Hearing Saiki Kusuke's plan, Banner, as a fellow scientist, couldn't help but interject.
"Excuse me, Doctor Saiki, sorry to interrupt," Banner began hesitantly. "If I may ask, regarding the creation of these stones... what stage are you currently at?" The most powerful objects in the universe, and you're telling me you can just manufacture them? Banner thought incredulously. Not even Stan Lee would dare write something that outlandish.
Sure enough, Kusuke replied with an expression of profound regret, "The Infinity Stones are indeed not objects that can be created arbitrarily. For six whole years, I poured every available resource into the effort, yet I only succeeded in creating a single Time Stone." He paused, as if struck by a thought. "Which begs the question, if Infinity Stones could be manufactured so easily, what exactly was the point of our despair these past six years?"
Wait a minute. Banner's brain suddenly caught up. "You said you created a Time Stone?" The Hulk-sized scientist looked utterly stunned.
Kusuke nodded, his expression as nonchalant as if discussing what he'd had for dinner. "Yes. Is that strange?"
Strange? It's bloody unbelievable! Banner thought. If what Kusuke is saying is true, then all our years of hopelessness really were just... pointless nonsense!
"Unfortunately, my capabilities are limited," Kusuke added with a sigh. "I only managed to make one. Furthermore, it hasn't undergone any practical testing, so I cannot confirm if it possesses the exact same power as the original Infinity Stone."
Saiki Kusuo: "!!!"
He lunged forward, grabbing Kusuke's arm, his voice filled with uncharacteristic urgency. "Where is that stone now?"
"Right here." Kusuke casually pulled a brightly glowing gem from his pocket.
Keeping something so precious just loose in his pocket? What a reckless waste! Saiki thought, aghast.
The Time Stone pulsed with a soft blue light in Kusuke's hand. He frowned, tilting his head. "That's odd. Why does it feel... different somehow?" It seemed, perhaps, more powerful than before.
Saiki snatched the stone. The moment it touched his palm, it flowed into his body, merging seamlessly.
Kusuke, who could decipher Saiki's intentions with unnerving ease even with the blocker active, quickly tried to intervene. "Wait, Kusuo! That's just a prototype! What if something goes wrong? Do you really want to spend another six years stranded in some unknown time? I don't want to be so heartbro— cough cough— I mean, I don't want Mom to be so heartbroken again!"
"Someone has to test it, don't they?" Saiki countered, feeling an undeniable resonance with the newly absorbed stone. "And I am the most suitable candidate."
Understanding his younger brother's unshakeable resolve, Kusuke offered no further resistance.
After Saiki vanished, Banner, still trying to process everything, scratched his head. "Uh, will Saiki be okay?"
Kusuke clenched his fist, then slowly released it. He swiveled his chair around, turning his back to Banner so his expression was hidden. "Right now," he said quietly, his voice devoid of its earlier theatrics, "all we can do is bet everything on that idiot brother of mine. If he fails..." His voice hardened. "...then I'll just blow up the entire universe."
Banner: "..." So, you really haven't forgotten about that plan, huh, old man?
The sharp clack-clack of approaching footsteps echoed into the lab. Natasha stormed in, radiating anger. She scanned the room, but the primary instigator of her fury was nowhere to be seen. Suppressing her temper with visible effort, she addressed Kusuke. "Doctor Saiki, you wanted to see me?"
"Oh, it's nothing now," Kusuke waved a dismissive hand. He had originally intended for Natasha to test the Time Stone, but since Saiki had taken on the task, she was no longer needed. "You can go busy yourself with your own affairs. And take this space-hogging big guy with you on your way out."
Natasha, having rushed over for absolutely nothing, felt her control snap. "...Do you want to test my thigh chokehold technique personally?" she asked through gritted teeth.
"Now, now, Natasha, don't be so petty," Kusuke replied with a infuriatingly smug smile. "It's not healthy for women to always be angry, you know. Especially women of a certain age. You'll get wrinkles." He seemed to take perverse pleasure in saying exactly the things guaranteed to provoke any woman.
If he weren't currently useful, Natasha seriously contemplated ending him right then and there. She took a deep, steadying breath, mentally flipped him off with extreme prejudice, and turned to leave.
Suddenly, the phone hidden in her chest rang again.
Natasha answered, her tone clipped. "Not accepting any missions right now. Even if Thanos himself crawls out of his grave, tell him to call back tomorrow." She desperately needed to find somewhere, or someone, to vent her accumulated frustration on.
I've changed so much these past six years, Natasha reflected grimly. More sentimental, emotions always threatening to spiral out of control. If Kusuke's bizarre experiments hadn't offered that tiny sliver of hope, the relentless despair might have already driven her completely mad.
The person on the other end seemed taken aback by her harsh tone but gathered their courage. "Apologies, ma'am, didn't mean to bother you, but there's a guy outside making a scene. He keeps shouting that he has something important for the person in charge here, says he won't leave until he sees them."
Natasha let out a cold snort. "Someone looking for trouble, are they?" She cracked her knuckles ominously, completely ignoring the part about an "important matter." Perfect timing. Finally, some idiot delivered themselves right to her doorstep.
Outside the facility, Scott Lang, fresh from his unexpected return from the Quantum Realm, paced anxiously back and forth near the security booth. Hearing footsteps, he looked up, relief flooding his face—only to see Natasha Romanoff storming towards him like a vengeful goddess. Before he could utter a single word, his hopeful expression froze as Natasha's fist connected squarely with his jaw.
He was then subjected to a thorough beating.
Later, nursing a bruised and swollen face, Scott Lang stammered out his story under Natasha's intense interrogation after she had sufficiently vented her anger.
Realizing the potential significance of Scott's information, Natasha knew it required expert analysis. She placed a call to Kusuke.
A short while later, Kusuke arrived, practically radiating fury. He immediately rounded on Scott. "You bastard!" he roared. "Why didn't you show up sooner?!" If Scott had arrived earlier, Kusuke reasoned, his precious little brother wouldn't have had to risk himself testing that damned prototype stone.
And so, Scott Lang found himself inexplicably receiving a second beatdown.
Feeling deeply wronged after being assaulted twice for reasons he couldn't fathom, Scott began to seriously question the wisdom of his decision to come here at all.
However, once their initial anger subsided, both Natasha and Kusuke turned serious. Natasha spoke first. "I'll notify Cap and the others. The technical details this guy mentioned... I'll leave that to you, Doctor."
Meanwhile, Saiki Kusuo had finally arrived back where he desperately wanted to be: six years in the past. Specifically, sometime before Thanos had acquired his first three Infinity Stones. Unsure of the stones' exact locations at this point in time, Saiki decided his best course of action was to monitor Thanos himself.
However, en route, he unexpectedly encountered Steve Rogers. Captain America. Who had also, apparently, traveled back in time.
Saiki Kusuo: "???" What is going on now? What else has Kusuke been up to behind my back?
Steve launched into an explanation of his mission, a plan so convoluted it made Saiki's head ache just listening to it. All Saiki could gather was that Steve and his team had used some device to return to this time, intending to "borrow" the Infinity Stones from various points in the past, use them to resurrect everyone lost in the Snap back in their future, and then return the stones to their original timelines.
Saiki genuinely couldn't comprehend their reasoning.
If you can travel back six years, he thought, perplexed, why not just destroy the stones right here and now? Completely eliminate Thanos's ability to enact his plan? Why go through the absurdly complicated process of collecting the stones, snapping everyone back, and then meticulously returning them? What is the point of all these superfluous steps?
Deciding it was best to intervene before they inadvertently caused him more trouble, Saiki stepped out and called out to the furtively moving Captain America.
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