Marvel: Empire of Power-Chapter 81: Cold War Genesis, Mutants in the Mist

The year was 1961. Two decades had passed since Elias Thorne, a sixteen-year-old Canadian landlord, had awakened the System. The world was a vastly different place, scarred by the horrors of a Second World War that had raged for nearly six years, a war in which Elias and his "unconventional assets" had played a significant, if almost entirely unseen, role. The Axis powers had been defeated, but the uneasy alliance between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union had shattered, replaced by the icy grip of the Cold War, a new global struggle fought with spies, proxy wars, and the ever-present threat of nuclear annihilation.

Elias Thorne, now in his late thirties but appearing no older than his early twenties thanks to the combined regenerative effects of his mirrored Wolverine abilities and subsequent System augmentations, was a phantom, a whisper in the corridors of power. His "Blackwood Conglomerated" was a legitimate, multi-billion dollar global corporation, its public face one of innovation in aerospace, resource extraction, and advanced materials. Its true purpose, however, remained unchanged: to fund and facilitate Elias's ever-expanding network of empowered agents and his relentless pursuit of greater System power and global influence.

His [Prime Essence Shard Reserve] currently stood at a healthy [7.2/???]. The decades since the end of WW2 had been... fruitful. The chaotic post-war reconstruction, the rise of new nations, the proxy conflicts in Asia and Africa, and the desperate espionage games of the Cold War had all provided ample opportunities for "enhanced" individuals to surface, be neutralized, and their Shard echoes harvested by Elias's increasingly sophisticated operatives. He had not yet created any more Tier 3 Legionnaires beyond his initial Alpha Squad (which now operated as his most elite, globally deployable strike force), preferring to conserve Shards for personal augmentation attempts or entirely new, even more advanced template genesis. The [Wizard] and [Giant] empowerments had been successfully implemented on select Thorne's Guard members, adding versatile magical support and brute siege capability to his conventional forces. Dr. Finch, now a formidable [Witch (Arch-Necromancer Variant) Lv.2], could animate small legions of potent skeletal warriors and even raise recently deceased foes as temporary, decaying thralls, his control over necrotic energies proving invaluable for diversions and... information extraction from unwilling sources. His loyalty, if anything, had deepened, his academic fascination with the System and Elias's evolving powers becoming an almost religious devotion: [100% (Irreversible Intellectual Symbiosis; Host as Embodiment of Forbidden Knowledge)].

Logan, the Wolverine, was still Elias's most potent, most independent Prime Conduit. Their bond, forged in resurrection and shared battles against Hydra, was now a stable, if often unspoken, understanding. Logan (his apparent physical age still frozen in his late thirties/early forties due to his healing factor) operated largely autonomously, a global troubleshooter for Elias, dispatched to the world's darkest corners to deal with threats too extreme or too esoteric for even the Adamantium Guard. He hunted down rogue Hydra scientists attempting to sell bioweapons to unstable regimes, investigated strange energy signatures in forgotten ruins, and occasionally acted as Elias's terrifyingly effective, deniable enforcer. His loyalty was a grudging, absolute [98%]. He didn't understand the System, didn't care about Elias's grand designs, but he knew Elias had saved him, given him purpose, and always pointed him at enemies who deserved what he dished out. He also sensed Elias was the only being on Earth who truly understood the beast within him.

Namor, the Sub-Mariner, remained a volatile but increasingly cooperative ally ([Loyalty: 65% - Strategic Co-dependence; grudging Respect for Host's Global Vision & Oceanic Protection Efforts)]). His access to the [Atlantean Physiology Data (Full)] and [Oceanic Mastery (Advanced)] had granted Elias profound insights into aquatic environments and elemental energies, even allowing Elias to subtly influence localized weather patterns or detect underwater anomalies from vast distances. Namor, in turn, benefited from Elias's global intelligence network, which often alerted him to surface-world threats to Atlantis or the oceanic ecosystem before they became critical. Their alliance was a balancing act of mutual benefit and barely suppressed regal disdain on Namor's part.

Anya Petrova, her Archer abilities honed to a razor's edge, her beauty now carrying an ageless, unnerving intensity, was Elias's spymaster. She ran "Blackwood Global Strategies," a high-level consulting firm in Geneva that was, in reality, the nerve center of Elias's international intelligence network. She had agents, empowered and mundane, embedded in governments, corporations, and clandestine organizations across the globe. Her personal loyalty to Elias was a terrifying [100% (Praetorian Devotion; Host as Architect of Destiny)]. She had witnessed his evolution, his power, his ruthlessness, and believed in his ultimate vision with an almost zealous conviction.

Thomas MacIntyre, still physically in his prime thanks to his Barbarian core and subtle System-derived longevity treatments Finch had developed, commanded Elias's entire global security apparatus, including the Adamantium Guard (Alpha Squad and now a newly minted, equally formidable Beta Squad of Feral Legionnaire Hybrids) and the expanding ranks of Thorne's Guard regulars, many of whom now possessed minor Tier 1 empowerments (Barbarian, Archer, Goblin). He was Elias's unwavering right hand, his most trusted lieutenant, his loyalty absolute and familial.

The year 1961, however, brought with it a new, profoundly unsettling development, something that resonated deeply with the System's core programming: the burgeoning "Mutant problem."

For years, the System had flagged sporadic instances of [Uncatalogued Mutant Signatures] across the globe – individuals born with unique, inherent superhuman abilities, not granted by external forces like the System, Hydra experimentation, or Erskine's serum. These were, in System parlance, natural Prime Conduits, products of a sudden, inexplicable evolutionary leap within humanity. Their powers were diverse, often unstable, and usually manifested traumatically during adolescence.

Now, in the early 1960s, these occurrences were increasing exponentially. A new age was dawning.

Elias had, for years, discreetly monitored and occasionally "acquired" or neutralized isolated mutants who posed a threat or possessed unique, Shard-worthy energy signatures. But now, they were becoming too numerous, too public, too organized.

His immediate concern was a charismatic, incredibly powerful mutant named Charles Xavier, a telepath of almost unimaginable range and finesse. Xavier, Anya reported from her sources within fledgling international "metahuman affairs" committees, was advocating for peaceful coexistence between humans and mutants, and was rumored to be gathering young mutants to a "School for Gifted Youngsters" in Westchester, New York, to teach them to control their powers. The System flagged Xavier as a [PRIME CONDUIT (OMEGA-LEVEL TELEPATH – CHARLES XAVIER/PROFESSOR X). Threat Level: VARIABLE (Potential Ally/Ideological Rival/Psionic Opponent). Objective: Assess Intentions, Capabilities, and Potential for Integration/Neutralization.]

Simultaneously, another mutant of immense power had emerged, one whose philosophy was diametrically opposed to Xavier's: Erik Lehnsherr, a survivor of the Nazi death camps, master of magnetism, calling himself Magneto. Lehnsherr believed mutants were the next stage of evolution, destined to rule over ordinary humans, whom he saw as inherently bigoted and dangerous. He was gathering his own brotherhood of militant mutants, advocating for mutant supremacy. The System flagged Magneto as: [PRIME CONDUIT (OMEGA-LEVEL MAGNETOKINETIC – ERIK LEHNSHERR/MAGNETO). Threat Level: EXTREME (Ideological Supremacist; High Destructive Potential; Actively Hostile to Human Structures). Objective: Neutralize or Co-opt (Highly Unlikely). Potential Prime Essence Shard Source: Immense (if defeated).]

These two figures, Xavier and Magneto, were the twin poles of the emerging mutant conflict, and their philosophies, their power, threatened to plunge the world into a new kind of war, one that Elias, for all his System-derived might, was not yet fully prepared to navigate or control. His existing agents, even his Feral Legionnaires and Logan, were largely physical powerhouses; he lacked dedicated psionic or high-level energy manipulating operatives to counter threats like Xavier or Magneto directly, beyond his own rapidly evolving but still nascent personal abilities.

Elias Thorne, from his hidden Canadian nerve center, watched these developments with a mixture of clinical detachment and strategic hunger. Mutants represented a vast, untapped reservoir of Prime Essence Shards, unique abilities to be mirrored or weaponized, and potential recruits or devastating enemies. The Cold War was still raging between nations, but a new, even more dangerous conflict was brewing in the shadows – a war for the future of humanity itself, a war between humans, mutants, and those like Elias who sought to transcend both.

His Feral Legionnaires were ready. Logan was always ready. Namor could be called upon. His new Giants and Dr. Finch's skeletal Witch-constructs provided unique support. His own personal power was reaching unprecedented levels.

The Cold War was about to get a lot colder, and a lot stranger. Elias Thorne was ready to meet these new "gifted youngsters" and their charismatic, powerful leaders. He needed to understand them, assess them, and ultimately, decide whether they would be pieces on his global chessboard, or obstacles to be swept away. The mist of uncertainty surrounding the mutant emergence was thick, but Elias Thorne, the architect of shadows, had always thrived in the unknown.