When Peter and Strange were pulled into the Thought Palace, they were a bit confused. Strange was used to coming to the Dreamland Base in his sleep. What was strange to him was why they didn't land in the familiar conference room this time, but in a corridor of a high tower?
Peter was completely clueless. He remembered one second he was playing a video game, and the next second he appeared in a strange place.
Charles said helplessly to Peter: "Kid, I'm not a strict parent, but playing video games at 3 a.m. is a bit..."
Peter scratched his head, showing an embarrassed expression. Seeing Stark's unhappy face, Peter explained: "I'm not like this every day, only because a new game just came out."
"Speaking of which, where is this? How did I suddenly get here, and why are you all here too?"
Peter furrowed his brow and said: "My spider-sense didn't react at all. How did you get me here?"
Charles explained the situation here to the two newcomers, then he said: "Dr. Connors is also staying up to do research, but because the research he is doing is very important, suddenly stopping may be dangerous, so I didn't bring him here..."
Stark scoffed and said: "That's not what you said when you hypnotized me and pulled me over."
Charles sighed helplessly: "Well, I can bring him now if you can accept hundreds of giant lizards roaming New York City tomorrow."
"Let's not!" Steve immediately voiced out.
"Professor Charles, I understand what you just said, so what should I do now?" asked Peter.
"First, we are going to investigate the magic problem in my world."
Steve didn't object, he just asked: "Are you sure multiple people can enter?"
"We can try first. If it doesn't work, let Professor Charles pull us out. Anyway, those two just came in and they're energetic enough to withstand a failure."
"You all go in together, I'll stay outside in case anything unexpected happens." Charles turned and walked towards the railing, while the others followed Stark towards the door at the end of the corridor.
Stark was the first one to enter the door. After a brief moment of bewilderment, he was back on the small boat. Sitting next to him were the three people who came in with him. They all transformed back into their childhood appearance. They all couldn't help but laugh at each other's appearance. The light shining on their childlike faces, making their eyes brighter than stars.
Surprisingly, the weakest of them was the originally strongest Steve. He was a skinny little boy with glasses that made him look like the classic nerd you'd find in schools.
Peter didn't change much because he was still young. He just scaled down a bit. Both young Stark and Strange were quite good-looking, but Stark's eyes were especially bright.
Besides Stark, the other three were curious about their own arms and bodies. Stark turned and yelled: "Stop laughing, row the boat quickly. We need to get off the boat quickly and stand in the front row to see the scenery inside."
The process from rowing the boat to arriving at the hall was exactly the same, as if they played a certain game from the beginning again.
However, the first one to be called this time was Peter. He walked up to the chair and tried to grab the Sorting Hat but was dodged by it. When the hat was finally put on his head, he still tried to grab the brim but was stopped by the teacher in time.
"How do you work? Do you have a brain? Where are your legs? Inside the hat, or your brim?" Peter fired a string of questions, then he continued: "They say you can sort people into houses based on different qualities, so how do you judge a person's quality?"
"How many students have you sorted? Have you made any mistakes? What happens if you make a mistake?"
Next, Peter heard the Sorting Hat take a deep breath, and suddenly, its deafening shout echoed in the hall:
"Gryffindor!!!"
Next was Steve Rogers. He walked forward, curiously peered at the hat, and then obediently sat on the seat. When the teacher put the hat on his head, the Sorting Hat let out a low "hmm..."
"Steadfast, kind, and brave, child, you really surprise me with so many beautiful qualities...."
Steve, having been briefly introduced to the four houses on the way here by Stark, asked the Sorting Hat: "Which house is more suitable for me?"
"In fact, both Gryffindor and Hufflepuff suit you well, and Ravenclaw can too. It mainly depends on which house you want to choose. Do you need me to introduce you?"
"Gryffindor is the lion on the wilderness, they're more courageous than others and fearless, always at the forefront. Of course, sometimes they can cause quite a mess out of recklessness."
"Hufflepuff is the badger in the cave, they're kind, united, and like to share, but sometimes they can be hesitant due to being overly sentimental..."