Chapter 13 Bruce: parents

Bruce's point of view

My mother was a godly woman who loved her family and who feared her husband's wrath… and she was right to…

She was also a sage woman… pragmatic to a fault, and she never ever failed to make me smile… she could always coax a smile out of me.

For as long as I can remember, my mother took me to the park every day after school… she would meet her friends there… and they would talk, and I would hang out with my friends… Jay and Tony.

One day when I was about 9 years old… we went to the park as usual and that's when I realized… my friends were different to me… They didn't make me feel uncomfortable about it, but, I noticed the difference… it made me kind of… angry. Why was my father a scientist, but we could barely make ends meet?

I have always had excellent hearing… Tony, Jay and I were sitting under a tree with our baseball cards, comparing stats, when I heard my mother say

"I think it's going to happen sooner rather than later Peggy… that day is coming, I can feel it…"

"Rebecca, if you need help… I can get the Abusive Spouse Intervention Committee involved…"

"No, Peggy… I don't want to worry Bruce… he's been getting bullied at school again… I'm so glad he has Tony and Jay to hang out with…"

"Bruce is intelligent, and he's a good kid… I'm sure that Howard wouldn't mind him homeschooling with Tony and Jay."

"I did want to ask you one thing…"

"Of course…"

"If… when… if… when… everything goes down, would you and Howard take care of Bruce?"

"Of course! Absolutely we will"

"Thank you…"

I had no idea that while I was listening to the conversation between my mother and Mrs Stark, there were silent tears streaming down my cheeks… I knew exactly what my mother meant… one day she would lose her life to my father's temper… and his alcoholism…

"Bruce… are you OK?" Jay asked

"You're shaking" said Tony

"I'm… Ummm… I don't know" I replied stupidly

"Bruce… did you hear your mom talking to my mom?" said Tony

"Yes… I have incredible hearing… I can hear a cat snoring 3 streets over…"

"We need to talk about this… we need to confess"

"I think that's a good idea"

We walked over to where our mothers were sitting…

"What's wrong boys?"

"We have to talk to you"

"OK, we're listening"

"I heard what you said mom… and if I have to step between you and Dad, I will" I said

"Robert Bruce Banner, you will do no such thing… you have a future… you have a gift… I will not let you squander it by risking your neck… if it's my time to go, then it's my time to go… God is the only one who can make that choice…"

"I'm going to talk to Dad about going to rehab"

"We can't afford it, sweetheart…"

"I'll get a job"

"You are not dropping out of school!"

"Darn it, mom, let me help you!"

"I have a way that you can help and not get into danger or trouble… and it will work for all three of you…"

"Go on?"

"I will have Mr Jarvis train the three of you in martial arts"

"That's a great idea… then I can teach mom some basic self-defence"

"OK, I appreciate that, Bruce…"

"Mom, I know you know about the bullying…"

"Oh Bruce…"

"I want to switch to Homeschooling"

"OK sweetheart… we can do that"

My mother made the arrangements for me to leave public school and homeschool with Tony and Jay… Mr Stark and Mr Stane were excellent science teachers… I learnt a lot more with them than I ever had in public school… and I confided in Mr Stark… a lot… Mr Jarvis spent extra time helping me with the self-defence classes…

One night, Mr Stark was walking me home as usual when I heard an ALMIGHTY crash from my house… There was a DEAFENING scream and then total silence before a HUGE explosion and the house erupted in flames.

"Bruce, run back and tell Peggy what's happened… quickly… I'm going to the call box at the end of the street I'm going to call an ambulance and the police… I need you to run as fast as you can OK?"

"OK"

I sprinted towards Mr Stark's house as fast as I could. One of the things Mr Jarvis had us do during our self-defence lessons was running… I made it back to the Stark house in ten minutes…

"Bruce what's happened"

"Mr Stark went to the call box… there was a HUGE bang and a scream and then silence… I don't think mom is OK… he's going to call an ambulance and the police… the house erupted in flames!"

"Stay here Bruce, Mr Jarvis is here… you need to stay here… I'll help Howard."

"Yes ma'am"

Mrs Stark slipped her feet into a pair of comfortable looking flat shoes and left quickly… 30 minutes later she and Mr Stark came back…

"Bruce, we need to talk to you…"

"OK"

We went into the living room…

"Bruce… we did everything we could… but…"

"Mom didn't make it out alive, did she?"

"No"

"Your father mouthed off and assaulted the police… and got himself arrested"

"Great… of course he did… wonderful…"

All my dreams of going to University to study medicine vanished instantly. I'd be stuck in the care system… all potential lost… maybe I could be a science teacher.

"Bruce, it's going to be OK"

"What happens now?"

"We will speak to our lawyers, and we will adopt you"

"Are you sure that's something you want to do?"

"Of course Bruce, I promised your mom we would and Howard and I have talked about it… and he agrees with me that we should."

"Thank you… I always wanted a sibling"

At first, being a Stark wasn't easy… I'd grown up in extreme poverty, and I didn't exactly know what to expect moving from that state of affairs to one where my adoptive parents were well-off.

Fortunately and unfortunately at the same time, I wasn't the only child adopted by the Starks…