My Protector
"Goodnight May." David smiled to his young companion. "Try to get some sleep."
"You too, David." she replied. "Goodnight." May pulled the covers of the bed over her and snuggled the clean sheets as David walked away from her door and towards his own. It had been another long day of unsuccessful hitchhiking and the two were exhausted. They were very fortunate to find a small motel along the way. Their destination? Helena, Montana. David knew of a research lab there that he might be able to use to find a cure for his condition, but in the meantime, they needed their rest. David shut the door to his half of the room and slipped himself into the covers of the bed. It wasn't very soft, but it was a far cry from the alternative. David inhaled deeply and then exhaled, relaxing his somewhat scattered thoughts. He couldn't wait to get to Helena to see if the lab would fit his needs. Would he be able to get a job there? Surely he would, but May? Probably not, but they had worked separate jobs before and who knows? Maybe they would take her on as a janitor or a receptionist, who could say?
May. She had been on his mind a little more as of late.
He had woken up from his metamorphosis to see the tiny brunette hugging onto him. Only once before had he woken up from a transformation to find her so close to him and she had been rendered unconscious prior to the moment. He vaguely remembered saying something to her, but he felt the words were not his own. His head was heavy with fog as he stared at her. He slowly ran his hand over her brown locks in an attempt to calm the crying girl. May explained the events that had conspired after being thrown from the car, but not to much avail.
David just couldn't get his head around what she had told him. He didn't doubt her story, May wouldn't lie about something like that, but the fact that the Hulk, in his own way, begged for affection from her was beyond him. It made him reflect deeply about himself and his condition. He was quite lonely being on the road and May was the best thing that had happened to him in awhile, but it still boggled his intelligent mind. Was there something he was missing? Perhaps it was because she was almost always around when his transformations occurred. If in a world where everyone leaves and there was only one person who was always there, wouldn't you want to know everything about that person? It didn't really matter at the moment though. He was quite tired and these thoughts were only keeping sleep at bay. He inhaled deeply and exhaled one more time before closing his eyes and letting sleep take him over.
In the opposite room, May lay curled up in the sheets of her bed. She slowly woke up, the urge to answer the toilet's call strong in her bladder. She sat up and pushed the sheets off her as she quickly made a break for the door. As she left the room to use the joint bathroom there was a creaking noise at her window. A man dressed in black, worked a crow bar in between the bottom of the windowpane and the windowsill, forcing the lock open. He pulled the window open and crawled through the open window. Travelers usually carry a lot of cash. That would be his easy score for the night. As he climbed in he quickly ran his flashlight over the room, surveying it and noticed that the bed was empty. He didn't know how long he had before the girl came back but he knew he had to work quickly.
He made a b-line for May's backpack and ferociously opened it. He emptied it out onto the floor, rummaging for whatever was of good to him, but all he could find were articles of clothing. He threw the bag to the side in frustration and then decided to search the night stands. He stood up to walk to them but at that moment, the door's lock clicked open. May walked in the room and froze upon noticing the dark silhouette standing next to her bed and the open window behind him. Suddenly the assailant shone his flashlight in her face to blind her.
David woke to a small shriek from his friend in the other room. It abruptly woke him and he quickly sat up. "May?" he called out, but there was no reply. The only reply he heard was a scuffling in the adjacent room. He sprung to his feet and ran out of his room to find her door was cracked open. He quickly opened the door and found May pinned on the ground by a man in black.
"Shut up kid!" the man said quietly. "Make it easy on yourself." He had May on her stomach and her hands forcefully tied behind her back by a strip of duct tape, the event lit up by the burglar's heavy flashlight on the floor. One of the man's gloves was stuffed into her mouth to muffle her shouts. Not like anyone would have heard them anyways. They were right off a busy highway. David sprung into action and tackled the man, pulling him off her and onto the floor. The two scuffled for a bit before the man reached for his flashlight and violently clubbed David over the head with it. David grabbed his new found wound and hunched over in pain as the man smacked him across the face with the flashlight, sending David into more agony. The man gave him one good kick as a final measure and turned his sights again to May who had now tried to make a break for it. He grabbed her and hit her in the back of the head with the flashlight, momentarily knocking her out. David watched through squinted eyes as she went limp in the man's arms and then as he let her drop to the floor.
That was the final straw.
The brilliant scientist could no longer resist the rage that had built up inside him. His eyes changed to that monstrous white as he tensed his muscles in reaction to the surge of power now coursing through him. May woke up as the burglar ransacked the room and through hazy eyes, saw David's metamorphosis happening just a few feet away from her. His muscles bulged, pushing against every seam in his clothing, ripping his shirt and pants from the pressure being put on them. She heard a low, distorted moan escape his throat as he tossed and turned on the floor from the sensations flowing through his body. The burglar ransacked the nightstands, finding nothing. He was beginning to regret not breaking into the room of the couple a few doors down. Suddenly, a large figure stood up from the other side of the room, snarling at the puny man in the corner. The man heard the noise, whipped around, and shone his flashlight only to see a terrible sight. The burglar was now very regretful he chose this room to break into as he was now the target of the Incredible Hulk.
The Hulk roared at him and then charged him. The man swung his flashlight at him, but the jaded monster simply grabbed it, blocking his attack. The Hulk growled at the tool, somehow knowing what had been done with it. Bad flashlight. He squeezed it in his hands, crushing it into pieces. The man felt his pants become wet as the creature grabbed his shirt and threw him towards the window. When he reoriented himself from the throw, the burglar scrambled to escape through the window but the Hulk had another plan. He grabbed him one more time and then pushed him out the window, sending him several feet away. The man got up from his fall and ran away as fast as he could, sorry he ever chose this place to rob.
The Hulk roared at him and watched him run away like the coward he was. He turned from the window to see poor May still tied up on the floor. She had watched the whole event conspire from her uncomfortable position and said not a word the entire time. He quickly bent down and pulled the leather glove from her mouth. May moaned as she smacked her dry lips together, happy her mouth was no longer gagged. He then ripped the tape from her tiny wrists, freeing them. May pushed herself up onto her knees as the Hulk looked her over as best as he could in the dark. She seemed to be ok. May stared at the beast in silence, not wishing to invoke his wrath. He tilted his head as he took his right hand and touched May's cheek. She flinched at his touch and fell backwards. It had only been a week since their last encounter so she was not quite adjusted yet. He stood up and stared at her as May's eyes followed him. He towered over her like a brick wall and sighed. He looked towards the door, instinct telling him to give her space and he followed that thought. He walked out the door towards the other room, May's eyes following him as he did so.
"Where's he going?" May thought. Usually when they were alone, he would never let her out of his sight, but he certainly handled the situation differently this time. She figured he knew that she didn't like that and decided to leave so he wouldn't cause her any discomfort. May stood up and stared at the open door for a minute, the events of the night now catching up to her fully and it scared her. It had good reason to. Her clothes lie askew on the floor and the contents of the nightstands were scattered around the room as she realized just how bad things would have been if the Hulk hadn't been there to step in and save the day. "David." she whimpered. Shaken, May ran out the door and into the next room where she saw the hulking creature sitting in David's bed. He watched her enter and stared at her as she stood in the doorway. Light from an outside lamp post helped to light up the room, illuminating the white of his eyes.
May stood in the shadow of the doorway, momentarily paralyzed at his stare before snapping out of it. She quickly ran to him and latched onto his finely chiseled body, seeking solace from her protector as tears fell down her face. The Hulk's eyes widened from her motion. He hadn't expected her to suddenly move, nonetheless hug him. He tilted his head, unsure why she had done that. She squeezed tighter as her tears increased. "I was so scared! David, please hold me." the poor girl sobbed. He felt her squeeze tighter, realizing that she was not scared of him, she was scared of the bad man and what he had done to her. His pulse quickened with the anger flowing through him but his heart was heavy with pity for her. He wrapped one arm around her and pulled her in close. Sure he was very angry, but he wanted her more than anything. Even more than the pleasure of destruction.
The Hulk attempted to reassure her that he wouldn't leave, but only a growl emerged where words normally would. May looked up at him, peering into his eyes and he into hers. He knew she couldn't understand him, but he had to say something. He tried again so hard, but still only snarls and growls would come out. Still, he said them as softly as he could and it seemed to do the trick. May didn't quite understand, but she felt like he was trying to comfort her. She nestled her face into him as he rubbed her shoulder to comfort her. "Thank you." May whispered as she leaned on her green-skinned guardian. Though she was still afraid of what he could do, she realized that after every event that had led up to his appearance, there was never a place she felt safer than in his arms. It almost felt like no one could touch her and she took comfort in that.
Fatigue quickly took her as the Hulk held her in his grasp, causing her to shortly fall back to sleep. The Hulk felt her body go limp and he almost became worried, but the feel of her small breaths on his skin reassured him that she was fine. He pulled her in a little more and watched her with intrigue as his own pulse lowered, causing the Hulk himself to fall asleep, allowing David Banner to resurface again.
The dazed transient awoke from his fog back in his own bed with his young friend asleep in his cradling arm. His still white eyes watched her intently, wondering what had conspired. He remembered the burglar attacking him and when he hit May. And he remembered the immense anger he felt towards the assailant for that choice of action. It was strange, but he could almost feel the beast inside him clawing at the door to be let out, just to punish the wrongdoer again. David shook his head, quickly changing his train of thought, causing his eyes to take back their rightful color. He pulled the covers off him and picked up the sleeping girl in his arms to take her back to her own room. He walked into the room to see the full extent of the carnage. He could see her clothes scattered on the floor and drawers of the nightstands thrown on the floor along with their contents. He also found his torn shirt on the floor. The creature must have tore it off him in his rage.
He set his sleeping friend on the bed and pulled the covers over her, being careful not to wake her. He then began to pick up her scattered clothes and then reassembled the nightstands. He took notice of the torn shirt again and picked it up. He would dispose of it later. David felt a cold draft in the room and walked over to the window to shut it, noticing the lock had been forced open. He looked outside and noticed a crow bar lying in the bush below the window. David was relieved that the crowbar was not the weapon of choice during the attack. David's condition would have healed him quickly, but May would not have been so lucky.
Physician's instinct taking over, he walked over to May and checked her head. There was no blood or open wound, just a small bump. He sighed deeply and smiled, relieved that she would be ok. He turned to the door and walked out the room but peeked in before shutting the door.
"Goodnight May. Sleep well." he said and then closed the door behind him.