"You lied to me."

"I did no such thing."

Hank spoke in a hushed voice, though I was sure we were the only ones left on the fourth floor. It was nearing midnight, yet I'd found him where I'd hoped I would—drifting to sleep over some stacks of paperwork in his makeshift lab.

"You told me," I accused. "In no uncertain terms, that I couldn't bear any more children."

He adjusted his spectacles in lieu of clearing his throat in his typical awkward fashion.

"I only relayed what the doctors said. I had no reason to question it, and neither did you."

"But you were wrong."

"Maggie, did you come to me for help or did you come for a fight?"

I frowned and picked up a pen from his desk to begin anxiously clicking.

"Both," I admitted. He sighed. Hank was doing an excellent job of not letting on, but I could see past his calm façade to a deeper fear of what this all meant.

"You took…what was it, five tests you said? And got it confirmed by a physician?" He asked.

"The evidence is damning."

We fell quiet. Hank had always been my confidant, but rarely had I approached him about something so strangely personal. I'd taken the time to think it through, and concluded that he was the only logical person to tell. He would be rational. That was all I needed.

I expected him to make me feel ashamed, but quite the opposite was true. He'd seen me through worse predicaments, after all. Deep down I just wanted him to comfort me, tell me everything was going to be alright even if it wasn't. But he was too smart for that.

"How?" I croaked out. "How is it possible?"

The doctor leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands together.

"I had a theory," He began. "When we first met. It had been a while since I'd heard of a mutant conception. They're rare, these days, you know. But when we were introduced…" He trailed off, reliving some unseen memory. He cleared his throat. "You were carrying a healthy child, despite what you'd been through."

A twinge of pain at the reminder of the lost girl. And of Jamie. I merely nodded and let him continue.

"Your powers have a theme of preservation. I thought, maybe, that didn't just constitute an immediate protection of your body. Perhaps it went further than that."

"Let me know when you get to the point, Einstein," I said.

Hank was still lost in thought as he spoke.

"One of the effects of your mutation may include an increased chance of conception," He said simply. "This…situation supports that theory."

"God, so fertility is one of my traits?" I wrinkled my nose, feeling awkward at last. "Like, I'm meant to save the mutant race from extinction?"

"Don't be ridiculous, that's not on you," Hank said at once.

"But…that's your answer?" I was feeling more panicky by the second. "Even if it's true, it doesn't account for…I mean, Banner is…Banner."

"I'm no expert on Banner. From what I know, his only disadvantage to passing on his genes is the Hulk. You seemed to have bypassed that, and thusly…" He trailed off.

"Thusly what?" I shot. "This kid could be a radiated nightmare?"

Hank's silence was affirming. I puffed out a mouthful of air and leaned back to stare at the wall above his head.

"Fuck me," I murmured.

"What's your game-plan, Maggie?" Hank asked, though it sounded like a rhetorical question.

"I…" I couldn't look him in the eyes. "I can't have it, right? I'll figure something out."

He nodded slowly, and tried to look at me like we were discussing no more than tomorrow's forecast.

"You understand why, though?" He leaned forward to make sure I was focused on him. "A child like that…"

"It wouldn't be fair," I agreed numbly. "To bring it into the world."

"It's not about fairness," Hank said sternly. "There are untold dangers for an infant with that kind of hereditary disposition. You haven't told anyone else?"

I shook my head.

"Good," He seemed to visibly relax. "Scientists, war-mongers, good, bad, and curious…many have tried to recreate Banner's incident for their own purposes. Tried and failed, thankfully. There's no telling what would happen if the wrong person were to find out that the Hulk can successfully spawn."

I tried to imagine the monster inside of me, but all I could see was Bruce's smiling face. I pushed the thought away and swallowed.

"Right," I said. "Well, I'll take care of it.

"Do you need me to-?"

"I said I'll take care of it."

We were still for another moment while Hank looked me, trying to scan for any signs of instability. I tried to shake my head clear.

"I've got some track record when it comes to motherhood," I joked halfheartedly. He did me a service by not laughing.

I found the nearest Planned Parenthood the next day. I trained myself the night before to think of it like a routine check-up. To completely avoid thinking about the procedure that was being done. It was over quickly. I thought that was the end of it.

Two weeks later, I was still throwing up, so I took advantage of my health benefits from SHIELD and saw yet another doctor. Only two words registered during my entire appointment: Failed abortion. Apparently, that was a thing.

I spent two days in limbo, not wanting to talk to anyone, and not having a clue as to how to proceed. It was just me and the unknown entity still growing within me. I never wanted kids. Not even when I was ready to have Jamie's. It feels horrendous to think that way, but it was a dark truth. How could I, someone who can barely keep herself alive, and someone whose only experience with parents was filled with neglect and hate, dare to be responsible for a whole other human being? If remotely human is what it would be….

Out of the blue one night, he called.

"Bruce?" His voice was garbled, but there was no mistaking it on the other end. "Oh my god, is that really you?"

"Oh, hey, it worked," I could hear his smile. "Thought I'd give you a try."

"How are you? What's happening? Have you met Doctor Doom?" I was firing questions before he could formally greet me.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. I just…wanted to hear your voice, I guess."

"And is it everything you wanted?"

"It's great," Bruce chuckled. "A little off, though. You alright?"

"Um," I paused. "Yeah. Yes. Just been a feeling under the weather."

"Speaking of under the weather, I recommend not going to Latveria on vacation. This place is one natural disaster after another. Worse than San Francisco."

"But you're alive? I've heard zero news about this new deal with Doom."

"There's a treaty in the works. I've just been given my own lab to keep popping out prototypes to harness the Primagen. No drama to report, yet, knock on wood."

"Good. Good and boring, then," I grinned.

"The way I like it."

I bit my lip hard, because I knew he couldn't see.

"Hey—can I ask you something?" I did my best not to make it sound ominous, but failed.

"Sure," He replied, though the trepidation seeped through his tone. "Anything."

"Are you indestructible?"

I blurted it out like a toddler, unable to think of a better way to phrase it or a modest build-up.

There was a pause before I heard him breathing again through the receiver.

"All I know is that the other guy is impervious to just about anything. Bullets, bombs…"

"Man-made objects."

"You worried about me?" Bruce almost laughed. I forced a grin that I hoped he could hear in my voice.

"Only a little."

"Don't be."

I wasn't about to tell him the real reason for my asking. He couldn't know about the radiation-infested mutant fetus, but the more I knew about him the more I was beginning to understand what I was dealing with. If this thing really possessed the genes of the Hulk…maybe it couldn't be penetrated. Maybe it was here to stay and there was nothing that could be done.

A sudden crescendo of emotion swelled inside of me. The rational part knew there was nothing but hardship lying in wait for this child[MK1] . My child.

And what about me? I had no idea what we'd created here, and images of a monster child tearing me apart had haunted at least one of my nightmares in the past week.

Monster…that word wasn't fair. It didn't even exist in the world yet. It didn't know good from bad. It was a completely blank slate. Would the world see it that way? Probably not. But I could. Maybe that was all that mattered.

I was at a loss. Any move I made next would be the wrong one, and it was a decision I had to make entirely on my own.

"Maggie? You still there?" Bruce brought me back into my cubicle, where I'd been doing late night work before he called.

"Yeah…I…I just have to…go. Talk soon?" He couldn't know. Whatever this meant for me, it would be ten times harder for him. I was so nervous he could read my mind through the phone, that I hung up before he uttered a goodbye. I had missed him so goddamn much since the second he left, and yet the first time I speak to him, I'm anxious to be off.

I sat there for a minute or two, fighting the urge to put my hands on my stomach as my mind painted pictures of what my life was about to become.

There was no one I could turn to now that my fate felt sealed. Even Hank wouldn't be able to pull me up out of the mess I had gotten myself into.

I made my decision. My dear blue friend had been right about one thing—no one could know. I would never be safe. The child would never be safe. And, if I was stuck with them…I was going to fight like hell to make sure no one ever touched them. I had to go-it didn't matter where-and not come back.

My heart sank as I stood up from my desk and I tried to fight fearful tears that were lurking in the corner of my eyes. I would go home. Pack. Hop a train to somewhere. Alone. Sonia would surely be asleep. I would leave a note, make something up that she probably wouldn't even believe. The word would spread from there, and the department would get on without me. I'd find a remote village somewhere in the Amazon, and live with other scary beings until the kid was born…and, or, killed me.

A shuffling across the room made me jump.

"Who's there?" I called in a tremulous voice.

"What the fuck? It's me, Maggie," came the voice of Nick. "Don't scare me like that. I thought you left hours ago."

"What are you doing here?"

"Going into overtime. You?"

I swallowed and made sure he couldn't see my face.

"Nothing," I said. "About to go home."

"You okay?"

I thought long and hard about the answer. I never trusted Nick, but I also didn't dislike him.

"No," I finally said bluntly.

"Maggie—" He came toward me.

"I think I need help."