Chapter 3: Betty Ross Who Didn't Know Bruce Banner
Elizabeth Ross was clearly very curious.
Although she remained wary of Lance Ryder, she was extremely interested in what had just happened—especially the brief conversation between Lance and Daniel Drumm, and the magic both of them had used.
Not long ago, Tony Stark had publicly declared himself to be Iron Man, and strange things seemed to be happening everywhere.
Lance didn't pay much attention to her attitude.
In fact, not only had Lance noticed her earlier, but Daniel Drumm had also sensed her presence. The reason Drumm left so easily was because he believed Lance could handle the situation himself.
Lance looked at the slender young woman standing in front of him.
Her clothes were almost completely soaked by the rain, clinging tightly to her body. She was beautiful, with a delicate figure.
For a moment, Lance raised the wand in his hand, considering wiping part of her memory. But he hesitated and lowered it again.
Who knew what complications that might cause?
Besides, if someone found out later, it would only create unnecessary trouble.
"I just returned from… somewhere far away," Lance said calmly. "Can you tell me where this place is, and what month it is now? Also… could you help me find somewhere to make a phone call?"
There was a subtle charm in his voice.
After all, asking a stranger for so much help in such a short time wasn't easy.
Elizabeth Ross's eyes briefly looked a little unfocused, but she quickly nodded.
"Well… I still have an apartment on campus."
"Thank you, Miss Ross."
Lance tilted the umbrella slightly to cover more of her from the rain as they walked toward the distant lights.
The small gesture warmed Betty a little.
She glanced at Lance's leather robe and said with a faint smile,
"You can call me Betty, actually."
Of course Lance was wearing a leather robe.
After all, the place he had been living in was Jotunheim, where the temperature rarely rose above negative sixty degrees Celsius. In some regions, it could drop below negative one hundred.
The deeper one went into the planet's frozen valleys, the colder it became.
Lance had even suspected that the deepest core of Jotunheim might approach absolute zero.
In that environment, the only way to survive was by wearing clothing made from the thick fur of local beasts.
Lance wasn't like the Frost Giants, who could move through temperatures close to negative one hundred degrees with bare arms.
If the robe he wore were brought to Earth for research, scientists might discover some interesting properties.
But convincing Lance to hand it over would not be easy.
He smiled faintly and said,
"Alright, Miss Ross—no, Betty…"
Suddenly, his smile froze.
For a brief moment, a trace of coldness flashed across his expression.
"For a second," he said slowly, forcing a smile, "I thought you said your name was Betty Ross."
"Yes," she replied, slightly confused. "Is there a problem with that?"
Betty raised an eyebrow and looked at him suspiciously.
"My full name is Elizabeth Talbot Ross. Elizabeth… Beth… Betty. My parents always called me Betty."
So that was the reason.
It made sense.
But still…
How could the person in front of him really be Betty Ross?
If it were someone else, Lance wouldn't have reacted so strongly.
But Betty Ross?
She was the daughter of General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross.
And the girlfriend—at least at one time—of Dr. Bruce Banner.
The moment Lance realized this possibility, his sharp mental senses spread outward like liquid mercury, scanning the entire campus in an instant.
He saw plenty of ordinary things—some of them awkwardly private—but he did not detect what he expected.
There were no hidden military squads.
No soldiers guarding Betty Ross from the shadows.
Lance couldn't be blamed for being cautious.
During his decades in Jotunheim, although his life hadn't been in constant mortal danger, the Frost Giants had never been particularly friendly toward him.
Trouble found him often.
Because the Frost Giants had lost the Casket of Ancient Winters, their ancient magical heritage had declined. The Frost Giant shamans of the past had disappeared.
They couldn't understand how a seemingly weak human mage like Lance possessed such power.
So they frequently challenged him.
Even though Lance had magical abilities, facing Frost Giants in battle had been far from easy.
Only after his magic improved dramatically—eventually reaching the level of a legendary mage—did those confrontations become less frequent.
Life had finally become somewhat stable.
And now, without warning, Odin had sent him back to Earth.
If Lance believed there was no deeper reason behind this, he would only be fooling himself.
Heimdall might have sent him to Jotunheim as punishment decades ago.
But sending him back now?
That definitely had a purpose.
Lance had studied Asgardian rune magic, and Odin had spared his life back then. That alone meant the exile had been only a form of discipline.
Now that he had returned to Earth, there had to be something else at play.
Most people might not understand the forces involved.
But Lance knew one thing clearly.
Asgard was about to undergo major changes.
Still, standing here with Betty Ross, another possibility crossed his mind.
Perhaps she was simply someone with the same name.
Even so, he asked cautiously,
"Betty… do you happen to know anything about Dr. Bruce Banner?"
"Who?" Betty looked surprised.
"Dr. Bruce Banner?" she repeated slowly. "The name sounds familiar. I think I once read one of his research papers online years ago."
She frowned slightly.
"But that was a long time ago. In recent years, no one in the scientific community has mentioned him."
Her answer sounded genuine.
If she had never heard of Bruce Banner at all, that would have been strange. After all, Banner was one of the world's top scientists and had published several influential papers.
So Betty recognizing the name wasn't unusual.
But it was also true that Bruce Banner had vanished from the public scientific world.
After all… he had become the Hulk.
If he showed himself publicly, the military would hunt him down immediately.
Still…
If this Betty Ross truly had no connection to Bruce Banner…
Then perhaps she was simply someone with the same name.
In the United States, that wasn't uncommon. People often reused family names—even naming children after parents or grandparents.
Lance could easily confirm her identity by asking one simple question:
Was her father General Ross of the U.S. military?
But strangely…
He hesitated.
Because if she had nothing to do with General Ross, then she was simply a stranger with a familiar name.
But if her father really was General Ross—
And she still didn't know Bruce Banner—
Then things would become far more complicated.
It would mean one of two possibilities.
Either Lance had returned to a time before Betty Ross ever met Bruce Banner…
Or—
There was no Bruce Banner in this world at all.
Lance frowned deeply.
The situation was becoming increasingly difficult to understand.
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