"N-no!"
Squirrel Girl's body went limp, her hands opened, and a dozen nuts fell uncontrollably to the ground.
"What a strange feeling... stop touching it!"
"Huh, what is this?"
As Aaron continued petting, he suddenly pulled a nut out of the fluffy tail.
Squirrel Girl said shyly, "These are my reserve snacks. Sometimes I need to replenish energy, so... so I often hide some food."
Aaron was stunned, his gaze traveling down the tail to a certain spot.
Squirrel Girl immediately hugged herself, but she couldn't cover the spot entirely.
"How did you know there was something here too? Hey, absolutely nothing is here! I definitely didn't hide snacks!"
Aaron looked suspicious and moved his gaze further down.
"Wait, there really isn't anything here!" Squirrel Girl shook her head frantically.
Aaron nodded. "I believe you."
Seeing that Aaron truly believed her, Squirrel Girl sighed in relief. "You are a good person."
"..."
Magik and Luna were silent.
Why does it feel like some parts of Squirrel Girl developed very well, but other parts didn't develop much at all? Is this the cost of being big?
Luna subconsciously glanced at Magik, then patted her own bulging chest.
It seems not too big and not too small is just right.
At this moment, Wolverine and Iron Fist struggled to follow a squirrel, carrying a lump of ice sculpture across the jungle.
"Slowly, don't drop it."
"Move it over there a bit, right, put it down."
"Your friend is a bit too heavy. Remember to tell him later to take care of his health."
Iron Fist and Wolverine stretched their bodies.
However, Lin Lie, being the Iron Fist, was clearly in much better condition, whereas Wolverine was genuinely exhausted.
The former at least possessed extraordinary power, with fragments of the Sword of Fu Xi remaining inside him. But Wolverine's physical quality was just that of an ordinary person.
"This is the Safe House? Maybe we should look for a bank." Wolverine looked suspicious.
Aaron continued petting Doreen's tail, saying aloud, "Doreen, everyone is here. Tell us what's going on."
(T/N: Squirrel Girl will be referred to as Doreen.)
"Huh, how did you know my name?"
Doreen was quite surprised, but everyone else was used to it.
Seeing this, after a brief hesitation, she recounted everything she knew about the Eternal Night.
"I know who the culprit behind this is. He is Dracula, the King of Vampires, and a man wearing an iron mask, who seems to be called... Doom?"
"Doom? Dr. Doom!"
Wolverine's expression became solemn.
Magik frowned. "Is he very powerful?"
"He's not just powerful, he's extremely powerful."
Wolverine explained, "As far as I know, in the 2099 Universe, Doom is one of the largest powers on Earth. The Victor Group, led by him, is recruiting forces and stirring up wars everywhere."
"Superheroes including Captain America and the Punisher, supported secretly by Wakanda, established a Resistance Army to secretly oppose Doom's tyranny."
"I think, since it's the same Doom, the Doom of this Universe will certainly not be weaker than the other one."
Aaron didn't react.
Very powerful? Just so-so.
However, Wolverine was right about one thing: the Doom of 2099 could indeed contend with the Doom of 2024 Universe.
After all, these events were caused by the two of them.
Magik nodded slightly, showing no strong emotion.
Doreen continued, "Right after the Eternal Night descended, I met a super big squirrel here named Ratatoskr, who came from a magical place called the World Tree."
"She has a very long, sharp horn on her head. It is said that her horn possesses a powerful Demon-Slaying Effect, capable of permanently piercing any object in the world and inflicting lethal damage on Vampires."
"A man named Blade and I helped Ratatoskr resist Dracula, but we failed. Except for me, who successfully escaped, both Ratatoskr and Blade were captured by the Vampires."
Doreen looked even more depressed, forgetting about the tail Aaron was playing with, saddened by the capture of her good friend.
She then pulled out a nut from somewhere and chewed it fiercely.
Doreen pleaded, "Can you help me save her? She's a very kind and wonderful big squirrel, and I can give you lots and lots of nuts to eat."
Magik and Luna exchanged glances, then looked at Aaron.
Although Aaron seemed unreliable, the reality was that Aaron was the true decision-maker.
Doreen was very smart this time and reacted immediately.
Doreen gritted her teeth and said with her eyes closed, "If... if you can save my friend, I'll let you pet my ears and big tail for a while."
For her good friend, she risked it all.
Aaron's eyes lit up. "Then it's a deal."
Doreen nodded heavily.
Although having her tail and ears touched was very embarrassing, if it was Aaron, it was acceptable.
It felt strangely good being with Aaron. It gave her the kind of closeness one feels when they are with their very best friend.
"Speaking of which, what exactly is that big squirrel? Is it a monster?" Iron Fist scratched his head.
If it was a monster, should he take action?
As the current master of the Sword of Fu Xi, hearing the word 'monster' made him feel uneasy all over.
"Ratatoskr is the Squirrel Goddess who lives on the World Tree. She usually stays in Asgard, and her favorite thing to do is sow discord."
"If you paid attention to Norse mythology, you would know of her existence."
But clearly, the people present knew very little about Norse mythology. At most, they only knew Thor and Loki, who had already appeared.
Plus Odin.
That was all.
Just as everyone was talking, another yellow squirrel ran over.
"Chirp chirp..."
Doreen chirped back, talking to it.
The squirrel then turned and ran outside, disappearing into the jungle after a few leaps.
"What are they saying?"
Luna tried hard to understand, but Squirrel language was difficult to comprehend.
"Someone has tracked us down. It's Iron Man and Mister Fantastic." Aaron explained.
Doreen was even happier when she realized Aaron could also speak Squirrel language.
This was truly fate.
She had always hoped she could have a friend who also spoke Squirrel language, so her squirrel friends could play together.
Even though this good friend had some strange hobbies, it didn't matter. Besides, Aaron didn't eat her nuts.
Soon, under Doreen's direction, several squirrels led Iron Man and Mister Fantastic over.
"Doreen, it's great to see you're alright."
"Are these the heroes from another Universe? We are glad you could join us."
Looking at this Reed in front of him, Aaron recalled the Reed from his own Universe.
Compared to the slightly immature Reed who still needed his help, the one before him was more mature and already at the peak stage of his life.
And the Time Machine was one of his greatest achievements.
According to Wolverine, Reed's Time Technology was about to be completed. However, he seemed to have run into some trouble recently.
***
40 Advanced Chapters on
patreon.com/alex_1000