Shiller, first as a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent, returned to the previous university and obtained the contract signed with Charles Xavier from the principal.
Even though he was a guest professor, a contract was still necessary. On it was Charles's identification information, including an address for bill and contact purposes. It seemed to be a property of the Xavier family. During this time, Charles's parents should still be alive, but his current father is not his biological one; rather, it is his stepfather Marco, suspected of having killed his biological father Brian.
In such circumstances, Charles would never reveal the information of his important friends to his parents, so Shiller did not intend to inquire in person. After obtaining information about the mansion located in the Westchester area, he went to the New York housing authority to check the information. He discovered that the ownership information of the house had only changed hands once. Calculating from the age, it was about the same time Charles Xavier's biological father had died. So this change should have been due to inheritance transfer.
However, when the information changed, it was noted that taxes were assessed when the house was transferred. And from the tax amount, it could be deduced that this house was not the only property in Charles Xavier's name. At this time, New York also implemented a progressive tax system where property tax and inheritance tax for a single house and multiple houses were different. From the tax amount, it's clear if the house is the only one in a person's name; the more houses, the higher the tax.
Based on the specific tax amount, this should be the second house under Xavier's name, which means he has another house, and this second house is likely where he settled the local Erik from Nightmare World.
It's easy to find out the specific location of this house. Charles's stepfather Marco is not a good person and probably didn't like this stepson in the first place. After Charles's incident, he would surely kick him while he's down and definitely wouldn't accept any bills or mails related to Charles.
In this era, bills or mails are delivered by mailmen to each household's doorstep, generally placed in the mailbox, but can also be returned. That is, you can directly tell the mailman you won't accept the letter when he arrives, and the letter will be returned to the post office.
Shiller and Arkham Batman came to the Westchester post office, and after searching for a while, they indeed found returned bills, dismissal notices, and contract termination notices, all belonging to Charles.
One of the bills was about to expire, and it happened to be a property tax bill. The American tax laws were quite strong at this time, and the tax bureau became famous during this era. The tax bureau has a regulation that if someone's contact address refuses a bill or it is not signed by the due date, then the bill can be sent to his other address to prevent the person from claiming "I didn't receive the bill" and thus evading taxes.
In other words, after the Westchester house refused the bill, before the payment deadline, the bill would be sent to another house in Charles's name.
"Are you going to deliver this?" Shiller tossed the bill onto the table and then said, "This is quite a bit of money, and you know what kind of trouble the bill's owner is in. If you visit him on the deadline, you definitely won't get the money back. At that time, the tax bureau will be your problem."
The staff member glanced at the bill, looked a bit troubled, and said, "We will deliver it half a month in advance, but this person is really... We can't find a postman, and besides, he won't be afraid of the tax bureau."
"Give me the address, and I'll deliver it for you. If they can't afford it, let them deal with the Federal Bureau of Investigation."
The staff thought for a moment and nodded, saying, "Alright, if you're willing to take this on, it's even better. But don't say…"
"Do you take me for some rookie who knows nothing? Give me the address."
Having the address, the group hastily rushed to the house. As expected, they found an injured Magneto inside.
Who knows how those guys did it, but Magneto seemed gravely injured, even bedridden with his ability seemingly weakened. At least when Shiller and the others stormed the house, his resistance was limited, and when he used magnetism to throw lamps at them, the force was quite weak.
Magneto lay there on the bed, coldly staring at them. Shiller cleared his throat and said, "We're not here to arrest you. Otherwise, there's no way we could have found you under Charles and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s protection. We're here to help you."
And Shiller wasn't lying. The information about this house wasn't hard to find. Those people could beat Magneto into such a state and find this place easily. The main reason for not discovering it was Charles's desperate efforts to cover up, and S.H.I.E.L.D. was also providing cover.
But now that Charles was caught, and S.H.I.E.L.D. was busy dealing with Hydra, they completely ignored this place, giving Shiller and the others an opportunity.
"Constantine!" Shiller shouted behind him.
Constantine rummaged through his case and took out a bag of powder, which emitted a slightly pungent aroma when ignited in the room. Then he took out a small bottle of brown ointment, mixed it with a green liquid that smelled herbal, and poured it into Magneto's mouth.
Magneto coughed violently a few times, but his complexion quickly returned to a rosy hue. He tried to move and found the injuries indeed much better, so he looked up at them and said, "Thank you."
"No need to thank us, we're not helping you unconditionally. Charles has been captured by the military, and you have to rescue him."
Upon hearing Charles was captured, Magneto couldn't care less about recovery. He furrowed his brows and said, "He was captured? Where is he now?"
"In a military base on Long Island," Shiller said. When it became impossible to stop them, Arkham Batman went to track them, but the military had weapons of mass destruction, so Arkham Batman didn't dare follow too closely and could only roughly determine that they were headed toward Long Island.
Magneto flew directly towards Long Island. Shiller stood at the window watching his back, and Arkham Batman asked, "Do you think we can snatch them back?"
"I'm afraid it's difficult," Schiller shook his head and said, "This is the match point, the opponent won't give up no matter what. Besides, Magneto and Professor X know each other too well, we don't have an advantage."
"What kind of nightmare do you think you would have?" Arkham Batman suddenly asked. Schiller knew that he had already started looking forward to the next round.
In fact, in these games that test teammates' understanding of each other, it's clear that the defense side has more of an advantage. Currently, all wins are by the defense side. This is because, comparatively, everyone knows the people and rules on their own side in the Great World better, naturally giving them more advantage.
However, there's only one exception, and that's Schiller.
It can be said that people from both Great Worlds don't understand him. Even Batman has limited knowledge about Schiller, especially regarding his past. Arkham Batman even suspects that the agent may never have dreamed at all. What could someone like him be afraid of?
Because it's impossible to deduce, but not wanting to lose, there's no choice but to ask. After all, the opponent must have communicated beforehand, so this isn't considered out of line.
"I suggest we make an effort in this dream," Schiller said rather obscurely, "You wouldn't want to see my nightmare."
"Effort won't help us," Constantine lit another cigarette and smoked beside another window, saying, "The Ancient One can't hold them off for long. As long as that Magneto meets Charles, he'll definitely have a belly full of sweet talk to coax him."
"Now it's a matter of who is faster," Jack said, smirking, "Anyway, they all look the same. Whoever contacts Charles first and rescues him will be a hero in Charles' eyes, valiant even when injured."
"If that's the case, we are at a disadvantage because the Magneto we found is truly injured. Better not fail to save anyone and end up getting yourself stuck."
"Shut up, you jinx!" Jack shouted at Constantine.
And Constantine indeed spoke a prophecy. The Magneto they found, although he's local, because his injuries haven't healed, his strength can't compare to the outside Magneto. Even though he arrived early, he couldn't storm into the military base; in the end, Erik rushed in first and took Charles away. The score now came to an expected 3:3.
"Quick, tell us about your nightmare!" Constantine said urgently, "Don't tell me you never dream, this is the match point!"
Schiller sighed and said, "It's not that I don't want to help you, but I simply don't know where to start. It's a long story..."
"Then keep it short," Jack said also, "Did you go out without bringing your credentials, or did the tire burst during a speeding trip, or was the coffee too hot, or you couldn't buy the donut..."
"Is that the sum of an agent's nightmares for you?" Schiller said somewhat helplessly, "I'm not idling away showing credentials to people, driving around, drinking coffee, and eating donuts..."
"Really not?" Constantine questioned this.
"I think you should know me, no one here wants to win more than I do. But the fact is even if I told you, whatever you're going to face next, you have no chance..."
"But you have to say it first," Constantine said impatiently, "Tell us what are we going to face?"
"Schiller."
"What?"
"Schiller Rodriguez."
"Yes, I know you're the protagonist of the nightmare, and might be quite unfriendly, but you..."
Constantine kept asking, while Arkham Batman seemed to have thought of something and asked directly, "Where is the location?"
"My Tower of Thought."
In an instant, the darkness faded, and everyone could only see numerous Schillers standing before them. Wearing striped suits, carrying napkins, draping semi-long hair, wearing masks...
One pair after another of unfocused gray eyes, all looking their way. Arkham Batman gasped and then shouted loudly, "Don't move!!!"