When Tim went downstairs, he saw Dick and Raven changing shoes in the foyer. A small purple cage was placed on a table next to the foyer with a ball of fur inside, so thick that it was hard to distinguish its head from its tail. But Tim could vaguely recognize it, this was the same Siberian Forest Cat kitten from the photos Dick had sent him before.
Dick and Raven were still going on and on about the details of jointly adopting and caring for the kitten. The two young people were obviously very excited about raising a pet for the first time, discussing everything from buying all sorts of pet supplies to how much fur it shed each day, seemingly able to talk for hours on end.
Tim stood at the corner and listened carefully, finding that Dick and Raven were quite suitable for each other. They agreed on many aspects of raising the kitten, and if they had a child together, they'd probably make a great pair of parents.
But he still wanted to know how they ended up here.
Tim walked out, his eyes bleary and hair a mess, and asked, "How did you two end up here?"
Actually, there wasn't much to explain—they had just grown tired of playing around the East Coast and wanted to find fun on the West Coast.
They had really come just to play. Having explored the area around New York thoroughly, and since neither of them had spent much time on the West Coast, they flew over overnight after hearing that the scenery there was even better than on the East Coast.
If there had to be a reason, it was that the cat named Qiuqiu kept alternating between eating and sleeping, and they were worried there might be a problem, so they wanted to bring it over for Doctor Shiller to take a look.
Tim said, "Could you have come up with a more far-fetched excuse? Doctor Shiller is a psychiatrist, can he even treat pets?"
As it turned out, he could.
Doctor Shiller began educating Dick and Raven about the survival habits of pets at different stages—essentially telling them what Qiuqiu was doing was normal and alleviating their anxiety wasn't that a form of psychological therapy?
Tim was getting a bit frustrated with them, so he decided to go back to his room to change and then study the hot spring in the backyard.
The hot spring in the backyard was quite large, situated within a garden styled in a Japanese aesthetic, emanating a vibe of tranquility and leisure. The only problem was that Jason and Captain America had been fiddling around for quite some time and still hadn't gotten any water out.
Leaning against a tree, Tim said, "I guess you've never stayed at any modern resort before. These water-related facilities always require contacting the resort's front desk to open the main valve; otherwise, if the piping system were to fail, wouldn't that flood the house?"
The two of them suddenly realized their oversight.
Tim went back inside the house and sure enough, found a telephone directory in the foyer. It listed the phone numbers of the community service staff. After calling, it turned out that an appointment was required to open the water valve.
The staff member was somewhat puzzled by his eagerness to use the hot spring so early in the morning, but luckily, they were free at the moment, and within about fifteen minutes, a common community service vehicle was parked outside the door.
After the main valve was opened, there still was no water. The staff member was also confused, mentioning that it was too early for the maintenance crew to be at work, so they would have to wait.
"So why do you guys want to bathe in the hot spring so early in the morning?" Tim asked, squinting in confusion.
"We anticipated this kind of situation," Jason said. "We found the hot spring wasn't working now, so the maintenance crew would surely come before evening. But if we discovered the problem in the evening, we'd have to wait until tomorrow to bathe."
Tim had to admit there was some logic to that, his two brothers weren't completely foolish.
But since they couldn't bathe during the day and staying in the house was dull, the group proposed to take a stroll around the resort.
Of all the people, the ones who enjoyed the idea of wandering around the most were Dick and Raven. They fed the kitten some sheep's milk and, once it fell asleep, they changed into their clothes and excitedly called for the community service vehicle, speeding off to the resort center.
Because the car couldn't fit everyone at once, Tim followed Doctor Shiller in the last batch.
Then they discovered that the hot spring resort actually had a public pool open, and although no one was there this early, it was available for use, so Dick and Raven hurried back to change again.
They also brought swimsuits for the others. Raven rummaged through a pile of clothing, smacked her forehead, and said, "I think I forgot to grab your swimsuit, Little Pa. Didn't you put it in the suitcase?"
"I don't have a swimsuit," Pamela said. "And I don't need one anyway."
As she spoke, a tree outside stretched its branches, its leaves covering the important parts of Pamela's body, while vines interlaced them together to create a green bikini.
Raven was wide-eyed in astonishment.
"What are you surprised about?" Pamela asked, somewhat puzzled. "Aren't you a magician as well? Can't you just use magic?"
"No, I mean..." Raven hesitated, but the fact was that Pamela was wearing very little, even if they substituted her leaves with something like sycamore leaves or other broad leaves, they wouldn't cover much more. And the leaves she had on her now were not that large.
"It's fine really, I don't want to dress myself up like a broccoli," Pamela shook her head and said. "Just think of me as a naturist."
It turned out Pamela was right. Raven, who wore a one-piece swimsuit for swimming, felt as soon as she got into the water that there was a layer between her and the warm water, which was quite uncomfortable.
But to get the conservative girl to dress like Pamela was something Raven wasn't quite willing to do. Eventually, it was Dick who inquired at the front desk and found out there were gender-separated private baths. Pamela took Raven to one of the enclosed pools.
"I have no doubt about Pamela's intention," Jason said.
"Yes, because she just wants to see beauties," Tim said.
"And some people, because of their gender, were kept outside," Shiller looked at Dick, and the three of them laughed together.
Dick rolled his eyes and said, "I'm not that kind of lecherous hobgoblin."
"But Pamela is."
The two girls passed through the shower room and arrived at the semi-indoor pool behind it. There was a wall around, but the top was open-air. The temperature was about the same as outside, making it less stuffy than indoors to soak in.
This place was similar to a bathhouse, where you could be without clothes, and Pamela coaxed Raven, who though naive, could still see the green light in Pamela's eyes. Using magic, she conjured a two-piece swimsuit for herself and stepped into the pool.
Pamela sighed in disappointment and, after joining Raven in the same pool, said, "It would be great if Natasha were here, too. Her figure is absolutely stunning. Beauties really look good everywhere."
"Natasha?" Raven didn't have much impression of the name. Pamela, excited, immediately took out her phone and began sharing photos of Natasha with her.
Of course, there were no pictures of female agents on the internet. Most of these were taken by Pamela during random encounters or meals. Although many weren't very clear, you could still make out some of Natasha's beauty.
Raven found Natasha indeed very pretty, but she was more interested in the thrilling stories of the female agent's past, pestering Pamela to tell her the versions she had heard.
Pamela snapped her fingers and said, "You have such good taste. I like her so much because at least eighty percent of her charm is her aura and the stories she carries with her, the beautiful Soviet spy from icy Moscow... My God..."
The two chattered for a while, when suddenly Pamela's phone rang. She answered it with a smile.
"Halley, what made you think to call me? Are you done with your stuff over there?" Pamela flirtatiously tossed her hair as she spoke.
Halley seemed to talk a lot. After listening, Pamela said, "Then you'll have to ask Doctor Shiller yourself... We're in Los Angeles right now; I'll send you the location. If you book the next flight..."
"No need, I'm here," Halley's voice came from behind Pamela. As she turned her head, she saw Halley standing with Barry.
Raven let out a shriek, and Pamela quickly covered her mouth before turning to Barry and saying, "This is a women's bathhouse, get out quickly!!"
Barry's face turned red in an instant, and then he vanished in a flash of golden light. Looking puzzled, Halley said, "Aren't you all dressed anyway?"
"But he still can't come in! What if someone wasn't dressed?!" Raven said.
"Alright, it was a bit hasty of me," Halley conceded with a hint of distress. "Negotiating with those mutants is really difficult, a bunch of hotheads. Where's Doctor Shiller?"
"He's outside, and Jason is too," Pamela said with a wink. "I just saw him, and he has a pretty good physique, and sexy tattoos too."
Halley rolled her eyes, "I'm here for serious business. Besides those two, is anyone else here?"
"Dick and Tim are both here, as well as Captain America, and a blind lawyer."
"A blind lawyer?"
"Yes, apparently he's also a superhero. He's quite amazing, able to notice me and Tim from a great distance. Though currently, it's unclear what his code name is."
Halley, feeling that there were too many people, stood still for a moment before saying, "I think I'll just stay here for a while. We can talk more later in the evening."
Pamela made a swimwear out of leaves for her, and Halley jumped straight into the pool, splashing water all over both of them. Pamela, not to be outdone, rushed over to push her, but Halley pressed her against the edge of the pool.
"Barry, why did you come over at this time?" Of course, Shiller hadn't forgotten that two of the visitors, Barry, and Halley, hadn't shown up much.
Halley was completely understandable; she had fallen into the money pit. Her main reason for coming was investment, as she felt she would often be around in the future, so she planned to secure some assets for herself first.
She didn't have much capital in this area, and Shiller thought Halley would come to him for a loan, but she didn't seem to have plans for that. Ever since she arrived in this cosmos, she had been busy, and Shiller was truly curious about what she was up to.
Barry changed into his swim trunks, holding his pants as he tested the water's temperature at the pool's edge, then said, "She's gone to New Xanadu Country as a consultant. The mutant leader known as Magneto holds her in high regard, but forgive my bluntness, it may be due to the scarcity of brains among them."
"You've really picked up bad habits from Arrogant," Shiller rolled his eyes and said. "Even if that's true, you can't be so blunt."
"Okay, I'll rephrase. Halley's brain is a rare commodity there. Her wisdom is her valuable treasure. She's currently managing businesses in Earth and the Andromeda Star System, doing better than anyone else so far."
"Not surprising," Steve took a sip of his cold beer and sighed deeply. "They always lack business talent, mostly not cut out for business; otherwise, they would've joined the ranks of developed countries long ago."