Hollywood Black-and-White Films (Part One)

Early in the morning, in his office at Arkham Asylum, Schiller put down the book he was holding. Peter, carrying a satchel, stood at the door, knocked, and Schiller looked up and said, "Come in."

"Doctor, I'm back." Peter seemed very excited. After walking in, he took off his backpack, unzipped it, and started rummaging through the bag. After searching for a while, he exclaimed, "Oh, here it is!"

As he spoke, he took a box out of his backpack. It was a square, transparent box containing an old-fashioned videotape, the kind used on hand-cranked projectors.

Peter handed the videotape to Schiller, scratched his head, and said a little embarrassedly, "I think you'll like this."

Schiller smiled and took the videotape, saying, "More than the gift, I'm curious about how your trip to Hollywood went."

Peter made a strange face, his eyebrows forming a step with one higher than the other, and his eyes, one big and one small, were even more comical. This reminded Schiller of the most common funny expression Spider-Man made in the comics.

Peter sighed and said, "That's a long story."

As Schiller unwrapped the old videotape, he said, "No rush, we can talk while we watch the old movie."

Peter looked at the old videotape that had been taken apart and said, "This thing is an antique. Modern projectors probably can't use this kind of videotape anymore, right?"

"You should know who has a projector capable of playing this kind of thing..."

The morning light began to grow brighter and brighter, passing through the morning and noon, and arriving at the drowsy afternoon.

With a "click," Steve bent down and turned the old projector's stand around, then pointed to the window.

Stark walked to the window, cursing, and drew the curtains. Schiller sat on one side of the sofa and clinked glasses with Connors on the single sofa next to him. Natasha looked down and fiddled with a small golden statuette.

"I mean, besides this old relic, who else would like to use this broken-down machine to play these old films?"

After Stark finished speaking, everyone in the room looked up at him. Stark paused for a moment and said, "Am I the only one who doesn't want to watch?"

"Please, why don't I use this time to create something new for human civilization?"

Stark muttered to himself as he sat down on the sofa. Steve, who was standing behind the sofa, pressed a button on the projector. As a black and white image was projected onto the wall in front of him, Steve also walked over and sat down on the sofa.

Accompanied by the light jazz music from a movie from the last century, in Schiller's vision, the objects in the room begin to fade, the surface of the fabric sofa gradually becomes smooth, and the luster of the leather sofa spreads from one corner until it covers the entire sofa.

The lamp stand was raised, and the retro patterns on the glass lampshade climbed up like grapevines. Old wood grain spread across the alloy window frame. The sunlight shining in from outside the window changed from dazzling to dim. Just as the sun set below the horizon, a knocking sound rang out on the door.

Standing outside the door was Bruce. Schiller put down his pen, stood up, looked at him, and said, "Is your Hollywood trip over?"

Bruce pursed his lips, his expression somewhat strange. Schiller asked, "What's wrong? Is Selene feeling uncomfortable?"

"She's adapting well." Bruce's tone was low, but it also revealed a hint of complexity.

"So it seems you're not adapting well?"

Bruce didn't speak, but took a beautifully wrapped wooden box from the bag in his hand and handed it to Schiller, saying, "... a souvenir, Professor."

Schiller took the box, saw the old videotapes inside, and said, "How did you know I had an old projector on my estate?... Oh, never mind, that's a silly question."

With a click, Harvey straightened the projector stand and pointed the projector at the wall. Victor put down his wine glass and leaned back on the soft leather sofa. Gordon lit a cigar for Schiller, then picked up a cigar himself, lit it, and exhaled a puff of smoke.

Bruce squinted on the single sofa next to him, looking somewhat sleepy, like a bat dozing in a cave.

As the projector button was turned on, the movie image was projected onto the wall. The cheerful orchestral melody began to turn somber, and after the percussion and drumbeats joined in, the roar of the sports car engine and the howling of the wind filled the air.

"Wow!!" Selene popped out of her seatbelt and stretched her upper body out of the convertible door. Bruce, who was driving, quickly pulled her back and then sighed.

This was his thirtieth sigh on this journey. Selene put her arm on the car door, tilted her head back and chewed her bubble gum. She blew a bubble and turned to Bruce, saying, "To be honest, I was really shocked when you took off your mask. You're Wayne."

"I thought you had already guessed it."

"I knew you were rich, but I didn't know you were this rich." Selene pressed her fingers to her temples, chewing bubble gum as she said, "But you said you'd take me to Hollywood and have me make movies, isn't that a bit too absurd?"

Selene casually remarked, "I went to the cinema to see the movie before, and I thought I looked pretty much like the actresses in those scenes, but..."

Her tone became hesitant again. "Okay, I admit it, I'm just a girl born in the Slums. I've never seen anything big since I was born. If there were so many cameras pointed at me, I might be trembling with fear."

"I just want to find you something productive to do." Bruce turned the steering wheel, rounded a bend, and said, "As long as you don't steal anything, no one will question your position on set, because I'm the one who invested in the whole movie..."

Selene glanced at the scenery rushing past the car window, then blinked her big eyes at Bruce and said, "You're so good to me."

Bruce's hands on the steering wheel stiffened for a moment. Selene noticed his reaction and deliberately leaned closer to him, saying, "You get nervous too? That's really rare."

"Even though I haven't experienced the life of a rich person like you, I know you must have many female companions. Are you like this when you're with them?"

Bruce turned his head away from Selene, who was pressing close to him, and slowed down the car, saying, "We're in Hollywood... Look over there."

Following Bruce's gaze, Selene saw a line of huge white letters appear on a lush green hillside in the distance—"HOLLYWOOD".

At that moment, behind the letters, a sun was slowly sinking below the horizon. The clouds in the sky changed rapidly, sinking into night and then into dawn. As the morning light shone through from behind the letters, Peter draped a blanket over Gwen beside him and pointed to the row of letters, saying, "Look, we've arrived."

Gwen's smile was especially radiant in the morning light, Peter was almost mesmerized. Seeing Peter's stunned expression, Gwen burst out laughing and said, "Do you know how red your face is?"

Peter awkwardly turned his head back, then rubbed his face with his hands. Next, he swept the hair off his forehead with both hands, looked directly into the morning light, and gazed at the white letters on the hillside.

"I heard that this was originally an advertising billboard erected by a real estate developer to promote his residences."

"But now, the copyright of this thing should belong to the city of Los Angeles." Gwen brushed a strand of hair from her temple and said, "The reason I wanted to travel to Hollywood is because I saw this billboard in a movie when I was a child, and I even fantasized about changing it with my own name."

"You want to make your name so big, on the hillside?" Peter stared at Gwen, as if he didn't recognize her.

Gwen laughed Shang-Chi, and patted Peter on the shoulder with One Hand, saying, "I was like that when I was little, and my dad was really supportive. He made a few identical white letters out of cardboard and put them on my windowsill, and I was so happy. Seriously, don't you want to be like that?"

Gwen placed One Hand on Peter's shoulder and extended the One Hand, pointing to the billboard with her fingers spread wide, saying, "People will see your name as soon as they drive by in this lane, and many will stop to take pictures, just like we have..."

"Wait a minute!" Peter turned around and said, "Speaking of parking... isn't parking prohibited here???"

No sooner had he finished speaking than he saw several uniformed traffic police officers walking over from the other side, chasing away tourists who had parked there. Gwen grabbed Peter and said, "Get in the car! I don't want to pay a fine!"

The two hurriedly opened the car doors and got in. Peter started the car and stepped on the gas. He heard the screams of those who were slow behind him being fined. The two looked at each other and smiled brightly.

The car looked tiny on the long highway. At the horizon, the light was blocked by clouds and darkened. With a "snap," a parking ticket was affixed to the side of the convertible.

Bruce had One Hand on the outside of the car door, holding a wad of dollars in one hand and a cigarette in the One Hand. Selene took the cigarette out of her mouth and leaned over to light it for Bruce.

The traffic cop squeezed the extra wad of dollars in his hand, smiled at Bruce, and said, "You can look for as long as you like, sir. Have a pleasant journey."

Bruce didn't even look at him, just held his cigarette in one hand, staring straight at the smoke merging with the sunset on the horizon. He said, "You can look for as long as you want now."

Selene opened the car door, walked to the roadside, stretched, yawned, and squinted at the twilight light, saying, "I never imagined I'd be in a place like this, surrounded by the main characters from those movies..."

A jacket was thrown out of the car and landed on Selene. She turned to Bruce, who was still sitting in the driver's seat, and said, "You're great in every way, especially because you're rich..."

Selene turned around, braced herself against the car door, and leaned back into the car, saying, "But I always felt that the Bruce Wayne I saw in the newspapers wasn't like this. They said you had a bunch of shady friends, liked to fool around, were a Prodigal Son, and all the women were head over heels for you..."

"But why do I feel like you're not relaxed at all? You're always so nervous, and..." Selene opened the car door and got back in, then leaned close to Bruce, blowing into his ear with a smile, and said, "...and you're a little shy too?"

Seeing Bruce's neck stiffen instantly, Selene blinked and said, "You're a mystery. More like a ball of yarn than a bat, sir."

"Isn't that perfect?" Bruce looked back at her, his deep blue eyes clearer than the sky on the West Coast when he looked at Selene.

"You happen to be a cat, my lady."