Hey guys once again.
This is another side story not connected to my other story, "Only One Person Left". I'll go back to that in a week or so.
Now, I have to warn you, it is a bit dark. This thought came to me one day and I just had to write it.
Enjoy!
Bruce
The blast had shaken us all. No one had seen it coming. I didn't either.
The avengers and I was battling hybrid lizard-dog creatures when it had happened.
In the distance, I saw Tony flying while shooting at the things from the air. Steve and Thor were on the ground attacking from anything that got to close from them while Natasha and Clint were in a quinjet.
I wasn't needed until that very moment. The others were being overwhelmed by the creatures and they had needed the Hulk's help. So I was running toward them when I was ambushed by three of the hybrid creatures.
They truly were ugly things. They had the faces of lizards and the body of rabid dogs. All I knew was that some mad scientist had tested on dogs and then this happened. They took over the scientist's lab and had run rampage all over New York. Somewhere along the way they had collected dangerous looking laser guns.
The creatures snarled and snapped at me, holding their guns up to my face. They circled around me, giving me no place to escape and I knew that it was time to turn into the other guy.
I drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, letting out all of my control over the Hulk with it. I could feel the beginnings of a transformation.
But it was stopped short.
Just as my mind was about to slip into the Hulk's subconscious, one of the creatures shot the gun.
Crack!
The sound rang out in my ears and all I could feel was horrible, horrible pain. I was ripped out mid transformation and my vision clouded. The Hulk receded to the back of my mind in agony. I tried to pull him back out but for once, he wouldn't come out.
Oh the irony.
The one time I needed him, he wouldn't come.
I wanted to scream, but I couldn't. My voice wouldn't work. I sank to my knees and all I could feel was pain, horrible pain.
My arms clutched at where I was shot to try to ease the pain. It didn't work. It just made it worse. I removed my arms and looked at them. They were covered with crimson blood. I paled and more black spots appeared in my vision. I was bleeding. Too much.
I knew enough about doctoring from Calcutta to know that I was going to die. I was going to bleed out and die.
There was no escaping it this time. The Hulk wasn't going to come out this time.
A sense of calm rolled over me as I fell face first into the dirt and rubble. I heard the creatures around me retreating to fight the others. Their job was done.
Maybe this was finally it. Maybe this would finally be the end. I had always wished for this. I would finally get peace and the world would finally be rid of the monster that was me.
I heard someone approaching, actually, more than one person was coming toward me. I couldn't see them with my vision facing the dirty ground and I was too weak to move.
I heard a clank as someone landed. It was Tony. I felt a cold metal hand turn me onto my back haphazardly.
I saw his metal face in front of me. A few seconds later, the faceplate clanked up to show his worried face. In the corners of my vision, I saw the rest of the avengers forming a circle around us, killing any lizard hybrids if they got too close.
"Bruce. Don't do this to me." I could hear a hint of desperation in his voice. He didn't know I was too far gone to come back now. He still thought he could save me. Sadness welled up inside me.
When I didn't answer, he shook my head to keep me awake and said, "Bruce. Bruce, look at me." His desperation grew.
I swallowed dryly and coughed. It slowly turned into a coughing fit. When it finally ended, I turned to face Tony and looked him in the eyes.
"Tony…" Another cough. "Tony, this is it."
His eyes widened. "No it can't be! We can still save you!"
He shouted something to Steve in the distance but I couldn't hear what he said. It sounded oddly muffled.
It was slowly becoming harder and harder to breathe. I was sure that the laser had punctured one of my lungs. This truly would be it.
I drew in as much air as I could into the one lung that was still working. I wouldn't fight it if I felt myself leaving. I would welcome it with open arms.
That was when I realized that I hadn't been able to talk to Betty one last time. I couldn't even do right with Stark or any of the other Avengers. This was only our second battle in the two weeks that I had known them. We hardly knew each other yet and I actually wanted to get to know them. For once in my life I had wanted to do something right and it was ripped from between my fingertips. After what happened to Betty…I hadn't wanted to repeat that.
I even had plans to meet up with her the next week.
"…Bruce!" Tony's voice snapped me out my thoughts. I focused up on his face once again.
"Tony…I'm sorry." I put as much sorrow and feeling as I could. I could feel the life in me lift away little by little. I couldn't hold on longer.
I lifted my right hand with difficulty and clutched Tony's metal hand tightly. He held it tightly.
"I'm sorry I couldn't do more." I rasped out. I felt a stray tear leave my face and land on the ground beside me. There was pool of blood beneath me. I could feel it soaking through my ripped clothing. I stared up at the sky and saw dark clouds roll into view. It was going to rain soon.
I spit my last words with great difficulty. "Tell…Betty that I'm so…sorry." I had another coughing fit. "Tony, please…don't beat yourself up…" My words were starting to slur together.
"I'm sorr…" I trailed off. I couldn't say anything else. I was losing myself. I had no more power left inside of me. I could hear Tony shouting from above me, but the words were severely muffled.
The edges of my vision were starting to turn black. Strangely, I couldn't feel my pain or worries anymore.
I was dying.
I was getting tunnel vision. Any second now, I would close my eyes and never wake up again. Only peace.
I stopped fighting it and let myself go. But I had one last regret. Tony. I didn't know how he would survive without me. He had desperately wanted a friend and I gave that to him. Now though…
I'm sorry.
But I couldn't hold on any longer. I finally let myself drift into the never-ending black with just one last person in my mind.
Tony…
Tony
I saw the light leave his eyes. But I refused to believe it. He was dead. Bruce couldn't die. He was the goddamn Hulk for fuck's sake!
I saw one last tear slither down Bruce's lifeless cheek. His last emotion. He was dead.
He was dead.
No.
My sadness was replaced with a pure fury. I steeled my face and lowered my faceplate. I rose up into the air with only one thing in my mind-kill the damn bastard hybrids that killed Bruce.
It was their fault Bruce was dead. Not mine. It was their fault, not mine...
I let out a roar of fury and shot repulser blasts at the creatures one by one. I couldn't think properly. A fog of anger was in my head. I could only kill. Make them pay.
I hardly noticed when they were all dead.
My mind cleared only when I saw that every last one of them were dead and on the ground, bloody and mangled. I looked down at the wreckage I had caused. I saw dead lizard hybrids every which way, beside cars, broken buildings, everywhere. My eyes widened at how brutally I had murdered them. I hadn't even noticed that I was doing this.
All I had felt was rage. Pure, pure rage and noting else.
No feelings. Nothing.
And that scared the hell out of me.
I flew back to where Bruce lay on the ground, his body broken and bloody. Upon seeing him, sadness took over my brain once again. I landed onto the ground next to him with a clank. Only then did I realize how bad his injuries really were. I had to accept the fact that I couldn't have saved him no matter what I did.
It wasn't my fault.
I lifted Bruce up into my arms. Rogers had called the medics a while ago and they had just arrived. There would be no use for them now of course, but I still needed somewhere to place Bruce's body.
I walked over to the closest medic and placed Bruce on an empty stretcher. I ran a hand over his face and closed his eyes.
I scrunched my own eyes shut. I couldn't stand seeing Bruce like this. So…broken. I couldn't take it. I walked away.
The medics had placed a white sheet over Bruce and that was the last I saw of him. I felt a tear slide down my face from inside my suit.
The rest of the avengers were crowded around the same medic van I had put Bruce in with melancholy expressions on their faces. They parted to let me through. Rogers tried to place a hand on my shoulder but I shrugged it away.
I walked over to the edge of a sidewalk and sat down, far, far away from the rest. I wanted to be alone for a while.
The animals killed Bruce. This wasn't my fault.
My faceplate clanked up as I buried my face into my hands, tears freely rolling down my face. Oh Bruce. Why did you leave me?
It started to rain. I heard the raindrops fall onto the metal on my suit with plunks. It made my suit sound hollow, just like my heart.
I didn't know how long I sat on the sidewalk but before I knew it, it was dark and the rest of the avengers were long gone. They had tried to approach and comfort me, but I just gave them the cold shoulder.
I didn't deserve their pity. Bruce did.
It was raining heavily now and I was cold. I didn't bother turning on the heat inside my armor. The street I was in was deserted and I was surrounded by the outlines of dead lizard bodies. The sound of rain was all I could hear. I had to concentrate on that sound or I would be lost inside my own emotions.
A little while later, I forced myself to get off the ground and walk toward the tower. I had no intention to fly. It seemed like some sort of insult toward Bruce.
It wasn't me! The lizard hybrids killed him.
I walked forward slowly and stumbling. The tower was miles away and I was determined to walk the entire way.
The raindrops on my face blended into my tears and I was glad for that. They ran down from my suit and onto the already soaked ground. My suit was waterproof so I couldn't feel the rain. I wish I could. I wish I could take off my suit and stand in the rain but the suit wasn't meant to be taken off manually.
I walked another few blocks.
The rain poured down, harder and harder. It seemed like there was no end to it. I walked the wet, lonely road with only my memories to keep me company.
Later I would only drink myself to oblivion.
The funeral was two days later. All the avengers were present including Nick Fury, Maria Hill, and Pepper. Elizabeth Ross had been invited as well. Someone had gotten a hold of her phone number and it was definitely not me.
It was a small funeral with only a handful of people who knew Bruce enough to come.
General Ross had definitely not been invited and I had personally made sure of that. I even went to the lengths of making sure that he knew Bruce wasn't dead. He didn't deserve to know that.
We all stood around the wooden coffin containing Bruce's body. People went up to say their speeches at the podium. I didn't listen to most of them as I was lost in my own thoughts.
When it was finally my turn to say my speech, I walked up to the podium.
"Bruce, even though I haven't known him more than a month was an awesome friend. Honestly, he was the third friend in total that I've had and he was arguably the best." My voice broke. "He died in my arms. And he died a hero." I held back tears as I tried to say more, but couldn't. My voice cracked and I walked off abruptly. I walked away from the ceremony. I couldn't handle it anymore.
I didn't kill him.
As I was walking away, I heard the patter of footsteps behind me. I turned around abruptly to be met with the one and only Elizabeth "Betty" Ross.
I stopped walking long enough to face her.
"What do you want?" I asked rather rudely.
She sighed before saying, "look, I know we haven't known each other for too long but we have one thing in common. Bruce. We can get through this together."
My eyes softened. That was when I remembered what Bruce had told me.
"Tell betty I'm sorry"
"He-he told me to tell you he was sorry." I said abruptly.
I saw her eyes well up with tears until they finally spilled down her cheeks.
"I know Bruce. I know you're sorry." She muttered into the sky.
I placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it, trying to give her a bit of comfort. I knew enough about her to know that he and Bruce had a bit of history.
I walked away after that, leaving her standing. I couldn't do anything more than that. I left the funeral and started to wander down some streets with no destination in mind.
It wasn't me.
A few hours after the funeral ended, I found my way back to Avengers tower. I locked myself into the lab with a bottle of scotch.
I looked at the now empty lab with a longing for my dead lab partner.
The next day I found myself at the graveyard Bruce was put in.
I finally found the Bruce's headstone and I read what was on it.
In loving memory of Robert Bruce Banner.
Who, even with an inner monster, knew what the right thing to do was.
And refused to let that monster be his downfall.
I closed my eyes in sorrow and lifted my head to the setting sun, letting the sun warm my face. I was cold all over.
…It was my fault.
It was my entire fault. The only reason Bruce was dead was because of me.
I let him die.
The cap had specifically told me to cover Bruce when he goes to turn to the Hulk. That exact moment that Bruce had come out, I was too busy fighting off the creatures next to me. I had been selfish and that had cost me Bruce's life.
It was my fault Bruce was dead. I couldn't fool myself.
I had tried, but I just couldn't. I had to face the fact that I had let Bruce die. I had been selfish.
Completely and utterly selfish.
I had been myself.
"I'm sorry Bruce."
…
"I'm sorry I failed you."
…..
Damn that's depressing.
Please read and review! Tell me how you liked it.
-detective DG