[ He knows well what about him got Tony's attention from the start. His mind and knowledge, that much was clear, and the way they both immediately slipped into such a comfortable rhythm working together, despite having just met. And well, Tony never made much of a secret out of how fascinated he was by the Hulk. Bruce never took offense in that - he knew what kind of interest it was, and that it wasn't that Tony took pleasure out of seeing the monster going rampant and out of control. ]

It might not be the worst or toughest job on board. You might get a lot of people reluctant to cooperate, but I don't think you'll get ridiculed.

[ People here cope with their situation in whatever way they can, after all, and if Pepper's way is focusing on whatever job she's given, no one can really fault her for that. Sure it seems a little pointless now, but who knows? She might just come up with some changes on board to make this trip more bearable. ]

Oh, yes. There are cryostasis units in the medbay. Fully functional, capable of freezing and suspending a living human and bringing them back just as they were before. [ Not something Bruce has had any previous experience in, of course, but he's a fast learner, smart enough for the job, and it's far preferable to being a weapons technician. ]