The X-Men Cell


	The X-Men Resistance Cell

Cell Leader: Professor Charles Xavier

Members: Cyclops, Wolverine, Jean Grey, Storm, Nightcrawler, Rogue, Mystique, Beast, Shadowcat

SHIELD Opens Office of PreTerror

Right: Jean Grey testifies before Congress in a futile effort to help mutantkind by working within the System.

As mutants on the front lines of the culture wars, the X-Men have firsthand experience with government oppression.

They've had to fight the Sentinels, giant robots created as part of a US government project to hunt down and exterminate all mutants.

They've been exploited for their powers and abilities, forced to carry out missions for SHIELD's Weapon X program.

They've had to face angry mobs of humans whipped into a frenzy of anti-mutant hysteria by opportunistic politicians like Senator Kelly.

The X-Men know that the first rule of keeping power in an authoritarian regime like the United States is "Divide and Conquer." As long as the government can keep the people fighting among themselves -- humans vs. mutants, blacks vs. whites, straights vs. gays, Catholics vs. Protestants, the arbitrary divisions go on and on -- they know that no one will stop to consider who their true oppressors are.

But the X-Men don't give in to hate or prejudice. They promote tolerance, peaceful coexistence, and mutual respect. They strive to bring together the people that our government would tear apart, to unite a world that those in power seek to keep fragmented.

As a mutant shapeshifter capable of impersonating any person on Earth, Raven Darkholme, a.k.a. Mystique, is an indispensable part of the SHAFT Resistance Movement. Her primary assignment has been the impersonation of Valerie Cooper, an agent of the National Security Agency. In this capacity, she took down Judge Petrie of the National Security Council with a highly publicized sex scandal.

Then, with the national spotlight shining on her, she seized the opportunity to expose Project Wideawake, the president's secret commission created for the purpose of "dealing with the mutant situation" after his Mutant Affairs Control Act failed to pass. Comprised of officials from the NSA, the CIA, the NSC, and the Defense Department, the commission was headed by Henry Peter Gyrich, whose anti-mutant agenda was comparable to Hitler's "Final Solution."

Considering Mystique's key role in Nick Fury's plans to destabilize the occupational government in America, one might wonder why we would disclose the nature of her field assignments on our website for all to see. But the answer is a simple one: Psychological Warfare. At any moment of any day, Mystique might be impersonating any government or military employee, or one of their friends or family members. Every time a bureaucrat, officer, soldier, or other so-called "civil servant" opens his or her mouth, he or she will have to stop and wonder if the person listening is really that person at all.

Government drones should start losing a lot of sleep soon. How long will it take before the logical concern that Mystique (or one of our other shapeshifters, like Morph) might be impersonating a key member of their staff, family, or inner circle, in order to spy on them or worse, turns into rampant paranoia?

That's right. Mystique is watching Big Brother. Let's see how he likes it.

S.H.A.F.T. H.Q.