But Human Torch and Spider Man are good friends, with every Spider Man. Even though Human Torch from the Central Universe and Peter from Old 616 Earth have never met, once they meet they are arm in arm, chatting away enthusiastically.
This kind of situation greatly eases the tense atmosphere. Reed stroked his freshly trimmed beard, "I don't know what they're so nervous about, as if I'm going to do something to them."
Susan nudged him with her elbow, hinting him not to speak like that. Before coming, she had already heard from Carter that the Reed of this universe often causes trouble, and his reputation isn't good. It's better to say less.
"Then you don't know what the Reed of this universe did." Franklin floated over to Reed and said.
"Didn't he just punch a hole in the Antimatter Universe?" Reed smirked, "There are just a bunch of big bugs in there, nothing else, is it worth making such a fuss?"
"That's what you don't know." Franklin looked mysterious, "In this big world, the Antimatter Universe isn't just about bugs."
"Oh?" Reed's eyes brightened, immediately signaling Franklin with his eyes to elaborate.
Susan pushed them one by one, desperately trying to push them into the hotel, while giving an apologetic smile to the people around, then whispering through gritted teeth, "If you two dare discuss punching holes in the universe here again, go back home!"
"No no no." Reed hurriedly grabbed her, "We're just talking about theoretical issues..."
"When have you ever talked about theoretical issues without eventually putting them into practice?" Susan raised her voice but, fearing attracting attention, looked around and then whispered, "We're here for a wedding, and we shouldn't impact the newlyweds. You need to set a good example for the kids..."
After finishing pleasantries with Susan, Shiller went to greet Graham. He walked up and shook hands with Graham, who wasn't very tall but had quite solid muscles. His appearance leaned towards the classic American tough guy and looked a bit simple-minded.
Shiller talked to him about Hal since he didn't know many pilots. Graham sighed and said, "I've heard of him, not just anyone can be a test pilot. Back when I was in the Marine Corps, I wasn't selected. If not for good luck in getting into NASA, I might have retired and moved on to flying commercial airlines."
"I heard you want to become a Starship First Officer? Is there a good chance?"
Graham heaved a long sigh, shook his head, and said, "It's very difficult. There are several people better than me in skill, more experienced, and more importantly, they're older and also want to experience the joy of being an interstellar pioneer at the end of their lives. It's hard for me to compete with them."
"If Reed hadn't contacted me, saying he could put in a good word for me, I would have given up." Graham shook his head.
"It was Dr. Richards who approached you?" Shiller inquired.
"Yeah." Graham replied with some helplessness, "Don't you know him? He's spontaneous, insisting that since other universes have the Fantastic Four, our universe can't be without them, so he roped me into forming a group."
"But it's also beneficial for me. Reed's status in the scientific community is significant, and space agencies worldwide take him very seriously. Working with him makes many things easier."
"That's not the main reason, is it?" Shiller asked, "You seem like someone who goes with the flow."
Graham didn't deny it. He said, "We were classmates in high school. After graduation, I joined the military, and over the years, I haven't had many friends. Sometimes I don't even know whom to contact when I want to hang out with friends."
"Back then, we got along well in class. Reed has been smart since childhood, and I was considered strong among my peers. He was in charge of thinking, and I was in charge of the work. It was a pretty good match. After reuniting, I also got along well with him and his wife, so why not? It's better than drinking alone, right?"
Shiller smiled and said, "Everyone has their lonely moments."
Graham grinned, "I know many people find Reed difficult to get along with, thinking he speaks harshly and thinks erratically. I happen not to mind these things. He's even willing to set aside his somewhat obsessive scientific interests to have a drink with me. Isn't that what life's about?"
Then Graham walked towards the hotel. Shiller originally intended to go back as well, but seeing Peter and Human Torch arm in arm walking out, it was clear there was an after-party.
"Don't drink." Shiller called out to them, "If you get caught, I'm definitely not bailing you out."
"Relax, professor." Peter said, "I'm not a kid anymore."
Shiller watched them walk off into the distance. Peter indeed wasn't young anymore, having become a professor already, and Human Torch Jonathan had basically left his teenage years behind. In his fond memories, Jonathan's current main occupation seemed to be a race car driver, a star athlete, and quite popular. They probably wouldn't get into trouble.
So Shiller went upstairs to rest. Although he no longer got seasick, today's schedule had indeed drained a lot of his energy. He slept deeply, with his phone ringing twice during the night without waking him.
Therefore, when Carter asked him to visit the Rebirth Alliance headquarters the next morning, Shiller thought it was another sightseeing activity.
Shiller thought about it; if it were a tour of the Rebirth Alliance headquarters, it should mostly be indoors, not too hot, and no beach walking would be required, so wearing a suit would be more appropriate.
However, the black suit looked quite tasteless and wasn't suitable for the current weather. Standing under the sun for ten minutes could be fatal. Shiller thought for a moment and finally changed to a linen suit.
The color was a low-key dark gray-blue. To avoid looking too formal, he wore a round-neck T-shirt instead of a shirt and didn't wear a tie. Off-white Hollywood suit pants paired with brown suede loafers made for a typical old-money European style. Unfortunately, Shiller didn't like wearing sunglasses, or else he could head straight to Wimbledon in this outfit.
Shiller got into the car, which drove all the way to the headquarters of the Rebirth Alliance. It was a large building area, with the most striking structure being a hemispherical building in the middle. Shiller paused for a moment as soon as he got out of the car.
The accompanying agent asked, "What's wrong, sir?"
Shiller glanced at his arm and sighed, "Nothing, just suddenly remembered why I don't like wearing linen suits."
Linen is light and breathable, which can break the stiff atmosphere well, making it suitable for light vacation activities. But the only issue is that it wrinkles too easily.
This fabric starts wrinkling the second it leaves the ironing board. Unless humans lose all their joints and hop around zombie-like, it won't be long before it's covered in creases.
The creases on the arm are unavoidable. Shiller pulled forcefully on the hem of the shirt to ensure no large wrinkles were left, then walked into the lobby.
The lobby remained spacious and bright, with the main tone being white. Various architectural structures were made from silver metal, but to break the overly techy and monotonous feel, it was equipped with a lot of green plants.
Shiller stared at the tree in the middle, unsure if it was Poison Ivy's work. But no matter what, it shouldn't be Pamela from his universe, so there's no worry about getting hit.
As for why Shiller had such concerns, it's worth mentioning that to improve Gotham University's environmental score, they once bought a batch of potted plants to decorate the teaching buildings. As expected, all the plants would unexpectedly smack you occasionally, basically training students in dodging.
They took the elevator all the way and then crossed several corridors, leaving the main building and arriving at the back skyscraper. After several twists and turns, they entered the office. Upon entering, they saw Peter Parker and Jonathan Stone standing there—one with a bandage on his hand and the other with gauze on his head.
Shiller's head buzzed instantly. He instinctively took out his phone and noticed two missed calls he hadn't paid attention to, probably made two or three hours ago. The caller ID showed Carter.
Shiller closed his eyes and sighed. No wonder people say slaughter pigs in a past life, teach in this life. Judging by the number of people he's rescued, he must have been the director of a large pig farm in a past life.
Carter sat at the desk watching them, his posture not much different from a high school homeroom teacher. Just as Shiller was about to say something, two more people walked in, one in black and yellow, and the other in black and red—Deathstroke and Deadpool.
These two naturally appeared unscathed but evidently had something to do with the situation. Shiller's gaze wandered over their faces, eventually turning into a sigh.
Carter seemed too angry to speak. Natasha beside him walked over, waved her hand to let him rest. The red-haired female agent sat down, crossing her legs: "How much did you drink?"
"Didn't... didn't drink..."
Peter quickly gave him a glance, then looked at Natasha. Her reputation as a drinking expert preceded her. Saying you didn't drink in front of her was nothing short of a joke.
"Not much," Peter retorted, "each had two cocktails."
"Two cocktails and you brawl half the night? You both are quite efficient." Natasha smirked before suddenly slamming the table, startling the four against the wall, "You useless punks, always cause trouble at crucial moments..."
The four didn't know how guilty they felt, but they remained silent. Especially Human Torch, considering his hot temper, he should have started yelling much earlier.
Shiller was a bit puzzled, so he flipped through his memory again, realizing he'd been disciplined by Greed and felt relieved. When his sister Susan was pregnant, he impulsively nearly hurt Susan and his nephew Franklin. He left home out of guilt and anger, then encountered Greed, and that was the end.
"Let's first hear what happened,"
Shiller had a strong resistance in this regard and basically had to visit the Gotham Police Department ten to eight times a week. No wonder Gordon kept bringing up old issues; Shiller never argued back, lest the little troublemakers couldn't be bailed out by him.
Hearing Shiller's softened tone, Peter, Human Torch, and Deadpool began making eye contact. Peter cleared his throat and said, "To celebrate Wade's return, we arranged to drink at the bar... Don't look at me like that. I'm a local. Since I drank, how could they not?"
Then he turned to Shiller and said, "I didn't want to drink, but the bar owner said a fresh batch of seafood arrived, you know, seafood and wine are a perfect match. Didn't get any during the day, so I thought about having a treat in the evening..."
"This was definitely my mistake," Peter admitted quickly. Shiller had to admit, this Peter was far more experienced than the little spider in their universe—he knew to concede the minor points first to avoid sounding too defensive.
"But still, as I said, I'm a local. The no-drinking regulations don't apply to me. Then, I thought Wade's a modified human, unlikely to get drunk, so even if the two of us got drunk, he could get us home. I even told him the hotel location in advance, shouldn't have been an issue."
"What went wrong then?" Shiller pursued, drawing frequent side glances from Natasha. Her gaze seemed to say, "Can you really tolerate this?"