Chapter 9
第九章
Deep in the New Jersey marshlands, the Secaucus Amalgamated Macaroni Company's pasta manufacturing plant had stood empty for decades before the Inventor moved his latest sinister operation into it. But now it was full of activity. Empty birdcages hung from the rafters, and the Inventor's henchmen—both bird-people and robots—patrolled the corridors. And in the tower, a giant contraption stood, crackling with electrical sparks.
位于新澤西沼澤地深處的斯考克斯合營通心粉公司的面食制造廠,已經(jīng)閑置了幾十年,直到創(chuàng)造者搬了進來,變成了其為非作歹的策源地,如今則是一片“生機勃勃”的景象。椽子上垂掛著空鳥籠,創(chuàng)造者的隨從,半鳥人和機器人,在走廊里巡邏。塔樓里矗立著一個巨型裝置,冒著火花噼啪作響。
Thor and Ms. Marvel had just enough time to take in the scene below them before they crashed through the skylight in the tower and landed amid a small army of birdlike teenage Inhumans.
托爾和驚奇隊長恰好有寬裕的時間將下方的一切盡收眼底,接著他們從塔樓的天窗里俯沖而入,降落在一群少年半鳥人中。
A siren blared. Ms. Marvel and Thor stood up, brushing broken glass off themselves.
警報聲響起。驚奇隊長和托爾起身抖落了碎玻璃。
“Get'em!” squawked one of the Inventor's Inhuman henchmen. And with a flurry of feathers and a chorus of cheeps, they attacked.
“抓住他們!”創(chuàng)造者的一個異人隨從大叫了起來。羽毛翻飛,鳥聲陣陣,鳥群攻向了驚奇隊長與托爾。
Ms. Marvel embiggened her fists, lengthened her arms, and threw herself into the fight. The first Inhuman to attack her clawed at Ms. Marvel's face, but Ms. Marvel grabbed her by the tail and tossed her into a pile of old boxes.
驚奇隊長變大拳頭,伸長手臂,投入了戰(zhàn)斗。第一個半鳥人的爪子朝驚奇隊長的臉撓去,驚奇隊長揪住她的尾巴,把她甩進了舊箱子堆里。
Nearby, Thor was fighting off seven fluffy Inhumans covered in downy yellow feathers. They were all making high-pitched peeps. “I do not wish to harm you!” Thor yelled at the duckling-like villains. “For you are extremely adorable! Ouch!” he added as one of them bit him.
就在附近,托爾擊退了七個黃羽覆身的毛茸茸的半鳥人,他們發(fā)出尖銳的啾啾聲。“我不想傷害你!”托爾沖著半鴨人惡棍大叫,“你實在太可愛了!哎喲!”正說著,被其中一個啄了一口。
Ms. Marvel started in Thor's direction to help him, but she was suddenly knocked sideways by a robot hurtling out of a dark corner. The Inventor's robots were dangerous—Ms. Marvel had fought them before. She picked herself up and jumped sideways, dodging a laser blast.
驚奇隊長去幫托爾,但她突然被從暗地里殺出來的機器人撞到了一邊。創(chuàng)造者的機器人很危險,驚奇隊長曾與其交過手。她起身躍到一旁,躲閃著激光的追擊。
“Yaaah!” Ms. Marvel yelled, using her embiggened fist to smash the robot to pieces.
“看招!”驚奇隊長大叫一聲,一記重拳把機器人搗成了碎片。
Ms. Marvel took a deep breath, hoping for a little break so she could help out Thor. But just then, three more bird-people and another laser-armed robot all charged her at once. In a blur of fists and feet, Ms. Marvel kicked and punched—swung and spun—until she was surrounded by the scraps of the robot, and all her attackers were tied up. Her lungs were heaving and her fists were aching.
驚奇隊長深吸一口氣,想緩緩勁兒,好助攻托爾。就在那時,又有三個半鳥人與另一個裝有激光武器的機器人同時向她發(fā)起攻擊。一陣拳打腳踢,驚奇隊長出拳如霹靂、挪步似疾風、勢如破竹。霎時間,她周圍布滿了機器人的殘肢碎體,殘兵敗將被綁起來了。她覺著肺里一陣惡心,拳頭疼痛難忍。
“I don't know how many more of them I can handle,” Ms. Marvel said to Thor.
“我不知道自己還能對付幾個。”驚奇隊長對托爾說。
“How about one more?” said a sneering, shrill voice.
“再來一個,怎么樣?”一個輕蔑刺耳的聲音說道。
Ms. Marvel looked up. Standing in front of the giant machine was the Inventor. He was dramatically silhouetted against the sparking waves of electricity.
驚奇隊長抬起頭,只見創(chuàng)造者站在巨型機器跟前。在四處飛濺的火花的映襯下,他的身影異常清晰。
“I bid you welcome,” he said, “to your doom.”
“歡迎你們啊,”他說,“迎來了你們的末日。”
“At least he is polite,” Thor remarked, smashing the robot onto the cement floor.
“他還是很有禮貌的。”托爾將機器人砸碎在水泥地上。
The Inventor snapped his fingers, and the rest of the robots and Inhumans backed away from Ms. Marvel and Thor.
創(chuàng)造者打了個響指,其余的機器人和異人都撤了回來,不再與驚奇隊長和托爾抗爭。
“Perhaps you're wondering what I am doing here,” the Inventor said, strolling slowly toward them. “Well, make yourselves comfortable, and I shall tell you a tale the likes of which—”
“大概你們是想知道我在這兒干嗎?”創(chuàng)造者說著,緩緩走向驚奇隊長和托爾,“別那么緊張,我講個故事給你們聽聽——”
“You're stealing pet birds and putting their DNA into Inhuman teenagers you recruited for your villainous army of superpowered bird- people,” Ms. Marvel said.
“你把偷來的寵物鳥DNA植入異人少年體內(nèi),用來組建邪惡的超能力半鳥人軍隊。”驚奇隊長說。
“Oh,” the Inventor said, annoyed. “Yes, well. Got it in one.”
“哦,”創(chuàng)造者怒氣沖沖地說,“是的,很好,一語中的啊。”
“Cool,” Ms. Marvel said. She embiggened until she was nearly as high as the ceiling. “How about we move straight to the final-showdown part of the evening?”
“行啊,”驚奇隊長說著,伸長了胳膊,她幾乎要夠到天花板了,“今晚我們一決勝負,怎么樣?”
“You don't want to hear more about my revolutionary new nuclease enzyme? It's perfect for gene-splicing!”
“你難道不想聽聽更多關于我那革新性的新核酸酶嗎?它非常適于基因剪接!”
“I'd really rather fight,” Ms. Marvel admitted. “And besides, Biology is sort of a sore subject for me right now.”
“還是來硬的吧,”驚奇隊長坦白,“再說了,現(xiàn)在一提生物,我就難受。”
“If you insist,” the Inventor said and snapped his fingers. Suddenly a huge robot loomed up behind him—it was easily as big as all of the other robots put together.
“你執(zhí)意如此,那好吧。”創(chuàng)造者說著,打了個響指。瞬間,一個巨大的機器人出現(xiàn)在他身后——像是所有其他機器人組裝在一起那么大。
Ms. Marvel's heart sank. She'd never taken on a robot this big.
驚奇隊長心頭一沉,她從來沒與這么大的機器人較量過。
I don't think I can do this, she thought.
“我想我做不到。”她心想。
But then she remembered what Thor had told her. You cannot do everything by yourself.
但隨即她想起了托爾對她說的,“你無法事事親為。”
With help, though, she could do pretty much anything.
不過,有了別人的幫助,她幾乎可以做任何事情。
“Let's go!” Ms. Marvel yelled, and she and Thor leaped into action. Thor drew the laser fire away from Ms. Marvel by flying up to the ceiling and zigzagging across the room. Meanwhile, Ms. Marvel smashed at the robot's legs with her embiggened fists. Now the robot had noticed her. It stopped shooting lasers at Thor and started shooting them at Ms. Marvel instead!
“一起上!”驚奇隊長大叫一聲,兩人騰空而起。托爾為了牽制激光攻擊保護驚奇隊長,他飛至屋頂,在房間中來回移動。與此同時,驚奇隊長用重拳砸碎了機器人的腿。激光不再追擊托爾,而是瞄準了驚奇隊長。
Ms. Marvel leaped out of the way just a little too slowly. One of the lasers hit her on the arm.
驚奇隊長閃躲慢了一點,一束激光便擊中了她的胳膊。
“Augh!” she screamed, rolling behind a big cement column. She looked at her arm. It was bleeding a little, and it hurt terribly.
“噢!”一聲尖叫,驚奇隊長滾到了一個大水泥柱后面,查看后發(fā)現(xiàn),流了一點血,卻疼得厲害。
Taking a deep breath, Ms. Marvel dived out from behind the column. She had to help!
她深吸一口氣,從柱子后面沖了出來。她得助攻!
Frantically looking around the old factory, Ms. Marvel spotted a huge, dusty old piece of equipment. It said MACARONI MASTER 3000 on the side, and it looked like it weighed about a ton. Ms. Marvel embiggened herself until she was big enough to pick up the macaroni press. Then she heaved it up into the air and bashed it hard against the robot.
驚奇隊長發(fā)狂似的環(huán)顧這個舊工廠,她發(fā)現(xiàn)了一個巨大的、布滿灰塵的老舊裝備。上面寫著“通心粉大師3000”,看起來重約一噸。驚奇隊長變了身,她變大到足以拿得動通心粉壓制機那樣,然后把機器舉到空中,用力砸向機器人。
There was a terrible grinding noise, as the robot shuddered and ground to a halt. The lights along its body dimmed down and finally winked out.
一陣可怕的碾磨聲過后,機器人戰(zhàn)栗著停了下來,它身上的燈光漸漸暗淡直至熄滅。
“We did it!” Ms. Marvel cried. She turned to Thor. “High five!” she said, holding up her hand.
“我們成功了!”驚奇隊長轉向托爾歡呼道。“擊掌!”她邊說邊舉起了手。
“Ah!” Thor said. “I know this one. Hawkeye taught me.” He high-fived her back. “Did I do it right?” he asked.
“哦!”托爾說,“我懂這個,鷹眼教過我。”托爾舉起了手,朝著驚奇隊長的手掌擊了過去,問道:“我做得標準嗎?”
“Yep!” Ms. Marvel said. She looked around. All the fight seemed to have gone out of the Inventor's birdlike henchmen. The few that Ms. Marvel and Thor hadn't already defeated were sitting down, muttering unhappily. “We give up!” one said. “Please don't tell our parents! We just signed on because we were bored!”
“標準!”驚奇隊長回答。她環(huán)視四周,所有戰(zhàn)斗似乎都是和創(chuàng)造者的半鳥人隨從們打的。沒被驚奇隊長和托爾挫敗的少數(shù)人坐了下來,發(fā)著牢騷。“我們投降!”其中一人說,“千萬別告訴我們的父母!我們?nèi)牖锸且驗闊o聊!”
“I wasn't bored,” another Inhuman teen said. “I just did it so I'd have something to write my college application essays about.”
“我不是因為無聊,”另一個少年異人說,“我是因為可以有東西寫進大學申請書里才這么干的。”
“I did it on a dare,” said another birdlike henchman.
“我為了挑戰(zhàn)一下。”又一個半鳥人隨從說。
“I did it because all my friends were doing it,” said a girl with purple feathers.
“我這么做是因為朋友們都這么做。”一個長著紫色羽毛的女孩說。
Ms. Marvel rolled her eyes. She was about to launch into an angry lecture about how dumb it was to sign on with a villain like the Inventor for any reason, when she realized...
驚奇隊長翻了一個白眼,準備教訓教訓這群少年,跟著創(chuàng)造者這樣的惡棍干是多么的愚蠢,忽然她意識到……
“Where is the Inventor?”
“創(chuàng)造者去哪兒了?”
Ms. Marvel looked around the factory, and a sudden motion caught her eye. It was the Inventor, running for the door!
驚奇隊長環(huán)視工廠,一個突然的舉動引起了她的注意。原來是創(chuàng)造者,他正朝門口跑去!
Quick as lightning, Ms. Marvel stretched her arms out and caught the Inventor.
驚奇隊長閃電般地伸出雙臂,逮住了創(chuàng)造者。
“Not so fast!” she said. “You've got to pay for your crimes. Also, you have to help untangle this mess.” She pointed at the sullen teenagers sitting around the factory. “What happened to all the birds you used, anyway?”
“別這么快就溜!”她說,“你得為你的罪行付出代價,還有,你得收拾這爛攤子。”她指著圍坐在工廠里的那群悶悶不樂的少年。“說說,你所利用的那些鳥都怎么樣了?”
“I'll never tell!” the Inventor shrieked. “My twisted creations will be stuck like that forever! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!”
“我絕不說!”創(chuàng)造者尖叫起來,“等我的創(chuàng)造被毀了,你們就再也找不到了!哈哈哈哈哈!”
“It's this button, isn't it?” Thor said, pointing at a big red button on the mysterious machine.
“是這個按鈕,對吧?”托爾邊說邊指向神秘機器上又大又紅的按鈕。
REVERSE
“倒轉”
“No?” the Inventor said unconvincingly.
“不是?”創(chuàng)造者說道,語氣難以令人信服。
“That's a yes,” Ms. Marvel said. Thor pushed the button, and there was a huge crackle as electricity coursed through the machine.
“那就一定是了。”驚奇隊長說。托爾按下按鈕,機器通電后,傳出一陣巨大的爆裂聲。
After a few seconds, Ms. Marvel blinked stars out of her eyes and looked around.
幾秒鐘后,驚奇隊長眨了眨眼睛,四處張望。
All the birdlike teenagers were now just normal teenagers. And the factory was full of exotic birds flying in confused circles.
所有像鳥一樣的少年現(xiàn)都變成回正常人。奇異的鳥兒在工廠里凌亂無序地轉著圈飛來飛去。