Chereads / Black Sun In Marvel and DC / Chapter 14 - Chapter 14: A Sudden Shift in Style

Chapter 14 - Chapter 14: A Sudden Shift in Style

In Hell's Kitchen, a place notorious for its crimes, robberies are not uncommon. However, Schiller has never heard of a thief who specifically targets cakes—not just cakes, but also his ground coffee, soda crackers, and jam.

 

Is this a starving ? Four pounds of cake a day isn't enough; they also need half a pound of soda crackers, two cans of coffee, and three bottles of jam.

 

Schiller can't help but think that the thief is going to eat themselves to death.

 

Of course, while the stolen goods aren't of significant importance, Schiller still needs to catch the thief and understand how they manage to steal the items.

 

He sets up a trap with the thief's favorite cake and a bit of fear toxin, placing it in the least visited warehouse of the building, waiting for the thief to take the bait.

 

As Schiller awaits the results of his trap, he is busy writing a story to bluff the Ancient One out in his notebook.

 

Introducing the concept of the King in Yellow to the Ancient One is a intentionally thought for Schiller. In Marvel's cosmic setting, there are countless cosmic demons, such as the Vishanti, whose power the Ancient One herself harnesses.

 

Marvel's Cthulhu origins are scattered, described sometimes as the embodiment of nothingness or the blood and tears of the universe. They are not a single race and tend to have bizarre appearances.

 

The actual Cthulhu literature is a bit more systematic, originating everything from Azathoth. But what Schiller mentions to the Ancient One is from another system, which is an imaginary cursed play "The King in Yellow" from Robert W. Chambers' short stories.

 

The settings of The King in Yellow are more unreal and romantic. In the distant Hyades, on the shores of Lake of Hali in the ancient city .Carcosa, an old Outer God, the King in Yellow, is imprisoned. He witnesses the downfall of two black suns and later is named the 'wind' aspect amongst the Old Ones, becoming Cthulhu's archenemy.

 

The most well-known aspect of the King in Yellow is his unique sign—the Yellow Sign.

 

But in essence, the importance lies not in these mythos but in Schiller needing to have a believable identity to converse with the Ancient One.

 

He can talk to Stark as a psychologist, act as Spider-Man's life mentor, or be regarded by Daredevil as a criminal; it doesn't matter.

 

But it's different with the Ancient One; Schiller needs to embody a sufficiently mysterious and powerful identity to be taken seriously by the formidable Sorcerer Supreme.

 

Having read the comics, Schiller knows that the Old Ones exist within the Marvel Universe's cosmology as well. Now that he reminds the Ancient One, should she seek verification, she will find everything that Schiller's Hastur has said to be true. A blind and foolish group of Old Ones exists in extra dimensions, imprisoned, but no one knows if they will return to Earth.

 

As long as the Ancient One has a fraction of belief in the identity of the King in Yellow portrayed by Schiller, he can obtain much information he desires from her.

 

While waiting for the trap to take effect, Schiller intermittently fleshes out the Hyades settings. After all, if he is to deceive the Sorcerer Supreme, his backstory needs to be cohesive.

 

And the thief doesn't make Schiller wait long.

 

On a dark, windy night in Hell's Kitchen—unusually quiet, with no gunshots—Schiller lies half-awake in bed when he hears a loud noise from the warehouse downstairs.

 

He immediately wakes up, realizing that the trap has worked. He never thought that he could catch a thief with just a piece of cake.

 

Schiller sneaks downstairs without turning on the lights, knowing that if the intruder has a gun, they'll aim here as soon as they notice him coming down. For his own safety, Schiller intends to use blink to teleport directly to the side, catching the intruder by surprise.

 

Just as he is about to blink, he sees the warehouse door open. Has the thief not been subdued by the fear gas? Can they even open the door and walk out? This is troubling.

 

Schiller abandons the idea of blinking since not only to the thief,it would also require him to acclimate to the new environment for about two seconds, as always happens after each teleport.

 

He notices that the thief hasn't detected him. Tiptoeing and hugging the wall, he moves along the hallway and sees a tiny, round figure, about the height of a person's shin, emerge through the door gap, complaining, "Damn it! Am I drunk? Why does this cake smell like a swamp?"

 

Schiller watches the figure, at a loss for words, then turns and flicks on the light switch with a "click".

 

The round creature screams in shock and immediately tries to flee on all fours. Schiller stretches out his right hand, casting a telekinesis spell that captures the creature in his grip.

 

Feeling the fluffy sensation in his hand, Schiller's face turns grim as he holds a yellow, long-eared, round and plump creature with a lightning-shaped tail—a Pikachu.

 

"Crap! Put me down! Don't touch me with your dirty hands! What's the matter with you?! How could you catch me? Let me go!!"

 

Schiller's face is now very unpleasant. He had never dreamed that in such a serious, even slightly dark story, a yellow, electrically-charged mouse would appear.

 

Suddenly, he finds the shrill voice of Pikachu strangely familiar—it is Deadpool's voice, isn't it?

 

Schiller recalls in horror that there indeed was a Hollywood movie about Pikachu, Detective Pikachu, where the Pikachu shared the same voice actor as Deadpool.

 

Taking a deep breath, Schiller turns Pikachu around and grabs its small stubby arms, demanding, "You stole my cake, soda crackers, coffee, and jam?"

 

Pikachu rolls its eyes and, with a facial expression that is almost too adorable, expresses disdain using Deadpool's voice, "Hey, buddy, I gotta say, your taste sucks. Your soda crackers without butter are terrible. And that jam? How could you like strawberry jam? That's really not to my taste. Also, next time you cut a cake, can you not leave the knife on it? Do you know how dirty that is?"

 

Holding Pikachu in one hand and covering his eyes with the other, Schiller is mentally overwhelmed. Faced with Pikachu's complaints, he has no comeback because his tastes indeed differ from the average AmElektran.

 

"Listen here, you thief. First, you've repeatedly stolen my food; second, you seem to have no remorse, like a habitual offender..."

 

"Please." Pikachu waves its hand dismissively, remarking, "Clearly, you're not normal either. No ordinary person would remain calm and continue a conversation upon seeing a talking mouse."

 

Schiller purses his lips, locking eyes with Pikachu. Its appearance causes a tremendous shock to his worldview.

 

To think that, he is just discussing life and ideals in the deeply dark Gotham with Batman, only to be faced with this yellow mouse with Deadpool's voice right after. How can Schiller not be mentally disoriented?

 

Is he expected to stroll through nearby bushes next, gathering various Pokémon and then challenging gym leaders?

 

This change of style is utterly incongruous!

 

Even more importantly, even though this yellow electric rat is only the height of a human shin, it has Deadpool's mouth!

 

The most perilous part of Deadpool!

 

And it hasn't acquired any of the good qualities!

 

It is the epitome of taking the worst parts!

 

This reminds Schiller of those comic pages from his past life, often half-filled by Deadpool's speech bubbles. Now with Pikachu as Deadpool, along with Deadpool himself and Spider-Man…

 

Schiller feels that if he lives inside a comic book, his face will be blocked completely.

 

He also remembers that in the Hollywood version of Detective Pikachu, the setting for Pikachu is actually taken from the Japanese game of the same name. There, Pikachu is not just a creature making "Pika Pika" noises but is a detective with a grown man's voice. Judging by Pikachu's response, its intelligence is not low; it is more than just a simple pet.

 

After a while, Schiller and Pikachu sit face to face on the sofa. Pikachu holds a cup of coffee with its little stumpy hands and says, "Actually, I don't have any memories. All I remember is a flash of light, and then I find myself in a garbage truck. It takes a lot of effort to climb out. I am starving, and as I walk the streets, all the houses are closed, no place will let me in, except here, your warehouse back door seems unlocked. I follow the hallway and find the fridge… Of course, regarding the stealing, it's my bad indeed, and if possible, once I earn some money, I will pay you back for the cake."

 

Schiller applauds him sarcastically, then says, "I have to say, for a mouse, you've got an impressively high ideological consciousness. If all the mice in the world are as polite as you, humans wouldn't need to invent so many rat poisons."

 

"So you put rat poison next to the cake? That really stanks, almost kills me, truth be told."

 

"Actually, what I put there isn't rat poison, it's something a bit scarier than that… but never mind, you're just a mouse after all."

 

Schiller puts down his coffee cup, curiously eyeing Pikachu, and asks,

 

"So, can you do that thing?"

 

"What? What thing?" Pikachu replies, puzzled.

 

Schiller gazes at the cute yellow face showing a strikingly humanlike expression. His emotions are in turmoil as he says, "You know, that thing…"

 

"What in the world are you talking about?"

 

"Alright, Pikachu, listen up. You say you want to make money to compensate for the food you stole, but I don't think anyone else would hire a talkable yellow mouse. So if you want to compensate for your theft, you can only work here. If you want the job, you need to show your employer your skills, right?"

 

"Oh, I get it. You mean electricity, right? That's my specialty. With me around, you can save at least half on your electricity bill every month. It's just I was too hungry earlier and haven't fully recovered, so I might not be able to generate 100,000 volts right now, but charging your phone… I can manage that."

 

Saying so, Pikachu quickly scurries onto the table. It hops up there, takes out Schiller's charging phone, and returns to the couch to demonstrate.

 

Pikachu's lightning-shaped tail extends, and in a flash of electricity, Schiller's phone screen lights up, showing it is charging, although not too quickly.

 

To prove its ability, Pikachu hugs the phone tighter and shakes its tail more vigorously. Then, with a strong stretch, a buzzing of electricity envelops the creature, and the phone's charging speeds up drastically—it goes up by 10% in just a second. But just as Schiller moves to stop Pikachu, the phone explodes with a loud "Bang!"

 

Pikachu's yellow fur turns black, and it exhales a puff of smoke. Looking down helplessly at the exploded phone in its lap, it says, "Looks like I can only work for you now, otherwise I'll never be able to repay you in this lifetime."

 

Schiller covers his forehead and says, "Your performance is truly astonishing, quite the surprise. I could never imagine such a handy charging station exists in this world."

 

Pikachu recognizes the underlying sarcasm. It is about to retort when Schiller chimes in, "Well, but that's not what I want to see."

 

"What do you want to see, then? What other skills do I have? I don't even know myself…"

 

"Of course, you do. It's that thing..."

 

Schiller stares at Pikachu insistently, and Pikachu suddenly shows a complicated, disgusted expression as if it has eaten something shitty.

 

Reluctantly under Schiller's watchful gaze, it turns around, leaps onto the backrest of the couch, and lets out a loud—

 

"PIKA——PIKA!!!!!!"

 

Schiller is thoroughly satisfied.