Valeria rushed to the holographic projection, her brows furrowed, her eyes fixed on Banner was punching Leviathan without transforming, on the screen.
"The gamma fluctuations remained stable throughout... there was no transformation stress response... yet the cellular energy level was completely on par with the Hulk's... how is this possible?"
She muttered to herself, her fingers flying across the air as if frantically calculating a formula, her voice soft and rapid:
"It's not triggered by emotions, it's not a form change, it's the body directly bearing the Hulk's power... a steady-state gamma fusion... this is even more perfect than Dr. Banner!"
When the scene cut to Tony swinging his lightsaber and slashing Killian, Valeria gasped and blurted out a curse:
"Holy crap... a lightsaber? An improved Super Soldier Serum?"
She turned and glared at Thor, her little face filled with disbelief:
" Tony Stark actually injected himself with the serum? And even made a lightsaber out of it?"
Wasn't he the one who hated human modification and was most averse to the risk of losing control? Has this version of him suddenly become intelligent or has he been switched out?!
"That's why I doubted whether this was the Prime Universe. Otherwise, why would I have dragged you here? It's not like I had nothing better to do."
Thor looked at the equally shocked Valeria, crossed his arms, leaned against the wall, and retorted mercilessly.
Where are they?
Valeria's research enthusiasm was at an all-time high, and she didn't care at all about Thor's sarcastic remark. Now she just wanted to see what was going on with these two outrageous guys and then study them carefully.
"At Avengers Tower, huh?! Oh no! Thor! Natasha and Captain Carter have been cornered by Iron Man Tony Stark and his crew from this universe!"
Iron Fist Danny glanced at the last message Natasha sent, his expression changed, and he anxiously said to Thor.
"Let me see, the two of them are at Avengers Tower right now."
Valeria quickly tracked down the location, glanced up at Thor, her eyes filled with eagerness.
"Alright, let's meet this abnormal Avengers. Danny, you stay here and keep an eye on her."
Thor pointed to Natasha, who was still tied to the wall in the Prime Universe, and led the Classic Loki and Valeria into the portal.
On the other side, Avengers Tower.
With a wave of his hand, Tony Stark quickly assembled several Iron Man Armor, surrounding Natasha and Carter. Captain America Steve, Dr. Banner, and Hawkeye stood by, watching them warily.
"Who are you? What do you want with Natasha?"
Captain America's eyes tightened instantly as he looked at the woman in front of him who looked almost exactly like Peggy Carter, and his tone turned cold.
Don't try to fool me with pretense.
"I am Natasha Romanoff, Captain. We even took down Hydra together a while ago, didn't we?"
Natasha tried to bluff her way out, but Tony and the others had already noticed something amiss and became even more vigilant upon hearing this.
Tony Stark walked to the counter, casually twirling the hilt of his lightsaber with his fingertips, his tone utterly cold.
"Don't waste your breath. Wanda already noticed something was wrong with you; you're not our Natasha at all."
He glanced at the two of them. "No matter where you came from, you'd better tell us your purpose honestly."
"Who are you? What do you want with Natasha who kidnapped us?"
"Prepare to break out, Natasha."
Captain Carter gripped her shield tightly. She had just received a message from Natasha saying that she might have been discovered. The two of them had just infiltrated and were now surrounded. Their only option was to break through.
"No, Carter, there's Hulk on the other side, and a mutated one at that. We're no match for him. Danny just told me that Thor is here."
"That's all."
Upon hearing that Thor was coming, Captain Carter immediately slung his shield over his back and gave up the fight.
This utterly baffling behavior clearly left everyone present completely baffled.
What do you mean?
Tony frowned, twirling the hilt of his lightsaber several times in his hand.
However, before he could ask any more questions, a circular portal shimmering with golden light opened in front of them, Thor, the Classic Loki, and Valeria filed in one after another.
"Here he comes! Here he comes!" Valeria ran up to Banner as soon as she landed, tilting her head back to look him up and down, her voice filled with excitement as if she had discovered a new continent. "You're the Dr. Banner who can blast Leviathan apart with a single punch even without transforming?!"
Banner paused, then instinctively scratched the back of his head. "... How did you know?"
Valeria didn't answer. Instead, she activated a holographic projector on her wrist and shoved the video clip in his face.
"Look at yourself, one punch, just one punch! The gamma fluctuations were completely stable throughout, there was no transformation stress response, yet your cellular energy level was exactly the same as Hulk's —how did you do that?!"
Banner stared at the footage of himself punching Leviathan to pieces, and remained silent for two seconds.
"..."
"I discovered that Hulk and I are essentially the same person. Under the guidance of a wise man, we merged into one, resulting in the situation you see now."
Dr. Banner looked at the little girl in front of him and saw that her eyes were full of curiosity, so he patiently explained.
After Valeria other person offered an explanation, one question after another burst from her mouth, as if she didn't need a brain.
"Is your gamma stress threshold completely zero? Are your cell division patterns permanently locked in normal expression? How do your pituitary gamma receptors maintain steady-state peak power? And what about the neural conflicts after personality fusion... How did you eliminate the dissociation reaction?! And..."
"Stop! Stop! Where did you come from? And... that was magic, right? You're not Loki or Thor, so what's your purpose?"
Tony Stark stepped forward to stop Valeria, who was about to pry, and looked at Thor and the Classic Loki not far away.
Hawkeye Clint Barton instantly drew back his bowstring, aiming it at the Classic Loki. Captain America Steve also gripped his shield, watching the Classic Loki warily.
"Just as you think, Tony. We're from the multiverse and want to learn about your universe. Don't worry, your Natasha is fine."
Thor opened another portal, Iron Fist Danny emerged with Natasha from the Prime Universe had just been freed from her bonds.
" Natasha, are you alright?"
Hawkeye Clint stepped forward first, pulling Natasha from the Prime Universe behind him, his eyes still fixed on Thor and the Classic Loki.
"I'm fine, but I think I need to improve my bondage skills. This is the first time I've encountered a bondage method that I can't break free from."
Natasha from the Prime Universe moved her slightly numb limbs and said to Clint with a self-deprecating smile.
"Gathering intelligence? What do you need intelligence about our universe for? And why do you use this method?"
Tony wasn't completely at ease yet and continued to press for answers.
Thor's face immediately fell, and he began to speak in a serious tone:
"My universe, Asgard, was destroyed by Ragnarok, so I swear to end all Ragnarok. My brother and I are here together; we have come for this cause."
"Wait! You mean Ragnarok in Northern Europe mythology, is bound to happen in the multiverse?"
Tony Stark raised an eyebrow, having never heard of such a thing before. He remembered that the Thor they knew had never mentioned it.
"Yes, so I want to know what happened in your universe, and how you discovered that Natasha wasn't the Natasha from your universe?"
Thor abruptly changed the subject and asked this question.
Wanda sensed something was off about her. What was wrong?
"What?! Wanda and Pietro have joined you?!"
The Prime Universe's storyline has probably gone completely off track. Ultron hasn't even appeared yet, so how did Wanda and Pietro join the Avengers?
Before Tony could reply, Thor suddenly remembered something and asked, "Where is she? Someone asked me to help her control her powers."
"What do you want from me? And what do you know about what I'm in control of?"
Everyone turned around at the sound and saw a girl with brownish-yellow hair wearing a red jacket walk in, accompanied by a white-haired man in a tight-fitting suit.