PFC Chapter 3706 The Age of Mercury (26)
Chapter 3706 The Age of Mercury (26)
Chapter 3706 The Age of Mercury (Twenty-Six)
Steve chose to switch skins, changing into a shirt and suit pants. The nanomaterials surged like ink, transforming into another set of clothes. The original bodysuit was completely form-fitting, but this new outfit was loose and comfortable, looking quite incredible.
“This is revolutionary technology,” Steve said. “And I can feel how breathable it is; my sweat disappears almost instantly.”
"Yes, this thing can break down human sweat into its own energy. Almost all the sweat from daily exercise is enough, and no additional energy is needed."
“Peter, I have to say, you’ve discovered another huge business opportunity,” Steve said, looking at him. “This kind of clothing, which can be worn for any occasion, will definitely be very popular with all kinds of business people. If the cost can be reduced, ordinary people will probably choose to buy it too. After all, who wouldn’t want a breathable, well-fitting garment that can also repel sweat?”
“So this is the real gift, Captain.” Peter pulled out a contract from behind his back and handed it to Steve. “We’ll hire you as our spokesperson when this research project is officially commercialized. No advertising is needed, just a few public appearances showing you changing outfits. The terms are very generous.”
Steve laughed, flipping through the contract as he said, "You really know me. I haven't bought any new clothes in ages since Tommy came along."
Next up was Natasha. The female agent smiled and handed the box to Steve. Steve opened the box and found a document that looked somewhat old, with the title written in Russian and a signature at the bottom.
"Report on the discussion of the possibility of honoring and awarding medals to Comrade Steve Rogers, an internationalist fighter." Steve read the translated line from Russian. He stood there, somewhat stunned.
“It was from the KGB,” Natasha said. “I want you to believe that they genuinely considered awarding you the medal back then, and almost did. It was just that a leadership change prevented the decision from being implemented. But internally, they acknowledged your outstanding contributions to the anti-fascist war…”
Steve glanced at the main points and found that almost everyone agreed to recognize him. There were some dissenting voices, mostly discussing whether such recognition would negatively impact his life after returning to the United States.
Steve sighed, closed the box, and said, "Although I really wanted to frame it and hang it on my bedroom wall, I have to keep it sealed away for now, considering the blood pressure of the congressmen. But I'm glad, after all, even the United States back then didn't intend to give me a medal or anything."
Natasha smiled and said, "I believe that if you hadn't been frozen out, they would have given you this medal even if the Cold War had started."
"I believe too."
Then it was Schiller's turn. Schiller was already rubbing his hands together, ready to give his presentation. But just then, he sensed something was amiss.
"Are you having any trouble breathing?" Schiller took a deep breath and said, "Am I being too nervous?"
Jarvis had already stood up. He said, "The oxygen level in the air is steadily decreasing; it's likely that Thomas Rogers' mutant abilities have activated. Get to the safe house! Quickly!"
Wanda hesitated for a moment, but didn't hesitate. With a wave of her hand, all the ordinary people present, regardless of their special abilities, were moved to the safe house. As for those with special abilities, whoever ran the slowest would be in the front row.
Stark took the lead, but he didn't forget Peter, leaping up to scoop him up and rushing towards the safe house. With Carter moved, Steve was no longer worried. He yelled to the others, "I have to go check on Tommy! You guys go first!"
Schiller dispersed into a cloud of gray mist, then said, "I'll provide you with oxygen; go upstairs. For now, I don't think anything major will happen."
"Thanks." Steve didn't stand on ceremony and rushed upstairs. Schiller was also using the gray fog to scan the surrounding environment.
“It’s amazing,” the fog said. “The air within 100 meters is disappearing, and it’s estimated that it will become a complete vacuum in a few seconds.”
"It seems I was right, Rogers Jr.'s mutant ability is related to air. But we..."
He had just finished speaking when Gray Mist suddenly said, "I need to transfer Steve Rogers into the Ringworld."
"What happened?" Schiller asked.
"Rogers Jr.'s ability is probably not to control the wind or the air; he can control dark matter."
"what?"
"You've probably heard of general relativity, right? A very important concept in the 'field theory' of general relativity is the gravitational field. It can be roughly summarized as the curvature of space caused by matter in space. Both Newtonian mechanics and Einstein's general relativity have definitions of the gravitational field. However, modern scientific research has found that neither of these theories can fully explain the motion of interstellar matter, so a completely new concept has been introduced: 'dark matter,' an invisible substance that is ubiquitous in the universe. Currently, it is estimated that dark matter accounts for 85% of the total mass of the universe and 26.8% of its total mass-energy."
"The motion of everything in our universe is not driven by the matter we are familiar with, but rather by dark matter. The Milky Way and the solar system both move in the form of vortices, so we speculate that dark matter also has a vortex field. And Thomas Rogers' ability is to control the dark matter vortex field."
"If I understand correctly, you mean he controls 85% of the mass in the universe?"
"That's one way to understand it. To put it more simply, the movement of the solar system depends entirely on dark matter. If he wanted to, he could simply break up the solar system."
Schiller gasped, then said, somewhat exasperatedly, "Who gave him the codename 'Wind Man'?! Why didn't he just call himself 'Dark Matter Man'???"
“That doesn’t sound like a mutant, more like a mad physicist,” Gray Mist said thoughtfully. “And I must say, given the education level of most Americans, they probably don’t even know the word ‘dark matter.’ Giving someone that name won’t intimidate them.”
“Uh…” Schiller was speechless for a moment, because what Gray Mist said did make some sense. If he were called “Wind Man,” people might think of his ability to create storms and perceive him as dangerous; but if he were called “Dark Matter Man,” most people wouldn’t know what dark matter was, which would further underestimate his danger. Using a simple and easy-to-understand nickname was his last act of kindness towards the illiterate.
"So his power eruption was actually..."
“I have it under control,” the gray fog said. “If it weren’t under control, all the planets in the solar system would be spinning at about 2.3 times their normal speed right now.”
"Hiss..." Schiller gasped again. No wonder Franklin had specifically come back to warn them. If he hadn't returned, this disaster might have occurred, and he might not even have been born!
Schiller had never discriminated against mutants, but now he was starting to understand how those who did were thinking. This was far too dangerous!
The main issue is that this disaster occurred almost instantaneously, and the destruction was caused in an instant as well. Although the dead can be retrieved from the underworld afterward, the resulting losses are incalculable. It's not impossible that human civilization could be completely restarted.
"Thankfully, Franklin is a reliable kid," Schiller said with a sigh of relief. "It seems that although Reed himself is a bit rude, he does have a knack for raising children."
“You’re too pessimistic,” Gray Mist said. “I could sense the anomaly in the dark matter vortex field the moment it became abnormal, and I rushed over to stop it immediately. There might have been some minor damage, but it wouldn’t have been that serious.”
"Will he have another outburst?" Schiller couldn't help but ask. "If this happens every day, who can stand it?"
“No,” Gray Mist said. “Under normal circumstances, mutants only experience a power surge once in their lifetime, after which they begin to instinctively control that power.”
“But he’s just a baby a few months old right now,” Schiller said. “It’s fine if he tries to master this power, but what about the solar system?”
“I suggest we don’t let him stay in the solar system,” Gray Mist said. “Besides me, probably only Magneto could stop this kind of accident. It would be better to go to the Andromeda Galaxy.”
“But Steve…” Schiller sighed. Today was supposed to be Steve’s birthday, which was hardly good news. This wasn’t something a mere comic book could console him with. After all, the Andromeda Galaxy was a remote and wild place, and they would probably have to stay there until Rogers Jr. could control this power. Steve had just been planning to visit his old comrades later.
But no matter how unpleasant things are, you have to face them. After the power surge ended, everyone returned to the house, and when Schiller saw Magneto's expression, he knew that Magneto probably understood.
Logically, sending the Rogers and their child to the Andromeda Galaxy should be a good thing for the mutants. Growing up in a mutant environment would naturally foster a bond with them. However, the child's abilities are too powerful, even Magneto is facing a dilemma. Keeping him in their home planet risks destroying it, but sending him to a new home also carries the risk of explosion. What to do?
Schiller simply described Rogers Jr.'s abilities, leaving all the scientists present speechless.
Wait a minute? You're saying he can control what?
Stark walked up to Steve with a serious expression and said, "Listen, Steve, I don't have time to comfort you right now. I have to emphasize just how dangerous this ability is. Let's put it this way: even if he only has a few months left, he could destroy the solar system in the blink of an eye. I don't even think sending him to the Andromeda Galaxy would be safe. Could you guys go live in the antimatter universe for a few years?"
Peter opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to stop Stark from expressing himself so bluntly, but out of a scientist's meticulousness, he couldn't bring himself to say it.
“I don’t think you need to worry so much,” Reed said instead. “Kids always grow up very fast. They’ll be talking in less than a year. Look at Franklin. He’s not even born yet, but it’ll probably be in the next year or two. He’ll have another power surge then. He’ll get used to it after a while.”
His words only made things worse, leaving everyone's heads spinning. Magneto charged right between Reed and Susan, practically roaring, "You two break up right now! Don't spend the next three years together!!!"
“Wait a minute.” Schiller looked at Reed and said, “Is it possible that you two could quickly fall in love, then quickly get married, then quickly have a child, and then quickly use Franklin to counter Rogers Jr.?”
(End of this chapter)