Intelligence

Mystique was about to give chase when two crimson laser beams came howling toward her. She hurriedly dodged, and just as Cyclops was about to continue his attack, several huge stones came hurtling at him from the fortress.

Jean hastily used Telekinesis to move the stones aside. The two sides traded blows, and the battle grew increasingly fierce. Overall, the Brotherhood held the advantage, while the X-Men were unable to break into the Iron Fortress.

At S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, Nick Fury watched the battle in Manhattan on a giant screen while cursing into the phone. "Launch missiles? Are you out of your mind? That's Magneto. Are you planning to give him weapons?"

"A bunch of idiots."

Nick Fury angrily hung up, then asked his adjutant, Maria Hill, "What exactly does Magneto's device do? Has the Technical Department finished analyzing it?"

Maria Hill replied, "No. They've only speculated that the device may be related to magnetism."

"They needed to analyze that?"

Fury cursed. At that moment, an employee excitedly shouted, "Director, I know what that device is for! It can turn ordinary people into Mutants."

"Turn ordinary people into Mutants?"

Nick Fury's expression changed. He immediately asked suspiciously, "How do you know?"

"TikTok is livestreaming it."

The employee held up his phone. Roxanne from the Daily Bugle was broadcasting live. "Magneto has developed a device that can turn ordinary people into Mutants. That is his purpose tonight—he wants to turn everyone in Manhattan into Mutants.

"The bad news is that Magneto's device has never been used before. No one knows whether it will work or what side effects it might have.

"If it fails, you could very well turn into a pile of flesh. I'm not trying to scare you. With Gene Collapse, anything can happen.

"All of this came from a submission by a Mysterious Person. We released it immediately. The Daily Bugle—you can always trust us."

Nick Fury's expression turned utterly grim, not only because of Magneto, but also because of this intelligence.

S.H.I.E.L.D. was the world's top intelligence agency, yet he, its director, had to get crucial intelligence from TikTok? If word got out, people would laugh themselves to death.

Do I not have any dignity?

"The Intelligence Department is full of useless trash."

Nick Fury cursed, then barked at the employee waiting for praise, "Playing TikTok during work hours? Three months' pay deducted. Now get back to work."

The employee was dumbfounded. Sure, he had been watching TikTok, but he had provided important intelligence!

Nick Fury ignored the pitiful employee. After pondering for a moment, he instructed Hill, "Tell Barton and the others to speed up and reach the battlefield as soon as possible. No matter what, we must stop Magneto.

"Also, have the Military send fighter jets to circle around Manhattan. The moment Magneto activates the device, fire missiles at Times Square. At that point, he may not be able to control them."

Hill reminded him, "Magneto may not be unprepared."

"Whether he is prepared or not, we have to try."

Nick Fury said, "Now it depends on Barton, Coulson, the X-Men... ah, and that little Spider-Man."

Hill hesitated before saying, "Magneto's target is all of Manhattan. Ghost Rider should come out and beat him up, just like last time."

"I already sent Natasha to find him, but no one knows whether he'll act. We can't place all our hopes on him."

Nick Fury sighed, his resolve to build an Avengers Team growing even firmer. S.H.I.E.L.D. needed a special team.

"Come to think of it, Wolverine Logan would be a great fit for the Avengers."

Nick Fury's heart stirred. He had actually fought alongside Logan in the Vietnam War, though Logan had long since forgotten.

Roxanne's report quickly spread throughout Manhattan through TikTok. The citizens were terrified and fled frantically. They had no desire to become Mutants, not to mention that Magneto's lousy device did not seem reliable in the slightest.

Unfortunately, the Brotherhood had prepared in advance. Traffic throughout the city was jammed, and even the Iron Bridge had problems. Many people were trapped on the roads.

"Iron Man has been captured, and we can't get out. We're finished."

"No, I don't want to become a Mutant."

Fear and despair gradually spread across Manhattan. Andrew nodded in satisfaction. Once radiation waves appeared in the sky, quite a few people would surely be willing to trade their souls for safety.

The truth had always been a double-edged sword.

"Hmm?"

At that moment, Andrew sensed something and looked down at the street below. There had been a car accident, and someone was trapped inside a vehicle, crying desperately.

Just then, a woman in a mask and hoodie jumped down from the second floor beside the car. She grabbed the door and yanked, tearing the entire thing off.

The driver was stunned. Before he could say anything, the woman tossed aside the door, shot webbing at a sign above, and quickly left. The crowd stared in shock. Since when had Spider-Man become a woman?

This Spider-Woman was Gwen. She did not have the courage to involve herself in the battle at Times Square, so she had come outside to save people. It was worth mentioning that her web fluid came from the Osborn Group—stolen, of course.

"Gwen may look quiet, but deep down, she's full of adventure. Or rather, a death wish."

Andrew shook his head and did not think much of it. With him around, no matter how recklessly Gwen courted death, she would not actually die.

Meanwhile, in a building near Times Square, Psylocke finished reading the TikTok posts and could not help complaining, "Did Magneto get kicked in the head by a donkey? He actually came up with such a rotten idea? Forget it, none of my business. I should get out of here."

Just then, Psylocke's phone rang. She answered it, and a woman's voice came from the other end. "America's top mercenary, Psylocke?"

Psylocke said, "That's right. I don't care where you got my number. I only have one question: do you have enough money? My rates are high."

"I'm Pepper Potts, president of Stark Industries."

Pepper Potts said, "Psylocke, Jarvis gave me your number. It found that you're at Times Square. I hope you can help me rescue Tony."

"Rescuing Tony Stark from Magneto won't be easy."

Psylocke looked out the window and smiled. "It'll cost extra."

Pepper said without hesitation, "Rescue Tony, and I'll give you ten million dollars. If he returns without a scratch, I'll double the reward."

"Wow, no wonder you're the woman who can run things for Iron Man. You're certainly generous."

Psylocke smiled. "Don't worry. I guarantee I'll return a whole Tony Stark to you."

"Good. Jarvis will assist you. Psylocke, if you can bring Tony back, you'll have my friendship."

Pepper said, "My friendship is very valuable."

"I don't like making friends, but I like money."

Psylocke put down the phone and changed clothes in her car, putting on a daring high-slit bodysuit that showed off her perfect figure to the fullest.

Aside from her clothes, Psylocke brought nothing else, including her Katana. Then she leaped onto a high-rise and waited for the right moment to strike.

"Is that kid not coming?"

At the top of the tower, Magneto saw that Andrew still had not appeared and snorted in annoyance. He shouted down below, "Begin."