The moment the plane touched down, the spoilers instantly opened, and the furiously speeding plane visibly slowed down.
The cabin door opened.
Natasha Romanoff, a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent wearing a form-fitting combat suit that accentuated her curves, was waiting at the private airport, leaning against a sky-blue sports car.
She saw the person emerging from the cabin door, carrying a duffel bag, and immediately smiled, walking towards him.
"Bruce."
"Natasha."
Bruce Banner, who had just disembarked from the plane, and Natasha, who came to meet him, embraced like friends.
The Avengers, having gone through the Battle of New York, were now truly friends.
"Tony is missing?"
"Yes."
After Natasha got into the car and drove out of the airport, she said to Bruce Banner, who was in the passenger seat, "Latest intel, not just Tony, Pepper Potts is also missing."
Bruce gasped.
"Mandarin?"
"Based on the current clues, yes."
Natasha shook her head, "But S.H.I.E.L.D. has differing opinions on whether it's truly the Mandarin."
Bruce frowned, then became a little curious.
"Where are the others? Where's Steve?"
"He went to Britain.
You know, Ms. Carter is in London."
"Thor? Didn't he say he was going to find Jane?"
"He hasn't returned yet."
"Hawkeye?"
"He's on a mission in Europe and can't break away right now."
"..."
Good heavens.
So, I'm the only one free, huh?
Bruce Banner thought to himself as he listened to the movements of the other Avengers, then a wry smile appeared on his face as he looked at Natasha: "But I promised Betty.
You know, this is my last chance to win Betty back."
After his voluntary transformation during the Battle of New York, he seemed to have found the key to transforming into the Hulk.
Simply put, after the Battle of New York, he seemed to have found a balance point between himself and the Hulk.
As long as he maintained this balance, he could control the rhythm of his transformation very well.
Of course, he could control himself before transforming, but after transforming, he still couldn't control it.
The Hulk was too fierce.
But that wasn't important; what was important was that after Bruce discovered he could seemingly control it, he tried to win back the heart of his ex-girlfriend, Betty.
Also, because of the Battle of New York, he had done a great job of maintaining Earth's peace, so the President had pardoned all his crimes, and because he had joined S.H.I.E.L.D. with the Five Great Benefactors as endorsement, this was why he dared to contact Betty and wasn't afraid of his terrifying ex-father-in-law capturing him for experiments.
This Christmas holiday was an important occasion for him and Betty to mend their relationship.
Natasha looked at the wryly smiling Bruce and quickly said, "We detected some unknown energy at the combat scene.
You're an expert in the energy field, and this won't take much of your time.
We've already roughly located Tony."
Bruce's eyes lit up at the news.
"Where?"
"Rose Hill, Tennessee."
"Tenne..."
Bruce paused slightly, looking at Natasha: "Then why don't we just go straight to Tennessee?"
Natasha chuckled, pointing to the duffel bag on Bruce's lap: "I thought you might have brought gifts, and you'd probably want to put them in your and Betty's vacation cabin first.
After all, if they got damaged or lost during the flight, you'd probably be in a very bad mood."
This reason...
Bruce Banner thought about it, nodded, and looked at Natasha: "That's a very good reason.
So we go to Calver first to put things away, and then to Tennessee?"
Natasha nodded.
"Yes, how's this arrangement?"
"It's good, perfect, thank you."
"You're welcome."
Natasha said with a smile.
The distance from the private airport to the Calver Lake cabin that Bruce and Betty had booked was only about thirty kilometers.
As everyone knew, Natasha's driving skills were excellent, and it was a sports car, so the thirty-kilometer drive only took a short while.
Following the sports car's engine shutting off, two door-opening sounds echoed, one after the other.
Natasha, who had stepped out of the driver's door, took off her glasses and looked around at the surroundings, nestled by mountains and Water, especially the shimmering Calver Lake under the afternoon sun.
She couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
"The scenery here is beautiful.
Did you find it, or did Betty find it?"
"Betty."
Bruce, carrying his duffel bag from the passenger seat, gave a shy smile: "I know a lot of good places in Balat, but Betty doesn't want to go to Balat, and Betty doesn't have a very good impression of Balat."
Heh heh.
It wasn't just Betty; to be precise, no woman would have a good impression of Balat.
After all...
That was a magical country where even lizards had to cover their behinds to dare to go.
Natasha thought to herself, but didn't continue on that topic.
Instead, she said to Bruce, "I'll wait for you outside."
Bruce nodded, said nothing more, and walked towards the nearby vacation cabin with his duffel bag, ready to put his luggage away first.
Natasha, after seeing Bruce enter the cabin by typing in the password, prepared to return to the car to wait for Bruce to finish putting away his luggage, then head to the airport and then to Tennessee to find their comrade, Iron Man Tony Stark.
However...
Just as Natasha was about to get into the car, a quick glance caught her attention: a young man was walking towards them from not far away.
It seemed he was coming for them.
The person who arrived was Hawkeye.
He had promised to bring Gwen over, but he hadn't promised to bring Gwen to the scene itself, so he left Gwen in a safe place where she could see everything, and then came alone.
Hawkeye had originally thought Bruce Banner was coming alone.
He never expected...
Black Widow was here too.
Hawkeye thought to himself as he looked at Natasha's gaze on him, then approached Natasha.
Natasha frowned as she watched Hawkeye approach.
"You are..."
"I'm looking for Bruce Banner."
"..."
Natasha's eyes narrowed: "Who are you, and how do you know Bruce Banner is here?"
As Natasha spoke, she had already warily placed her right hand on her waist.
Hawkeye glanced at Natasha, who had taken a cautious stance, but didn't pay it any mind.
Because Bruce Banner had already put his things away and was walking out of the house.
Bruce looked at Natasha, who was on high alert with her right hand on her waist, and the young man standing in front of Natasha with a slight smile on his face, and was momentarily stunned.
Hawkeye, on the other hand, looked at Bruce Banner who had walked out, and the smile on his face grew even wider.
"Bruce Banner?"
"I am.
Who are you...?"
"Hawkeye!"
"Anya's brother!"
"..."
It will be available tomorrow, and I'll post the release statement later!
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