Disclaimer: Goes without saying but I do not own Bruce Banner nor the Hulk nor any other Marvel character herein included. They're the properties of the original creators as dictated by official documents, whom you can find out more about in Wikipedia or something. Stan Lee, Marvel Comics, etc.
Tuan aka The Abysmal as well as the plot related to them, the monsters and the military, are original by me, but they're still set in the Marvel Universe so I still hold no rights to them.
Rating: T for a bit of violence. I censor profanity like they would in a comic, if I ever use it.
PART 5: An Unconcerned Civilian
Say one thing for having the Hulk inside him and always raring to go, it gave Bruce confidence. It used to make him terrified, and as such, he would spend most of every interaction trying to feebly disarm any possibility for conflict. Any psychologist will tell you that's the worst a person can do, and the Hulk especially frowned upon cowardice. It just made him want to come out all that more.
As such, Bruce held his hands in his pockets and beat Hill to the punch.
"No."
Colonel Hill raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
"I'm not helping you. I got stuff going on that I can't really abandon. Responsibilities," he said, still a bit hesitantly since the Colonel was a bit intimidating.
"Bruce, we got a hulk on the loose and—"
"The Hulk's right here," Bruce said, and while he didn't want to interrupt her, it was better than allowing Hulk's offense to metastasize. "And he's staying here."
"Look," Maria called, and paused. She nearly stayed still, maintaining both her poise and facial expression, and yet, Bruce suddenly became aware of how surrounded he was. "Obviously, I don't know what's going on with you, but it doesn't hurt to take a day off and consult us about this issue so we can get this dealt with as fast as possible. Is what you have to do really more important than this, Bruce?"
Bruce did not take his hands out of his pockets and stayed relaxed. That confidence was shared with the Hulk whom, despite wanting to fight this new menace, agreed with not being someone else's attack dog. They both knew that's what they would turn out doing, in the end.
"Yes. Because that doesn't really concern me, does it? It's not my responsibility. But I got a couple of responsibilities that I'll be skipping out on if I go with you. Meetings to go to, people I need to trust me and stuff. That kind of thing."
Hill uncrossed her arms in slight frustration, and whether she intended to or not, motivated the soldiers surrounding them to shuffle into battle-ready stances. In response, Bruce took his hands out of his pockets and straightened his back.
"Whoah!" Hill instantly spread out her hands. "Let's take it easy, here. I will, under no circumstances, force you to help us, Bruce."
Bruce smiled but did not pocket his hands. "That's good. I hear your funding isn't what it used to be, I don't think you want to trash such a nice airship as this," he said, looking around, and sensed the Hulk appreciated the attitude. He could only hope his bluster was believable, because he knew fairly well she would never have come for him if she didn't have at least five plans to take him down. In the end, though, the Hulk always won. Bruce was focusing on that.
Hill grabbed at her waist with her hands and shook her head in confusion.
"Who took a dump in your shoe, Bruce? Why're you so belligerent? I want your help. To be honest, we kind of need it if we want to take care of this and do a good job of it. How can you say it doesn't concern you? It's a Hulk. Gamma bomb? You made it."
Bruce frowned, kind of painfully, but he was really not about to give up on his independence one day into it.
"I'm sick of that, alright? I never kept any of that research, and I've gone out of my way to destroy every piece of it that I can get my hands on. But you keep salvaging it, and then losing it, and on and on."
"We?" She asked, flinching in insult.
"It was a military weapon being developed in the heart of the United States," Bruce pointed out, desperately. He slapped the back of his hand onto a palm, like a teacher enunciating the laws of physics. "It was a colossal disaster and, like I said, I've destroyed every piece of it I ever saw. Why is it resurfacing in South Asia all these decades later?" He asked, gesturing out in a random direction. "That's my fault? Or does the fault lie with whoever kept it alive? And then let it leak? I dunno if that's you, but it sure wasn't me."
Maria scowled, as powerful people do when they are not in the right. It's a damn inconvenience for their pawns not to just do what they tell them to. In that, they were all the same. S.H.I.E.L.D, government, Tony, all of them.
Opening his arms, to illustrate his frustration, Bruce let his voice raise a little bit. It made everyone nervous, but holding it all in would be worse.
"I'm tired of being everyone's… punching bag and attack dog. I didn't create that problem, and maybe I'll help if nobody can really figure it out. But you know what? You people did alright with the real deal many times in the past, I think you'll do alright with the copycat."
Bruce straightened up, and he could sense Hill's soldiers were beyond tense, clearly not accustomed to her being talked to in that manner. But that's what everyone was constantly forgetting, wasn't it? Bruce wasn't a soldier, least of all theirs. He was a civilian, and civilians could be selfish assholes if they wanted to.
"May I go, Colonel?"
"Yes," she said simply, squinting her eyes in displeasure. "I thought you were a better man than this, Bruce."
He shrugged, knowing that letting her have the last word would be better for him. They were still S.H.I.E.L.D., they would probably attack him if he riled them up too much.
And then they'd be talking to the Hulk for not long at all.
Still, even after all that bravado, he found himself considering the issue on his way back to his apartment. It was nice being approached by Hill rather than General Ross. He would have had him full of tranquilizer darts the moment he said no, and they wouldn't work, and then they would be chasing him across the whole state.
Bruce sighed, not really thinking back fondly to those days. He didn't know what the Hulk was, such that he wasn't even thinking about who he was. Every day was a terror to live, for him, and all those that he might hurt in his attempts to stay safe. After all, even the world's strongest had a hard time fighting the whole army of the United States without causing the loss of innocent life.
The Hulk reflected that the new one was likely going through the same thing, and Bruce considered that. Indeed, what footage he had seen was showing the copycat being chased down by military forces. Running and fighting very chaotically. Yes, he wasn't a weapon like the Abomination. Not a soldier like the Red Hulk. Not in control like Jen. From what little he had seen, Bruce had no doubt this person was just like them.
Bruce held his key in his door and frowned, feeling guilty.
Not only did the copycat have his country's military after him, but now he would also have S.H.I.E.L.D. And without Bruce telling her how to approach things peacefully, and the Hulk to handle the inevitable need to fight, Hill would resort to force all the faster.
"Ah…jeez. Come on, no." Bruce shoved the key in the hole and unlocked his door, but a lifetime of experience weighed on him. She might have said it for the sole purpose of manipulating his decision, but Hill had been right. He had insight nobody else had.
And the Hulk felt he was likely the only one who could beat the copycat with the least amount of collateral damage. Or as the Hulk regarded it, regrettable damage.
"Fine," Bruce admonished, locking the door. "But we're doing this on our own. I don't care what they say, it's always the same thing. When push comes to shove, and they have to stare those green eyes in the face, they always pull the trigger. So we're going to get to him before S.H.I.E.L.D. does."
The Hulk liked that idea and was looking forward to the fight even more if it was one versus one. That deflated Bruce somewhat since he didn't want the fight. But then, that was the dichotomy of their characters, and why they were perfect as the accumulated identity that was Bruce Banner, the Hulk.
Or the Hulk, Bruce Banner.
It really depended on his mood.
Part End: Thank you for reading, please consider leaving a review if you have the time. I can't answer some types of review for some reason so I'll say it here: Thank you for the kind words, I'm really glad you're enjoying it!
How about that final line? Made me chuckle.
Well that was quite the mood swing. Sometimes we're so busy holding our ground we really only think about things later, and then realize we should've been more affable. Anyways, next part, Bruce Banner is off to Vietnam of all places. Featuring the main OC for this story: the copycat Hulk.
(Reminder that this story happens in the same timeline/universe as Spider-Man: Repulse, but it's self contained like that one is)
