"If the mastermind affecting Cyclops is a super hacker that even S.H.I.E.L.D.'s tech department and Iron Man can't catch, then it might not just be a hacker. Remember Ultron? The root of electronic life forms determines that they come and go without a trace, and the Human race has no chance of defeating them online. But we can take another approach," Peter said.
Captain America nodded and said, "That's right, this behavior does remind me of Ultron. It took quite an effort to deal with it back then. If Magneto had helped at that time, it might have been much simpler."
"Absolutely not," Iron Man shook his head and said, "Magneto doesn't like The Avengers, and we can't collaborate with a terrorist. Even the X-Men have always adhered to a principle of non-interference with ordinary society, mainly dealing with the Brotherhood. Professor X naturally wouldn't help."
"But it's different now," Peter said, looking at the screen in front of him, "This matter has involved the mutants, and now they are in a position to justify themselves. Professor X wouldn't allow anyone to scheme against his students like this. We can let Magneto catch this guy's tail."
"Let's go to the X-Men's base," Captain America stood up and said, "To defeat the enemy in one fell swoop, we must make thorough preparations, and we need to study this carefully."
Members of The Avengers arrived at the X-Men's base. This time, it was an official visit, so all available mutants came, including Magneto and some members of the Mutant Brotherhood. There were also reporters outside taking pictures. As Peter walked in, he glanced at the door and saw a slightly familiar face.
"Isn't that Superman?" Peter raised his eyebrows. He saw the other person's gaze fall on Magneto, but there was no surprise at Magneto's appearance at the X-Men's old base, clearly already familiar with the past feud between these two old men.
Peter couldn't help but think of his younger self; at that time, he also made money by taking pictures of himself. He didn't expect that in a distant Different Worlds, there would be someone like him, choosing to report news related to oneself to earn money.
Of course, this time it wasn't Superman who caused the trouble, but those laser marks were indeed too similar to his. Cyclops's notoriety is not as high as Superman, so many media outlets have already started slandering Superman. If Superman himself writes a report, maybe he could clarify for himself and earn an article fee along the way.
Thinking about this, Peter stood aside, trying to blend in with the crowd unobtrusively, giving The Avengers and mutants the best angle. Superman indeed clicked the shutter quickly. Peter, being a photographer himself, could see from Superman's expression while checking the camera that he was quite satisfied with the photos.
Soon, everyone went inside. After some pleasantries and courtesies, Captain America decided to cut straight to the chase.
"... According to our experts' analysis, a third party may have emerged between Cyclops and Phoenix's relationship. I don't mean Logan; you should know better than me, Wolverine hasn't really been involved in their relationship. There's someone else who is sowing discord."
"You mean Cyclops cheated?" Professor X slightly frowned, obviously not believing this conclusion.
"I know you think you understand your students well, but I remember you said unless necessary, you wouldn't read anyone's mind. Professor, Cyclops's loss of control already proves your lack of oversight, and insufficient understanding of their recent changes, which means you cannot rule out the possibility of changes in Cyclops's emotional life that you haven't noticed."
Professor X fell silent. Captain America looked at Magneto and said, "I know the Mutant Brotherhood often uses terror attacks to force the Federal Government and the military to compromise, but you need the friendly faction among mutants, which is the X-Men, to mediate, giving you a way out. Pure destruction doesn't bring benefits; all your violent means are just to force others to the negotiating table."
"But now, with such an incident, once exposed, the X-Men's authority will also greatly diminish, categorized along with you as part of the unstable ticking bomb group. The Federal Government and the military might not trust them anymore, making it easy for any limited violent actions you take in the future to escalate into a major conflict, even a full-scale war. That is probably not the result you want."
Magneto did not comment on Captain America's speech, but because of his silence, Captain America knew he was right.
The X-Men and Mutant Brotherhood have always played a good cop-bad cop routine, with the latter desperately causing trouble, creating terror attacks everywhere, and then after reaching a certain level, the X-Men would step in to stop them, and then the Mutant Brotherhood would state their demands, mediated by the X-Men, letting the Federal Government and military meet their needs, thus securing benefits for mutants.
If this incident was orchestrated by a mutant from the Mutant Brotherhood, Magneto wouldn't be negotiating with The Avengers here. But this time, the matter involved the X-Men, and the situation is clear, Cyclops's suspicion starts at 50%. With The Avengers having obtained solid evidence, there's no room for comeback.
If the culprit is exposed, public opinion will certainly explode. Most people will feel that the X-Men are nothing more than another type of terrorist, possibly even more brutal than the Mutant Brotherhood. After all, the Mutant Brotherhood at most attacks some government facilities and military bases, and the Americans' trust in the Federal Government and the army is very low, with quite a few ordinary people even cheering for the Mutant Brotherhood's actions.
But the X-Men destroy factories closely tied to the interests of ordinary people. Not to mention the factory closures leading to countless job losses, the subsequent traffic jams from the attacks alone infuriate an untold number of weary commuters.
After the double city integration, New City's living costs have risen significantly, many people have been pushed to the brink of collapse by pressure. At that juncture, whoever is exposed in a scandal will suffer greatly, the public will certainly vent their negative emotions on them, even if that person was once seen positively, the power of public opinion can completely crumble decades of hard-earned reputation.
Neither Professor X nor Magneto can absolutely accept such an outcome. If both of them become antagonists, mutants will truly be condemned by everyone, and The Avengers may no longer have a place for them on Earth, years of struggle will be all for naught.
So when Peter voiced his speculation that the mastermind behind this could be an electronic life form akin to Ultron, both of them breathed a sigh of relief.
They truly feared that it was Cyclops suddenly going berserk. If someone were inciting it, then at least a large portion of the blame would be shifted.
Mutants are unstable, management errors are management errors, but they go from principal offenders to accessories. With careful maneuvering, they might even be able to cast themselves as victims, which could be a blessing in disguise.
"You tell us what to do," Professor X said straightforwardly. "Erik and I will fully cooperate. As long as we can capture the mastermind and clear mutants of the guilt we shouldn't bear, we owe The Avengers a favor this time."
Peter could tell that Professor X was sincere. If he hadn't come again at that time and extracted some clues from Shadow Cat and Iceman, even the X-Men might have accepted it. If they truly caught a non-mutant mastermind, it would indeed be The Avengers' credit.
While Peter was thinking, Professor X gave Magneto a look. He didn't even have to say anything, and the other party understood his meaning—it's best if there is such a mastermind, there definitely needs to be such a mastermind.
"Cyclops must be emotionally unstable now," Peter began, "but definitely do not let him meet with Phoenix, so he can remain in this unstable state for a period, avoiding saying anything offensive that might provoke Phoenix. And if the mastermind's goal is to push him to lose control, they will certainly seize this time to take advantage, and we can catch them then."
"I'll be watching," Magneto said, "any fluctuations in telecommunication signals won't escape my eyes."
"Then it's settled," Peter continued, "I need to talk to Phoenix. She's Cyclops' girlfriend and might notice things others won't, which could help us understand the mastermind."
"Do you think we can't catch it?" Captain America asked.
"You probably can't truly capture an electronic life form," Peter shook his head, "it's part of the network, with countless backups, and can only be suppressed temporarily, not completely eradicated. Moreover, his motives against mutants aren't clear yet; they must be clarified."
The others continued to stay in the meeting room, finalizing the action details. Peter left early and, led by Iceman, arrived at Phoenix's room.
As soon as the door opened, Peter saw a very exhausted woman. As Spider Man, he had seen Phoenix a few times from a distance. She was a very beautiful, gentle smiling red-haired woman, nothing like the fierce reputation she had. Peter had a very positive impression of her.
But now, she looked utterly sad. Peter walked to sit opposite her and said, "I know I shouldn't come to you at this time. But please trust that we'll absolutely never wrong anyone. In fact, we'd rather believe there's someone sowing discord between you and Scott..."
Peter knew that presenting facts and reason was futile now; Jean might need emotional comfort more, so he picked pleasant things to say. But unexpectedly, Jean shook her head.
"You don't have to say anything, I know it all. It's just that..." Jean paused and then continued, "Everyone thinks Scott only started acting strange a month ago, but in truth, the conflict between us has always existed, not just one or two months."
"I've thought a lot during this time; I believe the problem lies mainly with me." Jean pressed her lips and said, "The sense of security I need is endless. I need someone to keep telling me I'm stable, I'm not a bomb that can destroy the cosmos, and I can completely continue the current stability."
"I don't know how many times I've asked him, nor do I remember how many times he's tirelessly comforted me, but I still don't believe it; I want more. I want someone who can give me a definite answer that I can trust, but Scott can't give me that."
Peter opened his mouth but ultimately could only say, "He really can't. Unless someone can instantly defeat Phoenix, no one can give you that answer."
"Yes, that's why I say it's my problem." Jean painfully closed her eyes and said, "Since the two cities merged, our life pressures have increased, which was the last straw. He started becoming more and more silent since Christmas, and I had a premonition he might leave me."
"But I really didn't expect him to..." Jean took a deep breath and said, "He's someone who highly values commitment and once described our beautiful future with me in the most sincere tone. So he probably can't accept not fulfilling the promises he's made, and needed an excuse for his retreat, which is why Wolverine became the victim."
Peter paused for a moment and then slowly shook his head.