New York, Manhattan, this extremely prosperous and busy city, can only get a little quiet at night. When the sky completely darkens, the snow gradually stops, the air is still very cold, and the snow piled up on the streets all day long.
On both sides, the illuminated street lamps dyed it warm colors.
In the windows on both sides of the street, the mannequins have put on off-white elk sweaters and red and green scarves. A series of shining light bulbs hang on the top of the windows, and there are an exaggerated number of gift boxes placed in the corners.
.
Although there is still some time before Christmas, these businesses that occupy the best locations in New York have already prepared for the upcoming holiday shopping frenzy.
The huge Christmas tree in the middle of the central roundabout is already in place, but the dots of light bulbs on it have not yet been turned on. The gift boxes are covered with thick snow, and they haven't had time to clean them yet, but there is already an endless stream of people taking photos.
In the reception room on the top floor of the west side of Arkham Nursing Home, Schiller held a cup in one hand and leaned in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the children chasing each other on the street below. Strange was sitting on the sofa, putting some
Put away the scattered magazines.
"I don't know who told me yesterday that even if I beat him to death, he wouldn't be wearing an elk sweater this Christmas." Schiller didn't turn his head, but Strange heard his mockery, and he picked it up from his nose.
He made a snort and looked down at the blue and white elk sweater he was wearing.
It was a very ordinary turtleneck sweater. It was light blue from the collar to the shoulders, then white, and then light blue again. On the white part, there was a blue pattern composed of elk and snowflakes. It could be said that this was a turtleneck sweater.
An ordinary elk sweater that will most likely match up if you wear it at Christmas.
Strange said while flipping through the magazine in his hand: "When I passed by the window, I didn't even look at it. It's just that I felt sorry for the teller who couldn't sell out the goods, so I bought one by the way, so to speak.
You, I thought you were the kind of person who doesn't like to join in the fun."
Strange looked back at Schiller. Schiller was also wearing an elk sweater. He wore a white shirt underneath and a dark green elk sweater on the outside. There was a white elk on the chest. This shirt
The probability of the sweater colliding is much smaller than the one worn by Strange, but that doesn't mean it's completely non-existent.
"After all, everyone likes to dress like this, and I don't want to be unique." Schiller took a sip of water and said.
At this moment, the door creaked, and Steve walked in, also wearing an elk sweater. He was stunned when he saw Strange and Schiller's outfits, and Steve scratched his head.
Said: "I thought you were the kind of people who don't like to join in the fun."
Because the elk sweater he was wearing was a perfect combination of Strange style and Schiller style, with red and green colors and a white elk on the chest.
"Captain, this color is too old-fashioned. Did you choose it yourself?" Strange looked at Steve and asked.
Steve came over, sat on the sofa, bent his arms, put his hands on his knees and said, "Nick gave it to me. He said that SHIELD should have a festive atmosphere. Not only me, but Natasha and Hill also accepted it.
They received this gift, but they thought the color and style were too old-fashioned, so they didn’t wear it.”…
"I think it's just right. After all, old-fashioned clothes are just right for old-fashioned people." Steve said with a smile.
"I hope that when I go to the SHIELD base next time, I won't see a huge Christmas tree with golden bells hanging on it, or all kinds of small lights hanging on the eaves." Strange drew on his chest.
They made the sign of the cross and all three of them laughed.
"I really can't compliment Nick's aesthetics. Although we are all from that era, he obviously doesn't understand that the aesthetics of that era can't be called retro for now, it can only be said to be old-fashioned." Steve
Shake his head.
"Let's get down to business." Schiller came over, put the cup on the table, then walked to the other side of the dining table, took the other two cups and poured water for the two of them.
"I heard Nick wanted to have a Yule Ball?"
Before Schiller finished speaking, Strange raised his hands and said: "Oh my God, please spare me, doesn't he know how busy we are?"
"Yes." Steve nodded, rubbed the cup with his hand, and said, "As you know, he has been committed to uniting these people with special abilities and forming a team..."
"He will not miss any opportunity to bring us together to chat, talk, and improve our cohesion. Although I have no objection to this kind of activity, I have a headache when I think about the cumbersome procedures of the dance."
Schiller and Strange looked at each other and said, "The most troublesome part should be the dance partners, right?"
Steve sighed deeply. Strange wanted to squeeze him, but when he thought about his love life, he also sighed.
The biggest problem with his love life is that he has no love life at all. Strange complained: "I'm really busy. I haven't left the Holy of Holies for a week in a row. Can you believe it?"
"Those demon gods will call you over any serious matter, including territorial disputes, loan interest rates, multi-party negotiations, lost and found items, pet boarding, and insomnia companionship. What do they think of this place?"
Strange sighed, but Schiller asked him: "Isn't Loki here? Isn't he known as the know-it-all about the universe?"
"Don't you know? Loki and Thor are still on Sakaar and have not returned. I don't know if they will be back before Christmas..."
"What are they doing there?" Schiller asked with some confusion: "Isn't it a wild planet?"
"That's right, but you should know Thor's character. He wants to save the slaves there, but Loki doesn't know what he thinks. He also accompanies his brother to fool around there. The ancient mage has said this several times." Stellan
Qi took a sip of water, then frowned and looked at the cup and said, "Why is this hot water? Is there no tea or coffee?"
"It's already 10 p.m., do you plan to stay up all night?"
Strange curled his lips, put down the cup, and said: "It's okay if the two brothers don't come back. At least we don't have to worry about them causing any trouble on earth. After all, Thor's power has been restored, and Loki will probably be there soon."
Already..."
Steve also nodded and said: "That's right. It doesn't matter if they don't have supernatural powers. If they recover their supernatural powers and still live among ordinary people, it will inevitably bring them danger and Nick will have another headache."...
"It seems that you two have been very busy recently, and I am the only one free." Schiller walked around the sofa, sat on one side of the sofa, leaned on the soft pillow behind him, took a sip of hot water, and let out a sigh of satisfaction.
"You should be busy recently, because there have been a lot of strange things recently, and even Peter is very busy."
"What happened again?"
"I have been busy investigating this matter recently. Perhaps you have heard of the recent supernatural events in Queens?"
"Supernatural events? Do you mean hauntings or something like that?" Strange asked with a frown.
"Yes, as you know, New York has many residential areas and many cemeteries. Recently, some residents reported seeing undead and skeletons near the cemeteries, and there are also many rumors about will-o'-the-wisps."
"Don't things like this happen every year?" Strange said with some disdain: "The hospital where I work likes to spread this kind of gossip. Why is there suddenly one less corpse in the morgue? In the corridor at night
Seeing will-o'-the-wisps and a long-dead patient suddenly appearing in a certain window, what's there to discuss?"
"The difference is that this time the witnesses include Spider-Man Peter and his uncle and aunt."
"Their family lives in Forest Hill, Queens. To the west of Forest Hill Park is the Forest Hill Cemetery. First, Peter saw something that looked like a skeleton when he was out walking his dog, and then there was a will-o'-the-wisp that scared her.
Aunt, so he is busy investigating this matter recently."
Strange fell silent, and Schiller also fell into thinking, because both of them knew Peter, and he was not the kind of person who liked to make a fuss and add fuel to the fire.
Steve looked at Strange and asked him: "This should be a matter for your magic community. Can your magicians resurrect skeletons or control will-o'-wisps?"
Strange put his chin on his knuckles and said while thinking: "Theoretically, it is possible. The magician's power actually comes from exchange. If the power of his exchange object has the property of resurrecting the undead, then
He should be able to control undead and skeletons."
"But in fact, almost no magicians would do this, because it is meaningless. All exchanges must be paid for, and the power obtained should be used in more useful places. What is the use of resurrecting corpses and undead? It's scary.
?"
"Um...can't they attack or something?"
Schiller looked at Steve and said: "Captain, you are a master of fighting. You should know that there is nothing difficult about skeletons and corpses?"
"Aren't they actually mutants of humans? It's better to say that they are weaker than humans. Without magic protection, the skeletons have no muscles and can hardly withstand being hacked by any sharp weapon. In addition to being disgusting, the corpses are also disgusting.
No different from ordinary people..."
"To make these things have powerful combat capabilities, a lot of magical energy needs to be poured into them." Strange explained: "You must use these powers to protect the bones and muscles that have begun to rot all over their bodies, and also
We must give them the power of soul fire, so that they have the basic intelligence to take up weapons and fight the enemy..."
"If you have so much energy, you can actually create monsters more powerful than these things. There was once a black magician who created a dark dragon in Montana, and there was also a necromancer who drove a group of soul-eating birds to attack the hospital...
…”
"As for skeletons... at least I haven't heard of anyone doing this in Kama Taj. Even if these things are protected by magic, they still need a very large number to be able to attack a modern human city."
Steve touched his chin, nodded and said: "Indeed, if you have this ability, it will be faster for large monsters to invade the city. Then what do they want to do? To simply scare people? To create panic?"
Schiller shook his head and said: "It doesn't look like it. If they want to create panic, they should go to Manhattan or Brooklyn. These two places are the center of New York. There are quite a lot of mountains and parks in Queens."
Yes, but the population is not dense enough, and reporters don’t like to go there.”
Just when they were discussing this topic, Steve's cell phone suddenly rang. He picked up the phone and pressed the answer button, and heard Peter's voice on the other side.
"Captain, there are skeletons! The kind of skeletons that can move! It's in Forest Hill Cemetery. Can you come over?!"
"Listen, Peter, calm down, the situation is critical, right? I'll be there right away..."
"Uh... the crisis is not very critical. They can't beat me, but I don't know what to do with them. What do you think, if I go down and give them a punch, will they faint? They don't even have a brain, so they shouldn't be able to faint.
Bar?"
Steve raised his eyes and looked at Strange. Strange spread his hands and said, "Okay, I should have a cup of coffee. It seems that I will have to stay up all night again today..."