The psychological warfare of a top-secret dossier, the Invisible Woman's shattered faith

That cold headline was like a needle pricking Susan Stone's retina.

Investigation Files Regarding Historical Issues Related to the Early Secret Agreement Between the Illuminati and TVA.

The quarantine area was deathly silent.

Susan's body froze on the spot. The Quantum Cloaking Device perfectly isolated all her physical features, but it could not isolate the violent tremors in her heart.

A trap.

This was the first thought that flashed through her mind. The other party had deliberately led her here to show her this forged document and to shake her resolve.

She warned herself not to look, not to believe. Reed was her husband, the wisest and noblest man in the universe. Her Illuminati were guardians of the Multiverse. They could never...

However, her body wouldn't obey her commands.

That file was like a bottomless vortex, radiating a deadly attraction. She had to know what was written inside, even if it was just to prove its absurdity.

Susan slowly and silently approached the lonely, lit terminal.

She reached out and lightly traced her fingertips across the virtual screen.

The file was opened.

There were no sensational accusations, no inflammatory rhetoric. The entire document was a coldly, almost brutally honest, official record. Internal TVA memos, encrypted meeting minutes of the Illuminati, a detailed list of energy exchanges, and the numbered, cropped Timeline...

Each and every one of them was so clear it was suffocating.

The date was familiar to her. A certain Timeline, designated TRN-XXX, was deemed a high-risk branch by the TVA due to an uncontrollable outbreak of Mutants Genes. The Illuminati meeting minutes showed that Professor Charles Xavier voted against it, but Reed persuaded the majority of members by arguing that "maintaining the stability of the Sacred Timeline is in line with greater humanitarian principles."

Ultimately, the Illuminati reached an agreement with TVA, in which the Illuminati provide all the data of the Mutant Gene Bank in that Timeline in exchange for TVA's resource allocation and censorship exemption for a "technological breakthrough" in Earth-838.

Susan remembered that "technological breakthrough" as the prototype of a cosmic-level defense technology that Reed was so proud of.

She continued reading.

Another file. In a universe on the verge of destruction, the Illuminati intervened under the guise of "humanitarian aid," but during their evacuation, they "forgot" the Mutants leader of that universe on a collapsing planet. In exchange, TVA tacitly allowed the Illuminati to take a Origin Shard containing immense power from that universe.

Page after page.

Betrayal, transaction, sacrifice.

Behind those cold words lie groups of people used as pawns and silently wiped out. And the ones who carried out all of this were the Illuminati, which she had always been proud of and fought for. It was her husband, Reed Richards.

At the end of the file, an attachment was attached.

It is a complete financial flow chart of Ke'er's massive 300 billion energy bad debt. Every transfer of energy precisely corresponds to a TVA cleansing operation on a certain "unstable" Timeline.

It turns out that Ke'er wasn't just a simple money laundering tool. He was paying for the Illuminati's "great achievements."

Susan's breathing became rapid.

She felt completely drained. The belief that had sustained her all along, the banner of "justice" and "protection," was being ruthlessly torn to shreds by this case file.

She recalled Reed's calmness and decisiveness at the meeting, and the emotionless look in his eyes when he sent her there.

I need to know where his weakness lies.

We cannot lose.

It turns out that what they couldn't afford to lose wasn't justice, but their own interests.

Susan staggered back a step, her body slamming against the cold metal wall with a soft thud. She had even forgotten that she was still invisible.

Due to her intense emotional fluctuations, the green indicator light on the terminal on her wrist began to flash uncontrollably, eventually turning into a snowflake pattern representing system malfunction.

Everything she believed in crumbled.

Just then...

A series of synchronized and imposing footsteps came from the other end of the passage.

Susan suddenly looked up, her eyes filled with wariness and confusion.

A team of law enforcement officers in white uniforms appeared at the entrance of the passage. They were armed with strangely designed energy weapons and stood in a standard combat formation, blocking all escape routes.

Leading the group was the blonde girl who had confronted Mordo at the border crossing.

It's Gwen Stacy Stacy from the Liaison Office.

She didn't look at the lit terminal; her gaze was fixed directly on Susan's location, as if she had always known Susan was there.

"According to Article 7 of Chapter 3 of the Negative Zone Management Committee's Counter-Espionage Law," Gwen Stacy's voice was calm, as if she were reading an official document unrelated to herself, "You are now under arrest for suspected illegal intrusion and theft of secrets."

The sound echoed in the empty quarantine zone.

Susan looked at her, and at the expressionless Enforcement Team behind her.

She can fight back. She is the Invisible Woman of the Fantastic Four, and her power is enough to raze this place to the ground.

But what are we fighting for?

Illuminati for the Mutants as bargaining chips? Or for the husband who used "greater interests" to whitewash his dirty deals?

The internal battle has already been lost.

Susan slowly raised her hand and pressed a button on the terminal on her wrist.

The energy fluctuations of the Quantum Cloaking Device quickly subsided, and her figure in the air went from blurry to clear, eventually becoming fully visible.

She gave up resisting.

Gwen Stacy's expression remained unchanged. She raised her hand and made a gesture.

Two Enforcement Team stepped forward, their movements professional and restrained, and fastened a pair of energy shackles to Susan's wrists. From beginning to end, there was not a single unnecessary question, nor the slightest insult.

This kind of pure, cold, rule-bound procedure is more damaging than any humiliation.

This means that, in the eyes of the other party, she is no longer that lofty superhero, but just a detainee who needs to be processed according to procedure.

at the same time.

TVA Headquarters, the Cross-Dimensional Supreme Court.

Beneath the magnificent dome, the colossal statue of the Time-Keepers silently overlooks everything.

Mordo Illuminati, straightened his robes, his face radiating undisguised arrogance. He believed that the Ancient Memorandum and the Illuminati's prestige were enough to render this ridiculous hearing a mere formality.

He walked slowly to the defendant's dock, head held high, under the watchful eyes of everyone present.