A surgery lasted more than seven hours. When the patient was wheeled out of the operating room, Doctor Strange followed, removing his mask and saying, "The surgery was successful. The patient's vital signs haven't completely stabilized and need monitoring for over twelve hours..."
He paused at this point. The mutants outside were looking at him. Doctor Strange had to continue with the medical instructions. Magneto looked at him and asked, "What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing much," Doctor Strange said with some sentiment, "I just feel like I'm back in the past."
The two of them walked to the corner of the hallway outside the operating room. Magneto nodded and said, "I often have that feeling too. Today seems just like another repetition of days gone by."
"Mutants indeed keep repeating the past," Doctor Strange remained his sharp-tongued self, "It's normal for you to feel this way."
However, this universe's Magneto has a very good temper. He wasn't angry nor did he refute but simply said, "Sometimes repeating the past is a kind of luck, especially for you, isn't it?"
Doctor Strange was silent for a moment, then said, "Maybe you're right. I was just thinking..."
"What?"
"Nothing." He crumpled the mask in his hand, waved it off, changed back to Doctor Strange's attire, and walked towards the door.
When he returned to The Avengers base, everyone looked at him, but Doctor Strange said nothing and went back to his room. Main Universe Iron Man stood at his room's door, biting his nails.
"See what I said? The surgery failed, he must be very sad," Main Universe Iron Man said in a lowered voice, "We shouldn't have pushed him to go."
"You pushed him to go," Banner pointed out bluntly, "If you hadn't spoken up, our opinions wouldn't have swayed him. If anything happens to him, it's all your fault."
Main Universe Iron Man just wanted to retort when Captain America said coldly, "Go back to your rooms. Don't come out unless necessary!"
He knocked the ground with his shield, startling everyone around. Everyone quickly retreated to their rooms, including Main Universe Iron Man.
The stereotype from movies makes many believe Captain America has a good temper, or see him as a "Superman-like" sunny, kind, and tolerant positive character. But it's not true. Captain America carries a strong military demeanor and doesn't have a good temper. Usually, he's fine, but once he's angry, he demands everyone to follow orders unquestioningly, and The Avengers wouldn't dare provoke him.
Captain America walked to Doctor Strange's door, reaching out to knock but hesitated and stopped. Finally, he just stood in front of the door and said, "If anything happens, just call me, Steven."
After speaking, he turned and went back to his room. Doctor Strange heard his words but didn't respond. He sat silently by the window until he saw a figure sneakingly hanging down.
"Hey, Doctor," Spider Man hung upside down outside the window, "The surgery was successful, right?"
Doctor Strange was taken aback; Spider Man said, "I knew you'd succeed. You are the best surgeon."
Doctor Strange snorted coldly. Spider Man went on, "Mr. Stark didn't mean what he said. He's just a bit mentally unstable. That Central Universe's Iron Man scared him. When he's anxious, he babbles."
Doctor Strange didn't respond; he suddenly asked, "Have you ever wanted a moment where you didn't want to be Spider Man?"
Spider Man thought briefly and replied, "Of course. There are many such moments. When Uncle Ben died, when Gwen died, when Mary Jane wanted to break up with me..."
Doctor Strange reached out to stop him, then said, "These topics aren't suitable for discussion between us. You always make me feel like I'm not really suffering, just being overly emotional."
Spider Man shrugged and laughed. Doctor Strange lowered his eyelids and said, "Maybe I should go back to being a surgeon."
"You can," Spider Man said, "You can be both a surgeon and a magician. The Central Universe's Doctor Strange does it that way."
"I can't handle it all," Doctor Strange said, "If I go back to being a surgeon, there will be endless surgeries and medical records to write."
"Come on. That universe's Doctor Strange doesn't write his own records," Spider Man lowered his voice and said, "His good friend Doctor Schiller writes them for him."
"How do you know?" Doctor Strange asked in surprise.
"I often go to the Central Universe and saw him writing records in the office. They clearly aren't in the format of a psychiatrist. When I told Mr. Stark, he said there must be some unspeakable deal between them."
As soon as Spider Man mentioned Main Universe Iron Man, Doctor Strange's expression became unpleasant. He stood up, conjured a teleportation portal, and said, "Since he doesn't have any expectations of me, it's only normal if I can't fulfill the plan. Let whoever he expects find him."
After speaking, he left through the teleportation portal. Spider Man sighed, climbed up the wall, and went to find the Central Universe's Iron Man.
Spider Man said a bunch of things, then gulped down a big glass of water, wiped his mouth, and said, "That's how it is, looks like they've fallen out."
"I am willing to believe that the Iron Man in your universe didn't do it on purpose," Stark said, "But if he never pays the price for his careless words, he will never grow."
"Were you like that before?" Spider Man asked curiously.
"Maybe," Stark replied, "If I realized I was hurting others, I wouldn't do it. If I didn't realize, it wouldn't leave a deep impression. But I think I'm somewhat better than him; at least my anxiety disorder was controlled early on."
"He really needs to see a psychiatrist," Spider Man said sincerely, "Someday, I'll think of a way to trick him into seeing Doctor Schiller."
"Arizona State," Black Widow said as she walked in from outside, "The injured mutant has awakened. Her mutant ability is to sense electrical signals. She says she detected an anomaly in southern Arizona State. It seems to be where Red Orchid Factory's research laboratory is located on Earth."
"She woke up?!" Main Universe Iron Man said incredulously, "Steven's surgery succeeded?! Why didn't he tell us?! Steven? Steven?"
Main Universe Iron Man shouted towards Doctor Strange's room, but there was no response. Spider Man said, "I saw the light of the teleportation portal earlier; he should have already left."
"Left? Where did he go?"
"Didn't you ask him to go to the Shi'ar Empire to find clues? Maybe he's gone to complete the plan," Spider Man said.
Main Universe Iron Man sat back down somewhat awkwardly. Captain America spoke up, "Do we have specific coordinates?"
"The mutant side is still probing but probably soon," Black Widow replied.
Captain America clapped his hands and said, "Prepare for battle. Once the mutant finds the exact location, immediately launch the raid!"
In the anti-gravity laboratory, Magneto, Professor X, Shiller, and Moira looked at the holographic projection of the globe. Shiller spoke: "That mutant might have been sent by a certain force on Earth, possibly the U.S. Military or government."
Magneto turned his head to look at him, and Shiller said, "Right now, those who least want the Mother Module to awaken are probably them."
Moira asked, puzzled, "Why?"
"They think the Stark Group has already gained a huge advantage; even the entire Red Orchid Factory is under his control. Once the Mother Module awakens, Iron Man will reign over America..."
"It's ridiculous," Moira said, "Why would he have to rule America? Is that place really such a treasure?"
Shiller couldn't help but glance at him, indeed worthy of nine generations of wisdom, pointing out the crux. In Marvel, America truly seems to think everyone wants to rule it, but in reality, it is completely oblivious to being a disaster-prone country.
"They won't stop doubting," Shiller said, "Especially since Stark Group's technology level is significantly higher than theirs; they can only imagine the worst-case scenario. Now, they wish someone would storm the laboratory, kill all the researchers, and then blow up the Red Orchid Factory. If they can't have it, no one should."
"So they're letting that mutant bring us a message?" Professor X frowned and said, "Do they hope the mutant destroys the laboratory?"
"Exactly. They want us to confront Stark Group, The Avengers, or S.H.I.E.L.D. Of course, they prefer us to go against all of them, so they can watch the tigers fight from a distance."
"It seems everyone is intending to do that," Magneto said with displeasure, "Everyone wants mutants and other forces to fight till mutual destruction."
"Because you used to do this often," Shiller sharply pointed out, "As soon as there's provocation, you charge ahead. Just a hint of opportunity, and they immediately throw themselves in. Just a promise of some benefits, and you immediately go along. You're too easy to deceive; you can't always blame others for trying to manipulate you, right?"
Magneto touched his cheek, Professor X looked down at the floor, Moira cleared her throat. Shiller continued, "Send some mutants adept at escaping to probe there; you should quickly obtain precise coordinates. Then let two Avengers from the alliance go."
Shiller's plan was carried out successfully. As expected, this was a scheme by those who didn't want the Stark Group to obtain the Mother Module. The mutants easily obtained the laboratory coordinates.
However, the mutants did not meet the expected end. Appearing at the laboratory gate was another Avengers alliance. Unsurprisingly, the local Avengers were also present. Neither side was surprised when they saw the other.
The local Iron Man had already learned from the so-called drone wreckage that other Iron Men might arrive. Main Universe Iron Man had already guessed the local Iron Man also wanted Red Orchid Factory. Now, it's naturally a contest of who has the bigger fist.
However, the problem was that the Avengers from the Main Universe were missing Doctor Strange, who was the most vital force in a melee. The local Avengers, on the other hand, were all present, and because it was a home ground battle, they grew stronger as the fight progressed. Main Universe Avengers seemed somewhat overmatched.
Magneto watched the battle through surveillance equipment. If he indeed felt schadenfreude, he hid it well and didn't show it. After a while, he cleared his throat and said, "Now it's the mutants' turn to be saviors, huh? When do we step in?"
Shiller glanced at him helplessly and said, "As I've said, only when mutants are weak will they squabble over the ownership of a super weapon. If you head over for a celestial descent, won't it bring us back to square one?"
"Ahem..." Magneto said awkwardly, "So do we just watch them fight? Main Universe is about to lose."
Shiller shook his head, picked up the phone, and said, "Tony, it's your turn to take the stage."