Talia had never been in a police car before, let alone the back of one. She had to remind herself periodically that she was doing the right thing, even though she had been certain about making the phone call after awakening from the metamorphosis the night before.

The detective, Colvin, was silent in the driver's seat. When he had arrived, obviously sleep-deprived, to their arranged pickup location, he had read her the Miranda Rights and cuffed her, but those were the only words he had spoken since. Every so often Talia noticed that he would glance back in the mirror, but if they happened to make eye contact, he would quickly divert his gaze away. She could feel a silent anger emanating from him ever since he had picked her up, but she knew there'd be plenty of time to address the unspoken thoughts soon enough.

While the ride in the police car was new, being cuffed wasn't. Talia's experience with handcuffs was still fresh in her mind - at least with her gamma cuffs the day before. They had failed to secure the monster after she had forced herself to transform in order to conduct her experiment. She knew that these, the standard police-issue metallic handcuffs that secured her arms behind her back, would easily stand no chance against the monster's might if she were to change - despite Colvin fastening them tightly enough as if he believed they might. That knowledge kept reminding her to remain calm, that this was what she had chosen, and that there was no reason to be alarmed.

She, however, still was feeling both ashamed and self-conscious. Her changes had always left her vulnerable, but here she was, half naked, at the mercy of somebody who hated her. While she personally didn't commit the atrocities, she couldn't blame the feeling - she was responsible for the existence of the monster. Plus, she knew that nobody who looked at her would see a difference between her and the beast. To them, she was the "She-Hulk;" even without the green skin.

One thing she could thank her lucky stars for at the moment was the fact that guilt wasn't one of the emotions the triggered the change.

Talia leaned back onto the leather seat, feeling the cool surface against her bare back. The handcuffs resisted her instinctive attempt to draw her hands over her naked torso to preserve her warmth - and her modesty. Instead, she awkwardly tried not to press her weight against her handcuffed arms.

The car pulled into the lot of the Pallas police station, and she felt herself resigning herself to whatever fate Colvin had in store for her.. Despite that, Talia still felt herself slinking in her seat slightly as she caught sight of numerous other police vehicles.

She had figured out a way to slip into a nearby library to access their phone, but her curiosity had gotten the better of her and she began to look up any information she could find about the creature's exploits in the city. Images and descriptions of the monster's attacks against police and the sheer destruction of property made her sick to her stomach. The monster was uncontrollable. The revelation had only made her double down on turning herself in. Having to face the eyes of the officers her other half had no doubt hurt was not something she was looking forward to, however.

Colvin parked the vehicle and briskly removed himself from the driver's seat, turning and removing his long jacket which he had been wearing, revealing the occupied gun holster that was strapped around his chest. Talia felt chills spread up her skin, but forced herself to not worry and looked away. The detective opened the door and reached in with his right arm, grabbing her left arm and guiding her out to her feet. Silently, he draped his long jacket over her half-naked body and fastened it at the front, providing her with some modesty.

Hand at her back, he guided her inside the police station. To her somewhat relief, none of the other officers seemed to take any particular notice of her, looking up slightly to see who was passing them by, but then going back to whatever they were doing after satisfying their brief curiosity. Their disinterest, Talia guessed, meant that none of them knew who she was, and that Colvin hadn't shared the information. Whether that was by choice or just due to lack of time between arresting her and bringing her in, she didn't know.

After weaving through some hallways, they arrived outside a door, where Colvin had her wait. He looked to a nearby woman in uniform, drawing his badge and flashing it to her. "Colvin, state police. This the one I was told I could use?" The woman nodded, and Colvin then nodded to Talia with his chin. "Do you have what I asked for?"

The female officer nodded once more. "I'll go grab it." As she left, Colvin opened the door and lead Talia inside.

Talia instantly recognized it as a questioning room, or an interrogation room as she frequently thought of them while watching countless episodes of her favorite police procedural dramas. Here she was, about to experience the real thing. The room was barren, except for the security cameras mounted on the walls, plus a plain metallic table between a set of uncomfortable-looking chairs. Colvin, however, kept them standing.

Moments later, the female officer returned with a bag, and handed it to Colvin. The detective nodded his thanks, then waited for her to leave the room before shutting the door. He went to her and silently unfastened the jacket he had draped over her, draping it over his arm. The heavily air-conditioned room instantly drew goosebumps across her bare skin. Withdrawing a key from his belt, he played with the handcuffs and unfastened them, freeing her arms. Talia only got a moment to stretch them and rub the marks which the cuffs had left on her wrist before the detective thrust the bag into her arm. "Put these on," he said, motioning to what he had just given her. "But don't get comfortable, those are going back on right after."

Talia nodded, and opened the bag to find what looked to be a pair of gym shorts, a slightly oversized t-shirt, and a pair of dollar bin flip flops. She, however, was not feeling particularly picky, and was grateful for the chance to dress herself in something. She brought her hands to her hips and allowed the ragged remains of her destroyed jeans to drop to the cold floor, and quickly stepped into the baggy gym shorts, pulling the elastic up over her hips then tying the strings at her waist. After securing those, she pushed her arms one at a time through each of the sleeves, then slipped the shirt on over her head, pulling it down and letting it drape over her body. Finally, she dropped the flip flops on the floor and wiggled her bare feet onto them, pushing her toes through the plastc thongs. Colvin grabbed the bag, then lead her over to the table, sitting her down at the chair.

There was no time to get comfortable, however. Colvin motioned for her to place her arms facing forward on the table, which she complied with. The detective reattached the handcuffs, fastening the chains through a bolt on the table, then tugging at them briefly to make sure they were secured. Satisfied, he went and took a seat at the opposite end of the table. For the first time since she had been arrested, Detective Martin Colvin made intentional eye contact.

"Let me just cut straight to the chase here, Dr. Walker," he said, a scowl forming on his face. "If you are who you say you are, if you are the She-Hulk, then you're responsible for four months of hell. You've attacked police officers and innocent people. You've caused endless amounts of destruction around this city and these towns.

"I don't know why you do it. Fun? Sick pleasure? To be honest I don't give a damn. You looked me straight in the eye last night and pretended to be innocent, then proceeded to unleash one of your most destructive nights ever. To think I almost trusted you.

"I don't know if you all of a sudden grew a conscience, or if you're planning this as a setup, but I warn you, if it's the latter, then I warn you: If I even see a hint of green I won't hesitate to put a bullet in you."

Talia went to open her mouth in response, but the words weren't there. She could feel the anger radiating out of the man like he were a nuclear reactor, yet she didn't blame him. Those were many of the same feelings she herself had for the monster lurking inside her. At the very least, their shared hatred of the creature was something they had in common right now. Yet, she couldn't dare let loose her emotions as he was.

"Detective, believe me, I understand," Talia began. "I know-"

"Do you know?" Colvin interrupted, standing up and raising his voice. "Because I don't think you do!"

Talia swallowed back the lump in her throat and inhaled deeply, closing her eyes and centering herself, before exhaling softly. Don't let him get a rise out of you. "Listen, detective, you have every reason to doubt me, hate me, want to lock me up, all that. I promise I can explain everything. But I have to ask something of the utmost importance: We have to keep things calm in here."

Colvin threw back his head and unleashed a hearty laugh. "I'm sorry, doctor, but you don't get to make requests in here. I don't think you know how this works."

Talia shook her head. "Oh, but I do." She closed her eyes and forced her lungs to inhale a gulp of air, then let it exhale slowly through her nose. "The thing you have to understand is that I don't control the creature. She's brought out by stressful situations, by anger, by fear. If I lose control -"

Colvin slammed his hands on the table. "If you change, I told you, I'll shoot you myself before you can hurt another person!"

"By the time you did it'd already be too late!" Talia shouted, reaching a volume that her voice rarely achieved. She felt her heart accelerate and her hands clenched in a ball of anger. "Trust me, if the monster gets out then it's game over for all of us!"

The statement seemed to catch Colvin off guard. He pursed his lips and remained silent, continuing to stare at her but obviously thinking. Talia, feeling her anger bubbling beneath her skin, instantly remembered to start breathing again, dispersing her emotions through a few quick, deep breaths. Stay in control.

"Detective, listen," she continued in a calmer, pleading tone. "I don't need you to absolve me, but I do need you to believe me." Talia leaned forward onto the table, pressing her weight onto her chained arms. "I turned myself in because I need help. I'm a prisoner in my own body. I've done all I've can to stop the monster, but it's become too much."

Colvin took a deep breath himself before sitting back down. "OK, I'll play this game for now. You're saying that all of this chaos caused by the She-Hulk is her action alone, not yours."

Talia nodded. "Yes. When the creature takes control, I have no power to stop it until I change back."

"Awfully convenient, wouldn't you say, doctor?" Colvin answered, his eyebrows lifted skeptically. "You say you're the She-Hulk, but 'you don't have control," meaning you're not responsible for any of these crimes."

"I never said that," Talia responded grimly. "I take full responsibility for everything it's done."

"That's a start," Colvin said, before reaching for a folder that had been left for him in the room. He flipped it open and began sifting through a noteworthy stack of pages that lay within. "What about Buscema Labs? Breaking and entering, disabling a rather impressive security system, stealing highly valuable scientific nanobots. Did the She-Hulk do that on her own?"

Talia felt her stomach sink. "No, that was me."

Colvin smirked. "So, the She-Hulk may be a monster," he said, "but you're no angel yourself."

"I never claimed to be." Talia motioned as best as she could back to herself with her chained hands. "What I am, however, is a woman desperate for the same thing you are: to rid the world of this beast."

"That doesn't give you

the right to sidestep the law," he replied.

Talia nodded sadly. "No," she agreed, "it doesn't."

She met Colvin's eyes once more. "I've made plenty of mistakes, and I have to live with my choices. I don't want this to be mistake, so do whatever you can to keep me away from anybody I can hurt, both as a human and as a monster."

The fire Colvin had been staring back at her with seemed to have dimmed. "Gladly."

The hallway was thin and narrow, parallel rows of chipped white brick framing a cold concrete floor and a paneled ceiling. At the end of the corridor a long, black box hung on the wall, with an ancient-looking phone receiver connected via coiled wire.

Talia's footsteps in her cheap flip flops echoed down the hallway alongside the steps of her escort as she approached the phone. Her mind instantly flashed to the countless television shows and movies she had seen over her life featuring the fabled "one telephone call." Like the ride in the police car, she had never guessed she would ever be in the position of needing to make one.

She walked up to the phone and stared blankly. Next to her, the male cop who had escorted her leaned up against the wall, looked at his watch, then crossed his arms. "Dial nine, then one to call out," he said in a bored tone that both betrayed he had repeated this countless times, and the fact that he still most likely had no idea that she was the monster who attacked her whole force last night. Is Colvin not telling anybody to protect me?

"You have five minutes," finished the officer.

Talia picked up the receiver and brought her finger to the array of numbers, but hesitated.

After transforming back to human, the usual voice in her mind had kept telling her to call Rachel instead of Colvin. Deep down, she had wanted to stick to her usual routine of getting Rachel to bail her out after a transformation. However, that feeling was part of the reason she felt like she had to turn herself in.

This time, however, she allowed herself to dial the phone number she had memorized so well. The phone began to ring.

Rachel, though incredibly helpful, had been a crutch she had relied on far too often. She was her best friend, her confidante, and the only person who had known her secret until now. She had put her time, her energy, and her care into helping her through the first few months of the changes, and Talia had let her.

However, that help had almost gotten Rachel killed yesterday, and Talia knew that she couldn't risk her friend's life anymore. She had to let her friend have a life.

"Who's this?" answered a strained voice. Rachel's.

"Rachel, it's Talia."

"Tal?!" The stress in her friend's tone had instantly vanished. "Oh my god, Tal, you're OK!"

"Yes, I'm fine, but-"

"Where are you?" Rachel cut off, her voice picking up pace as it tended to do when she was excited. Talia thought she heard the sound of jingling keys in the background. "I'm running to the car now."

A pit developed in Talia's stomach. "Rachel, stop. You can't come and get me." She paused, swallowing back a lump in her throat. "I'm at the police station."

"WHAT?!" Rachel's shriek almost deafened her, causing Talia to briefly pull the phone from her hear. "What are you talking about?"

"Rachel," Talia sighed. "It happened again last night."

"Yeah, I've been freaking out all day after seeing the news reports. I drove by your house and saw there was a giant hole in it, and you weren't there! Where did they find you?"

"I turned myself in."

"WHAT?!" Talia pulled the receiver away again as Rachel yelled.

"Rachel," Talia answered, thinking of ways to keep her descriptions vague - if the officer didn't know she was the creature, she didn't want to tip her off for her own safety. "A nightmare set it off last night. My problem, it's getting worse, and I'm losing control."

"Tal," Rachel tried to cut in.

"I don't want to hurt anybody anymore, Rachel."

There was a silence over the line. Talia looked over to her chaperone, who simply pointed to his watch.

"Rachel, you're a great friend, but it's time for me to make things right. Take care of yourself, for once, instead of taking care of me. Thank you for everything."

And with that, she hung up before Rachel could answer, tears welling up in her eyes. She couldn't have handled hearing her voice for another second. Staring at the ground to avoid making eye contact with the officer, she bit her tongue and began to force her brain to do what had been necessary for four months: Supress her emotions.

Talia heard the sound of footsteps and tried to ignore them as she struggled to balance her feelings. Colvin's voice filled her ears. "I've got it from here," he spoke to the other cop.

Taking a deep breath, she pushed her mix of sadness and anger down and locked it away. Blank faced, she looked up to meet Colvin, whose face betrayed a blend of annoyance and worry.

"OK doc," he said, waiting for the other officer to leave the corridor. "If you're serious about helping me lock this monster away, then I need you to give me everything."

"Of course," Talia said, nodding. "Whatever you need."

Colvin nodded, though still distracted by something. "Good, good. Because we're going to your lab."

My lab? "When?"

"Right. Now."