Tony POV:
"Sir, are you sure you're alright?" A nice British voice questions.
"I'm fine, Jarvis. It's just my head's getting a little bigger. Nothing to worry about."
"Sir, a little bigger would perhaps not be as noticeable. Your head is… considerably larger." The voice corrects, polite but blunt.
"Yeah, I'm working on it," Tony mutters, rubbing his temple.
His head has been growing exponentially. He's had to wear a hat at all times just to keep it covered. Right now, his forehead is about the size of KSI's. And while Tony doesn't know who KSI is, he's assuming the guy has a pretty big forehead.
"And… done! Boom!" Tony slams his hands on the desk. "Finally!"
He's finally cracked it. Inspired by old comics, he designed these — and if his calculations are right, they should work. Slowly, carefully, he picks up the sleek glasses he's made and slips them on.
"Hey, Jarvis… does my head look normal?"
"Why… yes, sir," Jarvis answers after a slight pause, sounding almost stunned — which is odd, considering he's an AI.
"Easily worked," Jarvis adds, processing what just happened. "Sir… you managed to fix the cranial expansion problem with… a pair of glasses?"
"No, no, I haven't fixed it yet," Tony says, waving him off. "There's some… thing preventing me from reversing it. No idea what it is, but it's gonna take time to crack." He grins, tapping the frames. "These are hypno-glasses."
Jarvis stays silent for a beat. "…Hypno-glasses, sir?"
"Yeah, inspired by Superman comics. You ever wonder how Clark Kent walks around Metropolis without anyone realizing he's Superman?"
"Well, no, sir. I am, after all, just an AI."
Tony points at nothing in particular. "Exactly! It's the hypno-glasses, Jarvis. Gotta be. They trick everyone around you into seeing what they expect. And you being 'hypnotized' right now? That means they work. That means you see me with a normal-sized head. Which means…" Tony spreads his arms theatrically. "Congratulations, Jarvis. You're a real boy."
"…Why, thank you, sir," Jarvis replies, hesitantly.
"See? That right there — emotion! You're starting to feel more. What a perfect upgrade I gave you."
"Sir, my research indicates that the world would not react well to an unrestrained, emotionally developing AI."
"Oh, who cares, Jarvis? Nobody's gonna figure it out. You can be my eyes and ears," Tony says casually, like he's offering someone a sandwich instead of a life-altering role.
"That… means a lot, sir," Jarvis says, softly.
Tony Stark has done it. He's created intelligent life from just a computer. Incredible what the power of the fruit gave him. With it, he can push Earth's technology forward by a hundred years. Then two hundred. Then three. Four. Five. He just… knows how to advance humanity now.
And he knows something else too: Obadiah Stane sold him out. The old man's been moving weapons behind his back — profiting, lying, manipulating. Tony always saw Stane like an uncle. But uncles don't try to have their nephews killed.
Time for revenge. Time to put this big brain to work.
Tony laughs quietly at the thought.
"Did you say something, sir?" Jarvis asks, curious.
"Nope," Tony says, smirking. "Just… thinking loudly."
"…Ah," Jarvis replies, pausing like he's processing whether that's an actual thing. In the end, he decides not to question it further.
Bruce POV:
These past few weeks have been… interesting for Bruce Banner.
It all started after he got into a bar fight. The Hulk came out. Things… didn't exactly go well. But somehow, Hulk managed to calm down and get away before transforming back into Banner.
After that, Bruce wandered off. He ended up in the Arctic, standing in the freezing cold, considering whether to put a bullet in his mouth. That was the plan… until he started hearing a voice in his head.
The Hulk's voice.
Telling him to smash.
And now — over the past week or so — something impossible has happened: Bruce has been able to communicate with the Hulk. Like, actual conversations. He doesn't understand how it works. It doesn't make sense. But somehow, Hulk can speak to him, and more than that, they've figured out an… arrangement.
Hulk can take over whenever Banner allows him. No need to get angry anymore. No screaming, no heart-rate panic triggers. Hulk can even partially transform now — an arm, a hand, whatever Banner wants.
And the best part? Banner can finally get angry without worrying about Hulking out.
It's… incredible.
He never thought he'd be happy to feel angry again.
"Hulk hungry," a deep, rumbling voice says in the back of his mind.
"Yep," Bruce mutters under his breath. "So am I."
He's walking through a small town at the moment, head down, hood up.
"Hulk want beans," the voice insists again.
"…Beans? Really? That's what we're craving now?"
"Beans!" Hulk confirms, stubborn.
"Alright, alright. We'll see if we can find beans."
Bruce has learned a lot about Hulk lately — things he never expected. Hulk isn't just a mindless rage monster. He's alive. He feels. He laughs, sulks, gets frustrated, and, apparently, has very strong opinions about canned goods.
In a way… Hulk's like a child. If he wants to smash, he smashes. If he wants to eat, he eats. Simple as that. And being trapped in endless darkness inside Bruce's mind? That makes him lash out when he's free. The rage isn't random. It's built up over years of isolation.
So, slowly but surely, Bruce is learning to accept him.
Maybe even… enjoy his company.
That's when it happens.
Bruce is yanked sideways into a narrow alley, slammed against a wall. Cold steel presses against his gut.
"Wallet. Now," the man holding him growls.
Bruce exhales slowly, his voice calm, steady. "Listen, pal… you really don't want to do this."
He's not panicking. Not anymore. After spending a week learning just how dangerous he can be, his confidence has skyrocketed. He's carrying around a loaded nuclear bomb in his bloodstream — and he's finally learning how to aim it.
The guy snarls, shoving the knife harder against his stomach. "Do I look like I'm kidding? Give. Me. Your. Money."
Bruce raises his hands, playing along. "…Okay, okay. You win."
He slowly reaches into his pocket… and then —
WHAM!
His fist connects with the mugger's jaw, sending the man flying down the alley like a ragdoll. He slams into the wall and crumples to the ground, groaning.
Bruce freezes, staring at his hand.
It's bigger. Bulkier. Green.
"…How'd you like that, Hulk?" he whispers under his breath.
"HULK SMASH!" the voice roars triumphantly in his head.
"Yeah, yeah," Bruce says quickly, trying to calm him down. "Let's not get too hasty, big guy. We don't want to cause too much property damage over one mugger."
"Take clothes," Hulk suggests.
"What?"
"Take puny man clothes. Upgrade."
Bruce blinks, sighing. "…Right. Of course that's where your mind goes." He hesitates, then mutters to himself, "Don't do to others what you wouldn't want done to yourself."
There's a pause.
"…Hulk agree."
"…Hulk agrees," Bruce repeats with a small, reluctant smile.
++++++++
Author Note -
For this chapter, Tony upgrades Jarvis with his newly enhanced intellect. Now, Jarvis is a true living being—similar to what Ultron will eventually become—but he's still good. He also develops hypno-glasses (I recently watched Superman, so that's where the idea came from, lol).
As for the Hulk, I wanted him to feel like a real character in this story. I decided to take a Venom-like approach, he can take control of parts of Banner's body, speak to Banner however he wants, and gradually learn and grow over time. Right now, he's basically like a two-year-old.