Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics-Chapter 4346 - 3441: Midnight Sons (3)

Shiller continued to look at the list.

"Voodoo Doctor?" Shiller saw another person with a PhD title. He thought back but didn't have a deep impression of this individual, only knowing that he was indeed a member of the Midnight Sons.

"An expert who can control animals and plants. He was just hired last month to the Andromeda Galaxy to work on prevention of plant and animal mutations," Strange shrugged and said.

"Okay then... Iron Fist should be free, right?"

"He's the busiest. Recently, China relocated most people from Kunlun to Pluto Star Harbor to strike hard against those who want to harm the starship construction efforts. Daniel is among them. He won't be able to leave until the maiden voyage is complete."

"Blade Warrior? He's not any important scientist, and there are no vampires for him to fight right now..."

"But his blood has great research value. He is almost the only vampire who can be active during the day. Doctor Connors believes his blood contains a special antibody based on a blood enzyme which could be used to create a medicine resistant to UV radiation."

"Mainly used for what?"

"Star work," Strange turned his palm and said, "The specifics are beyond me, but it's something to do with solar exploration and it's very important. He's practically living in the research facility."

"Wait a minute..." Shiller suddenly saw a familiar name and said, "Moon Knight?"

Strange nodded and said, "Yes, that's you."

"No, wait a minute, not me," Shiller said, "Neither the initial one nor the one that came after! At first, it was Mark who Khonsu sought. Later, it was another personality trait of mine..."

"But you are the one who appeared before Congress."

"That was just for speaking!" Shiller emphasized, "And it was just that one time. Shouldn't I be considered a tier-eighteen hero?"

"Unfortunately, Danny doesn't think so," Strange spread his hands and said, "He sees you as a true Superhero with a real spirit of resistance..."

"Good Lord, spare me," Shiller leaned back in his chair and said, "I'm just a psychiatrist with no fighting ability. You can't make me fight Mephisto, it's unreasonable!"

"But you are quite free."

"Who says I am free? I am dead busy. Don't you know how exhausting renovations are?"

"Now there are two options." Strange sat back in his seat, interlocked his fingers on the desk, and said, "I can hold Danny off for a while, but not for too long. He's already expressed to me before that whether I allow it or not, he wants to form this team. Obviously, I can't forcibly stop him; I don't have that authority."

"If after a delay he still insists, then eventually he will form this squad. Although I don't think he can persuade the people on the list, as long as he tries to convince them, he will definitely offend many people, and it might even create a mess."

"So, either let Nick stop him forcefully, or use a more tactful way to prevent him from accomplishing this."

Shiller sighed lightly, weighing the pros and cons.

"I believe his intention is good," Shiller said, "Mephisto is indeed the most dangerous and cunning among the Demon Gods. Although I am confident Johnny will stand with us when it matters, if he is deceived by Mephisto, it could still cause us some trouble. We do need someone to keep an eye on him."

"But he's being too unrealistic. The people on the list are busy with their own affairs; the forces behind them are not something he can influence. Rushing in like this, he'll get nothing but a bruised and bloodied forehead."

"I think we can adopt a compromising approach, allowing him to organize a few Superheroes to watch over Johnny and Mephisto, but there's no need to seek out these individuals. Finding a few similar young Superheroes would suffice."

"The problem now is how to persuade him," Strange said as he swiveled his chair, "I've already brought up your suggestions to him, but he's very convinced that only by assembling these people can he confront Mephisto."

Shiller frowned slightly. This was indeed a bit troublesome. There was no doubt Danny was valuable, otherwise, S.H.I.E.L.D. and The Sanctum wouldn't be handling him in such a gentle manner.

Aside from being cool, Ghost Rider's sin-detection abilities, rooted in the fundamental protocols of the cosmos, were key, and the Spirit of Revenge had an ambiguous relationship with God. Naturally, they were reluctant to take a hardline approach.

Moreover, what Danny said was not entirely unreasonable. Mephisto needs to be guarded against, the cunning old devil is always waiting for a moment of human weakness.

If so, providing some support for his actions isn't difficult. The whole thing would be easy to resolve, if only he wasn't so stubborn, insisting on the few individuals from his list.

"He even wants to persuade me to join the Midnight Sons," Strange sighed deeply and said, "He has no understanding of the Supreme Magician's work at all, completely unaware of how busy I am, even less comprehending why I choose not to confront Mephisto directly."

"Very typical young Superhero mentality," Shiller commented, "In their world, good is good, evil is evil. The good must fight the bad, and those good that don't aren't really good."

"This is up to you now," Strange said, "I suggest you try to persuade him as Moon Knight, it might be effective."

"I think I should talk to him as a psychiatrist, that would be more effective."

Taking the contact provided by Strange, Shiller went back to his small clinic in Hell's Kitchen. Since his sanatorium was still under renovation and couldn't be returned to for the time being, he knew that there was a Little Spider waiting for him back at the clinic to cook for.

The First Spider-Man has recently been staying at the clinic. The good news is that he keeps it very clean; the bad news is that he's also cleaned up Hell's Kitchen too well. The Mob doesn't dare to operate here anymore, and the street vendors who provided for the mob are gone too. Shiller walked back without even buying a taco.

As the clinic door swung open, a figure whooshed toward him. Shiller was used to it by now; he brushed past Peter Parker and headed for the kitchen to start rummaging through the fridge.

"I didn't have time to shop for groceries. Let's just make sandwiches. Do you want beef or chicken?"

"Either is fine, Doctor. But I actually would like beef, preferably ground beef that's been pan-fried with butter. My aunt excels at making ground beef sandwiches, but my uncle likes to griddle the beef patties..."

Shiller did not stop Spider-Man's prattle. Though more incessant than Peter's own chatter, he was quite accustomed to it as a kind of background noise while cooking.

He had just taken the beef out of the refrigerator when the clinic door opened again, and another familiar figure came in.

"Good evening, Doctor. This guy hasn't been troubling you, has he?" Peter walked in, cuddling Pikachu.

"No trouble." Shiller called out, "But if you could take him to play a game and keep him from rearranging the condiment bottles again, that would be even better."

Peter went over and scooped up Little Spider around his neck, taking him off to play games. Pikachu hopped onto the island platform and asked, "Did you queue up for a duo dungeon? How was it?"

"Actually, it's not bad," Shiller replied as he heated a pan and added a small pat of butter, then continued, "What about you and Rocket? Are things going smoothly?"

"Don't get me started. The moment we were born, we were locked up in cages for some kind of experimental enhancement. It brought back bad memories for Rocket, and he blew the place up."

Shiller laughed, easily picturing such a scene. He placed the pan with the cooked ground beef on the island platform, skillfully moved Pikachu to one side, and then used another pan to start toasting the bread.

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"Steven and I play as doctors in the game. He's pulled half a month's shift there. Besides, we ran into someone familiar..."

Just as the sandwiches were about to be finished, a figure pushed the clinic's door open. Shiller went over, shook his hand and said, "Welcome, Danny. We're just making some sandwiches; want to sit down and have some?"

Danny seemed a bit tense, but Shiller didn't see any anxiety on him severe enough to be considered an illness. It was just the normal nervousness of accepting an invitation from a stranger.

"Alright, thank you, Doctor."

When he walked in and saw so many people plus a blonde mouse, he was immediately surprised. Peter wasn't expecting outsiders either, so he straightened up and even patted Spider-Man on the back.

During the meal, Shiller observed Danny closely, looking for any potential mental or emotional problems. But in reality, there were none; he was fairly normal.

Thinking back to Strange's description of Danny's behavior, Shiller figured there were two possibilities: either Danny was just a stubborn person, which was a personality issue not a disease and no treatment was necessary. Or his stubborn behavior was due to external pressure, meaning someone wanted him to act that way, emphasizing and hypnotizing him continuously.

Shiller remembered a comic storyline: after Johnny became the king of hell, Danny's long-dead foster mother, Lady Francis, reminded him to be wary of his brother, claiming that Johnny had long been corrupted by the throne of hell.

Though that was indeed true, Lady Francis's appearance was strange in itself because she was already dead. If she hadn't made any deals with demons before she died, she should have returned to death's embrace, not reappeared as a ghost.

Without wanting to startle the quarry, Shiller said he was already persuading Nick and Strange and expressed his willingness to support Danny's plan. He also subtly asked about Danny's opinion on Moon Knight.

Unexpectedly, Danny had a very positive impression of Moon Knight. Although Shiller had no idea where that impression came from, he thought that if he interacted with him under that identity, he might be more persuasive.

After dinner, Shiller saw Danny off. It was evident that Danny was confused, probably thinking Shiller was another lobbyist sent by Strange; since Shiller didn't say much, Danny was somewhat baffled.

"Who was that guy?" Peter asked.

"Ghost Rider."

"That doesn't seem right, I've seen Ghost Rider, and he didn't look like that," Peter scratched his head and said, "What's with him?"

Shiller gave a brief introduction. After some thought, Peter said, "I don't think it's necessary to involve so many people. If he's worried about Johnny causing trouble, I'll get Miles to keep an eye out. He's been running around New York lately..."

"I can go too!" Spider-Man raised his hands high, saying, "I'm very familiar with New York. Wherever that bike-riding guy shows up, I can catch him!"

Shiller felt a headache coming on from all the noise. He rubbed his temples, thinking that aside from decorating, he indeed had no other tasks, and pretending to be a superhero was not out of the question.

Being a street-level hero is a rite of passage for a comic book transmigrator. Although he's late to the game, as long as it's effective. Shiller isn't referring to the effectiveness of fighting crime, but rather the effectiveness of convincing the stubborn.

But first, he had to figure out exactly which Moon Knight Danny admired, whether it was the original Mark or the later Moon Knight.

And regardless of who it was, he had to get Khonsu on board with the fact that the two of them might need to work together for a while.

Usually, it is the gods who make the chosen ones accept the facts. In his case, it's the other way around, completely going against the grain.

More critically, Shiller wasn't entirely sure if Khonsu would accept the facts. If push comes to shove, he might have to make it so the fearsome falcon head has no other choice but to accept.