Supporting Campaign Document from 2018

From: Unknown Sender
To: Mary Marvel (mmarvel(at)hammondschool.edu)

Thought you would be interested in what is going on behind the scenes. Looks like things are ramping up on your end.

If you need to talk, I’ll try and make time. Batman is having us do more operations as the League is under more scrutiny from Luthor – something about the United Nations Treaty and oversight.

You might want to tell your IT department, their system is ridiculously easy to break into.

Stay Safe,

- R -

From: Fury, Nicholas J (generalfury(at)one.gov)
To: Rogers, Steven (capmerica(at)one.gov)
CC: Buchanan, Barnes (wsoldier(at)one.gov); Barton, Clint (hawkeye(at)one.gov); Romanov, Natasha (bwidow(at)one.gov)

Rogers,

I won’t ask why you have access to an off-the-books safe house or access to advanced scientific and meta-trained technicians. I won’t even ask why you would transfer three criminals and a highly-volatile metahuman to said facility without my prior authorization. We’ve been down far too many roads for me to not trust your judgment.

However, there is a price to pay for my indulgence. Effective immediately, in addition, to be in overall command of The Shield, and field command of Shield Team Alpha, you are now in charge of Shield Team Gamma. Yes, the girls. By copy to Barnes, you are going to help him. No, you don’t have a choice.

Also Effective immediately, Barton will return to heading up Shield Team Omega with Romanov. Normally, I’d have “The Sword” investigate the Metahuman issue, but frankly, Team Gamma has made more progress in a few weeks than O.N.E. has in a year. This also includes mending fences with the Justice League and building bridges with the Xavier Institute.

Rogers and Barnes, you need to help team Gamma undertake the investigation. Be clear, you are to let them do their thing, as that is what’s been getting the job done. Provide support and advice and leave the leg work and direction to Mary Marvel and her team.

In their investigations, they have identified three factions that seem to be interested in Metahumans on a large scale. The interplay between these factions as well as their ultimate goals is your main objectives.

Group One: The Light

The Light is apparently a group of enhanced individuals representing some of the most powerful criminal organizations in the globe. They had several enhanced operatives, including Deathstroke and the group known as the “Injustice League”.

The Reach Papers revealed that the aliens had a very keen interest in metahumans and that they had made an alliance with the Light, who acted as a facilitator on Earth. Testimony gained from former-operative Black Adam indicates that Light still is involved in researching the metagene and may have cultivated new alliances.

The full membership of the Light is unknown. The only known active member is Vandal Savage. The Brain and Black Manta were captured by the authorities and are currently in custody in the Slab. Ra's Al Ghul was gravely injured in a confrontation with the Reach but his status is unknown. The Injustice League was also defeated and imprisoned, though Count Vertigo was later released because of diplomatic immunity, and both Black Adam and the Joker escaped custody.

Their interest in Metahumans is currently not known.

Group Two: Checkmate

After World War Two, the government created a secret organization called Weapons Plus to research various advanced sciences discovered by the Allies, the metahuman gene sequence among them. In the paranoia of the Cold War, this organization was highly secretive to prevent infiltration.

Decades later, when the Soviet Union fell, the government was shocked to learn that the organization, currently known as Checkmate proved impossible to shut-down. In the intervening years, Checkmate had procured its own independent funding and cultivated a web of influence over key government officials.

Team Gamma has rooted out several elements of Checkmate during its short tenure. Henry Peter Gyrich and the corporation known as Oscorp are known assets, as are a number of unidentified enhanced individuals. Though the evidence is circumstantial, there is some connection with Secretary-General Lex Luthor as well.

The interest in Metahumans is to understand, create, and weaponize the metagene.

Group Three: HYDRA

What we know as HYRDA, was a deep-science branch of the Nazi government involved in the development of radical weapons and technology. Evidence does indicate that the Red Skull, HYRDA’s founder, may have found inspiration from a series of cults and secret societies throughout history. It was believed that HYDRA was destroyed by the Allies at the end of the War, but recent events have caused to revise that conclusion.

HYDRA has reemerged as an organization bent on genetic supremacy, specifically the rise of metahumans and other enhanced individuals to rule over the “normals”. To that end, the returned Red Skull has recruited a group of confederates including Amora the Enchantress and Baron Zemo. They have also gathered a number of metahuman operatives, primarily through the Mutant Liberation Front, a radical breakaway from the Brotherhood of Mutants.

The interest in Metahumans is to recruit them for the overthrow of society.