Temporary Respite

"Really? Uh, then how should I usually address you? Should I call you Wonder Woman like on TV?"

To someone he had never met before yet was willing to invest time, energy, and other resources to teach him, Shane was willing to show enough respect.

"Oh, I think you can call me Ms. Prince."

Bruce behind her secretly facepalmed, and Wonder Woman shot him a warning glance, then looked at Shane with a hint of anticipation.

"Teacher Prince."

Shane first shouted out this title according to the other's expectation, then showed a puzzled look.

"Besides prince, can this word also mean princess?"

"Pfft."

Bruce Wayne made a sound he couldn't hold back.

Diana's face darkened, but considering that Shane had indeed just arrived on Earth, and remembering how many of her own actions when she first contacted human society now seemed simple and brainless, she could only put away her anger at having her surname made fun of.

Glaring at Bruce Wayne, who quickly restrained his expression, Diana reached out and rubbed her forehead.

"Prince is just my surname. Do you have anything you need to pack?"

Shane was just about to say that he had nothing except a bag of old clothes, when unexpectedly Bruce Wayne suddenly interrupted him.

"Wait a minute, this kid does have some luggage."

Shane was startled for a moment, and then thought whether this Gotham billionaire was going to be generous, kindly sending a sum of starting capital to help him quickly adapt to Earth.

As a result, Bruce led Shane and Diana into an underground warehouse.

Inside parked a brand-new.

Escape pod.

This was completely beyond Shane's expectation. There was no disappointment of illusions being shattered, only a trace of shock.

"How did this thing get here?"

Shane stepped forward and touched the silver outer shell of the escape pod.

Seeing this vehicle that had carried him fleeing Hell and heading toward hope once again, some complicated feelings welled up in Shane's heart.

"Wayne Enterprises' space satellite happened to capture this thing, so I spent some effort bringing it back and patched it up along the way."

Bruce said it very casually, as if he had casually fished out some loose change at a flea market to buy a hot dog snack.

But in Shane's memory, when that Black Superman took him away from the escape pod, it was clearly still a certain distance away from Earth.

He had the feeling of suddenly owing Bruce tens of millions of dollars.

Although considering Bruce's true identity, the other party probably brought the escape pod back just to dismantle and study it.

Attempting to unearth more information about Shane and about Viltrum from inside this space vehicle.

However, unfortunately, this thing had literally nothing to do with Viltrum.

It came from a planetary civilization conquered by Viltrumites.

And the one who completed this conquest mission was Shane along with several other Viltrumite compatriots participating in this "bloody rite of passage".

"By the way, there is something I want to tell you."

The expression of Bruce standing behind Shane suddenly became serious.

"When I was repairing this spaceship, I took a look at the flight log data inside."

"A part of the data inside turned into unparsable garbled code, which means that during the period when you were drifting unconsciously in space, you might have lost a period of time."

Shane, who had originally been squatting by the edge of the escape pod, slowly stood up with a puzzled look on his face.

"This doesn't matter, right? I remember there was only enough energy in the escape pod to sustain three years..."

Bruce shrugged.

"The universe is very magical, and energy consumption doesn't absolutely represent the time scale you spent in the universe, but currently we cannot parse that garbled code, so I'm just simply letting you know about this matter."

beneath the starry night sky, two large and small figures rapidly streaked across the night sky.

The small one was Diana, and the large one was Shane carrying the escape pod.

"Teacher, where do you usually settle down? New York?"

"You watch too much TV. Not everyone has to settle down in New York. I live in Boston, Massachusetts."

The city below gradually changed from blurred light and shadow to clear. Red-brick row houses were arranged in good order, the Charles River cut through the city like a silver ribbon, and the dome of Harvard University in the distance shone with a pale golden outline under the moonlight.

"Ahead is Vanessa's house."

Diana's voice pierced through the airflow, diving downward toward a five-story small building hidden behind a camphor tree forest.

On the way, Diana had already mentioned Vanessa to him, who could be considered one of Wonder Woman's only friends in the human world who knew her identity.

Of course, Vanessa's mother was also the roommate and landlord who rented the house to Diana.

He heard she was also a professor at Harvard University.

Shane followed closely behind, deliberately restraining most of his power upon landing, and his soles made only a slight sound when they touched the ground softly.

The outer walls of this small building were covered with green ivy, and the windows on the first floor were lit with warm yellow lights.

As soon as Diana pressed the doorbell, the door was pulled open, and a young girl with brown curly hair and a loose knitted sweater poked her head out—it was Vanessa.

Seeing Shane behind Diana and the silver-white streamlined cabin he held in both hands, there was not the slightest surprise in her eyes; instead, she smiled and waved.

"Diana, you're back? Is this the kid you mentioned?"

"His name is Shane, from another planet."

Diana introduced briefly.

"He temporarily has no place to live, and I want to place his spaceship on the roof."

"The roof is free to use. My mom is preparing lessons in the study."

Vanessa turned sideways to let Diana in. The stairwell was covered with dark red carpeting, and stepping on it made no sound at all.

A middle-aged woman wearing gold-rimmed glasses and carrying a scholarly temperament walked down the stairs—it was Vanessa's mother, Julia.

Seeing the awkward Shane at the door and the escape pod in his hands, Julia pushed up her glasses and smiled gently.

"Must be Diana's alien friend, right? Welcome to Boston. The roof is very safe, and very few people go up usually. You can rest assured placing it there."

Her tone was as natural as welcoming an ordinary visitor, without feeling strange at all because of the "alien" identity.

Shane was stunned for a moment, and instinctively said "Thank you".

He had originally thought his alien identity would arouse vigilance, but he didn't expect the other party to be so calm, which made his tense nerves relax a little.

Vanessa smiled and pointed at the ceiling.

"You probably can't squeeze this thing through the door. Do you want Diana to help you take it up?"

"Ah? Ah, no need, I can fly myself."

Shane lifted the escape pod and took off into the air, while Vanessa cupped a hand over her forehead and tutted in wonder.

"Why does it feel like aliens knowing how to fly is a standard skill? This makes me feel like the degree of human evolution has fallen behind."

Julia, who was a Harvard professor, urged.

"Go help quickly, or do you want to go upstairs and do some homework?"

Vanessa rolled her eyes, and as she briskly passed by Diana, she poked Diana in the rib with her elbow.

Diana feigned injury, clutching her ribs and complaining to Vanessa.

"What? You're the one who said last time that I should bring a handsome male roommate back next time."

"This one is obviously underage! But there's improvement; that grass sprite last time always made the room smell like dirt."

Vanessa obviously wanted to refute, but ultimately chose to give Diana a thumbs-up as encouragement, then ran up the stairs with a pattering sound.

The roof was paved with non-slip floor tiles, and several pots of lush succulent plants were piled in the corner.

Shane placed the escape pod in the shadow at the edge of the platform, and Vanessa came over panting, handing him a earthy-yellow waterproof tarp.

"Cover this on top; it can block the rain and won't be conspicuous."

"Thank you."

Shane thanked her politely, then took the tarp, and agilely covered the escape pod, weighing down the edges with bricks.

He opened the cabin door and went in to take a look. The indicator light of the cryo pod was in hibernation mode, and the inner cabin was covered with a layer of soft buffer cushions. Lying in it was indeed quite comfortable.

Vanessa walked around the escape pod, staring at the open hatchway, seeming very eager to see the layout inside, but in the end she endured.

She had known Diana for a full three years, and this was the first time Diana had brought back a roommate who was completely human in appearance and also male.

She mustn't frighten the other party.

After wandering around a few times, she finally just said hello outside, indicating that Shane could come down for dinner later.

Then Vanessa hurried away.

Shane didn't care about the situation outside. He simply tidied up and put his few spare clothes into the storage compartment of the cabin, considering himself temporarily settled down.