Malrick knew her.
Betty Ross, Bruce Banner's ex-girlfriend. A brilliant cell biologist and daughter of General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross.
Even though they'd broken up, Malrick could tell Banner still loved her deeply. Despite all that the Hulk was—rage, destruction, raw power—he had never hurt Betty. Quite the opposite. Even in his most volatile states, Banner would instinctively protect her.
The breakup had never been about feelings. It was about fear—Banner's fear of losing control, of hurting the woman he loved the most. Even something as simple as arousal could trigger a transformation. For someone like him, intimacy was a risk... a fatal one.
Malrick gently laid Banner into Betty's arms.
She immediately cradled him, her fingers brushing across his furrowed brow. Her touch softened him, even in unconsciousness.
A thought sparked in Malrick's mind—perhaps he could use magic to help Banner gain more control over the Hulk. Maybe even recruit him for the Kamar-Taj challenge reserve team.
Meanwhile, General Ross was pushing past the crowd, trailed by an Avengers agent who failed to stop him.
"Betty!" Ross called out, but his eyes locked onto Banner instead of his daughter. His priorities were crystal clear—and completely misplaced.
Just as expected.
When he reached the group, Ross turned to Tony.
"Stark. Banner is government property. Appreciate the assist, but he belongs to the Military."
"No way!" Betty snapped, her voice rising. "Bruce isn't property—he's a person! He belongs to no one!"
Ross sighed, shaking his head. "Betty, you don't understand how any of this works."
Tony crossed his arms. "Actually, I think she understands it perfectly."
He gestured around. "Take a look, General. This destruction? That's your 'property' in action. I hope you're ready to explain all this to Congress."
Ross narrowed his eyes. "You helped cause this mess!"
"That was combat protocol. Controlled engagement," Tony replied, flipping out a badge. "And as of this moment, Banner and Abomination are under the custody of the Avengers, sanctioned by the World Security Council."
Then he stepped aside, nodding toward Malrick.
"Oh, and by the way—if you've got a problem with that, maybe you should ask him."
General Ross finally noticed Malrick standing nearby in his sleek, black uniform. The blood drained from Ross's face.
"Su... Superman?"
Malrick offered a polite nod. "I agree with Mr. Stark. Both Hulk and Abomination are global concerns. They should be monitored by a neutral, international force. Don't you agree, General?"
Ross swallowed hard. "Y-Yes, you're absolutely right. The Avengers are the appropriate authority."
He bowed slightly to Malrick, clearly suppressing his frustration. A few months ago, Ross had seen Malrick as a threat—an unknown variable with unimaginable power. Now, facing him directly, even with his warm smile, Ross felt nothing but dread.
Superman wasn't just a symbol. He was real, and he was standing right in front of him.
Outmatched and overruled, Ross turned without another word and walked back to the convoy, his figure stiff with frustration and failure.
Malrick watched him go, murmuring, "Ross has political instincts. In another universe, he'd probably run for President."
In fact, he had.
But this was a different timeline. A different set of rules.
"So," Malrick said, turning to Yelena, "anything else I should know about? Maybe something ridiculous… like a movie?"
Yelena gave an awkward chuckle. "Uh, Boss… maybe we can talk about that back at HQ? We've still got cleanup here."
---
Over the past month, Tony had done more than just test new suits. He'd rebuilt S.H.I.E.L.D. under a new name—the Avengers.
He brought in former agents from the disbanded organization and added some fresh blood.
Yinsen, who had survived Afghanistan with Tony, was now head of medical logistics and research.
Happy Hogan took a field agent position, and a few Men in Black—Agents K and M—were temporarily reassigned from Malrick's own team to fill out the Avengers' ranks.
At the time, Tony had no one he could fully trust.
So, borrowing from his brother made sense.
A few days earlier, during a joint training exercise, several of Malrick's agents had absolutely wiped the floor with Hawkeye.
The poor guy nearly reevaluated his entire existence.
He couldn't understand how these unknown agents broke his bones with a single palm strike or caught his explosive arrows mid-flight like they were nothing.
Back at the Avengers headquarters in New York, Malrick caught wind of the movie Tony had "strategically approved."
"So let me get this straight," Malrick began, "you got an email saying I was in another world… and your first move was to convince Yelena to make a movie?"
Tony raised his chin. "Not 'convince'—strategize. It was a brilliant move."
"Iron Man and Superman: Origins" had already smashed the box office. And yes, Malrick's company got a massive share of the profits.
"You mean the one where Superman freezes mid-flight and almost dies, only for Iron Man to swoop in and save the day?" Malrick asked, dryly.
"It's based on a real event," Tony insisted.
Malrick blinked. "You sure about that?"
Tony shrugged. "Look, the characters might be loosely inspired, but the premise is sound."
"And the ending? The whole alien world crisis and Iron Man saving the multiverse while Superman fumbles his way through it?"
"That part was adapted from that zombie world incident. Creative liberty."
Malrick shook his head. "You call that adaptation? It's borderline fanfiction."
"If it is, then it's profitable fanfiction."
Malrick muttered something under his breath about wanting to knock on Yelena's head next time he saw her.
They reached the top-floor office. Tony opened the door, and a holographic display lit up. Jarvis's voice filled the room.
"Welcome back, Young Master Malrick."
Malrick smiled. "Long time, Jarvis. Still babysitting the old man, I see."
"It is my primary function, sir," Jarvis replied.
Tony frowned. "Hold on. That last part—what did you just call me?"
Jarvis responded plainly, "You are the primary subject I accompany daily, sir."
Malrick laughed. "He's got a point. You're officially the most supervised billionaire on Earth."
"And speaking of upgrades," Malrick said, pulling a metallic box from his coat, "I brought a little something for Jarvis."
It was the gift, a mysterious evolution key capable of birthing true sentient AI.
---
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