Breaking Point
"What do you want?!" May shouted, her small frame shaking in anger. The object of her frustration? The Hulk. The two stood woods, alone. It was nighttime and the air was bitter cold. The green behemoth stared at the brunette with a very confused expression plastered onto his otherwise, angry face as he peered deeply into her glistening, blue eyes. The more May thought about her situation, the more angered she became. For months now, she's been terrified by the hulking creature, but now she'd had her fill of it all; always carrying her away if he saw her, his intentions unknown to all but himself. "Why can't you leave me alone?" She asked. "Please, can't you just leave?!"
Poor May. It's really not her fault that she's in this situation. May Vashal and David Banner were walking down I-90, somewhere in Washington state when it happened. They passed by what seemed to be a broken down car and inside were four, cold young men, desperate for some gas money. They claimed that their car had run out of gas while coming back from a weekend trip and that they didn't have any cash on hand to go get more gas. They even offered the two hitchhikers a ride into town, if they obliged. With the night only getting colder, the two agreed and gave the men $20 to go and fill their tank. Sadly, their seemingly nice story was merely a nasty plot to mug David of whatever money he had and score a good time with May as a bonus.
The two were dragged into the car, just as the driver turned the car over and drove quickly off the highway. With David pinned in the back seat, the two men in the back began to rummage through his pockets for whatever they could find as May was held firmly in the lap of the front passenger as he ran his fingers through her long brown locks, giggling with anticipation. When David tried to stop them, they merely opened the door and pushed him out into the night. Seeing this, the small girl poked her captor's eye and then proceeded to violently kick the driver, causing him to lose control of the vehicle and crash it into a tree. May hobbled out of the car and tried to find her way back to David, but was stopped by another passenger who tackled her to the ground. He began to rip her coat off when it happened. A rather large, green hand grabbed the man by the collar and hoisted him off the ground. This poor man was now face to face with David Banner's alter ego, the Incredible Hulk. The Hulk roared at the man and then threw him towards the car he surfaced from. With the driver unconscious behind the wheel, the two remaining passengers got out of the car with tire irons, ready to try and defend themselves. The massive green creature roared at his two would-be attackers and then charged them. The two men dropped their tire irons and turned tail, running away, leaving their injured friends there. The Hulk roared at them as they left and then proceeded to smash up their car, all the while, May watched through terror filled eyes; the shock that she was almost assaulted still fresh in her mind.
When the creature decided he'd had his fill of smashing the grey sedan, he remembered the girl in which he had changed for. He ran to the still shaken teen and looked her over. It looked as if no damage had been done. Her breath was heavy as she quickly inhaled and exhaled through her mouth, sending puffs of steam into the frigid air. He quickly scooped up the petite girl in his arms and ran away from the scene of his carnage. After a minute of running, May's mind clicked back into reality. She looked around, only to be met with a large green chest. She looked up to see to see the Hulk's face as he ran through the wooded environment. May fidgeted in his arms, causing him to look down at her. May jumped at his white-eyed stare and then began to fidget more. The Hulk looked ahead again and noticed a small clearing in which to stop. He stopped when he reached the middle and then looked at the frightened girl again. He placed her down on her feet and then stepped back. Suddenly, she began to yell at him. He didn't know why, but she did; sending us back to where we started this tale. The creature had never seen such rage come from the small-framed girl before and it confused him, even startled him.
"Why can't you understand?! Just go away!" May shouted, but unbeknownst to her, the Hulk did understand what she was saying and it saddened him.
"DON'T MAKE ME GO." He thought. "I ONLY WANT TO BE WITH YOU. TO HOLD YOU, TO SEE YOU SMILE. WHY DO YOU HATE ME?" If only the giant's thoughts could be relayed to the riled up child. He tried to, but all that came out was a low, inhuman growl.
"Don't growl at me!" May shouted. Tears of anger and fear began to well up in the corners of her eyes, causing a sting of pain to pierce the Hulk's troubled heart.
"WHY CAN'T YOU UNDERSTAND ME?" He thought. "WHY CAN'T YOU SEE?" He tried to say, but again, yet another low growl graced his throat.
"I said stop!" May screamed. The Hulk's lip quivered as if about to cry. "Why can't he see that I'm scared?" May thought. "What does he want?" The Hulk tried to take a step forward to close the gap between them, but May stepped back. "You stay away from me!" She shouted. He stopped, biting his quivering lip as he did. She didn't want anything to do with him, even after saving her from a terrible fate and it was clear that he would never be able to tell her how he felt and what he wanted. The thought sank into his bleeding heart, causing a familiar emotion to stir inside him. One he had never felt towards her before. Anger. He clenched his fists as his breath began to hasten. "What do you want?! Do you think I have something to give you? Well I don't!" May shouted as the rage inside the Hulk grew to a new height. His fists shook with frustration as he gritted his teeth, his rage moments away from erupting. "I don't get it! What is is you want from me?!" She screamed aloud, causing the mutant's breaking point to snap. He drew in a massive breath and roared at May, louder than he had ever before. His muscles strained as he pulled his massive arms and shoulders back to bellow. May felt her heart skip a beat at the monstrous noise. Never before had she heard him roar in such a manner. The brute yelled at her again and then ran towards May, his yell unwavering as he charged her. May stood there, paralyzed in her spot till it kicked in that he was aiming for her. She quickly turned around in an attempt to run away, but it was pointless. The Hulk grabbed her arms with his massive hands and lifted her off the ground, pulling her up and towards his face. His inhuman, white eyes seemed to glow with the rage that had built up inside him. May's eyes poured tears as the creature roared at her, his voice almost cracking from the sheer force he put into it. A dreaded scream escaped May's lips at the monstrous yell. It was the only thing she could do. If only she could hear the plea behind his outburst.
"LOVE ME!" He screamed over and over again. "WHY WON'T YOU LOVE ME?!" He shook her in his hands, furious at the brunette. May cried out in terror, shouting out her fear as tears fell from her cheeks, down to the grass below. The Hulk was so enraged he wanted to throw the tiny girl as far as his muscles would allow and then it hit him. He stared at May's face, his white eyes piercing her watery blue ones. Never before had he seen her cry. Never before had he seen tears on her sweet face. This tender, loving girl, whom he had seen numerous times share her love and compassion with those broken and in fear was now petrified beyond belief and he was the only one to blame. With rage still plastered on his face, he pulled her close and wrapped his enormous arms around her, as he had seen her do before to others. May's screams ceased as she registered what it was the Hulk was doing. He was embracing her. His body shook with tremendous anger and his pulse was so heavy with adrenaline she could feel it pounding against her. The trembling girl's eyes poured tears ever more, now realizing all he ever wanted was someone there. Someone would wouldn't run away or be frightened of him. Her body went limp as her heart sank with the great depression she felt for not seeing that the the one who scared her the most was the one who needed her the most. May carefully placed her hands on his sides in an attempt to return affection. The Hulk growled, feeling her hands touch him and then he understood what she was trying to do, yet the immense anger still flowed through him. Rage still in control, he quickly dropped her and ran a few yards away. He furiously pounded at the ground, creating a crater with his green fists. His anger with the girl still flowed like the river rapids through him, but he didn't want to hurt her, even if she had hurt him. May watched in fear as he pummeled the earth. He unleashed his fury for several minutes, growling and snarling all the while, until he could no more. He slouched over his handiwork before standing erect once again. His breath was heavy and his shoulders sagged from the deed. May, cautiously walked up to him and tenderly placed her hand on his arm. He grunted and quickly whipped his head towards her. He stared at May's puffy, red eyes and then placed his hand slowly on hers. Her hand was so small and fragile, compared to his. He looked back to her, just as she moved closer to him and wrapped her arms around his waist.
"I'm s-sorry." She muttered. "I'm so sorry. . ." May cried as she held onto the Hulk. Now she knew and she felt bad for the way she had treated him. In that moment, she understood that he comprehended much more than they had thought. The Hulk slowly wrapped his arms around her tiny body and tenderly held her close, being careful not to hurt or frighten her. As the two hugged one another, May could hear and feel his heartbeat. It was slow, but strong and she found it to be frightening, yet comforting. May pulled herself closer into his arms, now realizing how cold it was and that she no longer had a coat. "His body is so warm." She thought. "I never noticed it before." As May nuzzled her face into him, the Hulk let out a deep sigh as he melted into her embrace. It was all he could ever remember wanting ever since he first laid his pale eyes on her and as he did, his heartbeat began to slow and his body began to shrink. A familiar change had begun to run its course. May could feel his body shrink as his muscles receded and his stature lessened. When May looked up, she saw her beloved friend David, staring at her with tired and confused white eyes. She cried and held onto him tightly. With the Hulk's consciousness still the dominate one, he held her tightly and with a low voice whispered to her,
"THANK YOU."
