"Is that... Superman? Oh right, Clark made himself a Superman suit just to look the part."
"Though it's not a mainstream design, it actually looks pretty good."
Looking at Clark in his tight-fitting suit, Tony couldn't help but think he was becoming increasingly influenced—infected, even—by Superman's presence.
"Whatever. JARVIS, bring them to me. I don't know what this little Superman is doing showing up this late, and bringing a naked man, no less."
Tony didn't expect Clark to show up here, and certainly not with someone else in tow.
As for Clark, it was only after landing that he realized something—he didn't have Tony's contact info. Fortunately, he noticed Tony was already aware of his presence, so he just stood there on the rooftop, waiting with the unconscious Banner.
**"Hey, Mr. Superman, what brings you to my house this late at night? And, uh… what do I even call this?"
"Don't tell me you came here to throw a naked party."**
Not long after, Tony appeared on the rooftop and addressed Clark.
"Bruce Banner. I think you know who he is."
Clark gave a simple introduction.
"Bruce Banner? That name sounds familiar."
Tony took another look at Banner, and then it clicked. He'd heard about him somewhere—though he'd been so wrapped up in his lab lately, he hadn't been following the news.
"The Hulk?" Tony muttered, confused. From what he remembered, Banner was supposed to be on the run, evading General Ross's global manhunt. How did he end up with Clark?
"Yes. That's him."
Clark nodded to confirm Tony's suspicion.
"The military's been trying to catch this guy forever. How'd you get your hands on him?"
"Kind of by coincidence. I don't even know what to do with him yet. What's in his body is extremely dangerous—if someone were to capture and experiment on him, who knows what could happen."
"Like today—I had to fight a monster that was created and modified using his blood."
"So to avoid him falling into the wrong hands and causing a disaster, I figured he needed a place where no one would bother him."
Clark said this while eyeing Tony.
"What happened today, exactly? JARVIS?"
Curious about what Clark meant by "monster," Tony asked JARVIS for info. But before JARVIS could respond, Clark locked eyes with him.
Tony frowned.
"Why are you looking at me like that? I don't swing that way, alright?"
Right then, JARVIS brought up a video—someone had recorded the New York brawl between Hulk, Abomination, and Superman and uploaded it to YouTube.
"Who's the yellow one? So ugly."
"Blonsky. One of Ross's men."
As Clark spoke, the ever-efficient JARVIS pulled up Blonsky's intel for Tony.
Looking at the data, Tony frowned in disgust.
"I told Ross long ago that super soldiers weren't reliable. These bio-enhanced types are just unstable. Only machines don't betray you."
"But Ross doesn't see it that way. He thinks only super soldiers can give him real security. That's why I brought Banner to you—his DNA is just too dangerous."
"And that yellow monster back in New York? I estimate its strength is over 20 tons. While it's nothing I can't handle, if more of those things show up, there aren't many people besides me who can stop them."
Clark shrugged and once again casually praised himself.
"Ha! If he's that dangerous, how could you risk bringing him here? What if he transforms?"
Tony didn't agree with Clark. He didn't believe his Iron Man armor would lose—but more importantly, he didn't want a strange man living in his house.
"He usually doesn't transform unless provoked. Otherwise, he wouldn't have escaped Ross and gone into hiding all over the world. Basically, once Banner learned emotional control, he stopped getting angry—and has a better temper than most people."
"Also, you're probably already feeling it—the thing in your chest is killing you."
Clark explained how Banner's transformations worked. But knowing Tony wouldn't be swayed by just that, he pulled out his trump card: Tony's palladium poisoning. He was sure Tony would take the bait.
After all, being Iron Man had given Tony a sense of purpose. He'd rather suffer the deadly effects of palladium poisoning than give up being Iron Man by undergoing surgery to remove the shrapnel.
But Clark wouldn't just hand over the big reveal—that Tony's father left behind something that could save him.
"How do you know that? I've never told anyone about this."
"Superman sees all—you didn't know that?" Clark pointed to the arc reactor on Tony's chest. "That thing is pumping a lot of bad stuff into your body."
"So keeping him around might help. Don't forget—he's a nuclear physicist. Exactly the kind of brain you need right now."
Clark's words reminded Tony: Banner wasn't just a brute—he was a renowned nuclear physicist, famous enough that his photo could be hung in classrooms. And his transformations were radiation-related too.
That got Tony thinking. Maybe having Banner around wasn't such a bad idea. As for the threat of the Hulk, Tony believed his tech could handle it.
"Fine. The naked guy can stay with me for now."
After thinking it through, Tony stopped resisting. He really did need someone smart enough to keep up with him—and with a solid background in physics.
"Great. Since that's settled, I'll be heading back."
Now that Tony had agreed, Clark was ready to leave. It was late, and if he didn't get home soon, his parents might start worrying.
"You really should move out and get your own place. Otherwise, everything's inconvenient—except the rent. Hey, how about borrowing money from our rich friend here?"
With that thought, the shameless side of Clark kicked in. He hesitated only briefly before deciding to ask Tony for a loan. As for paying it back—well, if he saved Tony's life a few times in the future, they'd be even.
"So, Tony, since I've helped you so much—found someone who might save your life, pissed off Ross on your behalf—and I'm about to buy a house, but funds are… tight… do you think you could sponsor me a bit?"
Tony stared at Clark like he was a stranger.
"Are you kidding me? Did I ask you to find this guy? Did I ask you to piss off Ross? And how is you buying a house my problem? Are we that close?"
Tony felt like he was meeting a whole new Clark—one with zero restraint. So this was the real Superman?
"I'm planning to move out. Just started working, so I haven't saved much. If I rent, there's risk—what if something happens and I get blamed? But I can't afford to buy a place right now."
"So if I move out, I'd be homeless. If you don't want to sponsor me, how about I move in with you? I'm fast—I can fly to New York every morning and back every night. What do you think?"
Seeing Clark abandon all shame, Tony felt a headache coming on.
"Fine! Whatever. I've got a few villas in New York—pick one."
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