Shiller knows very well that when dealing with an enemy who can be harmed by bullets, a gun is the best option. But in this world, there are too many people who can't be harmed by bullets, such as mutants. That's when the reputation of other personalities gained in the Battleworld becomes a good thing instead of a bad one, at least the deterrent power is maxed out.
Shiller jumped down from the top of the car and walked over to Magneto. The eyes of the old man, hidden in the shadow of his helmet's gap, looked as deep as ever, and when they squinted slightly, the fine lines around them stacked like swords, weathered yet sharp.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
"Of course, I'm here to see you," Shiller smiled carelessly and said, "Let's go inside to talk."
After saying that, he put on his hat and continued walking inside. Magneto hesitated for a moment but quickly walked into the X-Men base.
To Shiller's surprise, the X-Men were fully armed and looked quite tense. When they saw a stranger walking in instead of Magneto, they collectively froze for a moment.
Shiller stepped aside to let the group from the Mutant Brotherhood in. Magneto walked in first and stopped when he saw Professor X sitting in his wheelchair and said in a deep voice: "Long time no see, Charles."
Good, Shiller thought, it seems the Professor X and Magneto of the Prime Universe aren't on good terms yet, at least not on the surface. Of course, it could also be that they're pretending.
Previously, Spider-Man mentioned that the Avengers had talked to the mutants to explore the Multiverse. Now it seems they've only cooperated with the X-Men, but probably haven't managed the Mutant Brotherhood.
"Long time no see, Erik. Didn't expect you to bring a new friend. He is..."
"Sorry, I'm not a mutant," Shiller took off his hat again. Professor X's pupils dilated. However, in the comic universe, Professor X in fighting mode also wears a spherical helmet with an X pattern that obscures his expression.
However, judging by his body language, Shiller knew he was probably startled too. This is good; now the two have a common 'enemy,' allowing them to skip past reminiscing old grudges and philosophical debates, quickly entering a reconciled state.
"God," Professor X said, "what are you doing here?"
"That's not a question you should be asking, Professor," Shiller's tone was light, "You should be more aware than anyone else of what's happening in your universe. I was bound to come here sooner or later."
Professor X was silent for a moment, then said: "Alright, that's indeed the case. It's just that you came faster than I expected."
"Did you come so fast that you haven't had time to discuss whether to stand with the Avengers? I'm afraid you don't have a choice," Shiller shook his head. "Everyone in the Individual Universe is a natural community of interest. Even if you discuss it for days and nights, you'd only reach this conclusion. So now let's skip these tedious steps and directly address the key issue—Ultron."
Professor X and Magneto gave each other a meaningful look. Although it seemed there was no telepathic communication, their eye contact was quite efficient. Magneto then said: "When the wavelength burst occurred near Long Island, I already noticed it. But I didn't manage to do much."
"So you did do something."
"Simon Williams," Magneto uttered a name—the very name of Wonder Man.
Shiller furrowed his brows slightly: "Is he still alive?"
"Can't be considered alive, weakened to the point where no one but me can sense him," Magneto extended One Hand. There was actually nothing in his hand, and Shiller couldn't see anything, but he knew Magneto wasn't someone who would joke. If he said there was something, then there was definitely something.
"This is all that's left," Magneto sounded a bit rueful, "that electronic life took away most of the ions; what's left can't even form a complete wavelength. I'm trying to restore him, but whether it will succeed is still uncertain."
"What use is he?" Shiller asked a realistic question.
"If it can be restored to a complete wavelength, it can lead us to find Ultron," Magneto said, "They were once one, longing to be complete again. And this incompleteness is Ultron's fatal flaw—a lack of the cohesive force of a complete life, becoming more inclined to disperse..."
This sounded a bit convoluted, but Shiller still understood his meaning. He said: "At the critical moment of his transformation, you wounded him, causing him to change from whole to fragmented, and took away a part, making him never able to become whole."
"That's right," Magneto nodded.
"That makes it much easier," Shiller looked at Professor X again and said, "With this, you have bargaining chips to negotiate with Batman, and perhaps can extricate yourself from this incident. But you must also be clear, The Avengers have no way back. Once they choose to go to war, you will find it hard to remain unaffected."
"The X-Men will choose to stand with them," Professor X said, "I know it sounds terrible, to know they are wrong and still choose to stand by them, instead of helping the Batmen victims with justice. But we have no choice but to do this."
"Like you said, the interests of everyone in a single universe are inherently tied together. When something goes wrong in the cosmos, everyone has to bear the consequences. Batman is simply too dangerous; we cannot allow them to run wild in our universe. The best outcome would be to keep them out of the universe."
"You can do it, Professor. You are incredibly powerful, and Batman has to respect you. But that doesn't mean Batman will give up – he always has a way to achieve what he wants."
"Right," Professor X sighed and said, "Unless we never leave our individual universe, we will have to face him. But that's the Avengers' problem, I can only do so much."
Shiller looked at Magneto again. Magneto nodded, indicating he also agreed with Professor X. Shiller now understood the Mutants' stance: Although they seem to be siding with The Avengers against Batman, they will only keep dangerous elements from the neighboring universe outside their own universe, without doing anything extra. That is, they prefer defense, like the defense tower in a game, if you don't come in, I won't attack you.
With these two remarkable masters showing their stance, Batman absolutely cannot forcefully intervene. The abilities of Professor X and Magneto are incredibly formidable, and with home-field advantage, the Justice League has no need to confront them head-on.
However, if they are not allowed into the tower, there's still the wild zone. Doctor Strange of this universe wants to compete for leadership of the Multiverse; if he keeps hiding under the tower, won't all the monsters in the wild zone be cleared by others? At that time, forget about leadership, there won't even be a sip of soup left for him.
To improve his position in the Multiverse, he definitely needs to run around to gain support, including the process the Primary Universe Batman had to go through. But once he leaves the protection of his universe, Batman can target him; if he doesn't leave, his dream of leadership will be dashed.
The Mutants' original intention is like this. They don't allow Batman to enter, which essentially means not allowing The Avengers to go out; using the potentially contested leadership position to request Batman to show mercy.
This is actually most beneficial for the Mutants, because if The Avengers really secure the leadership of the Multiverse Alliance, they might turn oppressive, shrinking the Mutants' living space. So taking this opportunity to force The Avengers to give up competing is indeed a multi-faceted good move.
"Since you have that, clearing Ultron should not be difficult," Shiller said looking at Magneto's empty hand, "I advise you to first check out Stark Building, JARVIS may have problems. If you don't help Iron Man, this might become the last straw that breaks him, and no one benefits from him going crazy."
Magneto furrowed his brow, obviously not expecting Ultron to have developed to this extent. He glanced at Professor X again, who nodded at him. So Magneto opened a wormhole and disappeared with the Mutant Brotherhood.
"Alright, Professor, now we can talk," Shiller said, "I believe sticking to your individual universe isn't your intention, it's just a compromise to the Mutant Brotherhood. Regarding The Avengers and Batman, do you have any other thoughts?"
"It seems you know me well," Professor X's tone remained gentle but clearly acknowledged Shiller's perception of him.
"I think this could be an opportunity," Professor X paused for a moment before saying, "We can take this chance to establish a prototype of the Multiverse Alliance. And if we can win a beautiful battle, the mistake will no longer be a mistake, but a launching engine. We can gain more from it."
Shiller coldly sneered in his heart, indeed, worthy of being a member of the Illuminati, not a single one in this organization is easy to handle, each and every one is a wild ambitious individual.
"Alright, Professor, if that's how you see it, then a great war seems inevitable. But do you really want to fight it here?"
"I was just about to say this," Professor X said, "You cannot deny the role of war in promoting human development. Erik has always been resistant because of his past, hence the tendency to stick. But that's not the solution; we must take the initiative to strike."
"For example?"
"Any American should know, fighting wars far from home is the best kind of war. The battle should be fought, but absolutely not on our ground. We must have Batman attack other universes, then we can go to aid, so besides preserving our individual universe, we also gain a strong ally in the Multiverse."
"The idea is good, but how will you achieve it?" Shiller asked, "Batman surely already knows you are the culprits, how will you divert the trouble eastward, making him attack other universes?"
Professor X shook his head and said, "I don't need to divert the trouble eastward. The Multiverse never lacks ambitious people; everyone knows whoever wins in someone's territory becomes the one calling the shots in the Multiverse afterwards. Many would like to be this boss, right?"
Shiller squinted his eyes slightly and said, "But not everyone has the strength for it. Once it messes up, everyone suffers together. You still have to choose a formidable one."
"Of course, of course..." Professor X nodded and said, "I have contacted that universe's Professor X via the Doujie System. But whether to take on the mission still depends on themselves."
Hearing his words, Shiller had a bad premonition in his heart, intuition telling him: Someone was playing a big game, and someone was falling into the trap just like that.