Father and Son

"So you went to see Odin?"

"Don't even mention it, I haven't seen it at all." Strange leaned against the desk in his Arkham Asylum office. "I don't understand why the teacher is in such a hurry."

"We didn't make any appointments, we just went to Asgard without making any reservations, but Odin was out and we'll have to wait a while for him to come back."

"You've completed an interstellar journey in just a few hours?" Stark asked, sitting on the sofa beside him.

"Just say you're jealous," Strange retorted without hesitation.

But he said with some helplessness, "I told you we shouldn't have told my teacher about this plan so early; she's a little too excited now."

"When we returned to Kamar-Taj, in the time leading up to my departure, she had over a dozen sorcerers call the Cosmic Demons they had previously dealt with, and they kept calling even when they couldn't get through. Mephisto was the first to respond..."

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

"No, but I heard his voice, though they were speaking an ancient language that I couldn't understand."

"What did that sound like?" Stark asked curiously. "You actually heard the voice of the devil?"

"So what? When I went to Asgard, I even saw the World Tree," Strange said with no small amount of pride. "There were also Pegasus flying in the sky and little fairies in the springs."

"Have you met any of the gods from mythology?"

Strange shook his head and said, "We arrived too suddenly. Asgard didn't arrange anyone to receive us, and many people left with Odin. The One at home was a god named Loki, the Prince of Asgard. He received us, but I didn't have a very good impression of him."

"Why?"

"It's hard to say. Ever since I started learning magic, my intuition has become more acute. I always had a feeling that he wasn't a good person."

"Then your intuition is right," Schiller said to Strange. "That big oaf we picked up the other day said that his brother is the God of Lies and Deceit."

"By the way, I've confirmed it this time. The alien that landed on Earth is indeed Odin's son, because I heard that Odin went out to deal with the trouble he caused."

"Where is Thor now?" Stark asked Schiller.

"He is currently undergoing a physical examination at S.H.I.E.L.D.. and should be released soon."

"Is Nick really willing to release him? According to you, he caused a Big Trouble at home before, forcing his father to personally step in and resolve it. How much trouble will he cause on Earth?"

"Steve tested him before, and apart from being slightly stronger than the average person and incredibly healthy, he doesn't have any special abilities."

After saying that, Schiller glanced down at his watch and said, "By now, Nick should have gotten what he wanted to know. The next step will definitely be to use S.H.I.E.L.D.. to find him a house and a job, and have several agent keep a close watch on him 24/7 to observe the alien's behavior..."

"I've always thought this approach is somewhat dangerous. Even if he doesn't have superhuman strength, his values are completely different from humans, which is equivalent to a mentally ill person who is constantly having episodes..."

"Whether he's mentally ill or not is not for you to decide," Schiller said with a smile.

"You didn't take Nick's bribe again to write him a medical report, did you???" Stark stared wide-eyed at Schiller.

"You're going to make money like this??"

"You should worry about yourself first." Schiller glanced down at his watch again and said, "Miss Pepper is done with her work lately, but you're in trouble now, Mr. Stark, who understands women best."

Upon hearing that Schiller wanted to discuss this topic with him, Stark practically fled. After he left, Strange glanced at the door, then went over and closed it, saying, "Are you just going to let him continue like this?"

He pointed to his chest, indicating that he was referring to the energy problem in Stark's chest.

"It seems that learning magic has indeed changed you quite a bit; you even care about Stark now."

"I just think he is the guarantee of our research and development capabilities. After all, we still have many problems to solve, such as energy conversion and storage. If he dies, things will definitely become very troublesome."

"Didn't you notice?"

"What?"

"We knew perfectly well that the reactor in his chest was a time bomb that could kill him within a year, but we weren't in a hurry."

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

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

Strange frowned and thought for a moment before saying, "I think I see it. Is it the one next to the bookshelf?"

"That's right, that's a model of the Arc Reactor."

"You mean he already had a replacement prepared? Then why didn't he use it?"

"Because it's a technique from his father."

"Okay..." Strange shook his head, clearly unable to understand. "To risk his life out of spite, he's even more childish than I thought."

"It wasn't entirely out of spite. He believed there was still room for improvement in the technology, and he wanted to create a perfect product directly, so that he could solve the problem once and for all. More importantly, it would prove that he was better than his father."

"Let's not talk about him, let's talk about you. I heard from the nurse that you didn't go home for Christmas and Easter last year?" Schiller asked Strange.

"That's none of your business," Strange said in a low voice. "I'm not your patient, I don't need your advice."

"That's what every one of my patients says."

"That doesn't matter to me anymore. I not only have money and status, but I've also reached realms that ordinary people can't access. I even took an interstellar trip a few hours ago and arrived at the legendary kingdom of gods..."

"You know what? When you were saying that just now, your expression was exactly the same as when Stark mentioned Howard. Whenever that name comes to his ears, he talks about how glorious Stark Industries is now..."

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

Schiller sighed and said, "Generally speaking, when a Doctor advises you to let go of something and forgive someone, it's not because they think that person did the right thing, but because if you continue to dwell on it, you will only end up hurting your own emotions and mental well-being. You should know this better than I do."

"Okay, maybe I shouldn't say this, but I'd love to hear about your background and then compare your father to Stark's father to see which one is worse," Schiller continued.

Strange scoffed and said, "There are all sorts of good people in this world, but all the bad people are pretty much the same."

Unlike Stark, Strange spoke of this experience in a cold tone, devoid of any inflection.

"I originally studied medicine to cure my sister's leg, but on the day I received the scholarship, I called him and his first words were, 'Your sister is dead.'"

"His second sentence was asking me to give him the scholarship."

"Then it seems your father is worse."

"Simply because he was poorer."

"I heard you have a younger brother."

"Yes, little brother..." Strange's tone was somewhat contemptuous, "That drunkard doesn't like Donna, and he doesn't like me, but he's completely devoted to his youngest son Victor."

"That's why I don't want to go back, because that's not my home. They have a deep bond between father and son, and it has nothing to do with me."

After speaking, Strange lowered his head to write again. When Strange mentioned his background, he did not react as intensely as Stark. His tone was very calm, as if he were talking about someone else's story.

"In that sense, Stark is quite lucky, after all, he is an only child and had his old butler and uncle to keep him company during his childhood."

Schiller rested his chin on his hand and sighed, "That big oaf who fell from the sky is the same. I just don't know if Odin is really biased or something else."

"I'm not like him. I've always had excellent grades and have won every scholarship imaginable."

"He fought in many battles and made many contributions, but the result is that neither of you can go home now."

"He was thrown out, but I wasn't."

Strange's tone remained unchanged as he said, "I've received more praise from my teacher in the last few days than I have from my father in my entire life."

"Stark once said that his father always thought he knew nothing, so he is now desperately trying to prove that he knows everything."

"It makes no sense," Strange concluded.

"This is pointless!" Pepper shouted. "When are you going to stop your damn arrogance and always risk your life?"

"Who are you trying to prove something to? Your father? Can you use your brain? No father wants to see his son risk his life to spite him!"

In the Stark Tower's laboratory, Pepper walked up to Stark, looked him in the eye, and said, "If I had known that while I was busy cleaning up your mess, you were busy courting death, I wouldn't have cared about you, Stark!"

"I'm not courting death. Listen to me, what I made wasn't perfect. I hope to create a more perfect product..."

"What kind of time is this? Are you still fixated on your meaningless standards? You're about to die!"

"You know what, Tony? I really can't think of any reason why someone would still be dwelling on the past and memories when they know they have less than a year to live."

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

"I can do better, I just need some time, a year is enough, believe me, Pepper."

Stark went up to Pepper, hugged her, and said, "Even if I only have a year to live, at least I'll have you with me."

"You're always the same, all talk and no action, never addressing the problem I'm most worried about." Pepper sighed wearily and said, "You treat all women the same way."

"Don't do that, trust me, I'll solve this problem."

Looking at Stark's perpetually slightly moist eyes, Pepper refrained from uttering any further accusations.

After Pepper left, Stark sat down again by the edge of the lab bench, holding the model in his hand.

Stark looked at the model in his hands. When he looked at it, he was reminded of his favorite toy, the little car that he and his father had assembled by hand.

Howard took care of the chassis and engine, while Stark installed the body shell, tires, and seats, and then wrote their shared surname on the door with a pen.

This was a good time that he had searched through his memories for a long time before finally finding it.

Everyone thought that Stark was just unwilling to use Howard's technology, but only Stark himself knew that he just wanted to make the technology more perfect, and it wasn't because he wanted to prove that he was better than Howard.

He simply wanted this to be a collaborative work between him and his son, just like that toy car. That toy became a memento of the first half of his life, while the Arc Reactor would be his hope for the second half.

In this way, he can also consider that his father has never been absent from his life.

It's here!