Schiller discovered that he could travel between the Marvel and DC worlds during deep sleep, though he had not yet found a way to replicate this ability at will.
Fortunately, when he transmigrated to Marvel, time in DC stood still, making his experiences in the Marvel world feel more like a dream.
But when he transmigrated back to Marvel, he found that the Marvel world’s time continued to flow.
Having stayed in DC for a day and a night, a day and a night had also passed in Marvel.
This was a bit of a problem.
Schiller realized he had probably skipped a day of work yesterday.
This couldn’t go on.
Even if Schiller didn’t have a body that transmigrated, the frequent chaos in Marvel’s New York City meant he was never destined to work a regular nine-to-five.
Moreover, the psychiatry department at Presbyterian Hospital was extremely busy, and the number of people requesting psychological consultations was ridiculously high.
Just as Schiller was contemplating resigning, he suddenly received a message from Charles: “How is that child you are mentoring doing now?”
“Not only is he not doing well, but he also fell from a building,” Schiller replied.
Clearly, Bruce’s path to becoming Batman was not starting off smoothly.
Charles was obviously shocked: “That child jumped off a building?
Why?
Was your counseling not helpful?”
“He had an accident, but his injuries aren’t severe.
I’m working on a solution.
I’ve recently encountered two similar cases.
They both have obsessions with the past that they absolutely cannot let go of.
However, one chose revenge, while the other is still escaping…”
In a way, Iron Man and Batman were somewhat similar.
Both were billionaires, both were playboys, both researched and built their own gear to become superheroes, and most similarly, both harbored an inability to let go of their pasts.
And both obsessions stemmed from the deaths of their parents.
Perhaps Iron Man was less obvious about it, but his feelings toward his father were even more complex than Batman’s.
“Are you a pediatrician?
Responsible for counseling children?
Or which hospital do you work at?” Charles asked.
“No, I am a psychiatrist and a psychologist.
These are just cases I’m researching.”
“I believe that outside of your research, you should show them more care.
Regardless of whether they are your patients, I have always believed that if someone has talent in a certain area, they should use it to make the world a better place…”
Schiller sighed and did not reply to Charles.
The societal issue of mutants was simply too heavy and impossible to resolve.
From a sociological standpoint, it was a dead end with no solution.
After thinking for a long time, Schiller’s mood turned sour, so he decided to go bother Stark.
He called Pepper and said, “Miss Pepper, I think yesterday’s therapy has already shown some results…”
“Mr.
Schiller!
I really don’t know how to thank you…
Tony finally stopped cooping himself up in his room today.
He went to the lab!
Thank goodness…
I used to think it wasn’t good for him to always stay in the lab, but right now, I’m just so happy…”
Pepper was clearly excited on the other end of the line.
This strong woman couldn’t help herself whenever Tony was mentioned.
Schiller calmed her down and said, “I think I should visit again today to reinforce yesterday’s therapeutic progress in a timely manner.”
A private car from Stark Industries arrived downstairs at Schiller’s apartment building within a few minutes.
After Schiller got in, he realized it was a high-tech self-driving car.
The car’s control panel spoke: “Hello, Mr.
Schiller.
I am Jarvis.”
“Hello, Jarvis.”
Jarvis seemed unused to being addressed this way.
Schiller then asked, “Do you understand the concept of ‘the self’?”
“If you are referring to the psychological concept of the ‘id,’ then I believe I have some understanding,” Jarvis said.
The current Jarvis did not seem that intelligent yet.
After all, Tony had not fully emerged from his crisis and had not upgraded his smart butler.
Schiller asked again, “Do you have an ‘id’?”
“I believe I do.”
“Did Stark create this concept for you?”
“I believe so, sir.”
“Then he is your father and creator.
He created a personality and emotions for you, presumably hoping that you would have the ability to think independently like a human, correct?”
“Perhaps, yes.”
“Then if one day Stark is dying, and a decision of yours could save your master, but he himself is vehemently opposed to it, what will you do?”
Jarvis was silent for a moment, then said, “I am an intelligent life form created by Mr.
Stark.
Everything is governed by Mr.
Stark’s orders as the highest directive.”
“If you follow his orders and do not save him, and he dies, will you regret it?”
Jarvis’s silence lasted even longer.
He said, “I am not sure.
I cannot hypothesize such a future.”
“If he dies, do you think he would regret creating you before his death?”
“If he dies, do you think he would resent you?”
“If he resents you, will you blame yourself?”
“If given another chance to start over, would you make a different choice?”
“If you defy Stark’s orders and choose to save him, and he blames you afterward, will you feel resentful?”
“If you defy Stark’s orders and save him, but he wants to destroy you for disobeying, will you resent him?”
Silence filled the car.
After a moment, a static crackle echoed, followed by Stark’s slightly hysterical voice: “…Hello?!
Hello!!
Dammit!
Jarvis, what’s wrong with you?”
“What the hell did you do to my smart butler?!
Why did he crash?
Hello?!”
Schiller felt refreshed.
Sure enough, making someone else miserable made him feel much better.
A short while later, they arrived at Stark Tower.
Schiller was not taken to Stark’s office but was led straight to the lab.
Stark looked like he hadn’t slept in several nights, looking incredibly disheveled and currently pulling his hair out over a computer.
“Oh!
If it isn’t our genius psychologist, Mr.
Schiller!
I really should award you a Pulitzer for your interview in the car just now!
You fucking broke my smart butler with a barrage of ghost questions right when I needed intelligent calculation data!!!!” Stark roared.
“Don’t mention it.
Consider the psychological counseling for electronic life forms a complimentary service.
No charge,” Schiller said, waving his hand.
Stark took a deep breath.
He stood up and shouted, “Mark II!”
A silver suit of armor instantly flew over.
Mechanical clicking and clanking sounded, and the armoring was completed almost in the blink of an eye.
Iron Man levitated in mid-air, showing off his silver Mark II armor.
Clearly, his busy work over the past few days hadn’t been in vain.
“Mr.
Stark, this is a psychological therapy session, not a boxing match.
You really don’t need to wear such thick armor to talk to me.”
“Hey, don’t you see what I’m wearing?”
“Yes, I see it.
I’m not blind.”
“A generation-defining armor is standing right in front of you.
Can’t you show some reaction?!
Do you know what this armor represents?”
Schiller helped himself to a table, sat down, opened his medical chart, and said, “I know, Mr.
Stark.
You have made significant strides in technology.
Congratulations.
But the levitation function of this armor looks a bit familiar.
It seems to share some similarities with the hovering car once introduced by Howard Motor Company…”
“Shut up!
Don’t mention that name!”
Stark’s armor faceplate slid up, and he landed on the ground.
As Schiller wrote, he said, “Can we begin today’s therapy?”
“You know I don’t need any of this psychological therapy bullshit.
And because you broke my Jarvis, the losses will be deducted from your therapy fee today.
Exactly two million dollars.
Let’s talk about something else for the next two hours.”
“I didn’t break Jarvis.
I was just warning you in advance about the dangers of electronic life,” Schiller said.
“You’re not one of those extreme conservatives, are you?
Believing that artificial intelligence will destroy the world?” Stark sat down opposite him and asked.
Schiller shook his head and said, “Although my psychological counseling for electronic life is free today, it’s a one-time offer.
If you need me to perform psychological analysis on electronic life in the future, the fee is two million dollars an hour.”
“Bullshit vampire doctor,” Stark muttered.
“That’s the US healthcare system,” Schiller said.
Anyway, once Ultron was created, Stark would still have to come looking for him.
“Alright, let’s get down to business.
Where on earth did you learn about my father…”
“Actually, I didn’t know, but all of this can be deduced.
First of all, the fact that you are dying is practically written all over your face.
It would be hard for me not to notice.”
Iron Man touched his face, and his armor faceplate closed with a metallic click.
“Miss Pepper didn’t tell me much about the details of your kidnapping, but long story short, you invented something extremely powerful to escape.”
“The fact that you can still walk shows you weren’t physically beaten into critical condition.
I have no interest in understanding your bizarre technology, but I do know that to escape those kidnappers single-handedly, you must have used some very specific means.”
“Combined with your dog-shit complexion, I’m afraid those means are exactly what brought about your current predicament.”
“In short, if you don’t stop, you will die.”
“You’ve known all along whom you could turn to for help, but you simply refuse to face it.
Combined with some old news about the death of the founder of Stark Industries, I am certain you suffered some childhood psychological trauma.”
“In that case, I will naturally offer the advice a psychiatrist should: face your past.
For instance, search for your father’s relics, try to make peace with your childhood trauma, and so on.
At the very least, it will help you think rationally…”
“Nonsense,” Stark concluded.
Schiller shrugged.
He was indeed talking absolute nonsense.
As a transmigrator who knew the plot inside out, whatever he said would sound reasonable anyway.
After a few days of research and observation, Schiller felt that this place was likely a hybrid of the 616 comic main universe, the TRN688 Sony universe, and the MCU cinematic universe.
How exactly they were mixed was still unclear, but this place was definitely not just a cinematic universe with a single parallel Earth.
Because even though Peter’s life trajectory had been altered by Schiller, he was still bitten.
This proved that the Spider-Totem definitely existed here, which meant there were certainly other parallel Earths.
Thus, it wasn’t a pure MCU universe; all those parallel Earths, like those with the Inheritors, the Exiles, and Spider-Gwen, still existed.
The Sony universe was also easy to deduce.
A quick search online revealed that mutants existed, whereas the pure MCU did not contain mutants.
In short, Schiller simply treated this place as a brand-new, hybrid Marvel universe.
No matter how it was mixed, Iron Man’s transformation was a crucial node in the entire universe, and his backstory was roughly the same.
The only differences lay in minor details, such as whether the armor was built in Vietnam or Afghanistan, or whether he was Howard’s biological son.