Chapter 71.
After Dr. Banner stepped through the blue portal, it slowly dissolved into the void, leaving behind only silence. The once-chaotic battlefield was now still—peaceful. Who knew when this silence would be broken again?
Meanwhile, the team had returned to Tony Stark's luxurious villa via the teleportation array. There wasn't a better place for everyone to gather and discuss matters. After all, Tony's home was massive, high-tech, and had everything they needed.
"Dr. Banner, come with me. Let's get you into something more appropriate. You've been walking around half-naked for long enough—and we've got ladies here, you know," Tony said with a smirk, gesturing toward Banner's ragged appearance.
"Uh…thanks, Mr. Stark," Banner replied, a little embarrassed but grateful nonetheless. He followed Tony to the dressing room to change.
A few minutes later, Banner returned to the spacious living room, now dressed in fresh clothes. His eyes swept over the luxurious interior, still visibly impressed.
"Where is this exactly? And what are we supposed to do next?"
he asked, curiosity creeping into his voice.
It was his first time visiting Stark's villa, and although he had been a renowned scientist, he'd never seen such extravagant living quarters in person. Still, he quickly refocused. His mind was on the mission—on what he'd signed up for.
"This is my villa," Tony said casually, flopping onto a sofa. "Since your place is in ruins—and, let's be honest, it was you who wrecked it—you're welcome to stay here for now. When our Justice League headquarters is finished, you can move into Stark Tower with the rest of us."
Tony's offer was generous. The villa had more than enough space to accommodate the current six members of the Justice League, and then some.
"Besides," Tony added, "you and I are both genius-level scientists. This is a great opportunity to share ideas, collaborate, maybe make some breakthroughs neither of us could do alone."
It was rare for Tony Stark to hold another scientist in such high regard. In his view, most were overhyped and lacked real innovation. But Bruce Banner—with his seven PhDs and unparalleled expertise in fields like gamma radiation and positron collision—was one of the few people Tony considered an equal in genius, more so because their respective field quite different from each other, compensating each other's shortcoming.
This mutual respect was also the reason Tony had connected with Banner so well, even in the original timeline.
"I don't really care where I live," Banner responded, settling into a seat.
"After spending so long running from the military, I've gotten used to harsh conditions. Compared to that, this place is like heaven."
"But I do have one question. I thought we were supposed to be protecting world peace? Shouldn't we be out doing that right now?"
He glanced at Thor, who had just pulled a beer from the fridge and was lounging on the sofa like he didn't have a care in the world. Banner was confused. Wasn't this team supposed to be on constant alert, saving the planet?
"And here I thought drinking and peacekeeping didn't mix," he added under his breath.
"Ah, Dr. Banner, relax a bit," Tony waved him off, chuckling.
"Didn't we mention it earlier? The League was officially formed less than an hour ago. Give us a break."
"We don't handle small-time stuff like bank robberies or purse snatchers. Leave that to the police—we pay taxes, after all. We only step in when the world is facing threats beyond human capability. You know like the end-of-the-world kind of stuff."
"Take Dormammu's invasion, for instance. That's the kind of thing we deal with."
Tony gestured for Banner to sit. "Come on, take a load off."
"Wait… Dormammu? Invasion? End of the world?" Banner sat down, but his mind reeled from what he was hearing.
"And did you say we've only been a team for an hour? What even is this mess I've jumped into?"
He looked around, still trying to wrap his head around it all. Nothing made sense anymore. He'd agreed to join what he thought was a long-established organization—and now it turned out they'd only just gotten started?
"Did I just get tricked into joining a glorified –startup?" he muttered in disbelief.
"Oh, right!" Tony suddenly snapped his fingers. "I forgot—you didn't experience the Dormammu invasion. Since we reversed time, only a few of us remember it. The general public has no memory of what happened."
Tony leaned back casually and explained.
"Just a few hours ago, Earth was on the verge of annihilation. A powerful interdimensional entity—Dormammu—was attempting to devour the planet. Thanks to a few of us, we managed to fight him off and send him back where he came from. Time was reversed in the process to erase the destruction caused."
"That's why you don't remember anything. It's like it never happened—for most people, anyway."
Tony spoke so nonchalantly that it made the entire thing sound like a normal Tuesday. But Banner sat there, eyes wide, mouth slightly open, completely stunned.
"Time reversal? Interdimensional invaders? Dormammu?!" Banner repeated in disbelief.
"Is is any of this real? When did the world become this crazy?"
He sank further into the sofa, overwhelmed. Everything he thought he knew had just been flipped upside down—and he wasn't sure if he could ever look at the world the same way again.
You really couldn't blame Banner for being overwhelmed.
It was like discovering a martial arts manual in your parents' attic—an ancient, dusty scroll with strange diagrams and techniques. You give it a try, and to your shock, it actually works. Years of training later, you finally master inner strength and believe you've become invincible.
But just as you're ready to go out and make your mark, you discover the world isn't filled with martial artists like yourself—it's filled with sword-wielding immortals flying through the sky on clouds.
That's exactly how Banner felt.
What had already been an unbelievable day had taken a turn for the utterly surreal. As if transforming into a green monster and surviving a free fall from the stratosphere wasn't enough, now he was told –that Earth had nearly been devoured by an interdimensional entity—and that none of it existed in the current timeline thanks to time reversal.
No sane person could stay calm after hearing that. \
"After that whole incident," Tony said, his expression finally turning serious,
"we realized that world-ending threats aren't just possibilities—they're inevitable. So we created the Justice League to stand as Earth's defense when the time comes again."
The atmosphere in the room shifted. For once, even Tony wasn't joking. A heavy silence settled around them.
Banner didn't speak. He just sat there quietly, lost in thought. Everything that had happened today had shaken the very core of his beliefs. The laws of science, time, and reality had all been bent—or outright broken—before his eyes.
Outside, the golden light of the setting sun poured in through the villa windows. It cast long, soft shadows across the polished floors and reflected gently off the sleek furniture.
A long day was finally drawing to a close. It had felt like a week compressed into mere hours. Dozens of events, like chapters in a never-ending saga, had passed in a single day.
But thankfully—it was over. For now.
"Phew… Another day gone," Tony said with a rare sigh, watching the amber sky through the window. "At least we survived to see another sunset."
But Tony being Tony, he didn't dwell in his sentiment for long. His mind quickly pivoted.
"The night's coming fast. Since we saved the world and officially founded the Justice League today, I say we throw a celebration dinner! Something classy, you know?"
Of course, this was typical Stark behavior—jumping from reflection to revelry in a heartbeat.
"Forget it," Steve Rogers said, shaking his head. "I'm not in the mood for any parties. Today's been intense—I need time to process all of it."
Then, ever the responsible soldier, he brought up the elephant in the room.
"And what about Nick Fury? Are we seriously keeping this entire operation a secret from him?"
"We have to," Tony replied instantly, his tone sharpening.
"If Fury finds out, he'll try to take control. That's what S.H.I.E.L.D. does best—interfere, infiltrate, and 'manage' things until they're completely unrecognizable. I know their methods all too well."
He didn't even try to hide the distrust in his voice. Maybe it stemmed from learning about Black Widow's secret surveillance on him, or maybe it was just his instinctive resistance to authority. Either way, –Tony clearly wanted the Justice League to remain independent—for now.
Felix, sitting nearby, nodded in agreement. Tony's concerns weren't unfounded.
Nick Fury had spent over a decade building up the Avengers Initiative. It was finally nearing fruition. And now, out of nowhere, the Justice League had been formed—first to the punch, with almost all the heroes Fury had earmarked.
It was a move that would've driven the S.H.I.E.L.D. director mad with frustration.
Still, Felix knew it wouldn't stay a secret for long.
S.H.I.E.L.D. had already been tracking Dr. Banner. His sudden disappearance would definitely trigger alerts. And when Felix and the others went looking for him, they hadn't exactly been subtle. They practically walked into town with a marching band.
It was only a matter of time before Fury found out.
"Fine, I get it," Steve finally said after a pause.
"Hard to believe I'm about to lie to my commanding officer… but I guess things change."
He gave a small, knowing smile.
"But what matters more is that we're a team now. We've been through hell together—and that makes us brothers-in-arms."
He stood up and grabbed his shield.
"I'm heading out. If anything comes up, let me know. I'll be there as fast as possible."
With that, the first League member bid his teammates farewell, walking into the deepening shadows of the sunset—ready for whatever tomorrow would bring.
Eventually, both Captain America and Thor took their leave. Steve Rogers left first, while Thor—claiming he needed to visit his girlfriend Jane—summoned Stormbreaker and flew off into the sky in a flash of lightning.
"This world is insane…" Banner muttered, watching the thunder god vanish into the clouds.
He had only just learned of Thor's true identity—the literal Norse God of Thunder! It was the final nail in the coffin of his scientific worldview. If mythical gods existed, then what else might be out there? At this rate, even seeing an alien wouldn't surprise him anymore.
What he didn't realize was that meeting an alien was exactly what awaited him—sooner than he thought.
With Captain America and Thor gone, only Felix, Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, and Anne remained in the villa.
"Tony, how's your nanotech research coming along?" Felix asked curiously. "Any progress on the nanotech armor I described to you before?"
Tony rolled his eyes, clearly exasperated.
"You know, it's easy for you to ask that when you're not the one doing the work," he grumbled. "You think revolutionary technology gets made overnight? I had to start nanotech from scratch! Even with my genius, there are still massive bottlenecks."
"Honestly, the armor I have now is the result of weeks of sleepless effort. The kind of nano-armor you're talking about? That's going to take at least a year. And that's being optimistic."
Tony's tone was full of frustration. Despite being one of the greatest minds of his time, he was still struggling to crack nanotechnology, especially with only vague descriptions from Felix to guide him.
"You're working on nanotech?" Banner asked with interest, overhearing the conversation. "Is it for integrating it into your armor?"
Though Banner had been consumed with trying to manage Hulk for the past few years, he was still a brilliant scientist and very familiar with the concept of nanotechnology.
Tony's eyes lit up at the reminder.
"Oh, right! I totally forgot—we've got another science genius in the house now!"
He turned to Banner with an eager smile.
"You're already more useful than Felix, who just talks a big game but doesn't do anything practical."
Felix rolled his eyes but said nothing.
"C'mon, Banner. Let me show you my lab. I'll walk you through what I've developed so far. Maybe you can offer some fresh insights."
Without waiting, Tony practically dragged Banner toward the basement lab, excited to finally have someone who could keep up with him intellectually.
Felix watched them leave with a small sigh.
"Guess I'll just have to visit Wakanda soon," he muttered.
He had hoped that Tony's research would be far enough along for him to request a personalized nano-armor. Not only would it help in battle, but it would also prevent his clothes from catching fire due to his super-speed—something that had happened more than once.
But clearly, Tony's progress was far from that stage.
If he wanted high-performance armor now, Wakanda—with its vibranium tech—was his best bet.
"Wait, what did you just say?"
Tony suddenly reappeared at the top of the basement stairs, eyes wide with excitement.
Felix turned around, confused.
"What?"
"Did you say Wakanda?" Tony asked breathlessly. "You know Wakanda? Have you seen anything about it in your future knowledge?"
Felix raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, I said Wakanda. Why? Are you looking for it?"
Tony practically ran back to him.
"Of course! Years ago, I heard rumors about a rare, nearly indestructible metal—vibranium. I tried to buy some, but no matter how much money I threw at it, I couldn't get a single gram."
"I figured it came from Wakanda. But after that, I stopped digging. I was too focused on my suits and your nano-armor idea."
"Tell me, Felix—was the Wakanda you mentioned that Wakanda? And if so… what are you planning to do there?"
Felix smiled knowingly.
"Yep, same place. But Wakanda isn't what it seems. Publicly, it looks like just another small, underdeveloped African nation."
"But in reality, their technology is decades ahead of the rest of the world. They've built an entire civilization powered by vibranium."
Tony's jaw dropped.
"You're serious?"
"Dead serious," Felix confirmed. "You wouldn't believe it until you see it."
"But my intel showed it was just a remote, poor country!"
"That's the illusion they want you to believe," Felix said. "They hide their tech behind that facade."
Tony looked stunned for a moment, then snapped back into focus.
"Okay, we're going. Tomorrow. First thing."
Felix chuckled.
"Good. It's about time you saw the future."
.....
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