雙語漫威故事《奇異博士》 第七章

CHAPTER　7

第七章

 

Doctor Strange was standing in the middle of the Museum, feeling out of place. He'd been waiting for Brother Voodoo for over ten minutes and was beginning to get annoyed.

奇異博士站在博物館中央，覺得很不自在。他已經(jīng)等了巫毒兄弟十幾分鐘了，開始氣不打一處來。

 

“Excuse me, but do you work here?” a tourist woman asked him. Her little boy looked him up and down, admiring the Cloak of Levitation.

“打擾一下，請問您在這里工作嗎？”一名女游客問他。她的小兒子上下打量著奇異博士，非常艷羨他的魔浮斗篷。

 

“No, madam, I do not work here. I am a doctor,” said Strange, forcing a smile. I should have made myself invisible, he thought. “If you'll excuse me, I must attend to some business.”

“不，女士，我不在這里工作。我是一名醫(yī)生。”奇異博士強作歡顏地說。他心想：“早知道就隱身了。”他又說：“請原諒，我得去處理一些事情。”

 

Doctor Strange grew nervous as the woman reached into her purse. With so many unexpected occurrences lately, she could've very well been an evil sorceress in disguise. He braced himself for whatever was coming next.

看到那名女士伸手去翻手提袋，奇異博士不禁緊張起來。由于最近發(fā)生了太多的意外，他覺得這名女士很可能是偽裝的邪惡女巫。他為即將來臨的惡仗做好了準備。

 

“Would you mind taking a photo of me and my son?” the woman asked sheepishly. “Mom, can the doctor be in the photo, too?” the boy asked. “I like his cape!”

“您介意幫我和我兒子拍張照片嗎？”女士羞怯地問。“媽媽，可以讓這位醫(yī)生和我們合照嗎？”男孩問道，“我喜歡他的斗篷！”

 

Doctor Strange awkwardly posed with the woman and her son. They thanked him and went on their merry way. That wasn't so bad, Strange thought. He received a few lingering stares, but was otherwise ignored by the museum-goers. In New York City, a man wearing a flowing red cloak wasn't as weird as people might've thought.

奇異博士站在那對母子身旁，尷尬地擺好了姿勢拍照。他們謝過奇異博士后，繼續(xù)開心地參觀博物館。奇異博士心想：“一切其實并沒有那么糟糕。”雖然有幾道目光在他身上停留，但他總的來說是被參觀博物館的人群給忽略了。畢竟在紐約市，一個身披飄逸的紅色斗篷的男人并沒有人們想得那么奇怪。

 

“Taking photographs with fans?” said Brother Voodoo, appearing out of thin air. “I had no idea that a master of the mystic arts did such things.”

“和粉絲一起拍照？”巫毒兄弟從天而降，戲謔道，“真沒想到秘術(shù)大師會做這種事。”

 

Brother Voodoo had known Doctor Strange for many years. Their paths, though often very different, had crossed numerous times. Jericho Drumm gained his powers by joining himself to the spirit of his dying brother and studying voodoo under a mystic priest known as a houngan. He eventually became an expert in dark magic and used his powers to communicate with the spirits of the dead, an ability Strange had trouble mastering. Voodoo's powers could be unpredictable, which made Strange slightly uneasy. But the two heroes had much to offer each other and delighted in the opportunity to work together.

巫毒兄弟與奇異博士相識多年。雖然他們選擇的道路常常大相徑庭，卻也多次有所交叉。杰里科·德拉姆與他垂死的兄弟的靈魂合為一體，在一位人稱厚安的神秘牧師的指導下學習巫毒，以此獲得自己的力量。最終，他成了黑魔法專家，并利用自己的力量與死者的亡靈進行交流，這是奇異博士難以掌握的能力。巫毒兄弟的力量可能深不可測，這讓奇異博士略感不安。但是這兩位英雄對彼此都大有幫助，并且很高興能有機會一起工作。

 

“It's good to see you, Voodoo,” said Strange. “I want you to know that any competition we may have had in the past is of little consequence now. We are both experts in the field of magic, and I respect you very much.” Strange paused. He looked around and saw that no one seemed to notice Brother Voodoo's presence.

“很高興見到你，巫毒兄弟。”奇異博士說，“我想讓你知道，雖然我們曾經(jīng)有過各種競爭，但都不會對當下造成任何影響。我們都是魔法領(lǐng)域的專家，我也非常敬重你。”奇異博士頓了頓。他環(huán)顧四周，似乎沒有人注意到巫毒兄弟的存在。

 

“I'm invisible to everyone in the museum except for you. It's better this way,” explained Voodoo. He'd brought along a host of mystical items, including shrunken heads, the Staff of Legba, and assorted magic powders. “It's not so easy for someone dressed like I am to walk right through the front door. How'd you get in?”

“除了你，我對博物館里的所有人都隱身了。這樣更方便。”巫毒兄弟解釋道，他帶了很多魔法神器過來，包括縮頭龜、格巴之杖和各種魔法粉末，“對像我這身打扮的人來說，通過前門可沒那么容易。你是怎么進來的？”

 

“I'm a member, of course. I have always found natural history to be quite fascinating,” clarified Strange. He waved his hand fancifully, making himself invisible. “Now we're both cloaked and can focus on the task at hand. Did you bring your powders?”

“當然啦，我可是這里的會員。我一直覺得自然歷史魅力無窮。”奇異博士說明原委，他揮手施展魔法，讓自己隱身，“現(xiàn)在我們都隱身了，可以專注于手頭的任務(wù)。你帶了魔法粉末嗎？”

 

Voodoo motioned to his utility belt, filled with trinkets and magic dusts. “I brought them all,” he said. He poured a thimbleful of sparkling red powder into Strange's hand.

巫毒兄弟指著自己的功能腰帶，里面裝滿了小玩意兒和魔法粉末。“我把所有的都帶來了。”說著，他將一小撮閃亮的紅色粉末倒在奇異博士的手中。

 

Strange tossed the powder into the air and blew it across the crowd. As it settled, his suspicions were confirmed. The museum was crawling with demon elves. They'd been skulking around in secret and seemed confused.

奇異博士將魔法粉末撒到空中，吹過人群。粉末落下時，他的懷疑得到了證實。博物館里果然爬滿了惡魔精靈。它們鬼鬼祟祟，偷偷潛行，看起來似乎困惑不已。

 

“Can they see us?” asked Voodoo.

“它們能看到我們嗎？”巫毒問道。

 

“No,” replied Strange. “They seem to be trapped between realms, with no means of escape. I believe they came here, to the museum, looking for something they could use to return home.”

“不能。”奇異博士答道，“它們似乎被困在各領(lǐng)域之間，無法逃脫。我相信它們之所以來到博物館，是為了尋找可以幫它們回家的東西。”

 

“Are they dangerous?” asked Voodoo.

“它們危險嗎？”巫毒問道。

 

“They're demon elves,” offered Strange. “They're certainly not our friends.”

“它們是惡魔精靈，當然不是善類。”奇異博士回答道。

 

Voodoo pondered the predicament. “This is a tricky situation indeed. These creatures are lost, without a way home,” he said. “They may be demons, but so far they haven't hurt anyone or caused trouble. It would be foolish to engage them in battle at this point. We must remove them from this plane of existence without revealing ourselves. First and foremost, we'll need to keep the people safe.”

巫毒思索著眼下的困境。“這種情況的確棘手。這些生物迷失了，找不到回家的路。”他說，“它們可能是惡魔，但到目前為止，它們沒有傷害任何人，也沒制造過任何麻煩。此時與它們交戰(zhàn)未免愚蠢了些。我們必須將它們從這個維度驅(qū)逐出去，但不能暴露自己。首先，我們要保護人們的安全。”

 

Doctor Strange was very impressed with Brother Voodoo. Normally, Strange followed his own instincts and did things his way. It was rare for him to listen to the advice of others. Perhaps working together wasn't so bad after all. It gave him an idea.

巫毒兄弟給奇異博士留下了極其深刻的印象。通常，奇異博士會遵循自己的直覺，按照自己的方式行事，很少聽取別人的建議?；蛟S兩人攜手工作也沒有那么糟糕。突然，他計上心來。

 

“I know a spell we can use to remove the demon elves,” said Strange. “It's quite unpleasant and could frighten the creatures into violence. I'll need your help to control it and make sure that doesn't happen.”

“我知道一道咒語，我們可以用它來驅(qū)逐惡魔精靈。”奇異博士說，“不過，這樣會使這些怪物相當難受，驚恐萬狀，狂暴不安。我需要你幫我控制局面，確保亂象不會發(fā)生。”

 

“And you shall have it, Doctor,” assured Voodoo. “I'll hypnotize these beasts so they remain silent and peaceful.”

“我會幫你的，博士。”巫毒兄弟保證道，“我會催眠這些怪物，讓它們保持沉默平靜。”

 

Voodoo began to murmur secret spells. He raised the Staff of Legba in the air and shook it vigorously. As it glowed bright with mystic power, the demons stopped in their tracks to look at its radiant light.

巫毒兄弟開始默念秘密咒語，他將格巴之杖高舉到空中，用力地揮舞著。有了魔法的力量，魔杖散發(fā)出耀眼的光輝，只見惡魔停駐在各自的軌道上，望著四射的光芒。

 

Now it was time for Doctor Strange to work his magic. His body pulsed with mystic energies ready to be harnessed. The spell he had in mind was usually used for attacking demons. Using it to help demons would take every ounce of control he had. Strange was nervous as he focused his power. The barrier between realms was fragile, and they both knew how important it was to protect it. Voodoo noticed Strange trembling and sweating quite a bit. His magic was breaking down.

到了奇異博士施展魔法的時候了。他體內(nèi)集聚了神秘的能量，早已蓄勢待發(fā)。他牢記的那道咒語通常用于攻擊惡魔。如果用它來幫助惡魔的話，這道咒語會慢慢失效。集中力量時，奇異博士緊張難安。各領(lǐng)域之間的屏障十分脆弱，他倆都知道保護屏障至關(guān)重要。巫毒兄弟覺察到奇異博士渾身打戰(zhàn)，大汗淋漓。他的魔力正在散失。

 

Suddenly, a headstrong demon elf shook itself out of its peaceful trance and shrieked deafeningly. The screech soon roused the other demon elves from their daze. They were awake, and they were not happy. Neither was Doctor Strange.

突然，一個頑固的惡魔精靈從昏昏沉沉中掙脫了出來，發(fā)出了震耳欲聾的尖叫。刺耳的尖叫聲很快喚醒了其他被催眠的惡魔精靈。它們蘇醒了，非常不悅。這下，奇異博士也惱了。

 

“Blast it!” Strange said angrily. “I couldn't sustain my power. The barrier between worlds has broken down.” Strange didn't like being so emotional in front of Voodoo, but he didn't have time to think about it—not with a horde of fuming demon elves standing before them.

“見鬼！”奇異博士生氣地吼道，“我的力量已經(jīng)撐不住了。各領(lǐng)域之間的屏障已經(jīng)破裂。”奇異博士不想在巫毒面前如此情緒化，但他沒有時間去思考了——尤其是一大群氣得冒煙的惡魔精靈就站在他們面前時。

 

“Take a moment to collect your thoughts, Stephen,” said Voodoo. “Loa conceal us!” A dense fog swept into the room, camouflaging the magic heroes. But not before a nasty demon elf spotted them and charged at the weakened Doctor Strange. Brother Voodoo waved the Staff of Legba, creating a cage of protective fire and stopping the demon elf in its tracks.

“史蒂芬，花點時間理一理思緒。”巫毒兄弟說，“洛亞迷霧掩護！”濃霧頓時籠罩了整個屋子，遮住了兩位魔法英雄。但很快，一個討厭的惡魔精靈發(fā)現(xiàn)了他們，并向力量受損的奇異博士發(fā)起了攻擊。巫毒兄弟揮舞著格巴之杖，創(chuàng)造了一個保護火籠，阻止了惡魔精靈的步伐。

 

“Now that these creatures are aware of our presence, we do not have much time, Doctor Strange,” said Voodoo. Strange nodded. It was now or never.

“現(xiàn)在這些怪物已經(jīng)察覺到我們的存在，我們的時間不多了，奇異博士。”巫毒說。奇異博士點點頭，絕對不能錯失良機。

 

Keep it together, Stephen, he thought. A gigantic glowing hand appeared above the demon elves. It carefully scooped them up and returned them to the dimension from which they had come. Doctor Strange let out a well-deserved sigh of relief. The process had gone smoother than he could have imagined.

“史蒂芬，振作起來。”他心想。這時，一個發(fā)光的巨手出現(xiàn)在惡魔精靈上方，小心翼翼地把它們撈起來，將它們送回原來的維度。奇異博士松了一口氣，感覺如釋重負。整個過程比他想象的要順暢。

 

“Thank you, Jericho. I truly appreciate your help,” said Strange.

“謝謝你，杰里科。真的非常感謝你的幫助。”奇異博士說。

 

Without Brother Voodoo's expertise, the situation might've been much worse. It gave Strange an idea. It was time to end the magical assaults once and for all. “Join me on a new adventure, Brother Voodoo?” he asked. “I'll share a spell with you on the way there.”

如果沒有巫毒兄弟的獨門秘技，情況可能會更糟。這讓奇異博士產(chǎn)生了一個想法。是時候一勞永逸，徹底結(jié)束魔法攻擊了。“和我一起加入新的冒險之旅吧，巫毒兄弟？”他問道，“在路上我會再教你一個咒語。”

 

Brother Voodoo smiled. “Anything for a friend.”

巫毒兄弟笑了笑，說：“愿為朋友赴湯蹈火。”