XElenea
patreon
Ch. 248 Natasha's De-Brainwashing
🕑 Added 2024-01-03 16:05:01 +0000 UTCAlthough he and Tony couldn't be considered good friends, Russell was quite satisfied with Tony now.
Especially after Tony had called him yesterday.
Since they had met, Tony had brought him a lot of benefits, so he certainly wouldn't stand by and watch Johnny belittle Tony.
In his view, Tony was much more reliable than Johnny.
What's more, Johnny always had inappropriate thoughts about his women.
Last time, Johnny'starget was Kara, and this time, Johnny's target had become Diana.
If this guy hadn't been relatively restrained, he wouldn't have gone too far.
Otherwise, even if Johnny was a member of the Fantastic Four, Russell would have made him understand that stealing someone else's girlfriend is unethical.
After hearing Russell's rebuttal, Johnny grunted dissatisfiedly again and turned his gaze elsewhere.
Seeing Russell and Johnny's actions, Mr. Fantastic Reed and the Invisible Woman Susan sighed helplessly.
The antagonism between people of the same sex was vividly displayed by Russell and Johnny.
"I received some information earlier. It's said that Stark has been developing a high-tech combat suit."
Mr. Fantastic Reed said slowly.
"It's not just hearsay; he has already successfully developed it, and its performance is not bad," Russell added.
"Even the most high-tech suit can still malfunction at some point," Johnny interjected, unable to resist.
Moreover, he deliberately extended the index finger of his right hand, causing a cluster of orange flames to appear at his fingertip, displaying his own superpower.
Although Johnny was not young anymore, sometimes he was not as mature as Peter, who was still a minor.
Of course, Russell could be like that sometimes too.
For example, right now.
"Even the most high-tech suit can still malfunction, and one's superpowers may also fail," Russell calmly stated.
"You..." Although Russell used the term "someone," everyone present knew he was referring to Johnny.
Ordinary people might not know how Johnny generated his flames, but those present were either Johnny's companions or S.H.I.E.L.D. agents like Natasha and Coulson.
While Diana and Hulk didn't know much about Johnny, they could tell that his flames were just ordinary flames.
"Well, let's not talk about Stark for now."
"Nick Fury gathered everyone here, but he's late himself; that's a bit unacceptable," Mr. Fantastic Reed looked at Coulson, Captain America, and the others and said slowly.
"The director will be here shortly; please be patient," Coulson quickly replied.
Although he said that, it wasn't until more than ten minutes later that Nick Fury, the one-eyed man in a black trench coat, finally arrived on the bridge.
"I'm sorry, everyone, for keeping you waiting," Nick Fury said to the crowd.
After speaking, Nick Fury scanned the crowd.
Finally, his gaze settled on Diana.
Although Diana was dressed casually, like a Victoria's Secret model shopping on a day off, Nick Fury couldn't help but furrow his brow.
Diana was wearing battle armor, with a sword and shield, looking like a mythical warrior, and the image of her nearly wiping out the elite S.H.I.E.L.D. team was still fresh in Nick Fury's mind.
Although Diana had been keeping a low profile for the past few years and rarely used her superhuman abilities, he couldn't forget the scene where Diana had wreaked havoc.
After calming his complex emotions, Nick Fury spoke again, "I believe you all know what happened at the Dark Energy Task Base the night before last. I won't waste your time by repeating it."
"Although there are only three targets, their strength should not be underestimated. Do any of you have any ideas?"
After speaking, Nick Fury sat down and used his remaining right eye to survey Russell, Mr. Fantastic Reed, and the others.
"I've seen the reports you provided. The gamma signals emitted by the Cosmic Cube are too weak, and you don't have the capability to track and locate them."
"Set up a laboratory for me, and I might be able to design a tracking algorithm to help you with the tracking and location," Mr. Fantastic Reed quickly said.
Although he hadn't studied gamma rays much before, for a top scientist like him who understood almost everything, a crash course would be enough to quickly grasp an unfamiliar field.
While he might not become a top expert in that field overnight, he wouldn't be weaker than an average expert.
"We have plenty of laboratories on the mothership, and we can provide you with all the equipment you need," Nick Fury said, nodding in satisfaction.
"Speaking of gamma rays, I happen to have an expert in this field," Russell's voice suddenly rang out, attracting everyone's attention.
"You're not talking about yourself, are you?" Johnny sneered, giving Russell a disdainful look.
"Of course, I'm not that expert. It's him!" Russell pointed to the Hulk behind him.
As soon as he finished speaking, Johnny snorted disdainfully.
Mr. Fantastic Reed and the Invisible Woman Susan were also unclear about his meaning.
However, Nick Fury and Coulson and the others immediately reacted.
Although Dr. Banner hadn't appeared for a long time, they wouldn't forget that the Hulk was Dr. Banner's transformation.
Russell didn't say anything and motioned for the Hulk to come forward.
"Big guy, take a rest first and let Banner come out," Russell said.
"Hmm!" Although the Hulk didn't like the feeling of giving up control of his body to Banner, he would do it obediently since Russell had said so.
After responding to Russell, the Hulk took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
Then, to everyone's gaze, the towering figure of the Hulk began to "shrink" rapidly.
His powerful muscles began to disappear, and his green skin returned to its normal color.
Four or five seconds later, the incredibly strong Hulk was gone.
In his place was Bruce Banner, who was physically weak but exceptionally intelligent.
Although his body had shrunk several times over, Banner was not in danger of being exposed.
The uniform of the Justice League still fit him snugly.
However, because he no longer had the Hulk's steel-like muscles, the tight-fitting Justice League uniform on Banner looked a little unflattering.
In simple terms, Banner couldn't fill out the uniform of the Justice League.
But that was a small matter for now.
After the Hulk had transformed back into Banner, Russell continued, "Dr. Banner has a far greater understanding of gamma rays than an ordinary person. With his help, we should be able to locate the source of the Cosmic Cube fairly quickly."
Although Banner had been "locked" inside the Hulk for a long time, he could still perceive the outside world through the Hulk's body.
The Hulk had indeed taken away control of his body, but he hadn't completely deprived Banner of the ability to perceive the outside world.
For example, the Hulk, who had been deprived of control of his body, was like a passenger sitting in the passenger seat.
In this state, Banner couldn't control the direction the car was going, but he could see the scenery outside the window.
Of course, Banner had this privilege because Russell had specifically instructed it.
Otherwise, given the Hulk's personality, he would most likely stuff Banner in the trunk rather than let him sit in the passenger seat.
Banner first adjusted to the feeling of having an active body that he hadn't experienced in a long time.
Then, he looked around at everyone.
Seeing everyone's gaze focused on him, he thought for a moment and quickly said, "I can assist Mr. Richards in designing a tracking and location algorithm using clustering recognition. This way, we can at least filter out some areas."
"Once an expert takes action, you'll know if it works or not."
After Banner finished speaking, Mr. Fantastic Reed showed an astonished expression, nodded in agreement.
Seeing Mr. Fantastic Reed's expression, Banner also nodded at Reed, giving rise to a feeling of meeting a kindred spirit.
Then, he turned to Nick Fury and continued, "How many spectrometers can you access?"
"How many do you want?" Nick Fury quickly replied.
"Call all the labs you can contact and have them place spectrometers on their roofs, all calibrated to search for gamma rays. I can analyze the gamma rays we find using the algorithm."
"Also, give me a place to work."
Banner displayed his deep expertise in the field of gamma rays, quickly coming up with a method for tracking gamma rays.
Nick Fury nodded in satisfaction and said to Natasha, who was beside him, "Agent Romanoff, take Dr. Richards and Dr. Banner to the laboratory."
"Yes, sir!" Natasha stood up directly and said to Nick Fury.
Then, she turned to Banner and Reed and said, "Gentlemen, follow me. The laboratory has everything you need!"
After Natasha led Banner and Reed away, Captain America, Steve Rogers, suddenly spoke, "Is there anything we can do while Dr. Banner and Dr. Richards work on the algorithm?"
"I also want to send you out immediately, but until we find the target, there's nothing we can do," Nick Fury said to Captain America.
After hearing Nick Fury's response, Captain America fell silent and frowned.
"Do we have rooms to rest in, or are you going to make us sit here and wait?" Russell asked Nick Fury.
"Of course, we do! Coulson, take everyone to their rooms to rest," Nick Fury instructed.
"Yes, sir!" Coulson stood up and made a gesture of invitation to Russell and the others.
As they were about to follow Coulson out of the bridge, Nick Fury's voice rang out again.
"Miss Prince, can you stay behind for a moment? I'd like to have a chat with you."
Nick Fury spoke very politely.
Diana didn't respond immediately but instead turned to Russell with a glance.
"Since he has something to discuss, you can go ahead," Russell smiled and said.
If it were Johnny saying he had something to discuss with Diana, Russell would have refused without Diana having to speak.
But Nick Fury wasn't Johnny, and there was no need to worry about him having any inappropriate thoughts about Diana.
"Alright," Diana nodded and said softly.
The Helicarrier.
Residential Area.
Russell looked satisfied as he observed the room in front of him.
While the The Helicarrier wasn't a luxury cruise liner, the rooms arranged by Nick Fury were quite nice.
Apart from being not particularly large in terms of space and lacking windows to view the outside scenery, everything else was quite good.
As he assessed the room's environment, the floating cloak that had been draped over Banner flew to Russell's side and lightly patted his shoulder.
"There are no gaming consoles in the room. If you're bored, you can go to the deck; this big guy is probably about to take off."
Although the cloak couldn't speak, Russell immediately understood its meaning.
Hearing his words, the cloak hesitated for a moment and then flew towards the deck.
The cloak had just left when Natasha, who was taking Banner and Reed to the laboratory, arrived at his door.
"Mr. Bradley, are you available now? I have some things I'd like to consult with you," Natasha smiled warmly and said softly.
"Of course, I'm available!" Russell glanced at Johnny, who was not far away in the corridor, and replied with a smile.
"Alright, let's go inside and talk!" Natasha walked straight into Russell's room.
Seeing Johnny's surprised expression, Russell turned back to his room, closing the door behind him.
Once the door was closed, Natasha turned to face Russell and quickly said, "The effects of the brainwashing on me have worn off!"
"Is that so? Well, that's good. Congratulations on regaining your freedom!" Although Natasha's words completely caught him off guard, Russell's expression remained calm as ever.
"Congratulations to me? After what you did to me, you can still say such things?" Natasha's tone was now not only cold in expression but also radiating intense murderous intent.
"Why can't I congratulate you? Besides, when you did those things before, weren't you enjoying them?" Russell raised an eyebrow at Natasha, completely unfazed by her current icy expression.
Although Natasha was an experienced spy, she had never met someone as shameless as Russell.
At a time like this, he still had a carefree look on his face.
"I'm not joking with you. As long as I tell Nick Fury the truth, you'll be in big trouble!"
"Big trouble? I don't think so!" Russell replied with a shrug. "Even if Nick Fury finds out that I led the attack on the Norwegian base, he won't be able to do anything."
"Besides, you know very well the strength of S.H.I.E.L.D. against me."
