Wrong Number, Pal

First Contact

Bruce
Where are the the microscopes?

Tony.

Tony, this is not a joke.

I'm not having a good day. Now, where did
you hide my microscopes, Tony?

???
Try the cabinet two away from where
they're usually stored.

—

Releasing a huff of frustration, Bruce Banner trudged over to the long row of cabinets in his lab. It took him a few moments to locate the cabinet Tony had told him to check, the lack of sleep causing his eyes to blur while reading each door's label. Eventually, the doctor found what he was looking for and pried open the cupboard...

Only to see an empty space.

He grit his teeth as his big green friend was tempted to resurface. Quickly whipping out his phone, the man sent another aggravated message to his lab partner.

—

Bruce
Still not funny, Tony.

The cabinet is empty.

???
There's a false back.

Just press against the bottom left
corner and you should see them.

—

Bruce pushed up his glasses in order to pinch his nose bridge.

Of course Tony would install false backs on Bruce's cabinets. That seemed exactly like something the billionaire would do in order to mess with him.

Stifling the urge to crush his phone, Bruce followed Tony's instructions.

After lightly tapping the bottom left corner of his cabinet's backing, the material shifted outward with a small, "pop." The scientist pried off the false back, revealing three of his missing microscopes sitting in a hidden compartment.

A buzz from his phone caught his attention.

—

???
Did you find it?

Bruce
Yes.

???
Good.

Oh, btw,  who is Tony?

—

Confusion filled the scientist as he squinted at the screen.

Was Tony trying to mess with him?

—

Bruce
Um, you are?

???
I'm pretty sure my name isn't Tony.

Though I could be wrong...

—

With furrowed brows, Bruce pressed on the number's contact information.

His eyes widened slightly in realization when the screen displayed not Tony's contact, but an unknown number. Somehow Bruce Banner, a man with seven PhDs, had mistyped his friend's number.

He blamed his lack of sleep.

The small amount of embarrassment he felt at this realization was almost immediately crushed by a question that crawled its way into his mind.

—

Bruce
If you aren't Tony, then how did you
know where the microscopes were?

???
I have a lot of really annoying
friends that try to hide my stuff
from me.

So I've learned a few basic hiding
techniques over time.

The false back was just a guess.

Bruce
Oh.

Well, thank you for the help.

???
No problem.

Can I ask who Tony is, though?

Bruce
Tony is my friend who stole my
microscope.

???
Tony sounds like a bitch.

—

A startled laugh escaped Bruce's mouth when he read the unknown number's message.

Somehow, without knowing who Tony was, they had made a pretty good judgment of who the billionaire was.

Filled with too much coffee and spite for the man who kept messing with his equipment, the doctor sent a message to the stranger before setting his phone aside and getting back to work.

Though, as he put his microscopes back in their place, he could not deny the amused smile pulling at his lips.

—

Bruce
You're not wrong.