"No, no, no, I'm fine." Quill shook his head vigorously with an abnormal excitement. He took a deep breath and then said, "You're right. I need to change my colleagues' perception of me. I can't let them think of me as a cowardly acrophobe. We're going to prove them wrong today."
Upon saying this, Quill rushed out of the bathroom door, almost knocking over Rocket Raccoon who managed to spin around on the spot.
As he reached the door, he extended a claw to support himself against the door frame. Then he looked down at his other claw.
Between both claws was a barely visible small nozzle and a hidden button on the first half of his palm. Rocket Raccoon stared at this device he had never seen before, sighed, flicked his tail and left the bathroom.
As soon as he stepped out, he could hear the chatter of his colleagues in the rest area. They were not discussing Quill, but the affairs of the SHIELD agents.
"The moment they arrived, they set up an airborne base. They really are well-funded. We, on the other hand, have to endure mosquito bites here. It's just unbearable."
"Stop complaining. Their tasks are way more dangerous than ours. Who knows what's on their damn spaceship? Two investigation teams were wiped out. We should be grateful they're here, or else we might have been the ones in danger."
"If those freaks hear us, they will lodge a complaint against us. You know, those with special abilities do have some weird tempers."
Rocket Raccoon mingled among the crowd pretending to be an ordinary pet. Most researchers at the station were friendly towards him, so he found Quill, who was tidying up in the tool room, without much effort.
"Did you hear what they said? The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents have arrived and have broadcasted their presence with an airbase. The advancement of human technology is startling. I don't know whether to laugh or cry."
Quill swiftly assembled some items. Rocket Raccoon hopped onto the workbench and watched as Quill tied a sharp spade head to a longer iron rod and twisted an electrical discharge device onto the end of the tape on the wooden stick. Rocket Raccoon had difficulty identifying similar devices.
Quill pursed his lips, fastened the tape tightly and said, "Yondu may not be considered a good teacher, but I indeed learned some crafty tricks from him. We need to set out before sunset, get to it before those self-righteous agents do. We can't let them outshine us."
"I don't understand why you're so interested in that spaceship," Rocket Raccoon frowned, "Isn't our mission supposed to prevent your colleagues from walking into death traps? Yet you seem eager for it."
"I have no idea," Quill shook his head at a rapid frequency, "But I feel I have to do something now. Every time I pause, I panic. Yes, panic. I have no idea why."
Rocket Raccoon sighed and said, "Then you should see a psychologist. This could be a psychological disorder, like a panic attack or something."
"Well, I'll deal with that after I have figured out what the hell this unidentified flying object is." Quill stuffed the assembled weapon into a large traveling bag. After swinging his backpack over his shoulder and grabbing the traveling bag, he hurriedly pushed open the door and looked back at Rocket Raccoon, saying, "I feel fantastic right now. I'm clear-minded, responsive, and full of energy. It's been a long time since I've felt this excited. Let's go. We have an adventure waiting."
Rocket Raccoon watched his back, pressed his lips, then hopped off the table and jumped onto Quill's backpack, tightly gripping the handle on top.
Ignoring the surprised looks from his colleagues, Quill dashed out of the base's gate. In fact, Langs peak was less than three kilometers away in a straight line. However, as experienced hikers could testify, the three kilometers in the jungle felt different from those on the road.
By the time Quill had walked around Langs peak and began to head towards the target location, the sun had started to lean towards the horizon. When he saw a thin thread of smoke rising from the target location, dusk was upon them.
Leaning against a robust tree trunk, he put down the bag in his hand and gasped deeply. Practicing one-breath Zen allowed him to make it this far without much rest. He took off his backpack and placed it beside the travel bag next to the tree. Then, he climbed the tree with agility, followed by Rocket Raccoon who agilely jumped onto his shoulders.
Standing on top of the tree, Quill looked into the distance. A thin layer of mist swirled above the tree canopy. When the sunlight scattered in the forest, the emerald tree crowns looked like sails on the golden sea surging against the wind.
Rocket Raccoon's paw rested on Quill's shoulder. Breathing in the fresh air, Quill couldn't help but take a few deep breaths. However, very soon, the magnificent scenery in his eyes changed.
"In that moment, the setting sun was like a decaying elderly man on his deathbed, swiftly disappearing before my eyes. With its departure came the night; the bright waves turned into a boundless black ocean. The violent ocean waves surged towards me.
What I saw in the daylight finally crawled up to the top of the tree through the bark. Amid the ocean waves, it reached out with its tentacles, turning the beautiful and majestic broad-leaved trees into their nests.
The silhouettes under the moonlight metamorphosed into deformed hands with protruding knuckles. Countless tentacles surged out from the gaps in the knuckles, where the blood and mucus mixed together, becoming so thick that it couldn't flow. It just kept falling, forming one translucent chrysalis after another.
Inside each chrysalis were dozens of moving eyes of varying sizes. From the gaps between the eyeballs and eyelids protruded sharp sickles. Hundreds of sickles punctured the chrysalis's outer skin, making countless openings, allowing the mucus to form a large net once again, just like what I saw during daylight.
I couldn't describe this bizarre process of rebirth, but by the time that net came underneath me, a womb-like warmth enveloped me. I felt a call."
"I couldn't resist, and I fell."
"Did he see a monster?" Stark's eyes moved away from the notes and asked Strange, "Is there any monster you are familiar with on Earth that reproduces in this way?"
Strange shook his head and looked at Stark, "Tony, don't you get it? You can't explain all of this with biology."
"Either he had a hallucination," Stark continued calmly, "This could be a symptom of neurosis, accompanied by panic attacks."
Strange sighed helplessly and turned his head to the side, "If you attempt to analyze the mystic world scientifically, you might end up disappointed."
"Isn't the essence of magic also the manipulation of energy?"
"Sometimes yes, but there are also exceptions."
Strange looked into Stark's eyes. Sensing Strange's gaze, Stark returned the look.
Then, he saw countless overlapping tentacles crawling out of the black-hole-like pupils in the calm and focused emerald eyes of The Supreme Magician.