In the Marvel Universe: I can summon items from all dimensions.

Legend has it that there is a magic castle ♫~ and an extraordinary queen ♫~~ every fairy receives her guidance ♫~ and all hope for a better world ♫~

Mason held a pink, gaudy, heart-shaped, glowing plastic stick in his hand, which was singing merrily.

Could this be the legendary... magical girl transformation device?

With this unrealistic idea in mind, Mason examined the thing carefully, turning it over and over again.

He pried open the screw at the bottom of the stick with his fingernail and saw its internal structure—a plastic shell containing a circuit board, button battery, filament, and small speaker, among other components. However, the crudeness of the workmanship could only be described as tragic; it was the kind of product that no one would buy at the night market if it cost more than twenty dollars.

Although it's sad, this does seem to be just a street vendor craft item.

I'd rather just pull out a roll of toilet paper... at least that stuff won't make me look like a psychopath.

After hesitating for a moment, Mason stuffed the thing into his clothes—although he really wanted to break it and throw it in the toilet right away, it was something he had pulled out of another world, so he decided to keep it as a souvenir.

Mason has a bit of a squirrel party mentality. As long as there is enough space in his backpack, he will carry all the items he can pick up, even those that seem particularly absurd.

He then wheeled himself out of the restroom, bought some snacks and drinks from a vending machine as he passed by, and leisurely returned to his ward.

It was early morning, and Lorna in the ward had also woken up. Just like yesterday, she silently began reading the book she carried with her—no wonder they say this is a world that judges by appearances. With her looks, even such a simple action was pleasing to the eye, possessing a wonderfully literary, girlish charm.

Mason wheeled himself to the bedside, glanced at her, then took a can of coconut milk latte from a plastic bag and handed it to her.

"If you don't mind."

He smiled and said, "Although a night has passed, how about considering it a greeting gift between fellow patients?"

"..."

Lorna glanced at him with some surprise, hesitated for a moment, then took the drink with a somewhat bewildered expression, nodded, and whispered, "...Thank you."

Mason didn't say anything more and turned to get into his hospital bed.

He didn't do this out of any utilitarian motive, because he, Mei, was a person who liked to make friends. When he was hospitalized, he casually gave small gifts to the patients in the vicinity, which was just a casual thing to do and had nothing to do with the identity of the other party.

Of course, he was indeed very interested in Lorna Dane, but not so much that it would change his ways.

After lying down, Mason first secretly slipped the fairy wand under his pillow, then took out the second-hand phone he had just bought yesterday and visited a news website again—since he had nothing better to do, he planned to read as many reports about superheroes as possible during his hospital stay to better understand his next course of action.

On the next bed, Lorna's gaze darted back and forth between the soda can in her hand and Mason's face. After pursing her lips and hesitating for a while, she rummaged through the large handbag on the bedside table, found a hardcover book that looked like it had just been opened, glanced at Mason again, cleared her throat, and coughed lightly.

Mason looked up at her and saw her lean closer, bending down to hand him the new book.

"?"

"...Return gift."

Lorna blinked: "Take it."

"You're too kind." Mason readily accepted the book, glanced at the cover, and raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Jung's autobiography? Do you have any knowledge of psychology?"

"I'm just interested."

Lorna nodded, then shrank back, seemingly intending to continue reading the book she had just put down.

Mason thought for a moment and decided to continue the conversation.

"Mason," he began, "Cesare Lee Mason, that's my name."

She hesitated for a moment before lowering her head and whispering, "Lorna, Lorna Dane."

The attitude is a bit subtle...

It's not so much that I dislike him, but more like... mild social anxiety?

This is interesting. Although he doesn't know much about her, Mason knows that "Polaris" Lorna Dane is a mentally ill person who can get a certificate for bipolar disorder from the hospital. She doesn't seem to fit the socially anxious type at all. If it were yesterday, he might have doubted that he had mistaken her for someone else, but now that the name matches, the only thing he can doubt is...

Is this how Lorna Dane is in this timeline, or rather... has her mind been tampered with?

While it may be impolite to say this, in the Marvel Universe, you might see a hundred people brainwashed for different reasons on the street even when you're just going out to buy a pack of cigarettes—so Mr. Charles of Xavier's Academy for Gifted Youngsters, do you have any clues?

It seems we need to come up with some countermeasures to prevent mind reading, like Magneto's helmet.

Until you have those conditions, it's best to avoid people with psychic abilities—although it's not something you can just avoid, but you should at least try.

Mason's inner thoughts didn't affect his outward demeanor. After hearing Lorna's self-introduction, he chuckled nonchalantly, then raised his chin and said curiously, "To be honest, I've been curious all night—your hair and eyes…are they special effects makeup?"

"This?" Lorna twirled a strand of deep emerald green curly hair around her index finger and replied calmly, "I'm a mutant, this is how I've always looked."

Huh?

He hadn't expected such a straightforward answer.

According to the results of yesterday's investigation, although the conflict between humans and mutants has not yet escalated to the level of the original X-Men trilogy, various related conflicts have never been lacking. After all, these are two ethnic groups with significant physiological differences. How could the contradictions and conflicts between them be less than issues such as skin color and culture?

In fact, since the last century, there have been constant calls for the government to introduce relevant laws and policies, and even for the organization of witch hunts. Fortunately, each time these events have been suppressed. In addition, various powerful figures have often intervened to divert attention from the issue, so the peace on the surface has been maintained.

Ultimately, discrimination against mutants has never ceased. Many people may not necessarily harbor much malice; they are simply instinctively wary of those who are different. However, when this mindset is amplified to a base of millions or even billions, the resulting malice becomes extremely terrifying.

After all, most individuals who make up the mutant race are either Epsilons or Deltas, not necessarily much different from humans. Moreover, they often have terrifying mutations such as being covered in hair or having an extra limb or two. Although it's tragic, it's perfectly normal for such beings to be feared. Over time, this has become one of the reasons why mutants are feared and resented.

From Mason's own perspective, he disliked, even loathed, this social atmosphere, but what grounds could he use to criticize ordinary people who were simply trying to protect their own safety? At least for now, all he could do was try to be as fair as possible.

In short, generally speaking, mutants like Lorna, whose physiological characteristics differ from humans by only a small percentage, choose to conceal their identities. As the saying goes, it's better to avoid trouble than to cause trouble. Even if it doesn't necessarily cause any real trouble, being feared, avoided, or even verbally abused for no reason is not pleasant.

But that's exactly what she did.

interesting.

"Oh, I see." Mason nodded with the typical relieved attitude of someone whose curiosity had been satisfied.

Then he lowered his head and began to study the Jung autobiography that had just been given to him with great interest.

This time, Lorna was a little stunned.

Sir, didn't you hear what I said?

Mutants, mutants?

Can't you give me some basic feedback and respect? What's with this kind of bland attitude, like asking "Have you eaten?" or simply saying "Yes"?