Chapter 3895: The Nameless Bat (76)

"If the mastermind influencing Cyclops is a super-hacker that even S. H. I. E. L. D.'s technical department and Iron Man cannot track, then it might not just be a hacker. Remember Ultron? The life form of an electronic entity determines from its very roots that they come and go without a trace; humans have absolutely no way to defeat them on the network. But we can take a different path." Peter said.

Captain America nodded and said, "That's right. This behavior really reminds me of Ultron. Dealing with it back then took quite a bit of effort. If we had Magneto's help back then, it might have been simpler."

"That definitely wouldn't have worked back then," Iron Man shook his head. "Magneto didn't like the Avengers, and we couldn't have cooperated with a terrorist. Even the X-Men have always maintained a principle of non-interference regarding ordinary human society, primarily dealing with the Brotherhood. Professor X naturally wouldn't have helped either."

"But things are different now," Peter looked at the screen in front of him. "This matter has dragged the mutants into it, and now they are in the wrong. Professor X won't allow anyone to scheme against his students like this. We can completely use their own strength against them and let Magneto grab hold of this guy's tail."

"Let's go. We're going to the X-Men's base." Captain America stood up. "To defeat the enemy in one stroke, we must make thorough preparations. We need to study this carefully."

The Avengers arrived at the X-Men's base. This counted as an official visit, so all the mutants who could come did, including Magneto and some members of the Brotherhood of Mutants. There were also some reporters outside taking pictures. As Peter walked in, he glanced at the entrance and saw a slightly familiar face.

"Isn't that Superman?" Peter raised an eyebrow. He saw the other man's gaze land on Magneto, but there was no surprise at Magneto appearing at the X-Men's home base; clearly, he had long known about the history between these two old men.

Peter couldn't help but think of his younger self, back when he also took his own photos to make money. He hadn't expected that in a distant, different world, there would be someone just like him, choosing to report on news involving himself to earn a paycheck.

Of course, this wasn't a mess caused by Superman, but the laser marks really did look too much like his. Cyclops's fame couldn't compare to Superman's, so many media outlets had already started throwing mud at Superman. If Superman wrote the report himself, he might be able to clear his name and earn a nice fee for the article at the same time.

Thinking of this, Peter stood to the side, staying as inconspicuous as possible in the crowd, leaving the best angles for the Avengers and the mutants. Superman was indeed clicking away. Peter, being a photographer himself, could tell from the look on Superman's face when he checked his camera that he was likely quite satisfied with the shots.

Soon, everyone went inside. After some pleasantries and polite exchanges, Captain America chose to get straight to the point.

"... According to our professional analysis, a third party may have emerged in the relationship between Cyclops and Phoenix. I don't mean Wolverine; you should know better than anyone that Wolverine hasn't truly participated in their relationship. The one sowing discord is someone else."

"You're implying that Cyclops cheated?" Professor X frowned slightly, clearly not believing this conclusion.

"I know you think you understand your students very well, but I recall you saying that unless necessary, you do not read anyone's mind. Professor, Cyclops's loss of control has already proven that your management is ineffective and that you haven't been attentive enough to their recent changes, so you cannot rule out the possibility that Cyclops's emotional life has undergone changes that you failed to notice."

Professor X fell silent. Captain America then looked at Magneto and said, "I know the Brotherhood of Mutants often uses terrorist tactics to force the federal government and the military to compromise, but you also need the friendly faction among mutants—the X-Men—to mediate and give you a way out. Simple destruction cannot bring benefits. All your violent means are merely to force others to the negotiating table."

"But now that this has happened, once it's exposed, the X-Men's credibility will also plummet. They will be categorized into the same group of unstable ticking time bombs as you. The federal government and the military might no longer trust them, and then it will be very easy for any limited violent means you use in the future to escalate into a full-scale war. That shouldn't be the result you want."

Magneto didn't express an opinion on Captain America's words, but it was precisely because of his silence that Captain America knew he had hit the mark.

The X-Men and the Brotherhood of Mutants had always played good cop and bad cop; the latter would desperately stir up trouble and create terrorist attacks everywhere, and once it reached a certain level, the X-Men would step in to stop them. Then, the Brotherhood would put forward their demands, and the X-Men would mediate, forcing the federal government and the military to satisfy them, thus securing benefits for mutants.

If this incident had been caused by a mutant from the Brotherhood, Magneto wouldn't be here talking to the Avengers. But instead, it involved the X-Men, and the situation was clear as day—Cyclops's suspicion was at least 50% from the start. The Avengers had obtained conclusive evidence, leaving no room for a comeback.

If the culprit were exposed, public opinion would explode. Most people would feel that the X-Men were merely another type of terrorist, perhaps even more brutal than the Brotherhood. After all, the Brotherhood at most attacked government facilities and military bases; the American public's trust in the federal government and the military was low, and some ordinary people even cheered for the Brotherhood's actions.

But the X-Men had destroyed a factory closely tied to the interests of ordinary people. Not to mention how many people would lose their jobs due to the factory's closure, just the traffic jams caused by the attack were enough to make countless exhausted office workers curse.

Since the fusion of the two cities, the cost of living in the new city had risen quite a bit, and many people were already pushed to the brink of collapse by the pressure. Whoever had a scandal at such a time would be in big trouble. The public would vent all their negative emotions on them, and even if that person had once had a positive image, the power of public opinion was enough to completely collapse a reputation built over decades.

Whether it was Professor X or Magneto, neither could accept such a result. Once both of them were labeled as villains, mutants would truly be hated by everyone, and there might not even be any room for them to survive on Earth, destroying years of struggle in one fell swoop.

So when Peter voiced his speculation—that the mastermind behind this might be an electronic entity like Ultron—both of them breathed a sigh of relief.

They were actually truly afraid that Cyclops had simply gone crazy; if someone was inciting this, then at least half the blame could be shifted away.

Mutants might be unstable, and their management might be flawed, but they had at least shifted from being the primary culprits to accomplices. If they operated carefully, they might even be able to craft an image as victims, which could be considered a blessing in disguise.

"Tell us what to do," Professor X said quite directly. "Erik and I will cooperate fully. As long as we can catch the mastermind and clear the mutants of the crimes we shouldn't be bearing, we owe the Avengers a favor for this."

Peter could tell that Professor X was speaking sincerely. In fact, if he hadn't made that trip and asked for clues from Kitty Pryde and Iceman, even the X-Men might have just accepted the blame. If they really caught a mastermind who wasn't a mutant, that would indeed be the Avengers' credit.

And while Peter was thinking, Professor X gave Magneto a look. He didn't even need to say anything; the other man understood his meaning—there had to be such a mastermind, there absolutely had to be.

"Cyclops's emotions must be very unstable right now," Peter said. "But we must not let him see Phoenix. Only then can he maintain his unstable state for a while, and it will also avoid him saying something offensive and stimulating Phoenix. And if the mastermind's goal is to force him to lose control, they will definitely choose this period to strike, and that's when we can catch them."

"I will guard that place," Magneto said. "No electronic signal fluctuation will escape my eyes."

"Then that's settled," Peter continued. "I need to go talk to Phoenix. She is Cyclops's girlfriend; perhaps she can discover details that others haven't. This will be very helpful for us to understand the mastermind."

"Do you think we won't be able to catch them?" Captain America asked.

"You probably can't truly catch an electronic entity," Peter shook his head. "It is part of the network and will have countless backups. We can only suppress it temporarily, not eliminate it completely. And its motive for targeting mutants is still unclear; we must figure that out."

The others continued to stay in the conference room, finalizing the details of the operation. Peter came out early and, led by Iceman, arrived at Phoenix's room.

As soon as he pushed the door open, Peter saw a very haggard woman. When he was Spider-Man, he had seen Phoenix from afar a few times; she was a very beautiful woman who smiled gently, nothing like the ferocious image in the rumors. Peter had a very good impression of her.

But now, she looked truly devastated. Peter walked over and sat down opposite her. "I know, I shouldn't have come to see you at a time like this. But please believe me, we will never wrongly accuse anyone. In fact, we would rather believe that someone has been sowing discord between you and Scott..."

Peter knew that reasoning and stating facts were useless at this moment; Jean might need emotional comfort more, so he picked some pleasant things to say. But to his surprise, Jean shook her head.

"You don't have to say anything. I know it all. I'm just..." Jean paused, then continued, "You all think Scott only started acting abnormally over a month ago, but in reality, the conflict between us has always existed; it didn't just arise in the last month or two."

"I've thought a lot during this time," Jean said with pursed lips. "The problem is mainly with me. The sense of security I need is endless. I need someone to constantly tell me in my ear that I am stable, that I am not a bomb that will destroy the universe, and that I can completely continue the peaceful situation we have now."

"I don't know how many times I've asked him, and I don't remember how many times he has patiently comforted me, but I still don't believe it; I want more. I want someone who can give me a definitive answer that I can believe in, and Scott can't give me that."

Peter opened his mouth, but in the end, he could only say, "He really can't. Unless someone can instantly defeat the Phoenix, no one can give you such an answer."

"Yes, that's why I said it's my problem," Jean said, closing her eyes in pain. "After the two cities fused, our living pressure increased; that was the last straw that broke the camel's back. He had been becoming increasingly silent since Christmas, and I had a premonition then that he might be leaving me."

"But I really didn't expect that he..." Jean took a deep breath, "He himself is a person who values promises very much, and he once described the beautiful future between us with the most sincere tone. So he might be unable to accept that he made a promise but didn't fulfill it; he needed to find an excuse for his retreat, and Wolverine became the victim."

Peter paused, then slowly shook his head.