That gets his eyebrows up a bit. "Is the interconnecting thread going to be 'smart'?" Just, you know, curious.

Actually, he isn't. He's smarting off. He knows this isn't an 'intelligence' thing. He's curious, and the more Zerxus relaxes, the more Bruce does - for now, anyway. Could flip around on a dime, but right now? Relaxed conversational partner going the long way around, engaging his curiosity and interest?

...It's nice