- Hi, Betty," Tony said as he entered the lab.
A girl in a lab coat, grey jumper and jeans was sitting on a chair looking through a microscope, not noticing his arrival.
- Jarvis said you had something to show me.
- Oh, Tony, you scared me!
- I didn't think it was possible to scare a girl whose boyfriend was turning into a huge green jock," Tony changed the subject when he met Ross's reproachful gaze, "So what have you got?
- I'll start with, as you called it, the Abomination. In addition to components similar to those in Bruce's blood, there was something else similar to the compound I created but refined.
- You're telling me the serum's still being worked on? The warriors are always trying to create a new Captain America, but it takes more than a serum. It takes Steve Rogers.
- I agree. However, this serum could be better, too and increases aggression. It doesn't turn you into the Hulk, and it always works.
Here's another point. In human form, Bruce Benner is an ordinary man, even weak due to his sedentary job and lack of exercise. Whereas Cap has always been strong and fast. The clue became clear after Tony applied magic. Bruce constantly absorbed the surrounding mana, mostly light, but he didn't use it; he just stored it in his body. This energy was used to create and strengthen a pseudo-flesh when Benner turned into the Hulk. Emotions were a trigger and a catalyst; otherwise, the amount of mana would not have been enough for what the Hulk was doing. And that was why Benner would pass out from weakness when he turned back - he'd depleted his entire supply. But the more often he turned, the more he swayed his soul, becoming this pseudo-mage with a terribly bloated reserve and no way to use it.
- But that's not all. Jarvis, can you pull up the D.N.A. pattern?
- Yes, Miss Ross.
Jarvis brought up a hologram of two types of D.N.A.
- 'You see, this is a double helix of D.N.A., like a human, and this,' she brought out and enlarged the other, 'is a triple helix. The first is Bruce's D.N.A. before taking the serum; the second is now. During the transformation, the third spiral is activated. I have no idea how to bring it all back since the changes have already taken root on a genetic level. I'm sorry we've wasted your time and money.
- Not at all," Tony replied. - Not only did I get two great scientists on my team, but I also got two serums that I wouldn't use now, but nothing is stopping me from refining them in the future. D.N.A. modification is a pretty interesting topic, not only for creating super soldiers but also for curing genetic diseases. And besides, if science doesn't help, magic will. I already know three ways to cure Bruce. Where is he, by the way?
- Sleeping it off," Betty said, nodding toward the airlock leading to the living quarters. - But why didn't you say so in the first place?
- So that you'd really try to find a way out. Even now, if you try hard enough, you can create a serum that will cure Bruce. But it would take years. I'd rather I cure him myself, and you can work on refining the serum, preferably to treat genetic abnormalities and diseases.
- I don't know what to say. You've done so much for us, Tony! - the girl was embarrassed.
- One kiss and we're even! - Stark replied in his joking manner. - No? All right, then. Here are the options. One, I can make an amulet that will drain Bruce of his energy. You'll have to replace it periodically; if you remove it, he can turn almost immediately. Still, if we need the Hulk, that's the best option.
- No, Bruce doesn't want to cause the death of innocent people anymore!
- The second option is to create a body from Bruce's blood before the change and transfer his soul. It's untested, I am still determining how the ritual will go, and there's much to do to create a body. But you'll get your boyfriend exactly as he was!
- No flaws? Or a catch?
- Besides the risk, you forget that Bruce is a wanted man. You leave my house, and you'll be chased by the strongest army in the world.
- What's the last one? - Ross sulked, realising that she didn't want to live in Stark's cage forever, even if it was golden, or to be constantly running around the world. There's a heaven in a cage, but in such conditions, you can't have children, go out with friends, or live normally.
- Oh, you'll like it! - Tony smiled wryly. - There's this ritual, the dead man's mask.
- It doesn't sound like much.
- In fact, it looks even worse. A person merges with the recently deceased, whose corpse is reanimated with enchantments, then spits out the old body. At the same time, the soul remains in the new one. No charms, no research will reveal the switch, including D.N.A. changes. I've already tested it... on hamsters, so it works without a problem.
- On hamsters?
- Hamsters.
- Tony, you realise that Bruce is. How do I put this? He's smarter than a hamster. What's this gonna do to his psyche?
- He went in to fix a radiation source that wasn't de-energised. Are you sure he's smarter than a hamster? - Tony asked sceptically, raising an eyebrow.
- Just a little bit," Betty answered uncertainly, squinting her eyes and gesturing with her fingers to show a pinch of how much.
- In any case, this is, in my brilliant opinion, the best option. Not only do you get an alibi with Bruce's dead body, a new face, and a perfectly worked-out legend whose missteps Jarvis will clean up, there's another thing. You get to choose your boyfriend's face and body! Imagine a more athletic body, a prettier face, a bigger dick...
- Tony!
- Tony, what? Let's face it, Bruce could be better looking. Even I, a bloke who doesn't know the first thing about it, can see that. I'm more of a women's guy.
- I thought you two got on so well; why are you belittling him? And anyway, I love him just the way he is!
- It's precisely because you two are good friends that I can be blunt. I'm always straightforward! That's what friends do. Stark didn't fall for the insinuation. - And if I say a friend is ugly, it's not because I want to insult him, but because he is ugly.
- What do I look like?
- You could win a state or national beauty pageant if you took better care of yourself and went to a beauty parlour.
- Hey, I'm taking care of myself!
- So that's all you got out of my whole sentence? Oh, women," Stark rolled his eyes. - 'Okay, you'll give the options to Bruce then and let Jarvis know what you decide later.
- Okay," Betty said behind Tony's back as he walked away. And she whispered under her breath: - "And he's not a freak!
Tony didn't say that he'd heard her words because of his improved hearing, nor did he say that he'd doubted that Bruce could be cured without magic. The changes were too far gone. A little more, and the Hulk would become part of him on a spiritual level, and in that case, even with the help of magic, to separate them would be very difficult, certainly not on the level of Stark. Pierce could do it with a magocomp, but Tony was more of a technician.
Except he knew what a desperate man could do. In the cave, Stark assembled his first miniature arc reactor, which was considered impossible even with modern technology. So Bruce and Betty had done more in that month and a half than in a year and a half. Of course, diagnostic magic played its role here, which allowed to create a scheme of the body structure better than any M.R.I., and protean scanners that analysed D.N.A. in seconds, and Jarvis, who was able to decipher this very D.N.A. in a few minutes, but still even he did not suppose that it would be possible to isolate pure sera from the changed organisms, one of which was already dead.
To keep silent any further, however, was to force them into a futile endeavour, to bang against the wall and burn out. Is that cruel? Perhaps, he wouldn't have become a successful businessman if he couldn't make cruel decisions. Fire thousands of people to save the company, or keep them and go bankrupt, thus leaving tens of thousands more unemployed? To take an order from the state on a project known to fail but is very expensive, or to lose money and try to save his reputation? To nip the competitor in the bud, breaking his life, or to wait until he becomes stronger and starts to pressurise you? These and many other difficult decisions he had to make. In fact, for this reason, he left his time to invent and entertain. He ran away. As soon as Stark went upstairs and had a Coke, the doorbell rang - a heavy guitar riff.
- Jarvis, are we expecting someone?
- No, Mr Stark.
- Then they'll wait.
The bell rang again and went silent, but the caller never left his seat. Tony pulled up an image of him in his augmented reality goggles. He only saw a short-cropped, balding brunette in his early thirties or forties - so hard to tell his age - with a pleasant, friendly face. He was dressed in a blue suit with a starched shirt, black sunglasses, and shoes shiny with varnish. And this in the thirty-degree heat. Despite the air conditioning and half-titan body, even Stark preferred shorts, breeches, and light cotton tank tops. At the moment, he was wearing loose grey breeches, flip-flops, and a white T-shirt with a picture of a bearded man and the inscription "You're a wizard, Tony". The man was on a straight road to being a travelling salesman or a crook, even if he had a briefcase. The car was also unusual, not because it was a Dodge Charger modified for special services. Stark knew a lot about cars, but because it was black. Who buys a black car in California besides pimps and rappers? You're gonna fry to death in it!
- Good afternoon, I don't believe in Jesus; I have a Hoover; my cook cooks for me," Tony said as he opened the door, even though he was ninety per cent sure the man was F.B.I., C.I.A., or something similar.
- I'm not going to sell you a hoover, Mr Stark," he smiled, taking off his glasses and hanging them by one shackle in his breast pocket.
- I don't give autographs.
- It's a pity; I wouldn't have refused. But that's not why I'm here, either. May I see my I.D.?
In the U.S., pulling something inside your jacket can be seen as pulling a gun, especially on private property. However, usually, intelligence agencies could be more polite and do what they want. Which spoke more to the politeness of the man in question.
- Of course," Stark nodded. - I hope you don't have a Boy Scout ID on you.
- I was a Boy Scout, too," the man said as he unfolded the card. - I'm Phil Colson, the Sixth Intervention Tactical Operational Logistics Service agent, or S.I.T. for short. Our international service is sponsored directly by the United Nations and deals with threats like the Hulk.
- First time I've heard of it," Tony lied without blinking an eye, as Jarvis had hacked into many intelligence agencies worldwide and had seen mention of the service. - Are you here on business?
- Yes, we need your help as a consultant. We've approached you about this before.
- Then come on inside," Stark didn't keep Agent Stark on the doorstep. - Water, soda, coffee, tea?
- Water, if I may," Colson said, wiping his face with a handkerchief he'd pulled out of his pocket.
Tony poured a full glass of water from the tap and gave it to Phil.
- Thank you.
- Don't worry, my water is cleaner than bottled water from the shop. I've got my own spring and filters.
- I don't think Tony Stark himself would poison me. Or should I call you Iron Man? I'll tell you straight, you're a pain in the arse, and to track you down, we had a whole analytical department working for a couple of months just for that purpose, and they already hate you in absentia.
- Give them a bonus," Tony shrugged his shoulders indifferently, too lazy to refuse or pretend he didn't understand. What would be the point? We could make fun of him if Coulson had acted like an arsehole. - So you're saying your father worked with you? So why didn't you come to me before?
- You were considered, shall we say, unreliable. And a lot of people, including myself, thought you were--
- Send you away? What's stopping me from doing it now?
- Nothing, actually. It's purely my initiative to contact you. I believe you've changed. The old Tony Stark wouldn't risk his life to save people. In fact, that's why we've long dismissed the possibility that it was you under the mask, even though there were many indirect indications.
- Like what?
- Like the technology that only you and a few other forces have.
- Suppose? What, exactly, are you offering me? And what happens if I refuse, tell everyone I'm Iron Man? Well, that doesn't scare me.
- No, your work is useful, and as long as it doesn't conflict with our work, it's in our interest to keep your identity hidden. And I suggest you look at this - opening the briefcase, the man pulled out a folder with documents, from which he took a single photo with a hammer in the crater.
- A hammer? It's kind of weird; it's really hard to hit with," Tony said, looking at the picture.
The hammer's handle was very short and had a massive striker twice the size of a sledgehammer. It was painted with Scandinavian runes, which, by the way, Tony understood thanks to the gift of the spirit.
- It said something about Thor, son of Odin and ruler of thunder. And also that only the worthy can lift it and receive its power.
- I didn't realise you were an expert in ancient Scandinavian runes. But it's true, we couldn't move it or lift it. Our guys had a betting pool to see who could do it," Colson smiled. - But we couldn't even examine or scan part of the hammer. Lasers, explosives, and heat won't take it.
- We shouldn't anger the gods.
- I don't believe in gods, Mr Stark, and even if there were, I don't think they'd want the hammer. Our job is to study the unknown and decide if it's dangerous and if we can negotiate with whoever sent it. And that's where we have a problem. That's why we need a technician of your calibre.
- All right, but I'll make a condition.
- Any fee within reason. But remember, we know about your stock games, and we're the only reason you haven't been raided by the F.S.A.
- Oh no, my condition doesn't involve money," Stark was startled momentarily. FinCEN was no joke. But after a moment, he calmed down; if there was serious evidence against him, the conversation would go differently. - I could use your help with the scariest monster in the modern world. And I'm not talking about the Hulk but about bureaucrats. I need to licence some new devices as soon as possible and get permission for them to fly with a dedicated air corridor.
- Yes, that monster scares even me," Phil Colson answered honestly. - But we can help solve your problem. Is there something else?
- Yes, there is something. How many viburnums would your service be willing to buy from me?
- How much do you have? - Colson got up because Stark didn't know that their service bought most of this metal.
The haggling began.