New York, where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold—Stark Industries' newly completed headquarters tower stood here.
With its futuristic, spiraling exterior, a top-floor observation platform large enough for fighter jets to land on, and its one-of-a-kind "STARK" logo, the tower remained exceptionally striking even amid the skyscrapers of downtown New York.
At this moment, inside the luxurious hall built into the top-floor observation platform of Stark headquarters.
"How is it?"
The gentleman in a well-tailored black suit swirled his wineglass. He spread his hands wide with undisguised pride, the deep blue glow at the center of his chest shining through his shirt, as if he were embracing half the city beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Behind him.
A man stepped forward, wearing a gray long shirt, cargo pants, Martin boots, and the like. With his messy, unkempt hair, he looked utterly out of place in the lofty, upscale surroundings.
"How should I put it?" The scruffy man pushed up his glasses, pondered for a moment, then remarked, "It really does have your style and character."
Stark smiled. "From now on, this will also be the headquarters of our alliance."
"That couldn't be better. It'll raise the status of our alliance, which hasn't even been established yet, by several levels." The scruffy man shrugged. "I don't have money. At most, I can contribute some muscle."
"Not just muscle." Stark gently shook his head and looked at him sincerely. "Banner, I also need your wisdom and knowledge. With your help, I believe many of my technological concepts and ideas can be realized in the future."
The scruffy man named Banner neither confirmed nor denied it. Faced with praise that was excessive even by Stark's standards, his expression remained remarkably calm.
Because in the field of technology, he truly had the credentials.
Banner.
His full name was Robert Bruce Banner. A world-renowned physicist with seven doctoral degrees, if he had not spent the past few years concealing his identity, he would have been a scientist constantly appearing in the newspapers!
In addition, he had another identity unknown to the public, and it was the greatest reason he had spent these past years hiding on the far side of the world—Hulk!
The Abomination that had appeared in Washington not long ago was something he had indirectly caused.
"Banner."
Stark was about to say something when a beeping alarm suddenly sounded somewhere on the top floor.
"Jarvis, what happened?" Stark asked with a slight frown.
At once, hundreds of beams of light intertwined in the air above a table in the luxurious top-floor hall, rapidly forming a three-dimensional virtual projection.
Artificial Intelligence responded in a gentle, concise male voice. "Sir. Just now, an unexpected incident involving the extraordinary occurred in Queens. This is the footage from the scene."
Hearing this, Banner also looked curiously toward the virtual projection.
"Ahhhhhh!!"
The video playing in the virtual projection opened with screams. On the main road beside a bustling modern street, a specially modified muscle car roared forward at full power!
A red light. An intersection!
Vroom! Vroom! Vroom!
Sparks flew everywhere!
The muscle car rammed through several vehicles blocking its path, then, as though fleeing in blind panic, continued accelerating against traffic onto the opposite main road!
Just as the muscle car was about to crash into a cluster of stopped vehicles, the next scene made Stark and Banner's pupils constrict violently—
The speeding muscle car abruptly stopped. A shadow like black mist flashed past, and in the next instant, the front of the car caved inward with bizarre suddenness. Then the entire vehicle burst apart into two halves! It was as though some terrifying force had ripped it apart by sheer brute strength!
Then an even more horrifying scene appeared.
Several severed portions of human male bodies fell from within the exploding, disintegrating muscle car, flung toward different streets around the intersection!
Two of those body parts happened to land among the stunned crowd standing on the pedestrian street!
Terror and bloodshed descended!
"Ahh! What was that thing that jumped out!?"
"Run!!"
Screams rang out again as a black flash flickered through the intersection and gave chase down one of the streets.
The footage in the virtual projection ended there.
"What just happened?"
Stark looked at Banner with alarm, but Banner also shook his head, indicating that he had not seen it clearly at all.
"Jarvis, rewind the footage." Stark gave the order after a moment of thought.
"Yes, sir."
Under Artificial Intelligence's control.
The footage in the virtual projection continuously rewound, all the way back to before the muscle car was destroyed.
"Right there. Enlarge the image in front of the car and play it in slow motion," Stark said gravely.
The footage began to play.
Under the enlarged slow-motion view, they could clearly see a small black beast-like shadow dart out from between the stopped cars and slam into the front of the muscle car like a cannonball!
"Frame by frame," Stark said.
This time, every image seemed to freeze. The mysterious thing that had been impossible to see at normal speed was finally revealed.
Banner's eyes widened in shock.
That black shadow was actually a cat!
Yes, a hairless kitten, as though its entire body were wrapped in a layer of smooth, tough black clothing.
The instant the kitten slammed violently into the muscle car, the vehicle, which had been speeding at full throttle, stopped moving forward. Then the Black Cat's body abruptly expanded several times over, its limbs swelling with massive, tough muscles and tendons, while a pair of vicious front claws brutally tore the muscle car's body apart to either side!
That was the source of the muscle car's explosion.
The moment it tore the muscle car apart, the strange and terrifying black monster reverted to its kitten form and raced after one of the body fragments at incredible speed.
"What kind of creature is that?" Stark's expression grew increasingly solemn. What startled him even more was that Doctor Banner, standing beside him, suddenly turned greenish, twitching slightly as he struggled to breathe!
"Jarvis!" Stark instinctively retreated several steps, stepping onto a particular spot in the luxurious hall.
Artificial Intelligence Jarvis swiftly understood his master's meaning. A metal lift rose from the floor beneath Stark's feet, and as a series of mechanical arms and components moved into action, pieces of red-and-gold metal armor fastened themselves onto his body.
In less than five seconds.
Stark's entire body was covered and armed in steel armor. The energy circle on his chest and his metal eye sockets glowed white, making him look like an iron-forged god.
"Calm down, Banner!" Stark, now Iron Man, raised a hand and tried to reassure the green-faced Banner.
"I-I'm fine!" Banner clenched both hands into fists and kept taking rapid breaths, trying to ease his agitated emotions.
His complexion shifted back and forth between green and pale white.
In the end, Banner sagged against the table, the bulging veins on his neck finally receding.
Seeing this, Stark let out a breath of relief and arranged, "Stay here and don't move. I'll deal with what's happening outside!"
"Wait, Tony!" Banner called out to Stark while weakly supporting himself against a chair. Pointing at the black shadow on the virtual screen, he said uneasily, "That monster is extremely dangerous! Seeing it felt like I was pulling a gun's trigger against my own mouth. My body's emergency instinct wanted to turn into Hulk!"