Chen Mo was very unhappy about this.
"This is workplace discrimination."
Tony brought up the model. "This is an illegal minor attempting to access high-risk technology."
"I've been living with a high-risk alien life-form for a week, and don't think I don't know Peter Parker had top-level clearance."
"Precisely because of that painful experience, I'm not letting you touch another source of danger."
Chen Mo looked down at his chest.
Venom clung quietly to him, like an excessively obedient black undershirt.
"He says you hurt his feelings."
Tony didn't even look. "He didn't say that."
"How do you know?"
"Because if he had, you'd keep translating, and I'd lose the next five minutes. Oh, that part's still debatable. I don't think that black sludge on you can talk."
Banner couldn't help chuckling beside them.
Chen Mo leaned over to look at the screen.
"This connection curve is wrong."
Tony's hand paused.
"Where?"
Chen Mo reached out and enlarged one of the waveforms.
"Here. You've been treating it as one-way attachment, but there's feedback. He's not just influencing me. I'm influencing him too. Look at this peak. It isn't an attack response. It's more like self-compensation after a synchronization failure."
Banner immediately grew serious.
"Are you sure?"
"I'm not," Chen Mo said. "But if I were him, that's what I'd do."
Tony glanced at him.
Chen Mo shrugged. "Don't look at me like that. I'm just pretty good at getting along with troublesome things in my head."
After he said that, the lab fell briefly silent.
Seemingly oblivious to the change in atmosphere, Chen Mo lowered his head and dragged the parameter a little farther to the side.
"Try this."
Banner entered it into the simulation.
Three seconds later, the curve stabilized.
Tony stared at the screen, his eyes lighting up.