amaotonovel Chapter 3903 The Nameless Bat (73)
Chapter 3903 The Nameless Bat (73)
Chapter 3903 The Nameless Bat (Seventy-Three)
The moment the small mushroom cloud of fire rose, Iron Man and Peter instinctively raised their arms to shield their faces, but they were still thrown away by the blast wave.
Fortunately, the flames did not spread, and the shockwave was not a heat wave from an explosion, but rather a pure energy ripple. So although it overturned many unsecured items on the street and caused many people to fall, it did not cause too much damage.
Iron Man straightened up, squinted at the base, and said, "It's Magneto, it must be him."
"Do you think Magneto is just playing a trick, or that Phoenix is about to unleash her power but Magneto stops her?"
Iron Man slowly shook his head, his expression turning very serious. He adjusted the channel within his Iron Man suit and quickly connected with Professor X.
"Hello, Professor Xavier, I'm Iron Man from the Avengers. I see there's a fire at the X-Men's base. What happened? Do you need help?"
Peter stood by, watching Iron Man and Professor X communicate. After a long pause, Iron Man said, "He invited us in, but I suggest you don't. Your magic is unreliable..."
"No, I actually suggest you don't go in. Have you forgotten? If my life is in danger, the god I believe in will pull me into his divine realm. No one can kill me, not even the Phoenix. But you're different. If the Phoenix really erupts..."
"Then it's no use for me to hide at the ends of the universe." Iron Man waved his hand. "Forget it, let's both go in together."
The two returned to the base's main gate. This time, someone finally came out to greet them. Seeing Mystique, Peter knew Iron Man was right—Magneto had probably really come.
The group walked into the base, the motion-activated lights turning on. When they arrived at the office, only Professor X was there. But Peter felt they weren't intentionally hiding Magneto; after all, their feud was known worldwide, and hiding him now was too late. Magneto was most likely doing something only he could handle.
Thinking about this, Peter's heart sank even further. He looked into Professor X's blue eyes, which had remained unchanged for decades, and simply couldn't believe that he could be the culprit behind all of this.
But Peter couldn't help but have his doubts. Cyclops and Wolverine weren't rivals for love all along, and if Wolverine were such an impulsive person, he would have gone mad the very first day Cyclops and Phoenix started dating.
But in reality, according to Captain America, while Logan's fighting style is fierce, much like a wolverine roaming the prairie, he also possesses a shrewdness and cunning unique to small animals. He would never be the one to make things ugly first.
And this is especially true of Cyclops. He might have been a bit impulsive when he first debuted, but after so many years of honing his skills, he's no longer that naive young man. If he didn't possess a certain reassuring quality, Phoenix wouldn't have been interested in him.
In conclusion, while these two don't get along, it's far from a life-or-death duel. If no one sows discord, even if Phoenix marries one of them, at most they'll just skip the wedding; they won't do anything more outrageous.
So who exactly is stirring things up?
This brings us to the current point in time. This didn't happen before because the two Earths hadn't merged. After the merger, who among the mutants was most affected? Of course, it was Magneto, who was at odds with Superman.
With Superman and Wonder Woman, who are determined to eradicate evil, the Brotherhood of Mutants can no longer be so smug. This also takes a blow to Magneto's reputation. He used to force the federal government to compromise through terrorism, but now there are people he can't handle, and the federal government certainly won't give him a friendly look.
Is it possible that Professor X deliberately orchestrated this accident for Magneto's sake, to frame Superman?
As long as we cause Superman some trouble and prevent him from restraining Magneto for a while, the other party will naturally recoup their losses with interest.
Peter had this suspicion, but he couldn't be sure. His suspicion stemmed from the very depth of the entanglement between Professor X and Magneto.
Peter is a person who understands love very well. He has the capacity to accept love from others, and also the capacity to love others. Therefore, he understands very well that simple love or simple hate is not enough to bring these two people to where they are today. It must be a tangled web of love and hate, and mutual indebtedness, that has brought them together in such a deep connection.
This relationship is far from healthy; the main reason they haven't separated is probably that they haven't finished settling their scores. Under these circumstances, it wouldn't be surprising if these two eccentric individuals did something drastic.
Peter observed Professor X carefully. He wasn't his usual smiling self; instead, he looked worried, the wrinkles on his face revealing the marks of time. However, Peter remained vigilant, because such people were always adept at feigning weakness.
"You came from the scene of the bombing?" Professor X said. In the past, he would have added, "Don't worry, I didn't read your minds, I just deduced it," but now he clearly wasn't in the mood for that.
"I'm sorry, destroying the building was not our intention. Were there any casualties?"
That would be tantamount to admitting it. Peter had to overturn his previous guess—it seemed Professor X hadn't intended to frame Superman, so this was indeed very likely just an accident.
"We're still tallying the numbers," Iron Man said, offering no specific answer. There were workers in the factory at the time, but thankfully, the fight between the two men was quite loud, and most people would have run away upon hearing the noise. So, by the time he unleashed his ultimate attack, there probably weren't many people left in the building. If they had found truly gruesome corpses, the alert level wouldn't be what it is now, so most likely there were no fatalities, though there were certainly injuries.
Professor X sighed deeply and said, "I am truly sorry; it is all my fault. I never imagined that my negligence would lead to such a tragedy."
“Wait a minute,” Peter said, “tell me what happened first.”
"You should have figured it out by now, right? That laser that cut through the house was created by Scott. He couldn't catch Logan, so he used an area-of-effect attack in a fit of anger."
“We’re more concerned about where they are right now,” Iron Man said. “Don’t tell me you still want to protect your students even after something like this.”
"Of course not, the X-Men have already locked them up separately. It's just that Phoenix... you know, we can't completely control her. Even with Magneto around, she still caused trouble."
"So what exactly happened? Did they fight because of their relationship?"
"I guess so. It started as a minor conflict, like someone saying something to someone else, and then it gradually escalated into a verbal altercation. Later, when we went camping, they got into a fight on the beach. If I had taken it more seriously then..."
“Get to the point, Professor,” Peter had to remind him; he simply didn’t have time to listen to Professor X’s confession.
“And then it just spiraled out of control.” Professor X couldn’t help but press his thumb and middle finger against his temples. “I reprimanded them, but I didn’t realize they were already out of control. The verbal reprimands had no effect, and things escalated to the point where they blew up a coal-fired power plant, and then today—Scott cut the building open with a laser.”
“This shouldn’t happen,” Iron Man said, “especially when you’re Professor X. Can’t you take a moment to care about their mental health?”
“I don’t easily read other people’s minds unless absolutely necessary,” Professor X said, shaking his head. “It’s even less likely for my own students. Of course, this also stems from my arrogance. I thought that using psychology and pedagogy would be enough to manage them, but I never expected something like this to happen.”
"Alright, let's not talk about anything else. Why did they have to fight now? What triggered them?"
“That’s what I’m wondering about too,” Professor X said. “Their emotional outbursts were definitely not normal. I’m considering using mind reading, but you know, Phoenix…”
Iron Man couldn't help but sigh. To be honest, although the Avengers would mostly have to clean up this mess, he could still empathize with Professor X.
It is not an easy task for anyone to store and manage so many nuclear bombs. What is even more frightening is that these nuclear bombs can undergo chemical reactions, and if not handled properly, they can cause a chain reaction of explosions.
Now, Cyclops Scott has caused a major disaster, but punishing him, or even just investigating him, will trigger an emotional reaction from Jean Grey, the Phoenix. Regardless of Jean Grey's intentions, any emotional fluctuations she experiences will allow the Phoenix Force to exploit her vulnerability and ultimately cause its unleashing.
Even if Phoenix chooses to stand on the side of justice, it doesn't mean she won't be heartbroken. Even before the trial, when she learns that the two sides are fighting for him, she will undoubtedly feel both anger and sadness. Phoenix probably ran out like that just now; if Magneto hadn't arrived quickly, the fire would have burned far beyond the base.
Now, any action against Cyclops must be taken with extreme caution. To deal with him, they must first get past Phoenix, but Phoenix is clearly not in a position to think calmly right now. Even if they put her in Alpha Centauri, the Phoenix Force could still potentially burn the Earth if it were to erupt. It's simply impossible to handle.
Iron Man was having a headache, but Peter said, "I went to the scene of the battle. Wolverine Logan left claw marks on the wall to escape. He was clearly the calmer one and didn't want to clash with Cyclops. Why don't you ask him?"
“In fact, I asked him immediately,” Professor X said, “but he said he didn’t know either, and even felt confused. He said that Cyclops seemed to have become a different person, frequently causing him trouble, escalating from verbal mockery to physical violence, but he didn’t know why the other party would do this.”
"So Logan is innocent?" Iron Man asked.
"We can't rule out his suspicion yet, so he's still being held in custody. But judging from their behavior, Logan is definitely calmer. Would you like to see him?" Professor X said. "I know we'll probably have to trouble the Avengers again this time. To show our sincerity, the X-Men can let you question them yourselves. But considering the danger of Cyclops and Phoenix, we probably can't let you contact them until Magneto has completely subdued them. However, Logan is less dangerous and more level-headed, so you could see him."
Peter and Iron Man exchanged a glance. Iron Man pressed his earpiece and nodded, saying, "Okay, the Avengers should indeed see Logan—but not us, Captain America will be here shortly."