In fact, it really works. Because Natasha had already slept enough, she immediately started soaking in the hot spring upon entering the hotel room. Apparently, Charles had already adjusted the water system for her, and as soon as the water was let in, the room was filled with a strong sulfur smell.
Natasha soaked for about ten minutes, then moved to the balcony. The outdoor temperature was relatively low, so she soaked for another twenty minutes until she was overheated and reluctantly got out of the pool.
Then she burst into the lounge on the second floor of the hotel like a cannonball to announce the good news: "It really works!!! I'm totally fine now!!!"
"Congratulations, congratulations," Steve said sincerely, "It's great that it can be solved this way."
"Miss, you should really consider what you've been doing that makes the hot spring therapy work so well," Strange couldn't help but say, "If only you'd wear an extra layer in winter, things might not have turned out this way."
"Exactly," Stark surprisingly totally agreed with Strange, "You are a cyborg, your constitution should be better than others', how could it become so severe? It's just because you don't usually pay attention to maintenance."
Natasha was about to say something when Bucky spoke up: "Nick doesn't send you to the South Pole and North Pole every day, using work as an excuse won't work."
Natasha finally had nothing to say. She tightened the belt of her robe and collapsed on the sofa: "You guys have to understand, my homeland regards overcoming cold and snow as an honor, believing that resistance to cold needs to be trained from a young age. If you show fear of the cold, you're easily seen as a wimp."
"Then why do you like to drink alcohol to warm up and develop hot soup dishes?" Matt seemed quite skilled at using logic to persuade others, "This proves you're not afraid of the cold, you just pretend. Your dietary culture is much more honest."
Natasha was once again at a loss for words. She fanned herself with her hand and then said, "In fact, soaking in the hot spring feels quite good, I really feel much more comfortable."
"But now you smell like a big bar of sulfur soap," Stark said.
"Later you'll all turn into sulfur soap too," Natasha said irritably, "Stop making fun of me."
They chatted here for a while and ate some fruit. Soon, the lounge was filled with many people, and The Avengers from the local universe had arrived.
In fact, the relationship between the Avengers of these three universes isn't very good. They lack a middleman to harmonize relations and smooth things over, so meeting each other is a bit awkward.
However, this situation quickly got relieved because it's not so awkward between isotopes and isotopes. They ultimately decided to split into different isotope groups for chatting, which was much better.
However, it was only limited to heroes like Captain America. As for Iron Man, he basically stayed close to others, everyone knew that putting them together was asking for trouble.
"Are you feeling better?" Main Universe Black Widow looked at Natasha and said, "Our universe's captain is a bit worried about you."
"Not bad," Natasha nodded and said, "The hot spring therapy is effective. Plus, they successfully convinced me that I should drink less ice water."
"A health expert, huh," Local Black Widow said, "Sometimes being too idle isn't a good thing. If last week you had just finished dealing with that purple-headed guy who had an eye on Earth, and then turned around and found the ordinary people government wanted to perish together with mutants, you probably wouldn't have these troubles."
"You just dealt with Thanos?" Natasha said somewhat surprised.
"Yes, or else how could we have not noticed the thing about the Red Orchid Factory. There's just too much work, you always have to prioritize, right?"
"That's indeed a bit scary," Natasha sighed, "We have gone several years without a cosmic-level crisis, Earth is more like a safe home... Oh, I can't say that, just recently we left the beautiful Solar System and took a trip."
Steve over there was also recounting his navigator experiences to the other two Captain Americas.
"We accidentally ended up in the Broken Void at the time. It was as thrilling as it could be, we had just settled the Gravity Anchor when the first mate suddenly rushed in shouting: 'The left side hull's gravity imbalance!' Everyone broke out in a cold sweat. Just at this time, the Star Spirit Clan living in the Broken Void discovered our ship and started to send signals to our frequency band. We couldn't understand the language, those signals looked like gobbledygook, and we thought we were in a trap, even our communication channel was interfered with. Luckily, it was a misunderstanding, they even helped tow our ship out..."
"What about the other one?" Strange looked at Local Doctor Strange and asked.
"They took him back," Local Doctor Strange said, "I heard that the 'perfect' support plan was thought up by the two of them. With them gone, the Avengers can finally get some real work done."
"You shouldn't say that about them, if only you would fix that Magical Defense Network properly, things wouldn't have deteriorated to this state," Strange shook his head and said, "Your Demon God here isn't very skilled, maybe he should go to my universe, they're just looking to expand their business more widely."
"Can you even borrow power across universes?" Doctor Strange narrowed his eyes.
"Why not?" Strange somehow pulled out a business card, handed it to Doctor Strange, and said, "Take some time to go to the Holy Sanctuary, you should also go see the real Hell's Master and Dark Source in the big city, stop acting like a country bumpkin."
"I really don't know when you became the devils' spokesperson."
"We're all the devils' spokespersons," Strange took a sip of his drink and said, "Always have been, never changed. It's just that some people haven't seen the world and want to sell themselves and Earth cheaply. As long as I'm here, not a chance."
With no counterparts present, Matt and Shiller continued to sit in the corner, eating fruit by themselves. However, Charles does not disappoint any guest; soon, a mutant brought over sashimi, evidently well aware of their tastes.
"They didn't catch this fresh from the sea, did they?" Matt sniffed with shock, his senses were much sharper than most, able to detect a prominent sea scent, not the kind that had been left out and was slightly spoiled, but the freshest, like seawater itself.
Shiller could see it clearly; he lifted a piece of tuna belly with a fork. Fresh belly was completely different from frozen. He examined it carefully, then said, "I suspect Namor caught it fresh from the water. How exactly did Charles persuade him?"
"He always finds a way." Matt wasn't interested in that, just intent on eating. But when eating sashimi, you shouldn't start with the belly; the fatty flavor is too heavy and will overshadow the taste of subsequent fish. You should start with the milder white or silver fish and finish with the tuna and salmon bellies.
With delicious food, the two were unconcerned with anything else, feasting heartily and completely missing the friendly exchanges between the mutants and the local Avengers, SWORD and mutants, local Avengers, and SWORD, and other diplomatic events. Until the sky darkened and the entire hot spring bathhouse lit up.
Looking out from the window of the cliffside hotel lounge, it was brilliantly lit. Because of the extensive use of crystal materials, the light from inside could shine through, like bright stars one after another, forming a splendid cosmos in the blue hour.
Everyone flocked to the balcony to enjoy the view. As the bath started to fill, the thin white mist rose, adding to the mysterious beauty, as if being in the Divine Country of the elves.
Accompanied by the warmth brought by the water flow, the banquet officially began. Everyone donned robes and headed to the baths they were interested in. Each type of hot spring soak, besides differing in temperature, had its own characteristics. Some were sulfur pools, with a strong sulfur smell, good for sterilization. Others were herbal baths, with local Clarkia herbs, including the Clarkia Flower, believed to improve one's constitution.
However, the most popular was the flowing pool surrounding the indoor hot spring. It was a live water hot spring stream, where the water flow gently caressed the body, like a massage. Most people didn't want to leave after experiencing it.
Additionally, there were mutants using telekinesis to provide others with chilled drinks and fruit. It was virtually floating in the air, with one person wanting drinks and another snacks, sending plate after plate of food, making the scene incredibly lively.
Natasha had soaked during the day, so she and others who were not fond of hot springs gathered at the bar to drink. For health reasons, she didn't even ask for ice cubes this time. A sip of whiskey went down her throat, causing her to frown at its nastiness.
"If you don't want it to get worse, drink less, miss," Shiller came over to advise, "Alcohol boosts circulation, which might make it hurt more."
Natasha immediately spat out the half mouthful of alcohol she hadn't swallowed. It wasn't good anyway, better to have a drink instead.
Matt didn't soak for long either and came out overheated. He took a deep breath and, while tying his bathrobe, said, "I shouldn't have started with such a hot pool; I should have eased into it. The steam made me feel a bit dizzy."
"That's normal," Shiller said, "You shouldn't soak for more than ten minutes at a time. Want a drink?"
"No, I quit alcohol since Little Jack was born," Matt said, "I want to set a good example for my child."
Natasha was about to tease him but saw Matt's face change. Shiller also asked with concern, "What's wrong? Do you feel unwell too?"
"Maybe," Matt said, "Even though I've trained in martial arts and have inner qi, Clarkia Island might still affect me. For some reason, I feel a little nauseous and a bit…"
Just as he finished talking, Matt swayed on the spot, holding onto the bar counter, then said, "Maybe the hot spring was too hot, I feel dizzy, like motion sickness."
Shiller quickly supported Matt, then said, "You probably just got overheated. Let me help you back to your room to rest."
Just two steps out, Matt suddenly reached out his hand. Shaking off Shiller, he staggered on the spot, then said, "No, something's shaking... the ground is moving!"
He struggled to steady himself, then roared, "Earthquake! There's an earthquake!! Everybody, move!!!"