Henry looked at the two men before him, a smile spreading across his face.
"Why are you two just standing there? Don't be so stiff," he said lazily, gesturing toward the living room sofa.
"Sit. Don't be strangers, treat this like your own home. Of course, if you dare to break my sofa, I'll deduct the repair bill from your future salary."
Banner and Blonsky exchanged glances, seeing both helplessness and—well, resignation in each other's eyes.
They silently stood up, carefully bypassed the carpet, and sat down on the sofa, which looked more expensive than all the beds they had ever slept on combined.
Banner looked uneasy, sitting ramrod straight with his hands on his knees.
He gazed around the outrageously luxurious villa's living room, feeling like a mortal who had stumbled into a temple.
"This sounds crazy," he said to the Stark brothers, his voice still tinged with disbelief.
"The world's richest man, and... you, a super-powered individual with unimaginable strength. How exactly did you do it? Is it thanks to that suit of Armor?"
Blonsky, standing beside him, was clearly calmer than Banner, his eyes fixed intently on Henry.
"I saw it on the news while I was on the run. Tony Stark was wearing it," Banner added.
Henry didn't answer. He walked to the bar, grabbed two clean glasses, poured red wine for both of them, and then pushed the glasses onto the table in front of them.
"It's simple," he leaned against the bar, crossing one leg over the other.
Then, he explained it casually, as if it were no big deal, throwing in a jab at Banner.
"Genetic technology. Just a little tweaking, modifying the DNA sequence, and it can be done. What, you can't do it? I thought a guy who could transform into a giant green muscle-man would at least have a Ph.D. in biology."
Banner was momentarily speechless, his mouth open, unsure how to retort.
"Pfft…" Tony couldn't help but laugh out loud, ruthlessly exposing Henry's lie.
"Oh, come on, 'genetic technology'? Dr. Banner, don't listen to this guy's nonsense. He's just a lucky bastard. The only reason he is the way he is now is because he had a run of bad luck a while ago. He was captured by a villain organization with terrible taste called Hydra and forcibly injected with a bunch of serums that looked like low-quality cocktails, and then accidentally won the grand prize."
"Shut up!" Henry rolled his eyes.
"At least I won the grand prize. Unlike some guy who almost poisoned himself to death with his own experiment and had to be saved by his little brother. Seriously, Tony, shouldn't that so-called genius brain of yours get a CT scan? I suspect it's growing a tumor instead of wisdom."
He ignored the furious Tony, turning to Banner and Blonsky, his smile becoming meaningful.
"Alright, what the truth is, actually isn't important," he said.
"What's important is that you now have two choices. Listen, I'm only going to say this once. Do you want to join my team?"
"I will establish an independent and absolutely secure base for you. It will include everything you need for daily life: food, clothing, shelter, entertainment facilities, and even a top-tier laboratory. Furthermore, I can help you resolve those pesky identity issues, allowing you to walk in the sunlight like a normal person, instead of the way you are now—one a rat pursued by everyone, the other like a mad dog on a leash."
"Exactly," Tony added.
"At least the food here is ten thousand times better than General Ross's old-fashioned military mess hall. And the girls here are a lot hotter than his female soldiers."
"Wait a minute!"
Pepper, who had been sitting by the side feeling like an outsider, finally couldn't help but interrupt.
She looked at Henry in shock, confused, "You're going to build a base too? What for? Is this another one of your outlandish projects? The company budget doesn't cover this!"
Banner and Blonsky also looked at Henry, their eyes puzzled.
They couldn't figure out what this powerful man was planning.
"Are you trying to create a freak club?" Tony looked at Henry suspiciously, teasing.
"Gathering all the monsters in the world together and throwing parties every day? I have to say, that idea sounds pretty cool."
"You don't know anything," Henry shot back mercilessly.
"Does that brain of yours, soaked in alcohol, only have room for parties? I'm talking about a superhero team."
He ignored the stunned Tony and Pepper, refocusing his attention on Banner and Blonsky.
"Of course, you don't need to know exactly what this team does for now," his voice became calm.
"You only need to consider one question right now. Choose to join, or choose not to join. If you choose not to join, you can leave now. The door is over there, and I won't see you out. Of course, after you leave, whether you continue to be chased all over the world by that old man Ross, or whether you're captured by S.H.I.E.L.D. for slice-and-dice research, that's no longer my concern."
Having said that, he leaned back on the sofa, picked up his wine glass, and drank leisurely.
It was as if the words he had just spoken, which could change the fate of two men, were merely a discussion about a trivial matter.
"Honestly, Tony, this bottle of wine is the wrong vintage. An aged Lafite shouldn't taste like this."
"What do you know! It's called complexity!"
Silence fell over the living room.
Only the private bickering of the Stark brothers continued.
Banner and Blonsky exchanged glances, seeing seriousness in each other's eyes.
They both frowned, lost in difficult contemplation.
Banner thought of his girlfriend, Betty.
He wondered how she was, whether she was still worried about him.
He thought of his years on the run—the endless hiding and the life lived out of the sunlight—he was truly fed up with it.
He looked back at Henry.
Before today, his impression of this man was just a Playboy synonymous with gossip news, much like Tony Stark.
Now, he had become a strong man who could easily defeat the Hulk.
This was simply unheard of, unprecedented.
But he was right.
If he didn't join them, walking out now would still mean endless flight.
He would forever lose his freedom, forever live in fear and solitude.
Perhaps, joining them really would lead to a better life?
Blonsky was also looking at Henry and Tony, battling his own inner conflict.
He was a soldier; following orders was his duty.
But now, he had been treated by General Ross as a failed experiment, a nuisance to be quickly disassociated with.
He knew that if he continued with Ross, his only fate would be to be locked up in a secret laboratory.
He would be studied repeatedly by countless scientists like a lab rat until he lost all use.
The current choice truly seemed to be limited to joining them.
Thinking this, Blonsky looked at Banner.
And Banner also raised his head, looking at Henry.
Finally, Banner spoke first.
×××××××××××××××
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