Back to Malibu

"This ability... it's truly incredible, just like the Hulk!"

Banner looked at the lifelike model in his hand and sighed.

"Dr. Banner, have you been doing well lately?"

"Y-yeah, very well." After learning that Leo was also someone with special abilities, Banner somehow suddenly relaxed.

"For the first few days, I didn't dare sleep. I was afraid that when I opened my eyes, I'd be lying in ruins again, surrounded by everything that had been destroyed... and countless bodies."

"I tried to kill myself by swallowing a gun, but... the Hulk spat the bullet back out."

Banner sat to one side, fiddling with the model in his hand as he spoke calmly.

"Anyway, now I can get a good night's sleep. Every day, I help people with their illnesses and cook for myself. I'm not used to the curry here, but I can still count as a normal person, can't I?"

"I'm sorry, Dr. Banner. I don't have any good solution for the Hulk for now, either."

Leo looked at Dr. Banner with some regret. "Maybe you need to face the Hulk's existence, like how anyone walking in sunlight is bound to cast a shadow..."

"Enough. I don't want to talk about him. Tell me, you didn't come all this way just to make a model for me, did you?"

Banner was still somewhat averse to the topic of the Hulk and did not want to discuss it.

"This was just an accident. I was planning to head straight to Malibu, Los Angeles. Do you know Tony Stark? I arranged to meet him later. I saw you on the way, so I came down to take a look."

Leo stepped in front of Dr. Banner. "Still, this is our first proper meeting. It's nice to meet you, Doctor."

"So you really aren't with the military?" Banner had been tormented to the point of being suspicious of everything.

"I really am not, Doctor!"

Banner looked at the boy before him and extended his right hand.

"It's nice to meet you, Leo. Thank you for your help last time."

"No need to thank me. I was too reckless last time too—I rushed into the fight before I'd fully developed my abilities."

Leo smiled at the somewhat honest-looking Dr. Banner.

"I heard Stark became some kind of Iron Man, is that right? You know, information doesn't travel well here. There's barely any phone signal."

"Yes, and not only that. A lot of unbelievable things have happened recently. Aliens have been involved too. So, Dr. Banner, you're not the only unusual person in the world. Think about Captain America—aren't they all beyond ordinary people?"

"Thank you, Leo, but I think I may need a long time to think about it. Life here is pretty good, so... could you not reveal any news about me?"

"Of course, Dr. Banner. I look forward to your return."

Leo smiled, and the two walked outside.

"Well then, goodbye, Doctor."

Leo said his farewell, lightly pushed off with his feet, and shot into the sky, vanishing from sight.

Banner watched Leo fly into the sky and disappear. Flecks of green light appeared in his deep eyes before fading away again.

"It seems he wasn't lying to me."

Looking at the Banner model in his hand, he tightened his grip around it.

Fifty minutes later, Leo crossed the Pacific Ocean and headed straight for Malibu, arriving at Tony's seaside villa.

He followed the sports car driveway directly into Tony's work area.

His flying body slowly straightened, and his feet landed silently on the ground.

Tony stood before a massive projection, stroking his chin as he admired the three-dimensional building.

"Leo, come take a look at my Stark Tower. It's in the center of New York City, and construction has already begun. What do you think?"

"Looks good. It's so tall—how long will it take to finish?"

Leo looked at the dazzling tower among the surrounding buildings.

"The foundation is already complete. I acquired three construction companies. Based on projections, one year and three months. The entire building will be powered independently by my new energy. What do you think?"

"That'll definitely be cool. And you won't have to pay the electricity bill."

"So, Leo, where did you go? I heard you took a trip to New Mexico, then headed straight to Wakanda. Did you discover anything new?"

Tony snapped his fingers lightly, and the projection vanished from the room.

He walked over to the table and pushed the pizza box on it toward Leo.

"You got here a little faster than I expected. Have some—freshly delivered hot dog bacon cheese pizza. Simple and delicious."

Tony casually sat down on the sofa, a posture he only took around people he knew well.

Leo took the pizza box and sat across from Tony. "Do you know what happened in New Mexico?"

"I haven't been keeping up. I can barely handle my own business lately. The company's transition is more complicated than I imagined. Those regulations are complete nonsense. If I were president, I'd definitely be better than the current one."

Tony still found time to mock someone before asking, "So, what happened there?"

"A god fell from the sky. Thor, the God of Thunder."

"Are you kidding me? Come on, I haven't slept in forty hours. If it weren't for your call, I could've fallen asleep in my dreams."

"I'm not joking. The word 'god' isn't accurate—they should be called Aliens. Just very powerful Aliens."

Tony saw that Leo was not joking and sat up seriously. "J.A.R.V.I.S., search for news from New Mexico. I want to see the footage."

"Yes, sir. Searching."

Several blurry video clips soon appeared before them. They could barely make out a crimson Destruction Ray sweeping across the scene before it completely destroyed the only camera.

After that, there was quite a bit of footage recorded by passersby when Sif and the Warriors Three openly came looking for Thor.

"Are these the ancient armor enthusiasts dressed up as Vikings you were talking about? Oh, that female warrior has a nice figure."

Though he joked aloud, his hands never stopped moving. Tony kept tapping at the virtual keyboard on the desk, simulating the Energy level intensity of that one-second Laser Beam from the video.

"All the other footage was deleted by S.H.I.E.L.D. They did a really thorough job."

Tony stared intently at the energy simulation appearing on the computer, observing the effect once it reached the Destructive Power shown in the video.

"The Energy level of that beam was still quite formidable. It would be enough to destroy most substances on Earth." Tony's expression turned grave as well.

"Yes. That was the armor of All-Father Odin, called the Destroyer, but it has already been destroyed. The God of Thunder has returned as well, though they may not be able to come to Earth for the time being."

"Tell me something, Leo."

"Mr. Stark, this universe is even larger than we imagined. There are powerful Aliens within it, but Earth is protected by its guardian, so no one has invaded for now."

"Wait, guardian? I'm starting to get confused. What else do you know, Leo?"

"Do you know about the Tesseract?"