Superman's Saiyan little brother

"It's just that after all this time, whether it was my occasional probing, JARVIS's scanning, or Superman's observations, none of us could locate the Skrulls. It seems they're hiding too well," Martian Manhunter said, sighing helplessly. He was experiencing the frustration of having strength but no way to use it.

Before joining the Avengers, Martian Manhunter's actions were not too different from the Skrulls. He had also used his shapeshifting abilities to disguise himself as various people, perhaps even more adeptly than the Skrulls, with numerous aliases in different official institutions. He was like an entire team of Skrulls by himself.

Yet, even with all his abilities, Martian Manhunter couldn't find the Skrulls who shared similar shapeshifting skills. Whether the Skrulls could discover Martian Manhunter's disguises was another matter...

"Heh, you guys keep investigating; we're heading out!" Just as Tony Stark and Martian Manhunter were lamenting their inability to find the Skrulls, Venom, in high spirits, suddenly popped out of Peter Parker's body and yelled, "Peter, let's go!"

Peter Parker felt a bit awkward but couldn't resist Venom's excitement that was now flooding through him. In the end, he could only apologize with a smile to Tony Stark and the others before being dragged away by Venom, leaving the Avengers' base.

"Are they going to be okay?" Mobius muttered hesitantly, watching Peter Parker and Venom disappear in the blink of an eye.

"Don't think you can use this as an excuse to leave too. I'm just an ordinary person, and even I'm not taking a break. You're not sneaking off either," Tony Stark shot a glance at the hesitant Mobius, instantly seeing through his true intentions, and said, "Get back to work!"

"Sigh! They say I'm a vampire, but I think you're the real one! After all, capitalists are the biggest vampires. If I had known, I would have followed Johnny Stone's example and been a slacker. At least I wouldn't be working all the time without any rest..." Mobius's face fell as he continued to complain.

However, despite his complaints, Mobius didn't leave because he knew that the Avengers were short on talent. They had finally recruited Doctor Octopus, but he wasn't a genius in biological sciences, and he had his own artificial sun project to focus on, so he didn't have much time to stay at the Avengers' base.

After all, the artificial sun was a massive energy source, and it wasn't based on the same energy elements as the Arc Reactor. If it accidentally conflicted with the Arc Reactors at the Avengers' base, the base might withstand the damage, but ordinary people like Doctor Octopus and Tony Stark definitely wouldn't.

As a result, Doctor Octopus had joined the Avengers, but it was as if he hadn't. He couldn't help in combat against extraordinary events, nor could he assist Tony Stark and the others in solving research problems...

"We really need to recruit more people. JARVIS, are there any promising talents at Stark Industries?" Tony Stark nodded in agreement with Mobius's complaints, sighing as he spoke.

After all, the researchers in official institutions weren't extraordinary individuals, and to be honest, Tony Stark was starting to feel the strain. If he kept pushing himself like this, he might start losing his hair, which could affect his handsome Iron Man image.

"By your standards, sir, not a single one." JARVIS, being an AI with a limited emotional system, didn't sugarcoat his response. His statement was accurate, or at least that's how he saw it.

"By my standards, there wouldn't be any geniuses left in the world!" Tony Stark laughed, clearly pleased with JARVIS's response, but he quickly changed the subject, saying, "Check the student records at various universities. See if there's anyone suitable. It looks like Stark Industries hasn't produced any useful talent in recent years!"

"Given that any innovation or achievement made while working at Stark Industries would be credited to the company, and possibly to you personally, it's normal that top students don't join the company. At most, they seek funding support," JARVIS quickly replied.

"Top students usually either continue their research under their mentors or seek funding to start their own projects. Recently, there's been a project involving some notable participants, including someone who's been hailed as a prodigy from a young age. Despite his youth, he's already earned multiple PhDs in engineering, mathematics, physics, and other fields from world-renowned universities..."

"Hmm? That name sounds familiar. He's not very old, is he?" Tony Stark's eyes gleamed, but he couldn't recall the prodigy's name at the moment.

"His name is Reed Richards. Their team consists of three people: Victor von Doom, who is just as accomplished as Reed Richards, and Ben Grimm, who is outstanding but not on the same level as the other two..." JARVIS displayed their profiles as holographic images.

"Not bad. What's their project about?" Tony Stark asked, nodding in understanding.

"Space travel. They want to build their own spacecraft and travel into space..." JARVIS displayed the grand vision drawn up by Reed Richards and Doom while explaining, "According to the data, there's nothing particularly novel about it. It's just slightly more advanced than standard national space programs, and it lacks long-distance travel capabilities. Stark Industries didn't see any reason to invest."

"Based on the analysis from Stark Industries' investment department, the costs for this space mission are too high, and their data and capabilities are still questionable. If Stark Industries were to launch its own space program, it could potentially do better than they could..."

"Heh, that investment department is full of idiots. Could they really do better themselves? If we were to start a space program, I'd have to step in anyway," Tony Stark scoffed, disdainfully.

"These two... Fine, all three of them are together, so let's bring them in. Schedule a meeting at Stark Tower. I'll see them tomorrow!"

"Understood, sir." JARVIS acknowledged and swiftly contacted Reed Richards and his team.

"What's this?" Meanwhile, Reed Richards stared at the text message on his phone, hesitating. He turned to Ben Grimm and said, "When we approached Stark Industries before, their investment department declined, right?"

"Yeah, they said they didn't have any plans in that area for now." Ben Grimm nodded, glancing at Reed Richards's phone in confusion, "What's up? A scam text?"

"It says we're supposed to go to Stark Tower tomorrow?" Reed Richards scratched his head, muttering, "Wasn't Doom handling all the negotiations? They should be contacting Doom, not me..."

"Why don't you check?" Ben Grimm's eyes gleamed with anticipation. "If it's a scam, we'll teach them a lesson..."

"And if it's real?" Reed Richards's eyes also gleamed with anticipation, but he hesitated.

"Then we'll just cover our tracks! That's no problem for you, right?" Ben Grimm shrugged, grinning at Reed Richards, "If it's really a scam, we might even make some money to ease our funding issues. Doom was all talk in college, gathering a large group of people, but in the end, it's just the two of us left..."

"And to top it off, Doom is still all talk, but we haven't been able to secure any funding. The world becomes too harsh when it comes to money!"

"Maybe we should start with some smaller inventions. Jumping straight to a space program was a bit too ambitious..." Reed Richards was busy typing on his phone, which suddenly transformed into a small tablet with mechanical components, allowing him to continue working.

"But what choice did we have? We ended up following Doom's lead. You have trouble communicating with strangers, and I'm good for a laugh, but I can't pitch your ideas. That's why Doom is the only one who can keep up with your brain and ideas. He said even Iron Man can fly with his suit, so how could we attract Stark Industries without an impressive plan?"

"But Stark Industries didn't bite, so now Doom has to find other investors. But if the wealthiest company in the world won't invest, can we really find others?"

Without comparing himself to Reed Richards, Ben Grimm was an excellent student. But alongside Reed Richards and Doom, Ben Grimm seemed somewhat ordinary.

Whether they were top geniuses or outstanding students, they all faced a difficult dilemma: no money and no work...

"Vorderfahr?! Avengers? Oh no!" Ben Grimm was deep in thought when Reed Richards suddenly exclaimed, his fingers flying across the tablet so fast they became a blur, his face tinged with panic.

Ben Grimm remained silent, understanding the urgency of the situation, knowing not to disturb Reed Richards at this critical moment.

As Reed Richards was sweating profusely, the tablet emitted a loud crackling sound, which made Reed Richards's expression change. He knew this was the tablet's limit.

After all, it was a tablet modified from a phone, and even with Reed Richards's advanced technology, it couldn't become a groundbreaking product, let alone compare with top-tier computers. So Reed Richards decisively pressed a spot on the tablet and tossed it into a nearby trash can.

With a soft bang, the trash can emitted a faint explosion, followed by a burnt smell that made Ben Grimm cover his nose.

"How did it go?" Ben Grimm quickly asked, concerned, "Was it really the Avengers? You didn't get caught, did you?"

"I was caught, but I didn't expose my IP, so it should be fine!" Reed Richards exhaled deeply, muttering, "I didn't expect the information to come from there.

 I shouldn't have messed around. But if that's the case, it really might be Stark Industries that wants to talk to us?"

"That's great! If the information came from the Avengers, Iron Man must be taking it seriously, right? Our funding issues might be solved. If we succeed this time, we shouldn't have as much trouble securing funding in the future, right?" Ben Grimm relaxed, then grew excited, grinning at Reed Richards.

"Maybe? Let's wait for Doom to return and tell him the news. We'll go together tomorrow. Tonight, we should revise our plans. If Tony Stark himself reviews our proposal, we'll need to show more of what we can do!" Reed Richards was still unsure, his eyes flashing with anticipation.

Meanwhile, at the Avengers' base, Tony Stark was watching with interest the footage JARVIS displayed of his earlier digital exchange with Reed Richards. The level of expertise shown in that clash made Tony Stark reevaluate Reed Richards. After all, not everyone could hold their own against JARVIS.

"This prodigy is interesting, to be able to engage with you for so long. But he probably didn't realize that when you sent him the text, you had already locked onto his IP, right?" Tony Stark smirked, watching the now-disconnected signal.

"So he lost a custom-made phone? That's going to put even more strain on his already struggling household. But no worries, if he's truly talented, we can give him some internship pay. Hopefully, he won't disappoint me tomorrow..."

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