Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics-Chapter 4656 - 3734 The Age of Mercury (17)

Shiller cut the duck in the kitchen and placed it on the island platform where Peter and Stark were. They both seemed as if they were punched by the aroma of the roast duck, nearly falling off the high stools.

"That's too exaggerated, Doctor." Peter cautiously picked up a piece of duck skin with his fork, dipped it into the plate of sugar that Shiller handed over. As soon as he put it in his mouth, he began to repeatedly make crosses over his chest.

"God, this stuff smells so good that even if Jesus was being nailed to a cross beside me, I wouldn't care!" Peter exclaimed.

Stark nudged him with his elbow, hinting for him to tone it down. He himself picked up a pair of chopsticks, albeit awkwardly, grabbed a piece of duck skin, dipped it in sugar, and tossed it into his mouth.

"Alright, I appreciate everything Jesus has done for the human race, but damn it! How can this stuff smell so good?!"

Stark's reaction was even more exaggerated than Peter's. Shiller chuckled; he knew Stark actually really liked things that smelled and tasted strong, otherwise, he wouldn't have loved cheeseburgers so much.

Many people have pondered as kids: with hamburgers having meat, veggies, and bread, how could they be unhealthy?

Truth is, American hamburgers are indeed unhealthy. A beef patty isn't a steak; it's minced beef that's shaped into a patty and cooked. The minced beef isn't entirely lean meat; at least a third to a half of it is fat, ensuring the patty is tender and juicy. The juices in the hamburger patty aren't purely meat juices; it's a lot of fat too. This fat intake is way over the limit.

And then there's the cheese — no need to elaborate on its high calorie content. But besides the typically sliced cheese found in burgers, many cheeseburgers also include cheese sauce, which is even higher in calories. Its sodium content exceeds limits, too, and traditional American beef cheeseburgers don't contain vegetables.

Some might argue that chicken burgers with added veggies are healthier, but the chicken fillets in those are fried, plus they include mayonnaise, which is whipped from at least 80% oil.

There's a reason America has consistently high obesity rates. Even for someone like Stark, a wealthy mogul, who eats high-grade cheeseburgers, he dares not overindulge. Shiller recalled once, when Stark's fat-loss phase ended, he greedily devoured two large hamburgers in one sitting, and the next day, he couldn't fit into his mecha.

Stark and Peter ate with ravenous enthusiasm. Shiller also tried the duck skin; the flavor was already quite good, but the biggest issue was it wasn't crispy enough, the texture lacking somewhat. Shiller ate two pieces and stopped.

Though one duck wasn't much, due to its rich aroma, it quickly became overwhelming. Stark and Peter devoured the entire duck between them, and they were quite full. Shiller offered his homemade sour plum juice to refresh their palates. While they enjoyed their drinks, he began to recount his connection with Hawkeye.

Many people's impression of Hawkeye stems from the films, believing he's around Iron Man's age, but in reality, they're not from the same generation. When Tony Stark first became Iron Man in his 30s, Hawkeye was a young man in his early 20s, new to New York, and still learning to be a street hero.

Clint Barton hails from Iowa; his family has operated a meat shop for generations, hence Barton's knack for making Iowa's signature dish, dry-cured bacon. But after his parents' passing, he joined the circus, where he honed exceptional shooting skills.

Later, due to some disputes with the circus, he set off on his own in New York. Probably just having come of age, relying on his shooting skills, he did things without much method, barely scraping by as a street hero.

After wandering for a couple of years, during an attempt to thwart a jewelry store robbery, he got mistaken for a robber by the police. On the run, he encountered Natasha.

Back then, Stark's personality couldn't be described as universally liked; some might say it was downright grating, even though he did improve significantly after returning from Afghanistan, but only marginally.

Natasha had a fondness for the young; Stark clearly wasn't her type. And then Stark was bothersome and pretentious, driving Natasha crazy. At this time, a young, strong, handsome guy, fleeing for his life, ended up in her car — what more plot development could occur?

"I think the claim that Natasha seduced Clint Barton to use him isn't quite accurate," Shiller stated frankly. "If you had already slept with her back then, then it's completely inaccurate. I reckon she was starving."

Stark pursed his lips and glared, his face saying, "Do you still want to hear my story?"

Shiller had to feign compliance by nodding, saying, "Alright, alright, our Black Widow lady is just so dedicated; upon seeing Clint, instantly decided to use him against you."

"I didn't quite say that," Stark was still defending himself, "She may indeed have been attracted, but upon calming down, she devised this plan."

"Sure, at least calmed down for a night," Shiller agreed with nodding, "Then realizing she violated agent protocol, desperately found ways to make amends, forcibly pulling him into monitoring you to prove she wasn't impulsive."

Stark thumped the table forcefully. Shiller waved dismissively, "Forget Natasha, we know her too well, really nothing to discuss. Let's talk about Clint, how did he give you trouble?"

"He didn't exactly give me trouble," Stark said, "Just posed a minor inconvenience. He developed a kind of acid arrowhead, one shot melted half my mecha chest. I nearly fell from thousands of meters height, luckily the emergency braking system worked, saving my life."

"His accuracy is indeed impressive," Peter said, "When The Avengers first formed, I had a bout with him. He could force out my Spider-sense with one arrow, block my escape route with another, and hit me in the chest with the last one. I've never seen a shooter as skilled as him."

"Of course I know how powerful he is," Shiller said. "Only talents are recruited by Nick Fury. Besides, he doesn't do any administrative work; he's only waiting to go on missions, a privilege even Natasha and Coulson don't have."

"That's because he needs to keep his intuition sharp," Peter said. "He spends several hours a day in a white noise room, feeling like he's doing time in prison. If you ask me, he'd be better off taking on administrative work."

"Then why did you say Natasha stayed because of him?" Shiller looked at Stark and asked.

"It's not entirely because of him, more like she found an excuse," Stark sighed and said. "Natasha was probably debating whether to stay or not, so she made a pact with Clint to have a showdown in a week. If Clint won, she wouldn't leave and would bid farewell to her past life, staying as a SHIELD Agent."

"She actually didn't want to stay, did she?" Shiller furrowed his brow and said, "Clint was still very young then, no matter how skilled, no way he could beat Black Widow. Natasha probably made this condition to deter him."

"Yes, that might have been it," Stark nodded and said. "But don't underestimate the power of love. Clint's archery skills skyrocketed in a week's time, and his final arrow hit Natasha's shoulder. He's one of the rare few to have directly defeated Black Widow."

"Sounds a bit romantic," Peter said. "'I love you, so I must defeat you.' Are you sure Natasha didn't take it easy on him?"

"No one knows that," Stark shrugged and said. "But from what I know of her, even if she went easy, she wouldn't let herself get hurt so badly. That arrow went straight through her shoulder, her scapula suffered a comminuted fracture, even if she's a cyborg she'd be bedridden for at least a month."

"But they eventually broke up," Peter said. "Although Natasha stayed, they seemed to have no connection afterward. It's quite lamentable."

"Clint surely wasn't resigned," Shiller placed an arm on the table and said. "He was too young when he met Natasha, and Natasha was quite old. A young man in his twenties cannot easily move someone like Natasha, and even his most valuable offering—love—was something she had received many times before." freēwēbnovel.com

Shiller knew Natasha was definitely not a tragic figure. In her long life, she indeed went through much misfortune, but she was never lacking in love. In every stage of her life, there were people who loved her, and they loved her sacrificially and steadfastly. She lacked neither familial love, romantic love, nor friendship. This is precisely why her greatest tragedy—her shattered ideals—was all the more poignant.

"But he's been making no moves," Stark said. "They've been on several missions together, but nothing seems to have happened."

"That was before," Shiller lightly tapped the table with his fingers and said. "Back then Natasha was single, with almost no other suitors around, and even if there were, they were brief, rarely truly serious relationships. But now Bucky has returned, and they actually truly felt for each other. Now the old flame is rekindled, it's not something that can easily be extinguished. Do you think Clint will just watch and do nothing?"

"Oh, God," Peter said. "Old flame issues unresolved, and now new lovers come knocking. What will Natasha do?"

"That's karma," Stark said irritably. "She's been relentlessly smearing me."

"I just remembered something," Shiller suddenly said. "Dr. Banner and Natasha..."

"What's going on between them?" Peter widened his eyes and said. "Isn't Dr. Banner's girlfriend Betty?"

"They broke up for a while," Shiller said. "It seems because of Betty's dad. Anyway, it's complicated. SHIELD Agents take turns monitoring The Hulk, and it seemed to be Natasha's turn then. You guys know she's interested in that stuff."

"Is there anything she's not interested in?" Stark couldn't help but say.

Shiller and Peter simultaneously turned their heads to look at him.

Stark let out an angry roar, got up from the table, and went to the backyard to see the flying old car.

"How does it feel to regain your Spider Power?" Shiller looked at Peter and asked.

"It's actually quite nice," Peter sighed and said. "I finally understand why you guys said I was a bit too noisy back then. After regaining power, I feel my thinking speed has increased considerably."

"You don't have to feel like you're wasting power," Shiller said. "You're not that young anymore, and if you were just an ordinary person, your thinking speed and reaction speed would inevitably decline with age, and your mind wouldn't be as sharp. The frailty brought by aging is unavoidable, and this would prevent you from coming up with new ideas, hindering your contributions to the human race. So using some power to maintain your mental acuity is completely worthwhile and not wasteful."

Peter seemed a bit embarrassed and said, "You already figured it out, Doctor? I mean..."

"That car has been parked in the yard for three or four days, and aside from tapping on it daily, you haven't really done anything. I figured you were hitting a bottleneck. Considering your recent long sleep hours, it's probably due to overthinking, leading to lethargy. If you didn't go to Nick on your own, I was planning to have a talk with him."