"Director Fury, I hope you think carefully about your decision. You should know that thing is a terrifying monster. It's not something you can control."
Facing these nagging leaders, the one-eyed director wanted nothing more than to punch them. But he couldn't. These people were obsessed with control, wanting everything in their grasp to become a weapon. They were nothing but a bunch of hypocritical politicians, never caring about anyone else's opinion.
Good thing he didn't report that the Hulk had been defeated. Otherwise, who knows if they'd have tried to forcibly detain Liu A'dou. But Nick Fury understood—no organization could truly control Liu A'dou. That's why he kept that intel hidden. He didn't even want to imagine what would happen if Liu A'dou got angry enough to punch a hole through the planet.
"The Tesseract has been stolen. We need a team that can handle whatever danger might come next. We need a crisis response team," Fury said. "The Hulk's power is essential. And I trust Dr. Banner can keep the other guy under control."
"Let's hope so. But what if he can't?"
"I'll take full responsibility," the one-eyed director replied.
"Remember those words."
Once the call ended, Fury knew he was all-in this time. If it didn't work out, he'd be packing his bags. But he wasn't planning to fail. Worst case, he could still play the Liu A'dou card. With Ada Wong around, Liu A'dou wouldn't sit back and do nothing.
The job of tracking down the Hulk went to Black Widow. She would get it done.
Since the battle in Mexico, the Hulk had completely lost faith in S.H.I.E.L.D. and left the U.S., hiding in a Brazilian favela. He wanted nothing to do with anything exciting or chaotic. There, he became a barefoot doctor, treating residents in the slums.
"Doctor! Doctor! Please help my mom! She's dying!" A little girl rushed up the stairs, panicked.
Banner was writing a prescription for a cold. Two pills.
"Please, doctor!" The girl was nearly in tears.
From her clothes and skin tone, Banner could tell she was among the poorest of the poor, even in the slums. Her clothes were falling apart, and she didn't even own a proper pair of shoes—barefoot in summer.
"Let me grab my things." Banner packed up quickly and followed her toward the outskirts of town. Few people lived out there. If anyone did, they had absolutely nothing. Just wooden shacks barely standing. Banner thought, This is really sad. Not only won't I charge them, I'll probably have to give them money too.
The girl darted into a run-down shack and disappeared. As soon as Banner stepped inside, he knew he'd been tricked. There was no patient. The girl had been hired to lure him out.
Being used because of his kindness didn't feel good. Banner turned around and saw Black Widow. "Bringing me out here—smart move," he said, visibly annoyed.
Black Widow looked calm, but inside she was nervous as hell. She'd seen the Hulk tear through Manhattan in countless videos. One punch from him, and she was done for. But she had to stay cool to convince him. "Doctor, please don't be mad. I had no choice. I just want to talk. Just the two of us. I know you don't want to see anyone from S.H.I.E.L.D., so this was the only way."
"Just the two of us?" Banner didn't believe it.
"Do you know the Tesseract?" she asked, pulling out her phone and showing him a photo.
Before he was hit with gamma radiation, Banner had seen it once or twice. "It's a crystallized form of cosmic energy. Very dangerous."
"It's been taken."
"From you guys at S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Banner looked doubtful.
Black Widow nodded. "The one who took it isn't human. He's a god."
"...?"
"Loki. The trickster god from Norse mythology. He's the one who stole the Tesseract," she said. "We need your strength."
"Do you need me, or do you need the monster inside me?" Banner said coldly. "I've had enough of your S.H.I.E.L.D. games. The last time I lost control, it was because of you." He slammed both hands on the table. "Do you even know how hard I've worked to keep myself calm?!"
Banner's sudden outburst and raised voice made Black Widow instinctively draw her gun on him. Cold sweat ran down her back. She was scared to death. Against the Hulk, she wouldn't stand a chance.
After the last incident, they discovered someone had implanted an X-Gene tracker into the Hulk. S.H.I.E.L.D. had kept that from Banner. But he wasn't stupid—he had a feeling things weren't as simple as they seemed. Black Widow knew the truth, and that made her guilty. She was afraid Banner might learn everything and take revenge on S.H.I.E.L.D.
Both Fury and Black Widow knew the truth. It had been the work of a traitor inside S.H.I.E.L.D., but they still hadn't found the one responsible. Until then, Fury had to take the blame. Neither of them could dodge responsibility.
Outside, agents who heard the noise quickly surrounded the shack. Banner gave a mocking smile. "Just the two of us, huh?"
"Just in case," Black Widow admitted, still tense.
"Relax. He's quiet. I just wanted to test you," Banner said. He already knew S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't trust him.
Black Widow hesitated before lowering her weapon. "Sorry. I'll have the others stand down."
Banner said nothing.
"Doctor, the gamma radiation from the Tesseract is extremely faint. We can't detect it. But you're the world's leading expert on gamma rays. We really need your help. If we can locate the Tesseract, we won't need to wake the other guy. What we need is you," Black Widow said, her tone softening.
Banner really did know the most about gamma radiation. And he also understood the importance of the Tesseract. When he wasn't transformed, he was a kind man, not the type to turn people down.
"Can you guarantee you won't wake the monster?" Banner asked, starting to waver.
"I promise," Black Widow said. She didn't want to work with the monster either. Unless absolutely necessary, she'd never let the Hulk out.
"If you're not here to catch me or force me to transform, then I'll go with you. But only until we get the Tesseract," Banner said. "Once it's found, S.H.I.E.L.D. stays out of my life."
"Deal."
"You agreeing isn't enough. I need Fury's word."
"I'll contact the Director," Black Widow replied.
With Captain America and the Hulk on board, the last one left was Iron Man. Tony Stark was already a consultant for S.H.I.E.L.D., though he didn't care about anything outside of his gear. But he had Pepper, and she'd make sure he made the right choice.
Finally, the first assembly of the Avengers was about to come together.
Meanwhile, in Gotham City, Batman was watching everything in New York with cold eyes. He believed superheroes should stand above government. They should be guided by a higher moral code, not be lapdogs of the state. Once superheroes worked for the government, bias would follow. Government orders always served its own interests. That might align with the people's interests sometimes, but once the government went astray, superheroes without independence would become accomplices to tyranny, leading to disaster.
Batman didn't like the Avengers. But the government had already gathered them, and it was out of his hands. Still, he was starting to make a decision: there needed to be another group. One that could keep the Avengers in check—an independent counterbalance.
Over in Metropolis, Superman had also noticed what was happening in New York. Surprisingly, he didn't step in. This time, the whole operation had the government's fingerprints on it. And they had indeed formed the Avengers to deal with future threats. Since humanity had made preparations, Superman chose not to interfere. His belief had always been to guide—not interfere with—human progress. Helping in a crisis was enough.
So, the sharpest minds kept their eyes on New York. But for now, they were all just watching.