BEAST'S LOGBOOK, THE PROBLEM WITH RUSSIA

From the very beginning, Xavier predicted that Russia would reject mutant sovereignty. Because of this, he asked Colossus (Piotr "Peter" Nikolayevich Rasputin) to quietly gather any mutant citizens who wished to escape and ready them for extraction.

A whisper network revealed their plan -- and military forces set upon them. Those who escaped barely survived.

Since then, little is known about Russia. As a non-treaty nation, it is in a state of exile.

But instead of turning inward, it appears to have been quietly expanding its influence -- economically, politically, militarily.

There is something particularly disconcerting about 1) the standardized uniform of the troops on board this vessel, and 2) the Soviet emblem -- with its traditional sickle and hammer now offset by an X instead of a star.

Though this is conjecture ... it may imply a rival mutant society.

The Flower Cartel, it is now clear, is not simply a criminal organization, but a government-sponsored organization that has been interrupting mutant trade routes and processing the petals into pollen for global distribution.

This is not only an economic boon; it is an effort at destabilization. They are undermining the new geopolitical reality by turning the mutant's olive branch -- petals -- into a diseased crop.

Their goal appears to be to profiteering addiction, but within Russia's borders, pollen is being used as propaganda. Recently a branch of the Order of X -- a mutant-worshipping cult -- died as a result of a bad batch of pollen, and it is now widely believed this was intentionally meant to inspire fearfulness and distrust of the Krakoan source material.

At this juncture, I have requested a sit-down with Colossus and Omega Red for both a debriefing on everything they know about their mother country and the possibility of joining a special task force.

#statecraft