In 1968, as part of a secret government agenda to incarcerate and eliminate the mutant population (which was running against the MHD directive), Project Red Sky (PRS) was greenlighted. Captain Tchavesky was involved with this program and he was responsible for arresting over a hundred "dissidents". However in 1969, a militant group begins attacking the prison camps freeing the prisoners. Embarrassed, the government closes PRS down in 1970 and promotes Tchavesky to move him out and keep him quiet.

Originally established as a branch of the Soviet Intelligence Agency (SIA), the MHD expanded into a more active role in Soviet interests. The growing number of mutants globally was something the Soviet Military Council could not ignore and gave more access to the MHD within the SIA and began to actively recruit mutants to use as resources (similar to what the Genoshans would do). However, the public was against the notion of using other humans as slaves, even if they were mutants. Secrecy was the key, and the MHD moved with military efficency on locating and identifying mutants and their gifts.

Colonel Igor Yevgeny was given command of the MHD and had to break through the discrimination and legal barriers within the government to get what he needed - troops, money, supplies. Yevgeny also didn't accept the policy of forcing mutants to join or else. It inherently bred traitors, and with mutants being as powerful as the ones in America the results could be profound. Instead Col. Yevgeny adopted a policy of winning the trust of the subject, and allowing them to join of their free will. Originally the secret organization relied on agents and operatives monitoring suspected mutants and then bringing in West Michaels for confirmation.

1980-1984
West Michaels, the first mutant recruit into the MHD undergoes intense training to develop his powers of mutant detection and perception. A few months later in 1980, Yevgeny uncovers another batch of mutants [the Lents brothers] whose perceptive powers rival West's but due to their age, are difficult to train. However, when they combine their powers they are quite sensitive. Plans are drawn up for a possible neural network to use the four boys in series to amplify and harness their powers. In the meantime, the MHD follow up on leads from the SIA databases on possible mutants and discover Pitch in 1980 and Flaros in 1984.

1985
The Mutant Detection Grid was developed, marking a huge step forward in mutant research. Based on stolen blueprints, the device magnified telepathic reception and fed it into a computer. The quadruplets Vune, Mune, Kune, and Rune provided the necessary psi power to operate it and covered most of Asia. More mutants were identified and classfied though most were never contacted directly (they were not seen as 'suitable' recruits). Massacre was brought in by Serpent during this time.

1986-1987
In 1986, Yevgeny followed a tip from an asylum of a very powerful mutant. There he found and brought in Fog. She was very unstable and required drugs to keep her sedated. She agreed to join, though her status was temporary pending upon regular psych and medical reports. The MHD continued its training regimen, though the recruits were mostly studied in the lab. West was the only one used in an outward field role as a "hound" or tracker of mutants.

1988-1989
In 1988, the character who would come to be known as Skorpion was found and recruited. His unusual talent for seeing weaknesses seemed too destructive, but Yevgeny knew that this mutant was too dangerous left out in the wild. Without discipline or some sense of control, he may cause trouble and that would only lead to one thing - termination. From the very beginning, Skorpion and West did not get along. The brash new recruit saw West as a rival, from the training to matters of a more personal nature.

1990-1991
As the MHD grew in staff and size, their missions moved beyond mutant observation and control but to take an active role in Soviet interests, namely defense and offense in the name of the Kremlin and the Motherland. Yevgeny didn't agree with making "supersoldiers", but he was in the minority and soon more aggressive and dangerous mutants were concentrated on for development into war tools. The Council called the MHD as Soviet's "proportional response" to the American and Canadian mutant terrorist groups, but Yevgeny knew better. His people were being honed to become tomorrow's answer to the arms race in the name of the Cold War.

All of that changed when in 1991 the Cold War was officially over. Unfortunately this meant huge budget cuts across the board, including MHD. During that same year, a team of MHD operatives was nearly wiped out by Coffin. Yevgeny, using funds from illegal arms sales and siphoning funds from covert accounts within the military, funded the operation to improve upon the Omega Red project. West Michaels was selected because he had the best form to build from (he was physically inferior) and enough psychological discipline to handle the stresses and mentality to obey commands. Skorpion and Massacre did not. Serpent is born.

One of the biggest opponents to mutant research and development was General Luba Tchavesky, a staunch conservative and well known mutant hater. He was also the leader of the radical right wing extremists who called themselves "The Sons of Stalin" or SOS for short. Ever since the Cold War ended, the faction had been trying to mount a coup against Gorbachev's regime but he couldn't garner enough political strength. That was when he realized the mutants were the answer.

1992
The MHD now used their raw mutant recruits in more field operations, honing their skills in more practical purposes. The field team was composed of highly trained soldiers and the mutants Serpent, Flaros, Pitch, Skorpion, Massacre, Fog, and Psi-Vore. While Serpent goes off to locate the next recruit Crusader, the MHD is ordered to locate and recover the bioweapon Omega Red.

All clues seem to indicate a well organized strike force called The Hand. Pitch was appointed field command in 1991, but relegated command to a 'normal' senior officer, Lt. Michel Anobli. The hunt for the rogue SIA weapon took them from Russia and into Germany but lost the trail in Japan. However, Anobli recalled the search teams and reported their mission as a failure. Pitch and Flaros were the closest to finding Omega Red when the Hand intercepted them. There were no casualties on their side but the Hand had escaped or were killed. What nobody realizes is that Lt. Michel Anobli was a plant, set up by Tchavesky's "Sons of Stalin" to embarass the MHD and Col. Yevgeny.

1993
A few years pass and a new project is proposed to insert Soviet mutants to observe American, British, and Canadian mutant groups. Codenamed "Operation Charon", they selected Skorpion and Flaros for training. In 1993, they deployed to Europe but Serpent was sent in to observe and scout ONLY. However, Serpent and Skorpion's behavior ruined the operation and both men were forced to return as Flaros stayed on. She gathered data on the mutant teams of Excalibur, Alpha Flight, and the New Warriors before returning back. It was deemed a technical failure since she could not monitor all the mutant groups (namely the X-Men). This coupled with the failure by the MHD to recapture Omega Red forced the Council to re-evaluate the objectives and possibly its leadership.

Towards the end of the year, on a routine probing operation into a possible drug lab Fog comes into contact with a near lethal combination of noxious fumes. It would have killed a normal human but it reacted with her fog form, causing her to revert back to human form. A chemical imbalance within her occurs and Massacre is forced to take her down.

1994-1995
Nothing of exemplary to note other than the recruitment of Silver. The team of mutants had already become a fairly cohesive unit, with Pitch proving to be a good choice as field commander. Lt. Anobli was transferred out due to a poor performance record. Skorpion and Serpent are still rivals, but Flaros has already chosen Serpent. Flaros also finds a friend in the new recruit Silver. Her medical knowledge is very useful on the field, and she grows into her role of a support character.

1996
The SOS steal a nuclear warhead and openly threaten to detonate if the government doesn't stand down and relinquish control to them. The MHD is sent in and as they secure the weapon, it mysteriously arms and Temple makes the ultimate sacrifice and absorbs the explosion in his body. In actuality, Tchavesky had rigged the bomb to go off no matter what. With the threat averted, Tchavesky made his next move - shutdown the MHD! He had built up enought anti-mutant support in the Council and politbureau that they had no choice but to agree. Luba even blamed the detonation on the mutants involvement. It was agreed to shutdown the operation and begin containment/termination of all existing mutant subjects.

As the exhausted mutants returned to base, they were greeted by a small army. When Yevgeny inquired, he was relieved of command and all the mutants were placed under arrest. They refused to be taken into custody and one of the soldiers fired first. That was the catalyst as the situation dissolved into a mad battle royale. The Council had no intention of killing the soldiers they had spent years building and training so they had "stun" crews equipped with stun rifles, tear gas, full-Kevlar, and electro-cables. Massacre, a mutant who absorbs energy, became stronger and stronger until finally he released his energy into a single destructive wave that demolished the MHD headquarters, exhausting himself in the process. The remaining mutants (Crusader, Psi-Vore, Skorpion, and Pitch) were placed in stasis tubes. The quadruplet mind scanners Rune, Kune, Vune, and Mune were also taken into custody and subjected to forced stasis.

Serpent and Flaros had left as the fighting broke out, doing what they had planned for so long - escape! First, they needed to get the rejection inhibitor for Serpent and its formula. Flaros' chemical knowledge would be able to digest the recipe. They broke through the security systems and recovered the prized data and serum and stole a jeep. Silver had joined the fight but realized the fight was already over and decided to make her own escape a reality. She controlled a soldier and walked out as his prisoner. She was gone.