Talia's eyes met Rachel's, and Rachel knew there was no changing her friend's mind.
Rachel waited nervously as Talia unlocked the door to her lab via keycard, and the pair filed in, allowing the large, steel door to shut behind them with a clank. With a flip of a few switches, the lab began to come to life.
Rachel had been in Talia's lab dozens of time. It was a modest space crammed into the basement of the local university. Talia, however, always had managed to take mediocre and turn it into magnificence. While the school itself lended decent funding, Talia had been a master at getting every piece of fancy equipment she needed by the way of attracting donors and grants to the magnetism of her research.
Gamma radiation is the future, Rachel remembered one of her friend's pitches reading. It'll unleash new potential.
Talia's alter-ego flashed through her mind, and Rachel hugged herself uncomfortably.
The doctor had wasted no time and had moved toward the far wall. Talia carefully bent down and untied each of her shoes and peeled off both her socks, placing them in a storage locker in the back of the lab. Returning to her feet, Talia caught her reflection briefly in the mirror hanging on the locker door.
Is she having doubts? Rachel thought.
The pause was only momentary. Talia crossed her arms and grasped both sides at the bottom of her sweater, then pulled it over her head, proceeding to fold it and place it inside the locker. The hum of the surrounding equipment began to come alive as the machines powered up around her.
Rachel felt a pit in the bottom of her stomach begin to come to life as well.
Talia unbuttoned her jeans and began to wiggle the denim back and forth until they slid down over her hips. The doctor hooked a finger through her panties and let them fall with her pants, bringing both down over her legs, before folding it neatly and resting it next to her sweater. "Thanks again for bringing me these clothes, Rachel."
"You've got it."
How is she so calm? Rachel thought, knowing that she would be a nervous mess if it were she in her friend's shoes. Not even a shake in her hand. The irony that all that calm would soon have to be discarded in order to draw out the monster wasn't lost on Rachel, and she figured it wasn't lost on her friend, either.
Talia brought a hand up to her back and unhooked her bra, causing Rachel to turn her gaze away. She's taking this as just another day on the job, another experiment, never mind that she's the subject. Every step is analytical and professional. That's how she's always been.
Rachel heard the clink of test tubes and turned her head to see Talia standing naked at the lab table, taking a syringe and drawing in a full dosage of the purple liquid - the nanobots which would be entering her bloodstream and hopefully unlocking the secret, or at least part of the mystery of her transformation. Talia let a small stream of liquid drip out to rid the shot of any air bubbles, and brought the needle to her arm. For a split second it seemed like she hesitated, but then quickly the needle was in and any trace of the liquid had vanished into her bloodstream.
She knows what she's doing, Rachel reassured herself, before thinking to the images of the lab damage from the other night. But she is prone to making mistakes, especially in her rush to cure herself.
Footsteps echoed from the small platform that had been set up in the middle of the lab as Talia positioned herself on it. She bent down and picked up a grouping of sensors, each with wires that ran to the many surrounding computers, and began to tape them around her body - on her temple, above her heart between her breasts, her neck, and her legs, among others. It was then Rachel noticed the other objects laying on the ground: a set of shackles.
"Rachel, can you help me put these on?"
Swallowing back a lump in her throat, Rachel moved to the center of the room and met Talia, who handed her one of the shackles and offered up her left wrist to be bound. Rachel averted her gaze from her friend and focused on the device. The shackle was thick and solid, not to mention incredibly heavy - Rachel had to fumble with her grip on the object a few times before she was effectively able to wrap it around Talia's wrist. Holding the bolt in her hand, now it was Rachel who hesitated.
She felt the doctor's hand grip her shoulder. "Rachel, trust me, it's OK. Close it."
With a deep breath, Rachel shut the shackle tight, and immediately the plain metallic color began to glow, brightening to a solid green color.
"Gamma-reinforced shackle device," Talia rattled off like it was an everyday object. "It'll help keep it in place."
It. Talia always refers to her other half as an "it." Does that help her dissociate herself from what she becomes?
Rachel was able to figure out the second wrist shackle more easily and shut it around the doctor's other wrist, the green glow coming to life. Next, two more of the same shackles went around Talia's ankles. With all secured, Talia gave some test tugs with her limbs, before giving a nod of approval.
"OK, Rachel," said the doctor, "all the computers are running, the gamma cuffs are solid, and the nanobots should have had enough time to be into my bloodstream." She motioned with her chin to the ceiling. "In addition to measuring my vitals and the machine that will keep track of the nanobot signals, I also have lab cameras recording everything."
Rachel nodded. "Thorough."
Talia looked to the ground. "Have to be." Her friend paused, before looking up and meeting her eyes again. "Now, once this happens, the gamma cuffs will reinforce the creature in place until the machines get all the data needed." She lifted her shackled hand and pointed to a machine anchored to the wall. "See all those red lights on that monitor to your right? Those are status indicators, which will keep a tally on when all the processes are done."
She's talking like a scientist again. Completely removed from all emotional ties to what she's doing. The way she's talking to me is night and day from this morning, when she upset about the scene she had caused at Buscema Lab. I don't know how she can switch on and off like this.
But then again, I don't have to worry about controlling my emotions like she does.
Rachel crossed her arms over her chest. "And what happens when you're done? Your other half doesn't exactly like to bring you back on schedule."
Talia flexed her right arm, tugging on the gamma cuff. "When all the readings are completed, the gamma cuffs will send a paralyzing current into the creature, which, based on my current data, should act as a tranquilizer on it and nullify any struggle, triggering a reversion. That'll continue until the machine recognizes that my human body chemistry has returned."
"Tal, that sounds dangerous. You've never tested that - any of this - on the She-Hulk before."
Talia frowned. "Stop calling it that."
"You're worried about the name still, Tal!?" Rachel shouted. "How about something more important: Your life is on the line. What if she breaks free? What if the paralyzing agent doesn't stop when you're back to yourself? Have you thought about that?" Rachel stepped closer to her friend. "You're a scientist, you're supposed to run tests on tests, then tests on those tests on those tests." Rachel shook her head. "This is risky."
The doctor allowed a flash of anger on her face before reattaining her scientist's plain gaze. "Yes, Rachel, my life is on the line. My life is on the line every day, when at a moment's notice this, this thing can come bursting out from within, taking over me and going on a path of destruction. I don't have any say in when it comes, what it does, but you know what? I do have a say in doing my best to make sure it can never break free again!
"You know why I know this will work? Because I have my best friend at my side, who has given up everything to help me." Talia looked to the floor, a brief glimpse of emotion once again visible - this time sadness. "Please, Rachel, let me try."
Say no, walk out. You owe her your help, but this is ridiculous.
"Rachel," Talia continued. "You're the only one who can help me here. You're the only friend I've got."
No, Tal, why did you put it that way? You're going to make me do this, make me watch you inflict this upon yourself.
"OK," Rachel answered.
Talia looked up and nodded. "You're the best."
Rachel paused. "Hey Tal?"
"Yes?"
"This is unacceptable, though," said Rachel, motioning her hand down her friend's bare body. "I thought we talked about your dress code the other day in the car."
Talia smiled. Rachel faked one of her own - it was hard to see her friend looking like a prisoner and feel any sort of joy, but this was what she wanted. This whole thing is my fault, after all, she reminded herself. I owe her.
"All right," said Talia, immediately becoming the calm, analytic scientist again. "Let's start. Rachel, I need you to go over to that small dial to your right."
Rachel quickly glanced over her shoulder and saw what she believed was the device. She placed a supportive hand on Talia's shoulder before walking over to the lab and picking it up. "This one?"
Talia nodded. "Yes. Now, on my mark, turn the dial, which will provide some resistance, to the right and hold it there for five seconds. This will deliver a shock to my system -"
"Tal!" Rachel protested.
"-a shock to my system," Talia repeated, ignoring Rachel's exclamation, "which should trigger my metamorphosis. If the first one fails, I'll signal you to go again. We'll repeat until it happens."
Rachel looked upon her friend, then down at the device, which was shaking in her own nervous hands. "OK, Tal, it's your show. Just give the word."
Talia glanced over to the computers, to the red lights on the monitor, and to her friend. She stared down at each of the shackles, giving one more test pull on each, before allowing their eyes to meet once more.
"Go."
Rachel gulped back her reservations and turned the dial to the right. An electric buzz joined the chorus of machine noises within the lab as Talia began to shake, holding her head down and gritting her teeth.
One Mississippi, two Mississippi. . .
On five seconds, Rachel released her grip of the dial, allowing the spring resistance of the knob to dial itself back down to zero. Talia's shaking immediately ceased as the current was stopped.
The doctor exhaled sharply through her teeth. "Again."
Rachel reluctantly turned the knob once more, and once more her friend began to convulse, clenching her fists and bobbing her head. Four Mississippi...five Mississippi…"
The shock stopped, and Talia's knees briefly buckled before regaining her composure. Rachel put the device down and began to move toward her friend.
"Again."
"But Talia…"
"Again! This time hold it for ten seconds."
Rachel stayed put, halfway between her friend and the device.
Talia brought her gaze up. "Rachel, please."
Closing her eyes in disbelief of what she was doing, Rachel again stepped back to the table and retrieved the dial. Talia's eyes were still on her, and she didn't need to say the words again for Rachel to know what she had to do.
The knob twisted to the right in Rachel's grip and Talia began to thrash once more. Three seconds, five seconds, she knew Talia was in pain. Eight seconds, nine seconds…
"Don't stop!" Talia yelled, convulsing against the rattling cuffs. "Keep it going!"
Rachel kept her grip on the dial, her heart beating a mile a minute. She kept counting. Fifteen….sixteen… Then there was a scream.
"Oh god!" Talia shouted, her arms quaking. "Oh GOD Rachel, it's coming!" The doctor looked up at Rachel, and the familiar eyes of Talia Walker had been replaced with a glowing green. "The change, it's COMING!"
Rachel immediately released the dial and dropped the device onto the lab table and slowly moved towards her friend. She could feel her heart pounding even harder against her chest, and her adrenaline flowing through every pore. If she had had her own inner creature, it surely would've been released by now itself.
Talia slammed her eyes shut and shook her in shackles, her arms writhing against the tight wires that secured her to the platform. The first thing that Rachel noticed was a streak of dark green color beginning to flow throughout Talia's veins - down her legs, through the muscles on her arms, across her chest, on her face.
The first noticeable change began in her biceps, which immediately began to balloon in size, followed by a spasm of growth in her triceps and up her arm. Talia had never had well-defined muscles in the timespan that Rachel had known her, but within seconds her arms were doubled in size, packed tightly with power. Talia pulled against the shackles, but the green glowing metal pulled taut and would not allow any slack.
The doctor's legs buckled once more as her thighs began to expand, muscles rippling up against her skin as her legs stretched wider. Her toes began to curl as her feet expanded both in width and length, pressing down into the platform with incredible pressure. Rachel could hear the groaning of metal as her increasingly-dense limbs dented the thick structure with their new mass.
Rachel's attention suddenly shifted as the doctor yelled, pulling her engorged limbs to the side as she arched her back in pain. Talia's facial structure had begun to widen, her jaw and cheekbones extended as her petite neck widened into a thick mass beneath her. Emerald green veins continued to line her face, continuing the irradiated blood through her system.
Her eyes followed her friend's growing form down her neck to her torso. Talia, normally a smaller woman, was wildly out of proportion - gigantic arms and legs, with a growing head and tiny torso. However, the change was not far behind, as the doctor's shoulders immediately burst outward with bone-popping crunches. The rest of Talia's upper body followed suit, her ribs pushing outward as muscle filled in the gaps, growing her form. Smooth, round bumps of abdominal muscles pushed forth against Talia's rapidly inhaling and exhaling core. Above, protruding pectoral muscles forced themselves against darkening green skin, pushing Talia's breasts forward, which had themselves engorged exponentially to adorn her growing frame.
The skin on the doctor slowly shifted darker, the emerald green color in her veins fading into the jade coloring that the creature was known for. Talia's ear-length hair began to thicken as it grew down toward her shoulders, the normally straight brown strands furiously becoming a bushy green mane.
"Rachel!" groaned Talia in an almost unrecognizable voice - a deep tone several octaves lower than the doctor. Rachel snapped out of her trance observing the transformation and met the green eyes of her friend. Talia was almost completely the creature now, only a small glimmer of consciousness hidden within the monster's eyes remained of her friend.
"Rach...el," the human monster groaned again deeply, "I'm...sorry, I'mmm…"
The groan turned into a frightening roar as the glowing green eyes locked once more onto Rachel, that glimmer no longer visible, instead replaced by unchecked anger. The beast was in control.
Talia's creature was a mountain of power. Broad shoulders, tight muscles visible underneath jade skin, which covered a thick, wide torso held up by legs that reminded Rachel of tree trunks. That power was immediately tapped as the creature began to thrash, but the gamma cuffs did their job and held tightly, considerably denying a range of movement to her. Rachel felt a fleeting moment of relief.
Another roar filled the room as Rachel was forced to cover her ears, and that relief turned to panic. The creature looked down at her left arm, before pivoting her head to the right arm, tugging against each one in disgust, the gamma cuffs glowing a brighter green each time it was pulled on. Her brow furrowed and teeth clenched before staring once again at Rachel with a fiery gaze. The creature knew she was trapped, and Rachel was the scapegoat.
Before she could even react, the creature lunged toward Rachel in a blaze of speed, but once more was denied by the gamma cuffs, which held her limbs back. The jade giant pushed its torso forward, straining its muscles against its imprisonment to no avail, but for all the comfort Rachel tried to find in it, she realized the creature was only getting angrier.
A loud beep echoed into Rachel's right ear, and the woman turned to see the monitor. That's right! Attempting to ignore the target on her back from her transformed friend, Rachel ran over to the monitor Talia had pointed out before and looked at the processes on the screen. There were five dots: two green and three red.
"That's good," Rachel said to herself, "getting there."
Rachel turned back to the center of the lab to see the creature begin to stomp against the platform with her limited mobility, damaging the metallic base repeatedly with her foot. She had seemed to notice it was the one thing she could leave noticeable damage on, so it continued to pound away at it.
A green light flashed from the monitor, drawing Rachel's attention. Three green lights, two red. She looked back to the creature, which was continuing to stomp. Come on, let's hurry this up.
Rachel looked back at the struggling creature. Underneath the pile of rage and power, somewhere, was her friend, Talia. She didn't want to look at her friend in this condition, but the beast had magnetized her gaze..
I'm so sorry, Tal. I'm sorry this happened to you.
Another beep. Four green lights and one red. Rachel turned excitedly to the monitor and eyeballed the last red light. In addition to the status, layers of data were pouring over the screens: percentages, radiation levels, and other numbers that she had no idea what they meant, though Talia would no doubt spend hours analyzing.
Glancing over her shoulder, Rachel found that the beast, however, had stopped her pounding and had started to do her own analysis: on her. The woman felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end as the creature's icy green stare focused on her.
The final beep: five green lights. Rachel turned back toward the monitor and breathed a sigh of relief. Beneath the status lights, the words COMMENCING NEURAL TRANQUILIZER appeared on screen.
The lights on the gamma cuffs, which until recently had been glowing a bright green, now switched to a bright blue as electric current began to erupt from the devices into the limbs of the creature. The briefly-stoic alter-ego of her friend immediately responded by closing her eyes and unleashing a bestial roar as the attempts to subdue her began.
After a few moments, though, the roaring stopped, and the creature ceased its struggle.
There was no sign of Talia, however. Instead, the icy green eyes of the creature known as the She-Hulk flashed a look of deep anger, of rage. Rachel's heart dropped. Oh no.
As the current continued to spark, the She-Hulk quickly began stretching her left arm as far as she possibly could against the gamma cuff, drawing more of the energy to that one to counteract the pressure it was drawing. While she continued to stress the left arm cuff, she then began to flex against the left leg cuff, drawing increased current toward that one in addition. Soon after, her right leg joined the struggle, and three out of her four limbs were sparking with loads of current from the machines.
With a guttural roar, the She-Hulk finally gave her last limb, her right arm, its chance to shine, whipping it outward with lightning speed. In one swift motion, the right arm yanked the gamma cuff taut, before it snapped into shards that flew across the lab before skidding across the floor.
The She-Hulk was breaking free.
Rachel felt her body freeze beneath her. What could she do? Talia had said the machine would take care of it, but the current wasn't working - in fact, it was fueling enough rage to allow the creature to escape.
With one limb free, the She-Hulk continued to flex both of its legs as her right arm shot to pull on the left arm's shackle, which was freed within moments. She must be overloading specific limbs, Rachel thought, which weakens the energy to the remaining ones.
Rachel wanted to pat herself on the back in pride of that scientific deduction, however her immediate concern was focusing on not being torn apart by the creature breaking out of its barriers.
I need to distract her before it's too late; I need to reach Talia inside.
Swallowing the lump at the back of her throat, Rachel forced her legs to move slowly toward the center of the lab, instead of running for the door as every instinct in her mind was telling her to. With every step, she could hear the crackle of current getting louder, and the grunting and struggling of the She-Hulk getting more intense.
As Rachel approached, the beast had both of her chiseled arms pulling with all her might at the gamma cuff on the left leg. Fighting against the current, the pain and the shock only seemed to empower her by increasing her rage. The third limb was free in no time. One left, which the She-Hulk immediately began to focus on.
In seconds, the shackle was broken, and the monster, the beast, the unleashed rage of Talia Walker was free from the device that was supposed to keep her in check.
Once more, the icy, angry eyes of the She-Hulk turned to her. Rachel was out of time.
The beast, still as lightning fast as she was strong, turned to the crumpled mess of what was once the experimental platform, and lifted the object above her head. Muscles heaving, teeth clenched, the She-Hulk took aim and tossed the mass toward the monitor with the green lights, causing it to explode in a spectacle of sparks.
"Talia, stop this, stop this now!" Rachel shouted unconsciously.
The beast froze, and turned once more to the woman.
"Talia, please," pleaded Rachel.
A low growl began to vibrate in the She-Hulk's throat, as the creature pivoted and thrust herself across the room in a second, grasping Rachel by the left wrist and yanking her up in the air. Rachel yelled as pain shot down her arm, though she was powerless to do anything as she dangled from the beast's grasp, the She-Hulk moving their faces close together.
"I AM NOT PUNY TALIA!" roared the creature.
Rachel's heart skipped a beat. She had talked. She's never talked before. Only roared, growled, yelled - never talked.
"You are puny Talia's friend," growled the beast, shaking Rachel in by the arm, making the woman yelp again in pain. "You made me hurt."
Talia, you always thought the creature was just a being of pure rage and emotion. She has a mind of her own, she feels, she thinks.
Rachel, trying to suppress the quaking fear in her core, took a deep breath as a light switched on in her brain. She's scared, just as much as me.
"I want to be your friend too," Rachel squeaked, forcing uncomfortable contact with the She-Hulk's eyes. She could feel the creature's heavy breath on her. "I'm sorry for making you hurt, but you're hurting me too."
The She-Hulk's brow furrowed, and for the first time since it had emerged, the creature's expression was not one of rage, but instead, confusion. The beast slowly lowered Rachel down, and soon the woman felt the solid floor beneath her. As her footing returned, the She-Hulk's grip loosened, and Rachel's arm flopped to her side, still shooting with pain. Grasping her shoulder, which was clearly out of its socket, Rachel forced herself to keep talking.
"I'm sorry I called you Talia, that was uncalled for."
"I am NOT that puny Talia."
"Yes," Rachel agreed. "I know. What should I call you then?"
The beast paused, backing up a few spaces. For all the adrenaline that was still firing on all cylinders, for all the massive muscles and power the green behemoth had at her disposal, it was now her brain that had to think, and it was powerless.
"I...I don't know," the monster growled.
Rachel searched her mind and only one thing popped into her head. Talia is going to hate me. "What about 'She-Hulk?'"
"Sheeee...Huuuulk?" the creature repeated confusedly. "What is SheeeeHulk?
"It's a name," Rachel continued. "My name is Rachel. My father insisted on it, something about loving the 'ch-' sound in the middle. My mom wanted to call me Lucy, but gladly she lost that battle."
"Raytch..EL. Loo-see," the She-Hulk grunted. "Sh-she HULK." The brow furrowed once again, and the creature's arms shot to her head. "I don't know. I DON'T KNOW!"
"That's OK!" Rachel shouted, moving up to the beast and placing her right hand on the green skin of the creature's abdomen, causing her to recoil away. Rachel moved forward once again, and slowly resumed her contact. "That's OK."
This time, the beast didn't recoil, but instead just stared at her hand. The beast's skin was tough as a rock, yet still oddly soft to the touch. The muscles underneath the skin felt as if they were straining, but after a few seconds her core began to relax, and the beast dropped her arms to the side.
"Listen," Rachel said, looking up to the beast's face. "Names are not important now. What's important is that I want to help you. I can release you from your pain, I know you're hurting. Just sit with me here, and we'll make each other feel better, OK?"
Rachel lowered herself to the ground and sat on her folded legs on the ground, patting with her uninjured hand motioning the creature to join her.
"Rach...el,," the creature spoke softly, mimicking the movement and letting her hulking frame sink to the ground. "She...Hulk, friend."
"Yes, friend," Rachel said. "She-Hulk, or whatever you decide on, friends make mistakes, and I'm sorry for hurting you."
"Puny Talia wants to hurt me," said the creature, tensing up.
Rachel once again made contact, this time with the She-Hulk's arm. "Ignore Talia, she's not here. Focus on me. I don't want to hurt you."
"No hurt…"
"Close your eyes, just breathe with me, we'll make our pain go away," Rachel continued, tracing her hand down the She-Hulk's arm and finding her hand. She wrapped her palm around two of the enormous fingers of the creature's hand, and squeezed. "Just breathe."
Rachel exhaled alongside the She-Hulk, and what could've been either seconds or hours later, Rachel's adrenaline wouldn't tell her, another change began.
The massive fingers that dwarfed Rachel's palm began to shrink in her grip. The tough, green skin of the She-Hulk gave way to fragile, pale olive-tinged skin. Muscles rippling from within relaxed and began to withdraw. Bones crunched, hair thinned, and humanity returned as Talia Walker collapsed into Rachel's grasp.
The She-Hulk's pain was gone, for now.