The Conspiracy Revealed

Professor X, true to his seasoned social skills, immediately realized something the moment he saw the Licker. His expression turned grim. "Peter, where did you catch this Monster?"

The Professor X called out that name, Spider-Man shuddered and was about to explain something. Fortunately, Colossus also shared the same name, didn't think much of it and immediately began to recount the situation.

"Professor, when we were passing by a Church with Cyclops, we wanted to go in and see if there were any survivors. We met a Priest inside."

"As a result, two of these Monster attacked us. Cyclops killed one of them, and I held the other one back. Cyclops was originally going to blow it up too, but then he thought that the lab here might need such a sample, so he told me to bring it back."

At this moment, Cyclops and the other New Generation X-Men, panting, emerged from the stairwell.

The first question a young X-Men asked was, "Is it really necessary to set up a temporary base so high up? Wouldn't it be better to stay on the streets like the U.S. military?"

Cyclops, speaking on behalf of the others, asked a counter-question, "When you were patrolling the streets earlier, did you encounter many Monster? Did they exhibit any behavioral patterns? Or were they just acting on instinct?"

"There aren't many. Not even enough for each of us. I think they're just acting on instinct; they lumber over to any living person they see, trying to bite."

"Do you know how many Monster attacked the U.S. military when we first came to their aid? I can tell you, those Deadman Monster were densely packed, like a massive army. What do you think that difference represents?"

"Um... I don't know."

In a very serious tone, Cyclops said, "This means that the Monster that previously attacked U.S. military may have been organized by someone. And the Monster we captured should be enough to prove that these Monster were created by human intervention, not naturally."

Overwhelmed by the sudden influx of information, Spider-Man shook his head repeatedly, asking, "No, no, no, what do you mean by ' Little Bug intervention'?" Professor X explained, "It means, Spider-Man, that your earlier discussion about these Zombies being a product of the Vampires Plague is wrong. These Monster were created by humans." Spider-Man was confused and agitated. "Humans? What kind of people would do such a thing? The Lizard's potion, while capable of turning people into Lizard, doesn't have this kind of viral transmission."

"I know he once considered viralizing the drug, but ultimately abandoned that approach. What kind of person would create a virus that could kill all of humanity?"

They found some steel bars and pinned the Licker to the floor. Green Arrow Duck even removed the Monster's limbs and ripped out its flailing tongue. They only kept it alive, not intending for it to pose any threat. "This is actually a good thing."

A near-collapsed Spider-Man yelled, "What kind of good thing is this?!"

Green Arrow Duck extracted a vial of Spinal Cord fluid from the writhing, Licker and then analyzed it using Superconducting Quantum Interference Device. "The fact that someone made these things means they have research data, and they might even have already developed Antidote."

"If we can find a way to get our hands on this information, the work of creating the Antidote will be much easier. Isn't that a good thing? And judging from the way the outbreak in this city got out of control, it means that the laboratory must be in the city or nearby. Not too far away."

"Oh." Spider-Man, whose excitement had subsided considerably, suddenly realized. "So that's how it works. Therefore, we need to find the mastermind behind this, or the lab that leaked the virus, and ask them for Antidote?"

Hearing this naive statement, Green Arrow Duck was too lazy to lecture the Little Bug. This was purely a matter of values, something his Uncle Ben and Aunt May had instilled in him, and outsiders couldn't change it.

"Spider-Man, you can ask them for the Antidote. But let's make a deal: don't ask me what I want to do, okay?"

"What do you want to do?" Actually, if Green Arrow Duck hadn't brought it up, Spider-Man might not have asked. But since it was brought up, his deep curiosity naturally led him to ask.

This time, however, it was Cyclops answered, "Young man, whether the mastermind behind this is an individual or a company, do you think it's easier to get them to admit their mistakes and voluntarily hand over the Antidote, or for us to go and get it ourselves?"

"Take it? Shouldn't we ask first? Maybe they'll offer it willingly?" Just as Spider-Man was about to launch into an endless argument, Professor X interrupted them again. "Please wait a moment, everyone. Ororo is on her way back; she should have new information with her."

Storm didn't obediently take the stairs; instead, she led the other new generation, flying directly up the building. They landed easily. "Professor, I've discovered that the city's outskirts are under military blockade. The directions I've explored show that major thoroughfares have been sealed off with barbed wire, preventing outsiders from entering or city dwellers from leaving."

"Because the soldiers assigned to the blockade were not of high enough rank, they only knew it was an order from their superiors. So when I came back to ask Lieutenant Colonel Spaar, she claimed she knew nothing about it."

Startled, Spider-Man shouted, "What! Are we trapped in this city too?"

At that moment, everyone pointed to the location where the Blackbird Jet was parked. Although it was disguised with Optical Camouflage on the outside, the interior of the Blackbird Jet could still be seen by opening the rear hatch for people to enter and exit.

The Spider-Man continued to argue, "Couldn't they deploy anti-aircraft missiles or something to block the skies?"

With a hint of arrogance in his Cyclops, a flash of red light appeared through the eyepiece. "Young man, our fighter jets aren't so easily shot down." "Alright..."

Storm ignored the Little Bug carrying the pole and went straight to Professor X. "Professor, do you think the U.S. military below are lying?" The troops led by Betty Thaddeus Ross, Gwen Stacy, and Lieutenant Colonel Army Spaar were on the street near this building. Green Arrow Duck was more or less looking out for them, but didn't want to join them. That's why Storm said that.

Professor X, however, did not arbitrarily conclude that the U.S. military below were lying. "It's possible that they belong to two different units. The U.S. military is a large organization, and it's possible that people from different systems are unaware of each other's mission details."

"Then why are they sealing off the city?" Storm asked, puzzled.

Professor X bluntly criticized, "Because the mastermind behind this is well aware that they've messed up. So they're using methods to try and minimize the impact, or even cover up the truth."

"It seems time is of the essence; we need to take a slightly tougher approach. Not only to save the innocent people of this city, but also to protect ourselves." As an elderly man who had been in contact with the U.S. government since the 1960s, Professor X knew very well what these politicians and capitalists were like. Therefore, in the face of this crisis, he did not intend to wait slowly for everyone to nod in agreement.

Those people are calculating profits, but they are calculating human lives. Since their standards of calculation are not aligned, they are not using the same logic and therefore cannot arrive at the same conclusion.

Professor X believes that What If...? sacrificing the innocent in a city can maximize profits, then capital will inevitably make the sacrifice without hesitation, since it's others who die, not them.