In just a fraction of a second, several white lights suddenly flashed, and everyone in the Hellfire Club of the Prime Universe was killed without any resistance. Even after returning to the Battleworld, their minds still echoed with the White Queen's roar: "Go to hell!!!"
The only presence capable of resistance was the Phoenix, but the White Queen was an Omega Level mind power user. In the comics, her abilities don't just rival Professor X; they can actually overpower him. She once effortlessly and easily destroyed the mind barriers set by Professor X in an instant.
This kind of powerful mind attack, even the Phoenix fragments within Phoenix herself, had to exert full effort to counter. However, for the Phoenix, only an uncontrolled state could unleash full power. It was at this moment that the Phoenix lost control.
Phoenix had no time to control it, nor any way to signal a warning. The Phoenix Force directly ignited all the cosmic space around the central black hole. Not even a black hole could absorb such a devastating force.
Very unfortunately, the Cerebro of the Central Universe was right next to the central black hole.
The address was chosen here precisely to protect the Cerebro. After all, the vast majority of superheroes can't face a black hole head-on. Magneto was practically invincible here and could excellently protect Cerebro.
But what they could think of, others could too. They thought that the central black hole had enough deterrence, and ordinary people wouldn't approach; those looking to stir trouble would also think it's a good hiding place under the lamp, thinking it's dangerous and that no one would come, making it perfect for plotting antics. So the Black Queen and others arranged for the Phoenix to meet there.
So, when the Phoenix Force erupted, the first to bear the brunt was the Cerebro. What's most fatal was that Magneto went to inform the White Queen, and he just wasn't there.
Fortunately, the thing he built was strong enough; under the ravages of the Phoenix Force, it held out for a second or two, giving Charles of the Central Universe a chance to escape — to be precise, only a chance for the brainwave to escape, the physical body certainly couldn't get out.
Sensing the annihilating Phoenix Force, Charles quickly transformed his life form, hiding in the black hole in the form of brainwaves, narrowly escaping disaster. But the Cerebro was completely destroyed.
Fortunately, Battleworld doesn't judge life and death by physical destruction. For an existence like Professor X, even living in the form of brainwaves counts as living, so Charles wasn't sent back to the Spring. Even if it's a bit embarrassing, he can at least recover; that's the only good news.
Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the Andromeda Galaxy, looking at the white light shining from the center of the galaxy, Arkham Batman squinted contentedly and then said, "The Prime Universe on the other side is full of flaws; you could say it's their biggest breakthrough point. I really don't know how these people became superheroes."
"Mutants were never supposed to be superheroes. The Hellfire Club is even comparable to Arkham Asylum," said Shiller. "But I didn't expect the Black Queen to be that stupid. You just casually sow discord with a few words, and she actually believed it."
"I understand these kinds of people," Arkham Batman said calmly. "Since I became president, quite a few of these elite supremacy advocates have tried to manipulate me behind the scenes. They just use their extreme ideologies to cover up their foolishness and weakness. A bunch of timid cowards who only huddle together."
Shiller couldn't help but glance at him. The words sounded somewhat arrogant, but coming from Arkham Batman, they were an undeniable fact.
Elite supremacy sounds impressive, but in reality, throughout human history, it's long been proven that this ideology is just a fig leaf among others.
The monarchic authoritarian system has advantages and disadvantages, while the "noble" republican system mostly outweighs its benefits, defects that cannot be concealed. Bringing together similar political systems from all regions and eras, you couldn't pick out a good piece of meat, perfectly combining the excessive exploitation of the monarchic system and the inefficiency of the republican system. This form of rule, which encompasses all the dregs of governance, could easily represent the unfathomable lows of human political wisdom alongside American-style democracy.
If you had to explain this regime in the simplest terms, it would be: a group of people who aren't smart enough but think they are very smart gather, used to discussing a smarter decision, and attempt to use this decision to defeat truly smart people.
Clearly, in the presence of someone truly smart like Batman, this kind of alliance crumbles at the first touch. Because an organization that believes intelligence is 1+1>2, turns this creed into a benchmark, and prides itself on it, is no more threatening than any single madman in Arkham Asylum.
After all, madmen are mostly invincible, with no parents, no ties, and no worries; these elite advocates not only have industries and attachments but also voluntarily organize to create trouble for each other. If Batman casually throws something over, they'll end up fighting each other's heads off.
This time was no different. Arkham Batman merely approached the Black Queen of the Prime Universe Hellfire Club proactively, demonstrated a wave of strength, conducted a strategic analysis, and offered a bit of minor assistance, which led to this disaster of flower blooming from the center.
They never actually entered the central region of the Andromeda Galaxy. In fact, they couldn't get in, and even if they did, they might not get out. They just wounded a member of the Prime Universe's Hellfire Club at the galaxy's edge, which successfully lured them out.
"Let's go," Arkham Batman took one last look at the Andromeda Galaxy and said, "This lesson is enough. The strongest part of armor is that everyone thinks it's impossible to break—once there's a single gap, sharp blades come one after another."
As the pitch-black Batmobile disappeared at the edge of the cosmos, this surprise attack was a complete success. As Arkham Batman said, the strongest aspect of Professor X is not actually his mutant abilities, but the legends about him spread throughout the universe.
After acquiring the Super Brain Wave Amplifier, Charles started a Mind Radio Station in the universe. All races with mind sensing could hear his voice, covering the entire cosmos. This made all intelligent lifeforms deeply aware of how powerful he was.
Through the ages, no creature has ever been able to spread his voice across the universe. Not only did Professor X achieve this, but he also demonstrated several times the ability to execute precise mind attacks within an individual universe. Even the Three Great Empires were helpless against him, and any invaders were merely courting death.
But this time, his brain wave amplifier was destroyed. Although it seemed like an internal accident among mutants, it exposed their weakness—only mutants could deal with mutants.
This is why Charles is so strict with the mutants of the Central Universe. He knows well that not all stronger mutants are more stable. Even though the situation of mutants in this universe is exceptionally good, not only able to sit at the table but even the first to start eating, it cannot hide the fact that mutants are indeed unstable.
If not for close monitoring, constant understanding, and thorough investigation, loss of control could still occur. One incident is fatal; this accident is the best proof.
However, because Charles was overly controlling, the White Queen was under immense pressure, leading to this accident. As matters stand, all that can be said is that suffering brings wisdom, and the training has proven effective.
When X Professor was fished out of the Black Hole by Magneto, he was in a very sorry state. Not only had he lost his body, but his brain waves were just faint whispers, and his soul was on the verge of dissipating. Magneto had to put him back into the original small brain wave amplifier, and even then, he couldn't be as prominent as before, just hearing a sound would be good enough.
Upon understanding the whole story, Charles sighed deeply, "It's my fault, I shouldn't have forced them to see the doctor. When Shiller questioned me, I should have let it go. I felt he wasn't just trying to stop me out of medical ethics; he might have foreseen today's situation."
Magneto said nothing. He knew there was no point in saying anything now. He simply returned the small brain wave amplifier to Charles's office. Meanwhile, the Avengers of the Central Universe had already gathered outside the hallway.
Seeing Charles hadn't returned, everyone felt a jolt in their hearts. When Magneto was presumed dead before, Charles already seemed mad; now with Charles presumed dead, Magneto might go mad too. For the sake of the universe's stability, maybe you two should have a lover's suicide pact.
"Well, Erik, I am deeply sorry," Scarlet Witch Wanda first stepped up and said, "War always involves sacrifices, and the Professor surely was prepared. The Main Universe Phoenix wasn't his student, her going out of control was beyond our control..."
"He's not dead," Magneto said.
"Sure enough, another one gone mad," Stark whispered, "What is that thing he's holding? An urn? Didn't expect you could recover ashes after being burned by the Phoenix Force."
Shiller, who'd had a conversation with Charles in the Psychic_Battlefield, rolled his eyes. He stepped out from the crowd, took the brain wave amplifier from Magneto, and went into Charles's office.
"I will never let them take back Superman's soul so easily!" Charles's voice was laced with anger, "I will make them pay."
"I'm afraid that after hearing of your grave injuries, they won't want to exchange captives anymore," Shiller sighed, "Now, it's time to rely on our abilities. However, their difficulty in rescuing people is much lower than ours, that guy who captured the Mage is quite troublesome."
"They can forget about rescuing anyone from me," Charles said, "Superman's spiritual power is almost depleted, and when they can't hold on, it will be their death day."
Suddenly, a rapid series of footsteps came from outside the door, and someone shouted, "Urgent transmission from The Sanctum! The location of the Soul Gem has been discovered!"