"Yes, I can't give a detailed description, but in general... okay, thank you, thank you so much, Doctor."
Peter hangs up the phone and walks into Bruce's room, saying: "A very impressive surgeon will be here soon. He will give you a thorough examination to make sure your wound won't affect any important functions, then clean and bandage it for you."
Bruce leans back on the bed and asks, "I get the part about a brilliant surgeon, but how is he going to examine me here? There's no equipment."
"Luckily, he is also a mage, the Supreme Sorcerer," says Peter with a spread of his hands. "If it's not a big deal, he can even heal you directly. But it's hard to say, if Spider Man's self-healing power can't cope with such a wound, it suggests Lady Natasha's weapon might have some issues."
Bruce presses his lips together. He suspects that the mischievous secret agent lured him just to see him walk like a crab. He won't fall for it, before the wound heals, he won't set foot on the floor.
Soon, Bruce sees a flicker of light outside the window, and a stranger's voice floats in from the door.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Peter, I was a bit busy. I rarely hear of things you can't handle, so I rushed over."
"I really am sorry to interrupt your work, Doctor. Has there been another crisis in New York? Uh, I wasn't there because..."
"No need to explain, Peter, I've heard from Nick. There was nothing urgent in New York. Except for the Brooklyn Bridge breaking again, a guy wearing his underwear on the outside suddenly thrusting a building onto the coastline, and the people and mecha in another strange building fighting each other, everything was pretty normal."
"So what have you been busy with, Doctor?"
Bruce hears the voice sigh deeply, and then it says, "The Grand Sorcerer of the Sanctuary in New York contacted me. There has been unidentifiable demon energy passing through earth's defense network, the weak point being in New York. They had traced the guy, but"
"His methods were strange, unlike any type of magic we're familiar with. The suspect got away in the end. The Grand Sorcerers unanimously think he's dangerous, so I ended my retreat early and left the Holy Sanctuary, ready to confront him."
As the man speaks, Bruce sees a man dressed in strange attire walking in. He has a neat beard, shining eyes, a red cloak flapping on his back without wind, and the glow of magic flickering between his hands.
"Bruce, let me introduce you, this is Stephen Strange, the Supreme Sorcerer of Earth, you can call him Doctor Strange, he is the world's best surgeon."
"I used to be," Strange corrects. He steps forward and waves his hand at Bruce, who finds himself being pressed against the head of the bed.
Strange glances at the wound between Bruce's legs, narrows his eyes, then looks at Bruce with a somewhat admiring look, saying, "I can hardly imagine what kind of dirty bastard would dare to raise a hand against the Black Widow. Don't you know her entire body is poisonous?"
Bruce's Adam's apple bobs. He realizes he should have guessed that when he felt dizzy at the smell of Natasha's perfume. It wasn't an illusion, it must have been the effect of a drug.
But he really didn't have the willpower to resist the effect of the drug, not to mention Natasha was stunningly beautiful and attractive.
Strange sighs, presses his hand on Bruce's knee, and then a flash of light shines between his hands, once, twice, and then again.
The wound does not heal. Strange stands upright and says to Peter, "Contact S.H.I.E.L.D. This seems to be a special cell-suppressing toxin, specifically used to create non-healing wounds."
"Is the Time Gem of no use?"
"I'm not sure if it would affect some functions," says Strange after a glance at Bruce. "I've never done this before, and at your ages, you boys take this more seriously than anything else. Even if there's a one in ten thousand chance of error, are you willing to let me try?"
Both Peter and Bruce shake their heads.
In the S.H.I.E.L.D's office, Natasha leans against the French window, arms crossed, and says, "Don't worry, Director, boys his age treasure their weapons more than the world. The wound should keep him honest and bedridden for a week."
"That's good. He has no idea how many eyes are on him in this city, yet he dares to wander around," complains Nick Fury, tossing a file onto his desk. "If he were only half as steady as Peter, I'd count my blessings."
Natasha lifts an eyebrow. "So there really are that many people wanting to kill him?"
"That's the key," says Nick Fury, flicking the file on the table. "Wayne Enterprises is terribly large, any accident involving the de jure chairman, Bruce Wayne, would affect the situation in this country and even the world."
"Right now the situation is chaotic, and there are inevitably people who would fish in troubled waters. Important figures like Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark can't afford to have problems."
"Tony's situation is better, that Evil Iron Man in silver armor seems to have disappeared, probably hiding somewhere. But Bruce Wayne, who can't even swim in a fish tank, insists on jumping into the pot."
Nick Fury looks up along the French window at the skyline of the new city, which has just completed the fusion. The new city greets its new night.
On this moonless, windy, murderous night, behind the sinister and tumultuous curtain, the swords and sabers intertwine into a shining fringe, spinning amidst glitzy lights and clamor into a deadly flower of lust.
Gordon stood at the edge of the dance floor, coolly observing with a glass of wine in hand, while Brock fully showcased his social butterfly instincts befitting a star detective, chatting heartily with Gotham's high society.
The short and fat Penguin Man discreetly approached Gordon. He assessed Gordon's expression, then asked, "Is your daughter alright now?"
"I can't say that she's alright." Gordon's face fell immediately. He knew Barbara was safe, his daughter had been keeping in contact with him, but the obscure place she was in didn't sound like it was safe. Gordon wanted Barbara to come back, but Barbara had refused.
Gordon thought reluctantly of her stubbornness, much like her mother's. Pruitt lifted his glass and said, "Sometimes women are just so hard to understand, which is why I choose to keep my distance."
Gordon looked back at him and asked, "Have conditions improved? Mr. Mayor, sounds like you have the situation well in hand?"
Penguin Man flashed a mysterious smile. Regardless of the situation on the ground, after the merging of the two cities, Penguin Man indeed seized advantage among high society.
Of course, earlier, he was at quite a disadvantage, but the shifting power dynamics of high society were just that brutal. To put it bluntly, Penguin Man managed to pull off an unconcerned victory.
Firstly, his struggle with Kingpin began when Kingpin hired supervillains, destroying many important facilities of Penguin Man.
However, Kingpin's move was poorly executed, as the currently serving Nick Fury was from Shiller's universe. This universe's Nick doesn't mention his abilities, but his tenacity is absolute.
He is not trapped between a rock and a hard place, struggling to survive in a whirlpool of power, desperately grasping a lifeline.
Since Shiller's arrival, S.H.I.E.L.D. has been making headway at every turn. From the moment Nick took office, he held significant power, which was never questioned. He never acted like a sycophant or feigned submissiveness.
Although this caused him to be more irascible and stubborn, when cooperating with Greed, they were always on their feet earning money. 'We want to earn money. Come as a dragon, you should coil up. Come as a tiger, you should lie down.'
The S.H.I.E.L.D. of Shiller's universe has already transformed from a democratic organization trapped in the middle, displeasing all sides, into an entity closer to the strong governments of Eastern countries, with Nick holding all the power and his word being law.
As a result, Kingpin publicly hiring superpower criminals is an outright slap on Nick Fury's face, and no one ever openly crosses Nick.
S.H.I.E.L.D. went all out, not caring if you have actually broken the law. Even if it's due to fire safety non-compliance, they can find a reason to arrest you, not to mention Kingpin's pile of already illegal businesses.
Drug-trafficking ships were directly sunk, docks were completely blocked, sex industry businesses were all sealed off, even nightclubs and bars that hardly made profit were shut down.
Of course, Kingpin wasn't just an easy pushover, knowing that he couldn't necessarily take on the well-equipped S.H.I.E.L.D. agents if he resorted to force. Therefore, he quickly activated his money abilities, letting the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Congress both exert pressure on Nick.
Generally, at this point, both sides should sit down and negotiate, compromise a bit, which would be good for everyone.
But Nick Fury appears to be insane with his rigid stance, like he will shoot and kill anyone on sight who dares to cross him.
This demeanor is almost too crazy, like he won't live another day. Nobody knows what he's up to, and out of political cunning and self-preservation instincts, they decide to observe first.
The moment of pause they took led to Kingpin's downfall. Similar to Penguin Man's experience, a mob boss must never lose face. It is a reputation established through force, and thus, must be maintained through force.
But it's quite hard for Kingpin to use any force against Nick, who has no family, friends, or even a home of his own. All of his activities are confined within S.H.I.E.L.D.
Kingpin contemplated sending assassins into S.H.I.E.L.D., but let's not forget, Hydra had just caught Owl and brutally attacked him. Nick Fury is currently a prominent figure to Hydra who can't do enough for him. Despite being so busy, they still spare personnel to protect Nick, and do so with absolute commitment and loyalty.
No assassin could defeat Hydra's subjective activism, especially when the arrival of Deathstroke into the city had already caused great pressure on Kingpin. He genuinely couldn't spare any personnel to do anything beyond protecting himself.
Kingpin chose to hide and withdrew from the stage. Meanwhile, his business and political circles were awash with frequent good news. This was primarily because the main constituent part of the Owl's membership were Gotham city's wealthy big shots. When Hydra joined the fray, they were greatly affected.
Unwilling to be consumed by Hydra, they had to increase their investment. But with limited funds, if you choose to spend on one thing, you have to cut back on others.
From the looks of it, the least important thing currently is political donations. If Penguin man continues being mayor without any issues, allowing him to hold office for another year wouldn't make much of a difference. As a result, many wealthy individuals in Gotham cut back on their investment funds for the next election, leaving Penguin Man without much competition.
Penguin Man was quite satisfied, attributing it to his own effective management and strategic planning. Tonight's celebration was not only a gathering for the elite, but also a celebration of his success. His invitation to Gordon also held an intention to show off.
Penguin Man went up to chat with Brock, as he vaguely heard Brock mention something about the Wayne couple's murder case. He needed to show this naive young detective his power, to ward him off sticking his nose into his affairs.
But just as he approached the window, a revolt burst out on the dance floor. Penguin Man, following the frightened eyes of the crowd, turned to look outside the window—
Under the bright moonlight, a massive city descended above New City.