Black Queen

Watching Strucker leave, someone beside the Black Queen said indignantly, "Black Queen, why not just kill him…"

"This is not your place to speak!" Before the person could finish, the Black Queen spun around, seized their throat, and slowly lifted them into the air. In mere moments, the person turned into dust scattered across the ground and vanished.

Casually glancing at the others beside her, the Black Queen clapped her hands and swayed out of the experimental area with her sexy hips twisting. She appeared to be walking step by step, but she was actually moving at tremendous speed. Before long, she caught up with the AIM soldiers who had left earlier.

Looking up at Alex and Bucky flying slowly in the distance, the Black Queen revealed a meaningful smile. Turning slightly, she called out, "Wait here. I’ll go have a word with him!"

Alex was in terrible condition in the sky. Because Bucky kept struggling, Alex had to expend even more mental energy to control Bucky’s energy wings. Alex’s Energy Control was not yet very refined, and he reckoned he could last, at most, another half hour. But in half an hour, they would not even have flown out of Poseidonia!

Alex glanced back at the AIM soldiers who had not fallen behind and hesitated. There was no doubt that taking Bucky away today was impossible, but Alex was unwilling to give up on him just like that.

As he hesitated, Alex suddenly sensed something strange with the energy behind him. Turning around, he discovered that a woman was actually flying after them at incredible speed! Due to the Savage Land’s unique technological conditions, flight equipment simply could not function here. If one wanted to fly, one had to rely on superpowers or have a pair of wings. That was one of the reasons Alex had thought of flying out with Bucky.

Obviously, the woman behind him had no wings, so she had to be a mutant. Yet according to Alex’s memories, there seemed to be no such person in the Brotherhood of Mutants.

"Don’t come any closer, or don’t blame me for being rude!" Alex took the initiative to stop. Ten steel balls shot out and hovered in the air, pointed at the approaching woman. Alex rarely dealt killing blows to mutants, even when facing Brotherhood of Mutants members.

The woman who caught up to them was none other than the Black Queen.

Hearing Alex’s warning, the Black Queen did not refuse. She obediently stopped, looked Alex up and down, and greeted him with a soft laugh. "I have long heard of your great name. Now that I see you, you truly live up to it!"

"Who are you?" The moment he saw her, Alex instinctively sensed a trace of danger and could not help becoming wary.

"My apologies, I forgot to introduce myself!" The Black Queen let out a coquettish laugh, her body trembling with amusement and her ample breasts jiggling constantly. "Selene, from the Hellfire Club. I am currently the Black Queen, acting as the Supreme King."

Alex’s heart shook violently at her words. Back then, Sebastian Shaw had provoked a war between mutants and humans. Although it had been quickly stopped, its impact had been enormous. Unfortunately, the bitter consequences had all been borne by ordinary mutants. Meanwhile, aside from Sebastian Shaw and a few others being captured, the Hellfire Club—the instigators—had suffered no damage at all. This made Alex’s opinion of the Hellfire Club even worse.

"What do you want?" Alex restrained his emotions, his searching gaze sweeping over the Black Queen as he quietly considered her purpose and why the Hellfire Club had appeared in the Savage Land.

Ever since it had triggered the war between mutants and humans, the Hellfire Club had almost vanished from public view. Only a small amount of S.H.I.E.L.D. intelligence still contained news of them. Now they had suddenly appeared in the Savage Land, and at such a critical moment. Alex could not help but think deeply about it.

"We mean you no harm." The Black Queen paid no attention to Alex’s gaze. She raised both hands slightly, using her actions to show her attitude. Alex glanced at the AIM soldiers below and sneered repeatedly. "No harm? Then why are you mixed up with them?" Alex did not believe the Black Queen was unaware of Strucker’s and the Brotherhood of Mutants’ objectives.

As he thought, a flash of insight struck Alex, and he suddenly understood. Narrowing his eyes at the Black Queen, he said coldly, "The Hellfire Club wants a piece of the Savage Land too?" The more he thought about it, the more deeply suspicious he became. He even suspected that the Hellfire Club had joined forces with AIM long ago, even earlier than the Brotherhood of Mutants!

The Black Queen neither denied nor acknowledged it. She chuckled softly, stared at Alex for a long while, then said, "Why can’t we cooperate? After all, we are both mutants!"

"You still remember that you’re a mutant?!" At this point, Alex could no longer suppress the indignation in his heart. Pointing toward the experimental area from before, he glared at the Black Queen and roared, "They’re using mutants for experiments! Don’t tell me you didn’t know?!!!"

The Black Queen was startled for a moment, then shrugged nonchalantly and said with a calm expression, "This is for their own good, for the future of all mutants!"

"The future of mutants? You’re just as shameless as Sebastian Shaw!"

"No, I’m not like him!" the Black Queen immediately denied, explaining solemnly, "Our cooperation with AIM is meant to preserve and strengthen mutant genes, thereby enhancing mutant abilities. Only when mutants become stronger will we have a future."

Alex snorted coldly and turned to leave, not wanting to pay any attention to the Black Queen. Whatever her true purpose was, Alex saw her as the same kind of selfish, self-serving lunatic as Sebastian Shaw!

"As long as we cooperate, I can give you the position of Supreme King!" Seeing Alex turn away without hesitation, the Black Queen hesitated for a moment before calling out loudly, "The entire Hellfire Club will obey your command!"

Alex paused slightly at her words. He turned around and stared at the Black Queen for a long while before asking with a mocking laugh, "If I told you to die, would you obey?"

When Alex turned back, the Black Queen had thought there was room for negotiation. But when his question left his mouth, the smile on her face instantly froze. Strands of black mist rose from above her head, sinister and terrifying.

"You refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit. Then don’t blame me!" With a cold snort, the Black Queen raised her left hand, and an inexplicable energy spread outward.

Alex could clearly feel that energy pass through his body. It felt somewhat like psychic energy, yet also unlike it—extremely strange. However, Alex was certain of one thing: the energy carried no offensive effect.

Just as he was wondering about it, Alex suddenly heard a piercing sizzling sound behind him. Turning around, he saw that a hundred-meter-tall building had come alive, transforming into a humanoid figure and walking toward him. Its two hands grabbed at him with astonishing speed.

"What is this?!" Alex stared wide-eyed at the scene before him, utterly unable to believe his eyes. This was the Marvel Universe, not some fantasy world!

Even as he marveled, Alex casually set Bucky down and flashed aside to avoid the living building’s massive hands. In combat, Alex feared he would not have the strength to watch over Bucky, so he could only let him go.