Chapter Ninety: The Avengers Assemble

"Is this India? I’d believe you if you said it was a slum in Africa."

Michael watched a parade of barefoot children sprint past, their bodies caked so thick with mud that it nearly set off his own obsessive sense of cleanliness. Some of them were not even dirty with mud at all, but with cow dung. Who could possibly endure that?

"Damn it."

He had had enough and only wanted to crawl back into the Quinjet.

Natasha did not mind. She had seen places far worse than this.

The two of them returned near the aircraft and used holographic projection to disguise its exterior as a dilapidated house.

"Will this really work?"

"Let’s wait and see."

Natasha smiled.

Soon, Doctor Banner was led over by the little girl. Seeing that there was no house around, he felt a faint sense of unease.

Still, he followed the girl inside. The girl vanished almost at once, and only then did Banner realize he had been tricked.

"I should have taken payment first next time."

Natasha appeared behind Doctor Banner, cutting off his retreat.

"For someone who needs to stay away from stress, you really picked a fine place."

Doctor Banner nodded. "Avoiding stress isn’t my specialty."

Michael walked out from the side, leaning on a dragon-headed cane, and said with a smile, "Then what is? Yoga, or face-slapping training?"

Doctor Banner understood then that they knew his whereabouts all too well. This had absolutely been planned in advance.

"You lured me out to the outskirts. Very clever. I suppose this place is already surrounded."

Natasha shook her head. "There are only the three of us here."

Banner did not believe her and said at once, "What about that little actress just now? Is she a spy too? Starting young, isn’t she?"

Michael chuckled. "No. That was just a virtual image. Fake from start to finish."

As he spoke, a tiny illusory girl appeared in his palm, danced gracefully for a moment, and then vanished.

"Wow. Impressive."

Doctor Banner nodded, then asked, "And you two? Who are you? Real or not?"

"Natasha Romanoff."

"Michael Morbius."

Doctor Banner looked at Michael. "That name sounds familiar. It reminds me of a naturally bitten apple."

Michael nodded. "No need to wonder. That was me."

Doctor Banner had also earned a doctorate in medicine. Back then, Michael had attended his lectures and read some of his papers.

He had even sent Doctor Banner flowers as a guest.

But after that, Doctor Banner had disappeared.

"Weren’t you some kind of sickly weakling? Now... how did you become so tall and formidable?"

"I developed some compounds that fixed my physical problems, and while I was at it, I strengthened my body."

"Strengthened your body?"

Banner said thoughtfully, "So you turned yourself into a monster too."

Michael smiled. "I don’t think of myself as a monster. I think 'super soldier' is a more fitting title."

"You must be insane. The last person who thought that way ended up becoming a monster completely."

Natasha studied Michael thoughtfully. It seemed Nick Fury’s suspicions were correct. Michael had used some sort of enhancement serum. The only question was what the side effects were.

Doctor Banner looked between them and said, "You’re here to kill me? That won’t end well for anyone."

Natasha shook her head. "No, of course not. I’m here on behalf of S.H.I.E.L.D."

"S.H.I.E.L.D.? How did you find me?"

"We’ve been tracking you all along, Doctor. More than that, we also shook off a few other tails for you and kept you out of trouble."

Doctor Banner looked puzzled.

"Why?"

Natasha explained, "Nick Fury trusts you. Right now, you need to come with us."

"And if I say no?"

Banner had a deep, visceral resistance to any organization that watched him.

He also had other worries: fear that he might hurt someone, fear that they would imprison him for study.

Doctor Banner was very afraid of becoming the Hulk.

To him, the Hulk had destroyed everything he had.

He should have had a happy family, been a respected doctor, not rotting away with maggots in an Indian slum.

Natasha answered, "Then I’ll persuade you."

Doctor Banner asked tentatively, "And if... the other me says no?"

Natasha smiled and pointed at Michael.

"Then he’ll be the one to persuade you."

Doctor Banner looked at Michael, wondering what he could possibly do to control the Hulk.

"It seems you’ve prepared quite thoroughly. I suppose I have no choice but to go."

Natasha nodded. "Yes, Doctor. A global catastrophe is coming."

Banner thought she was talking about him and immediately objected.

"That’s what I’ve been trying to avoid all along."

Natasha knew Banner was very sensitive right now, so she had to make things clear.

"This."

She pulled up a stretch of virtual projection, and a blue cube appeared before their eyes.

"The Cosmic Cube. It possesses the power to destroy the Earth."

"So what does Nick Fury want me to do, swallow it?"

Natasha explained, "He wants you to find it. It was stolen, and the gamma radiation it emits is far too faint. You’re the expert in this field, and we need you to help us locate it."

Doctor Banner understood, then said skeptically, "So Nick Fury didn’t send you to catch a monster?"

Natasha felt victory was within reach, and smiled. "That’s not how he put it to me, anyway."

"He tells you everything?"

"You can ask him yourself and have a good talk with him."

Doctor Banner suddenly flew into a rage and roared at Natasha, "Stop lying to me."

Natasha instinctively drew her gun and aimed it at Doctor Banner.

Banner, with a gun pointed at him, could not help but feel a little afraid and began to waver.

The one who could withstand bullets was the Hulk. That had nothing to do with Banner.

"Sorry. I shouldn’t have been so harsh. I was just testing you."

Banner held up his hands, on the verge of tears. Why had he gone and done something so stupid? They really would pull the trigger.

"Let’s talk properly. You put the gun away, and I’ll also guarantee that that guy won’t do anything reckless."

"All right, Ms. Natasha?"

Natasha smiled and glanced at Michael. "Your idea is a good one."

Michael spread his hands. "I told you long ago there was no need to waste words with him. Just point a gun at his head and take him away. The Hulk fears nothing, but Doctor Banner is only a cultured man."

Doctor Banner stared at Michael in disbelief. "Excuse me, but does ‘cultured man’ mean easy to bully?"

"More or less."

Michael waved a hand, and the light around them changed. The ruined house instantly became the interior of a Quinjet.

"Wow. Is this also a hologram?"

Doctor Banner, having spent too long in the countryside, looked as though he had wandered into a grand estate for the first time.

"No, this is illusion magic."

"Fraud."

Michael was speechless. Why did no one believe the truth these days?