Disclaimer: All characters belong to their respective owners, I own nothing from Marvel.
Chapter 2
Trial of The Hulk
Western Europe, North Sea
The dark ocean was illuminated by the dim light of a single humanoid machine barreling through the water. Lights on the front of its chest were the only instrument portraying its shape to the aquatic life that surrounded it. Sharks and other fish swam away from the unnatural entity.
The armored creature looked at the fish before turning his attention back to the waters ahead of him.
"God…you've got some ugly fish down here." Ironman said as he was propelled through the water by his new suit's repulsor boots. "The view isn't very good, even from here boss. I'm starting to wish those optics weren't as good as you made them." "Well I do apologize for that, Happy, but I have to say I think I out did myself with this suit." Tony said as he swam around a large sea-kelp formation.
"I'll say. Body temp, pressure control, HD signal feedback in real time…were you trying to set the world record for most badass piece of hardware on the planet?" Happy asked.
"Please don't flatter him mister Hogan. He has a big enough ego as it is." Rumiko said over the comm-link. "Come on Rumiko, praise is what motivates me." Tony said while smiling under his helmet.
Stark Deep Sea Sub
Inside of the dimly lit submarine sat several key members of Stark Enterprises staff, mainly the people considered Stark's closet friends. Rumiko stood behind a small computer screen and looked at the feed her boyfriend was sending them.
"Mister Hogan, how much longer until he reaches the site? That submarine isn't going to last much longer under this kind of pressure." A tall and well built man in a white business shirt and black pants looked at the woman and then back to a radar screen. "Uh…ETA is about 2 minutes Mrs. Fujikawa. Hey boss, you might wanna hurry it up. Those EU guys seem to be getting a little restless." "Roger that Happy. And again Rumiko I do apologize for the delay in our dinner plans." Tony said.
Rumiko merely shrugged her shoulders and returned her gaze to the computer screen. "Well I was the one who insisted on coming here in the first place." She said. "And besides I get to spend a little girl time with my old friend." Rumiko added as she looked at a beautiful red head in a business suit sitting in front of a computer. "Thank you Rumiko." Pepper Potts said as she checked the radar screen. "Its good to see you two back together after the nasty break up. Tell me, how long did it take you to figure out he was Ironman?" "About two months after he appeared at your company."
Pepper shook her head while smiling. "Told him he should've juts made a robot." "Robots kinda creep me out." Happy said, jumping into the conversation.
A distinct coughing noise was heard behind them and the trio turned to see Jarvis with a trey of mugs. "Jarvis you know that doesn't apply to you." Happy said. The English butler cracked a small smile. "Thank you Mister Hogan. And you'll be happy to know I didn't poison your drink." He handed the cups to the members of the room but Happy hesitated in drinking his. "He was being sarcastic you idiot." Pepper said.
"Or was I?" Jarvis said as he set the tray down on a table. Happy looked down at the drink fearfully before a beeping on the monitor drew his attention. "Boss, you there yet?"
In the Water
"Yeah. I can see the sub. I'm gonna launch a couple of flashbulbs to give us some more light." Two slots on the shoulders of the armor broke open to launch several spheres of intense orange light. Water boiled around the spheres as they floated down to the ocean floor.
The light illuminating off the spheres lit the entire area, revealing a massive sub buried half beneath a pile of rocks. Several figures dotted the landscape, each wearing form fitting combat suits with varying colors. One dresses in red white in blue that had the crest of the Union Jack on his chest looked up at the floating Ultimate.
"Dad, its Brian. I think Ironman just showed up." The man said as he stood next to two other men wearing the colors of the French and Spanish flags on their uniforms.
Ironman descended towards while a new voice broadcasted itself over his coms. "Hello? Mr. Stark?" "Speaking." This is Professor James Braddock of the EU Super-Soldier initiative. I'm sorry I can't introduce you to these men, but t—" "Don't worry yourself Sir Braddock, I'm no stranger to red tape. Believe me I've got several offices in Europe and they are a pain to operate. I'll just take your boys out for a drink or two later on. Now let's get to work."
Ironman landed on the ocean floor where he proceeded to move towards the submarine. "Is everybody on board okay?" The man in the Union Jack floated over to him before answering. "Yeah, only some minor injuries to the crew but no casualties. I'm Captain Britain." The man said extending his hand.
Ironman shook it before looking back at the trapped sub. The man in the orange uniform descended down towards the heroes and landed next to them. "We've cleared about 80% of the debris off the top of the sub but we still cant lift it."
Ironman scanned the sub before moving forward, gripping the vehicle by its belly. "Alright…I'm going to push this thing back towards the rocks and you guys lift. That should give us enough momentum to—" "Lift it off the ground and towards the surface! Let's get in position!" Captain Britain shouted out.
The other two super-humans moved towards the side of the submarine to enact their part of the plan. "Okay…" Tony said as he gripped the vessel's metal hull. "Boss…you sure the suit can lift that much? Its over two-hundred tons of solid titanium and steel alloys!" "Well Happy a famous man once said 'Fortune favors the bold.'" Ironman powered up his repulsor boost, blasting himself off the ground as he pushed up against the sub.
"And…up…we…GO!" He roared as he pushed the ship off the ground. The other super-soldiers swam into action, swimming under the sub and flying upwards, pushing the titanic vessels off the ground and towards the water's surface.
"Two-hundred meters…one-fifty…breaking surface in three…two…one!" Happy shouted over the coms.
Above the water's surface, the waves broke as a massive black submarine burst threw the water's surface and floated into the air thanks to the aid of four super-powered beings.
"Alright boys…let's set her down on the water. Captain?" "Yes sir?" The captain of the sub said as he and his crew recovered from the sudden rescue. "Get those engines started." "Yes sir! Full power to engines!"
The propeller blades at the end of the sub whirred to life, chopping through the air at astounding speeds. "Alright…gently set her down…" Ironman said as he descended towards the water. The four super-beings deposited the ship on the waters of the ocean's surface, allowing the vessels to take off on its own power.
The team of heroes rose into the air as they watched the ship plow through the water towards the European coastline.
"I'd say that's a job well done. Eh, boys?" Ironman said as he turned towards the trio of European heroes. "A round of drinks are on me!" "Boss…that's gonna have to wait." "Oh come on Happy, you guys get some too." "Tony this is no time for jokes! There's a serious problem back home!" Pepper yelled out. "What's going on?' Tony asked as his voice turned serious.
New York City, Time Square
Rain poured down onto the streets of the darkened city as night cast its shadow over the big apple. A lone man stood in front of the mass of television sets inside the windows of the stores.
Thor watched as the news reporters continued to rant about the Hulk findings. "Of course Thor was behind this information leak! This is exactly what he has been protesting against! SHIELD and the Ultimates can't be trusted! This Hulk fiasco was their fault and they covered it up! We go live now to a Presidential press conference."
Thor frowned at the broadcast before he turned towards the sky and flew upwards, leaving the brightly lit streets behind him.
Triskelion, The Next Day
The group of Ultimates assembled in the briefing room as Nick Fury stood at the head of the table. Janet walked into the room followed by Hank who was resting in a wheel chair. The group took their seats at the table.
Wasp was the first to speak. "Nick…is it true? Did you lose your job?" Nick sighed as he sat down at the table. "Not yet. President and congress are debating it with the Security Council. We'll know by the end of the day."
"We had this coming." Steve said drawing the attention of everyone present. "Care to repeat that Captain?" Nick said. "We lied to the public. We said we were heroes when we were just cleaning up our own mess." "Cap…" Hawkeye started before the doors opened to reveal Tony Stark and Betty Ross, the latter looked like she hadn't gotten a wink of sleep.
"Betty!" Janet said as she stood up. Tony walked forward towards the end of the table, opposite of Fury. "How the hell did this happen?! I thought SHIELD was suppose to be an agency that specialized in info Security!" "We're handling the issue Tony." Widow nearly snarled.
"Yeah? Well now Banner is going to be crucified for an act he could barely control!" Betty flinched at Stark's words and Tony immediately regretted opening his mouth. The billionaire turned his gaze down at the table, glaring at the wood.
"How is Banner?" Pietro asked. Hank turned towards the mutant to answer. "Doped up to the eyeballs on his own antidote and crying himself to sleep in his cell. The ironic part is he hasn't turned into the Hulk in weeks. The last time he just wrecked his room and then took a nap. Fury what are we going to do?" Nick sat down in his chair and folded his hands in front of his face. "We gotta cut him loose." "What?" Wanda asked.
"You mean just hand him over to the public for a lynching?" Tony asked in disgust. "We should take responsibility for this." Steve said. "That ain't happening Rogers." Fury said. "What?" the captain snarled back. "We spun that fiasco to prove to the world that we needed the Ultimates at a time where SHIELD was going to be shut down at a time when Super-Crime had been skyrocketing. The public doesn't want our heads…they want Banner's."
"How is this going to be handled?" Betty asked, looking at the floor. Nick turned to look at her before looking down at the table. "A public trial." "Nick…that is an automatic death sentence." Tony said.
"It's what has to be done." Betty said shocking the rest of the room. "Betty!" Janet exclaimed in disbelief. "This is Bruce we're talking about!" "You think I don't know that?!" Betty screamed, finally snapping. "Me and Bruce have been off and on for the past eighteen months! You don't think this is hitting me harder than any of you?! If I can stand hear and be professional about it then so should you!" Tears ran down the scientist's face as she finished her outburst.
Janet looked at her friend in shock before turning her gaze to the floor. "I-I'm sorry Betty…you're right." Hawkeye looked around the room and decided to speak up. "Look…I know this is going to sound cold and all…but I think our top priority should be security. This breach in means we got problems." "I think we all know where the leak sprung from." Fury said with an edge to his voice.
"Thor." Natasha growled. Tony looked at them in disbelief before speaking out. "You seriously think Thor would just throw Bruce out dry like this?!" "He hates our government. This would definitely bolster his cause." Steve said leaning back. "We have to take him down." "Not now, Steve." Fury spoke. "Why not?" "Because we have no proof. We can't just stir the pot when we feel like it. We do anything to jump the gun and we could have a bigger problem than this Hulk disaster. So let me be clear Captain Rogers. Do not engage Thor."
Steve leaned forward with a serious look on his face. "What? Do I look like the kind of guy that goes looking for trouble?"
Hades Club, Time Square.
The military chopper hovered over the area as a single figure dropped from its doors without a safety line. It landed in the streets with barely a thud and moved towards the edge of the block.
The figure walked towards a dimly lit alley filled with people (mostly college age) dressed in punk/hippie attire. The figure brushed past the line pissing off all who stood waiting to enter the club. The bouncer in a black suit saw the approaching figure and put his hand out to stop him.
"Full house buddy! Back of the line!"
A second later the man was thrown through the clubs door where he landed on the metal walkway that lead down to the club floor. The music blared so loudly that the sound of the breaking door was muffled.
Thor sat on a couch in the middle of the club right beside the DJ's stage. He sat next to a relatively normal dressed woman with long brown hair. "And you said you found these where I told you right?" Thor asked. The woman nodded her head enthusiastically. "Yes! Just like you said! If we can prove Asgard exists to the rest of the world no one will think your just some revolutionary!" The woman said.
"I can't thank you enough Jane. Your help is most appreciated." "T-thanks…" Jane said bashfully as she brushed a strand of her hair back while Thor smiled fondly at her.
"YOU!" A voice screamed out through the club. "Excuse me?" Thor said irritably as he saw an enraged Captain America storming towards him. Steve was dressed in a long green trench coat and dark green military fatigues and army boots, his uniform's shirt worn underneath the trench coat.
"Where the hell do you get off releasing classified files like that?!" Thor didn't get up as the hero stormed towards him, ignoring the glares directed at him by Thor's followers.
Thor turned towards the DJ and hollered out. "Michael! Turn down the music will you?" The DJ saw Thor's gesture and removed his headphones while turning down the music in the club. "Thor? Is something wrong?" "Oh, nothing I can't handle dear friend. Captain America here has just accused me of leaking those Bruce Banner files to the public and is now going to beat me up, is that a correct assumption?" Thor said tilting his head towards Rogers. "This suppose to be intimidating, jackass? A bunch of hippies and dropouts? You just made us look like liars to the whole world and just got Banner the chair! Do you realize what you've done?!" "I didn't release those files captain." Thor said, casually leaning his head back.
"I've been in the Triskelion four times in my life. Twice for the Chitauri incident, once for that Charity event last Christmas and the day I turned in my resignation to Fury. I can barely do email, let alone hack into SHIELD's computers. Besides, everyone knows that I'm the most vocal opponent of the death penalty. Do you really think I would just throw some man to your incredulous government for a public lynching?" Steve glared daggers at the self-proclaimed god before he turned around to leave. "Just watch yourself buster! You've had access to a lot of info these last few months!" The captain said as he stormed away.
Before the man could reach the stairs, a twenty-year old girl ran up to him and grabbed his shoulder to gain his attention. "Hey soldier!" "Hmm?" Steve turned around only for a bottle of beer to smash over his face, temporarily blinding him. The others picked up on this and began to dump their beer on the American Super-soldier. "BEER BATH!" They yelled in excitement as they doused the Captain in alcohol.
Thor looked shocked at the events occurring. Jane stood up in horror. "Thor!" The god-made-man leapt from his seat in rage. "ENOUGH!" he roared as electricity surged through the club, illuminating the den in a bright blue light.
The clubbers backed off in fear as Thor walked towards the center of the room and stood on a table. "You idiots! You came to me seeking a better way! And now what are you acting like? A bunch of frat boys." Thor turned his gaze towards the drenched Ultimate and spoke. "Are you okay Rogers?"
Cap brushed off the dripping alcohol as he stood up. "Yeah…but your friends need to learn some manners." "I apologize for that. But as for your accusations…I am not the one who leaked those files. But I think I know who did." Cap looked at Thor questioningly. "Who?"
"Amora the Enchantress. She is playing you all and if we don't sto—""THOR!" Cap screamed. "For the love of god! Just…! Just shut up…" Thor watched as his former teammate stormed out of the club.
"You go to church every Sunday to pray to a man above the clouds. How is what I say any different?"
Elsewhere
Bruce Banner watched the waves crash against the sand of the beach as he felt the cold water touch his bare feet. "Again thank you for this professor." Bruce said as he turned to see a bald man in a business suit standing on the sand.
"Think nothing of it Bruce. I'm always eager to help old students. I do have a question though." "Really? What's that?" "Are we in a confused memory? I see the beach and the coast but there are several odd looking houses here." "Yeah." Bruce said as he watched the sun set. He turned his head to look at the house that was occupied by a large family all outside on the front porch enjoying a barbecue.
"I think it's a mix between a beach trip and my family's barbecue with my cousin Jenny." "You mean Dr. Walters?" "Yeah, being older than her gave me the benefit of making her think I wasn't as dumb as I looked. But…look at me now."
Charles Xavier sighed as he had to get to the real beef of the problem. "They're going to kill you. You know that right?" "Yeah…I kind of guessed that ever since I was put in confinement. Part of me knew I wasn't getting out alive. But if I'm totally honest…it's kind of liberating."
Xavier cocked an eyebrow at this comment. "How so?" "It's refreshing not having to twiddle your fingers about whether or not I'll live the next day or not. I know how this will end. I'm just happy to be out of no-man's-land, y'know?" Xavier nodded his head in understanding as he walked into the water to stand beside his old friend. "The casualties were triple figures. Everyone knows how this will end." "Yeah. The court trial is just a formality. I'm not even allowed to watch TV anymore. They think the stress of the news will cause me to Hulk out."
"Right now they are debating whether to kill you by lethal injection or electric chair." Xavier said. "Hmmm…that actually might cause me to Hulk out." "Yes. Fury is trying to find the quickest and most painless way possible." Bruce nodded his head as he looked up at the sky.
"Bruce…our time is up. Would you like me to leave you here?" "Nah, I think I should face the music right? Let's head back." "Alright."
The beach faded from view as Xavier pulled the trouble doctor out of his mind. Bruce opened his eyes to see himself sitting across from professor Charles Xavier. The wheel chair bound man sat opposite of the glass and gave a sympathetic look towards the younger man.
"I can come back tomorrow if you'd like." Xavier said. "I'll be okay sir. Thank you." "Juts let me know if the big guys starts giving you problems." Xavier turned his chair around and began to roll away as Bruce remained seated in his chair.
Xavier exited the solitary room and was greeted by the taller form of Nick Fury. "How is he?" "Surprisingly calm. He seems resigned to his fate." "I don't know whether to be happy or angry at that." Fury said as he walked alongside Xavier.
As they exited the room and entered a hallway a man with brown hair and red sunglasses stood near its exit. Cyclops turned to see his mentor and Fury walking towards him. "Professor, Fury." "Hey kid." Fury replied as they headed to the helicopter pad. "Have you considered my offer?" Xavier asked Fury.
"My school has a habit of taking in trouble people." "Nil mortalibus ardui est. Nothing is beyond humankind's reach." Scott said with a small smile.
"This isn't about helping him, Mister Summers. The public wants someone to blame. Someone to crucify." "They want a scapegoat Scott. Someone to blame and suffer for all the loss in the world. I'm happy to say you wouldn't understand." Xavier said as the group exited the building.
Back inside Banner's cellblock, Bruce sat down at his computer and began to type on the keyboard, trying to finish up his work. The doors to the room opened as Hank Pym rolled into the room in his wheel chair. "Hey Bruce." "Hank! I heard you had woken up! What's wrong with you're legs?"
"Nothing serious. They just don't want me exerting myself." "Well that's good." "How does it feeling being a big TV star?" Hank asked as he rolled in front of the glass. "What do you mean?" "Look around Bruce. They're setting up cameras to broadcast your trial in 150 languages…man they say you'll be bigger than Oprah." Hank said, laughing bitterly.
Bruce leaned back in his seat as he looked up at the ceiling. "Yeah…but Oprah doesn't get offed at the end of the season." "Yeah well as far as your lawyer is concerned you're just as big a victim as the rest of New York. He refuses to answer questions about the Hulk. He just keeps saying 'Dr. Banner' over and over." "He's just hammering it home. He's just doing his job." "Quite the observation Doc."
"No just being realistic. Let's face it it's a closed case. All I can do is wrap up loose ends. Which reminds me…I wanted you to talk to Fury about these new Super-Soldier designs." "Shut-up right now. You don't know how this is going to end." "Hank we both know this is going to end with me dead." "Bruce! Just stop!" Hank shouted.
"God dammit just…" Hank muttered a she shook his fist in rage. "I…I'm not losing another friend…okay?" Hank said as he leaned forward in his chair. "Hank…I'm not getting out of this alive. Everyone knows that." "Bruce…you were my mentor for years when I was just some temperamental punk out of college…I can't just sit back and watch this happen…" "We both have some anger issues…" "And relationship problems…" "Ha…" Bruce laughed as he looked at his former student turned colleague.
"Besides…" Hank said as he leaned back in his chair. "I'm not so sure that I want those designs." "Why not?" "That'll just give them another reason to bench me." "What?" "They're concerned about my physical state so I'm stuck playing scientist and backup…but I'm not sure that's what's really going on."
Bruce gave him a quizzical look. "What are you tal—" "We put so much time into making our little super-unit look like a group of heroes…and now…look at us. We got two trained assassins a pair of ex-mutant terrorists and who ever else Fury decides to throw on our plate. It's like he's building his own private army."
"That's not true! Look at all the good you've done!" "Yeah but for how long? It just seems suspicious to me man…Look who they're phasing out…"
Unbeknownst to the duo, the security cameras zoomed in on the two as they spoke.
Triskelion Security Room
Nick Fury watched the conversation conclude on the video monitor. He watched Pym leave the room before pressing a button on his console.
The footage in the cell rewound until a certain phrase was spoken by the size- changing Ultimate on screen. "…Look who they're phasing out…"
Fury glared down at the screen as the dim red lights illuminated the room.
Stark Penthouse, Three Days Later
Tony Stark sat in his living room surrounded by many of his fellow Ultimates excluding Thor and Hawkeye. They were all gathered around the large plasma screen TV that was situated in the middle of the room. They watched as the court proceedings began.
"I don't like this." Wanda said as she watched the judge list out the charges. "It all we can do." Tony muttered as he sat next to Rumiko. The latter watched the court trial with distaste. "Is it? Is there nothing else you can do for him?" "Unfortunately not." Steve muttered as he glared at the screen.
Jarvis entered the room with a tray of drinks and set them down in front of the group. "I see the proceedings are long and tedious, as always." "Jarvis while I normally love your sarcastic wit…right now is not the time." "My apologies sir. I still can't see why you can't just throw him on some deserted island. At least there nothing would be able to hurt him, or god forbid, for him to hurt."
"We already ran that idea by Fury, and as much as he liked it, the only way to calm the public is the trial." Tony said as he continued to watch the proceedings. "Everyone knows that this trail is already settled. There's no way a jury is gonna let him walk when the casualties are in the hundreds. This blind lawyer Fury got from Hell's Kitchen makes good TV but it won't matter in the long run." Hank said as he glared at the prosecutor who was currently listing reason why the Hulk rampage was still Banner's fault. "Tony please turn this off. This asshole is giving me a headache." Jan said while she massaged her temples.
Tony acquiesced to her demand and changed the channel on the TV with the remote. He flipped it to news about a protest in Italy. Tony leaned forward as he listened to the cause. "Leaked photos of EU super-soldiers?" Pietro muttered as he read the teleprompter. "Oh shit." Tony muttered.
"Isn't that the group you performed a submarine rescue with, Tony?" Steve asked. "Yeah…some of them. I met the ones from Britain, France and Spain." "So people are protesting against us all over the world, aren't they?" Wanda said as she gazed at the television. Hank looked down at the ground as he thought over his conversation with Bruce.
"Hey! We are not soldiers!" Pietro retorted, insulted by the comment. "Easy Pietro…she didn't mean it like that." Steve said, trying to placate his teammate. Quicksilver sat back down on the sofa as he glared at the television.
"Any way you slice it, this's bad news for us." Widow said. "They want a scapegoat. It's only a matter of time before the Jury gives the sentence." Steve said. Tony turned to look at Wasp. "How is Betty taking this?" "I heard she hadn't even been down to see him." Wanda said. "Really?" Pietro muttered in slight disbelief.
Tony looked at Wasp for confirmation. She nodded her head. "Wow…that's cold." Tony muttered as he returned to watching the riots break out on screen. "No…its just like in college. Even when things were bad, she proved she really was Thunderbolt's daughter, tough as her old man." "Who's Thunderbolt?" Steve asked.
"Betty's dad and former director of SHIELD before he retired and promoted Fury. They nicknamed him Thunderbolt." "Sounds like a legend." Steve said in response to Hank's explanation.
"Hey guys…" Tony said as he pointed at the screen. The group looked at the TV as they saw the riot pick up in intensity. The SWAT teams situated on the streets began to fire off smoke grenades into the crowds before they began to beat them with nightsticks and billyclubs.
"Oh my god…" Wasp muttered in shock. The rest of the Ultimates looked on in shock as they saw the protesters being beaten by police. "This is outta control!" Steve exclaimed.
Tony got up from his seat as Jarvis handed him a mobile phone. "Calling your connections in the EU?" He said in his usual sarcastic tone. "Damn right…this is crazy!" Tony began to dial the number and waited for someone to answer.
"Uh…Tony?" "What Rumiko?" "You probably want to look at this." Tony turned around to look at the TV and saw bolts of lightning ripping across the streets of Italy, destroying cop cars and sending SWAT troopers flying. "Oh shit…" the playboy muttered as they saw a lone figure emerge from the smoking rubble.
Thor stood in the center of the street separating the protesters from the police. "Leave these people alone."
Triskelion, Prison Cell, Day Three of Hulk Trial
Bruce stood in the middle of his cell as he awaited the arrival of his new visitor. The doors to the room opened as a brunette in a white and black business suit entered the room hesitantly.
"Hello Bruce." Betty Ross said as she slowly approached the glass cell wall. "I-uh…I brought you some magazines…and some milk for your coffee." "Thanks Betty…but I don't think I should be interested in movies that'll show up about a month after my death. " "Oh…" Betty said as she looked at the floor.
"That was a joke…goddammit does no one realize when I'm trying to lighten the mood?!" Bruce snapped, startling Betty. "I'm sorry…" Betty muttered as she stared at Bruce's back.
The enraged scientist turned towards his former flame slightly. "Feeling a little guilty?" "What?"
Bruce slammed his arms across the table, scattering the dozens of papers and files onto the ground as he shouted. "Well you should be! If you hadn't toyed with my feelings I wouldn't have dosed myself with that serum that night! The Hulk cells would've never permanently bonded to me! I wouldn't be in this if it wasn't for you!"
"I'm sorry…" Betty said as she looked at the ground in shame, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. "You should be." Bruce said before he slumped up against the glass wall, eyes watering with tears.
"No…I'm sorry Betty." He muttered as he looked up at her. "This Hulk stuff was around long before you were…" "I know." Betty said, barely suppressing a sob. "Some couple…huh?" Bruce said with a bitter smile. "Some couple." Betty repeated looking at the man through the glass.
Betty walked closer to the glass and placed her hand against it. "Guard…can you please open the door?" "What?" Bruce muttered as he looked at his girlfriend. The speaker system crackled to life as the guard denied the scientist's request. "I'm sorry Miss Ross. That's impossible." "Impossible? How? You open them for the cleaners don't you?" Betty sobbed as she stared at Bruce through the glass.
"Betty…you can't…" Bruce whispered as he aligned his hand with Betty's. "Bruce…I'm so sorry…please tell me you love me…" She sobbed. "What?" "Just say you love me…please!"
"Betty…I can't." Betty continued to sob as she slumped to the ground. "Why not?" she asked as she continued to cry. Bruce looked down at the crying woman before he gave a response, the cameras around him still recording all the happenings.
"I'm too embarrassed in front of all these people."
Stark Mansion, Hulk Trial, Day Four
The Ultimates watched as the trial continued, scowling all the while.
"First this…now the riots…and Thor?! Jesus Christ what's next?!" Janet exclaimed as she paced around the room. Hank watched his wife walk back in forth across the mansion's living room, all the while praying that things would work out.
"We can't just sit around while this happens!" Wasp continued. "What can we do?" Tony said. "If we get involved in this, it'll be a monumental catastrophe both publically and politically! We can't do anything. Either for Bruce or the EU." Tony said as he poured himself a glass of bourbon. He was about to take a sip when Rumiko grabbed his wrist.
"Tony…you drink when you're stressed. Put it down." Tony looked at the glass then back to Rumiko before placing it back on the table. Jarvis approached the two and took the drink. Downing it in one gulp. "I on the other hand barely have an occasion. And if you don't wallow in problems then I shall." He said in his usual sarcastic tone.
He walked away, taking the glass with him. "Like you can get drunk." Tony muttered as he put the bottle of alcohol back in the cupboard.
"We have to do something!" Pietro exclaimed as he began to tap his foot rapidly, and due to his super-speed, appeared like a blur. The other heroes looked at the scene in irritation. Wanda nudge her brother to garner is attention.
Pietro looked at his sister who pointed at his foot. "Oh…sorry." He grumbled, stopping the tapping witch had apparently been involuntary.
Steve stood impatiently at the door to room as he glared at the TV. "The Jury's going to make a decision soon." He muttered. Widow looked up at her lover before sighing. "Yeah. And nothing we can do about it…"
"Don't forget about Thor." Hank said. "He's going crazy. Have you heard what he's been doing? Taking down entire police forces! It's like he's trying to start a revolution!"
Steve closed his eyes for a brief moment before glaring up at the ceiling. He pushed off the wall he was on and stormed towards the doorway. "Steve?" Natasha asked getting up from the couch.
"Where are you going?" "To do what's right." He said as he stormed out of the room.
Triskelion, Prison Cell
"Did you ever think it would end this way Bruce?" The reporter asked from the speaker system installed on the camera in Bruce banner's cell. "Are you kidding me? Enemy number one? Haven't you guys read my personnel file? I wanted to be freakin' Captain America! I was a social misfit, an outcast. I…I always just wanted people to like me…or at least respect me. " Bruce answered honestly, not seeing the point in lying.
"How are you feeling about your situation right now? Sitting around, waiting for the Jury's decision?" "Honestly? Nervous as Hell. It's like back in college when everyone was waiting for their exam paper scores and their anxious about how they did. But that was never really a problem for me, so I guess that's not the best example."
"Are you prepared for what comes next?" "All I can do is try to make amends for what I've done. I've already got my will arranged and everything…and all the letters to the families of the victims of the Hulk. I'm just waiting for the hammer to drop."
The doors to the cellblock opened up as several armed soldiers walked into the room, shortly followed by Nick Fury. The general strode into the room in his general's uniform with his hands behind his back. "Doctor Banner?"
"Oh god…" Bruce muttered as he placed his face in his hands before looking up. "Which news do you want first? Good or bad?' Fury asked as stepping in front of the glass.
"Jesus…I don't know…both?" Fury smiled at this before pulling out a bottle from behind his back. "Well the good news is that the judge threw the whole case out of court and the bad news is I got charged a hundred-fifty bucks for this here bottle of Dom Perignon."
"Wh-what? Are you serious?!" Fury wore a smirk as he poured himself a glass of the wine. "You're off the hook, you lucky little runt."
Fury handed one of the wine glasses and the bottle to a soldier who proceeded to slide it through a slot in the cell. Banner received the glass and bottle and looked at Fury in shock.
"Are you serious? How? I thought this was a forgone conclusion!" Fury smiled as he looked at imprisoned doctor. "Well…it was. Until your buddies in the Ultimates stormed into the court room and told the entire world that the Hulk was single-handedly responsible for beating the mastermind behind an alien invasion. They said it would be mighty ungrateful of us to execute the guy responsible for that little favor."
"I can't believe this…" Bruce said in disbelief. "Take it easy buddy." Fury said making sure the man didn't hyperventilate. "This is crazy! I can't believe they came through for me like that! I don't even drink but…just wow!"
"Believe it man. Now let's get you out of that cell and into the real world." "Seriously?!" "Yep. You got this Hulk thing under control, now let's show the world!"
"I'll drink to that!" Bruce said before placing the bottle to his lips and downing the alcohol.
As he did so, Fury's smile dropped. The bottle smashed to the floor, followed shortly by Banner. The unconscious scientist lay sprawled on the floor like a ragdoll. Fury looked down at the scientists as more soldiers entered the room to unlock the cell.
"I really am sorry Bruce." Fury turned towards the soldiers who were carefully removing Banner from his cell. "Proceed as planned." He said before leaving.
Pacific Ocean, USS Constellation
The waves of the sea crashed against the massive carrier as it floated in the water. Helicopters flew over the area, extracting the crew from the ships to avoid the upcoming events.
In the center of the ship lay a man in an orange prison jumpsuit sprawled in front of a large cylinder like device at least five meters tall. Ironman walked across the deck as the last chopper lifted off. "That everyone?" Tony asked as he watched the chopper leave.
"Affirmative Tony. You know what to do." Ironman turned towards the unconscious scientist lying on the cold metal ground as the sea breeze whipped across the deck.
Betty watched from the chopper that had just taken off. "You animals…" She sobbed, with tears streaming down her cheeks. "Betty…" Fury said. "Why couldn't you have just told him the truth? Why did you have to lie to him?" "Betty, you know we couldn't take that risk. There was a forty-percent chance of him tearing a whole through that cell and killing everyone in the Triskelion. Besides, Hank made sure he would be out for all of it. He won't feel a thing. Will he doctor Pym?" the general turned towards Hank who was sitting across from Fury and Betty, a cane gripped in his hand as he looked down at his mentor.
"Of course…last thing I'd want is for my friend to be awake when this happens." He said as he watched his mentor being sentenced to death.
Fury spoke into his communicator to reach Ironman. "Tony? You hooked up to the ship's systems? That Nuke's going off in T-minus four minutes man. You got to move."
Ironman strode across the deck, looking at the nuclear bomb planted on the deck. "Just a second, Nick" "He still out cold?" "Sleeping like a baby…I can't believe this is actually happening. He's like a puny sack of bones just lying here, its just seems obscene."
Ironman reached towards the hip portion of his armor and removed a small golden cross connected to a beaded necklace from the compartment. He placed the necklace into Banner's open palm and folded it close. "There's still time…maybe I could fly him out to one of my islands. I could make it a no fly-zone, get full time security on it…" "Tony, we've been over this a million-and-one times. Banner murdered over eight-hundred innocent…" "I know! Goddammit I know…" he muttered as he placed a small photo inside of Banner's front pocket.
"And people wonder why I'm an alcoholic."
The final chopper landed on the deck of Heli-carrier to deposit its occupants onto the flying vessel. Fury walked Betty over to Janet who embraced the crying scientist in a fierce hug as the girl sobbed into the Ultimate's arms. Hank walked onto the deck, using the cane for support. Captain America walked towards the limping Ultimate to assist him. "Doctor Pym." "Captain." Hank said as they walked across the deck.
They could see the flying form of Ironman draw closer until he was flying over the vessel. He finally landed on the deck, slowly rising as he turned to look in the direction he had come from.
Hank continued walking until he saw two specific people. One of which was in hand cuffs. Two guards were stationed around the brown haired man, gripping him by the shoulders while the fourth individual quietly sobbed. "Dr. Walters, Dr. Jones." Hank said.
Rick Jones turned towards the ultimate with a furious scowl on his face. "How?!" He roared as the guards restrained him. Hank motioned for them to let go and the enraged man grabbed Hank by the collar. "He was your friend! How could you do this to him?!"
Tears fell from the younger man's eyes as he glared at the head scientist. "Because he is my friend." Hank said with a saddened tone. Rick released Hank's collar as he took a step back and fell to his knees. Jennifer Walters looked out over the ocean at the carrier that housed her cousin, waiting for it to disappear in a flash of light.
Hank walked up next to her as he looked at the vessel. "Jen…you'll want to look away. A nuclear flash can blind people." "Do you really think I care?" The doctor said as she continued to watch the carrier shrink from view.
I know serious scientists aren't supposed to believe in the afterlife or a concept of a higher power. There's no proof of it. No empirical data or observations that can support such beliefs. But alas, here I am talking to you all from beyond the grave, so to speak. What does that suggest?
The occupants of the heli-carrier watched as the carrier disappeared from view, leaving only the wide ocean to be seen.
Bruce lay atop the deck, body still sprawled on the ground as the nuclear bomb towered above him, its glowing clock slowly counting down until it hits zero. Bruce opened his eyes to reveal two green orbs.
A flash of light erupted from the sea as the nuclear device detonated. The occupants of SHIELD's hele-carrier felt the blast of air as it ripped across sky and ocean alike. A massive mushroom cloud rose into the air. The only proof that the ship had been there at all.
To me, it's a perfect illustration that the world we live in is complex. Far more so than we give it credit. Even the brightest of us wouldn't dare to admit that fact. My own private faith dates back to my childhood, when I visited my cousin in Chesapeake Bay. My uncle loved to observe wild life. He would nurture it as it grew, and he loved to show us how to do it to.
I remember a little caterpillar he showed us, Jenny remembers, I'm sure. We made up some child like names for it, ones that I've long forgotten, and nurtured it like it was a puppy. Eventually we saw it had become a chrysalis. When that happened I couldn't remember when we stopped crying.
We cried and cried, but then my uncle explained to us what was happening. How our little friend was simply becoming something new, taking a new form, much like ice becomes water and water becomes gas. I a matter of days he emerged, a beautiful butterfly, released into the world.
So don't worry or weep. I wouldn't expect you too. As science would say it, I've simply been changed into another form of energy. Energy always changes states and that's what has happened to me.
If I can ask one selfish request, it is to remember me fondly. As I've remembered all of you, please remember me as Bruce Banner. Not the monster I became. Not the Hulk. So for all of you here, thank you, for this and all you've done for me these past eighteen months. You have my, Bruce Banner's, eternal gratitude.
Steve finished the eulogy as he closed the letter. He stood at the preacher's podium. He looked over the mostly empty isles to see the Ultimates, Rumiko, Fury, Betty, Rick, and Jennifer all sitting in the wooden rows.
Steve closed his eyes to prevent a tear from escaping as he walked down from the stand. Natasha stood up and met him halfway as they all began to leave the church.
They walked onto church's steps, descending onto the rainy streets of New York City.
"That was awful…" Rumiko said as Tony positioned his umbrella over the two. "I can't believe we were his best friends." Wasp said as the group continued to walk down the street. "Just don't. It too sad to think how someone was so lonely." Tony said as he looked up at the gloomy sky.
Hank turned his head to see Rick Jones walking into the streets not bothering to shield himself from the rain. Wasp looked towards Betty who was walking under fury's umbrella as they headed off to downtown. "Come on Betty, let's hit the bar and see him off in style." Nick said as the group separated.
Wasp and Hank walked back to their car before driving off towards their apartment.
They drove in silence as Wasp sat in the passenger seat while hank drove. Neither said a word as the atmosphere around them was tense. The car finally stopped in the parking garage of their apartment complex.
The couple exited the vehicle and rode the elevator up to their apartment. Hank unlocked the door and pushed it open to allow them inside.
The troubled couple walked into the apartment. Hank limped on his can towards the kitchen where he pulled out a bottle of bourbon. "Your just going to drink away the problem?" Wasp said as she glared at her husband.
"Better then having you give me death glare." He muttered. "Rick was right. How could you do that to him? To Bruce? He was your mentor. Your friend and you just drugged him and left him to die!" She screamed.
Hank rubbed his eyes as he glared down at his glass, his grip on his cane tightening. "Janet…shut up…" "I'm not keeping quiet on this. We should've done something to stop it!" "What could we do?!" Hanks screamed dropping the glass. The container of liquid smashed against the floor, shattering into tiny pieces.
"The country is against us! The government is refusing to even acknowledge us! This was the only way to fix things!" "There had to have been something we c—" "There was nothing! Don't you get that?! Our ands were tied! We had no outs! No solutions!"
The phone suddenly rang allowing the computer to answer it. "Doctor Pym, call from unknown number." "HOLD IT!" both Hank and Janet screamed at the machine. "Understood. Message recording: Thanks, Hank. I just called to say thank you."
Wasp and Hank's argument died right there as they heard the familiar voice.
Hank dashed over to the phone, dropping his cane and slamming against the table for support. He grabbed the phone and pulled it up to his ear before shouting into the mouthpiece. "Hello?! Hello?!"
The line went dead. Hank lowered the phone to his side before it dropped to the ground. Wasp looked at her husband in shock. "Hank…was that…?" "Oh my god." Hank muttered.
New York City
The man hung up the payphone as he stepped out of the booth. He placed the baseball cap on his head and pulled it down before placing a pair of sunglasses on his face.
He looked around the bustling streets before looking at the watch on his wrist. He pulled up the backpack with his initials reading RB labeled on the front onto his back.
He walked into the crowded streets, disappearing from view.
Another chapter done. Hope you like where this is going guys.