American comics: Praising the sun, starting from Gotham!

SHIELD.

late at night.

In a brightly lit corner of the cafeteria.

Steve Rogers is trying to capture a moment of tranquility from the past in a sketchbook with a 2B pencil.

His hands wouldn't tremble even when facing Hydra's barrage of fire.

However, they had to stop because of two noise sources nearby that were clearly exceeding the decibel limit.

"Even in the Howling Commandos' camp, it wasn't this noisy."

Steve sighed helplessly and closed the sketchbook containing the half-finished monkey drawing.

He looked up at the two guys who were turning the queue for food into a self-service robbery.

At the buffet table, Thor poured three whole basins of roast meat into a large bowl that was clearly meant for soup.

"The cattle here are so skinny! They don't even have the hind legs of that lion Hercules!"

Thor grumbled, then casually tossed the stainless steel clip toward Shuen.

"Try this! Since you can eat those black metal sheets, this shiny little clip must be quite an appetizer!"

Xiu En caught the stainless steel food tongs.

He pinched it from both ends toward the middle, and a golden divine light flashed, transforming the stainless steel clip into a perfect metal ball.

"The taste is so-so, and the carbon content is too low."

Xiu En gave a critical evaluation, tossing the metal ball into his mouth like a peanut.

It felt like chewing a slightly hard candy.

The cafeteria lady standing next to me was so startled that she dropped her spoon into the soup bucket.

The two carrying food naturally chose the area with the most empty seats in the cafeteria.

It was precisely because of this living fossil aura that made all the agents keep their distance that his corner seemed so empty.

"Hey! You, the warrior who draws!"

Thor was probably a creature who had absolutely no idea what social distancing was. He walked over and made Captain America's sketchbook, which he had just put away, bounce on the table.

"I remember you appeared in that PowerPoint presentation the one-eyed guy gave me for his required course! The Captain America who ran around in a bodysuit carrying a pot lid?"

Xiu En, on the other hand, was more direct.

He plopped down in the chair opposite Steve.

"Isn't this the centenarian who asked us at the Fantastic Four's wedding if we should give the bride a wedding gift?"

A smile flickered in Xiu En's eyes, which were burning with golden flames, and he pointed to himself.

"Do you remember me? I'm Xiu En."

Steve's lips twitched slightly; this was probably the maximum retaliation his impeccable upbringing could produce.

"I remember you, sir."

But before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by a sense of impending crisis.

That look in his eyes.

It went over his shoulder and stuck to the red, white and blue round shield that he habitually leaned against the chair even when eating.

Xiu En's gaze was focused on the shield that represented Earth's strongest defense, performing component analysis and taste simulation.

Wow!

Xiu's voice became low.

"The vibration frequency of this peculiar sound-absorbing steel is practically singing to my stomach. And the red and white color scheme of the paint makes it look like an extremely chewy lollipop."

Even the sunflower on his shoulder couldn't help but cover its face with two leaves.

"Here we go again! Stop looking! Your drool is dripping all over people's sketchbooks!"

Almost instinctively, Steve placed his hand on the edge of the shield, his muscles tense.

"This is personal property, sir. And it is not for sale."

"Don't be so stingy, old soldier."

Xiu En handed him a spoon.

"I can trade you a specialty from another world, like a compressed biscuit made by Afu that's so hard it could kill someone? That's truly delicious, both in terms of hardness and taste."

Thor, laughing loudly, patted Steve on the shoulder, nearly shoving the super soldier into the table.

"Never mind this iron-eating guy! Come on, this may not be Asgardian mead, but we have something called vodka that's got some real kick! As future comrades, we should settle things at the table first!"

The long tables in the cafeteria were now set up with various dishes.

On the left is a whole case of vodka labeled in Russian that Thor pulled out from some unknown cabinet.

On the right is a barrel of aviation fuel marked with a skull and crossbones symbol that Xiu En had just grabbed from the hangar.

"Asgardian mead can keep a troll asleep for three days and three nights!"

Thor boldly bit open the cap of a vodka bottle with his teeth and spat out the aluminum foil.

"Come forth, legendary warriors of Earth! And my divine brothers! Let's see who falls first!"

Steve looked at the bottle of liquid with an obviously excessive alcohol content, then at the Stars and Stripes-colored mug in front of him, sighed helplessly, and silently filled his mug.

His super metabolism makes him almost immune to alcohol, but that doesn't mean he enjoys the feeling of his stomach burning.

Xiu En, on the other hand, is even more hardcore.

He held the red oil drum in one hand, as if it were a thermos, with golden flames flickering faintly at his throat.

"This wine smells good, it's a bit spicy, and it's very high in energy."

Xiu En shook the oil drum.

He looked up, and before the golden liquid could even flow out, the smell of kerosene had already taken over the cafeteria's air purification system.

Ivy, who had been clinging to Xiu En's shoulder, finally couldn't hold back any longer.

Ivy stretched out a leaf and slapped it hard on the back of Xiu En's head.

"Are you drinking alcohol? You're refueling a tractor!"

The sunflower's flower head shook violently, and Ivy's voice, full of disappointment and frustration, could be heard.

"And another thing, is your stomach a nuclear reactor? Besides making you spew fire when you burp, is there even the slightest bit of intoxicating chemical reaction from ingesting this highly volatile chemical? You're just trying to start a fire!"

"That's called ambiance, Little Flower."

Just as Xiu En brought the bucket to his lips, before he could even take a sip of aviation fuel, a hand in a black suit reached out with an air of certain death.

"Sir! No! Absolutely not!"

One of the agents practically slid in.

He grabbed the oil drum tightly, his face showing the terror of impending loss of his pension.

Damn it, I was so focused on saving the coffee machine that I forgot to move the fuel. Why does this thing even want to drink the fuel?

"This is backup fuel! If we make an emergency landing, this can of stuff will be a lifesaver! This isn't a gas station, and we don't have the budget to provide this kind of special drink!"

After a struggle that even involved S.H.I.E.L.D. agent hand-to-hand combat techniques, Shum could only shrug and let go with a bored expression.

"How stingy. This level of fuel is only good enough to be considered low-alcohol beverage."

Without any drinks, Shum could only float cross-legged in the air, watching Thor and Captain America drink vodka like water.

Xiu En turned his head, his golden eyes looking at the flower on his shoulder.

"What do you think of this old popsicle guy wearing the national flag? I think his shield is more interesting than him."

"That round plate?"

"Aside from the aesthetically unappealing red and blue color scheme, the frequency of that metallic vibration is indeed quite unique. If it were used as a flowerpot base, it should be able to insulate against most seismic waves, which would be very beneficial for the root system."

Steve's hand trembled as he clinked glasses with Thor, spilling a few drops of wine.

He could feel the gazes of the person and the flower sweeping unabashedly between him and his shield.

"And that big blond guy."

Ivy's voice continued to come through, without her lowering her voice at all.

"The expression on his face when he drank that clear liquid was like that of a bull drinking water. Is this what they call a god? I'd rather go to Gotham and grow exploding potatoes."

Thor froze as he was about to drink the wine.

He blinked in confusion, looking at Steve and then at the plant.

Was she praising my strength?

Thor asked the question sincerely.

Steve silently took a big gulp of vodka and decided to pretend he didn't understand.

The automatic doors of the cafeteria opened, interrupting Thor's complaint about whether Asgard even had cups that small.

Bruce Banner.

This physics PhD was hiding in Kolkata not long ago, treating patients.

At this moment, it is holding a plate, like a hamster that has accidentally wandered into the territory of a pride of lions.

He straightened his suit slightly, his gaze cautiously shifting between the agents and superheroes filling the room.

He had planned to have dinner in the lab, but there were people there playing deafening rock music and eating dried blueberries while trying to poke his ribs with an electric stinger to see if he would turn green.

To maintain his hard-won calm heart rate, Banner chose to escape and come to this place filled with the aroma of food.

But he quickly realized it was a mistake.

Because Xiu En looked at him.

Wow!

Xiu En let out a vague exclamation.

He even changed from that boneless, floating sitting posture to a slightly more upright, forward-leaning posture.

From the perspective of the Aegis, Banner is a green, glowing gamma energy storm that is barely compressed under a humanoid shell and is tearing through space.

He was full of destructive power, yet also carried an aura of extreme vitality, directly stimulating every golden crow particle in Xiu En's body that craved energy.

"What a pure green. It's a million times more vibrant than those graffiti drawn with highlighters in Gotham."

Unlike Xiu En's excitement, the sunflower that had been hanging on his shoulder shrank all its petals as if it had been scalded by boiling water.

"Hey! That green one over there... uh, I mean, that professor over there!"

Xiu En raised his hand and waved very familiarly.

"There's an empty seat here! And we have the strongest liquor in the whole cafeteria. Want some? You seem like the kind of person who needs to stay calm all the time but secretly wants to smash something."

The greeting made Banner's plate tremble, and the mashed potatoes inside almost flew out.

He forced an awkward smile that looked more like a grimace, his gaze sweeping over Thor's muscular arms, Captain America's hesitant expression, and Shum's face, which clearly screamed "I want to eat."

"Uh, thank you. I'll just order a salad."

Banner spoke in a very soft voice to ensure that he would not provoke any anger.

"Don't mention it, friend!"

Although Thor didn't know this seemingly frail little man, he had a natural affinity for all living things that could eat and drink.

He stretched out his long arm and pulled Banerzi over.

"Since you were all summoned by the One-Eyed Dragon, then you're all warriors! Come on, try this Midgard mashed potatoes. Although it's not as chewy as the golden berries of Asgard, it'll do you a good job of filling your stomach!"

Banner was forced to sit down. His heart rate monitor beeped softly.

This meal was probably the hardest to digest he had ever eaten.