"Something's gone wrong with the operation." Azazel reported, ending the call. He looked over at Sebastian Shaw, who was seated inside the submarine's cabin. It was impossible to read any expression on Azazel's demonic face. "Colonel Stryker's team only managed to capture six children from the Xavier Institute. The rest escaped."
"What?" Sebastian Shaw, sitting in the central command chair, turned slightly with a deep frown. "How is that possible? Stryker had more than enough men to surround the school. How could anything have gone wrong?"
"It was Logan," Azazel explained helplessly, spreading his hands. "He helped the children get away. They used a secret tunnel that wasn't on any of the blueprints. Stryker's men gave chase, but the passage collapsed as soon as they entered." He shrugged. "It's likely one of the students has earth-manipulating abilities. Continuing the pursuit is impossible."
While humanity dominated the surface world, that power diminished significantly underground or in the deep sea. Against individuals who could control the very earth and water, even the most advanced military technology was useless. A single mutant with such powers could disable an aircraft carrier or a nuclear submarine, turning the environment itself into a weapon.
"Then there's nothing to be done about it," Shaw said, his mood unchanged by the failure. "Let Stryker use his political connections to hunt them down. A few runaway children can't change the grand scheme of things. If anything, they'll keep Logan occupied." He quickly moved on. "What's the situation in Washington? Any sign of Jean Grey or Storm?"
Their initial plan had accounted for every powerful mutant at the Institute. However, just a day before the attack, they were stunned to discover that Jean Grey and Ororo Munroe had abruptly left in the X-Jet. This forced them to frantically revise every detail of their strategy overnight, causing a major headache. Even though the mission had seemed easier without them, an unsettling feeling remained as long as the two powerful mutants were unaccounted for.
Jean Grey's telepathic abilities were second only to Professor Charles Xavier himself, making her a threat no one could afford to ignore. She could single-handedly alter the course of a battle in an instant. Ororo Munroe, the Storm, was nearly as formidable, with her large-scale climate control abilities being devastatingly lethal. With their advanced aircraft, the two could appear anywhere at any time, posing an immense threat.
"Washington is proceeding smoothly," Azazel confirmed. "Charles Xavier and Scott Summers have been captured. There's still no trace of Jean or Ororo. Hank McCoy hasn't made a move at the Security Council yet, but he'll get the news soon. His next step will be to either go to the White House or contact Tony Stark." Azazel glanced at Shaw, a hint of worry in his voice. "Once the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. get involved..."
"The U.S. government will handle them," Shaw interrupted, pulling down the periscope to peer at a small island dozens of miles away. "And if they can't, it becomes Stryker's problem, not ours."
No one would ever guess that this lush, seemingly untouched island was the secret headquarters of the Brotherhood of Mutants. It was home to at least a thousand combat-ready mutants. An open assault would result in catastrophic losses.
The Brotherhood and the Xavier Institute had fundamentally different philosophies. While Professor Xavier believed in teaching any mutant who sought guidance, the Brotherhood operated on the principle of survival of the fittest. Mutants without useful combat abilities were not welcome on their island, Utopia. This meant every single one of its thousand residents was a capable fighter.
This was precisely why Shaw, despite knowing Utopia's location for a long time, had never dared to attack. He had only just now revealed its location to the U.S. government, giving them the confidence to strike.
Magneto was the biggest obstacle. With him present, any missile strike, even a nuclear one, would be useless. In fact, it would be dangerously counterproductive. If Magneto were to gain control of a nuclear bomb, the consequences would be unimaginable.
The government's operation was launched with extreme suddenness and secrecy. Attacking a mutant stronghold so soon after the world had barely repelled an alien invasion was risky. It could easily provoke widespread conflict and public backlash, but the opportunity was too rare to pass up. Utopia, according to their intelligence, was not a fixed base. At the first sign of being discovered, Magneto and his followers would abandon the island and relocate to another hidden sanctuary.
The Caribbean Sea, with its complex geography, had been the perfect hiding place for centuries, first for pirates and now for the Brotherhood. They had remained hidden for decades, thanks in part to the corrupt and ineffective governments of the surrounding nations. It was only because Shaw had successfully planted spies on Utopia and cooperated with the government that this operation was even possible.
Shaw had given the government an ultimatum: attack now, or he would launch a raid himself. Such a move would alert Magneto that Utopia was compromised, and after dealing with the immediate threat, he would lead his followers away, vanishing once more. Tracking thousands of mutants with extraordinary abilities was a near-impossible task. The U.S. government had failed countless times before. Immediate action was their only choice.
"Signal the fleet to await our command," Shaw ordered. A dark-skinned man across the cabin nodded and began operating a console. "Once they receive it, they are to launch a full missile bombardment on Utopia."
Although the joint fleet was under American command, Shaw's team had the most critical role. If they failed to neutralize Magneto, any missile launched would be utterly ineffective and likely turned back against their own ships—a disastrous scandal that could not be covered up.
Azazel teleported himself and Shaw off the submarine, leaving only two crew members behind to operate the ultra-high-tech, nuclear-powered vessel. If Daniel had been there, he would have recognized that the submarine's technology was far beyond anything humans or even mutants had developed.
Daniel had long avoided getting involved in mutant affairs because he knew a deeper, more complicated truth. While the world saw Professor X and Magneto as the pinnacles of mutant power, they were merely players in a much older game. The origins of mutants were shrouded in cosmic plans, and Jean Grey's connection to the Phoenix Force was no mere accident.
But none of that mattered to Daniel right now. He had just arrived on a Colombian warship on the outskirts of Utopia. The Americans, in their attempt at secrecy, had enlisted the naval fleets of Mexico and Brazil. However, news travels fast through the corrupt military channels of South America. The intelligence agencies of the Caribbean nations knew of the impending attack, but before they could report to their leaders, Daniel had already paid them a visit.
A "stern warning" to the President of Colombia was all it took to get his warships dispatched to the scene. The Americans, pressed for time and desperate not to alert Magneto, could only grudgingly accept the new arrivals. Every passing minute increased the chance of Magneto learning of the trap, which would force them to retreat.
The plan was simple: wait for Shaw's signal confirming Magneto was contained, then obliterate the island with missiles. Ground troops would only be sent in after the bombardment. Attacking the island while it was defended by a thousand powerful mutants would be pure suicide.
However, the missile strike was doomed to fail. Daniel knew that if Professor Charles was aware of the day's events, then Magneto surely was too. Shaw was walking into a trap.
And in the ensuing chaos, Daniel saw his opening. It was the perfect time to set foot on Utopia.