"Uh, I've finished the tests and made some comparisons. These aliens' brains really can receive commands from a higher level, but their brain capacity is very small, and their genes have been specially adjusted. Outsiders like us can't control them. Of course, they can't control us either."
The female researcher gave a relatively authoritative conclusion from the tests. Daisy flipped through the records. Human technology might not be able to do it, but what if it were combined with the strange abilities of mutants? She still had doubts.
The mutant disappearances were still escalating when the Pentagon handed S.H.I.E.L.D. another troublesome case and asked them to deal with it.
Many wounded active-duty servicemen had disappeared. All of them had been injured in the Battle of New York and had left active service because their wounds were too severe. The Pentagon wanted S.H.I.E.L.D. to help find clues.
After that, the NYPD also sent over a large number of case files.
After more than three months of cleanup, the chaos in New York had finally been brought more or less under control, but there were now so many problems that the major intelligence agencies could no longer afford to ignore them.
Too many people were missing, while the ruins had basically been cleared away.
Chitauri weapons could not possibly vaporize people into ash, which meant bodies should have been left behind.
But now the number of bodies was wrong, and so was the number of seriously injured patients in the major hospitals. Many patients who had been taken to hospitals, like Jessica Jones, vanished in the blink of an eye. Panic had already begun to spread among the public, and the major intelligence agencies had all been ordered to investigate.
Missing soldiers, missing civilians, missing mutants, missing critically injured civilians, missing bodies—clues from every direction showed that someone was making trouble and planning something big.
Combining her own clues with the White Queen's and Viper's networks, Daisy managed to pick out some useful information from the tangled mass of intelligence.
She believed Stryker was probably behind it. The many die-hard operatives at the kidnapping scenes also supported that conclusion. Using Chitauri cerebrospinal fluid, he had most likely developed a drug capable of completely controlling ordinary people.
Daisy specifically discussed the matter with Fury, only to discover that people on Fury's side had gone missing too.
Fury introduced her to one of his "agents," a short, chubby fellow built like a tree stump. "Eric Koenig, one of my secret agents. His three older brothers have all disappeared..."
By "secret agent," he meant a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who was not officially on the books.
The squat man was under 1.4 meters tall (about 4'7"), but he was quite stocky, with a big head and thick neck. Right now he was crying his eyes out, sniffling as he recounted the miserable fate that had befallen him and his brothers.
There really was not much to tell. He had turned around for an instant, and the other three short, chubby men were simply gone.
Daisy clicked her tongue. This guy was not a mutant, but four identical short, chubby brothers from a single birth was a miracle in its own right.
He looked almost exactly like his television counterpart. The only thing Daisy remembered clearly was that the guy loved reading risqué fan comics featuring Quake and Black Widow whenever he had nothing else to do...
She looked the short man over, then glanced at Fury. There was no denying it—the visual appeal here was terrible!
Just look at the White Queen, surrounded by five beautiful "daughters." And Fury? Four little runts!
"Agent Koenig, wait outside for now." Daisy waved for the short man to leave. She had no idea what talents Fury saw in these fellows; Daisy certainly could not see them.
After driving the sniffling Koenig out, she finally began explaining what she had found.
"A lot of clues point to Stryker. Far too many vehicles have been heading to Alkali Lake lately. His Weapon X Program has expanded far beyond the scale of a laboratory, and Stryker is also stockpiling ammunition and recruiting men with nothing to lose."
"You want to stop him? It will be difficult for us to act directly. The Pentagon won't allow it." Fury pointed straight to the heart of the problem.
"I'm going to wait for him to make the first move." Daisy and Fury quickly reached a consensus. Having S.H.I.E.L.D. attack the Weapon X Program on its own would cross too many political lines. Win or lose, it would cause public panic. The best outcome was for the government and military to come begging them to act.
Stryker's plan was not difficult to guess. He wanted to provoke a war between humans and mutants and wipe the mutants out.
In this timeline, people with an agenda had deliberately downplayed Professor X's role in the Battle of New York, but many senior officials knew he had played a decisive role. They were terrified of him. Stryker only had to hint at the danger, and someone would support his development of anti-mutant weapons.
In the eyes of those powerful officials, abducting a few people who would make valuable test subjects, removing a few bodies, and taking away some seriously wounded patients was hardly a major issue. Perhaps they even believed they were contributing to New York's reconstruction.
As for collateral damage, all they could say was sorry. Families with mutant children were still a minority. In the process, Lorna, Angel, Jessica Jones, the White Queen's five "daughters," and Fury's three short, chubby agents all became acceptable sacrifices in the eyes of powerful people.
"Professor, that's the situation. Evidence from several directions now indicates that Stryker is preparing to move against you." Without notifying anyone else, Daisy met Professor X at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.
After hearing the whole chain of events, Professor X's expression remained gentle, but the subtle movements at the corners of his eyes and mouth showed just how thoroughly sick of Stryker he had become. The man was like a pest that kept resurfacing just to make a nuisance of himself. Even Professor X's patience was starting to wear thin.
"What is S.H.I.E.L.D. planning to do?" The professor thought the matter through carefully. He already had a plan of his own, but he still wanted to hear Daisy's ideas.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. won't intervene immediately. I've contacted several people with real authority in other intelligence agencies. The moment we have a defensible reason, we can launch a joint enforcement operation and take Stryker down. But the Weapon X Program itself will be difficult to shut down."
Professor X was not entirely satisfied with that answer. Deputy Director Daisy Johnson had talked the X-Men into joining the Battle of New York, and he had gone in on his own dime and fought Supergiant for quite a while. Now there was no reward after the victory; instead, mutants were facing a reckoning. That was difficult to accept.
Fortunately, Daisy was not finished. "Stryker's goal is to provoke a war between mutants and humans. Our analysis says his targets are the White House and the Pentagon. He can't use human soldiers for a direct attack, so he can only use the mutants under his control. If we rule out large-area attacks, the most likely method is a surprise assault using teleportation or similar abilities."
"Once we have an excuse, we can begin searching the Alkali Lake Research Base." You could not stay on guard forever. Daisy had gathered several wealthy backers and her own contacts for a joint operation precisely to make an example of Stryker. Simply killing one Stryker would accomplish nothing.
Everything was ready; all that was missing was the east wind. As long as the other side handed her something she could use, she could keep the Weapon X Program in check for several years.
Professor X thought for a moment. Daisy's method differed from his, but he still nodded. "I understand. I'll keep watch."