Marvel-ous Ninjutsu

00205. Placing bait.

Tao was wrong about Hulk, who didn't take as long as she expected to wake up. He woke up a few hours later and while he was happy to be free and have his own body… He was also pissed off at how painful it was and threw a tantrum that probably would have destroyed the house Ezekiel made for him if everything wasn't magically reinforced.

Ezekiel was able to calm him down after promising to bring him cookies, ice cream and pizza for dinner. Afterwards Ezekiel left Hulk with one of his clones and checked in on Bruce just in case he woke up early too. Instead he found Bruce and Betty where they left them, asleep in a hotel room in Genosha.

Over the next few days Ezekiel’s life became hell as Tao sparred with him every day to the point he was exhausted. He didn't want to do anything else after the training, but forced himself to visit Hela each day because she didn't like to hang out with his clones. So he always made sure to visit her in person and eat a meal together once a day.

On the fourth day of training Bruce finally woke up, so Ezekiel was able to take a small break from training to meet him and Betty. Betty woke up hours after the splitting process was finished and was informed by Tao what happened and to watch over Bruce as he recovered. She wasn't happy with Ezekiel for putting her to sleep, but she at least thanked Tao for helping them.

Ezekiel knocked on the hotel room door after he arrived and waited for it to open. Betty opened the door and frowned when she saw Ezekiel before she asked, “I presume you're here to check on Bruce?”

“Among other things… May I come inside?” Ezekiel asked with a friendly smile.

Betty stepped out of the way and motioned him to come inside. Ezekiel walked past her and into the entryway where he waited for her to lead him deeper into the hotel room. Betty took the lead and before long they arrived in the master bedroom of the suite they were in. Bruce was still in bed and looked worn out, but otherwise healthy.

Ezekiel smirked at the man as he asked, “What's up doc?”

Bruce frowned as he looked at Ezekiel before he finally asked, “Thanks for getting rid of the Hulk… But did it really need to hurt so much?”

Ezekiel shrugged as Betty sat on the bed next to Bruce before Ezekiel said, “Couldn't be helped, we split your soul in half. Something like that is always gonna have issues. “

“I'm still not sure about the whole soul thing being real… But I'm glad it's over and I don't have to worry about changing again.” Bruce said as he gently squeezed Betty’s hand.

“About that… We’re gonna need to run some tests first to make sure there won't be any lingering issues.”

Both Betty and Bruce looked directly at Ezekiel before Betty asked in concern, “What do you mean? Isn’t the Hulk gone now?”

“Yes, but Bruce’s DNA was changed at the cellular level and needs to be properly tested for any issues.”

“We can do that ourselves, we just need a laboratory.” Bruce said as he looked at Betty who nodded in agreement.

“I'm sure you could, but that would require you finding a laboratory with the proper equipment and that could cause issues. Especially if the information leaked and Betty’s father found out.”

Both of them frowned before Ezekiel said, “I already have the laboratory and people needed to do the testing. You can obviously double check and run your own tests, but I want tests done by my own people.”

“What makes you think the information from your lab won't leak?” Bruce asked with a frown.

“Besides the fact only my people know about the lab and its location?” Ezekiel asked which made Bruce nod in response.

“The servers aren't connected to the normal internet and are also protected by my own custom software.” Ezekiel said with a grin.

“What do you mean by normal internet?” Betty asked.

“I created a private internet for personal use which is setup between all the projects I have running.” Ezekiel said as his grin turned into more of a smile before he asked, “So do you wanna get this testing done now? Or wait a little while?”

Betty frowned as she asked, “What will you do if he refuses?”

“Put you both to sleep so the tests can be run.” Ezekiel said as he shrugged before he added, “While I would rather have your cooperation and will gladly let you run your own tests.”

Ezekiel’s eyes narrowed slightly as he said, “For the safety of the general public, I need to confirm there will be no issue with your DNA if someone got their hands on it.”

Bruce let out a sigh before he glanced at Betty and said, “I'm fine with him running tests… Besides I want to run my own tests and he is offering the use of a lab.”

Betty frowned but nodded in agreement, which made Ezekiel smile before he pulled out a wheelchair from his storage seal. He placed it next to Bruce’s bed as he said, “With how weak you are, you'll need this.”

Bruce shook his head as he said, “I'm tired, but I can walk just fine.”

Bruce swung his feet over the edge of the bed and started to stand up before his body gave out and he collapsed backwards onto the bed. Betty quickly went to him as she asked, “What's wrong?”

“I don't know, it took everything I had, to barely stand up.” Bruce said as he attempted to catch his breath.

“It’s from the soul damage. It makes you incredibly weak and it will be a month or so before you can use your body normally. The tiredness you feel won't go away until your soul is fully healed though.”

Betty helped Bruce sit up and as she grabbed the wheelchair Bruce asked in an uncertain voice, “How long will it take to heal?”

“At least a year or two… Possibly longer.”

Bruce frowned but said nothing as Betty helped him into the wheelchair. Once they were both ready, Ezekiel led them down to the transport hub and quickly created a portal to the medical lab. Both of them were quiet for the trip to the lab, but once inside the lab itself they both looked around with their mouths slightly open.

The equipment in the lab wasn’t just state of the art, it was beyond cutting edge and Bruce’s eyes went wide as he glanced at one machine in particular. Betty also noticed the machine and asked, “Is that… What, I think it is?”

Bruce nodded slowly as he asked, “I think so, but I won’t know for sure unless I check it out myself…”

“But I thought it was still in development and years away from being completed? The one my father showed me wasn't even half finished.” Betty said in confusion.

Ezekiel glanced at the machine they were talking about before he chuckled and said, “That thing is almost ten years old and is in the process of being replaced with something better.”

Both of them turned to look at Ezekiel in shock as Bruce said, “How can there be something better?”

“Because aliens are far more advanced than we are and we're in the process of upgrading all of our equipment with alien technology.”

“What?!?” Both of them practically yelled at the same time.

“Jeez, no need to be so loud.” Ezekiel said as he pretended to pick his ear.

“But aliens.” Betty said with a look of disbelief that was copied by Bruce.

Ezekiel raised an eyebrow as he said, “Your boyfriend just turned himself into a big green rage monster not long ago and you're surprised aliens exist?”

“But that was backed by science… If aliens are real, why isn't it known to the world and instead considered a conspiracy theory?”

Ezekiel shook his head before he said, “I swear, you science types are all the same.”

Ezekiel focused on both of them before he said, “Aliens are a guarded secret by governments around the world so the general population doesn't freak out.”

As both of them shared a look the door opened and in walked Orochimaru, Kabuto, Tobirama, Sarah Kinney, Maya Hansen, Aldrich Killian and Beast. Ezekiel glanced towards them before he said, “Nice timing, I was getting ready to call you.”

Ezekiel pointed towards Bruce as he said, “I want a full round of testing done on him.”

Sarah approached Bruce and extended her hand as she said, “Dr. Banner, I’m Sarah Kinney. It's a pleasure to meet you. Your last paper on biochemistry in the NMJ was a fascinating read and I would love to ask you some questions about it.”

Bruce shook her hand as he asked, “Didn’t you write a paper on genetic mutation a while ago?”

Sarah smiled and as she released the handshake she said, “I did, but that was a long time ago.”

“I tried to contact you about it because you brought up some interesting points and I wanted to discuss them in detail with you… But it was like you disappeared and no one knew where you went.” Bruce said as Betty nodded in agreement. 

Ezekiel held up a hand before anyone else could talk and said, “Before you guys go into some long and boring conversation about science.”

Ezekiel glanced at Sarah and said, “I’m gonna leave them here with you guys, just call me when they want to leave.”

Sarah nodded and before she could speak Ezekiel faded away as an after image. Ezekiel headed back to get his training for the day over with before he took a quick nap, since Tao’s training was kicking his ass in more ways than one. After his nap he felt a little better so he switched with his clone who just came home with his family and had dinner with them. Afterwards he went to drop off food for Hulk before he headed to Genosha to meet up with Hela.

With Tao, Agatha and Hela taking over the entire top floor of the hotel after Ezekiel gave them each their own suite. Tao decided to place a special teleportation area on the floor in between all the rooms and next to the elevators so they could just transport there instead of the island hub. It was keyed and protected so that only Tao, Agatha, Hela and Ezekiel could make portals to it.

Ezekiel stepped out of the portal and headed over to Hela’s door before he knocked on it. About a minute later Hela opened the door and smiled at Ezekiel before she stepped out of the way as she asked, “How are you?”

“I’m good. How was your day? Did you do anything fun?” Ezekiel said as he stepped into the entryway of her home.

“It was fine. I mostly watched TV and sorted through more of the models you bought me. I think I figured out which one I’m gonna build first.”

Ezekiel and Hela moved over to the couch in the living room where they sat down and started to chat as the TV played something. After an hour or so they decided to go eat an early dinner together. While Ezekiel already ate a while ago with his family, he had a very fast metabolism and tended to eat five or six times a day.

As they walked out of Hela's home they were greeted by Tao and Agatha who were in the hallway talking. Ezekiel waved as he asked, “What are you two up too?”

“Deciding what to eat.” Agatha said as she turned to greet both of them followed by Tao.

After greeting each other Ezekiel said, “We were going to eat too. Wanna join us?”

Tao shared a glance with Agatha before she said, “Oh, we wouldn’t want to intrude on your date.”

Agatha nodded in agreement as she said, “You two love birds go have fun.”

Ezekiel rolled his eyes as Hela had the tiniest hint of a blush before Ezekiel said, “I swear you two are worse than me sometimes.”

Tao and Agatha shared a laugh before Tao said, “We were thinking about eating French food.”

Ezekiel glanced towards Hela as he asked, “What do you think?”

“It doesn't matter to me.”

Ezekiel made a portal to somewhere in France and gestured towards it before he said, “After you.”