Chapter 1026: Startling Mundane Individuals (Part Three) (Patreon)

In DC World With Marvel Chat Group : Table of Content/Chapter List

XXX-----XXX-----XXX-----XXX

"At that time, I also possessed abilities beyond ordinary people. One careless move could inflict fatal injuries on others. When I lost control, I nearly bit off the nurse's neck."

"She was just an ordinary person, and she was also relatively old. Although the rescue was timely, she still lost half her life. Perhaps, it might also affect her lifespan."

Robert turned his head slightly to look at Schiller. His eyes regained some luster, seemingly drawn into the story by the emotions contained in Schiller's tone, making him attentively listen to this tale.

Schiller pursed his lips and said, "My mental state was already unstable, and being stimulated almost led to a greater accident, but fortunately, it was stopped in time."

"Afterward, I put on a mask to prevent myself from losing control and injuring others. I wore it voluntarily, and during that time, I refused to let anyone take it off until the nurse came back to see me after her recovery."

"I thought I wouldn't see her again, but she came back, bringing me a bunch of things."

"When she was injured, she didn't shed a tear, but when she saw me again, she hugged me and cried for two hours."

Robert's arm started to tremble. He seemed to sense Schiller's emotions from his narration. Schiller looked into Robert's eyes and said:

"In this world, there are people who understand you, people who will forgive you. What you imagine as harm to others may have already been dissolved by their own kindness. They don't need, nor do they wish for you to pay such a price..."

With a creak, the door of the hospital room was pushed open, and Steve, who had been listening at the door for a long time, walked in. Schiller immediately stood up, intending to give him the seat.

But at this moment, Robert on the bed started trembling all over again.

Schiller turned around and used Grey Mist to control him, but this time, Robert's loss of control was more severe than ever before. He activated his abilities and slammed into the wall at an incredible speed, causing the entire Sanatorium building to tremble.

"Capture him!" Schiller shouted.

Steve instinctively wanted to throw his shield but hesitated for a moment. He rushed towards Robert at the fastest speed and pinned him to the ground before he could fly out of the window. Schiller injected him with a sedative, and this time, he fell into a complete unconsciousness, making no more sound.

Steve and Schiller lifted Robert back onto the bed. Steve looked at Robert's young face and said, "This is not his fault at all. He shouldn't have to pay such a heavy price for this."

"Why are you here?" Schiller asked him.

"The last time you diagnosed, Bucky has a certain degree of panic disorder, possibly stemming from his psychological trauma. When I rechecked last time, he took some medication, but it didn't work very well, so I came to ask if it's possible to change the prescription." Steve frowned.

"The nurse said you were here, so I came. I didn't expect this child to turn into this." Steve shook his head slowly.

"What are you guys doing here?" Another voice came from outside the door, and Stark swaggered in, saying to Schiller, "The station for the Interstellar Train can only be set behind the Sanatorium. It's hard to avoid noise. Otherwise, why don't you move your bedroom to another building? That would be much simpler than disrupting the overall plan."

As soon as he walked in, he saw Robert lying on the bed. After Stark's resurrection, he specifically understood the cause and effect of Schiller's plan, so he naturally knew who this was. He glanced at Steve and immediately understood the situation.

"It's not his fault. He was being controlled. Even if you take a step back, he contributed to the advancement of the Solar System plan. He shouldn't be suffering like this..." Steve's face turned somewhat grim. He looked at Schiller and said, "Can I tell him these things in person?"

"What's going on now?" Stark frowned. "Did this little guy try to kill you? Didn't you say before that your post-war trauma-induced stress disorder resurfaced because of the moment of death?"

Schiller immediately turned his head to look at Steve. Steve turned his head aside and said, "That's in the past. It's okay now."

Although he behaved like a tough guy, Schiller could still see that Steve wasn't doing well. Schiller shook his head and said, "It seems that my plan was a bit too radical at the beginning. But I remember your mental state was already stable before. How did it suddenly..."

Steve rubbed his chin with his hand, lowered his eyelids, looked down at his feet, and said, "Bucky's condition isn't good. He's been stuck in a cycle of excitement and panic attacks, and ordinary medications don't seem to work very well..."

Stark snorted coldly. His tone and expression both suggested "serves you right." However, Steve looked at Robert on the bed and said, "Like Bucky, Robert was also being controlled. They shouldn't be suffering such serious consequences..."

Stark was momentarily stunned, seemingly completely taken aback by Steve's words, especially by the last sentence.

Schiller also seemed to recall something, saying, "The line between life and death lies here. Only those who are alive have the chance to forgive, and no one can forgive on behalf of the dead. This also leads to a vast difference in punishment for similar mistakes committed by two people."

At this moment, Robert slowly woke up again, the sedative having little effect on him. Steve immediately walked over, waving his hand in front of his eyes and saying, "Can you see me? I'm Captain America Steve Rogers. Don't be afraid. I'm still alive. Even if both of us die, we'll meet in Heaven..."

"Listen, lad, you can recall the scene at that time, recall my final eye contact..." Steve looked at Robert with his azure eyes. "I'm very sure, even at the moment when you killed me, I never harbored any hatred towards you because I knew you weren't acting of your own volition."

Robert stared blankly at Steve. After a moment, he seemed to come back to his senses and turned his head to look at Schiller. Schiller stepped forward and said, "Since you regard Captain America as an idol, you should know how kind and forgiving he is..."

"Robert." Steve's hands rested on the bed railing, he glanced at the name tag on the bed, calling out Robert's name while speaking to him. "Even if I really died, I wouldn't hate you, let alone want my death to burden an innocent person who was being controlled."

Stark didn't express any opinion. He just stood behind the two silently, watching everything unfold.

If it were before, he would have definitely clenched his fists and charged forward, because back then, he didn't understand Steve. But after spending such a long time together, Stark knew that Steve was truly this kind of person.

There are people in this world who excel at forgiving everyone. Even if the perpetrator is not innocent, as long as they sincerely repent, they can obtain forgiveness from these people, genuine and complete forgiveness. They might even receive help from these forgiving individuals afterward.

Before getting to know Steve, Stark never thought there could be such people in the world. But as someone who had studied psychology, Stark knew that the mental stimulation Steve experienced from that previous death far exceeded what he showed.

After all, Steve already had post-war trauma-induced stress disorder. Excessive pain and the fear of facing death would exacerbate his condition. Stark had noticed recently that Steve had been in a state of constant agitation, though he didn't want to show it.

But now, he easily forgave Robert, not only disregarding his own situation but also feeling anxious about Robert's condition.

Thinking about this, Stark's finger twitched. He thought about the words Steve said to Robert, how there was no hatred in his eye contact even as he was dying.

Then what about his parents?

Stark acknowledged that he had never wanted to confront this issue. He had felt very resistant to all information related to it, so he didn't know any details. Although Steve had pulled the trigger that time, proving his attitude, and the main conflict between them no longer existed, Stark still couldn't accept everything so easily.

But he had to acknowledge that this time, Steve's actions touched him again. Stark had never imagined whether his own parents were also noble like Steve, whether they blamed the perpetrator.

Thinking about this, Stark felt the urge to uncover the truth, but he didn't want to face that perpetrator. However, at that moment, Schiller took out a notebook from the bedside table drawer, wrote a few lines on it, tore out the page, and handed it to Stark:

"You can build the Interstellar Train station wherever you want, but the price is to help me out by delivering this prescription to the doctor downstairs."

After saying that, Schiller didn't look at Stark anymore. After Stark took the prescription, he couldn't understand the gibberish-like names of the drugs written on it, but he clearly saw the patient's name under the prescription—Bucky Barnes.

Stark went downstairs with the prescription and handed it to another doctor. Leaning against the edge of the counter, he lightly tapped the desktop with his finger, the muscles around his nose relaxed, and his breathing became a bit faster.

Then he coughed lightly twice and spoke quickly, "Is there a patient's telephone?"

"What?" The doctor didn't hear him clearly.

"I mean, do you have the patient's telephone? I... nothing... I just... I need to talk to him about something..." Stark spoke intermittently, but the doctor understood what he meant, seeing Schiller's signature on the prescription. After looking at Stark for a moment, the doctor handed over a piece of paper from the counter.

Taking the paper, Stark didn't even look at the numbers on it and just put it in his pocket. He stamped his foot in place, adjusted his clothes, and touched his hairline before striding confidently towards the door, as if nothing had happened.

But just as he reached the door, he was bumped by another person coming in. Stark was about to speak when he realized it was Strange, and he wasn't wearing his usual ridiculous sorcerer robes but a suit.

However, at this moment, his state wasn't good either, his face somewhat pale and his expression lost. Strange didn't even look at Stark and went straight to the counter, asking, "Is Schiller here?"

"Dr. Schiller is doing rounds right now. If you have an appointment... Oh, Mr. Strange, you can go upstairs to find him directly."

Seeing Strange hurrying upstairs, Stark touched his pocket, paused for a moment, and then left with long strides.

When Strange found Schiller upstairs, Steve had already gone downstairs to get the medicine. Standing by Robert's bed, Schiller looked at Strange, who didn't seem well, with some surprise and asked, "What's wrong with you?"

Strange took a deep breath, showing a smile uglier than crying, and said, "...Presbyterian Hospital just issued a critical condition notice for my father... But he doesn't want to see me."

Marvel finally finished with the map and returned to character development!

[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, and thanks for the invaluable support!]

XXX-----XXX-----XXX-----XXX

Next Chapter>>Chapter 1027: Startling Mundane Matters (Part Four)