By now, Dr. Skirth had come to a realization.
This place she had arrived at… clearly wasn't some so-called S.H.I.E.L.D. facility.
In fact, it didn't seem to be affiliated with any official organization.
If it were, she certainly wouldn't be receiving such preferential treatment. And what she was seeing definitely wouldn't be a base of this scale.
More likely, she'd have ended up in a cold, sterile room, or worse, spending a few nights in some detention center.
But here she was.
Surrounded by people, some faces familiar, others completely unknown.
Some of them looked impatient like they were in a hurry to take care of something urgent. Others were already busy working.
When Dr. Skirth saw Brook, she actually felt a hint of relief.
To see a familiar face in this place… it was rare and comforting, though technically, there was one other face she recognized, but that person clearly had no intention of acknowledging her.
She had no idea what kind of method they'd used to bring her here so quickly from San Francisco…
And even managed to arrive ahead of her to wait.
Still, none of that affected her positive impression of Natasha.
At the very least, during their earlier conversations, this woman had treated her with respect.
Which made the current situation all the more confusing.
They'd had a great talk before, so why was she suddenly acting like a different person?
"Harry's not here yet?" Arthur's voice pulled Dr. Skirth out of her thoughts.
"He said he was going to find a few top experts," Tony replied with a shrug. "You know, when it comes to this stuff, I know even less than you do."
"'Even less'?" Arthur rolled his eyes. "You definitely know less than me."
"But even you haven't been much help to certain people…" Tony shot a look at Banner.
Banner quickly said, "I'm actually getting along well with the Hulk now. I think things are going pretty good. What makes me happiest is that Hulk is becoming more and more mature."
And just as he finished speaking, something terrifying happened.
His head suddenly swelled and turned green!
"HULK IS A GOOD BOY!!!!"
Clearly, Hulk and Venom would probably get along great. They both preferred to shout everything.
Arthur rubbed his temples, and Dr. Skirth nearly fainted from fright.
But Brook was thrilled, staring at Banner with wide eyes: "You too?! You also have a parasite?!"
"I TOLD YOU, I'M NOT A PARASITE!!!!"
With that furious roar, a black shadow surged from Brook's body. Everyone's eyes, including Dr. Skirth's, immediately turned toward Brook.
A look of deep concern appeared on Dr. Skirth's face. "This is bad, Brook… This, this might all be my fault! Oh God, why did something like this have to happen?!"
"You don't have to blame yourself too much," Brook tried to comfort her. "I mean, communication's not exactly easy, but I think we might be able to reach some kind of understanding."
"DELUSIONAL!!!!" Venom appeared again, roaring as usual.
"Strange guy…" Banner blinked, then turned to Arthur. "What's his deal?"
"Data," Arthur said, glancing at Natasha.
"It's all been uploaded to their combat wristbands," Natasha looked up and smiled lightly. "But it seems like none of them bothered to study the material before arriving."
Arthur immediately gave Tony a disappointed look.
Tony bristled. "Hey! It's not like I was the only one who didn't do my homework, why are you staring just at me?"
"I remember the first time the Avengers assembled, you loved doing homework…" Arthur sighed. "So why now? Why would you abandon such a good habit?"
"Avengers!!!!!!" Brook and Dr. Skirth exclaimed in unison.
"I should've recognized you sooner!" Brook stared at Tony's face. "You're Iron Man, Tony Stark! Oh god, is this the Avengers' base? Why the hell am I involved with you people?!"
Dr. Skirth looked even more stunned. "I was just doing research… How did I end up offending you of all people?!"
"Alright, I've got good news for you," Tony said, glancing at the two of them. "Whether you believe it or not… this place is not the Avengers headquarters!"
"Then what is this place?!" Both of them shouted again in unison.
"This… is the United League of Superheroes!"
Just then, the elevator opened, and Harry walked out with a bright, excited smile. "Hey, I think it's been, what… about six months since we last saw each other, Summer?"
Arthur paused to think. Had it really been that long?
Now that he considered it, after the whole Mandarin incident, life had indeed become extremely hectic.
There were cosmic crises, and Asgardian detours... He sighed and hugged Harry. "My life's been kind of a mess lately…"
"No worries! That's exactly how superheroes are supposed to live!" Harry grinned.
"This time, I've brought a few talented experts with me, people I fully trust, 100%."
"I'm looking forward to it." Arthur smiled warmly.
Despite all the time that had passed, Harry hadn't changed a bit.
Ever since Arthur had completely cured his genetic disease, it was like Harry had entered a whole new chapter in life.
He'd thrown himself, mind, body, and soul, into Arthur's cause.
In fact, the vast majority of scientists working at Camp Lehigh had been brought in by Harry.
Because of this, the whole team had come together to develop an extensive vetting system, designed to ensure that every talent brought into Camp Lehigh wasn't secretly working for another organization.
On Earth, the group most feared for planting moles… was Hydra.
But Hydra's intel had long been under constant decryption, and whenever they had spare time, S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra would clash in the shadows.
No exaggeration, the people at Camp Lehigh were the world's leading experts on Hydra.
So trying to sneak an undercover agent in here?
Damn near impossible.
Harry had brought two scientists with him. After introductions, the room fell silent.
Everyone turned to look at Arthur.
Arthur glanced at Brook and finally spoke: "Let's skip the pleasantries. Right now, we have a serious issue in front of us. Our friend, Eddie Brock, is hosting a Symbiote. What we need is a way to extract everything we can about this Symbiote… without harming him."
"That includes, but isn't limited to, their weaknesses and their interests."
"I've got a question," Tony said, raising a hand. "Let's say we do get all this intel… what are we supposed to do with it?"
"I want a complete, stable symbiosis protocol," Arthur said. "And ideally, we'll get them all to behave themselves."
"This could evolve into a formidable combat asset, but let me be absolutely clear: If we fail to control it, then we'll have no choice but to eliminate every last one of these Symbiotes. Not a single one can be allowed to remain."
(End of Chapter)
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