"Hulk?" Tony looked at the image Noah projected. The raging green giant in it sent shivers down his spine.
"I've been following this, I thought it was some kind of biochemical monster you guys at S.H.I.E.L.D. cooked up?" Tony turned to look at Nick Fury. In his impression, secret organizations like S.H.I.E.L.D. loved to court disaster by researching things they couldn't possibly understand, and then creating some kind of monster. That's how it always played out in the movies.
"Tony, S.H.I.E.L.D. has nothing to do with this. Don't make wild guesses."
Nick Fury's face darkened, though the two opposite him couldn't tell. After refuting Tony's point, Nick Fury continued, "We at S.H.I.E.L.D. have also been tracking Hulk's whereabouts, but General Ross of the Military has been in charge of this matter, so S.H.I.E.L.D. couldn't openly intervene. I didn't expect you, Noah, to also know the name Hulk."
Nick Fury was somewhat surprised when he heard Noah say the word Hulk. S.H.I.E.L.D. possessed advanced technology and intelligence gathering capabilities. Through Military data and numerous eyewitness testimonies, they learned that the Hulk often uttered the name Hulk, so they believed Hulk was the name of this monster.
Noah knew it too. Nick Fury thought that perhaps the organization behind Noah was also investigating the Hulk. Was there something about the Hulk that interested them? Nick Fury continued to ponder.
"Of course, everyone knows about this."
"Well, I don't know, so can one of you tell me about this Hulk?" Tony couldn't sit still. These two seemed to know a lot, and he was the only one in the dark, so Tony began to question them.
Nick Fury and Noah exchanged glances. Noah subtly extended his hand forward, indicating for Nick Fury to speak first.
Nick Fury had originally wanted to hear Noah's insights on the Hulk, but he didn't expect Noah to let him speak first. Nick Fury was a bit helpless, but Tony would find out about this sooner or later, so telling them now was fine.
When Nick Fury learned about the Hulk, he was very interested in this monster, so he delved deeper into it. He then learned about Bruce Banner, a brilliant physicist. He then conceived the idea of making him a member of his Avengers Initiative, which is why he had been keeping an eye on him.
Nick Fury began to recount information about Banner, all of which S.H.I.E.L.D. had secretly gathered.
"This guy, we call him – Hulk." Nick Fury leaned slightly forward on the sofa, his voice low as he said, "Every time Hulk appears, he's incredibly violent and causes severe destruction to his surroundings. He's already caused multiple injuries."
"So, he's a bad guy? Then why doesn't S.H.I.E.L.D. deal with him?" Tony asked.
"Hold on, let me finish." Nick Fury motioned for Tony to continue listening.
"After our in-depth investigation, it turns out that the Hulk's true identity is a human. His identity, I think you might have heard of it."
"Oh? Tell me?" Tony heard Nick Fury's words and became interested. Was it someone he knew? Tony's mind raced through names, wondering who it could be.
"Bruce Banner."
"Bruce Banner? Let me think, I remember a physicist with seven doctorates, also named Bruce Banner. Is it the same person you're talking about?" Tony did recall someone after hearing that name, a brilliant scholar who had more degrees than he did.
In Tony's impression, the other party should have been a knowledgeable and talented scholar, making it difficult to connect him with the raging Hulk in the image.
"Yes, it's the person you mentioned. Bruce Banner was accidentally exposed to gamma rays during an experiment, and his body underwent a mutation. When he gets emotional, he transforms into a green-skinned giant, the Hulk."
"According to our investigation, Dr. Banner previously fled the United States and went to a remote country, living incognito, because he was being pursued by the Military. He has always suppressed himself, preventing himself from turning into the Hulk, and those few incidents of Hulk injuring people were also because others provoked him first, which caused the Hulk to appear."
Nick Fury recounted the information S.H.I.E.L.D. had gathered about Banner. Tony listened, suddenly becoming interested in Bruce Banner. He really wanted to ask him how he became like this.
Nick Fury finished telling everything. He observed Tony's reaction, knowing that the other party was starting to get interested in this matter. This was good, though. If the team members could get along well in advance, then the team would be easier to manage in the future.
When Nick Fury shifted his gaze to Noah, he found that the other party's expression hadn't changed much, as if he had known all of this from the start. Nick Fury felt that this was likely the case; Noah or the organization behind him might have been continuously monitoring the Hulk.
"So, Noah, what was your reason for bringing up the Hulk just now?" Nick Fury, having finished discussing the Hulk, straightened up again and looked directly at Noah as he asked.
Tony was also very curious. He currently only had a vague understanding of this 16-year-old boy in front of him. He needed to learn more about him.
"It's not really a big deal. I just think Dr. Banner is a talent. He can transform into the powerful Hulk, and he's very talented himself. I feel like we could help Dr. Banner and then bring him over to our side," Noah said.
Nick Fury didn't know what the other party meant by "our side," whether it referred to the Valoran organization or something else.
"OK, I agree with that idea, and I think Stark Industries would be a great fit for Dr. Banner. The top 10 floors of Stark Tower are all R&D. Oh, Li, you're welcome to visit sometime too, I'd be happy to host you at Stark Tower." Tony was very interested in what Noah said, thinking that if Stark Industries gained a genius like Dr. Banner, it would be a good thing.
"Thank you for the invitation, Mr. Stark, but aren't you afraid the Hulk will smash your tower?" Noah joked.
"Oh, I definitely won't put any pressure on him or make him nervous then." Tony shrugged. Noah remembered that after Tony said this in the movie, he immediately poked Banner's kidney with an electrified stick.
"Then it's settled. First, we need to find Banner, and then we'll have to deal with pressure from the Military. I'll leave this matter for you to handle, Director Fury," Noah said.
"Alright." Nick Fury rubbed his temple and said. He had received a lot of useful information from Noah earlier, and he couldn't refuse Noah's request this time. Moreover, he also felt that a talent like Banner would be better off with them.
After settling this matter, they began to discuss how to find Banner.
"This thing is quite tasty, isn't it? Where did you buy it?"
On the table were the small desserts Noah had prepared to entertain his guests. Tony, while chatting, eyed them with desire and reached for a small fruit puff. The puff pastry was adorned with cream and fruit, making it very visually appealing, which is why Tony immediately noticed it.
After Tony put the dessert in his mouth, he was surprised by its deliciousness. Although Tony was a billionaire, his eating habits were quite unique; he liked to eat foods like hamburgers. Other wealthy people would only consider these junk food, unhealthy to eat.
"These were all made by Lissandra. By the way, Mr. Stark, why did you come here to see me?" Noah finally began to inquire about Tony's reason for coming.
"Hmm, actually, I came here because I wanted to understand, your... " Tony gestured to himself. "Your armor, did you create it yourself?"
Tony just wanted to confirm this. He wondered if Noah was truly a genius, capable of creating inventions ahead of their time at 16 years old.
Although Tony was a genius, he couldn't achieve this at 16. At that age, he was still pursuing his degree at MIT.
"The armor?" Noah turned to glance at Lissandra, then said, "Lissandra and I created it together."
Lissandra smiled when she heard what Noah said, and Tony was also a bit surprised upon hearing it: "Is this lady also a scientist?"
"Of course, don't underestimate Lissandra." As he spoke, Noah also made a gesture with his hand.
Noah pressed a button on his belt, and a stream of nanites flowed onto his arm, directly covering it to form an armguard. This scene made Tony's eyes widen slightly.
"This is nanotechnology?" Tony saw how Noah's armguard was formed; some flowing metallic substance formed the armguard on Noah's arm. Tony immediately thought of nanotechnology when he saw this technique.
"Yes, Lissandra is very proficient in this aspect of nanotechnology research. I dare say no one in this World can surpass her."
Noah believed this to be true. Lissandra originally possessed all the technology from her World. Plus, after gaining her own soul, she was no longer an AI thinking according to programmed instructions, but had a soul capable of independent thought, and her knowledge level was continuously improving through learning.
"Nanotechnology is the future, Mr. Stark. Your Iron Man Suit needs an upgrade. Do you want me to help you with it?" Noah gathered the nanites from the armguard in his hand, spun them, then squeezed them, and they reformed into the armguard, as he spoke to Tony.
"Thanks, but no need. I can handle it myself." Tony saw Noah's demonstration and realized that the other's nanotechnology was already very mature. When Noah offered to help him modify his Iron Man Suit, Tony naturally refused. He was quite confident in himself.
Tony's talent was indeed very strong, as shown in the movies. In Avengers 1, he could master thermonuclear astrophysics in one night (as the movie said), and in Avengers 4, he could perfect the time machine in one night. Thanos even said that Iron Man was a man cursed with knowledge.
Noah was not surprised that Tony would refuse this. He was just teasing him. He also knew that a genius like Tony had a lot of self-respect and would naturally want to research nanotechnology himself if he needed it.
Of course, if it was a technical exchange, Tony wouldn't refuse. Thus, what followed was an impromptu technical exchange among the group. In his discussions with Noah and Lissandra, Tony became convinced that they truly had the ability.
Although Noah hadn't had the Heimerdinger template for long, he had been learning knowledge through Lissandra whenever he had free time these days. Heimerdinger's talent allowed him to absorb knowledge continuously and quickly like a sponge, which is why he could now communicate with Tony so fluently on technical topics.
Nick Fury, on the other hand, couldn't get a word in and could only silently ponder other matters on the side.
Soon after, Tony and Nick Fury were ready to leave Noah's manor. After conversing with Noah and Lissandra, many inspirations surfaced in Tony's mind, and he couldn't wait to go back and bring them to fruition. Nick Fury also needed to go back and prepare for the Hulk situation.
"Li, Miss Lissandra, it was a pleasure talking with you. If you have time, you're welcome to visit Stark Tower as my guests. I'll personally host you." Tony nodded to the two of them and prepared to leave.
"I'll expedite the Banner matter," Nick Fury said before also leaving the scene.
After watching the two leave, Noah looked at Lissandra on his left.
"Lissandra, have you found any trace of Banner?" Noah had previously mentioned Banner and Betty Ross to Lissandra, asking her to help locate their whereabouts after they left the attacked campus.
"No trace of them has been found yet. They might be in an unmonitored area right now," Lissandra replied. (If I hack into satellites? Can I detect any place in the World?)
"I see." Noah remembered that in the movie, after they left, they seemed to go to a desolate wilderness, so perhaps they hadn't returned to the city yet. "Then let's wait and see. They'll come back eventually. Banner still needs someone to solve his Hulk problem."
Noah decided to continue developing the tech tree, and he also needed Lissandra to install her magnetic levitation technology onto his armor. He thought that would be really cool.
Noah hadn't started working for long when Lissandra found the target.
"Noah, I found them."