The cat was out of the bag. Or rather, the gene was out of the bottle.
Following the chaos of the initial confrontation, the veil of secrecy had been torn down. High-ranking officials within the CIA and key sectors of the government now acknowledged the impossible: Mutants existed. The reaction was precisely as chaotic as human nature dictated.
The room where the decisions were made was a study in dichotomy. On one side stood the progressives, eyes wide with the wonder of the atomic age, viewing us as the next glorious step in human evolution. To them, we were the future.
But on the other side sat the old guard—men with hard eyes and tight jaws. They didn't see progress; they saw a threat. They feared the instability of unchecked power, the chaos of a species superior to their own, and the terrifying unknown. To them, "mutant" was just another word for "weapon" that they didn't control.
However, the clock was ticking too loudly for philosophical debates. The Cold War had turned the world into a tinderbox, and Sebastian Shaw—a remnant of the Nazi ideology and a mutant of immense power—was holding the match. He thrived on conflict, and if left unchecked, he would manipulate the superpowers into a nuclear annihilation just to watch the ashes settle.
And so, a compromise was struck. Division X.
Officially, it was a covert division within the CIA designed to investigate the Hellfire Club and manage the "mutant question." It was touted as a bridge between species, a way to guide humanity into this brave new world.
But you might be wondering: Why?
Why, compared to the original timeline where the government wanted to leash or dissect mutants, were they being so cooperative? Why were they shaking hands instead of pointing guns?
The answer was simple. Ryan Corporation.
Politics is a theater, but money is the scriptwriter. It is terrifyingly easy to make powerful men dance to your tune when you possess the kind of wealth that makes national GDPs look like pocket change. I had spent years pulling strings from the shadows, greasing palms, and—when necessary—instilling a calculated dose of fear to keep the dissenters in check.
Division X wasn't just a CIA black ops team. In reality, it was a private military asset of Ryan Corporation, leased to the government to give them the illusion of control. I was building a framework where the rise of mutants would be safe, guided, and ultimately, under my supervision.
The Grand Design
As the car hummed along the tarmac, my mind drifted to the second phase of the plan. The part the government knew nothing about.
I knew that simple coexistence was a pipe dream. History proves that humanity only unites when faced with an existential threat. To forge a bond between humans and mutants, they needed a common enemy—something so terrifying that they would be forced to watch each other's backs.
If you're thinking this sounds like the plot of a manhwa involving Gates, Hunters, and Dungeons, you'd be absolutely correct.
With the assistance of EVE, my AI, I had already begun the process of thinning the dimensional barriers. I had established connections to dimensions teeming with monsters—beasts that would soon spill into our world via "Gates." It would be a controlled catastrophe, a forced evolution similar to the logic of Solo Leveling.
Simultaneously, I was preparing to release a catalyst—a viral agent designed to stimulate and awaken dormant X-genes.
Phase 1: The elimination of Shaw at the upcoming beach battle.
Phase 2: The opening of the first massive Gate, a spectacle the whole world would witness.
Phase 3: The public rebranding of Division X into the Hunter's Bureau.
In the early stages, mutants would be the elite, the "Awakened." But as the catalyst spread and the first generation began to reproduce, the X-gene would become dominant. In a few generations, the human race would be 100% mutant.
The world was about to change. I was just making sure it changed in the right direction.
The Beast and the Bureau
"We're here."
Raven's voice snapped me out of my strategic trance. I blinked, the overlay of dimensional maps fading from my mind's eye as I looked out the window. We had arrived at a covert CIA research facility—Oliver's domain. It was nondescript, gray, and boring; the perfect cover for the extraordinary.
"Right," I said, straightening my jacket. "Showtime."
Guided by a giddy Oliver, who seemed to bounce on the balls of his feet, we toured the facility. It was cutting-edge for the 60s, filled with whirling tape decks and bubbling beakers. Finally, we arrived at a cluttered lab where a young man in glasses was hunched over a microscope.
Hank McCoy.
The future Beast looked up, adjusting his glasses nervously. He had the air of a man who was used to being the smartest person in the room, but also the most solitary.
The introductions were polite, standard government protocol, until Charles Xavier decided to be... well, Charles.
"You have a brilliant mind, Hank," Charles said, tapping his temple with a knowing smile. "But your mutation... it's quite fascinating, isn't it?"
The air left the room.
Hank froze. The color drained from his face, leaving him looking sickly pale. He hadn't told anyone here. To the CIA, he was just a brilliant human scientist. Charles, in his arrogance and naivety, had just outed him in front of his boss.
"I... I don't know what you mean," Hank stammered, his eyes darting toward Oliver, expecting the inevitable rejection. He braced himself for the disgust, the firing, the security guards.
Oliver stepped forward, his eyes wide. He looked from Charles to Hank.
"You're... a mutant?" Oliver asked.
Hank looked down at his shoes, defeated. "Yes."
"That is..." Oliver paused, a grin splitting his face, "Incredible!"
Hank's head snapped up.
"Truly?" Oliver practically vibrated with excitement, grabbing Hank's shoulder not with malice, but with the enthusiasm of a kid who just found a Charizard card. "Why didn't you tell me? To think, the next step of human potential was working right beside me this whole time! The physiological possibilities! The data!"
I watched from the back of the room, a small smile playing on my lips.
The main pieces were on the board. The King, the Queen, the Knights... and the Beast. Now, we just need to fill in the rest of the pieces to start the game.