By now, Homelander's electrotherapy had ended. His whole body was charred black, and he knelt on the ground coughing up clouds of black smoke.
Tony Stark shook his head.
"I've never seen any player get fried three times in the quiz game. Homelander, congratulations—you've set a record."
Bruce Banner scratched his head.
"Wait—are you sure these lightning strikes won't actually kill someone?"
After the last round of questions, Bruce Banner had become the only player with a negative score. Even Homelander, miserable as he looked, had at least climbed back to zero. But Bruce was sitting at -1. Seeing how badly Homelander had been electrocuted, he started to worry—if he kept getting answers wrong, would too many negative points mean he would be punished next?
"Relax," Tony said with a shrug. "The first zap won't kill you. Honestly, you can't even call yourself a veteran player until you've been shocked at least once. And you, Dr. Banner—don't sweat it. You've got thick skin, tougher than most. You'll handle it."
Bruce lowered his head, glancing at himself, and shook it.
"Thick skin? You must be confusing me with the Bruce Banner you know. I'm not the same. I'm just… an ordinary man."
"Ordinary?" Tony's interest piqued.
"So you can't—what's the word—'raaaargh' yourself into a big green gorilla yet?"
Natasha rolled her eyes.
"Tony! That's disrespectful. He's not some gorilla—he's the Hulk."
Tony shrugged.
"Just joking. Natasha, you don't get it. Me and the Banner from my world—we go way back. We're practically buddies."
Natasha thought for a moment.
"In my world, you and Banner got along too. Not best friends, maybe, but as scientists you spoke the same language. But this Banner"—she nodded at the newcomer—"he's different. Even his appearance isn't the same. That tells me his universe diverged far more. It's possible that in his world, he never became the Hulk at all. Maybe, like you, he built some kind of advanced AI instead?"
Tony snorted.
"Please. Banner doesn't have my genius. There are plenty of scientists in the world—but only one Iron Man."
On that point, Stark's arrogance never wavered.
Bruce Banner listened with confusion, then gave a modest smile.
"Actually, I've been researching genetic biology. Robotics doesn't really interest me much… not yet, anyway."
Then he asked curiously:
"So… could you tell me what I'm like in your worlds?"
Among the three newcomers this round, Homelander had already seen the last quiz, and Natasha and Tony already knew each other—even if from parallel universes, there was still some foundation of trust.
But Bruce Banner, from yet another parallel Earth, was a complete newcomer—a pure rookie.
When he first arrived in the Eternal Space, he felt no sense of security. Everyone around him was a stranger. Even after Tony explained the rules of the quiz game, without trust, Bruce could only take his words with caution.
Only now was he starting to relax.
Tony rubbed his chin, looking a little helpless.
"In my world, the quiz appeared much earlier, and the future shifted because of it. A lot of what I know won't apply here. Natasha, why don't you explain? You recruited our Banner into the Avengers, after all."
Natasha shrugged.
"Fair enough. Yes, it was me who brought him into the Avengers. The Bruce Banner I know became the Hulk after a gamma radiation experiment went wrong. He's both a brilliant scientist and a… well, a walking weapon of mass destruction."
She began recounting the story of the Hulk she knew. Bruce listened intently, quickly realizing that although his life diverged greatly from his counterpart's, there were some uncanny similarities.
For example—both of them had a girlfriend named Betty Ross.
He chuckled softly to himself.
"Seems Betty and I are destined to be together across worlds… maybe I should think about getting back with her."
As Bruce drifted into thought, the light-screen presented a new question:
[Question: What is Bruce Banner's family background?]
[A: Both parents are deceased
B: Only father alive
C: Only mother alive
D: Both parents alive]
Natasha blinked.
"Funny enough, the Banner I knew never really talked about his parents. Not once."
Tony shook his head.
"I don't know any more than she does. Bruce, any hints you can give us?"
Bruce's face twisted with pain.
"I… I don't know. My childhood memories are fractured. Honestly, I only found out today that my name was Bruce Banner at all."
Tony's eyes widened.
"Whoa, hold on—you serious? That's breaking news! Are you saying you've got amnesia?"
Bruce rubbed his forehead.
"Not exactly. It's just… my early memories are very hazy. I remember a loving mother, and I once had a kind father. But he didn't share my surname. His name was Kessler."
Natasha frowned thoughtfully.
"So… you were raised by a foster family? A family named Kessler?"
Bruce gave a bitter smile.
"Seems so—unless all of this is just another cruel trick by these aliens. If not, then yes, that's the truth."
Erik curled his lip.
"Which means your so-called hint is useless."
Tony shot him a glance.
"Not useless. You just have to think. If his childhood memories are missing, then he must've been traumatized. Either physically—like a blow to the head—or mentally, from severe emotional stress. Either way, it suggests his family wasn't exactly harmonious. Otherwise, no child would end up so damaged. That rules out option D. The answer has to be between A, B, or C."
Tony leaned back in his chair.
"My money's on A. The Banner I know lost both his parents. Different universes, sure, but that's still the most likely."
....
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