Robert Hall's First Assignment

Robert sat back down, still smiling at the scare he had. Tony turned to him and said, "I don't understand what the fuss is all about. The building got a little damaged. It can be fixed."

Robert and Bruce just stared at him with similar looks of incredulousness.

"Damaged? The building collapsed to the street level. Not only that, but it was also listed as a historical landmark," stated Robert.

"So, that explains the need for five million dollars and all the angry emails and phone calls I've been getting a lot of them from historical societies since last week," commented Pepper, turning an angry glare on Tony.

"Why are you mad at me? It wasn't my fault entirely. I'd say I deserve twelve percent of the blame. Besides, Jolly Green Giant showed up there, Legolas was shooting arrows everywhere, and Fabio was making indoor thunderstorms," argued Tony, backing away from Pepper for safety reasons.

"The reason I called upon Mjolnir was because the beast was out and he should have been stopped," explained Thor.

"Well, I was trying to get the robbers, because when the Hulk came out, they went nuts and started shooting randomly," replied Clint.

Steve glanced over at Banner, who was getting pissed off that everyone was blaming him. Robert had also turned his attention on the mild-mannered doctor and noticed that his skin was starting to flush a yellowish-green. Thinking quickly, Robert got up and walked over to the doctor. He lowered himself to one knee and stared Bruce straight in the eye, noting that his eyes were starting to glow green.

"Hulk, I am not blaming you. You did what you thought was right: to protect and help. Neither you nor Bruce is in any trouble, but it would help me greatly if you could please let Bruce tell you guys' side of the story."

Everyone just stared at Robert like he was crazy, but they were amazed when Banner slowly returned to his normal color. Bruce just looked at Robert and said, "How did you do that?"

"I have read all of your files over many times, and I have spent plenty of time watching videos focusing on the Hulk. I don't believe the Hulk is a monster. I believe that the Hulk is a living animal, just like we are, and there is intelligence and personality to him. For those reasons, I am always under the belief that if you treat him with respect, it will be returned. I just thought that if we were more respectful of the Other Guy, he might be easier to control."

As he looked at everyone, he could see that Tony, Pepper, Steve, and Thor were nodding in agreement. Clint and Natasha looked at him and thought about it, but Robert could tell that they had some doubts.

Bruce shook his head at Robert. "Are you nuts? Have you seen the amount of damage he causes when he's out of control? People die when he wakes up."

"Yes, Bruce, you are right. People get hurt when he's wild, but not when he thinks. Think back to the Battle of New York. He followed orders and protected the city, didn't he? He knew to save Tony after he fell out of the sky without needing to be told to do so." Robert noticed that everyone was looking at him like 'hey, how do you know that?' "I read the reports of what happened that day. Even when he was at the bank, he sheltered a family when the building started to collapse because he knew that they couldn't get out."

Robert paused. "Hulk is a volatile, radioactively-altered beast, sure, but when you break it down to the simple facts, if you treat him with respect and maybe let him out more often under less stressful situations, he would be happier, making your life happier. What do you have to lose?

You have already tried everything else, and none of those ways worked, so why not try to give him some respect? I am positive that your team will help out and be there for the both of you."

Bruce just looked at Robert like he had four heads. "I don't know about this. The Other Guy is unstable." Bruce was thinking about the time that the Hulk and Betty were in the cave together, and he was very gentle with her. "I'll just end up costing more money to fix the shit he will break, and for what? Just to fail again."

Robert just smiled and patted Bruce's knee. "Well, with that attitude, you will fail. There's a universe out there of shit that we have no clue about, that could attack Earth. The Hulk may be the only thing able to stop whatever comes our way. Just think about it," he suggested, standing up and stretching. "Well, it's getting late, and I still have to put my stuff away."

Tony looked over and saw Robert's stuff by the elevator and rolled his eyes.

"Can I have at least one person move into the tower whose entire life is not in two duffel bags?" questioned Tony.

Robert just looked at him with an eyebrow raised, turned around, and walked to the elevator.

"Here, let us show you to your room," said Pepper, as she got up and kicked Tony's shoe lightly.

"Fine," Tony sighed. He got up as well and all three of them got into the elevator. They went past the differing floors of the tower that contained the apartments for the Avengers. The compartment was filled with silence, before Robert couldn't take it anymore. Robert knew that a quiet Tony, was not a good sign, especially from his body language. Pepper on the other hand, I am never playing poker with her, she is like a stone.

Sighing, Robert turned his attention to Tony. "Okay, let's cut the bullshit. I know that you guys don't want me here, and I understand that you don't trust me. I'm sorry that this wasn't handled better, but we cannot undo the past."

Tony looked at Robert and flippantly replied, "That's the understatement of the year. What did you think would happen, we would all hold hands, have a campfire and roast marshmallows while singing Kumbaya?"

Robert shrugged his shoulders and then chuckled to himself. "Well, if Steve was in charge, maybe that would happen. He'd probably have us wear Boy Scout uniforms and sing 'Row, Row, Row your boat.'"

Tony looked at Robert, and started to laugh. "That's a pretty good one. Maybe you will be alright, but I still don't trust you. Tch' I don't even trust Fury, even though I have known him for a while at this point."

As the doors opened, they walked into a large common room with couches, recliners, and a big screen TV. An open kitchen was at the opposite end of the elevators, and there were two hallways going in opposite directions. Tony and Pepper led Robert down the hallway to the right and stopped in front of a door. Robert noticed that a hand scanner was on the wall next to the door. Tony gestured to the hand scanner lazily.

"Only your hand will let you in. No one else will have access to your room, unless there's an emergency. Jarvis will make sure of that."

Robert took a breath as if Tony had reminded him of something. "That's what I wanted to ask you. What's Jarvis? or Who is Jarvis?" he asked uncertainly.

As if on cue, Jarvis spoke. "I am the A.I. service of this tower; I am the one that helps everyone get their job done. If you need anything, Sir, just ask, and I will gladly assist."

Tony took over from there. "Jarvis is the security system, guidance counselor, butler, and everything else. I built him from nothing and now he is everything."

"And don't be surprised by the sarcastic answers. He tends to be like his creator," Pepper added.

Robert looked at him critically. "He's in control of everything? A machine? Yeah, sorry, I watched the Terminator movies, and '2001: A Space Odyssey' a lot, and I can tell you that it doesn't end well for the human race." Robert opened the door to his apartment, stepping inside.
He saw a spacious living room, with another large flat screen TV that had a PS3 and Xbox in front of it, a nice couch, and two recliners. It also had a kitchen that seemed fully stocked, one full bathroom, and two bedrooms with a queen size bed in each one.

"Well, thank you for the tour, but I would like to set up and lay down. Is there a Wifi password?"
Tony waved a hand, already turning to leave the apartment. "Anything that you need, just ask Jarvis and he will handle it. If there are any problems, let me or Pepper know."

"Thank you, and Have a good night," Pepper said. "Breakfast is at eight a.m. We try to eat together."

Tony and Pepper left Robert in his apartment. Robert just looked around and released a big sigh. He sat down on the couch and absorbed everything that had happened that day. He went into the bedroom and started to unpack his bags. Taking out his clothes, he noticed that they looked dirty and wrinkled so he took out his phone from a pocket on his jacket and made himself a reminder to find out about laundry.

"If you are curious about the laundry, Sir, there is a laundromat in the lower levels of the building. Your clothes will be collected every day and will be washed, dried, and ironed before being returned to you. All that we ask is for you to please use the correct baskets," Jarvis said suddenly. Robert jumped a little, looking around, wondering if the computer was watching him or something. How did it know what he was thinking or doing? This would definitely take some time to get used to. In Stark Tower, there was no such thing as an empty room, with Jarvis around he would learn.

"Umm…. Yeah. Thanks, Jarvis," he finally replied, reflexively looking to where the voice had come from. Robert plugged his phone charger into the electrical outlet and then plugged in his phone. His next action was to set his alarm. Then, he changed into his pajamas and lay on the bed. He opened his wallet, holding it close to his body so that Jarvis wouldn't see it. He moved his fingers up and down (really) slowly, and felt his eyes mist over as he looked over the prints in the little plastic sleeves of his wallet.

Robert felt the tears fall from each of his eyes. He closed them and said ever so quietly, "My god, I miss you both so much." As he put the wallet away, his eyes closed, Jarvis heard him say something with the faintest hint of a whisper.

"God, why did I kill them."

Notes