopy. Her gaze quickly swept over the list of place names, her expression remaining largely unchanged. Only when her eyes landed on the last line of the list did a cold, hard smile appear on her lips.
She didn't say anything, but simply curled her fingers and pushed the photocopy across to the other side.
Qin took it.
The moment her gaze fell upon the words "Krakoa," Qin's fingers tightened slightly, pressing a noticeable crease into the edge of the paper.
"The situation is clear." Lynn put down his water glass, his voice soft but drowning out all the noise in the room. "TVA's Anchor has been planted in our backyard."
Hela sat up straight, placing her hands crossed on the table. "Sir, the Stability Maintenance Office requests an immediate Level 1 response. Krakoa's terrain is enclosed, surrounded by the sea, making it ideal for physical isolation. The Undead First Assault Squad is on standby; within three hours, I can uproot that Anchor."
This is called taking advantage of someone's misfortune.
Under the guise of removing the Anchor, they were actually exercising military control. Hela had always harbored resentment towards the highly autonomous Mutants of Krakoa, and now the opportunity had presented itself.
Qin's face was a little pale. She had only just been reinstated from her suspension and investigation, and her position was not yet secure. If the Stability Maintenance Office were to enter in a high-profile manner, the Management Committee's authority would be completely destroyed.
"Director Hela's plan is too costly," Jean said, trying to keep her tone calm. "Krakoa currently has nearly 60,000 Mutants, with complex internal factions. Large-scale armed intervention could easily trigger panic and overreaction among the population. Once it escalates into bloodshed, the stability established so far will completely collapse."
"Stabilize the situation?" Hela turned her head to look at Qin. "The Stability Maintenance Office is only responsible for resolving hidden dangers. If the Anchor isn't removed, the entire Defense Line is at risk of being breached from within. Under this premise, the emotions of tens of thousands of people are not within my consideration."
The two sides are locked in a dispute over policy directions, neither willing to yield.
Wanda leaned back in her chair, fiddling with a pen in her hand.
"Director Hela's words may be harsh, but they make sense," Wanda interjected at the opportune moment. "However, a direct, armed assault is too primitive. The Department of Technology can provide precise targeting of energy bands. As long as the Management Committee opens up Krakoa's underlying Data Interface, I can pinpoint that Anchor within ten minutes."
Wanda was ostensibly providing technical support, but in reality, she wanted to extract Krakoa's secrets.
Once the underlying Data Interface is opened, the ability files and activity records of all Mutants in Krakoa will no longer be a secret to the Department of Technology.
Qin, of course, understood the trap in those words. "The Management Committee's database contains a large amount of private and sensitive information. Fully opening the interface does not comply with current Confidentiality Regulations."
"Is privacy more important, or is life more important?" Wanda asked in a nonchalant tone.
The meeting room reached a stalemate.
Gwen Stacy stopped writing. She looked up at Lynn, who was sitting in the main seat. Lynn just listened quietly, without interrupting.
Gwen Stacy understood that the leadership was waiting for the subordinates to fully explain the pros and cons.
"Everyone," Gwen Stacy closed her notebook, "the Liaison Office just conducted a brief risk assessment."
All three of them turned their attention to her.
"Krakoa is a highly autonomous region. Without solid evidence, a large-scale armed intervention would be procedurally untenable. This could easily be exploited by internal radicals to incite conflict. It would not only cause unnecessary internal attrition but also give the TVA (Krakor Air Force) a pretext to exploit the situation."
Gwen Stacy paused for a moment, then offered her proposal. "I suggest that the Management Committee take the lead in conducting an internal investigation. The Stability Maintenance Office and the Department of Technology should be on standby on the periphery, providing necessary technical support and military deterrence. This approach complies with administrative procedures and minimizes negative impacts."
The program suppressed Hela's force, and the division of labor limited Wanda's overstepping of authority.
Gwen Stacy's plan is the safest and best suits Lynn's current mindset.
Lynn finally made a move. He extended his index finger and tapped it lightly twice on the table.
Thump, thump.
The argument abruptly ended.
"Director Stacy's approach is correct," Lynn said.
In short, it set the tone.
Hela frowned, but remained silent. Wanda also straightened her casual posture.
Lynn's gaze shifted to Qin. "The Management Committee has just resumed operations. This is a test."
Qin straightened her back.
"The Anchor needs to be removed, but the overall structure can't be messed up." Lynn looked into her eyes. "Krakoa is your base. If you can't even keep your own yard clean and need outsiders to come in with guns to help, then the Management Committee's existence is meaningless."
This was an extremely heavy blow.
Jean knew this was her only chance. If she messed it up, not only would she be forced to step down, but the Mutants would also face Hela's merciless purge.
"Please rest assured, sir." Qin had no other choice. "The Management Committee guarantees to secure and remove the Anchor on its own without triggering a mass incident."
"I'll give you twenty-four hours," Lynn stated, setting a deadline. "If the Anchor is still there after twenty-four hours, the Stability Maintenance Office will move in."
"Yes."
After the meeting.
Instead of returning to her office, Qin went directly down to the Core Data Center underground in Krakoa.
The temperature and humidity are kept constant here, with only the slight hum of the rows of servers running.
Qin Ping dismissed all the staff on duty. She sat down alone in front of the Control Console.
The situation was dangerous. Hela and Wanda were both watching her, waiting for her to make a mistake.
The list Lynn provided only indicated that the Anchor was in Krakoa, but it lacked specific host characteristics. However, Jyn had previously risked her life to peek into the underlying operating logic of the Anchor during her interrogation of the TVA guard captain.
It is a parasitic energy marker. It usually attaches to individuals who are highly disruptive and have a significant influence on the Timeline.
The qin played out the complete roster of Krakoa's personnel.
Start setting up the filter criteria.
First round of selection: Energy level reaches Alpha-Level or above.
The list dwindled from 60,000 to 300 in an instant.
Second round of screening: Individuals who have recently experienced severe emotional fluctuations, loss of control, or frequent entry and exit from the Core Zone Krakoa.
The list has fifty names remaining.
Jean stared at the fifty names on the screen. Among them were Moderate Faction Academy mentors as well as radical members of the Brotherhood.
She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and connected to the mental shielding network she had been responsible for building.
She would use her Psychic Power to simulate the detection band of TVA and conduct a reverse resonance test on these fifty names.
This is an extremely dangerous operation. The slightest mistake could trigger the Anchor's defense mechanism, thus alerting the enemy.
The first group of ten people did not react.
The second group of ten remained calm.
Time ticked by. The air conditioning in the data center was on full blast, but Qin's forehead was still covered in fine beads of sweat.
When the test reached the fourth group, a name on the screen suddenly flashed a faint red light.
Accompanied by the red light, an extremely restrained yet exceptionally stubborn orange energy fluctuation was transmitted back through the data network.
Qin suddenly opened her eyes and immediately severed the mental connection.
She leaned back in her chair, her chest rising and falling slightly.
Found it.
She took a deep breath and looked up at the screen.
A red light is focused on an elderly person's electronic file.
The face in that photo was etched with the marks of time, and the eyes revealed an undisguised arrogance and coldness.
Name: Erik Lehnsherr.
Code name: Magneto.
Identity: Supreme Leader of the Brotherhood of Mutants, Standing Member of the Krakoa Joint Council.
Qin's fingers froze on the keyboard.
She imagined the Anchor could be a young Mutants had just awakened and couldn't control his abilities, or a spy lurking in the lower levels.
But she never expected it would be Erik.
A single hair can affect the whole situation.
Magneto not only the spiritual leader of the Brotherhood, but also enjoys extremely high prestige throughout Krakoa. He commands a group of the most radical and destructive Mutants.
If it were someone else, Qin could easily find a reason to secretly send an officer from the Management Committee to take them away.
But to capture Magneto?
If any member of the Management Committee dares to set foot on Brotherhood territory, it will be immediately seen as a provocation. Civil War in Krakoa will erupt in an instant.
This is no longer a simple purge; it's a political bomb that could explode at any moment.
The red secure phone on the table suddenly rang.
The piercing ringtone echoed through the empty data center, startling Qin.