Father and Son

"So you went to see Odin?"

"Don’t mention it. We didn’t see him at all." Strange leaned against a desk in Arkham Asylum’s office. "I don’t understand why my teacher was in such a hurry."

"We didn’t have an appointment. We just drew a circle and went straight to Asgard, but Odin had gone out. We had to wait for him to come back."

"You took an interstellar trip in just a few hours?" Stark asked from the sofa nearby.

"Just say you’re jealous." Strange shot back without hesitation.

Still, he said helplessly, "I told you we shouldn’t have told my teacher about this plan so early. She’s a little too excited now."

"After we returned to Kamar-Taj, before I left, she had more than a dozen mages call the Cosmic Demons they’d traded with before. They kept calling even when no one answered. The first one to respond was Mephisto…"

"You met him? That so-called Lord of Hell?"

"No, but I heard his voice. They were using some ancient language, though. I couldn’t understand it."

"What did he sound like?" Stark asked curiously. "You actually heard a devil’s voice."

"What’s so special about that? When I went to Asgard, I saw the World Tree too." Strange sounded rather smug. "And flying pegasi, along with little sprites in the springs."

"Did you meet any of those gods from mythology?"

Strange shook his head. "We arrived too suddenly. Asgard hadn’t arranged anyone to receive us, and many people had left with Odin. The only one at home was a god named Loki, the Prince of Asgard. He received us, but I wasn’t very impressed with him."

"Why?"

"It’s hard to explain. Ever since I started learning magic, my intuition has become sharper. I just kept feeling that he wasn’t a good person."

"Then your intuition was right." Schiller said to Strange, "That big idiot we picked up a few days ago mentioned that his brother was the God of Lies and Deceit."

"Right, I confirmed it this time. That alien who fell to Earth really is Odin’s son, because I heard Odin went out specifically to deal with the trouble he caused."

"Where’s Thor now?" Stark asked Schiller.

"He’s currently cooperating with a physical examination at S.H.I.E.L.D. He should be released soon."

"Nick is really willing to let him go? From what you said, he caused Big Trouble at home and forced his father to personally clean it up. How much trouble could he cause on Earth?"

"Steve tested him earlier. Apart from being a little stronger than an ordinary person and unbelievably healthy, he doesn’t have any special abilities."

After saying that, Schiller glanced down at his watch. "By now, Nick has probably gotten the answers he wanted. Next, he’ll definitely use S.H.I.E.L.D. to find him a house and a job, then have several agents watch him twenty-four hours a day and observe the alien’s behavior…"

"I’ve always thought that was dangerous. Even if he doesn’t possess superhuman strength, his values are completely different from humanity’s. It’s like dealing with a mentally ill person who’s constantly having an episode…"

"Whether he’s mentally ill isn’t for you to decide." Schiller smiled.

"Don’t tell me you took Nick’s dirty money again and wrote him a diagnosis???" Stark stared at Schiller with wide eyes.

"You’ll even make money off that??"

"You should worry about yourself first." Schiller checked his watch again. "Miss Pepper has finished her work lately. You’re going to be in trouble, Mr. Stark, the man who understands women best."

The moment Schiller brought up that subject, Stark practically fled. After he left, Strange glanced outside the door, walked over and shut it, then asked, "You’re just going to let him keep doing this?"

He pointed at his own chest, indicating Stark’s energy problem.

"Looks like learning magic really has changed you. You actually care about Stark now."

"I just think he’s the guarantee of our research capabilities. We still have many problems to solve, things like energy conversion and storage. If he dies, everything afterward will become very troublesome."

"Haven’t you noticed?"

"Noticed what?"

"We know that reactor in his chest is a ticking time bomb that could kill him within a year, yet none of us are in a hurry."

"Then why?" Strange tilted his head and stared at Schiller.

"When you went to the lab last time, did you see the model on his workbench?"

Strange frowned and thought for a moment. "I think so. The one beside the bookshelf?"

"That’s right. It was a model of the Arc Reactor."

"You mean he already made a replacement? Then why doesn’t he replace it?"

"Because it was his father’s technology."

"Fine…" Strange shook his head, clearly unable to understand. "Risking his life just to spite someone. He’s even more childish than I thought."

"It isn’t entirely about spite. He thinks the technology still has room for improvement. He wants to make a perfect finished product in one go and solve the problem once and for all. More importantly, it would prove he’s better than his father."

"Enough about him. Let’s talk about you. I heard from the nurses that you didn’t go home last Christmas or Easter?" Schiller asked Strange.

"That has nothing to do with you." Strange’s tone darkened. "I’m not your patient. I don’t need your counseling."

"Every one of my patients says that."

"It doesn’t matter to me anymore. I have money, status, and I’ve touched fields ordinary people could never reach. A few hours ago, I even took an interstellar trip to the legendary realm of the gods…"

"You know, when you said that just now, you looked exactly like Stark whenever Howard is mentioned. Every time he hears that name, he starts talking about how glorious Stark Industries is now…"

"Then what do you advise him to do? Forgive Howard?"

Schiller sighed. "Generally speaking, when a psychologist advises you to let something go or forgive someone, it isn’t because they think that person was right. It’s because if you keep obsessing over it, the only thing damaged in the end will be your own emotions and mind. You should know that better than I do."

"Fine, maybe I shouldn’t say this, but I really want to hear about your background, then compare your father with Stark’s and see whose was worse," Schiller continued.

Strange snorted. "Good people differ in all kinds of ways, but rotten people are all alike."

Unlike Stark, Strange’s tone was icy when he spoke of this experience, without the slightest fluctuation.

"I studied medicine to heal my sister’s leg, but on the day I received my scholarship, I called him. The first thing he said was that my sister was dead."

"The second was that I should give him the scholarship."

"Then it seems your father was worse."

"Only because he was poorer."

"I heard you have a younger brother too."

"Yes, a younger brother…" Strange’s tone held some contempt. "That drunk didn’t like Donna or me, yet he indulged his youngest son, Victor, in everything."

"That’s why I don’t want to go back. That isn’t my home. Those father and son are so close, and I have no place there."

After saying that, Strange lowered his head and resumed writing. When he spoke of his background, he wasn’t as agitated as Stark. His tone was calm, as if he were talking about someone else’s life.

"By that measure, Stark was rather lucky. He was an only child, after all, and had an old butler and an uncle with him during his childhood."

Resting his chin on his hand, Schiller sighed. "That big idiot who fell from the sky is the same way. I just don’t know whether Odin truly favored one over the other, or whether there was something else going on."

"I’m not like him. My grades were always excellent, and I won every scholarship."

"He fought across the south and north, earned many military achievements, and in the end, neither of you can go home now."

"He was thrown out. I wasn’t."

Strange’s tone still did not change. "The praise I received from my father throughout my entire life didn’t amount to what I’ve received from my teacher these past few days."

"Stark once said his father always thought he understood nothing, which is why he’s now desperately trying to prove that he understands everything."

"It’s meaningless." Strange gave his final conclusion.

"It’s meaningless!" Pepper shouted. "When are you going to let go of that damned arrogance of yours? Stop constantly risking your life??"

"Who are you trying to prove it to? Your father? Can you use your brain for once? No father would want to see his son risk his life just to spite him!"

In the laboratory of Stark Tower, Pepper walked up to Stark and looked him in the eyes. "If I’d known that while I was busy cleaning up your messes, you were busy trying to get yourself killed, I never would have helped you! Stark!"

"I’m not trying to get myself killed. Listen to me, the thing I made isn’t perfect. I want a more perfect finished product…"

"At a time like this, you’re still hung up on those meaningless standards? You’re about to die!"

"You know what, Tony? I truly can’t think of any reason why someone who knows he has less than a year to live would still cling to all those things from the past and those memories."

After saying that, she covered her forehead and sighed. "I don’t even know whether to call you brave or arrogant."

"I could clearly do better. I just need a little time. One year is enough. Trust me, Pepper."

Stark stepped forward and embraced Pepper. "Even if I really only have one year left, at least I’ll have you with me."

"You’re always like this. You only know how to say pretty things, never how to solve the problem I worry about most." Pepper sighed tiredly. "You use this same routine on every woman."

"Don’t be like that. Trust me. I’ll solve this problem."

Looking into Stark’s eyes, always slightly damp, Pepper ultimately could not bring herself to say anything more accusatory.

After Pepper left, Stark sat down against the edge of the workbench again, holding that model in his hand.

As Stark looked at the model, he remembered his favorite toy from long ago: the little car that he and his father had assembled with their own hands.

Howard had handled the chassis and engine, while Stark installed the shell, tires, and seats, then wrote their shared surname on the door with a pen.

He had searched through his memories for a long time before finding this one small happy moment.

Everyone thought Stark simply refused to use Howard’s technology, but only Stark himself knew that he merely wanted to make the technology a little more perfect. It wasn’t because he wanted to prove he was stronger than Howard.

He only wanted it to become something father and son had created together, like that little car. That toy had become a keepsake of the first half of his life, and the Arc Reactor would be the hope of the latter half.

That way, he could pretend that his father had never been absent from his life.

It was here!