The new generation of X-Men (though not a single new face among them), consisting of only three members, quickly assembled. Cyclops had just made a few calls, checking in with old teammates to see how many could return to the X-Men. The final result was neither good nor bad.
"Bobby (Iceman) is willing to come back. Warren (Angel) says using Warren Corp's assets is better suited to helping mutants. Ororo (Storm) is a queen now. Rogue is still nowhere to be found. Finally, Peter (Colossus), he heard you were back and is willing to return, provided we can find a place for his family to live."
Besides them, there was also Nightcrawler, who was in Genosha and unreachable for now, but that shouldn't be a big problem; he just couldn't help with this mission.
"So, the X-Men are reassembled, but there are only five of us."
Logan said, slicing off the top of a beer bottle with his adamantium claws. All three wore Hank's newly designed X-Men uniforms, yellow and blue, but not like Spider-Man's tight suit; they looked more like some kind of combat armor, much more pleasing to the eye, though Logan still thought the color was stupid.
The team composition was also stupid: Cyclops, Wolverine, Beast, Iceman, Colossus. This team looked unbalanced no matter how you saw it. The most crucial thing was the lack of battlefield coordination and support. They used to have Jean Grey or the Professor's telepathy to coordinate and assist the entire team, but now there was nothing.
But something was better than nothing, as Cyclops always emphasized. And Logan's return brought them the first student of the new semester, which was also good news.
The funds for the teachers and the reconstruction of the academy would temporarily be provided by Angel's family. Cyclops still had an idea: he knew a place with ready-made teachers and students, the Massachusetts Academy. If he could persuade Emma Frost to abandon the Hellfire Club and switch allegiance, merging her school with the academy, then the academy could get back on track quickly—though it sounded unlikely, Cyclops felt inexplicably confident.
But putting that aside for now, the other two teammates could be flown to Madripoor today by S.H.I.E.L.D.'s private jet. Then the first battle of the new X-Men would begin, and their enemy would be Weapon X.
However, there was another matter to resolve.
"What about the kids?" Hank shrugged. "Never mind Spider-Man and Silk, what about the kid you brought, Logan? She seems eager to join the fight."
Logan, for once, looked troubled. "Jubilee, ah... let me think. In any case, don't let her join the fight. Her abilities are decent, but if she realizes she can be useful, it'll be even more troublesome."
"I agree. We don't have time to look after newcomers." Cyclops nodded. "Since S.H.I.E.L.D. will be helping us with this mission, let them take care of her."
S.H.I.E.L.D. had much more to take care of. In the S.H.I.E.L.D. outpost building, Peter was undergoing strength tests. A huge sandbag, made of unknown material, absorbed his furious blows. He had initially thought that after being affected by the Red Omega's death pheromones or after training, he would gain better control over his strength.
But it turned out Beast was right; unless his genes fully fused, Peter couldn't control this power. More training wouldn't help.
However, this sandbag could test Peter's strength. His heaviest punch so far measured 22 tons. He wondered what material this sandbag was made of, to be so durable.
"How's my condition... I mean, since I came back from the parallel universe?"
Peter asked his professional doctor, Cindy. It seemed because they were the only two in the training room, without strangers around, Cindy took off her face mask. As usual, she was sitting in the corner reading, and only looked up at him after hearing his question.
"From my end, you haven't changed much. You're just healthier."
Healthier? Peter wasn't sure what Cindy's standard was, since he couldn't perceive Cindy's condition either.
But after confirming that he was indeed fine and wouldn't turn into a human spider, Peter looked at the book Cindy was holding and asked, "What book are you reading?"
Cindy held up the book, showing it to Peter. Peter saw the title: Dickens' Oliver Twist.
"I'd recommend David Copperfield more... but the most highly recommended realistic works are Balzac'sThe Human Comedy, or Dream of the Red Chamber."
Cindy stared at him for a while before saying, "I've read them all."
Peter was silent for a moment, then spoke again, "I'm really sorry... to trouble you again. If I were fine, you should have transferred to Midtown School of Science and Technology today."
Cindy was nonchalant; for her, it was just a change of place to read. But now she put the book down, looking at Peter curiously, and asked,
"Why are you always apologizing? It seems like every time we meet, you're apologizing?"
"Because... well, I feel like I'm bothering people."
Peter scratched his face, giving his reason. Cindy sat there, propping her chin on her hand, watching Peter.
Finally, she decided to say what she wanted to say.
"You're really strange. You spend almost all your spare time helping others. And then you feel bad when you think you've caused trouble for someone else."
"That's because..."
"I can perceive your physical condition not because of you, but because of that spider. Your current physical condition isn't because you intentionally got bitten by that spider. In other words, the fault wasn't yours to begin with."
That was true, but Peter still felt embarrassed.
But Cindy had other questions she wanted to ask him.
"Aren't you tired of this? Even if it's just a small favor, aren't there too many of these small favors?"
Cindy, for once, had a lot to say, because yesterday afternoon she truly tried Peter's daily routine: patrolling, then fighting crime. Just one afternoon made Cindy deeply realize what New York was like, and what Peter's daily life entailed.
For the first time, she directly experienced how big New York was, and how many things needed Spider-Man to solve.
What she didn't understand was what Peter relied on to keep going. She wasn't one to talk much, but today she wanted an answer.
Peter scratched his head, unsure how to respond, when there was a knock on the test room door. Then Jubilee poked her head in.
"Logan said to report here. Hey, guys."