"Alright, I'll leave it to you. Once we receive any information on Dr. Banner, I'll notify you, and someone will contact you then. And stop fiddling with your badge. You should know that agent rankings don't come easy, so your rank isn't very high." Nick Fury, seeing Tohka playing with her agent badge, couldn't help but remind her.
"Tch, geez, one-eyed grandpa is so stingy."
"…...."
Fine, Fury was too tired to care whether Tohka was genuinely clueless or just playing around. He decided to leave immediately, to avoid being driven crazy by her and Tony.
"Well done, I've never liked that guy." Watching Nick Fury walk off in a huff, Tony gave Tohka a thumbs up. He had been cooped up in his villa by Fury for the past few days, and although it was for his own good, Tony, who loved his freedom, had been seething with frustration.
The next day, Tohka received a notification from Fury, instructing her to go to a specified location to meet with a contact.
"Hello, Miss Tohka." Following the instructions, Tohka flew to the designated place and met her contact—none other than Agent Coulson, someone she had met before. If she didn't already know about him, she would never have connected the amiable middle-aged man in front of her with a high-ranking S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.
"Looks like Nick Fury really cares about her, sending Coulson back to watch over her." What Tohka didn't know was that Fury had done this because he wasn't sure about her. It wasn't because of any concern over her character but rather that he feared she might unintentionally cause a huge disaster. That's why he sent his most reliable assistant to follow her, especially since only he and Tohka had interacted. As for Black Widow, due to various reasons, she had yet to meet Tohka.
"Hello. So, are we just going to go straight to the military?" At that moment, Tohka realized they were on top of a large building, with no one else around.
"We're here to monitor. According to the intel, Bruce Banner should be nearby. And don't use your Iron Man armor for now to avoid detection," Coulson said, giving a glance at Tohka's armor as he reminded her.
"Got it, how troublesome." Tohka reluctantly stowed her armor away, but she was secretly impressed by S.H.I.E.L.D.'s intel system. Despite being in a busy area, it was clear that even the U.S. military hadn't detected Bruce Banner's location. Otherwise, the crowds would have been cleared out by now.
"How long are we going to wait? This is so annoying." Tohka glanced at Coulson, who was staring through binoculars at something unknown, and then looked up at the high, glaring sun. She decided to find a corner to play with her phone.
"....." Coulson glanced at Tohka, who was slacking off, and just smiled without saying anything. The reason he asked her to come was to help him keep an eye on things, to make sure the military didn't go too far. He never expected Tohka to stay as alert as he was, especially since she wasn't an agent and hadn't received the necessary training.
Time passed like this, and Tohka sat there playing on her phone. Eventually, she got so bored that she rested her head and fell asleep. Coulson, on the other hand, kept staring through his binoculars and using various instruments, not bothering Tohka in the slightest.
"Mm, has he arrived?" After the sun had set, Tohka was awakened by Coulson. The street was now completely blocked off by police and the military. Then, she saw a group of people pushing someone out from the building.
"So, that's Dr. Bruce Banner, huh? He looks like just an ordinary man." With her sharp vision, Tohka noticed that Bruce Banner appeared to be just an average man with no sign of the power a strong person would typically exude.
"Of course, that guy's strength is hidden within his body. But it seems like he's been injected with a special antidote, otherwise, he wouldn't have been captured by them." Coulson explained to Tohka as they watched Bruce Banner being escorted out, with a screen in front of him displaying all the footage they had seen earlier.
"Truly high-tech, no one noticed the surveillance." Watching the nearly undetectable surveillance equipment, Tohka couldn't help but admire the technology. "So, what do you think? Should I go rescue Dr. Banner?"
At this point, Tohka looked eager to act, but she was quickly stopped by Coulson. Doing so would clearly make her an enemy of the U.S. military. Unless she wanted to be hunted down by the entire world, it was an extremely unwise move without proper cause.
"Don't rush. We still can't be sure if Dr. Banner can transform. For now, we need to observe. The Director hasn't insisted on ensuring the Hulk's presence either. So, let's hold off for now and keep monitoring." Clearly, even Nick Fury wasn't planning to use his resources to protect the Hulk. After all, the Hulk had the potential to go out of control, and if he were eliminated entirely, it might not necessarily be a bad thing.
After explaining, Coulson continued to operate Tohka's unidentifiable sensor, following closely behind Bruce Banner. At this point, Tohka could only say that Dr. Banner's senses in human form were surprisingly weak. If it were anyone else who had been through many battles, they would have detected them long ago. At least, it would have been much harder to track him if he were in Hulk form.
"Tch, what a hassle. I thought I'd be able to do something big." Bored, Tohka watched Coulson, who was fully focused, and leaned back in her seat, yawning as she sat there.
"We're leaving now? Looks like we'll be heading back, Hulk didn't show up after all." Yawning, Tohka watched as Dr. Banner was taken away by others. If she didn't know what would happen next, she probably would've already left. Even so, she couldn't help but complain while yawning.
"Yeah, it looks like we can retreat now. This matter is probably coming to an end." Hearing Tohka's complaints, Coulson nodded. He wasn't a time traveler, so he didn't know what would happen next. It was only natural for him to make this judgment.
"Wait, Tohka, it's not over yet." At that moment, Coulson suddenly called out to Tohka in surprise. Just then, another menacing green-skinned monster burst out of the building. This one, in terms of appearance, was even more terrifying than the last.