Search for the Soul Gem

Chapter Forty-Eight

     "Morning Banner," I said, kicking the door closed behind me with my foot. He looked up from the microscope that he was looking into and gave me a warm smile. 

     "Good morning Doctor," he greeted, his smile happy and bright. There was a light in his eyes that I'd never seen there before. His whole being seemed lighter.  It had been a couple weeks since we'd left the hospital and I was running out of things to do from my bed. If it were up to Tony, I would still be in bed watching Dr. Phil and letting him check on me ever fifteen minutes, "What brings you up here Lucy?" he asked. I bounced over toward him and plopped myself on a stool next to him. I rested my chin against my fist and leaned against the counter. 

     "Well you were so gracious and such a fantastic lab assistant to me. So I decided I would come down and offer the same to you!" I said with a hopeful smile. "Plus I couldn't deal with Tony's incessant 'Are you okay? Are you feeling fine?' anymore," Banner laughed. 

     "He's just worried about you," Banner said. I leaned my chin on my hand. 

     "Yeah well, the doctors wouldn't have let me go if they didn't think I was going to live," I said. Banner laughed again. 

     "You know Tony," Banner said, looking into the microscope in front of him. 

     "I do, so can I hide here and maybe help you?" I asked. There was a short pause, where Banner switched lenses on his microscope. 

     "I can't see why not," he said finally and looked up at me with a smile. 

     "Alright doctor, what are we doing?" I asked. Banner sat back and crossed his arms. 

     "Well, Tony had managed to talk King T'Challa into allowing him examine some raw Vibranium from their mines. But Fury figured that since I was out of commission, I would be a good enough person as any to study it when Tony is out," Banner said. 

     "Wait, hold the phone. Tony knows King T'Challa," I said in awe. Banner glance up at me. 

     "Tony knows everyone," he said off-hand. 

     "But the king of Wakanda?" I asked again. 

     "Yeah..." Banner said. 

     "That's amazing! I've always wanted to go to Wakanda but I don't have the kind of money," I said. 

     "Tony has had a few meetings with T'Challa. I'm pretty sure everyone is all friends again, no hard feelings anymore," Banner said. 

     "So are the Avengers and Wakanda working together now?" I asked. Banner knelt back down and looked through the microscope again. 

     "Yeah, for now," he said, trailing off. 

     "So what are we supposed to do with the Vibranium?" I asked. 

     "Tony's father knew how to form Vibranium into a shield for Steve, but Tony wants to know about all its properties because it is really a very interesting metal," Banner said. 

     "What makes it special?" I asked. Vibranium was something that wasn't studied much so I didn't know much about it. It wasn't in my part of Africa so I didn't get to papers to know all the properties of it. I knew what it was and that was it. 

     "Well," Banner sat back and looked at me again. "Have you ever seen the king of Wakanda?" he asked. I shook my head. "Well he has this suit that transforms him into the Black Panther who is the ancestral protector of the country. His suit is infused with Vibranium."

     "Wouldn't that make it heavy, like armor?" I asked. 

     "See that's the thing about it. It's stronger than steel and a third of the weight. It can be weavedinto a suit that is flexible and breathable but feels like you're wearing nothing," Banner explained. 

     "So is that why it's important, because it's strong and light?" I asked. 

     "No, that's not the only reason. One of the most important things about it is that it is completely absorbent to any form of vibration," Banner said. 

     "Absorbent?" Banner stood up and walked over to mannequin that I hadn't realized was there until now. 

     "What do you see on this?" he asked, motioning toward the mannequin. I walked up closer to Banner to get a better look. There was nothing on the mannequin except a spiky necklace around the neck of the mannequin. 

     "All I see is this necklace thing here," I said, pointing at the necklace. 

     "Well, yes. You're not wrong. It is a necklace. But look at it when I do this," he trailed off and tapped the necklace. From the necklace a dark suit appeared over the entire mannequin. It appeared out of nowhere and the scaly material flickered as they appeared. 

     "Woah, that's so cool. How did you do that?" I asked, amazed by the sudden appearance of the suit. 

     "The suit is light enough to be contained in the entire suit in it and it can come out on command," Banner explained. 

     "So how does this make it absorbent?" I asked. Banner reached out and picked up a metal bar that was resting on the counter. He held it in front of him like a bat and hit the suit. As soon as the bar hit the suit, purple veins expanded through the entire suit. He glanced back at me. 

     "You might wanna back up," he warned. I looked over at him and stepped back behind the counter. Banner swung the bar again but this time he threw it at the suit. Instead of knocking the mannequin over, the suit turned a violent purple before shooting the bar across the lab with a clank to the ceiling. I ducked as things fell from the shelves behind me and the bar tumbled to ground. 

     "Absorbent," I said and looked back at Banner. 

     "You should have seen Tony when T'Challa showed him. Threw him across the room," Banner said. He laughed to himself, "I'm sure there's a video on the internet somewhere."

     "And nobody sent it to me, rude," I crossed my arms over my chest and rolled my eyes. Banner laughed again. We walked back toward the microscope that Banner had been when I walked in. 

     "Where's your entourage today?" Banner asked as he pushed a bench for me to sit on. I perched myself on the stool and let out a sigh. 

     "Peter's on a school trip for the day so he's not coming in today. And Happy is with Tony for the day. Tony wanted to talk to him before he and the team leaves for their mission," I explained and leaned my chin on my hand. 

     "Wow, how does it feel to be alone?" Banner asked. 

     "Unsettling," Banner laughed. 

     "So what are we trying to figure out with the Vibranium?" I asked. 

     "Well, it's super interesting to look at. But also, it might be useful to see how they make weapons and suits like they do in Wakanda. Not that I think we will be ever actually do that. Wakanda still has strict rules about their Vibranium," Banner said. 

     "Knowing Fury, he'll find a way," I said. Banner glanced up at me again. 

     "Then we better get to work then doctor," he said with a smile. 

*Sorry for the Wakanda themed chapter. I saw Black Panther and I'm in love*