I own neither The Incredible Hulk or One Punch Man. This is only a story made for enjoyment and non-profit. Enjoy the chapter! (Yes, I decided to continue this.)
AkwardDeconee (Sorry, I couldn't spell your name right lol): Yeah, I moved it to the crossover section, thanks for the suggestion.
Also,
WARNING: Saitama in this story WILL NOT one shot the Hulk in any way and in any scenario! If you're looking for a story where Saitama goofs around and beats anyone from another fictional universe with a single punch, then this story IS NOT for you. Go back, don't read this story, and don't complain in my reviews about Saitama not being able to defeat the Hulk in ONE PUNCH when the time comes. Now, enjoy the chapter!
City-Z, years before...
In the darkness of the alley, there walked an exhausted, frustrated man. He was wearing a sleeveless white shirt, and a shredded shorts. The man's eyes were flaring green, pure rage was seen in his very expression.
"Please..just...go away...go away..." Bruce Banner, the man in question, said in a whimpering voice, "I can't keep living like this.." He fell to his knees, "WHY WON'T YOU JUST GO AWAY!!!?!" He screamed in a different, deeper voice.
He collapsed on the ground, facing the dirt in defeat. Before all of this, he had a life, as a scientist. But he was a fool to trust Genus and his schemes. He fell right to his trap, and now he became this deranged monster who cares about nothing but to smash those who are in his way.But that was not all. The monster he became is also a separate entity, who constantly tormented him in his mind, telling him that he's weak, that he's just a 'puny human', that he should let the monster out and show the world what they're made of.
That monster calls himself 'The Hulk', an unstoppable green behemoth, who, without a doubt, can bring about the acopalypse itself without effort. Banner was the one who held this monster back, who held him from hurting everyone.
Banner slowly stood up, trying to move onto the next alley, hiding from everyone, hiding from the world. He couldn't let anyone near him, he just couldn't, not after the countless unneccesary deaths he left in his wake.
As he moved onto the next alley, his head were ringing, the Hulk was speaking again, though he only ignored it. As he reached the designated destination, suddenly, a monster emerged out of the darkness. This was, the Ghost City, after all. No one lives here. It was the only place where Banner can keep the Hulk from hurting people.
The monster was a simple yet menacing creature. His teeth bared white, almost as if it was a fang, the fur on his body was wild black, and his nose resembles that of a pig.
The monster smirked, "Never seen a human around here. You new or something? Eh, doesn't matter, I've been eager to kill some of you's dumbass homo sapients."
Bruce Banner felt anger rising throughout his veins, his eyes lit up in pure radiation, but he realised it a bit sooner, before snapping out of it and shook his head, "Please, stay away from me.." He begged. But not for himself. He begged for the whole world and it's safety, and this monster could be the trigger.
"Keep begging, human, but that won't do it at all." The monster said as he uncontrollably licked his lips. As he rushed against him, he swatted his hand towards Banner, sending him flying away into the nearest wall.
Banner grunted as he collapsed on the ground, trying to keep his anger at bay, "No..." He begged, "You..." He raised his head, his eyes began to flare, "You wouldn't like me..when I'm angry.."
"Ohoh, threats, how feisty." The creature mocked, "Games aside, looks like I'm gonna kill you here." He smirked, "Say goodbye, human."
Banner's muscle began to expand slightly. But before it can continue even further, a voice called out, "Hey there."
The monster was confused, "Wha-" he was sudennly sent propelling away from the scene by a kick.
The newcomer landed on the ground. He was wearing a blue tracksuit, although he looked rather plain and scrawny, he was able to kick the monster away. He was also black-haired, and like Banner, he seemed to be in a great exhaustion.
The man turned his head to Banner, who looked rather exhausted judging by the sweats drooling all over his face. "You okay there, dude?" The man asked.
Banner looked at him for a moment, one minute he was grateful, but suddenly, his eyes widened in panic, "N- no! Stay away from me!" Banner immediately stood up.
"What? Why would you want me to-?"
"Don't you know who I am?!" Bruce Banner yelled, "I'm a fugitive! People all over the world are looking for me! Even the Hero Association!"
"Dude, I didn't even know if you had a vegetable with you," The man said in an oblivious matter, confusing 'fugitive' with 'vegetable', "And why would people grind themselves off over a piece of vegetable? I get it, diet stuff and all, but that is too much. And what is this about a heretic association? Some kind of vegetable cult?"
Bruce Banner looked at him, dumbfounded by his oblivious personality.
The man, however, looked confused even more, "What? Is it something I said?"
Bruce Banner replied, "You...never heard of the Hero Association before?"
"Nada." The man in the blue tracksuit replied. Though he seemed uninterested in the association, so Banner decided to leave him be for that topic.
But what made him panic, is that the man is standing so close to the very vessel of the monster above all monsters.
"You need to stay away from me. I'm dangerous, I could kill you, and in result, kill everyone, I'm a monster, I can't stay near you.." Banner finally explained himself, feeling the urge to go away.
However, the man looked at him with even more concern, then he asked, "What's your name?"
"Wha-"
"Just tell me." The man said once more.
"My name's...Bruce Banner..." He replied. The man nodded, before he began to introduce himself, "Well, you introduced yourself, so let me do mine...I'm Saitama, a hero for-"
"YOU BASTARD! YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!" The monster from before screamed as he rushed against Saitama.
Saitama, however, did a swift spin, and kicked the monster into the wall, the impact caused his head to explode on contact, "A hero for fun." He finished. He then looked to his watch, before looking at the man with the monster inside, "Wanna come with? It's bargain day today. There's something that I wanna buy." He asked while pointing in the other direction with his thumb.
Bruce Banner didn't like the idea of going into a public place with a chance of him going berserk. Not today, "S- sorry, I can't..I might hurt somebody.."
Saitama paused for a moment, before smiling slightly, "Well, I'm not gonna leave you here, you certainly look like a homeless hobo. Your clothes were a dead giveaway."
"Huh..?" Bruce Banner asked, "Are you going to say what I think you're going to-"
"Yup. You can come with to my apartment. It maybe cramped, but eh, no sweat. Besides, I'm a hero, I should help those in need. But you gotta get a job of your own soon, man." Saitama interrupted.
Banner couldn't help but feel the need to accept his offer. He's homeless, he has no place he can call his home, and he's hunted by literally everyone in the entire damn continent.
Suddenly, Banner felt his stomach beginning to grumble, the sensation of hunger came to him. "Uh..." Banner muttered embarrassingly.
Saitama laughed lightly, "Damn dude, you should've told me that you were hungry. I know a place not far away from the supermarket. You like udon noodles?" He asked.
Banner looked down, not saying anything. He wasn't used to this. He wasn't used to being offered a place to stay, a food to consume, no, he was used to being treated like a monster, treated like an outcast, treated like an experimental object.
"Uh, yo? Browsing Banker?" Saitama called out, forgetting Bruce's name, though he ignored the mispronouncuation.
"I should go.." Bruce Banner said sadly, turning away to walk, "I don't want to hurt you, or anyone.."
But before he can walk even further, a hand suddenly reached to his shoulder. Bruce Banner stopped, "What do you want?"
Saitama replied, "I don't know what your problem is, but you need help. You're homeless, y-"
"WHY THE FUCK DO YOU CARE ANYWAY?!" Bruce Banner screamed, a little bit of the Hulk came out along with his words.
Saitama paused for a moment, before saying, "Didn't I tell you already? I'm a hero."
"Heroes? I don't believe that kind of crap exists," Bruce Banner said while his veins glowed green, "Heroes are supposed to help people, and here I am! Look at them! Look at the damned Hero Association! All they ever wanted was to put me into an experimentation tube just to produce more 'heroes' for the sake of 'public image', all while in the process KILLING more people, then they'll get rid of me. HEROES?! No, I call them monsters."
Saitama spoke again, "Whatever this association is, they're not heroes, I can tell."
"And you're the oh-so-great one and true hero, then?" Bruce Banner mocked, his eyes still flared up in green, "That what you're trying to say?"
"It's a hobby." Saitama replied, "As simple as that. I don't know what this 'true hero' stuff you're talking about. I just like helping people, it's fun, it makes me feel good about myself, it gives me a reason to live." He simply stated with his usual plain expression.
Bruce Banner stared at him incredulously, "Being a hero...is a hobby to you?"
"Isn't that what I said already?" Saitama retorted rhetorically. He then sighed, before saying, "It's your choice whether you want to come with me or not, but if you refuse, I'd probably come by sometimes and give you something to eat."
Bruce Banner felt his stomach grumble again, as well as his eyelids began to fell heavy on him. He's having second thoughts about this.
"No answer? Well, I guess I'll be taking my leave then. Oh, and don't worry, I'll come back with the udon-" Saitama was interrupted when Banner replied, "N- no! Wait.."
"Eh?" Saitama asked in a confused tone.
Banner took a deep breath, "I'll stay...for a while...I have a question, though..do you live anywhere in the Ghost Town?"
"Not exactly in the Ghost Town, but near it." Saitama replied again, "Just so happens to be in the apartment with that scary old lady."
And that's where the horror came.
"So you coming with?" Saitama asked again.
"Only for a while..look, if I'm staying.. there's something that I have to tell you." Bruce Banner said again. Saitama nodded, "Let's talk it out while we walk. The supermarket shouldn't be too far off." He said.
They began to walk away, leaving the rotting corpse of the monster alone in the middle of the alley. As they walked across the lonely street, Saitama asked once more, "So?"
"Saitama..the reason I was reluctant to accept your offer.." Bruce Banner took a deep breath, "There's something inside me, and it's not really all that pleasant. You could anger me unintentionally, and that's it, in another moment, I'll turn into a big, gigantic monster who desires nothing but murder and smashing. People in the past has died because of it, because of the monster that lives inside of me. That's why I was scared when I met you, why I was scared to even go near you. I didn't want to hurt you. I really didn't."
Saitama wasn't sure what he meant, so he said, "Run by me again?"
Bruce was rather annoyed by Saitama's tendencies to be inept at percepting things, so he decided to go the simpler route, "If I'm angered, I can turn into a monster, and I'm not sure if I can control it when it does happen. It happens multiple times in the past, and people paid with their lives for it. That's why I was scared when I saw you. I didn't want to hurt you."
Saitama shook his head, "I've faced plenty of monsters before, I'm pretty sure I can subdue whatever monster you got stashed on your body in a moment."
Bruce Banner sighed, "I wish it was as simple as that. No. This isn't just an ordinary monster. The monster feeds off of negative emotions and gains ridiculous amounts of strength from it, not to mention the absymal amount of the healing factor it has. Even if you managed to penetrate it's skin, it'll heal just like nothing."
Saitama couldn't help but ponder at the thought of such monstrosity existing. It makes him feel...what was it, excitement?
"Hmm...that must've sucked. So that's why people were looking for you. I thought it was over a vegetable or something." Saitama rubbed his chin.
Bruce couldn't help but ponder at this man's idiocy.
Man, who did I just meet?
"Well, I don't have much to say," Saitama said again, "But one thing for sure, those association guys? I think they're bunch'a jerks. They play around with their power to determine which is which and what is what. That monster thingy you had, that was out of your control, was it? They have no right to treat you like that."
Banner stared at him for a while, before looking away, "I... don't know about that. I'm a threat. It makes sense on why they'd try to kill me. And believe me when I say if they have the ability to kill me, I would've given myself to them a long time ago..at least people would be at peace without me in this world.."
Saitama's expression stiffened at that last sentence, before putting his hand in his shoulder, "Hey, don't say that. You're human, and you should be treated like one. You shouldn't throw your life away like that."
"Easy for you to say," Banner shot back, "If you have the power to cause the apocalypse itself, you would think for a second to keep living, crawling around like a damn parasite."
He then sighed, "Sorry to put all this on you, I just..needed to let you know about what you're getting into. I really don't want to hurt you, but I can't help but...feel tempted by your offer."
Saitama laughed, "That's alright. I'm not really good at this, but you can for sure talk to me if you have any trouble. No sweat."
As they walked into the sunset, the pair stayed silent throughout their journey.
Heh, has it been two years since then?
The Present...
"That's right, Brucie. It's me, Saitama, your ol' pal. I think we need to talk for a bit." Saitama said, his cape still fluttering in the wind.
"Sen...sei..." A raspy voice called out. Saitama looked back, only to see his 'disciple' laying on the ground, every bits of his metallic parts shattered.
"Darn, you brought a number on Genos too, huh?" Saitama said to himself, before approaching the still-surprised brute. He looked up, "Man...where have you been?"
The monster didn't answer for a second, before replying, "Somewhere, not of this world."
Saitama frowned, "What do you mean by that?"
The Hulk's expression softened, "Remember when the Hero Association told me that a cure was available? Turns out, it was a ruse. They sent me away into space, and left me up there to die." The Hulk replied.
Saitama gasped lightly, clenching his fist in anger as he heard that, though the anger goes unnoticed by his still plain expression, "Damn, never thought they would go that low. All they told me is that you went away for a vacation." Why did he ever join again? They lied to him. They told him that his friend was cured, but as it turns out, here he stands, still as the monster that haunted the world for years.
"I made some friends up there though, and they're really, really loyal." The Hulk spoke again.
"Friends? Those the guys I fought off earlier? Man, I'm lucky I didn't kill them.." Saitama replied, rubbing his chin.
The Hulk stared at him in shock for a moment, before nodding, "Yes..." The Hulk paused for a moment, before asking, "How...did you pass them?"
"I just punched them, 's all." Saitama answered. He then approached the Hulk, who were still caught off guard by Saitama's sudden appearance.
The green radiation around him began to lighten a bit, revealing a bit of the Bruce Banner inside him. Tears began to leak out of his eyelids, "I loved her.." The Hulk said in a somber tone, his voice is not as deep as before, "I loved her so much.."
"W...who?" Saitama asked again, wearing an expression of confusion. The Hulk fell to his knees, "They killed her, Saitama.." The Hulk said again, "They sent me away to a planet and set a bomb, killing both my people and my wife.."
Saitama got close to him, wrapping his arm around the green scar, "Calm down, turn back to yourself, we'll talk."
The Hulk began to shrink down in size, revealing the smaller Bruce Banner, a bit calmer than before.
"Hey!" A voice called out from the crowds of the bodies before them, "Now's your chance, kill him!" A hero said.
Saitama's expression darkened, "No."
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN NO?!" Another hero spoke, "He was trying to kill us! We were no match for him, I-"
"I said no, shut it, go away." Saitama spat defensively, "I'm not in that much of a good mood right now, so if you openly speak up about murdering my friend again, I'll punch you." He threatened.
"Oh, I know you!" Another hero came to say again, "You're that cheater from Z-city, Caped Baldy!" The hero said through his bloodied and battered mouth.
Saitama ignored it, keeping Banner close to him, "Let's go, Brucie. They-" Suddenly, a sharp object made contact with his back, though it was destroyed due to his durability.
"Klik...give..give him back..." The four-handed creature said, snarling, "Give..klik...give the Worldbreaker back..This...this is not who he is.."
Saitama frowned, "My punch wasn't enough for you to buzz off? Man, monsters like you are persistent. Should we just-" Saitama was suddenly hit in the face, sending him flying away from the area.
Miek panted, "That...should do it for him..heh.."
Bruce Banner, at the sight of seeing his friend get hurt, or so he thought, suddenly grew in size, his eye flaring up in green.
"Yeeessssss..." Miek's eyes brightened. The Hulk was back. And this time, he was not pleased.
Hulk slammed Miek into the ground, feeling anger surging through him. The warbounds returned to the scene to warn their king about the stranger that came earlier, but suddenly stopped to see the Hulk strangling Miek.
Suddenly, pair of hands held the Hulk back, "Hulk!" Korg, the rocky creature called out, "No! Don't! Miek was your first friend, you can't-"
"No. That bald man, he was the first, so he can, and he will." Miek spoke, as if he wasn't scared by the pounding the Hulk gave to him.
And as expected, another slam came to Miek's face, though it wasn't as hard as before, as the Hulk was held back by his other warbounds.
"This is what you were made of. Don't let them stop you, especially that bald man. Don't stop making them pay, kill them all, make them feel the pain you felt! That's the reason why I killed them..." Miek spoke, choking on his own blood.
Hulk felt his blood froze when Miek mentioned that, "T- them?"
"The very same...when you found your queen, the only thing you desired was peace, and peace was what you got, but that's... that's not who you are..you conquered the red king and ruled the planet, you should've slaughtered the rest of his people, but you didn't, so I watched as they load an old warp core into the shuttle.." Miek chuckled, "They thought it would kill you, but I knew, that it was just a step, to remind you...of who you are..."
The rest of the warbound was frozen, shocked at the sudden revelation. The Hulk seemed to share the same feelings.
A brown creature with slimy hands suddenly yelled, "The c- children! Your own brothers! Millions of souls! HOW COULD YOU?!"
Miek laughed lightly, "We have to die, so the Worldbreaker...will live on..."
Suddenly, a gust of wind appeared before them, and as the smoke cleared out, Saitama was back, and this time, he was not in the slightest good mood, "Alright, I'm going to beat some sense in-"
Saitama was frozen when he saw his attacker, bloodied and battered to the floor.
And the rest of the monsters he fought was there, standing besides the Hulk, who was still frozen in place.
"Hulk..." Korg called out, feeling concern for his king.
"Hey, Brucie, calm down, I'm still here." Saitama approached him, trying to get him to calm down. However, the Hulk stayed silent.
"Brucie?" Saitama called out again.
Instead of a response, suddenly, gamma radiation began to leak out of the behemoth's body, and suddenly, all hell went loose.
An explosion of gamma radiation exploded the rest of the warbounds away, save for Saitama, "B- Bruce?!"
The Hulk's eyes shone brighter than before, showering the area around him with green energy.
That feeling from before. Of betrayal. Of being played around when it comes to his trust. That feeling again. He had nothing to lose. Bruce Banner succumbed to the rage of Hulk.
All that's left, is the Hulk himself.
THAT'S ALL FOR TODAY'S CHAPTER! HOPE YOU ENJOYED IT!
Note: This story will switch between the present timeline and flashbacks with each chapter, kind of like the first Deadpool movie, so I hope you don't mind the story being that way
TO BE CONTINUED!