Natasha looked very surprised. She widened her eyes and said to Shiller, "What did you say??? You get seasick?! Can't you just turn into mist and float up?"
Shiller shook his head and said, "No use."
He clutched his chest and coughed vigorously a few times, his complexion pale, and his expression somewhat vacant, obviously dividing some of his attention to investigate the situation from within the Tower of Thought.
In the past, when Arrogant got seasick, the vast majority of personalities thought it might be a problem particular to Arrogant, since Arrogant always had many issues, such as being afraid of broccoli. Maybe seasickness was just another one of those issues.
Shiller had never been on a ship in his previous life and didn't have any business that had to be conducted at sea. His impression of the sea was not deep, and he had no fixation on it. He didn't really understand what it felt like to be on a ship.
After coming to DC, he spent most of his time in Gotham and never left until he took his annual leave to visit Arthur in the Port of Mercy. That was when he discovered that he suffered from seasickness.
This seemed completely illogical, but the human body sometimes defies logic. Even with the existence of Gray Mist, which was like having a cheat code, he was not immune to all physiological diseases, so Arrogant just brushed it off at the time. If he got seasick, so be it; he simply wouldn't take ships in the future.
But later, he approached the ocean without taking a ship, such as being carried by Lucifer flying in the sky, but the symptoms of seasickness didn't go away with the absence of a ship. This made Shiller realize that he might not be seasick, but sea sick.
That was peculiar because the principle behind seasickness is that the balance organs of the body are stimulated, causing various symptoms of discomfort. Going deeper, it's because there is a conflict between the vestibular sensory organs and the balance organs. The more intense the conflict, the more obvious the symptoms of seasickness. That's why people who suffer from seasickness often find relief on larger, more stable ships.
But no one has ever heard of someone standing above the sea, looking at it, and getting dizzy, especially since Shiller gets dizzy even without looking at it, which indicates this might not be a common ailment but something else altogether.
When they heard Shiller was in trouble, almost everyone rushed over. However, the room wasn't big enough for everybody, so after the children took a peek, they were sent out, and some people who were not as close to Shiller also left after paying a visit, leaving only those who were closer to him.
Shiller lay on the bed, silent, fighting against his discomfort, while the others began to speculate on what was happening, each person speaking in turn.
"We must figure out what's causing this problem," Bruce said with his typical logical thinking. "After eliminating all the wrong answers, the one that remains must be the truth."
"I don't think the problem lies with Shiller himself," Natasha said, frowning. "He shouldn't be susceptible to seasickness. If he had such a sensitive balance organ system, then he wouldn't be able to perform other intense physical activities, but in fact, he can."
"With the presence of Gray Mist, Shiller shouldn't fall ill," Strange said. "Retreating ten thousand steps, neither the teleportation gates nor the cosmos ships are that stable, but they haven't caused him any discomfort."
"I think you're all missing the point," Stark said, slapping the wall. He had finally set aside some time from Pepper and said, "Shiller has taken ships in our universe."
At these words, everyone felt surprised. Stark counted on his fingers, "He's joined us on a yacht over the weekend, took a speedboat on the way to Long Island, and even rode the Pirates of the Caribbean and pirate ship at amusement parks. There's no way he could be seasick."
Bruce and Victor exchanged a glance. Victor spoke up, "But in our universe, Shiller is always seasick. When they went to the island for vacation, he got seasick; he declined our invitation to go fishing on the grounds that he gets seasick."
"But we thought that was a problem with one of his personalities," Bruce said. "Because the other personalities shouldn't have taken a ship here before; today is the first time."
"Then it might be an issue with your universe," Nick said, hands on his hips and looking around. "But why seasickness?"
Everyone looked towards Shiller, lying on the bed. His complexion wasn't good, and since most people had never seen him so weak, they were really concerned. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, Peter raised his voice, "What we should do now is make the Doctor more comfortable and quickly head back."
Wanda and Jarvis agreed with him, but others were a bit more rational. Bruce said, "Shiller seems to be only uncomfortable and not in a life-threatening situation. The condition doesn't seem to be worsening, and if we don't figure out what's going on, it might cause more trouble later."
Most people present agreed with his argument, because it was conceivable that anything capable of causing such harm to Shiller must be a significant threat to this universe. If they didn't figure out what it was before it truly appeared, it would be too late.
However, this did not include Stark and Strange. Stark waved at Strange, "Open a portal and take Shiller away. If worst comes to worst, we just won't come here anymore."
Strange obviously shared this view and raised his hand to open the portal, but before he could act, his gesture was interrupted by a snapping finger. Lucifer walked in and said, "I think you should listen to Shiller's opinion. He's just dizzy, not dead."
Then everyone stopped what they were doing, thinking Lucifer had a point. Shiller had such clear insights into other people's issues; he couldn't possibly be entirely unconcerned about his own condition. The clues he might find would undoubtedly be the most crucial.
Shiller was disoriented, clearly in a discussion inside the Tower of Thought. After a while, he opened his eyes and looked around, then said, "First, take me back."
Lex was about to have the ship turn back when Shiller shook his head and said, "I'll go back by myself, you all do what you need to do."
"I think Jason definitely isn't in the mood to fish now," Bruce glanced outside the door and saw the anxious expressions of a few children; Selina also chimed in, "Fishing can be done any night."
At this moment, Steve said, "Actually, I've put down a few lines, but I didn't find any fish; the fish attracting lights also didn't locate any schools of fish, it appears that we're not going to catch anything today."
The Primary Universe Batman, standing in a corner of the room, frowned slightly. He looked outside the window, where instead of a clear night sky dotted with stars, there were thin clouds. The sea was very calm, with hardly any wind or waves; theoretically, this kind of weather was indeed perfect for fishing.
Moreover, he remembered that before boarding the ship, Lex Luther had called the captain, stating they were going night fishing. A captain of such a luxurious yacht would certainly have this kind of experience and would not stop in a completely fishless area.
Eventually, the cruise ship turned back. The young kids had grown quite tired from the water fight, and the slightly older ones, wanting to fish but finding no fish, found that playing poker on board was evidently not very interesting.
After the destruction caused by All Things Green, Rodrix Manor was under renovation, so they returned to Lex's Half-Mountain Manor. It was spacious enough that the many people staying there didn't feel crowded.
By now, Lex's professional butler team had arrived, and the manor was brilliantly lit and incredibly luxurious. After Shiller got back on land, he recovered quickly, and by the time he entered the manor, he no longer needed support from anyone.
So, they didn't go to their bedrooms, instead gathering by the fireplace in the drawing room. This was a tall area on the edge of the manor with two towering French windows offering a panoramic view of Gotham's multitude of lights.
Nearby was the dim forest, further away, the brightly lit city, and in the distance, the low-lying skyline, dark clouds, and the hint of the moon peeking through the clouds.
Shiller, wrapped in a blanket and seated in an armchair, seemed somewhat drowsy, squinting his eyes. Victor took a hot coffee from the butler's hands and placed it on the central coffee table for everyone.
The sunken seating area not only had sectional sofas but also many soft cushions, allowing everyone to find their comfortable spot. They sat in pairs and trios, and as they took their cups, the quantity of coffee revealed that Shiller might have a very long story to tell.
Shiller stretched a hand from beneath the blanket, gently blew on the coffee, and said, "I think no one here is unaware that I come from another universe."
Instantly, everyone's ears perked up.
Of course, they all knew that Shiller did not come from their current two universes; Shiller himself had said that the universe he once lived in was incredibly far away and utterly impossible to return to, and he also did not wish to go back.
It was evident from some of Shiller's habits that they differed from theirs, such as his surprise at turmoil caused by a Mutant Ability outbreak leading to a street blockade, which to Marvel people was nothing out of the ordinary; through this, Professor X could infer that the universe Shiller once lived in probably had no mutants.
Moreover, sometimes the bits and pieces that slipped from Shiller could help piece together some details of his previous life, but their understanding of that mysterious world was limited, as Shiller had never shared it at length.
What they did know was that Shiller had previously been a psychologist, living on an Earth largely similar to their universe, and that for some reason, he had come to their universe, possibly already having heard of them prior to his arrival.
"But do you know how I got here?" Shiller asked.
People looked at each other with blank expressions. Firstly, they truly didn't know the answer to this question, and secondly, they didn't understand why Shiller would bring up this topic at this time.
In their view, it wasn't a particularly important question, because first, Shiller didn't want to return, so how he came was not very important, and second, there were too few possible answers to this question. How could he have come? He must have come in the same way they arrived in unfamiliar universes.
Shiller revealed a smile and said, "Do you think I came to this strange universe through a portal just like you all did?"
"Isn't that how it happened?" Bruce, sitting on a cushion beside him, leaned forward, showing great interest. He had never given up trying to probe into Shiller's past experiences, but unfortunately, Shiller was tight-lipped, and Bruce could hardly find out anything.
What set Bruce apart was his better understanding of Shiller's personal traits, certain unique relationships, and the ability to deduce Shiller's past situation through them, but that only revealed the kind of person Shiller was.
Because the environment where Shiller used to live was similar to their current universe, and only an insider would know the subtle differences, Bruce had no way of comprehending it.
"I died."
The room was filled with astonishment.