Meeting

"You know?"

This item was one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top secrets. Mercer's identity as a Level 8 agent should not have granted him knowledge of its existence.

Yet he had reeled off all four properties of the Tesseract in one breath. Could it be that he had known about it all along?

Mercer had no intention of explaining this and asked directly, "With this thing stolen, haven't you tracked its location? As far as I know, this thing emits Gamma Energy. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s satellites should make it easy to locate, right?"

"Regarding that, we have already invited two top technical personnel to help, and they are already searching around the clock."

Natasha looked at Mercer with a hint of admiration. When S.H.I.E.L.D. had been trying to figure out what to do, it was only after inviting those two people over and conducting a thorough investigation that they had arrived at these results.

Now Mercer had stated the method in a single breath; he truly lived up to being the external reinforcement Nick Fury had traded for using Level 8 agent clearance.

"Top personnel?" Being someone Natasha could call top personnel and actually invite over caused two figures to suddenly pop into Mercer's mind. Could it be those two...?

Even so, the loss of the Tesseract was indeed a very serious matter. The Tesseract was merely a containment vessel, and a containment vessel was simply used for holding things.

The crucial point was what was inside it. The contents were the Space Stone, one of the Infinity Stones, which could teleport to any place in the universe at will.

Fortunately, neither S.H.I.E.L.D. nor Hydra knew its specific usage at present. According to what The Ancient One had previously said, Hydra intended to use it to summon a Sub-Dimensional Being.

It was very likely they were just utilizing the powerful energy of the Space Stone rather than the innate abilities of the Space Stone itself.

"Before Carter was frozen, the Hydra leader at that time used the Tesseract. You should all know something of its power. Something like this should be under extremely strict control. How could it be stolen so easily?"

Mercer had completely stopped acting and bluntly stated such military secrets.

As he finished speaking, the gazes of Natasha, Carter, and Mercer all converged on Nick Fury, with Carter's gaze being particularly complex.

"Fury, is what he says true? S.H.I.E.L.D. has been using that thing to research weapons?"

She had witnessed the power of the Tesseract. On the day she was frozen, she led a team to storm a Hydra base.

There, she had seen with her own eyes how Hydra used the Tesseract's energy to develop a Super-Powered Gun capable of instantly reducing people to nothingness.

As for the Hydra leader at that time, beneath the radiance of the Tesseract, he had vanished to god knows where.

With Earth's current level of technology, such a terrifying energy source definitely should not be casually developed. Once it slipped out of control, the resulting consequences might well be even more terrifying than the simultaneous detonation of dozens or hundreds of Nuclear Bombs!

At this thought, Carter furrowed her brows in a rare display of anger. Such a thing was actually used casually to manufacture weapons?

Nick Fury also knew this sort of behavior was wrong. Using the Tesseract to manufacture weapons was far too advanced and far too potent.

Once manufactured, unless properly mastered, it would spell disaster for humanity.

That was the exact situation now. The Tesseract had been exploited and stolen by Hydra because it was being used to manufacture weapons, creating the current tension on both sides.

"Let's discuss this matter later." Mercer proactively ended that line of conversation. He knew Carter's history; dragging this discussion out any further would yield zero benefits. "Where are those two technical personnel? I'd like to meet them..."

The moment Mercer finished speaking, he heard the sound of footsteps approaching from a distance behind him, immediately followed by a voice that was fairly familiar to him.

"We've locked onto the location! The perpetrators haven't left New York. They're still in the city!"

He turned his head to look, and not only was Mercer surprised, but the person who caught sight of Mercer was also extremely startled.

"Tony Stark and Dr. Banner?"

Although it was an expected occurrence, actually laying eyes on them still made Mercer couldn't help but feel astonished.

"This must be student Mercer, ah. Long time no see, long time no see. I've been wanting to meet you for a long time, only you're never home."

Stark stepped forward and looked Mercer up and down, wearing an expression that seemed to say, "I've finally met you."

His expression made Mercer feel somewhat strange, and he said, "We've never crossed paths. Why would you know me?"

"A few days ago on the street, that bizarre black energy dark sword of yours and your car robot were going crazy all over the internet. These past few days, you've consistently been second only to me on the trending lists. It would be hard for me not to know you," Stark chuckled.

Come to think of it, during these past few days, Mercer hadn't touched the internet at all, constantly occupied with various matters. He truly hadn't given a single thought to whatever was happening online.

If not for Stark mentioning it, he genuinely wouldn't have known about this.

"Let me make an introduction. This is Dr. Banner." Stark stepped aside to reveal the man behind him and introduced him.

"Hello, I'm Banner. I've also heard of you, and as it happens, I have a few things I'd like to consult you about," Banner said.

"You do too?" Mercer paused in surprise. He could understand Stark being interested in him because of his Dark Saber and Lockdown, but why would Banner want to chat with him?

What on earth did he have to discuss with him? Banner was a super genius holding multiple doctoral degrees, while he was merely an ordinary high school student. There was simply no comparison.

Banner looked around and, seeing that everyone standing nearby could be trusted, he let out a sigh and confessed.

"To tell you the truth, it's for the sake of that Hulk inside me. I heard you resolved the Abomination, and I want to know how you managed to pull it off. Can I also eliminate him inside me, or at least... control him?"

Banner's haggard and distressed expression left Mercer momentarily silent.

To the current Banner, the Hulk was indeed a burden, but a psychological shift would occur later on, making him realize just how vital the Hulk's power truly was to him.

In Mercer's memories, Banner ultimately accepted the Hulk's existence and even merged into one with him, taking on the Hulk's appearance...

If I were to absorb the Hulk's blood, what would happen to me? Mercer lowered his eyelids slightly, his mind already fantasizing about the changes that absorbing the Hulk would bring.

The Abomination was merely a weakened version of the Hulk, yet it had already brought him such changes. If he were to absorb the Hulk...

The resulting changes might be utterly terrifying!

Yet this was merely a thought; Mercer would not actually go through with it.

He wasn't some cannibalistic monster like Hannibal. While the Hulk was indeed immensely useful to him, keeping it alive to eventually form the Avengers was equally important.

Mercer had no desire to shoulder the heavy responsibility of saving the Earth, which meant he needed the Avengers to form normally.

Otherwise, when multiple threats arrived down the line, having to step in and handle every single one himself would be a huge hassle.

Still, being able to absorb just a little bit of blood wasn't bad; absorbing blood alone could still yield decent enhancements.