บท 3754: Chapter 2873: Daily Life Before Battleworld (Part 2)
In the spacious office of Arkham Sanatorium, a cluster of people crowded together, the Guardians of the Galaxy huddled in front of a giant projection screen playing games, with Rocket Raccoon enjoying himself the most.
Steve was finishing up his unfinished work; he was now Earth's Image Ambassador, tasked with representing Earth at various diplomatic functions and, more importantly, building relationships with other countries' image ambassadors.
Shiller walked up to him with a coffee in hand, and as Steve scratched his head, Shiller smiled and said, "Having trouble with anything? Maintaining basic etiquette shouldn't be too hard for you, should it?"
"No, it's not about extraterrestrial matters," Steve picked up a document and said, "I need to understand the other countries' image ambassadors, as we'll soon be colleagues at Earth's Department of Foreign Affairs. It would be embarrassing not to know their identities and cultural backgrounds."
Steve sighed softly and said, "America's history is too short; we really can't find any notable figures. But the ambassadors from other countries have lived for a few hundred years at least. I just finished the section on Saint Joan, and I haven't even started on Arabian mythology yet."
Steve paused, then continued, "Nick told me to particularly look into China's ambassador, but there's a monkey among their diplomats..."
"It fits their usual diplomatic style perfectly."
"What?"
"If the donor does not engage in proper diplomacy, this monk understands a bit of boxing too," Shiller said.
Steve, not understanding the mumbling, continued to work hard and said, "The last space station rescue mission got us off to a good start, or the Department of Foreign Affairs wouldn't have been established so quickly. Of course, it might also be due to some achievements made by Centaurus, but since you don't want to praise me, you won't mention it."
"Because you don't want to brag about me, you simply omit that," Stark walked in and said: "I've had Jarvis record my gallant battles in Centaurus, and I'm planning to start with a season of documentaries..."
Everyone in the room groaned in unison, including the Guardians of the Galaxy; Thanos's two daughters managed to curse in unison using a Dark Quadrant swear word, reflecting the psychological scars left by previous duds.
Stark was very displeased by their attitude, pointed around, and said, "I'm not filming that kind of rubbish. Stark Group has plenty of funds; I'll hire the best directors and screenwriters, and you'd better appreciate it..."
After he finished, he put his glasses back on, but Shiller flipped through his documents and said, "You've missed another psychological assessment for over two months."
"I really don't have time," Stark said as he sat on the bar stool and took a sip of juice, "because of the space station incident, Ultron re-optimized the smart management system, and now all the mass production facilities at the Molten Steel and Mercury Bases need to be updated..."
"Updating assembly lines must be interesting," Stark scoffed, "It started at 8 AM the day before yesterday, and before I knew it, it was already 6 AM the next day."
"Pepper's due soon, right?" Shiller suddenly remembered, "How is she?"
"There was a minor issue with the baby's position, but it's fine now. That little rascal had me worried for a while. When the doctor said he would turn around by himself, I didn't believe it, but it really turned out that way."
"Do you know if it's going to be a boy or a girl?"
"Pepper and I don't want to know the answer ahead of time, but we've already picked out names. If it's a girl, we'll name her Morgan; if it's a boy, Little Howard."
"Not Little Anthony?"
"My grandson should be called Little Anthony; inheriting grandparents' names brings good luck," Stark said, sounding quite superstitious at times. "Of course, if I have a grandson, I hope his name would be Bozi."
Polaris burst into the room, sat on the couch, and started sulking. When Shiller brought her coffee, she couldn't hold back any longer and exclaimed, "Doctor, do I really have to team up with others from different universes? They are absolutely crazy! I want to kill them!"
"I won't ask why you're only back now," Shiller glanced at the bruise on her forehead and said, "If you really can't beat them, then go find Wanda."
"That's even worse!" Polaris raised her voice, "No one jumps into a nuclear reactor after losing a brawl; I can't imagine someone gathering dozens of Scarlet Witches together!"
Shiller watched her, and as Polaris calmed down, she felt a bit embarrassed and said, "It's not that your idea is bad, but you must consider the possibility of chain explosions."
"What you should worry more about is dozens of your Dads gathering together."
"That's no issue," Polaris waved it off, "As long as there's one Professor X, they aren't an issue."
Shiller could only conclude that Polaris also had some talent in psychology.
On the other side, Steve looked up at Stark across from him, "Have you met the other versions of yourself? I can't imagine how you guys get along."
"We decided not to interact," Stark said, holding a coffee cup, "One room each, solving issues via email."
Steve couldn't help but laugh, putting down his work and looking at Stark, "You guys really are like those dogs that don't bark once unleashed. Communicate by email? Are you serious?"
Even bringing up the topic was awkward for Stark, he said, "I've always said that I'm not good at social interactions, let alone dealing with other versions of myself because we both understand the other's thoughts are the same as our own, meaning there're no secrets. It's really too..."
"Too intimate?"
Stark pressed his lips together and said, "I don't know how you can accept such a relationship, communicating mentally with a stranger. Don't you find it absurd? There's absolutely no sense of security."
"We all really like this feeling," Steve said, obviously referring to himself and his other selves. "No one understands you better than yourself. I say the first half of a sentence and immediately someone finishes it. I've never felt communication to be so smooth."
"This is overstepping." Stark seemed very uncomfortable. "My relationship with them has never reached such a level of understanding, yet I'm forced to endure this familiarity. I was there for two hours and felt dizzy, and they obviously felt uncomfortable too."
"Then you should consider a psychological assessment," Steve suggested. "But I think your mental health would be up there with the best. You even got through Pepper's breech pregnancy."
At this, Stark regained his pride and said, "Yes, at least I'm the healthiest minded one here."
"Because you're no longer the smartest one here." Shiller walked over, placed a psychological assessment form in front of Stark, and said, "You believe you're the smartest inside, but you can't find any proof. Self-doubt and fear of being seen through make you shy away from facing your other selves, and they think the same way."
Stark, unusually, did not comment on Shiller's words. He was a long-time sufferer and tough as a dead pig with boiling water, casually filling out the form he said, "I spent a fortune on your fees to help me get rid of this anxiety. They aren't so lucky. I'll definitely be the last one standing."
"Thank you for your patronage."
Peter, Gwen Spiderman, and two Miles Spidermans were checking the Spider squad's list together. Since there were a bit too many Spider-Men, they were planning to split into two teams.
The basic strategy was to pair veterans with newbies. A team's newcomers shouldn't be too many and should include Spider-Men of various capabilities. Their current dilemma was that there were few Magic Side Spider-Men. Captain Universe Spider-Man was assigned to one team, leaving the second team a bit lackluster.
Shiller walked over and said, "Remember the previous Amazing Spiderman? He hasn't disappeared, has he? Maybe you could ask him."
Peter raised an eyebrow, then pointed to a name on the list and said, "Where do you think we should assign him?"
Peter was referring to Bruce Spiderman, the unlucky one who had obtained Spider-Man's power. He was special because he was both Bruce Wayne and Spider-Man, and maybe he'd prefer to join Batman's team.
Shiller leaned over to look and said, "Do you really need him?"
"We need to act like we really need him, it would be rude to ignore him," Miles Spiderman said. "If he doesn't show up in the end, then that's his choice."
"He admires the Spider-Man who gave him his powers, so he might be willing to join. But he's not very strong, basically a newbie. Just treat him as a rookie."
"But he is Bruce Wayne." Gwen Spiderman said somewhat dramatically. "It's hard to imagine what Batman's brain combined with Spider-Man's abilities could accomplish. We even thought about making him the captain."
"Absolutely not," Shiller stopped them and then said, "He's not quite like the other Batmen. He's not as smart and hasn't developed any impressive gadgets. Just treat him as a newly debuted Spider-Man."
Though a bit puzzled, everyone agreed, and then Shiller went over to the Guardians of the Galaxy, picked up Rocket Raccoon who did not struggle, and said, "I don't team up with other versions of myself from different universes. We plan to form our own team."
"You mean?"
Scratching his fingers, Rocket Raccoon said, "Of course, me, Pikachu, Helen, and that symbiont of yours... "
"Don't get me wrong, I just feel sorry for them because they don't have any counterparts. It'd be pitiful if another version of me extended an invitation... "
"No one would invite you," Star-Lord said without turning his head, and Gamora added a stinger, "You're even too stingy to let us see that arm. Nobody would invite such a miser... "
Just then, Winter Soldier walked in, and the whole group from the Guardians of the Galaxy turned their heads to stare at his arm. Winter Soldier stopped and extended his mechanical arm, saying "This is the latest model modified by Howard. I still need it, but once I've replaced it... "
"We want the latest model," Rocket Raccoon charged forward.
Quick as a flash, Steve rushed over, grabbed Rocket Raccoon by the tail, and lifted him up, saying, "Hey, little guy, you've got enough arm collectibles. Howard told me you even took my old shield and Stark Industries' first model of the floating car. What exactly are you up to?"
"He wants to find his old flame," Pikachu betray Rocket Raccoon without any qualms and said, "Then take that otter to meet counterparts from other universes and flaunt it around."
"Abandoning friends for love," Star-Lord snorted. "He hasn't been part of our gatherings for over a month now."
"Go live with your collectibles," Gamora also said.
Steve felt a bit strange, knowing that the members of the Guardians of the Galaxy usually had good relationships, even if Rocket Raccoon wanted to date, their attitude shouldn't be like this.
"That otter screwed us over," Pikachu said irritably. "She's not a good person at all. This fool fell for a beauty trap thinking that this damn fraudster was still hung up on him. He's totally deluded!"
Shiller ignored the quarrel behind him. He saw that the administrator of the Doujie System had sent a message, "The official version is set to launch tomorrow morning at 6 A.M. All those who have received an invitation can formally log in to Doujie then."
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