"Long time no see, Logan. I'm sorry to meet you this way." Captain America sighed and sat in front of the visiting window, looking at the reflection of himself overlapping with Logan's face. He recalled the scenes from the past when they fought side by side.
Logan shook his head. The lines of his facial muscles always seem to go downwards like the roots of an old tree; his eyebrows even faintly appear gray—it truly resembles a Wolverine.
"It's entirely my fault," Logan said, "I swear, I never intended to harm any civilians. I feel sorry for their injuries. I know, this isn't the battlefield anymore. Even on the battlefield, slaughtering civilians is absolutely evil. I really didn't expect, that I would..."
Logan choked up towards the end of his speech. Captain America also bowed his head. Clearly, they both remembered the same incident. Back then, they received a mission to clear remnants on the Eastern Front, chasing the enemies so desperately that they eventually cornered them into a low residential building. It was a hiding place for a mother and two children, civilians being held hostage. Though they tried with all their might, they couldn't save the mother's life. She was the first civilian to die because of them.
Since then, they understood to proceed cautiously and never pursue desperate foes. In battlefields, people always silently recite why they fight, but war itself makes one forget this. They once vowed on the way back, never to let any civilian bleed because of them again.
Logan appeared to be in great pain, so Captain America had to reach through the visiting window to grab his wrist, helping him to breathe steadily, adjust his mindset, and finish the interrogation.
Were it not for the gravity of the situation, Captain America wouldn't have wanted to press his old comrade at this time. But unfortunately, there were only two people involved and the other one was not clear-headed, tangled too deeply with the Phoenix, hence not a good subject for inquiry. Logan was their only hope.
"I know I ought to say something, but the problem is I don't know what to say." Logan almost roared, "Scott suddenly seemed to go crazy, starting by scolding me. At first, it was alright, I just ignored him. But he went further, suddenly starting to insult my comrades, even making personal attacks on my height and appearance. I really don't get it."
"Anything else?" Captain America asked.
"Then he began to sow discord between me and Jean. Of course, they were boyfriend and girlfriend, and since they hadn't broken up, I wasn't going to be a third party. But Jean and I were comrades fighting alongside each other. Is it too much for me to pour her a cup of coffee? I poured coffee for everyone; can't exclude her, right? Wouldn't that be ostracizing her?"
"Was this the first time you and Scott had a conflict?"
"Sort of. There might have been some issues before, but it was always him giving me the cold shoulder, and as you know, I'm not very sensitive, probably ignored many details."
"Did he come looking for a fight after that day?"
"Yes. He insulted me a lot, saying things like being a shameless third party. But I really didn't do anything. I explained to him, but he wouldn't listen and insisted on fighting me. I didn't dare to fight him for real, so I had to avoid him. But the next day, he barged into my classroom and started swearing at me in front of my students. I was humiliated, so I pushed him a bit, and he used a laser attack on me!"
Logan scratched his head vigorously as he spoke, "You know, there were over a dozen minors in that classroom! He fired a laser, shattered the glass, and even scratched a child's face. I was so pissed! Jean was very angry too, she rebuked Scott loudly. Scott actually cursed at her... God, I can't even say the word..."
Although he didn't say it, Captain America could probably guess. Such things are quite common; someone does something irrational out of jealousy, and their boyfriend or girlfriend stands by justice, helping the right rather than the close. Even if rationally knowing the other is just being kind, it's still hard to accept.
"Since then, Scott has gone completely mad," Logan sighed, "We were supposed to have a peaceful camping trip, and he wanted to go crazy again. I had no choice but to lead him to the nearby beach, the two of us fought it out."
"Who won between you two?"
"In fact, I didn't actually fight him; it was him firing lasers at me while I kept dodging."
"Why didn't you fight him for real?"
Logan looked at him incredulously, practically saying "Are you kidding me?" with his face.
"Although Scott can shoot lasers from his eyes, his body is just that of a civilian, not like Superman who could take a punch from Magneto all the way to Jupiter and be fine. If I swoop in with my claws, he'd be cut into several pieces."
Captain America also realized he asked a foolish question. Although Laser Eye Scott is long-range and Logan is close-range, Logan's claws are Adamant Alloy, scratching Superman might even draw blood, let alone a civilian-level Laser Eye.
If Logan were to really fight Laser Eye, Logan could make many mistakes; he has self-healing power, but Laser Eye could only afford one mistake, or he'd be torn into pieces.
And although Laser Eye is rational when his mind is functioning, he clearly seemed a bit frenzied then, attacking indiscriminately, he would be close in no time, and that would be the end.
Captain America rubbed his forehead, saying, "Alright, what's up with the power plant?"
"Pyro works there," Logan said, "Ever since the two Earths merged, New York's rent has gone up. Previously normal mutants could manage with a stable job, but after the merger, they can't anymore—they either work two jobs or switch to a high-paying job."
"Pyro had originally always worked at an American-style BBQ joint, not a high salary but a leisurely job, just sitting in the yard helping customers grill their meat by controlling the fire. You know, like a pool lifeguard. The job suits him quite well."
"But since the weekly rent increased by 100 dollars, his meager salary couldn't cover it. He wanted to rent a place in the suburbs, but couldn't find one, so he had to look for a higher-paying job."
"So he went to the power plant?"
"Yes. The Osborn Group offered a high salary, basically all mutants who can control fire would go there. Of course, they're not there to set fires and generate electricity themselves, but to conduct temperature control experiments or something. I don't really understand it, anyway Pyro got hired."
"Pyro got a new job, and after receiving his first paycheck, he remembered that many at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters weren't very well off, so he decided to treat everyone to a barbecue, and of course, invite his colleagues too. So at that time, Scott and I, one after the other, drove to the power plant to pick up his colleagues, and then the accident happened..."
"How did you two end up fighting?"
"I worry you'll laugh at me if I tell you. You know I drive pretty aggressively, and when I reached the entrance, I was going fast, afraid I'd overshoot, so I hit the brakes hard. But Cyclops, for some reason, didn't brake at all, smashed my trunk lid off. Then he insisted I was provoking him, and we started fighting. My claws couldn't do much damage to the power plant, but he fired a laser and somehow ignited something, blowing up half a building."
Captain America was indeed left speechless. Normally, rear-end collision means the rear car is at fault, even in America. Although Logan's abrupt braking wasn't ideal, maintaining a safe distance is the rear car's responsibility. Moreover, Cyclops didn't brake at all, which was really odd.
Normally, when you're about to crash, you'd at least tap the brakes. Not braking at all, plowing straight into the trunk lid with such force, it's simply outrageous.
The more they asked about Cyclops's outrageous actions, the more it became clear no one knew why he acted that way, and Logan was even more clueless.
Hit a dead end, Captain America, guided by Professor X, asked a few people who had a good relationship with Cyclops, but they all said he used to be a good person, no idea how he suddenly changed so much.
Captain America could only take this information back to S.H.I.E.L.D. to get professionals to help with analysis. S.H.I.E.L.D. also has a Behavior Analysis department, but unfortunately, they don't do much. The people in the department may have some tricks, but they lack the thoroughness. Even after emailing his teacher, they couldn't conclude anything from such a brief description.
Peter also took back a copy of the information, but he actually understood even less. His relationships were always pretty straightforward; he never even had a romantic rival, except for Harry.
But the nature of this matter was indeed too serious, and without figuring out what's going on, Peter really didn't dare to start building the magical defense network. If mutants truly lost control, wouldn't the half-built magical defense network be torn apart by them? The loss would be significant. If they really caused some accident, there'd be no way to account to the mage.
Peter was scratching his head over the information, until it was again the time for him to sleep last night. He turned his head and saw the bright moonlight streaming into the room along the window ledge.
Peter seemed to be stifled in the room, so he walked out along the window ledge, the curtains fluttering behind him. He leaned on the balcony railing and looked down, seeing many who were busy until late now returning home.
Suddenly, he felt his left side light up, knowing someone had arrived. He turned his head and saw a long cloak filled with the wind, although he couldn't see the face, he could sense the person under the hood was smiling.
"Hello, I still don't know how to address you."
"Call me Moonlight," the person said.
"Moonlight? Are you Moon Knight? No, I've met Moon Knight, he seems to be bulkier than you, and his clothes are also different."
"I am Moonlight."
"Alright, Moonlight. I don't want to pressure you, so just treat my words as if I were talking in my sleep. During the day today, I went to the scene of the explosion case, and Captain America also pried information from Logan about Cyclops Scott's various odd behaviors. Yet none of us know why he went crazy..."
"Distressed by love," Peter heard Moonlight say.
"Yes, I guessed that too. Probably because of his rivalry with Logan..."
"No," the other interrupted before Peter finished. He heard the other say, "He realized he didn't care that much anymore. He started out wanting to possess, but possession is never satisfying, and so he went crazy."
Peter paused, he was tempted to peer under the hood because the tone was too assured. But the person hadn't even looked at the files, what Peter just outlined barely allowed for such a deduction. So how did he deduce this?
A gust of wind suddenly made Peter dazed, and by the time he regained clarity, the person was already gone. He only heard a faint voice carried through the moonlight:
"Ask them if they ever quarreled, you will get the answer you seek."