To be honest, the X-Men's first battle since reassembling didn't go so well.
They came to capture Weapon X, only to find Mister Sinister hiding behind them. Using the mutant ability of a "leech," he almost wiped out their entire team—that sounded too embarrassing.
If Spider-Man hadn't been there, they probably would have been captured along with the Weapon X crew for experiments. At that point, they'd either have to find a way to cooperate with those rotten Weapon X people, or their unreturned teammates would have to discover the anomaly and rescue them, but either scenario would have been quite difficult to stomach.
Since even more people were now headed to New York, and Beast's Quinjet had been shot down by the original Human Torch, S.H.I.E.L.D. told everyone to return to New York tomorrow. As a result, Peter got three days off. The good news was that according to his phone messages, Uncle Ben and Aunt May wouldn't be back until the weekend, so his absence wouldn't be discovered for now.
After taking all of the Weapon X members back to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s unreliable temporary prison, the X-Men discussed taking turns on guard duty. The first shift was Cyclops and Emma Frost. Cyclops looked at the few individuals, stripped of their gear and confined in special transparent cells, and asked Emma, "How did you know Spider-Man could resist telepathy?"
"I 'observed' a little when he came to find you that day. This young man's mind is protected by some stronger force." The White Queen made no attempt to hide her little habit of peeking into people's minds; instead, she openly admitted it. "When does the academy merger begin?"
"It begins when we get back."
Cyclops, seeing Emma about to speak but hesitating, curiously asked, "Is there something else?"
"Yes, there is. This battle shows how passive you—no, we—would be if there were enemies specifically targeting mutants." Emma glanced at Cyclops, then explained, "So, perhaps Spider-Man would be a very good external ally, don't you think?"
The next morning, Peter and the X-Men arrived at the flattened bunker from yesterday, waiting for their specialized transport plane. The massive Helicarrier high in the sky suddenly decloaked and slowly descended. It was a huge C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft, with the S.H.I.E.L.D. emblem on its side and a specially modified Quinjet takeoff connector on top.
As the transport plane slowly landed, its rear ramp gradually opened, and Phil Coulson, wearing sunglasses, walked down the ramp. He extended a friendly hand to Cyclops: "Phil Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D. I'm delighted to hear the news of the X-Men's reunion. It means our safety is assured."
"Pleased to meet you, Agent Coulson. The X-Men's goal has always remained the same: to find a path for mutants and humans to coexist harmoniously."
Cyclops and Coulson conversed as they boarded the aircraft, followed by the other X-Men and Jubilee. Peter was probably the most curious among the group. After seeing the plane, he roughly understood who had arrived.
It was the main cast of the TV series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., or more accurately, the main cast of the first season. At this time, Coulson's team was still one that specialized in cleaning up after the Avengers and other superheroes, and this time was no exception. They were here to retrieve the gene-splicer. Of course, after the battle ended yesterday, Cyclops had gone down specially to blow up the gene-splicer, so now only fragments remained.
Beyond that, there was the video footage recorded by Peter's suit's eye-lenses. According to an agreement between the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D., such data from confrontations with supervillains should be shared. Peter himself remained somewhat skeptical, given who knew how many Hydra agents were currently within S.H.I.E.L.D.
However, unexpectedly, on the way back to New York, Coulson sought out Peter, not the X-Men, saying he had something to discuss.
"Oh my goodness, it's really him, an Avenger."
A girl from Coulson's team gasped. Peter waved back at her friendly, then was surrounded by two others. The girl immediately asked, "Is your power a genetic mutation?" while the guy asked, "Can I see your web-shooters?"
Coulson politely introduced a few members of his team: "This is Simmons, the team's biologist. This is Fitz, the team's engineer. And that's Skye, our information specialist. Alright, guys, I have some serious business to discuss with this Avenger, excuse us."
The few reluctantly left, and Coulson gave an apologetic smile: "Sorry, everyone gets... excited when they see you. We rarely get to see a real superhero."
"I'm pretty excited too; I usually don't see people treat me with this much respect."
Peter said with self-deprecation, then curiously asked, "I read in the Avengers' files that you died during the Battle of New York."
"I was dead for about three seconds, then I stood back up. You can tell Captain and the others I'm fine." Coulson said, pulling up a somewhat awkwardly displayed image on the table in front of him. "I have something I need to tell the Avengers."
"Actually, I just joined."
"Yes, but you are indeed an Avenger." The image Coulson played showed the original Human Torch, who had briefly clashed with the X-Men. Coulson said with complex emotions, "According to our confirmation, this 'person' is Jim Hammond, a former member of the Howling Commandos, the first Human Torch."
Peter stared in shock at the fiery figure on the screen, then looked at Coulson, incredulously asking, "Are you sure it's him? That's... a figure from seventy years ago."
"Jim Hammond is a synthetic human; I highly doubt human lifespan applies to him. But the real question is why he appeared there. We all know the original Human Torch sacrificed himself on the eve of victory, but the official story—that he was shot down by a Hydra fighter jet—isn't the truth."
Coulson sighed, explaining the true circumstances of the original Human Torch's death to Peter: "At the time, Soviet forces were closer to Berlin. Western Command, to ensure American forces received the honor of liberating Berlin, ordered Jim Hammond to infiltrate Berlin and kill Hitler. He succeeded; Hitler's body was found charred in the bunker, but he also failed, because Jim Hammond also fell there... Subsequently, his body was transferred domestically, and shortly after, it was stolen."
Coulson looked at Peter. This was what he needed to tell Spider-Man. This couldn't be a mere story, Peter clearly understood Coulson's purpose in revealing this truth: the only entity capable of stealing and modifying the original Human Torch was Hydra.