- You old bastard! - Stark was indignant, leaning back in his chair.
The latter was a work of technical art. Vibranium ground to dust was supported by powerful electromagnets, creating an orthopedically correct seat profile that could take any shape or message, and the built-in air conditioner and heater kept it at a pleasant temperature. But none of that bothered Tony right now.
- And saying that in this version, Potter and Granger die wasn't fate?
When he'd received an email from OldTroll1317 a couple of days ago, he'd almost thought it was spam. Blago Jarvis had identified the contents of the email as seven volumes of books from a certain pair of writers, Joan and Joe Rolling. And at first, Tony was happy. This version of the series was different for the better. There were no logic holes like the time flywheel. Potter wasn't a puppy on a leash, but he had his own character; Ron acted like an arsehole at times but never betrayed him, Hermione... Well, that's Hermione, except her adventurous streak is shown more. And the relationship between her and Harry was written almost from the very beginning; it started as friendship after the rescue in the first year and, by the sixth book, turned into a full-fledged romantic relationship. Yes, Stark may not have been a romantic, but he could appreciate her. And this is such a setup! For the sake of saving Hermione, Potter goes to his death. Still, the girl is not going to just watch her beloved being killed, so because of despair and grief, he attacks the eaters and kills Lestrangey, but dies from the wounds received in the fight. And it seems all logical but painfully offensive! The work does not forgive mistakes at all: in the first year, several children are hurt when they meet a Cerberus, Ginny dies in the second year in the Chamber of Secrets, and in the fifth year, Luna and Neville die. Oh, and the battle for Hogwarts is much bloodier. Kids can't compete with adult battle wizards, mercenaries, werewolves and trolls.
- Well, I'll see how our sweet couple is doing.
Tony went to his garage-workshop-laboratory. It should be separate rooms... But he didn't care. It suits him fine; in general, mediocrities need order, and geniuses rule over chaos. As he walked, he remembered how he'd brought Betty Ross around.
18 August. Tony Stark's mansion.
- Enerwaite.
The girl, thrown on a sofa in the garage, flinched and came to her senses when she saw over two feet of armour above her with eyes glowing white and a circle on her chest. Betty was wearing a white summer dress that was quite dirty and the same colour sneakers. Medium-length black hair, currently dishevelled, plump lips, blue eyes. She could have been a magazine cover model with minimal application of makeup. And what did she find in the blatantly ugly Benner? Intelligence? The guy was definitely lucky, then. All the more reason for the girl to protect him even as a monster. Maybe she likes the monster. It doesn't matter... Everyone has different fetishes, and the naked Hulk waved a pretty big, almost metre-long stick.
- Where are we? - Betty started looking around.
- My place. Tea, coffee, something stronger? - Tony offered, like a hospitable host.
- Erm, a double espresso with whisky and no sugar.
Nodding understandingly, Stark put the mug under the coffee maker. After filling it with a thick and fragrant drink, he poured fifty grams of single malt. Trying to understand where she was and whether something bad had been done to her, the girl noticed that the man, or whoever was inside, moved very smoothly and accurately for an iron.
- Thank you," Betty accepted the mug.
She had no fear of drinking; they would have done it already when she was unconscious if they wanted to do anything to her. However, she didn't see or feel any signs of violence when she checked herself.
- Where's Bruce?
- I haven't brought him around yet; I'm wary.
- In his normal state, he wouldn't hurt a fly. He turns into the Hulk only in case of danger, pain, and also because of strong negative emotions like fear or anger," the brunette explained, taking a sip from a cup of delicious espresso, which could not be compared to the instant crap she usually had to drink in the lab.
- How did he get like this? - Stark asked, sitting down on the table across from him, the table sagging slightly from the weight of the armour and his body.
- Four years ago, we were invited to participate in a secret government programme, officially to find a cure for radiation sickness and, as a side effect, cancer.
The shocking dose of caffeine made the girl a little conscious. However, it could have been a placebo effect, but who cares if it works?
- And unofficially?
- Unofficially, recreating Erskine's super soldier serum using gamma rays instead of Howard Stark's vita rays.
Tony recalled that five years ago, someone had tried to buy the vita ray facility from him for a hundred million. Stark had refused, saying that the machine had been destroyed and no blueprints were left. But that was a lie; he didn't want to squander his father's legacy.
- I was mainly responsible for the biological testing of different serum variants. As a nuclear physicist, Bruce studied the effects of gamma rays of different frequencies on the monkeys who took it.
- And once the project was deemed unprofitable and a failure, you decided to test it on yourself?
- No, Bruce isn't that crazy, especially since the results were far from desirable. Gamma rays led to the explosive growth of muscle mass, increased strength and regeneration even more than the documented capabilities of Captain America, but only generated incredibly high aggression. The process of refining the serum was going well. Still, one day the gamma emitter broke, and just that day, there was to be an interim demonstration of success before the commission, which included my father. Repairing it according to regulations and safety rules would have meant that the laboratory had to be completely shut down and the staff evacuated. Then the repairmen would have been working in the de-energised building, replacing the entire module. This would have taken a big bite out of the project's funding. So Bruce decided to fix it himself without telling anyone. He succeeded in doing so, but the unit ran itself at maximum power in the process, irradiating him. Bruce knew that with this level of radiation not only did not survive but died in terrible agony. So he had little choice: inject the incomplete serum or die. He chose the former and turned into what we now call the Hulk. In the process, the whole lab was destroyed, and the staff was injured, including me," the girl showed the scar on her neck. - And my father became obsessed with catching Bruce.
- And now you're trying to refine the serum? Or neutralise it? - Tony asked.
- Yeah, that's right. But with a lab and funding, we can do something. Especially now that Bruce is on the international wanted list.
Stark thought. After the destruction and deaths he'd seen, his desire to kill Benner or turn him in to the authorities grew. But after the story he'd heard, it was gone. The man had been foolish to put his hands into the gamma-ray emitter. Still, history had known more foolish examples of disregard for safety, especially since the motivation was clear - the fear that their project would be shut down. And it is also clear why Bruce decided not to die one of the most horrible deaths and hoped for at least some chance of survival. There was still one more, the most important question on which his decision would depend.
- So is Bruce out of control, becoming the Hulk?
- No, of course not! At best, he manages to concentrate on one stimulus - and that's it, then his second personality comes into play.
- All right," Stark replied. - Then you must promise not to tell anyone about my identity. You can sign a magic contract if you're not sure you can. But I don't like that; the good old carrot and stick work better for me.
- Magic? Are you kidding? - Ross rounded her eyes, almost letting go of the cup.
- What kind of joke is that? - Taking off his helmet, the man replied.
- So you're...
- The handsome billionaire, genius, philanthropist and magician yourself. Yes, I'm Tony Stark," he continued, throwing off the suit's parts, which flew onto the mannequin standing for this purpose. - I offer you a laboratory, protection and one hundred thousand dollars monthly for two people. Another two million for the finished serum. Oh, shit, I almost forgot!
Tony snapped out of his seat and popped the head of filth he'd brought into the fridge.
- I hope Pepper doesn't look in it," he commented, trying to cover the ugly face with the ice cream pail.
- You know, this is so unexpected..." Betty said, trying to recover from the sight and holding back her nausea. - I agree, but I don't know about Bruce.
- So, let's wake up our sleeping beauty... No, he's more of a monster. By the way, does kissing him make him turn back?
- I haven't tried that.
- You should try it! You're a scientist, and you have to try everything.
When he opened the massive cube door, which was locked with several mechanical, magnetic and magical locks, he saw the man lying on the floor in the same position he had left him. Betty immediately rushed forward without fear and calmed down after checking his pulse. Tony threw a plaid from the sofa in the garage to cover Bruce, then, using an enchantment of enervate under Ross's attentive gaze, awakened the man.
- Betty? Did the Hulk make it? What happened?
Tony noticed that Benner didn't remember anything about what he was doing in Hulk's body, which confirmed the girl's words. Green and Nerd were two different personalities, most likely due to an organic brain change after the transformation. Ross told her lover, whom she looked at with undisguised tenderness, about what had happened. To Stark's surprise, Bruce stood up and asked, swallowing a lump in his throat:
- Thank you for helping. How many people were hurt because of the Hulk...?
- Less if you hadn't intervened.
Yes, Tony looked at the records and the battle chronicles. If the Hulk hadn't messed with the Abomination, he would've switched to humans, and there would've been more dead. And he helped him at the end.
- Tony Stark.
- Bruce Benner. So you'll help us? - Shaking my outstretched hand, the man asked.
- I already made a promise, and I'm not taking it back. It's an interesting job for me, too.
That's how Tony met a couple of scientists, one of whom liked to turn into a huge green pile of muscles. Since it was impossible to "shine" them, we had to rebuild part of the garage as a laboratory. That's when all questions about the existence of magic fell away. When the walls grow by themselves, and equipment worth hundreds of millions of dollars appears from rune circles, any doubts disappear. Thanks to copying charms and removing matrixes, for Tony, scientists work for food. Even the money obtained from a scrap metal pile is processed into vibranium and sold to the government.
Going downstairs, he saw a fenced-off area next to the cube - where the new lab was. It went further underground and consisted of four zones. The first area, the living area, was set aside for the couple and even had windows overlooking the sea. The second was diagnostic. There were all sorts of scanners, microscopes, spectrographs and magic circles. The third was the laboratory proper, where various serums were created, mixed and irradiated. Tony had not only put a gamma emitter there but a vita as well. The central one was a sealed, reinforced, empty circular chamber with a huge diagnostic circle. It was made of the well-proven "puff" of vibranium-adamantium-vibranium, was reinforced, and could activate the spell of the absolute mirror. It was created for those experiments requiring the Hulk's involvement, who likes to destroy everything.
It took two weeks to build and equip the laboratory and another four weeks to get into a working rhythm and the first results. Stark was busy with his affairs connected with setting up serial production of inventions to be presented at the Stark Expo. After all, it is not enough to make and show a prototype; it is necessary to start producing it massively. And since the entire infrastructure of Stark Industries was designed for weapons production, it almost completely had to be changed, supplemented or made from scratch. Pepper, her assistants and the company's employees handled most of the problems. Still, there were some things that Tony could not do without her, especially on the technical and magical side.
Other than that, he kept busy saving people. Not the kind of thing where he'd jump up in the middle of the night and fly out, no. Mostly he dealt with things that the regular services had a hard time dealing with natural and man-made disasters, bank robberies, fires and other such calamities. And every such action got a lot of attention on TV, in newspapers and on the internet. After the battle with the mutants, he became a celebrity. In fact, he's the one in the suit. Like a comic book superhero, even if he didn't live up to the glory of Captain America. No, there were local heroes like Daredevil or X-Men, but they were widely known only in narrow circles. However, fame and popularity never bothered Stark; he enjoyed them.