Pamela had brought a vast array of items, all hanging from her bicycle. Jason was stunned the moment he opened the door and said, "How on earth did you ride this thing over here? Did you train in a circus?"
"Guess why I didn't drive?" Pamela tossed her hair back and strode into the house. She didn't sit on the sofa but rushed into the kitchen instead and poured two large glasses of water, saying, "Do you know how damn high the oil prices have gotten? If you know anyone from the circus, you'd better introduce me for a part-time job; I've nearly maxed out all my cards!"
"You've made a very wrong investment decision." Shiller seemed a bit displeased as he said, "From the day the stock market crashed, you should have stopped payments to the bank instead of stubbornly holding onto that house. Selina is doing much better than you."
Pamela stood blankly in front of the kitchen island and said, "I just wanted a house."
"That's rare." Shiller said, "In Western culture, renting a house isn't usually seen as shameful, but it is a custom in East Asian cultures, where they see it as continuously giving money to someone else."
"Isn't it?"
"Every single product you buy means giving money to someone else; don't you use the things you buy?"
Pamela sighed deeply and said, "It's too late to talk about it now, the sunk cost is too high, I must earn more money. I won't let the bank take my house."
"How is the cleaning equipment development going with Victor?"
"The cleaning robot? Research is never the main issue, commercialization is the hard part."
"And the functional plants?"
At the mention of this, Pamela's expression soured as if she had eaten something disgusting. She said, "My entire research team has been complained about by environmentalists. I've been in the news several times, and several previously stable partners have said they don't want to work with me anymore."
"What did they say?"
"Persecution and abuse of plants, against the nature and ethics of plants, calling me a mad scientist and such." Pamela almost laughed with anger and said, "They don't bother about cows eating grass or people eating salad, but they fuss over my development of attacking cabbages."
"They didn't storm into your lab, did they?" Jason asked while sorting out the heap of things Pamela had brought to the kitchen, "Didn't you give them a taste of their own medicine?"
"It's just that the security at Gotham University is too strict." Pamela said, "They couldn't even break in; otherwise, I would have turned them into fertilizer a long time ago."
"So what do you plan to do next?" Shiller asked, "Continuously pushing the limits on loan repayments isn't a solution."
"I'm already planning to join Wayne Enterprises." Pamela snorted and said, "I'd like to see if those people dare to storm into Wayne Enterprises."
They neatly organized the things they brought. Merkel had already brought in the vegetables, and Pamela's mood finally improved a bit. She picked up two baskets to check the condition of the vegetables.
"They look pretty good. At first, I thought Clark was bragging, but now it seems his seeds are indeed excellent. These cabbages are big and round, and the hearts are so tender, perfect for making salads," she said.
Then she went to check the potatoes, but clearly, they did not satisfy her. Pamela looked at the bunch of potatoes disdainfully, saying, "These potatoes have been over-fertilized, they've grown a bit too big. Small potatoes are better for salads, these are only good for making fries."
Just as she was speaking, there was a knock on the door. Shiller walked over to open it and saw Clark and Diana standing outside.
Clark was still wearing his sunny smile. After he walked in, he immediately rushed to the kitchen, spotting the vegetables and started discussing the harvest from the small garden with Pamela.
Diana clearly had just come from Mount Olympus, dressed like a goddess, and she looked like she could carry a torch and play the Statue of Liberty. She borrowed Shiller's guest room to change, and when she came out again, she was in casual athletic wear.
"The situation at Mount Olympus isn't great, Ares is up to his old tricks again," Diana shook her head and said, "And because of the economic crisis, tourism on Paradise Island has stalled, with visitors down by 70%. We're trying to find a solution."
Shiller knew that the Great Depression in America wasn't just an American crisis; since the US Dollar is directly linked to gold, when this country had problems, all other countries were badly affected.
Now the global economic situation is very bleak. Larger countries are still managing, but smaller nations like Amazon are nearly on the brink of collapse. Diana hadn't appeared for a long time since she was probably helping Amazon get through the tough times.
Harley also came over but she brought nothing with her, clearly intending to freeload food and drink. Selina followed behind her, looking largely unchanged, her eyes darting around as if planning to swipe something while Shiller wasn't watching.
Harley's gaze landed on Jason by the sofa, and she quickly averted her eyes, pretending nothing had happened, and rushed over to pull Pamela aside, whispering something in her ear.
The harvest feast was very simple, mainly salads and stir-fried vegetables, but they were full of flavor, making for a decent vegetarian banquet. So though there were quite a few meat-lovers present, everyone enjoyed the meal immensely.
After setting the table for dinner, it was clearly time to talk business. Shiller first looked at Jason, who said, "I've already met them in Battleworld, it's hard to imagine other cosmos' versions of myself are so difficult to deal with. Except for a few younger ones, the rest seemed like they were owed millions by me."
"Especially that guy with a J-shaped scar on his face, who put his giant Batman puppet on the couch and left no room for me to sit. I asked him to move it, and everyone else sided with him! These bat-fanatics are beyond help!"
Jason was viciously chopping the vegetables on his plate, but this childish display of frustration looked rather comical given his large frame.
"I met other versions of myself from different universes," Clark said. "We got along really well, and they suggested a visit to Kent Manor as they wanted to meet my Dad. If a dozen of me visited, Martha would be thrilled."
"My experiences were nothing to write home about," Diana, looking slightly distracted, said. "Most of me couldn't escape the troubles on Mount Olympus. A few were even less lucky, but it was still great to have so many Amazon sisters. We had a barbecue together, danced, and had a really nice chat."
Harley suddenly shouted, drawing everyone's attention, then she said, "You wouldn't believe how creepy it is to be around a bunch of punk non-mainstream makeup-wearing versions of yourself. It felt like I was the insane one!"
"And they kept babbling about 'little cookies, little pudding, little sweetheart,' I thought my ears would develop calluses," Harley complained with a pout. "And those Jokers aren't anything special at all, just crazy one after another. I can't understand how poor the taste of other universes' mes could be."
While speaking, Harley glanced at Jason, but for some reason, he was intently staring at the cabbage on his plate, without moving his eyes even a bit.
"I guess I'm alright," Pamela chuckled. "The fashion style of my other selves is a bit... well, hard to comment. If it's because of the plant toxins, I guess I understand, but I'm not that fond of green anyway, and why nickname me 'Little Red' in other universes when 'Little Pa' would do?"
Selina leaned on her hand and said, "We didn't have much to talk about, but they mentioned a few jewels they claimed to have stolen from Gotham. I doubted it since I've never seen them before. I was planning to ask Bruce about it…"
"Did you marry Bruce in the other universes?" Clark asked, somewhat gossiping. "Did you have children?"
"Don't even mention it," Selina said, clearly not interested in the salad, struggling to stab a piece with her fork without succeeding in taking a bite. "They were all shocked when I brought Aisha along. They couldn't believe that I'd have a child with Bruce."
"Didn't you explain?" Diana asked.
"There's nothing to explain. I am Aisha's mother, and they also took care of the child of that woman named Talya," Selina snorted dismissively. "Damian is not as cute as my daughter; he is a real brat."
"Wait a second." Harley realized something and said, "The genders in each universe might differ, right? After all, Harley Quinn is definitely female, but Superman and such may not be…"
"There is indeed a Superwoman," Clark nodded. "But I also heard there's a Supergirl, supposedly my cousin. I'm not too clear on these titles, but we don't really care about gender."
"There are also male versions of me, but it's hard to imagine men on Paradise Island," Diana admitted with some disdain. "I also couldn't quite get along with him. Everyone else felt a bit awkward too. He said he plans to team up with other gender-swapped superheroes, which I think is a good idea for everyone."
"It might not be that simple. At least Batman wouldn't let Batwoman go," Shiller interjected. "And Joker wouldn't spare the Court Jester. They clearly have bigger ambitions."
"Right," Pamela turned to Shiller and asked, "Is Jack going too? He doesn't seem much, doesn't lose out, right? Last time he even gave me a free ride. Should I get him some neurotoxin?"
Shiller shook his head, "Although Bruce is no longer Batman and Jack can't really be considered a true Joker, remember, their power levels are dynamically bound."
Diana raised an eyebrow, "Bruce is an Angel, so Jack is…"
Shiller didn't elaborate further; Harley, however, stared at him and said, "I feel like there's something off about you today."
"What's off?"
"Can't put my finger on it," Harley twirled her fork and said, "I watched closely but didn't see anything special, might just be my imagination."
"Are you really planning to become a full-time Magician?" Shiller seemed a bit regretful. "Your talent in psychology is exceptional. Don't you want to try a bit harder?"
"I'm a typical psychopath enthusiast," Harley sighed, "so since I saw that crazy state of my other selves, I've decided against studying psychology anymore. Eventually I'd become someone's underling. Instead of that, isn't it better to trade my sanity for some transcendent power?"
"Nothing's worth the trade," Jason couldn't help but say. "It's just choosing between hanging and drowning."
"Then what do you propose? I can't hide in a rich man's house and play the good baby. Stay out of my way."
Shiller and Diana exchanged a look; Diana then shared a glance with Clark. Selina, taking initiative, raised her eyebrows at Clark, then looked at Pamela for confirmation; even Merkel, standing by, gave Pamela a look.
All of them tacitly closed their mouths.
The quarrelsome duo awkwardly stopped, Harley glaring fiercely at Jason, and both bowed their heads to eat in silence.