Shiller slightly furrowed his brow upon hearing the news. He knew Batman's revenge wouldn't come too late. But if it was this efficient, then it was likely Arkham Batman who took action.
Don't forget, Arkham Batman is quite the speedrunner. And though he has his own independent personality in the story, the plotlines that players can alter are very limited, but when it comes to operations, he's not to be trifled with.
Not to mention those challenge speedrunning pros, even regular players, wandering all over the world, completing various side quests, and achieving full collection, only takes a dozen or so hours in the real world. If you're too much of a novice, you can always call upon the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow elder, with one gentle tap, anyone who comes dies.
It's been over ten hours since Charles' outburst. If this was in Arkham Batman's universe, the Riddler's trophies would have already been filled up. The fact that he's only blown up one Cerebro by now shows that he's being cautious.
However, what Shiller didn't know was that it was precisely because Charles was worried that mutants in their universe might have accidents, which led Shiller and the Gray mist to create some psychosomatic symptoms to make them come for treatment, giving Arkham Batman and his team the opportunity to exploit. This proves that one can't be too wicked, or else big trouble will come sooner or later.
About six hours ago, White Queen got the prescription from Shiller and went to the field hospital's pharmacy. The moment she walked in, the pharmacy staff looked as if they had seen a ghost.
"I'm so sorry, ma'am, without a prescription we really can't... oh my, you have a prescription. Then there's no issue, let me see... here's your medicine. Later, the doctor who prescribed this will call to instruct you on how to take the medication. Please be sure to follow the instructions..."
White Queen didn't listen to a word. As an Omega Level mind power user, she could even rival Professor X in psychic abilities. Even though she didn't major in psychology or choose to become a psychiatrist, there is no one in the world more skilled in psychology than she is. Could she not know she had severe anxiety?
Given her original family and emotional experiences, the fact that she never caused an ability outburst that blew up Earth was lucky for Earth. Compared to her, Magneto's original family was quite happy; compared to her, Scarlet Witch's emotional experiences seemed smooth. White Queen Emma Frost has hardly had a single peaceful day in her life: a heartless father, a drug-abusing mother, scatterbrained sisters, and a broken self.
Since middle school, White Queen has suffered from severe anxiety. At this time, her anxiety mostly stemmed from her father's extremely strict control, but after her brother's incident, it turned into bipolar disorder, which remains unhealed to this day.
White Queen found solace only in the fact that psychological medicine wasn't widespread in her era and she never received a mental illness diagnosis. This was very important to her since the Hellfire Club had recently been actively participating in politics.
In the Prime Universe, cosmic crises are few, and mutants have a stable home base, with a new nation established on Earth. However, the Hellfire Club did not compete for power in the New Xanadu Country; they stayed in America, actively pursuing Senator positions. Currently, Sebastian has successfully become a senator in Pennsylvania, and she is striving to become a senator in Massachusetts.
Previously, this was unimaginable for mutants; no ordinary person would choose a mutant as a senator. In ordinary people's words: "You can't be a nuclear bomb and also demand to hold the trigger." This was an impossibility.
However, with the development of internet technology, ordinary people have gained a deeper understanding of mutants, and many mutant influencers have greatly contributed to shifting public opinions in favor of mutants.
But the most important factor is that the physical quality of the human race as a whole has improved, and the mutant ability outburst disasters that could have been fatal to ordinary people in the past would typically not cause deadly harm now. Moreover, with the advancement of technology, destruction to buildings and roads can be quickly repaired, which is the core reason why mutants have gained more acceptance.
The Hellfire Club members, though believers in elitism, can indeed be considered elites, extremely sensitive to political signals. They are not interested in managing that small country or competing with Magneto in the Andromeda Galaxy — better to remain in America, striving for political positions in this superpower.
Even though technology has advanced, and times have progressed, the political atmosphere in America remains unliberal. You can use your various mental issues to garner voter sympathy, but you cannot truly be a mental patient. Once diagnosed, it will absolutely become a weapon for political enemies. So White Queen would never allow the fact of her mental issues to be exposed; she's even erased many people's memories because of this.
But this time was different, her mental state had deteriorated to the point of experiencing psychosomatic symptoms. White Queen is not foolish. Even if she secures a Senate seat, she still has to stay alive; heart problems are not insignificant. If it suddenly stops one day, who's she going to blame?
In truth, it's a matter of choosing the lesser of two evils. While mental issues have caused her some discomfort in the past, they were bearable. This time she was genuinely terrified; otherwise, she wouldn't have gone to the doctor and obediently taken medication.
Yet, even so, she didn't want to make this widely known. After all, she came from a time full of discrimination, where the only teacher who brought her beautiful memories abandoned her because she was a mutant. She herself feels like an unstable bomb, so if it became known she was mentally ill, wouldn't that be worse?
White Queen packed her medicine in a plastic bag and wrapped it with another layer to prevent others from seeing what it was, and carried it outside. But just at that moment, members of the Prime Universe Hellfire Club entered.
It seems one of their members got injured and came to the hospital for treatment. The White Queen didn't recognize the injured member, probably because they haven't joined the club yet, and she hadn't interacted with the people from the Prime Universe, so she hurriedly tried to avoid them and walk out.
But at that moment, a petite black-haired woman suddenly blocked her path. The White Queen recognized her as the Black Queen Selene Galileo from the Hellfire Club, also the Earth's first mutant, over ten thousand years older than the so-called ancestor of mutants, Apocalypse. Born during the tribal era, she once sustained her immortality by absorbing the life force of the entire Roman Republic, and was also very skilled in magic, resembling a vampire-like figure.
The White Queen and Black Queen didn't get along, both finding each other annoying, and the Black Queen had always wanted to kick Sebastian out of the Hellfire Club, but hadn't succeeded yet. Moreover, she had been eyeing Magneto, intending to claim the achievements of the Andromeda Galaxy for herself. Fortunately, the powerful alliance of Professor X and Magneto managed to teach her a few lessons, after which she vanished from the scene, seemingly in search of some ancient treasure, and seldom appeared at the club.
However, the White Queen only knew of the Black Queen's situation in their own universe; she was unclear about that of the Prime Universe. Judging by the look of things, it seemed the visitor had no good intentions.
The White Queen knew that the Black Queen was always very keen to recruit external forces, and with notable mutants from the multiverse gathered here, she had a vast selection space. Would she have her eyes set on her?
"What do you want?" The White Queen said without backing down, "I've never seen anyone more of an eyesore than you, get lost."
Though much shorter than the White Queen and far less strong, the Black Queen carried an innate dark aura, standing her ground with equal momentum. She smiled mysteriously and said, "Emma, we are old friends, don't be so cold. Why are you at the hospital? Are you sick?"
The White Queen hated showing weakness in front of others, let alone someone she couldn't stand. She snorted coldly, "Then why are you here? Did someone beat you up and you came for treatment?"
"I just arrived, but you've already been out. What are you holding? Is it a healing ointment? Let me take a look."
Before she finished speaking, the Black Queen attempted to snatch it. The White Queen quickly stepped back, immediately using a mind interference, but was still a step too slow. Although she had already put the ointment in her bag, the prescription she held in her hand was snatched away by the Black Queen, who, after glancing at it, gave a cold laugh and said, "I can't believe a little war got you so nervous that you need a psychiatrist. Don't get me wrong, I'm not mocking you, just concerned for you. Is your little heart okay?"
The White Queen was furious, but she knew that Professor X would absolutely not allow any mishaps with the mutants of the Central Universe. Starting a fight in a field hospital would first offend local Professor X and Magneto.
She took a deep breath and said, "Selene, are you sick? Why do you care if I see a doctor? Give me back my prescription!"
The prescription was for a course of medication, and she had only taken half of it today, needing it for the next time she came to get the medication. If that jerk took it, she'd have to go back to that other even bigger jerk of a doctor.
The Black Queen waved the sheet beside her face, then said, "Don't be anxious, my sentimental little darling, I just want to propose a deal. Though you're not from our universe, you can still be of help. If you help me just this once, I won't reveal your hospital visit to anyone. But if you don't help me..."
The White Queen was at a loss for words. She had come so openly to the hospital, and still feared threats? She stepped forward, using her height and size advantage to snatch back the prescription, snorted, and said, "Ten thousand years ago I was just a leek, and now I've grown taller than you. Get lost, shorty!"
The White Queen shoved her aside and walked away swaggeringly. Feeling the murderous gaze from behind made her feel oddly better. Indeed, reflecting on oneself was not as satisfying as attacking others. However, she still secretly warned herself that the people from the Prime Universe had no sense of discretion, and she should minimize interactions with them in the future to avoid falling into their traps.
Upon returning to her room, she received a follow-up call from Shiller. Following the doctor's orders, she took her medication and began to feel drowsy, so she lay down to sleep. However, not an hour had passed when she felt a knocking at her door. Opening it, she saw Magneto standing outside with a furious expression.
The two had some friendship in private. After all, vying for political positions in America would benefit the mutants, and the Hellfire Club and the Mutant Brotherhood had a mutual understanding in handling certain matters, hence their relationship was naturally not bad.
But this time, Magneto began speaking immediately: "Emma, you should take a good rest for a while. I've excused you from upcoming patrol duties and pushed back your frontline combat assignments. If you wish, you can return to Earth for a break."
The White Queen's pupils shrank suddenly.