"So you went to see Odin?"
"Don't even start, I didn't get to see him." Strange leaned on the desk in the office of Arkham Sanatorium, saying, "I don't understand why the master was in such a hurry."
"We didn't make an appointment, we just drew a circle and went to Asgard. As it turns out, Odin was out and it will take some time for him to return."
"In just a few hours, you undertook interstellar travel?" Stark asked, sitting on a sofa nearby.
"If you're jealous, just say it." Strange counterattacked without hesitation.
Still, he spoke somewhat helplessly, "I told you we shouldn't disclose the plan to my master so soon. She's a bit too excited right now."
"We went back to the Kamar-Taj, and during the time before I left, she had more than a dozen mages making calls to the Cosmic Sorcerers we had previously traded with. She kept calling even when they didn't answer, and the first to respond was Mephisto..."
"You saw him? The so-called Hell's Master?"
"No, but I heard his voice, although they were speaking in an ancient language that I couldn't understand."
"How did the voice sound?" Stark curiously asked, "You actually heard the voice of a devil."
"That's nothing. When I went to Asgard, I saw the World Tree." Strange said proudly, "I also saw Pegasus flying in the sky, and little elves in the springs."
"So, did you see any of the gods from the myths?"
Strange shook his head and said, "We went without notifying them, so no one in Asgard greeted us. Many people had left with Odin. The only one at home was a god named Loki, a prince of Asgard. He received us, but I didn't get a good impression of him."
"Why?"
"It's hard to say. Ever since I started learning magic, my intuition has become more acute. I always felt he was a bad person."
"Your intuition is correct." Shiller told Strange, "The giant we found some days ago said that his brother was the God of Mischief."
"Right, this time I can confirm that the alien that fell to Earth is indeed Odin's son. I heard that Odin left to deal with the mess he caused."
"Where is Thor now?" Stark asked Shiller.
"He's undergoing a physical examination at S.H.I.E.L.D. They should release him soon."
"Is Nick really willing to let him go? According to what you said, he caused a huge trouble at home and forced his father to clean up the mess. How much trouble could he cause on Earth?"
"Steve tested him before; apart from being slightly stronger than the average person and incredibly healthy, he doesn't have any special abilities."
After saying this, Shiller looked at his watch and said, "By now, Nick should have gotten what he wanted to know. The next step is definitely to find him a house and a job through S.H.I.E.L.D., and have a few agents monitor his behavior and habits 24/7..."
"I have always thought this is somewhat dangerous. Even if he doesn't have superhuman strength, his ideology is completely different from humans, it's like having a mentally ill person who's having a constant breakdown..."
"Whether he's mentally ill is not for you to decide," Shiller responded with a smile.
"Did you take Nick's dirty money to provide him with a diagnosis??" Stark stared at Shiller in disbelief.
"Are you going to earn that kind of money??"
"You should worry about yourself." Shiller looked at his watch again, "Miss Pepper is now free. You are in trouble, Mr. Stark who knows the heart of women so well."
As soon as he heard Shiller wanted to discuss this topic, Stark practically fled. After he left, Strange looked at the door, then walked over and closed it, asking, "Are you going to let him continue like this?"
He pointed at his own chest, indicating the energy source problem in Stark's chest.
"It seems that learning magic has indeed changed you quite a bit, you would even be concerned about Stark."
"I just think he is the guarantee of our R&D ability. After all, we still have a lot of problems to solve, such as energy conversion and storage, and if he dies, the follow-up matters will definitely be troublesome."
"Didn't you notice?"
"What?"
"We know that the reactor in his chest is a ticking time bomb that might take his life within a year, yet we're all not worried."
"So why?" Strange stared at Shiller with a tilted head.
"The last time you were in the lab, did you see the model on his workbench?"
Strange frowned and thought for a while, "I think I saw it, was it the one next to the bookshelf?"
"Yes, that's the model of the Ark Reactor."
"You're saying, he's already prepared a replacement? Then why doesn't he change it?"
"Because that is a technology from his father."
"Alright..." Strange shook his head, obviously failing to understand, "Risking his life to hold a grudge, he's even more childish than I thought."
"It's not totally about holding a grudge, he believes that the technology still has room for improvement. He wants to make a perfect product so as to solve the problem once and for all. More importantly, this can prove that he is better than his father."
"Let's not talk about him anymore, let's talk about you. I heard from the nurse that you didn't go home for Christmas and Easter?" Shiller asked Strange.
"That's none of your business." Strange's tone lowered, "I'm not your patient, you don't need to counsel me."
"Every patient of mine says that."
"It doesn't matter to me anymore, not only do I have money and status, but I have also touched on areas that ordinary people cannot reach. I even took an interstellar journey to the legendary Divine Country just a few hours ago..."
"Did you know? When you just made that statement, your expression was just the same as Stark's when he mentions Howard. Every time that name reaches his ears, he talks about how magnificent the Stark Group is now..."
"Then what did you advise him to do? Forgive Howard?"
Shiller sighed and said, "Generally, psychologists advise you to let go of things and forgive others, not because they think what that person did was right, but because if you keep obsessing over it, the only thing that will ultimately be hurt is your own feelings and spirits. You should know clearer than me."
"Well, perhaps I shouldn't say this, but I'd love to hear about your background, then compare whose father is worse, yours or Stark's." Shiller continued.
Strange snorted and said, "In this world, good people vary, but bad people are more or less the same."
Unlike Stark, when Strange recounted his experience, his tone was very cold, without noticeable fluctuation.
"I originally chose to study medicine in order to cure my sister's leg. But on the day I received the scholarship, I called him, and his first sentence was, 'Your sister died.'
"The second sentence was asking me to give him the scholarship."
"It seems that your father is worse then."
"Only because he's poorer."
"I heard you have a younger brother."
"Yes, a younger brother..." Strange's tone was somewhat scornful, "That alcoholic didn't like Donna or me, but totally indulged his younger son, Victor."
"That's why I didn't want to go back, because there isn't my home. They have a deep father-son relationship, it has nothing to do with me."
After speaking, Strange lowered his head to continue his writing. Unlike Stark, when Strange talked about his origins, his tone was very placid, as if he were talking about someone else's life.
"In this case, Stark is quite lucky. After all, he is an only child and he had the company of the old butler and uncle during his childhood."
Shiller, resting his chin in his hand, sighed and said, "The big fellow that fell from the sky is also like this, just not sure if Odin really favors or something else."
"I'm not like him. My academic performance was very good and I won all the scholarships."
"He also fought wars in the north and south, made a lot of military exploits. The result is, neither of you can go home now."
"He was thrown out, I wasn't."
Strange's tone didn't change, he said, "I've received more compliments from my teacher in these few days than I have received from my father in my entire life."
"Stark once said that his father always thought he knew nothing, so that's why he's trying so hard now to prove that he knows everything."
"It's meaningless." Strange concluded in the end.
"It's meaningless!" Pepper raised her voice. "When can you put down your damn arrogance and stop risking your life?"
"Who are you trying to prove to? Your father? Can you use your brain and think, there's no father who wants to see his son risking his life, just to spite him!"
In the lab of the Stark Building, Pepper walked up to Stark, looked him in the eye and said, "If I knew that while I was busy cleaning up your mess, you would be looking for ways to die, I definitely wouldn't bother with you, Stark!"
"I'm not courting death, listen to me, the thing I built was not perfect, I hope to have a more perfect product..."
"What time is it now? You're still obsessing over those meaningless standards? You're dying!"
"Do you know, Tony? I really can't think of any reason that would make a person obsessed with the past and memories when they know they have less than a year to live."
When she finished, she put her hand on her forehead and sighed, "I don't know whether to say you're courageous or reckless."
"I can definitely do better, I just need a little time, one year is enough, trust me, Pepper."
Stark walked over and hugged Pepper, saying, "Even if I really only have one year to live, at least I still have you with me."
"You're always like this, only saying pleasant things, never addressing the problem I'm most worried about." Pepper sighed tiredly, "You use the same routine on all women."
"Don't be like this, trust me, I'll resolve this problem."
Looking into Stark's eyes that were always slightly moist, Pepper couldn't bring herself to say any more accusing words.
After Pepper left, Stark sat back down at the edge of the lab table, holding the model in his hand.
Stark looked at the model in his hand. When he looked at it like that, he would recall his once favourite toy, the little car that he and his father assembled together.
Howard took care of the chassis and engine, whilst Stark installed the shell, tires, and seats, then wrote their shared surname on the car door with a pen.
This was a good moment that he had to rummage through his memory for a long time to find.
Everyone believed that Stark was just unwilling to use Howard's technology, but only Stark himself knew that he just wanted to make the technology perfect. It wasn't because he wanted to prove that he was stronger than Howard.
He just wanted this to become a work completed by the combined efforts of his father and him, just like that small car. That toy became the memory of his early life, whereas the Ark Reactor would be the hope for the latter half of his life.
That way, he could pretend that his father was never absent from his life.