"Ma'am, I previously recommended psychotherapy to you," Shiller said. "Since it's psychological, why not approach it from the psychological side and just make you forget about it?"
"Yeah," Strange also realized. "When you didn't know about it before, you were fine, so why don't you just erase the memory of this incident?"
"Let me just say, it's not that I don't sympathize with you," Tony said, looking at Natasha. "But aside from causing you pain, does it have any other effects? If so, maybe consider starting by eliminating the pain."
"Absolutely none," Natasha replied. "It might have restored my fertility, but I don't plan on having children. Other than tricking Nick into giving me some extra overtime pay, there's no benefit at all."
"Then why don't you use psychotherapy?"
"Because the psychiatrist who can do it charges too much!!!" Natasha roared, "I'd rather bleed than burn money!!!"
"Why not ask S.H.I.E.L.D. for reimbursement?" Matt asked.
"Because they think we're both Soviets and told us to go find the KGB," Shiller said helplessly.
Everyone was momentarily speechless. You could argue it's wrong, but it's kind of right; but if you say it's right, something seems off.
"Well, actually, I'm just too lazy to go," Natasha sighed. "When I'm bleeding, I'm not in the mood, and once I'm better, I don't have the time. It just keeps getting postponed."
"That's true. People never seem to learn," Strange shook his head. "When you're sick, you swear you'll never sleep with the window open again, but once you're better, you forget in no time."
Stark glared at him, but Strange was oblivious. Shiller continued, "I know you're not in a great state, and I invited you over to see if we could try to solve this problem."
"Do you have any ideas?" Natasha asked.
"First of all, there's nothing in our universe that absolutely requires you to do it, so let's prioritize solving the pain. Compared to the Golden Apple, the Clarkia Flower is more focused on improving physical condition, which might be effective."
Others nodded in agreement, and Steve said, "Although I don't know the exact principle, if it's about comprehensive physical improvement, it should work. You can give it a try."
Natasha nodded. Shiller continued, "However, drug development will take some time, so we'll start by alleviating the pain. The hot springs on Clarkia Island are quite good, and there are a few sulfur-rich springs that should work for your condition."
"What's the principle behind this?" Natasha asked.
"Some theories from Chinese medicine," Strange was the first to answer. "Considering that 'keeping warm' is a foreign concept in your life, in Chinese medicine theory, your dysmenorrhea might be because your body is too cold."
"Too cold inside?"
"Yes. In their words, it's stored cold energy. Drinking something warm or soaking in hot springs can help."
Natasha didn't quite understand but nodded nonetheless. She said, "I've heard similar theories. There's a Chinese blogger on TikTok teaching women how to make ginger tea, saying it's good for health—though I've never drunk hot water in my life."
"You've completely ignored your age issue," Strange pointed out seriously. "Although it might not be polite to say this, you're old enough to be a grandmother. Your appearance hasn't changed, but that doesn't mean your body's functions remain unchanged. If you don't take care of yourself, even cyborgs age faster than other cyborgs."
Natasha couldn't help but glance at Steve. Steve quickly shook his head, saying, "I never said I was younger than you. But I do pay more attention to exercise, and although I don't drink hot water, I also rarely drink iced beverages. You're the one who uses the ice maker at Avengers Base the most."
"That's because it's too hot in New York?" Natasha couldn't help but retort. "How do you manage not to drink ice water in 30-plus degree weather?"
"Out of concern for life safety," Stark seized the opportunity to speak up. "You're just relying on the fact that you're a cyborg and ignoring existing medical and wellness theories. My medical team has emphasized countless times that you shouldn't drink ice water directly when it's extremely hot and you're sweating profusely. I thought even kids knew this common sense."
"And some people sleep with the windows open on stormy nights," Strange said irritably. "I also thought kids understood that."
"Alright," Natasha was convinced. "I'll try to have fewer cold drinks and more hot beverages in the future..."
Steve looked at Bucky, who hadn't said anything. Lately, he and Natasha had been quite close, so he should have the most to say, but he remained silent.
Just as Steve was looking around, he noticed Bucky had already poured a cup of hot water. He placed it in front of Natasha and said, "I think change can start now, don't you?"
Everyone drew out a long vowel sound—there's a reason why you dare chase Black Widow.
Steve, however, seemed to remember something, pressing his lips to hold back laughter. Just as he was about to say something, Bucky stopped him with a look: "Don't forget our no-naming-past-mistakes pact, buddy!"
"Alright, I won't say it," Steve pressed his lips tightly. Everyone else was curious, so Steve let out half a sentence, "This reminds me of when he was young, chasing girls..."
"Shut up, Steve! Or I'll spill all your youthful blunders!" Bucky shouted at him. "Remember when you submitted to a comic studio..."
"Hey! Hey! Remember the pact!" Steve interrupted loudly. The two exchanged a glance and begrudgingly called a truce.
Matt sighed from the side: "It's like having a buddy who grew up with you. He's seen all your embarrassing moments, and you have to constantly be on guard that he'll spill your secrets."
Everyone laughed. Natasha chuckled along but soon started coughing, then doubled over in pain on the table. She managed to take a sip of hot water, savor it, and said, "Not bad."
"I heard traditional Chinese medicine can cure this," Stark said. "Out of respect and concern for this lady, I think we should immediately head to a Hong Kong pharmacy and get her some medicine."
"There you go again," Shiller couldn't help but say, "You can't resist making everyone try traditional medicine, can you?"
"I'm really doing it for her own good." Stark continued to nod to himself and then looked at Strange.
Strange shook his head and said, "For issues related to individual constitution, the person must be present for an examination. Buying pre-packaged medicine isn't ideal. But if you're truly interested, I can get in touch; I met some very skilled Chinese doctors when I attended a medical conference in Sichuan..."
"Thanks, but there's no need for now," Natasha said. "Judging by Tony's tone, I can guess how awful it tastes. I don't think I could handle it—might as well have Professor X erase my memory instead."
They had lunch, just simple grilled steak and vegetables. Since there was a banquet in the evening, everyone ate lightly, and after finishing, lounged on the living room sofa to digest.
"Speaking of which, what's the deal with the hot spring?" Bucky asked.
"What about the hot spring?" Steve replied, "I went to see it. It's built quite nicely."
"You say it's a natural hot spring, brought by volcanic geothermal heat. But how can there be a volcano on an island?"
"There are plenty of volcanoes on islands," Steve thought for a moment, "Isn't there one on the island in New Xanadu Country?"
"But that's much larger than this, isn't it?" Bucky said.
"Not much larger," Shiller pondered and said, "It's equivalent to one of those islands, maybe even slightly bigger."
"I see," Bucky nodded. "How did you discover there was a hot spring on this island? Isn't it said that mutants in this universe aren't doing well? How do they have the time to develop this?"
"I also find it a bit strange," Steve scratched his head and said, "But if mutants are active on this island, they might go to the north too, so occasionally encountering it makes sense."
"Even though you say so, those hot springs aren't open-air, without even a chimney. Unless someone purposely drilled underground, it would be hard to find them," Stark shook his head. "But, who knows, maybe there's a mutant among them who's passionate about spelunking."
"They've already completed the construction of their hot spring bath?" Natasha asked, "How is it built? How many independent soaking pools?"
"Quite a lot," Strange thought for a moment and replied, "There are three or four large soaking pools as big as swimming pools, and even more private ones. Their water system seems to be able to direct hot spring water to the tubs in the hotel rooms. If you don't want to go out, you can soak there too."
"That's exactly what I need," Natasha said weakly, "It's more comfortable lying in a tub; remember to have them add more sulfur."
"Don't worry. You still don't know how meticulous Charles is? He must have been preparing for a while."
They chatted for a while and everyone dozed off on the sofa. Since tonight was going to be an all-night party, if they didn't nap during the day, they might feel tired come midnight.
After waking up and feeling refreshed, they were ready to head to the hot spring bath. Since it had been built rather hastily, resources weren't abundant, so many personal items were self-provided. Fortunately, they all came with luggage, so they could just drag it along.
Once everything was ready, they waited in the living room. By rights, they should have been picked up by a mutant with flying ability, but Strange grew impatient and simply opened a teleportation portal himself.
After stepping through the teleportation portal, they found themselves at the Prime Universe Avengers Base. Main Universe Doctor Strange looked at him helplessly. Captain America asked him, "What's up?"
"Nothing. This damn show-off never understands frugality."
Captain America laughed, "They sure are wealthy; they'll use a teleportation portal for just this tiny distance."
Still, truth be told, teleportation portals are convenient. Once they arrived, they didn't have to walk far; they were directly in the hotel lobby. Charles was already there waiting for them.
"Welcome, welcome," Charles ceremoniously shook hands with them and said, "Welcome to the Clarkia Island hot spring bath, this is definitely the best hot spring you've ever been to."
"That's great," Matt said, "I'll definitely bring Erica and Little Jack sometime, hoping the service and scenery here will be as good then."
"Of course," Charles said, "You guys go put your things in your hotel room first, and later a mutant will come to deliver maps and information about the soaking pools."
Then he specifically looked at Natasha and said, "I know you're feeling unwell, ma'am. The water system in the tubs is automatic, you can just turn the switch to fill it with water. Also, there's a soaking pool on the balcony, so you can try the open-air hot spring, which is equally excellent."
"Thanks," Natasha replied, "I just hope it's truly effective."