The salty breeze gently blew through Jan's hair as she stared out to sea. A pair of binoculars hung around her neck like an oversized necklace. In the distance she saw something leap out of the water. She smiled and put the binoculars to her eyes. A few dolphins were playing and Enya's 'Orinoco Flow' drifted from a small radio behind her, giving them the perfect soundtrack. The music suddenly stopped.
"How can you listen to that," Hank said completely destroying the moment. She sighed and let the binoculars drop from her hand, giving him a venomous look. "Hey now calm down. We have to go anyway. Stark wanted this tonight for something," he told her.
"Oh yeah. I almost forgot. Will Banner be there," she asked him. Her eyes got all misty and she played with a strand of her hair. He rolled his eyes and went to turn the yacht around.
* * *
"But why not? I mean you didn't care," Namor was asking Banner as Hank entered the lab.
"Not very many people are as open-minded as I am. They'll either think your completely crazy or want to bomb the place. Trust me you don't need to go around telling everyone that you come from Atlantis," Banner said. He picked up a syringe and slid the needle into Manor's upper arm.
"What are you doing," Manor said pulling away.
"Relax, it's just something to boost your immune system," Banner assured him.
"Jan likes you," Hank said to Banner.
"So. I like her too," was the response.
"Likes you so much that she might want to come in here. Who knows, she might find out exactly what we've been up to in here," Hank said, sounding worried.
"You worry too much. Besides even if she finds out that I've recreated the super soldier serum, no body will believe her," Banner said nonchalant.
"I'm just saying that this could all go very badly," Hank warned.
* * *
Angelica sighed heavily. Some party this was turning out to be. Your basic assortment of rich, arrogant millionaires had shown up with their beautiful wives that were a good number of years younger than they. And she stood out with her many piercing and punk style. Yet Vance had been psyched about it for reasons beyond her. She had no idea how with a simple smile he could force to do his will and why it left her giddy like a schoolgirl afterwards. She didn't realize until now that she had created a small fire on the table she was sitting out. She quickly put it out before anyone had noticed.
On the other side of the boat, Jan was sitting on the railing staring at the black water. Just like Angelica she had quickly become bored; that was until Banner came near her. He caught her by surprise and she nearly fell in the water. She jumped to her feet and accidentally stomped on one of his.
"It's okay I walk on them to," he told before she could panic. She laughed a little too long at what he said. "I didn't know I was that funny," he said, slightly blushing.
Hank watched the two of them talk for a little while. Feelings of jealousy bubbled up inside of him, but he was also worried about her getting too close. Banner's attitude concerned him too. It seemed as if he didn't care about anyone finding out about what they were doing. This was especially excruciating for him. He knew if he didn't stop obsessing over everything that he was going to have an aneurysm, which led to all new worries.
Later after the party, Jan found herself wanting to talk to Banner again. It was raining by this time. She knew he would be in the lab, as that was where he practically lived. She had taken a cab up to it. She slid out of the car after paying her driver and held her jacket over her head. She hadn't realized that her skirt had caught in the door and as she tried to run it ripped and she ended up falling on her face.
Upon entering the room she got the shock of her life. Hank was there too; he was towering above her. So much so that his head was touching the ceiling. She screamed. He turned around and looked at her, obviously as surprised as she was. In her shock she feel against a door, which opened upon impact. Once again she found herself on the ground. The door slammed shut and the room began to fill with a thick smoke.
Banner rushed to the controls to shut down the auto sequence but there was nothing to help him. A few moments passed and the smoke cleared. It appeared that Jan had disappeared along with it. Hank, now back to his normal size, opened the door and slid something in the way to insure that it would not close behind him. It seemed that she was really gone. Atleast until he heard a faint cry. It took a moment for him to realize where it was coming from. He looked down. "Oh man," he moaned.
To be continued….