Reading settings
Chapter 280 "The Omnipotent Mr. Mxyzptlk Cannot Create a Stone He Cannot Lift"
Wong, shirtless, suddenly appeared on the street.
His plump physique and pale rolls of fat were on full display for all the passersby, drawing sidelong glances and laughter that the ladies tried their best to stifle.
He looked around with a completely bewildered expression, filled with deep confusion. One moment he was casting magic, the next he was in this godforsaken place.
He was sure he had been tricked by that guy. With just a casual snap of the fingers, he had been defeated.
Stripped and thrown onto the street.
"Hey, were you robbed? I can call the police for you."
"No, thank you. This way... it's quite cool, hmm..."
Wong politely declined the passerby's help. His hands were clasped together, fingers gripping tightly, and a hint of coldness appeared on his chubby face.
"Kill him... I must kill him..."
Wong, this serious homebody, was completely enraged.
To him, the strange and amused stares of the passersby were more humiliating than any verbal insult.
He still remembered how, in front of that mysterious person, with a mere snap, he had lost all control and was thrown directly from Kamar-Taj onto the street.
The mysterious person's skill in magic terrified him, and his methods filled him with outrageous anger.
"Uh, looks like you need some help?" a young man asked, tentatively approaching and looking around uncomfortably.
"Where is this?" Wong asked, his face dark. His small eyes narrowed into slits, revealing a dangerous aura.
"Central City. Hey, man, don't you look at a map before you leave the house? Or did you just sleepwalk from one city to another?" the young man said, telling a lame joke. Even he thought it was stupid after he said it, so he just shrugged helplessly.
The young man felt that this heavyset man's behavior was very strange, perhaps similar to what he himself had experienced.
With a cold expression, Wong casually walked to a hidden corner. Ignoring the young man's incessant questions, he used magic to open a portal right in front of him, stepped through it, and returned to Kamar-Taj.
He was going to find that damned bastard and settle the score.
The portal slowly closed, leaving the young man standing there, dumbfounded. His expression was mixed with a hint of excitement, and he'd had an impulse to use his speed to rush into the portal.
Curious and bold—a personality just like most people his age.
Just then, his phone rang. "Barry, where are you? I think I've found a clue about that mysterious person. He's from a higher dimension. Honestly, it's a blessing he didn't mean you any harm; he just played a trick on you..."
"Cisco, you'll never guess who I just met! A sorcerer! I met a shirtless sorcerer! Right in front of me, he opened a circle, walked into it, and disappeared!" Barry exclaimed excitedly, rattling off the words into his phone like a machine gun.
"Shirtless...? Is that some kind of sorcerer custom?" Cisco asked, a bit confused.
"The point is he's a sorcerer!"
"Alright, alright, whoever he is, just get back here. Use your super speed. Dr. Harrison is waiting for you too..."
...
His vision went black, and when it returned, Tony found himself in a massive opera house.
Magnificent and opulent.
However, there was no audience in the vast opera house; all the seats were empty.
Tony looked down at his clothes, which at some point had been changed into the attire of a medieval Western knight. The same went for Mr. Mxyzptlk, who stood opposite him.
The two foolish-looking 'knights' stood on the wide stage like two pathetic clowns.
"These clothes are so stupid..." Tony muttered, looking down and resisting the urge to rip the ridiculous outfit to shreds.
"Come, Tony, let's have a duel between men. The winner gets Wanda," Mr. Mxyzptlk said with a solemn expression as two revolvers materialized in his hands. He kept one and shoved the other at Tony.
"Back to back, walk to the end of the stage, then turn and fire—there's only one bullet!" Mr. Mxyzptlk's face was filled with a sense of mission, as if he were performing a sacred and solemn rite. He looked like a priest in a church, or more accurately, like a charlatan shaman before a ritual.
Tony sneered, took the revolver, gave it a twirl, and casually fired a shot straight into Mr. Mxyzptlk's chest.
"Cut the act. No matter how serious you try to make the scene, in your hands, it can't shake that awkward feeling of a prank. Mr. Mxyzptlk, you know this doesn't prove anything. Let's try a different way—my way."
Tony blew the non-existent smoke from the gun's muzzle, smirking at the unfazed Mr. Mxyzptlk.
Mr. Mxyzptlk studied the bullet hole in his chest with great interest, digging the bullet out piece by piece while putting on a convincing act of being wounded.
"You broke the great Mr. Mxyzptlk's game rules! I'm very angry!" Mr. Mxyzptlk shouted, waving his arms dramatically before firing his own gun.
Tony simply caught the bullet, crushed it into a flat piece of metal, and tossed it to the ground. "Those are your game rules, not mine," he said. "In fact, you're the one butting in. If it weren't for you, Wanda wouldn't have to make such a difficult choice. I don't know what you see in her, but if you really want to win her over, you'll play by my game rules."
Mr. Mxyzptlk pondered for a moment. "Fine. I enjoy any kind of game. The loser leaves, and the winner stays!"
"The loser leaves Earth, and can't return without the winner's permission," Tony added.
Making trouble was in Mr. Mxyzptlk's nature.
Tony knew Mr. Mxyzptlk had a history of pursuing Supergirl, only to be rejected—of course, that probably hadn't happened yet in this timeline. He didn't understand why the imp had now set his sights on Wanda, but considering Mr. Mxyzptlk's bizarre way of thinking, he decided it wasn't worth dwelling on.
But Mr. Mxyzptlk had one good trait: he wasn't very bright, and he was relatively good at sticking to the rules of a game.
This gave Tony the perfect opportunity to set a trap.
Worst-case scenario, even if Tony lost, he could still go build Cybertron out in the Universe—though he'd feel bad for the Ancient One. With the power of a Demigod, he was qualified to rule over many galaxies.
After all, the Universe was vast, and the galaxy containing Earth was but a drop in the ocean. A Demigod could already establish powerful factions. As long as Tony didn't go looking for trouble and offending the wrong people, building a planet of his own would be no problem.
"Deal! But what do you want to play? I really can't imagine any way you could beat me," Mr. Mxyzptlk said excitedly, his eyes filled with mischief.
"A very simple game," Tony said with a grin. "I hear you're omnipotent?"
"Of course! The might of the great Mr. Mxyzptlk is known throughout the Sphere of the Gods! But let's get one thing straight," he boasted, then suddenly lowered his voice as if realizing something. "Don't even think about proposing something like 'destroy the Multiverse.' I won't fall for that. The Fifth-Dimensional Court is keeping a close watch on me. The game is limited to this opera house, confined to this very stage."
Mr. Mxyzptlk thought himself quite clever for not walking into Tony's verbal trap.
"Excellent. Then my game rules are simple," Tony said. "I will make one reasonable request. If you can fulfill it, I lose. If you can't, I win."
Mr. Mxyzptlk thought for a moment, then nodded in satisfaction, rubbing his hands together excitedly. "No problem! As long as your request is confined to this stage, you name it, I can do it! The great Mr. Mxyzptlk is omnipotent!"
"Then the game begins. My request is this—the omnipotent Mr. Mxyzptlk is unable to create a stone that he cannot lift!"
Tony smiled, a sinister expression on his face.
(end of chapter)
Wong, shirtless, suddenly appeared on the street.
His plump physique and pale rolls of fat were on full display for all the passersby, drawing sidelong glances and laughter that the ladies tried their best to stifle.
He looked around with a completely bewildered expression, filled with deep confusion. One moment he was casting magic, the next he was in this godforsaken place.
He was sure he had been tricked by that guy. With just a casual snap of the fingers, he had been defeated.
Stripped and thrown onto the street.
"Hey, were you robbed? I can call the police for you."
"No, thank you. This way... it's quite cool, hmm..."
Wong politely declined the passerby's help. His hands were clasped together, fingers gripping tightly, and a hint of coldness appeared on his chubby face.
"Kill him... I must kill him..."
Wong, this serious homebody, was completely enraged.
To him, the strange and amused stares of the passersby were more humiliating than any verbal insult.
He still remembered how, in front of that mysterious person, with a mere snap, he had lost all control and was thrown directly from Kamar-Taj onto the street.
The mysterious person's skill in magic terrified him, and his methods filled him with outrageous anger.
"Uh, looks like you need some help?" a young man asked, tentatively approaching and looking around uncomfortably.
"Where is this?" Wong asked, his face dark. His small eyes narrowed into slits, revealing a dangerous aura.
"Central City. Hey, man, don't you look at a map before you leave the house? Or did you just sleepwalk from one city to another?" the young man said, telling a lame joke. Even he thought it was stupid after he said it, so he just shrugged helplessly.
The young man felt that this heavyset man's behavior was very strange, perhaps similar to what he himself had experienced.
With a cold expression, Wong casually walked to a hidden corner. Ignoring the young man's incessant questions, he used magic to open a portal right in front of him, stepped through it, and returned to Kamar-Taj.
He was going to find that damned bastard and settle the score.
The portal slowly closed, leaving the young man standing there, dumbfounded. His expression was mixed with a hint of excitement, and he'd had an impulse to use his speed to rush into the portal.
Curious and bold—a personality just like most people his age.
Just then, his phone rang. "Barry, where are you? I think I've found a clue about that mysterious person. He's from a higher dimension. Honestly, it's a blessing he didn't mean you any harm; he just played a trick on you..."
"Cisco, you'll never guess who I just met! A sorcerer! I met a shirtless sorcerer! Right in front of me, he opened a circle, walked into it, and disappeared!" Barry exclaimed excitedly, rattling off the words into his phone like a machine gun.
"Shirtless...? Is that some kind of sorcerer custom?" Cisco asked, a bit confused.
"The point is he's a sorcerer!"
"Alright, alright, whoever he is, just get back here. Use your super speed. Dr. Harrison is waiting for you too..."
...
His vision went black, and when it returned, Tony found himself in a massive opera house.
Magnificent and opulent.
However, there was no audience in the vast opera house; all the seats were empty.
Tony looked down at his clothes, which at some point had been changed into the attire of a medieval Western knight. The same went for Mr. Mxyzptlk, who stood opposite him.
The two foolish-looking 'knights' stood on the wide stage like two pathetic clowns.
"These clothes are so stupid..." Tony muttered, looking down and resisting the urge to rip the ridiculous outfit to shreds.
"Come, Tony, let's have a duel between men. The winner gets Wanda," Mr. Mxyzptlk said with a solemn expression as two revolvers materialized in his hands. He kept one and shoved the other at Tony.
"Back to back, walk to the end of the stage, then turn and fire—there's only one bullet!" Mr. Mxyzptlk's face was filled with a sense of mission, as if he were performing a sacred and solemn rite. He looked like a priest in a church, or more accurately, like a charlatan shaman before a ritual.
Tony sneered, took the revolver, gave it a twirl, and casually fired a shot straight into Mr. Mxyzptlk's chest.
"Cut the act. No matter how serious you try to make the scene, in your hands, it can't shake that awkward feeling of a prank. Mr. Mxyzptlk, you know this doesn't prove anything. Let's try a different way—my way."
Tony blew the non-existent smoke from the gun's muzzle, smirking at the unfazed Mr. Mxyzptlk.
Mr. Mxyzptlk studied the bullet hole in his chest with great interest, digging the bullet out piece by piece while putting on a convincing act of being wounded.
"You broke the great Mr. Mxyzptlk's game rules! I'm very angry!" Mr. Mxyzptlk shouted, waving his arms dramatically before firing his own gun.
Tony simply caught the bullet, crushed it into a flat piece of metal, and tossed it to the ground. "Those are your game rules, not mine," he said. "In fact, you're the one butting in. If it weren't for you, Wanda wouldn't have to make such a difficult choice. I don't know what you see in her, but if you really want to win her over, you'll play by my game rules."
Mr. Mxyzptlk pondered for a moment. "Fine. I enjoy any kind of game. The loser leaves, and the winner stays!"
"The loser leaves Earth, and can't return without the winner's permission," Tony added.
Making trouble was in Mr. Mxyzptlk's nature.
Tony knew Mr. Mxyzptlk had a history of pursuing Supergirl, only to be rejected—of course, that probably hadn't happened yet in this timeline. He didn't understand why the imp had now set his sights on Wanda, but considering Mr. Mxyzptlk's bizarre way of thinking, he decided it wasn't worth dwelling on.
But Mr. Mxyzptlk had one good trait: he wasn't very bright, and he was relatively good at sticking to the rules of a game.
This gave Tony the perfect opportunity to set a trap.
Worst-case scenario, even if Tony lost, he could still go build Cybertron out in the Universe—though he'd feel bad for the Ancient One. With the power of a Demigod, he was qualified to rule over many galaxies.
After all, the Universe was vast, and the galaxy containing Earth was but a drop in the ocean. A Demigod could already establish powerful factions. As long as Tony didn't go looking for trouble and offending the wrong people, building a planet of his own would be no problem.
"Deal! But what do you want to play? I really can't imagine any way you could beat me," Mr. Mxyzptlk said excitedly, his eyes filled with mischief.
"A very simple game," Tony said with a grin. "I hear you're omnipotent?"
"Of course! The might of the great Mr. Mxyzptlk is known throughout the Sphere of the Gods! But let's get one thing straight," he boasted, then suddenly lowered his voice as if realizing something. "Don't even think about proposing something like 'destroy the Multiverse.' I won't fall for that. The Fifth-Dimensional Court is keeping a close watch on me. The game is limited to this opera house, confined to this very stage."
Mr. Mxyzptlk thought himself quite clever for not walking into Tony's verbal trap.
"Excellent. Then my game rules are simple," Tony said. "I will make one reasonable request. If you can fulfill it, I lose. If you can't, I win."
Mr. Mxyzptlk thought for a moment, then nodded in satisfaction, rubbing his hands together excitedly. "No problem! As long as your request is confined to this stage, you name it, I can do it! The great Mr. Mxyzptlk is omnipotent!"
"Then the game begins. My request is this—the omnipotent Mr. Mxyzptlk is unable to create a stone that he cannot lift!"
Tony smiled, a sinister expression on his face.
(end of chapter)
