After learning more about Costa, Raymond could only describe him as truly inspirational.
He later found out that Costa's son was none other than the well-known mutant with the codename Sunspot.
If Sunspot reached his full potential, being given the title of White Rook would make complete sense. In fact, in certain parallel worlds, Sunspot had even taken the Black King throne, just like Juggernaut.
But Costa being made White Rook couldn't be just because of his son's potential.
The key reason was his own personal ability.
According to Carl, Costa was a true master of diplomacy—a smooth talker with real charm. Without that skill, there was no way the other core members would accept an ordinary human into their elite ranks.
Being Brazil's richest man might sound impressive to the public…
…but among the Hellfire Club's core, there were plenty of wealthy individuals. Someone like Betsy, a hidden mega-tycoon, probably had more wealth than Costa ever would.
So those factors were just the icing on the cake.
Even Raymond had to admit—though it was his first time meeting Costa, the guy had an effortless charm.
He didn't come off as a suck-up, but he also didn't feel distant.
It was the perfect balance.
As Raymond was getting acquainted with the other members, the remaining four core members who arrived later than him also showed up one after another.
The first to arrive was someone Raymond had already met—Red Devil, the Black Rook.
With a flash of red mist, Red Devil stepped through a dimensional rift.
"Ha! Dr. Raymond, you're already here? I thought for sure I'd get here before you," Red Devil said cheerfully as he headed toward Raymond, who had been chatting with Carl in the corner.
"You're right on time—we were just talking about you," Carl said with a grin.
"Let me guess… this is about Namor, isn't it?" Red Devil asked knowingly.
"You already know?" Raymond looked a bit surprised.
"Namor asked me directly," Red Devil explained. "He wanted to make sure the person he ran into was really Dr. Raymond. If it wasn't, I think he would've charged back in to finish the job…"
Red Devil chuckled. "From his description, I could tell it had to be you."
He actually thought about going back to attack again… Raymond couldn't help but adjust his impression of Namor.
That guy was clearly the type who never let a grudge go—and wasn't concerned with saving face, either.
If Namor had confirmed it wasn't Raymond, he definitely would've gone back without hesitation to finish what he started.
"You two keep chatting," Carl suddenly said. "Lady Emma just arrived—I'll go greet her."
With that, he turned and headed toward the entrance.
"Emma?" Raymond asked, glancing at Red Devil.
"White Queen," Red Devil replied.
"So it really is her…" Raymond nodded in understanding.
Emma Frost, the White Queen, a mutant with both diamond transformation and telepathy. Not only was she incredibly powerful in combat, but her psychic abilities ranked just below someone like Professor X, one of the foremost telepaths in the Marvel multiverse.
Compared to Emma, Clarice's telepathic friend, Dreamer, didn't even come close.
In most known Marvel parallel worlds, Emma Frost consistently held the position of White Queen in the Hellfire Club, often paired with various Black or White Kings.
She was also one of the few Hellfire Club core members whom Raymond could accurately guess beforehand.
What's more, Emma wasn't alone—two other core members arrived with her.
Red Devil gave Raymond the introductions:
"On the left is White Knight Alison, codename Dazzler. She's currently the most popular new-generation pop singer in Britain…"
"The one on the right is White Bishop Teresia, codename Sage. Her powers aren't suited for combat, but she's considered one of the club's greatest assets. Like Carl, she's one of our permanent members."
Raymond nodded in acknowledgment.
Just then, system prompts began to appear: White Queen Emma Frost: S-rank, on par with Juggernaut. White Knight Dazzler: B-rank, same as the other knights—nothing surprising there.
But White Bishop Sage… also S-rank.
That made Raymond narrow his eyes slightly.
If he remembered right, Juggernaut had once mentioned that with Raymond's addition, only three core member slots remained open among the sixteen.
Now, with thirteen core members present, that confirmed it: the current lineup was complete. Those present were:
Black King: Juggernaut
Black Queen: Pyslocke
White Queen: Emma Frost
Black Rook: Red Devil
White Rooks: Gambit, Costa
Black Bishops: Raymond, Longshot
Black Knights: Carl, Maggott
White Knights: Forge, Dazzler
That meant the three vacant slots were: White King, one Black Rook, and one White Bishop.
Until now, the only S-rank members were Juggernaut, Emma, and Longshot.
Now a fourth had joined them—Sage—and her rating also didn't seem to match her title, which made things more interesting.
Raymond also happened to remember something else about her.
If he wasn't mistaken, Sage's ability was called "Mental Computation"—essentially making her a living supercomputer.
No one knew the full extent of her memory.
She could record and analyze massive amounts of data in real-time, much faster than any current Earth-based tech could manage.
Red Devil wasn't exaggerating when he called her the club's most valuable asset—she really might be.
But that wasn't the reason Raymond remembered her so well.
In many alternate universes, Sage was secretly a spy placed in the Hellfire Club by Professor X.
Raymond couldn't be sure if that was true in this world too… but the S-rank the system gave her might be related.
From his experience, a support-type ability like hers usually wouldn't get such a high rating on its own.
This suggested the system was factoring in her impact on the future of the world—just like it did with Tony or Nick Fury.
If she really was a spy, someone who could influence the fate of the entire Hellfire Club, then an S-rank was absolutely justified.
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