Helen worked diligently to treat Barton's injuries. The wound looked terrifying on the surface, but fortunately it hadn't damaged any vital organs. Using the Regeneration Cradle's advanced printing technology, the healing process could be completed quickly and efficiently.
Banner watched the procedure with fascination, studying every detail of the revolutionary medical technology.
Natasha asked with genuine concern, "He's going to be okay, right?"
"His condition won't deteriorate any further," Helen replied confidently, holding her tablet while explaining with a light laugh. "The nanomolecules will work instantly, and the cells in his body will slowly establish virtual connections to repair the damage."
Banner marveled at the process unfolding before him. "She's actually generating new skin tissue from scratch."
Helen couldn't hide her professional pride. "If you had brought him to my main laboratory, the Regeneration Cradle could work even faster. Just twenty minutes for complete healing."
This revelation made Banner even more intrigued by the groundbreaking technology.
He stared intently at the machine's precise operations, watching cellular regeneration happen in real time.
Tony strolled in casually with a drink in hand, and hearing Helen's confident boasting, said with typical bluntness, "His heart rate went completely flat earlier."
Helen rolled her eyes at him with practiced exasperation.
"No, no, no, I'll never die," Barton laughed weakly from the medical table. "I'll just become a plastic man instead."
"You won't change at all, Mr. Barton," Helen assured him professionally. "Even your girlfriend won't notice any difference when this is finished."
Barton accepted the drink Tony offered him with a rueful smile. "Too bad I don't actually have a girlfriend to notice."
Helen couldn't help him with that particular problem.
But Helen didn't forget her chance for revenge against Tony's earlier comment. She said pointedly, "This represents new technology, Tony. Your old-fashioned metal armor designs are going to become completely obsolete."
Tony glanced briefly at the nanotechnology display, his brilliant mind already rapidly constructing plans for the next suit generation, but he replied dismissively, "Yeah, I've already added it to my research list."
"I hope you can attend Saturday's party, Doctor."
"Unlike you, I don't have time for social gatherings," Helen replied. After saying this, her tone became much quieter and more hesitant. "Is Thor planning to attend?"
"I don't remember Tarasov Industries being quite so demanding of your time," Tony teased with obvious amusement. "Thor definitely loves parties."
Helen was genuinely tempted by the possibility. After all, who wouldn't want to meet an actual Asgardian prince in person? Well, except for that particular prince named Loki, of course.
Tony took Banner away from the medical area, preparing to recruit him for a special project that required his unique expertise.
Natasha picked up a drink and took a thoughtful sip. She looked directly at Helen and asked, "Why were you willing to join Tarasov Industries in the first place?"
"Because he was willing to provide me with unlimited research funding," Helen answered honestly, looking back at Natasha. "I know who you are. His first assistant and trusted confidante."
"It's an honor to finally meet you," Natasha raised an eyebrow with interest. "It's unfortunate we haven't had the opportunity to meet before now."
"He's no longer actively managing day-to-day operations at Tarasov Industries."
"Mr. Wick continues to place his complete trust in me," Helen said, setting down her tablet carefully. "I consider myself extremely lucky to have joined Tarasov Industries when I did."
"Even luckier to have actually met John personally," Helen continued thoughtfully. "He trusts you tremendously, but you'd rather stay here with the Avengers instead. Is it because of honor?"
The pointed question made Natasha's eyes darken slightly with complex emotions. "No, it's about responsibility."
"Responsibility?" Helen smiled with deliberate ambiguity, as if she understood something Natasha hadn't fully admitted to herself.
The intense conversation between Helen and Natasha left poor Barton, still lying helplessly on the medical table, completely unable to participate or escape.
It had to be acknowledged that it was usually better for men to stay completely out of women's complicated affairs.
Barton tried desperately to lower his presence, hoping desperately not to be noticed or dragged into their discussion.
Meanwhile, Tony had already begun proposing the ambitious Ultron project to Banner in private. Just like the Veronica system, he desperately needed Banner's scientific expertise and cooperation.
To convince his reluctant colleague, Tony showed Banner exactly what existed within the mysterious Mind Scepter. The artifact projected energy patterns that resembled a complex brain structure.
Even JARVIS seemed primitive and small compared to this incredible 'brain' display. The neural network constantly released neuron-like fluctuations that defied conventional understanding.
Tony speculated that Baron Strucker had successfully conducted advanced human experiments and possessed super-sophisticated robots precisely because he had studied the Mind Scepter extensively.
Unfortunately, all of Strucker's research data had been destroyed during their raid, but Tony's genius intellect had still managed to figure out the basic principles.
At this crucial moment, Tony revealed his true intentions behind this collaboration.
"This represents an unprecedented opportunity," Tony's eyes burned with fervent determination. "Maybe the key to finally developing Ultron successfully, Bruce."
Banner was familiar with the Ultron concept. He smiled skeptically, not wanting to believe such an ambitious project was actually possible. "I thought Ultron was just a theoretical fantasy."
"It was, until yesterday's discovery. Suppose we successfully harness this energy and apply it directly to my Iron Legion program," Tony pressed forward without backing down.
"That's an absolutely god-defying assumption," Banner remained pessimistic about their chances.
"We live for ambitious assumptions, Bruce. Assume you're lying peacefully in the sun drinking tropical cocktails, your body turning a healthy brown instead of that problematic green."
Tony refused to give up, constantly trying new approaches to convince Banner of the project's importance.
He desperately needed a scientific ally, and Banner represented the best possible choice for this endeavor.
The scepter only gave them a few precious days before Thor would take it away to Asgard. The recurring nightmare continued haunting Tony's mind relentlessly. He absolutely couldn't give up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Finally, Banner was convinced by Tony's passionate arguments. They began studying intensively through every night until Saturday arrived.
Saturday Evening
Avengers Tower hosted an elegant party. The Avengers had invited their closest friends and important contacts.
Without question, Tony had invited the most people, as expected. Those influential socialites absolutely loved the Avengers' existence and wouldn't miss any chance to mingle with genuine superheroes.
Tony and Banner temporarily set aside their exhausting research fatigue to enjoy the social gathering.
Rhodes and Sam had also received personal invitations to attend.
Helen changed into a beautiful evening dress and decided to attend after all. She spotted Thor immediately upon arrival. This was the first time she'd seen the God of Thunder so close in person.
Her heart raced with genuine excitement.
She approached Thor confidently and smiled. "Hi, I'm Helen."
Thor, who had been drinking casually with Steve, heard the voice and turned around politely. "I'm Thor."
"I know who you are, of course I know," Helen said, looking at that ruggedly handsome face. Her gaze involuntarily drifted toward the impressive chest muscles visible beneath his clothes.
Her face gradually reddened with embarrassment. Helen cleared her throat and looked away quickly. "I work at Tarasov Industries."
"Tarasov Industries?" Thor's face lit up with genuine delight. "That's wonderful! I know John personally. He's also connected to Tarasov Industries."
"Yes, he's my boss and the owner."
The two had found perfect common ground for conversation.
Meanwhile, Far Across the Ocean
John sneezed unexpectedly. He rubbed his nose, wondering who might be discussing him at this moment.
Three ancient magic books closed simultaneously with soft thuds. His right hand was covered in gleaming silver, with four empty gemstone spaces visible on the back of his mystical gauntlet.
John raised his hand with practiced authority, summoning the scattered gems back to him. All four flew through the air and settled perfectly into their designated positions.
The gauntlet blazed with layers of magnificent light as power coursed through it. The Silver Hand clenched into a determined fist, and the legendary Rainbow Bridge descended dramatically from the heavens.
It transported John away from the peaceful campus, leaving behind only a distinctive scorch mark decorated with mystical runes burned into the lawn.
He crossed dimensional boundaries effortlessly and materialized in San Francisco. A bewildered young night jogger stared in complete shock at John's supernatural arrival in the public park.
John brushed off non-existent dust from his clothes and said casually to the stunned young man, "Early to bed and early to rise makes one healthy and wise."
The jogger nodded blankly, watching in amazement as John walked away as if nothing unusual had happened.
Walking calmly to the street to hail a taxi, John gave the driver a specific address. He calculated mentally while riding: "The Rainbow Bridge's targeting system is still somewhat imprecise. Definitely needs improvement."
Upon reaching his destination, John handed the driver several bills and looked up at the familiar company he'd visited before.
Pym Technologies.
CEO Darren Cross personally came outside to greet him with obvious excitement.
"You should have told me you were taking a taxi," Darren said warmly, shaking John's hand enthusiastically before whispering conspiratorially, "There's something absolutely extraordinary I must show you immediately."
With that urgent declaration, he led John quickly into the company building.
Since it was evening, most employees had already left for the day, except for essential laboratory personnel working late shifts.
"This is Miss Hope," Darren introduced formally. "I believe Mr. Wick has encountered her before during previous visits."
Hope felt deeply uneasy about Darren suddenly requiring people to work mandatory overtime. This wasn't some culture where 'voluntary' overtime was an accepted tradition.
Today Darren had suddenly designated specific people to stay late, all carefully selected from the most sensitive laboratory departments.
Additionally, during this recent period, Darren seemed to have experienced multiple scientific breakthroughs in successfully replicating Hank Pym's shrinking technology.
Hope maintained her composed exterior but began worrying intensely about the implications.
The Pym Particle formula that had originally completely stumped Darren had achieved another major breakthrough thanks to John's mysteriously provided formula.
This special invitation to John was specifically to witness his live shrinking experiment.
Standing together on the second-floor observation deck, John and Darren stood side by side, with Hope positioned behind them, her unease growing exponentially stronger.
The laboratory personnel below were making final adjustments to complex machinery. When everything was perfectly calibrated, they brought out a live sheep and carefully placed it on the experimental device.
Darren pressed the activation switch. The machine shot brilliant yellow light directly onto the helpless sheep.
The sheep's body rapidly shrank, finally becoming a tiny miniature version of itself.
"We succeeded!" Darren exclaimed with unbridled excitement.
John raised an eyebrow and said calmly, "Half succeeded."
"What?" Darren had barely asked the question when he noticed the researchers below shaking their heads with obvious disappointment.
Darren couldn't believe what he was seeing. He quickly rushed downstairs and carefully took the container holding the shrunken sheep.
The tiny sheep inside was completely motionless, having obviously lost its life during the shrinking process.
Darren felt crushing frustration, while Hope's expression grew increasingly grave. She hadn't expected them to have progressed this far toward actual working shrinking technology.
John walked over casually and picked up the deceased sheep, saying thoughtfully, "It's still significant progress toward your goal."
Darren sighed heavily with disappointment. "Thanks for trying to comfort me."
John produced a mysterious vial of blood and said with deliberate intrigue, "Interested in studying something completely different and potentially revolutionary?"
Darren stared at the vial of blood with growing curiosity. His scientific intuition told him that anything this particular person brought must be absolutely extraordinary.
John smiled with mysterious confidence.
After witnessing this disturbing experiment, Hope dialed a phone number she hadn't contacted in a very long time.
Hank Pym.