This is the chapter that started the whole story. Then I had to make five chapters explaining how Remus got here and then I continued to make, like fifty chapters after it feels like, because I just couldn't stop!

The Hulk and the Beast: Chapter Six

November 17, 2013

The team was still arguing about what to do with Remus. Yes, most of the team knew, logically, it couldn't and shouldn't last. Just last week the Tower was attacked by the Wrecking Crew. They didn't damage anything – hilarious, considering their theme – but they got way too close for comfort.

What if they made it to the tower and Remus turned into a wolf again? All his bruises were gone, and the bullet wound was hardly even a scar anymore, but the bite marks on his arms were still raw. There was the ever present maze of past scars, reminding them just how fragile Remus could get. How could they justify keeping him in the biggest target in New York?

Hell, how could they justify keeping him in New York at all, where everything happened. They should wrap him up in a ten foot thick layer of bubble wrap and ship him off to the deserts of New Mexico.

Keeping him out of harm's way was the least of their worries, because at the moment, Remus had finally worked up the courage to close his door. He'd also figured out how to lock it. This was the second day in a row he hadn't come out. He hadn't had any food or water in forty-eight hours and everyone was panicking.

"JARVIS, override the lock," Tony was struggling with the door.

"The door is unlocked."

"That's bull. It's jammed then."

"The door is fully functional."

"Someone stronger than me get this thing open," Tony grumbled. "Cap, you're the most careful. I don't want to scare him if we don't have too, but this is getting ridiculous."

Steve was unable to get the door open.

"Remus, soldier, you have to open the door."

Remus wasn't responding. He hadn't said anything since the fifteenth and it was now nearly sunset on the seventeenth. The miniature EMPs that had led Tony to him in the HYDRA base were now fritzing the top half of the tower. Remus had done something to the door and he suspected the EMPs were connected. Tony had thought the EMPs were something HYDRA was doing. There might be more to the kid than just the werewolf thing.

"Tell him to quit cutting the power!" Clint shouted from the living room. "I'm trying to play Dark Souls and surprisingly, the TV cutting out every five minutes isn't helping. How's he doing that, anyway? He is doing that, right?"

"Remus, are you alright? At least answer me," Steve pleaded.

"Go away!" Remus cried.

"Why are you playing Dark Souls, anyway?" Tony asked Clint.

"More spooky on the full moon… oh…"

Steve and Tony exchanged a look. That explained the sudden mood swing. He'd been sullen for a while, but they thought he'd been getting better. Then this set back. They should have seen it coming.

"Is there somewhere special you want to go?" Steve asked.

"I don't know," Remus sniffled. "I can feel it, but… it's not happening. I'm scared."

"Can I come in?" Steve asked.

"No! I don't want to hurt you!"

"I can't let you hurt yourself, soldier. I'm confident you can't hurt me."

"Didn't they test him?" Tony whispered. "The human trial failed. He's only a danger to himself."

"He's spent most of his life expecting nothing but pain and suffering on the full moon. I'd rather not bring up what HYDRA did to him."

"I'll talk to him," Hulk grunted.

"He's still nervous around you, big guy," Tony bristled.

"I know how he thinks," Hulk reminded them.

"Tony," Steve put a hand on Tony and pulled him back. "Hulk's right."

"Wolf… Remus, I'm coming in. Open the door, or I smash it," Hulk grunted.

The door creaked open slowly. All the lights were off in the room but the full moon gave everything a pale glow. Everything was strewn around in a mess. It looked like a tornado had come through. Remus was curled up on the bed, his knees up to his chest and his face buried in his arms. His small body was shaking uncontrollably and his hair was puffier than usual. The curtains on his bed were fluttering in a nonexistent wind, just like Thor's cape.

"Wait here," Hulk said to the other. "Need alone time."

"Don't let him hurt himself," Tony pleaded.

Hulk grunted, then walked into the room. The door swung shut behind him.

Remus heard the Hulk thump onto the floor next to his bed. The entire room shook with the weight of him, but Remus had seen the blueprints of the Tower. The floor separating the Avengers Penthouse from Stark Industries below was five feet of reinforced concrete. Couldn't have a rowdy wrestling match between a Green Giant and a God of Thunder crash through the ceiling of a board meeting.

"You don't have to fight it," Hulk said. "It's not so bad like this."

"I'm not a gamma giant," Remus said sadly. "I'm a monster."

"You're not a monster," Hulk said, his voice deep and booming.

Remus wasn't looking, he didn't dare. He didn't notice something had changed in the room until he felt someone sit on the bed next to him. Someone not the size or weight of the Hulk. Someone human.

"Neither am I."

"Dr. Banner?" Remus peaked his face out from behind his arms. "But…"

"I can change back whenever I want. People don't push the Hulk around, and if they do, I push back harder. Plus, sometimes it nice to feel like there's someone else in the driver's seat. I have a tendency to overthink things like this."

"I don't know what'll happen if I let the Wolf out."

"I've been there," Dr. Banner sighed. "Trust me on that one."

Remus didn't know what to say.

"It hurts," Remus whined. He felt like a little baby. "Dad said I'm dangerous," Remus didn't know why he was talking about this. "He said that if I had the chance I'd kill without remorse, that's I'd start with Mam."

"That's a hell of a thing to say to a sick little kid."

"I was six," Remus whispered. "I was begging him not to lock me in the cellar. He was really angry all the time. I've got a lot of anger too, but I don't know where it comes from, me, him, or the wolf."

"I think it might be D; all of the above," Dr. Banner's voice was heavy. "I'm always angry. I have been since I was little. My father used to hit both of us, me and my mom. He was angry drunk and angry sober."

"I try to ignore it or push it away, not think about it. But when I do, it always explodes even bigger when I least need it too."

"My anger turned me into a giant green rage machine," Dr. Banner tried to laugh, giving Remus a gentle nudge. "So I know how that feels. Well, technically it was my experiments with gamma infused super soldier serum, but there might have been other things going on that even I'll never be able to explain. It should have killed me. Instead I'm green."

"I got into a fight with him, before I went away to school. He… he always said that the only way I'd ever learn is if he hurt me. That was one of the reasons he didn't want me to go. He was convinced someone would see me and know immediately. He was trying to protect me but… he didn't understand how frustrating it was to be trapped in our tiny cottage my entire life and not see a way out. I said I felt like a trapped animal. Dad told me I was an animal."

"Well, scientifically, you're certainly not a plant."

Remus smiled and giggled a little, "I know. A wild animal, I guess. Not a human animal."

"Certainly nothing wrong with not being a human animal."

"According to my Dad there is. He was an expert on Dark Creatures. He was on his way to being head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Bright and promising career. I ruined that when I was bitten. He couldn't balance hiding me and working for the very department that wanted me dead. Of course, one of the reasons he joined the Department was to eradicate werewolves."

"Oh dear."

"Soulless, evil, deserving nothing but death," Remus said, his voice dripping with bitterness. "That's what he thinks… thought of werewolves. Like me. He always said he loved me, despite what I was. That I should be grateful. I think it's his fault that when I turn I hurt myself. At least I don't really hurt other people."

"It can be hard to accept yourself when everyone around you tells you you're a monster. You're only a monster if you let yourself become one."

"Is it wrong, that I still love him? I know… I know he hurt me and what he was doing was wrong but… he's my dad. I've got good memories, too, even if sometimes he hurt me."

"It's not wrong," Dr. Banner said. "My father was one of the worst out there, and I loved him with all my heart. I cried as much at his funeral as I did at my mother's and I was eight when she died and he was the one that killed her. I think it's very hard not to love our parents, even if they hurt us. Sometimes especially if they hurt us."

"That's not fair," Remus said. "I… I was going to show him my grades, that I got perfect marks in every class, on every test, every essay, every assignment. I worked so hard, to prove to him that he didn't have to hurt me anymore. And it wasn't even because I didn't want to be hurt anymore, it was because I saw how upset it made him after. I wanted to prove I was better, that I could be better, so he wouldn't have to worry anymore."

"You don't have to prove yourself to him or anyone else."

"I know, I guess. But it felt good to try really hard and succeed."

"Don't I know it!" Dr. Banner laughed, "Do you want to go up on the roof? The sky is clear and you haven't changed yet. Maybe you won't. And if you do, the Hulk will be there to catch you."

"Thanks."

The moon was massive. It was the only thing in the sky visible at night in New York, with all the light pollution. It was eerie, seeing the moon, hovering alone in a barely dark sky, long after the sun had set.

"I've never seen the full moon before. I'm always locked up underground."

They were wrapped in a blanket. Banner put a shirt on, one of the many, many spare Stark t-shirts Mr. Stark had lying around. That man had an ego bigger than the Hulk, and that alone was impressive.

"It's weird. I can feel it pulling at me but… it's not the same. I'm different."

"You're still you," Dr. Banner told him. "No matter if your big and green or small and nerdy, you'll always still be you."

"It's beautiful," Remus whispered.

"Yeah, it is, isn't it?"

"Are… are you going to get rid of me? Hand me off to someone else soon?" Remus asked. "I know I'm a burden…"

"You aren't a burden," Dr. Banner sighed.

"I don't want to leave."

"We're worried that this isn't the best place for you to grow up. You're still just a kid, Remus."

"Do you think this is the best place for me? I can't imagine there's anyone else out there who… who could made me feel like a person again, when the full moon's out."

"When I'm the Hulk, yes, I do think this is the best place for you. I can't stand the thought of you being anywhere else. But when I'm Bruce, I don't know. Maybe that's another reason I like staying as the Hulk these days. There's so much going on and the big guy doesn't overthink things.

Maybe I am overthinking it, maybe this is the best place for you; with us. But it's equally likely that the Hulk just likes having someone around he can relate to and has gotten overprotective of you. The problem with me is that I'll overthink it and by the time I come to an answer, you'll be old and gray."

"Captain Rogers doesn't want me around."

"He does. We all do. We all really like you Remus. You're a wonderful kid."

"I'm not."

"You are. We're just worried you might get hurt living with us."

"No one's ever been worried about me getting hurt, before. Only if or when I'll kill someone. That alone is an improvement to anywhere else I've ever lived."

November 28, 2013

Remus didn't really know what Thanksgiving was. Captain Rogers tried to explain it, but Remus didn't get it. Clint also tried to explain it, but Remus was fairly certain he was making things up to be funny. He certainly heard a different story about the Pilgrims when his Mam was homeschooling him. He supposed the Americans probably got it more accurate, but he'd seen their 'Historical' documentation of Captain America. Comic Books weren't good history books, no matter how you cut it. Remus was glad the real Captain America wasn't nearly so over the top as his comic book counterpart.

Dr. Banner didn't come back. Or he did, since he was the Hulk. Remus was confused, but he didn't ask. He felt more comfortable around the Hulk, now that he knew just how in control he was all the time. He didn't even mind being called Wolf-boy anymore, but only if it was Hulk calling him that. It felt like their special secret. Remus hadn't had anything special since Hogwarts and his friends.

Thor still startled him occasionally; he didn't seem to know what an inside voice was. But he was still kind and encouraging. No one had ever believed in Remus so vocally before. "Verily! You are the coldest mortal in all of Midgard!" "That's not what that… never mind…"

Everyone was enjoying the feast. Remus hadn't known how big turkeys were until they had fifteen of them delivered to the Tower. The white meat was gamey and dry, but there were so many turkeys that Remus could pile his plate with nothing but red meat, while the Hulk popped an entire turkey in his mouth, bones and all. The stuffing was delicious. Clint had a field day insulting the solitary can of cranberry sauce despite being the one who insisted on bringing it.

And Remus didn't think anyone could make pie as well as Captain Rogers made apple pie. Remus got to help! That was fun. They made five pies, one for the humans to share and two each for Thor and the Hulk.

Remus could still feel the wolf clawing at the back of his mind. It was unsettling, but… if the Hulk and Dr. Banner were the same person, didn't that mean that the wolf was also Remus? Remus was avoiding thinking about it. He'd save it for the next full moon, which he had to mark on his calendar.

The moon pulled at him, but it fluctuated so little now, he could hardly tell time anymore. He used to always know exactly what day and time it was. His friends called him Loony the Incredible Human Clock, amongst other things. They loved nicknames.

Once all the food was cleared, Remus offered to help clean the dishes. Mr. Stark thought there was a cleaning service to do that, but no one had the heart to tell him that the cleaning staff quit several months ago and Captain Rogers was the one doing the dishes and Sam was doing the laundry. If he figured it out, he'd hire a new cleaning staff and no one wanted to deal with new people in the Tower who didn't know what to do about the five month old crusty things in Clint's room. Or worse, he'd create a robot to do it and it would turn evil and try to clean them out of existence.

"I'll clean, you dry," Captain Rogers said.

Remus could almost believe that Captain Rogers didn't want to be rid of him. They worked in companionable silence. They'd be there for a while. There were more plates than usual and Thor and Hulk accidently smashed the dishwasher two days ago. They were wrestling over the peanut butter again. Mr. Stark hadn't gotten around to fixing it yet. That was probably for the best, Mr. Stark had a habit of modifying things in ways that made them cooler on paper but functionally worse, like adding lasers to things that shouldn't have lasers.

After half an hour of listening to Captain America hum to himself, Remus started getting tetchy. That anger he told Mr. Banner about was starting to boil up to the surface, and he wasn't able to keep the lid on it anymore. Captain Rogers handed him the last plate to dry.

"Good work, soldier," he said in his infuriatingly jovial voice. How could someone so ready to just abandon him be so damn chipper all the time? How was that fair!?

"I'm not a soldier," Remus growled. He could feel his bones aching to transform. He fought it valiantly, and he was convinced he won. He didn't know his eyes had gone from olive green to bright gold and his nails were longer than they were two seconds ago.

"Easy, Remus," Captain Rogers said. "I didn't mean anything by that. I'm sorry. I won't call you that again."

"It's just… why don't you want me?" Remus didn't mean for his voice to crack, but it did. He was almost thirteen, for crying out loud, he should be in more control.

"Remus," Captain Rogers grabbed the plate from Remus' shaking hands and put in on the counter. He knelt in front of Remus so he was close to his eye level. "Remus, no one doesn't want you around."

"Dr. Banner said you guys don't think I'm safe here," Remus sniffled. "But I don't get it! I've never been safer in my entire life! This is the longest I've ever gone without getting hit since I went to boarding school last year."

"Remus, did your parents hurt you?" Captain Rogers face was contorted the same way it always was when Remus tried to insist he wasn't a person.

"Just my dad," Remus whispered. "Mam said he had anger management issues. But he was trying to protect me. The Ministry would have done much worse than slap me around a little if they found me."

"Do you want to stay with us?"

"More than anything," Remus nodded, trying not to cry again. Something about Captain Rogers just made him tear up, "Everyone here likes me. And not like my parents did. Mam never really wanted to admit I wasn't five anymore. She talked to me like I was baby. And Dad… he loved me in spite of what I am. You guys don't care about that at all. You just want me to be me. No one's ever done that before. No one whose known what I am."

"Remus, are you sure…"

"Please, Captain Rogers, please don't send me away," Remus cried. "Please don't abandon me."

Captain Rogers held him close, "I won't. I won't. You can stay as long as you want, alright?"

Remus held onto him and cried until Clint started getting antsy about starting the movie without them. He had some horror movie planned, and he wanted to show it to them, since they were on ice or time skipped past the movie's creation.

"You're alright?" Captain Rogers asked him.

"Yeah," Remus sniffled. "I was just… really shook up that you didn't want me. I'm sorry. That was dumb."

"It wasn't," Captain Rogers patted his head. "If this is where you're safest, this is where you're staying. Sorry it took me so long to figure that out."

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