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Chapter Text

The flight to Genosha was long. Illyan had been spoiled by traveling either as Chief of Imperial Security, or with the Avengers. Flying commercial from New York to Genosha was unpleasant in multiple dimensions. Not helped by the difficulty in coordinating transport of all their gear and weaponry, without allowing it to be scanned. Fortunately, he was mostly able to dump that on Maria, before Mary took over the New York office. 

The fight on that had been surprisingly easy. Perhaps because both SHIELD and the Avengers had been supportive of it? The latter because they could work with Mary, the former because they liked the idea of moving both Illyan and Mary into administrative positions which would hopefully limit their interference in SHIELD business. And probably for other, less cynical reasons too. Also, the New York office remained the worst posting in the MRD, which only got worse after the former commander and a good portion of the agents were killed. Or maybe Director Stryker knew something they didn’t.  Or maybe the man was just glad to break up the team. Given the request for Illyan to take command of the new Genosha office had come from the new government (such as it was), Stryker’s hands were fairly tied.

The real concern wasn’t what the man allowed while Illyan had leverage, it’s what he would try to do behind Illyan’s back. Still, Mary was as supported as he could manage, he’d simply have to trust she could handle things. 

The flight, unfortunately, did not actually take them directly to Genosha, as transit to the nation was still limited. Their flight ended in Kenya, then they got to take a much nicer diplomatic plane to Genosha. When he saw the black plane, his chip flagged it as the same one which had tried to intervene in the capture of Mr. Creed a year ago. Which strengthened his belief that the still-living Agent Smith was leaking information to the X-Men, which would also explain the disappearance of certain of the targets of her investigations. 

Ororo “Storm” Munroe, along with the Angelo “Unus the Untouchable” Unuscione met the three MRD agents outside the craft. Which was interesting. A representative of the X-Men and Brotherhood. No one from Mystique. Which was also interesting.  The fact that the X-Men and Brotherhood hadn’t become one big happy family was no surprise, even if certain paranoid folks within the MRD imagined their entire feud to have been faked.

“Ms. Munroe, Mr. Unuscione, thank you for coming to get us,” Illyan said politely, with just a hint of threat in that he knew their names and recognized them.

“That would be more impressive if I did not know about your mechanical memory, Agent Illyan,” Ororo noted, directly rejecting the threat.

Illyan gave her a flat smile. “Which also allows me to remember that this is the same craft you used to attempt to intervene in the arrest of Mr. Creed. Such an interesting choice.”

Unus laughed at that. “Such big softies you mean. They may think no one deserves to be frozen, but Unus knows better! Unus the Untouchable knows that Sabretooth is a foolish monster who deserves far worse than you feeble creatures can manage!” the mutant spoke with what he clearly thought was a charmingly bombastic voice, but Illyan could see the slight shifting and half rolled eyes of Ororo. 

“What people deserve is an interesting question, but detention and imprisonment are part of the treaty. If those are unacceptable, we have nothing further to discuss,” Illyan pointed out.

“We will keep our agreements,” Ororo cut in. “Unus’s mockery of you and us speaks to nothing more than his own nature.”

“Watch your tongue, X-Man! I am Unus the Untouchable, there’s nothing any of you can do to me!”

Illyan’s eyes hardened, “Agents, suggestions for eliminating Mr. Unuscione?” he asked.

“His powers are a personal forcefield that can’t be penetrated. Bury him alive and he’ll suffocate. Lock him in a cell and he’ll die of dehydration if you don’t provide water,” Alex offered.

“Even easier, we’ll be flying over water. Toss him out into it. The forcefield will keep out the water, so he’ll sink to the bottom and suffocate once he uses up all the air inside his defenses,” Shilpa added.

Unus stared at both of them in horror for a moment, then shook it off. “Ha! None can move Unus against his will!”

“So we’d have to crash the plane, after bailing out. Annoying, but hardly impossible,” Illyan noted.

Unus took a step forward, but wind began to rise up under him, lifting him casually into the air. “A failure in your protections, Unus?” Storm asked sweetly as the sky began to darken, clouds gathering above them.. 

The man struggled briefly before she dropped him. “Now, shall we go?” she asked, a crack of thunder underlining her point.

“Of course, Ms. Munroe,” Simon agreed and they all piled into the craft. Clearly someone else was piloting it, as the Genoshan representatives remained in the comfortably appointed back of the airplane with them, even as it began to lift off vertically, rather than making use of the runway they sat on. 

The rest of the flight passed fairly quickly, both due to the speed of the plane and the fact that Unus was too busy sulking to make more trouble. The only tension came from the general nervousness of everyone and, ironically, Ororo’s attempt to resolve it.

She gave them a fairly friendly look, which actually made Alexander blush, not shocking given her astounding beauty, “If I wanted you dead, you’d be dead. You can relax.”

Illyan paused for a moment, considering those words for more than the weight intended. “So, I’ve heard that said several times, especially in your fiction and I admit to curiosity. Is it simply intended as a cliched way of conveying that you are powerful, or is its meaning more literal?”

“Why do you ask?” his interlocutor was smart enough to recognize a trap when he saw one.

“If it’s merely intended to assert your power, well, that’s not news to me, but also does not inspire relaxation. If it’s intended more literally, then it appears to reflect a cultural failure to recognize self-control as a virtue.”

That won him a confused stare and for various reasons, Illyan chose to continue. “There are any number of people I wish dead and could kill, but I don’t for various practical, ethical, or bureaucratic reasons. Assuming literal meaning is intended, this boast is either an assertion that you are unbound by the dictates of society, or an admission that you lack self-control. The former makes you disconnected. The latter makes you a problem.”

“Well, then, I shouldn’t answer, now should I?”

“No. But you should also recognize the trap,” Illyan noted.

Her eyes narrowed at him. “What trap?”

“Good question. Agents?”

Shilpa got there first this time. “It’s a false choice. There’s plenty of other things it could mean, from simple cliche to a varied definition of ‘want’.”

“Indeed. But that’s not the only trap. Does anyone see the other one?”

There were several guesses, even Unus got into it (though Ororo, smarter, did not let herself get cast in the role of student), before Illyan explained.

“The trap is your new status. You are here as representatives of the Genoshan government. Asserting you can kill at will is an assertion about that government, its powers and laws. And not one I believe you intend to make to the man you’re asking to lead a major law enforcement organization within it. Or, if you do intend to make such an assertion, you’ve chosen the wrong man, and I should turn around right now. So, unfortunately, I do require an answer to this question, should I turn around right now?”

Ororo gave him a flat, less friendly look, “No.”

“Glad to hear it.”

Chapter Text

Illyan met with the triumvirate who made up Genosha’s leadership, led by Storm, with Unus at their back. That made his shoulders itch, but with Shilpa and Alex between Unus and him, it wasn’t too bad. He put it out of his mind and examined them, noting absently that Ororo was retreating to stand with Unus guarding the entrance to this place. It wasn’t one of the original Genoshan governmental buildings, but rather a park on a high bluff, with a truly remarkable view of the city below, the bay and the small island in the center of that bay which had been the Genegineer’s private refuge and was now to be a wildlife refuge.

Raven was Raven, no surprises there, though there was a slight tension in her muscles which hadn’t been there before. Perhaps she was more nervous with her compatriots than him? Or this particular meeting was more worrisome? Or she just had a headache. She was wearing a loose white dress, which revealed much, but was intended to be cast aside to allow her to change without restriction. A slight bulge underneath it suggested at least a pistol hidden. Or perhaps a stunner, depending on her mood.

Regardless, he pushed that away and examined the other two. Max “Magneto” Eisenhardt, wore the thin, skull-fitting helmet which protected him from his companion’s telepathy, heavy metal gauntlets rested on an equally metal table and he appeared to be comfortable reclining in a metal chair at an angle only possible due to his mental control over the metal. His equally metal boots rested on a floating footstool. He didn’t look up from his conversation with his companion, at least not noticeably to most people. His gray eyes flicked up and over the trio of MRD agents for just an instant, but Illyan’s chip caught it and replayed it. The man’s eyes incongruously reminded him of Cordelia, both in color and intensity. The intelligence behind them had been flayed to a cruel point though, rather than Cordelia’s patient stability.

And his outfit was nothing like Cordelia had worn, even before Alys got her hands on the Betan. The red armor was clearly a muscle cuirasse, though the man within was clearly extremely fit, despite almost matching Illyan’s years. Most obvious was the dark purple cape flowing behind him. Fortunately, his abilities allowed him to keep his seat from disturbing it. Even more fortunately, the matching purple  ‘shorts’ he wore over the red armor was hidden by his chair, so Simon didn’t have to control the unfortunate, but involuntary twitch of amusement those always produced in him.

The other leader was Charles “Professor X” Xavier. The most powerful telepath on the planet turned his wheelchair to face them politely. He managed to make baldness look more like his brain was simply too powerful for anything as unimpressive as hair, rather than as a sign of aging. The courtesy and iron self-certainty reminded Simon for a moment of Alys, which almost made him miss a step, but he kept his movement smooth with an effort no one, except, he noted with annoyance, Raven, noticed. Unlike his compatriots, he wore a simple business suit.

The man’s classically handsome features formed a broad smile and his brilliant blue eyes twinkled at the approaching MRD agents. It was the very picture of charming warmth, with nary a sign of deceit or artificiality. And so Simon was instantly put even more on his guard. Given the open hostility with which Max was now glaring at them, it seemed likely they were in for a few rounds of ‘good triumvir-bad triumvir.’ There was also a notable lack of seating for anyone but the triumvirs (though he did notice that Raven appeared to have brought in a comfortable office chair from somewhere). 

“Agent Illyan! Agent McNair! Agent Khatri! A genuine pleasure to meet you all. Especially you, Agent Khatri, can I call you Shilpa?” the wheelchair slid forward under no direction but that provided by Charles’s powers and he extended a hand to each of them with the same practiced charm Simon had seen Miles use to force people to interact with him, rather than over him. 

Shilpa seemed taken aback, but nodded, “Of course, sir--”

“Please, call me Charles,” he said, somehow making the interruption not seem rude. 

“Of course, Charles.”

As Simon shook the man’s hands, he noted the lack of callouses, but surprising strength in the grip. This wasn’t a man who worked with his hands, but there was still steel in him. Speaking of which, Magneto rose to his feet, the table shattering and reforming into jagged spikes in the air all around them. The sound of metal rending under his power was truly unpleasant.

“Mutant Response Division. I am more than capable of defending Genosha without you.”

“Then why are we here?” Simon asked, ignoring the threat. 

“You are here as a sop to the paranoid fears of the outside world. Keep out of my way and keep your lives.”

“If that’s the case, we will withdraw immediately,” Simon said, turning on his heel and beginning to stride away. Storm and Unus both got in the way, prompted by their respective commanders. 

“Magneto overstates matters. We all agreed you were welcome here, so long as you understand certain...rules,” Charles cut in, smooth as silk. 

“The treaty is quite clear on what is discretionary by the host nation and what is mandatory for the MRD. Which is why I have not attempted to arrest any of you,” Simon said, allowing himself to turn back and face Genosha’s leadership. That was not quite true. Even if it had been legal, he wouldn’t have attempted to arrest them, as he was not suicidal. 

But the legal/bureaucratic reason he wasn’t trying to arrest them was that it wouldn’t work. The MRD was law enforcement, but it didn’t have independent authority to try anyone, or to extradite them. Some specific crimes fell within their authority under the treaty, but that only authorized them to arrest, not convict and not extradite. So, without any capability to extradite and without any crimes committed within the jurisdiction they were in, everyone was quite safe, unless they signed extradition treaties. Which Genosha had shown no interest in.

Magneto sneered and sat back down, the jagged metal surrounding him smoothing out with a horrible cracking sound as it formed chairs for himself, the MRD agents and Storm/Unus. The table was gone, but there were quite uncomfortable chairs for everyone. Simon accepted the unspoken olive branch and took a seat. Shilpa and Alex did not, instead sliding in behind him, hands not quite on the stunners they wore. 

“We are certainly in agreement on that point. There are some other issues, however,” Xavier explained, in a voice which managed not the be ingratiating, just barely.

“I’m pleased to discuss them. However, allow me to be clear, neither I, nor the MRD have any interest in acting as a powerless symbol within Genosha.”

“You will act as we say,” Magneto snapped.

“Or what? You’ll kick us out? I was ready to leave a moment ago, that’s hardly a threat.”

“I doubt Director Stryker would agree. He wants the MRD here far more badly than we do,” Raven finally cut in.

Illyan smiled at her, “Director Stryker’s interests and the MRD’s interests are not necessarily in alignment.”

“And that’s saying nothing about your interests,” Raven offered with a smile of her own.

“On the contrary, as I’ve surrendered all external loyalties, my interests are the MRD interests,” Simon countered, in what might have been a joke, or might have been a warning.

“Well then, there’s no risk you will leave, as that would force you out of the MRD,” Raven cut back.

Illyan’s smile broadened. “Hardly. Director Stryker would like to have spies here, but he’d like to undercut you and me just as much. If we cannot reach an agreement and have to withdraw, he’ll use that to paint you as unreasonable--”

“And you as a failure,” Raven interrupted him.

“He’ll try. But between the two of us, I’m confident that it will come out as all your fault. Not even I could reach a compromise with you. Such a shame, but hardly a surprise given your decision to launch a war of aggression and occupy an entire nation.”

“He might still force you out.”

Illyan shrugged. “The goals of the MRD can be pursued within, or without.”

“Please, you wouldn’t know what to do with yourself if you were fired.”

“There are several options. The easiest would be to join SHIELD. Given the assets and contacts I can bring, convincing Nick to hire me would not be difficult,” his usage of the director’s first name was deliberately casual. “But that would constrain my actions somewhat. No, I think I would start a security firm in Dar es Salaam. I made a lot of contacts in Tanzania during our previous work. Combined with my reputation, resources and connections, both inter-dimensional and amongst the mutant and mutate communities, I could rapidly become a major player in the private security arena.”

“And how would that accomplish our shared goals?” Charles asked, clearly trying to defuse Raven and Simon as they played off one another again.. 

“I rather think I could recruit a large number of mutant agents. Competition has a force all its own to change minds.”

“Which you’ve already begun making use of within the MRD,” Raven noted, relaxing back into her chair and glancing around at the others, point made. 

“Indeed,” Simon agreed. “But you had demands. Now that it’s clear that there are limits to my willingness to comply, I’m certainly happy to consider them.”

That discussion dragged on for some time, only partly due to actual negotiation, mainly because no one in the room, except the MRD agents, had any law enforcement experience and they were attempting to build an entire legal system from first principles. Without agreeing on what those first principles should be.

That complicated matters.

Chapter Text

When the meeting finally concluded, Illyan rose and stretched, letting the little old man grunt escape as his back popped from far too long in a very, deliberately, uncomfortable chair and headed towards the exit. He hadn’t lost his escort, but then paused as he walked away, “Oh, also, on a personal note, I should check in with Diana and convey the Barrayaran offer of hosting her and her family.”

Ororo gave him a flat stare. “And why would she want that?”

“To ensure she does not accidentally kidnap anyone else,” Simon said.

“Sounds like she might be arrested if she accepted your offer.”

“Hardly. But I’m sure more formal assurances can be provided if desired.”

“Assurances we would simply have to trust.”

Simon didn’t stiffen at the insult to his E--his former commander. “As we must accept your assurance of our safety and every other thing we just discussed.”

“We’ll see what she says,” Ororo said, though her expression made it clear what her recommendation would be.

“They.”

She gave him an actually confused look. “This was an offer to her and her family. She remains a child and unless you propose a truly unusual legal structure, this choice does not belong to her alone, and certainly does not belong to you.”

“And Marie Trogir?”

“I understand she’s wanted for manslaughter, but that’s an extradition matter between Genosha and Barrayar.”

She stared at him for a moment, then just shrugged. “Not my problem. Let’s get you back to the plane so you can grab your bags before someone touches them and triggers those defenses you set up.”

Illyan nodded and they headed out.

That evening, Simon was surprised. Not that he had a visitor, but that they knocked on his door, instead of simply appearing inside. 

He considered the odds as he approached the door and mentally placed a small bet with himself about who it would be. And he partially won. Diana, her parents, as were two of the X-Men, who’d actually managed to maintain anonymity and therefore were known only as Phoenix and Cyclops. He’d somehow expected Raven to be their escort, even though that was foolish. Diana was allied with, aligned with, or hostage of the X-Men. These groups were allied, but no more than that. 

“Diana,” Illyan nodded to her politely, and to her parents, belatedly realizing he’d never gotten their names. Quick introductions followed, though the X-Men certainly didn’t share their real names and they all took seats in the fairly nice hotel suite that Genosha was providing him with. 

“What can I do for you?” he asked.

“Well...” Diana’s voice trailed off and her mother jumped in. 

“We wanted to start by thanking you. You rescued all of us--” Cyclops cleared his throat. “Yes, the X-Men were on their way, but you rescued us. And we--Thank you.”

“You are quite welcome. But I somehow doubt you came all this way just to say that.”

“No,” Diana’s father admitted. “We heard about your offer and we want to understand what you’re suggesting.”

“It’s fairly simple, Emperor Gregor recognizes that through no fault of her own, Diana is accidentally grabbing people from our universe and bringing them here. Despite the best efforts of the X-Men to train her, that has continued. The easiest solution to that is for all of you to go to a world where such powers do not exist and there is no risk that she--” he lowered his gaze to Diana and had to control a wince of his own as he saw her flinch under it, “that you will accidentally kidnap anyone else.”

“Given the new portal, this isn’t necessary. Even if it happens, whoever it was could just be sent back,” Cyclops pointed out.

“That would depend on a large number of factors, including their identity and nature. But, to give a minor example of some of the problems which could arise, if you were to bring through an Earther, it would take months for them to get home, just given travel time. If you were to bring through a Cetagandan, that would have significant political ramifications. And that’s without getting into the cost of sending people between dimensions.”

“Money isn’t the point,” Phoenix cut in. 

“No, risk is. And freedom is.” He controlled a wince at that, but the overemphasis on freedom and underemphasis on duty was inherent in this culture and he needed to play the hand he was dealt. “And choice is. Are you free to make that choice, or are you prisoners?” Simon asked the family directly. 

“Freedom?” Phoenix floated to her feet, cutting off the response. “You speak of freedom while seeking to drag her back to your Imperium , from which none of us will be able to assist her?”

“None of you have been able to assist her here,” Simon countered, which provoked a set of winces from everyone in the room. He let his voice soften, “But I asked you a question. Are you free, or are your prisoners here?”

“The X-Men do not--” Cyclops began, rising to stand besides his partner (quite obviously in more than just the military sense). 

“They aren’t keeping us prisoner. They’ve been trying to help me!” Diana yelled, slamming her hands down on the table. “Which is more than you ever did!” 

“Indeed, Diana. I lacked the knowledge, power, and connections to assist you beyond after the first time I saved your life.” She flinched at that. “Something I have set about correcting since then. And I have succeeded.”

“Yay, you can go home, so why are you here?” Cyclops asked. 

Illyan smiled gently at him. “Have you ever known a retiree who took up some new hobby? Rebuilding cars? Gardening? Making models?”

Cyclops wasn’t a stupid man. “You’re running an MRD office and attempting to reform the MRD as a retirement hobby?” he asked incredulously.

“Need to keep busy or the brain starts to deteriorate,” Illyan said with a shrug, but then his gaze sharpened. “But I’m not here to talk about me, or to answer your questions, X-Men. I’m here to answer your questions,” his gaze flicked to Diana and her parents. 

“I--”

“This is not your choice. You have dominated this conversation enough.”

Silence stretched for a long moment as Phoenix and Cyclops glanced at each other, then the family and swallowed sarcastic responses. “What would we even do?” Diana’s father asked, plaintively.

“What is your profession?” 

“I’m a plumber! Is that needed in your advanced dimension?”

“Yes. You’d require some retraining, but the Imperium could make that available, as well as providing housing and support until you were prepared to support yourself.”

“I’m in sales,” Diana’s mother said.

“I don’t believe sales techniques have changed too much over the centuries.”

“And me?” Diana asked.

“School.”

“So, I leave all my friends, everyone I know,” her parents cleared her throats, “except my parents, to go someplace, just so you can make me ‘normal’?”

Her parents winced at that, but Illyan didn’t. It was obvious that X-Men propaganda had been quite successful with her. “No. I’m offering you a chance to go somewhere new where you will neither be in danger, nor be a danger to others.”

“We’ve heard some horror stories about Barrayar,” Diana’s father cut in as the girl wilted under his words. 

“I’m sure you have. Marie Trogir is a terrorist who has killed civilians in a vain attempt to overthrow the Imperium. She is quite exactly as biased a source as I am. But her focus, like mine, admittedly, is focused entirely on high leadership roles. Which you would not have. Did she say anything about how most people live on Barrayar?”

That got shaking heads and Illyan nodded, continuing, “Of course not, because she doesn’t know, or care about them. I do, as that’s where I started out. You can have a nice, quiet life. If you choose.”

The three of them glanced at each other and at the X-Men. “We’ll think about it,” Diana’s father said and they rose as one to retreat. The X-Men did not go with them, which was worrisome. As was the reflected movement in the television screen to his right, which the chip flagged as actually directly behind him. 

He twisted to the side automatically as Logan reached for his shoulders, half evading the first grab, only to be pushed back into position by the hand to hand expert. As the only possible counter (besides screaming) involved drawing weapons and escalating the situation, he let his body relax.  If this was an assassination attempt, it was one with the X-Men’s assistance, which meant he had basically no hope of evading it. Not with three of them in the room.

He forced himself to relax as the other two X-Men rose to loom over him. “Still nothing?” Cyclops asked.

“Still nothing,” Phoenix agreed. 

“This is not going to work, Cyclops,” Logan said.

“That rather depends on what this is. Does someone intend to enlighten me?” Illyan asked, blandly.

“This is a warning. If Diana takes your advice we won’t be able to get to her if something goes wrong--”

“But you can get to me.” He paused as he considered pointing out that if this was a trap, they’d never find out about it and decided that would be counterproductive. “Message received.”

“Is it really?” Cyclops asked, fiddling with the trigger of his visor. “I’m not sure you’re getting the message. Maybe you don’t think we can really hurt you?”

“Oh, I don’t doubt that. But I have the advantage.”

Logan’s claws emerged, metal brushing the cloth over Illyan’s chest and pressing in slightly. “You think?”

“Oh, not tactically. Your ambush worked fine there. My advantage is in knowledge.”

“And what is it you know that we don’t?” Phoenix asked, palpably uncomfortable with someone whose mind she couldn’t read. 

“I know it isn’t a trap, so I know that all your threats are irrelevant.”

There was a long moment of silence, then the claws snapped back in and Logan released him. “I told you guys, we should either kill him or not. Threats won’t do anything.”

“On the contrary, they provide useful insights about your intentions and intelligence,” Simon said blandly.

Logan snorted. Cyclops cocked his head inquisitively as he let his hidden eyes examine Illyan. Phoenix’s hands were twitching as she was transparently uncomfortable about Simon’s immunity to her telepathy. “Are you insulting me?”

“I’m evaluating you.”

“Why?”

“The same reason I evaluate everyone.”

“Which is?”

“If you figure that out, I’ll need to re-evaluate you.”

Cyclops glared at him a moment longer. “Everything we’ve done to try to influence, control, or understand you has just given you more information about us. Hasn’t it?”

Illyan paused for a moment and considered. “I’m not insulting you, Cyclops.”

The other man nodded slightly and the X-Men left without another word.

Two weeks later, Diana and her family made the journey to Barrayar.

Chapter Text

The next few months were...busy. Fortunately, not too much of Genosha’s infrastructure had been destroyed (and between the X-Men, the Brotherhood and their home-grown mutants, repairs could be done quite quickly, as could new construction) so they were given what had been a police station to use. Illyan was able to pull in quite a few agents from the MRD, as well as begin a crash recruitment program for the locals. 

Bringing in folks to train them remained difficult, though the transportation links were slowly restoring themselves as Genosha failed to attack anyone else. But as some of his Barrayaran volunteers began joining the MRD and mostly found themselves routed to Genosha, rather than allowed to float around the body of the MRD, that problem mostly resolved itself. Several more ended up in New York, where they supported Mary’s leadership. The local ones he turned loose on the new recruits. He did miss just being able to steal folks who had a solid grounding from the various military academies, but ImpSec staff were used to dealing with civilians. At least some of them.

Still, organizing a single office was well within his capabilities. Indeed, so far within his capabilities that he found himself also involved in setting up the replacement legal system that Genosha was trying to forge, where he found himself working along with Evangeline Whedon, a former prosecutor from the United States, who had spent only a few weeks as a Genoshan slave before being freed. 

Most of the Genoshan law enforcement was dead, in exile, or under arrest. Most of their legal system was likewise in shambles and the remainder mostly couldn’t be trusted. But given Charles’s abilities they were mostly able to sort the wheat from the chaff efficiently, once they decided they could allow that.

But the harder problem was the civil disorder. Given the sudden release and influx of mutants, when combined with the fact that theoretically both crimes by and crimes against mutants fell under MRD jurisdiction, an unprecedentedly high proportion of Genoshan crimes fell under his purview. And crime was booming. Former slaves seeking revenge, former slave owners seeking to reclaim their property, or silence witnesses, criminals taking advantage of the chaos and bigots eager to act all meant that his outnumbered strike force was trying to act as police for a nation. 

As the suggestion to deputize the X-Men, the Brotherhood, or both fell apart as he couldn’t recruit people who were wanted by other treaty nations, for the immediate need, he’d had to rely on Raven’s people, as the ex-slaves were the only organized group which wasn’t wanted for various crimes. 

The fact that this radically strengthed her position, and that she’d apparently been the key proponent of bringing him in, did spark some conspiracy theorizing, but it hardly mattered, his options were limited, as were everyone else’s. But of course, every crime solved just increased the pressure on the legal system (and the prison system, which was under less pressure than it might have been due to certain decisions made by Max which had minimized the number of prisoners by maximizing the number of corpses amongst their enemies).

Fortunately, power had never been a major issue, as though they’d freed the electricity-generating mutant slaves who’d been powering the country, they were perfectly willing to continue providing power, so long as they were paid and allowed to read or play games while generating power instead of being chained to chairs. 

And food could be managed through external contacts and the teleporters which Genosha had in some numbers, along with the surprisingly large stores which the government and some of the Magistrates had maintained out of a surprisingly intelligent, but insufficient paranoia about slave revolts. And a unfortunately large portion of the population had either died, or fled, which also helped with the food and power issues. 

Though that caused a whole different set of issues. But, regardless, within five months, they’d sufficiently built the airplane while flying it that there wasn’t too much risk of it crashing and killing everyone. The population had mostly stabilized and more mutants were arriving. A legal system mostly existed. A police force mostly existed. The biggest problem was the economy, which mostly didn’t. They’d been relying on seized funds from Genosha’s previous government and the Magistrates personal fortunes. 

Genosha itself had only had three industries. First, the tourist industry, which did not survive the invasion. Second, the sale of mutant slaves, which did not survive the fall of the previous government. And third, a handful of industries powered by mutant slaves, which mostly survived transition to non-slave labor. But though most of the ex-slaves chose to remain in Genosha, many still decided to return to their original homes, which weakened this industry significantly. And many trade partners either cut off or reduced contact, which just made things worse.

However, a number of mutants had powerful abilities which could either be monetized, with appropriate support, or which assisted in rebuilding. But their most valuable asset, the teleporters, required people on either end willing to pay them for transportation. Raven and Max started pushing their use to aid various forms of smugglers, just to break the...well, it wasn’t exactly a trade embargo, nor was it sanctions, but they weren’t getting much support. 

Charles was fighting the good fight on that topic, when suddenly, and definitely not because anyone had made a phone call, Wanda and Pietro showed up, to formally request, on behalf of the Avengers, a teleporter to assist them in rapid deployments.  About thirty seconds after that request was granted and announced,, they suddenly found demand for their teleporters had suddenly appeared. 

The problem was...they weren’t slaves. 

For the moment, they were employees of the Genoshan state, which entered into several contracts to provide service, but the more successful Illyan was at destigmatizing mutants, the less reason there would be for the teleporters not to go into business for themselves. And likewise, any stabilization of Genosha’s economy would undoubtedly create intense competition for teleporters. 

But with quasi-endorsement by the Avengers and the revelation of what the island had to offer, the informal economic blockade fractured quickly. Especially as investors were off-balance and seeking some economic opportunity that wouldn’t be upended by the slow transfer, sale, and trade of advanced technology by the Barrayarans. Superpowers were the key area. 

And all the time, the X-Men, Brotherhood and Raven’s own network of contacts were helping mutants move into Genosha, if they wished it. 

Which, of course, just created more and more work for the MRD and Illyan. Both in dealing with crimes and dealing with angry foreign governments demanding the return of their lost people. 

But as time passed, the situation was trending towards stability, at least in Illyan’s immediate vicinity.