mtl008 Chapter 3700 The Age of Mercury (2)
Chapter 3700 The Age of Mercury (2)
Chapter 3700 The Age of Mercury (Part 20)
Schiller looked out the window and noticed the bushes behind the tulip bed swaying, as if something was moving inside. He transformed into a gray mist and floated out. Just as he landed and was about to go over to take a look, a loud "Achoo!" accompanied his cries, and a round, blue figure crashed right into his arms.
The blue cannonball struck Schiller in the chest, knocking him to the ground. When he came to his senses, he saw two round, black eyes and a set of neat, white, sharp teeth.
This little cannonball has light blue skin on its back and belly, and is about the size of a medium-sized dog. It has a raised shark fin on its back, a fish tail behind it, and a head that looks like a shark. However, it has four legs on its underside.
"Jeff???"
"Woof! Woof woof!" The four-legged little shark nuzzled Schiller's chin with its head. Schiller stood up and lifted him up as well.
He grabbed Jeff's foot and looked at it; sure enough, it matched the footprints on the kitchen floor. It seemed Jeff was the culprit who had messed up the kitchen.
Schiller was about to criticize him, but then thought better of it. While Jeff the shark-dog was a land shark, he still had a shark's head. A shark's most sensitive part is its nose; no shark would be foolish enough to ram its nose into a window—that would hurt terribly. Besides, this little dog didn't seem like the type to smash through such a large window.
“Tell me, did your owner break the glass?” Schiller patted Jeff on the head and said, “If yes, bark once; if no, bark twice.”
Jeff's eyes darted around: "Woof! Woof!"
"So you did it?" Schiller carried Jeff outside to the earthen stove, pretending to throw him into the pot. Jeff struggled in terror, but being too small, he couldn't break free and could only yelp, "Woof!!!"
“That’s right,” Schiller said again. “Were you two so hungry from being chased by Miles that you came here to steal some food?”
Jeff nodded, then shook his head. He waved his four legs. Schiller placed him on the stovetop. He sat down against the wall behind him and began gesturing with his two front paws.
It first made a gesture of shooting spider silk, then a gesture of running, then a sudden braking motion, then pointed to Schiller's kitchen, then pointed to its own nose, and opened its mouth as if wiping drool.
"Oh, I see. Miles chased you all this way, you smelled the delicious aroma coming from my kitchen, so you broke in and stole my half-eaten roast duck?"
Jeff shook his head vigorously again, made a money-counting gesture, pointed his two paws at his eyes, and then pointed to the door.
"You said your owner would come to compensate us? But she just ran away without a word..."
Just then, a figure flipped down from the rooftop and landed steadily behind Schiller, arms crossed, saying, "Finally got rid of that annoying guy! Alright. This... uh, doctor? Let's talk about compensation."
"You all made such a mess of my kitchen just because you smelled the roast duck!" Schiller said, heartbroken. "This is all newly renovated..."
"50, how about that?"
"Please come in, distinguished guest."
Soon, the girl in the pink bodysuit and Jeff the shark dog were sitting side by side at the island counter, each enjoying a freshly roasted duck. Schiller, while checking his phone account balance, contentedly added ice to their plum juice.
“You’re a weirdo, but your cooking is really good,” the girl said with a burp. “My name is Gwen, burp, and I’m a member of the West Coast Avengers. That damn Starburst portal our team opened malfunctioned and threw me into New York. I was just trying to find my way home when that damn spider got my eye on me. I don’t know if he has amnesia or what, but he doesn’t recognize me! This world is insane!”
Schiller summarized the information in his words and figured out two things: first, the girl in front of him was probably not from this universe; second, she was probably tricked by the portal opened by America, a member of the West Coast Avengers.
“Alright, Miss Gwen, may I call you that? If nothing unexpected happens, you should have come to another universe. How should I put it, another comic book. The people here are the same as the people in your universe, but they are just counterparts from different universes. Since you didn’t appear in our comic book, those people naturally don’t recognize you.”
Gwen stared wide-eyed at Schiller in disbelief, saying, "You know this is a comic book?! You...you...you...you..."
“Calm down,” Schiller said with a smile. “You’re not the only time traveler in this universe. Besides me, there should be at least two other people who have been here. Time travel isn’t unusual here, there’s no need to make a fuss.”
Schiller recalled Gwen's life story. Actually, Gwen and Spider-Man's girlfriend had no connection; they just shared the same name. Gwen's real name was Gwen Poole, an ordinary American girl from the "real universe."
This so-called real-world universe is essentially the universe the writers inhabit. In this universe, all superheroes are comic book characters, and their stories are all different comics. Gwen Stacy, like Harley Quinn from next door, knows that their universe is a comic book universe.
Harley Quinn is a native of the area and has the ability to break the fourth wall, while Gwen Stranger is someone who is behind the wall but has been transported to the comic book world.
Her real name is Gwen Poole, and she was transported to the new, completely different universe after the Marvel reboot. Because the pronunciation of Poole sounds a bit like Deadpool, the person who made her costume misheard her and made her a pink costume that was almost identical to Deadpool's, just as she requested. Thus, she became Gwen Poole.
Gwen Strange is practically invincible in the comics. She can freely modify her own settings, not only her abilities and stats, but also her origin story, switching between being an ordinary human and a mutant. She's practically the One-Above-All's (OAA) favorite. In her comics, the OAA even personally promotes her.
However, like other comedic characters, her life is always filled with all sorts of bizarre accidents, and she always manages to cross paths with various popular characters by chance. For example, this time, their team's portal malfunctioned, throwing her into another universe. She immediately bumped into Spider-Man Miles Morales upon landing, was chased for two days and two nights, and was so hungry and dizzy that she stumbled into Schiller's kitchen while he was making a delicious roast duck. This can no longer be called a coincidence; if it weren't for the One-Above-All's (OAA) arrangements, Schiller would be suave and ecstatic.
Her pet shark-dog Jeff is a member of the Pet Avengers. Originally a land shark created by Mordor, he was chosen as Gwen's pet because of his small and cute size. This guy doesn't have any special abilities; if he does, it's probably that he can stick out his shark fins in any body of water to scare people.
The man and the dog feasted. Gwen finished a whole roast duck by herself and also ate the breakfast sandwich Schiller made. Jeff didn't even leave the bones behind, crunching away at all the scraps of roast duck, and chugging down half a jar of plum sauce, shivering from the sourness.
“I know Miles’ attitude might not be very good, but what he said is true. All superpowered people operating in New York need to register. If you really don’t want to go, I can have Coulson come over.”
“No need,” Gwen said. “We’re not planning on staying in New York. If that guy hadn’t been chasing us, we probably would have already rented a car and headed to Los Angeles. I’m going there to find the West Coast Avengers and have them take me home…”
"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid there are no West Coast Avengers in our universe, only the Avengers Youth Reserve Team. If you're in a hurry to go home, I can use the Battle Realm Portal to send you there. But I advise you not to rush off; there's a reason you're here."
"What do you mean?" Gwen asked, looking puzzled.
"Since you know that we are in a comic book world, you should also know that comic book characters can only live if they have popularity. The reason you were suddenly sent here is probably because your original universe didn't have enough popularity, and someone wants you to come here to build up some popularity."
“I know that,” Gwen said, leaning against the bed with her arms crossed. “But in my original universe, I just defeated Mordor and should be very popular right now. If I can’t attend the victory party, I’ll lose a lot of popularity, right?”
“I don’t know about that, but I don’t think it was an accident,” Schiller shrugged. “If you insist on leaving, I’ll send you back. If you want to stay, I’ll have someone register you. Do whatever you want.”
Gwen thought for a moment and said, "If the superheroes in your universe are also comic book characters, then we might be from the same hometown. It would be so rude to just leave after finally meeting someone from the same hometown..."
"I'm sorry, but I might not be from your hometown. There isn't just one so-called real world, and I don't have any ability to modify the settings, or even superpowers. I'm just an ordinary psychologist. However, there is another transmigrator in this universe who knows a lot of Eastern magic. You two should get along very well."
Gwen's eyes widened. He said, "Really? How popular is he? Do you think we two could... I mean, could we be a couple?"
"Uh, you don't have a boyfriend?"
“There was one, but that guy… never mind, I won’t say anything more. I hope I never see him in this universe again, or I’ll make him pay!” Gwen said, pursing her lips. “I think you have a point. Maybe this universe can greatly boost my popularity. Can you tell me who the most popular superhero in your universe is? I’ll go find him and hang out with him. I’m sure I’ll get a lot of screen time, and my fans will like me even more!”
"Well... Captain America in our universe is turning 100. All the superheroes will be there for his birthday party. He'll be the absolute focus and star. If you want to get some attention, why not prepare a nice gift and cook one of his favorite dishes? That'll guarantee that many of his fans will like you too."
“That makes sense.” Gwen nodded. “We shouldn’t delay, I’ll go pick out a gift for him right away. Oh, and could you please look after Jeff for now? I’ll be right back!”
After saying that, she really did turn on her feet like a cartoon character and disappeared in a flash. Schiller shook his head, sighed, and continued tidying up the kitchen.
"Hey doctor, I've come to see how your cooking is going. My Provençal stew... oh my god! What happened?!"