Ever since killing Nick Fury and taking the Cosmic Cube, Richard hadn't paid much attention to S.H.I.E.L.D. Likewise, S.H.I.E.L.D. hadn't bothered him again. In other words, they lacked the courage to cause him any further trouble.
Richard wasn't surprised that Tony and Reed would call and send messages. But he hadn't expected that Natasha and Banner would also reach out to him. Though he didn't yet know what they wanted, Richard temporarily ignored them and began browsing the messages from Tony and Reed first.
He hadn't seen Tony since giving him the unprocessed dragon scales from Ta Lo. He also hadn't inquired whether Tony was still designing and manufacturing his "Anti-Richard Armor." Regardless, barring any unexpected developments, Tony's special armor would likely be difficult to produce.
Tony had sent five or six messages, and just as Richard had guessed, Tony had only one purpose: to buy some vibranium from him. While not many outsiders knew about Wakanda's vibranium reserves, Tony certainly did. Even Reed could purchase some vibranium on the underground black market, let alone Tony, who had far more channels and connections.
After reading Tony's messages, Richard quickly made a decision: he would exchange vibranium for an artificial intelligence assistant! He didn't waste any time and immediately replied to Tony with his proposal.
After responding to Tony, he began reviewing Reed's messages. Like Tony, Reed also wanted to acquire some vibranium. Although Richard had given him some for free when Reed left Wakanda, it wasn't enough for someone who constantly developed new ideas. In less than a week, Reed had used up all his vibranium.
While Reed could melt and reuse the vibranium, restoring it to its original form, doing so was too troublesome and would mean losing the gadgets he'd already created. Compared to re-melting and reusing vibranium, purchasing new material was more convenient.
Though Richard didn't know whether Reed had been developing equipment for parallel universe travel during this period, he agreed to Reed's request—they had a good relationship and were currently working together.
After replying to Reed, he browsed through messages from Johnny Storm, Susan, and others. Johnny and Susan were updating him on the charity foundation's progress and future plans. As for Magneto and Wanda, when they couldn't contact him, they had gone directly to Emma Frost instead.
After reading all their messages, Richard finally checked what Natasha and Banner had sent. He assumed they also wanted to buy vibranium, as S.H.I.E.L.D. researchers would certainly have use for it. But his guess was wrong.
Natasha and Banner weren't looking to buy vibranium—they had both encountered problems that weren't catastrophic but were certainly complicated. Not catastrophic meant nothing particularly disastrous had happened to them; S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn't being destroyed, and they weren't in mortal danger. Complicated meant their situation was beyond ordinary circumstances.
Simply put, a group of aliens had set their sights on Hulk and were planning to capture him and remove him from Earth. Natasha and Banner weren't sure who these aliens were or where they intended to take Hulk. The only certainty was that the aliens looked very strange and possessed considerable power—their weapons and equipment far surpassed what S.H.I.E.L.D. had available.
Initially, the aliens had operated relatively covertly, not daring to enter S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters openly to capture Banner. But as time passed, they'd grown increasingly aggressive, nearly bombing S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. To avoid endangering their colleagues, Natasha and Banner had decided that she would escort him away from S.H.I.E.L.D., preventing the aliens from directly attacking headquarters or Washington.
Their plan after leaving S.H.I.E.L.D. had been to go directly to Silver Manor to seek Richard's help. However, upon arriving, they'd found no one there. They'd considered asking the Fantastic Four for assistance but abandoned the idea after considering their strength. Even Banner transformed into Hulk couldn't eliminate these aliens, let alone the Fantastic Four—unless Reed happened to invent weapons specifically designed to counter them. Otherwise, continued hiding seemed their best option. Though this wasn't S.H.I.E.L.D.'s usual approach, without advanced combat forces or powerful technology, they had little choice.
After reading Natasha and Banner's messages, Richard frowned slightly. A group of aliens coming specifically to capture Hulk? This didn't seem right. Though Hulk was indeed powerful, that was only relative to ordinary humans. To the universe's major players, Hulk's strength was unremarkable.
After pondering for a moment, two names came to Richard's mind: the Collector and Grandmaster!
Apart from those two, with their collecting and gambling addictions, he couldn't think of anyone else who would send agents to Earth specifically to capture Hulk.
Could it really be them? Although in the cinematic universe, the Collector and Grandmaster weren't particularly formidable—more like comic relief characters used to advance the plot—Richard couldn't be certain whether they were mere "clowns" as portrayed in the films or actual members of the Elders of the Universe as in the comics.
If they were Elders like in the comics, their powers would far exceed their movie counterparts. The comic version of the Collector possesses immortality, superhuman strength, durability, and endurance, cosmic energy manipulation, limited precognition, matter and size manipulation, and teleportation abilities. He has genius-level intellect, particularly regarding alien species, history, and technologies, and wields a vast arsenal of advanced artifacts, weapons, and imprisoned creatures from across the universe. The Grandmaster shares similar immortality, superhuman physical traits, and cosmic energy manipulation. In addition, he is a master of strategy and gamesmanship, with reality-warping powers specifically tied to controlling probabilities, manipulating time on a localized scale, reviving the dead under special conditions (usually tied to the rules of a game), and creating elaborate battle scenarios or tournaments with near-absolute authority over their rules and outcomes.
After recalling their comic abilities, Richard decided to accept Natasha and Banner's request for help. He wanted to determine if these aliens were indeed sent by the Collector or Grandmaster. If so, he wouldn't mind traveling across the universe to meet them—and if the opportunity arose, perhaps plunder their extraordinary abilities to further strengthen himself.
Having made his decision, he immediately called Natasha. The call connected quickly, and her voice came through the line.
"You finally saw the message. We need your help now," she said without hesitation.
Although he couldn't see her expression, Richard could tell from her tone that she was anxious and somewhat breathless, as if engaged in intense physical activity.
Could she be doing that kind of thing with Banner? Can Banner maintain control with his current abilities?
These speculations flashed quickly through Richard's mind.
"I can help you, but I won't help for nothing," he replied calmly. "As for my conditions, we'll discuss them when we meet. Tell me your current location, and I'll open a space gate for you."
After hearing his words, Natasha immediately reported their specific location. Canada?
With their coordinates confirmed, Richard retrieved the Cosmic Cube from his system space and created a space gate surrounded by thunderclouds. Soon the portal took form, and Natasha and Banner quickly stepped through, appearing before him.
Natasha wore a tight combat suit that perfectly displayed her graceful curves. Banner was dressed in a gray suit.
When they arrived in his study, Richard first closed the space portal, then said, "From the looks of you both, you've had a rough time recently. Sit down and let's talk."
Natasha and Banner nodded and sat on the study's sofa. As they settled in, Richard quietly used his telepathy to read their memories. Without much effort, he found the information he sought.
The moment he accessed their memories, Richard knew who had sent the aliens to capture Banner—the Grandmaster!
The reason for his certainty was a weapon used by the alien group: a small stun device that ignored the target's physical strength! Upon seeing the aliens wielding these devices, Richard immediately thought of Thor being knocked unconscious by one in the cinematic universe. Thor, who controlled thunder and lightning, rendered unconscious by Valkyrie using a simple stun device—a truly ironic image.
After reading their memories, Richard said slowly, "I just used telepathy to read your memories and identified who sent these aliens to capture Banner. I can help you deal with them, but as I said before, I won't help for nothing. If you want my assistance, Natasha, you'll need to do something for me."
"What is it?" she asked immediately.
"It's simple. I want you to fight someone—someone you'll definitely find familiar," Richard said with a smile.
Someone I would definitely find familiar?
Though Richard hadn't specified who, Natasha—being S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top agent—immediately guessed his meaning.
"You want me to fight my alternate self—Scarlett Romanoff?" she asked quickly.
"Yes, her exactly," Richard nodded.
He'd had this idea simply because of seeing Natasha in her tight combat suit. Though he knew she would never be a match for Scarlett, who had recently undergone superhuman enhancement, he just wanted to see them fight since they looked identical. Watching beautiful women in combat, especially two identical beauties fighting each other, would be quite entertaining. Black Widow from this universe versus Black Widow from the zombie universe—the spectacle would be magnificent!
"Is that the only condition?" Natasha continued.
"I wouldn't mind if you wanted to fight her a few more times," Richard said with a smile.
"No need—one bout will be enough. Forget I asked," Natasha replied quickly.
Though Richard's condition was unexpected, she didn't care much about it. In her mind, Richard was someone who never played by conventional rules. If he had made a serious request, she would have suspected hidden motives.
"Scarlett just went to rest. She probably won't wake until tonight," Richard explained. "I'll arrange accommodations for you both so you can rest in the meantime."
"Okay, thanks!" Natasha and Banner replied simultaneously.
Richard said nothing more. He picked up the phone on his desk and dialed an internal number. Soon, a blonde maid wearing a classic black and white uniform entered the study.
"Provide them with two guest bedrooms," Richard instructed.
"Yes, sir," the blonde maid replied respectfully before turning to his guests. "Please follow me."
After Natasha and Banner left with the maid, Richard used the Cosmic Cube to create a space gate to New York—specifically, to Stark Tower. Though he didn't know when the Grandmaster's aliens would appear, he didn't plan to wait idly in Silver Manor. He needed to handle some personal matters first, such as trading vibranium for Tony's AI assistant, and negotiating with Reed for items of personal interest.
Once the portal formed, Richard stepped through directly into the top-floor reception room of Stark Tower. Immediately upon arrival, JARVIS's distinctive synthesized voice greeted him.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Wesley. Mr. Stark is in his lab. Would you prefer to wait here or proceed to the laboratory?"
"I'll wait here," Richard answered.
"Very well. I'll notify Mr. Stark immediately," JARVIS responded promptly.
Shortly afterward, Tony emerged from his lab. Before Richard could speak, Tony said, "Where have you been? Why did it take so long to reply to my message?"
"I wasn't anywhere special. Like you, I've been busy with my own projects," Richard replied calmly. "Let's not dwell on that. I can provide the vibranium you want anytime. Is your AI assistant ready?"
"Does that even require preparation?" Tony asked. "Do you want male or female, older or younger?" He pulled several business card-sized high-capacity memory cards from his pocket.
Though AI assistants had no true gender or age, their voices could be male or female, young or old. Take JARVIS, for example—his voice was that of a typical middle-aged man.
"Young female," Richard specified.
"No problem." Tony selected a memory card labeled "Wednesday" and handed it to Richard. "You should prepare some personal servers and terminals, otherwise it won't perform optimally. Don't blame me if you don't get the expected results."
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