Polaris looked a bit drunk, constantly stumbling toward the bar. So they helped her to a nearby seat, settling down on a corner sofa.
The Arkham Knight waved a hand in front of her eyes, then said, "Hey, Lorna, are you still alive? You called me over and then got yourself this drunk..."
"Get lost!" Polaris snapped irritably, swatting his hand away and leaning back onto the sofa, squinting at the ceiling.
"You're not drunk at all, are you?" the Arkham Knight said. "I thought you were going to whip up a magnetic storm and tear this bar apart."
"This is... the Hellfire Club's... establishment..."
"Alright, let's not talk about that. I heard you got proposed to? Congratulations."
Peter and Miles squeezed onto a sofa, grinning: "You're really not afraid she'll whip up a magnetic storm and bring this place down!"
Polaris straightened up like a carp, then leaned forward, baring her teeth, and said to the Arkham Knight, "Scram!"
"I'm serious," the Arkham Knight said, picking up his glass. "Speaking of which, you and I are kind of in the same boat."
"What? Did someone propose to you too?"
"That's not what I meant. I was talking about past experiences. I remember I told you before that I'm an orphan, and then one day I was adopted by Batman."
"I know. Then you became his assistant, and when I asked why you went independent, you didn't say."
"Because it was also a psychological shadow for me. We weren't close back then, so why would I tell you?"
"Okay. But I can guess that you probably hit a rebellious phase, didn't want your old man controlling you, so you rebelliously ran away to become a solo hero. Who didn't go through that phase..." Polaris said, dismissively sneering.
"The first part is right, but not the later part," the Arkham Knight shook his head and said, "I was kidnapped by the Joker and tortured for years, and Batman never found me."
Everyone fell silent at this, the atmosphere as silent as death.
Miles shivered and glanced at Peter. Peter turned and met his gaze, their expressions clear as "I knew it" and "That's Gotham for you."
Polaris seemed to snap awake with a start, her eyes suddenly clear. She opened her mouth but didn't know what to say. Finally, out of politeness, she said, "I'm sorry."
"It's nothing, it's all in the past."
"Really?" Polaris instinctively asked, "Can something like that really be in the past? Or do you just think it's behind you?"
"For a long time, I couldn't let go, completely living in the past, doing lots of crazy things, as if that would compensate me and let things truly be over."
"Did you succeed?"
"No," the Arkham Knight lowered his head, took another sip of his drink, and said, "For small things, that method works, but if the pain exceeds a threshold, the effect is entirely opposite."
"What do you mean?"
"It's like, if it's just a dirt pit on the ground, you can fill it with water, and even if some water seeps down, as long as you pour enough, it will definitely fill up. But you can't use the same method to fill a dried-up river, let alone a sea that's become a desert; it's impossible."
The Arkham Knight paused before continuing, "And if you're using someone else's water, trying to get from others what you need to fill your own void, that degree of scar can never be filled. You take endlessly, but the other person doesn't have that much to give, yet you act crazily, asking them to find water to fill the desert; it will make both of you miserable."
"Or say, he's more miserable than you because, from an outsider's perspective, he can see more clearly how futile your actions are. But even if it's just to give you a psychological backbone, he won't expose you. If he loves you enough, he'll exhaust everything to help fill your desert, and if the water runs out, he'll use his own blood. Do you think you can accept that?"
Polaris seemed completely frightened by him, sitting there blankly, even forgetting she was a bit drunk, then her hand trembled sharply, knocking the glass over. Luckily, Miles' Spider-sense was quick, catching the falling glass.
"Then why Wanda..."
Polaris suddenly realized that actually, Wanda didn't have any severe psychological shadows.
Indeed, they grew up without parents by their side, always wandering, but they had each other to rely on. Wanda worked everywhere to support her brother, and Pietro always did what he could, the two relying on each other through the hardest times.
And later they were found by Magneto, because in this timeline, Anya survived. Magneto learned better how to be a father, so after reuniting with the siblings, their relationship was decent, healing some of Wanda's familial traumas.
On the other hand, Polaris's biggest issue was that she ignited hope several times, only for those hopes to be destroyed. Her mother treated her well, even her stepfather was a rare good man who treated her as his own, yet they died in a plane crash incident related to Polaris. That psychological trauma belongs to a category of illness.
Wanda's psychological shadow is like a small pit, it can be filled up as long as more water is found. Magneto filled a part first, then Jarvis supplemented the rest, so she doesn't need more water now; she is satisfied with her current life.
But Polaris is not like that, the psychological trauma she suffered truly resembles a desert that cannot retain any water. For many years, she has been hypnotizing herself that everything is over, not paying much attention to her psychological health, causing the desert to grow bigger and now even a little water is useless.
Polaris was suddenly awakened and realized she actually had no choice. In various senses, she cannot agree to Quicksilver's marriage proposal, not just because she pursues freedom, but because considering her current state, whoever marries her is unlucky.
Her kind of psychological trauma cannot be healed by some person or a warm family atmosphere. But if she thinks it can be healed, she will endlessly demand emotional value from family members. But no one can provide her so much, no matter how much Quicksilver loves her, it's impossible to find enough water to fill the desert, which ensures this marriage would definitely be a tragedy.
Polaris took a deep breath and calmed down immediately. She tapped her knee with her hand and said, "You're right, I can't promise, absolutely not."
Then she took out her phone and started texting. Arkham Knight hurriedly stopped her and said, "Don't be so heartless, if you don't tell him the reason, you'll hurt his heart. But if you tell him the real reason, he'll get all fired up thinking he can definitely cure you, which will just be trouble when you handle it."
"Then what to do?"
"Delay." Arkham Knight said, "Just say you need some time to think it over."
"That's too much," Polaris said, "If I can't be with him, I should tell him clearly so he can find someone else."
"I'm not telling you to drag on forever, just a short period. If he can't wait during this time and goes to find someone else, you should give him a magnetic storm."
Polaris couldn't help but laugh. Arkham Knight continued, "Take this time to see a doctor, ask if there's any hope for your situation. If there's hope, then find a way to talk to him."
However, Polaris shook her head and said, "It's not like I haven't seen a psychiatrist before, I hang around Doctor Schiller every day, and he didn't say anything, did he?"
"You don't get it," Peter said, "Doctor Schiller's principle is if you're not in pain, then there's no need for treatment. Of course, he probably can see you're actually quite in pain, but if you keep thinking about letting this thing go, he won't forcibly interrupt you and give you treatment, which wouldn't be effective anyway."
"Think about it, if he suddenly approaches you, brings up the past and says you're still stuck there, what would you think?"
"I would think he's crazy," Polaris said, "Before this, I never realized the impact of that event on me was so big, even though Doctor Schiller already counseled me, I always thought that event was already over."
"But now that you yourself realize it might still be affecting you, it should be okay to go to him again, at least you'll cooperate with the treatment yourself."
"Alright, but we're about to set off, it's probably too late now, right?"
"There's still a day tomorrow, we can hang out here and leave for the doctor at dawn. Your problem can't be solved in a few words, but he can at least give you a plan, right?"
Polaris nodded. So at dawn, Schiller was awakened again. But this time it was the head nurse calling to say there was a patient. He thought it was another case of mental illness sent by the community, so he went downstairs and saw Peter and his group.
"Goodness, which of you is sick?" Schiller said, smelling the alcohol on them, "You sure you're not just drunk?"
Polaris stepped forward and gave Schiller a look. Schiller appraised her up and down, then said, "Alright, miss, come with me."
"...That's how things are." Polaris briefly explained and then said, "Do you think there's hope for me?"
"Yes, must be. There's no hopeless case with me." Schiller rolled up his sleeves and said, "In fact, previously we only solved your mutant identity problem, I knew this thing wasn't over and you would come sooner or later. But it's okay, it's not a big problem, I'm quite good at treating PTSD, your new teammate is someone I cured."
"You mean Arkham Knight?" Polaris said, somewhat surprised, "Are you serious? His psychological shadow was really..."
For a moment, Polaris didn't know how to evaluate it, even thinking about Arkham Knight's ordeal made her feel her own issues were not much at all, at least her parents hadn't abused her and she hadn't suffered any physical torture.
"Exactly, miss, that's the solution." Schiller snapped his fingers and said, "I know it's a bit of a scoundrel way, but comparative method is indeed a rather scientific approach for treating traumatic stress disorder. Finding someone less fortunate for comparison can ease your mindset a lot."
"What kind of broken method is that?" Polaris couldn't help saying.
"When you still feel you can bear it, you might as well ask Jason what he really went through."
"Are you sure he can bear it?"
"I'm not asking you to ask about what happened with Joker, but isn't the relationship between him and Batman much more complicated than with you and Quicksilver? They managed to resolve it smoothly, why can't you?"
"...Makes sense." Polaris suddenly realized.
So Arkham Knight saw the look from Polaris that kept glancing at him and her expression was strange. He had a bad premonition — he originally thought during the multiverse war, Polaris saved his life so he'd enlighten her and return the favor, but now it felt like he shot himself in the foot.