National Mall Incident

In April 1968, the exitence of metahumans was still a closely guarded national secret. Amanda Sykes was active in Vietnam for the American military, but her involvement is kept quiet and only hinted at in media leaks. Against this background, three Russian sleeper agents were activated to grab intelligence and send it back to the USSR. Yuliya Gomolova, Aleksei Matveev, and Shura Sokoloff had various low-level government positions where they were able to amass intelligence briefings over a period of several years. In order to get enough information for their Russian handlers to establish who Amanda Sykes was and what powers she possessed, however, they had to burn their covers and attempt an escape back to the Soviet Union.

It might have worked, except for the involvement of other metahumans. General Andrew Colt was able to see their plot unfolding and he moved to intercept them. When they escaped on foot, Colt mentally contacted three bystanders to get their assistance: Private Karl Berger, Dr. Magnus Ostberg, and Callie Callahan. Ostberg and Berger helped; Callahan fled in confusion. The intervention was enough to allow military personnel to respond, however, and the three Russian agents were apprehended.

General Colt's contact, however, gave dark energy powers to all six individuals, something that became apparent when Sokoloff and Gomolova broke free of their restraints and Ostberg and Pvt. Berger responded in kind. The confused assault of powers drew much attention but while the authorities were distracted Matveev used his subtle powers to slip away.

This event is the point of divergence for The Breaking Point mini-setting, bringing the American-Soviet Cold War more into the forefront of the Progenitor world than in the standard timeline.
