A/N: Yes. This is late. It's been way too long. I'm very sorry. I had the most trouble with this chapter, though. I don't know much about Bruce. Like, at all. So it's really hard. I did have help from my awesome beta, ecotiger, though. :)

WARNINGS: Mentions of attempted suicide, car wreck, miscarriage, and divorce. Poor Bruce.

My name is Bruce Banner

My name is Bruce Banner. I was raised in a halfway loving home, as a halfway normal kid. My mom did all she could for me, but my father was a different story. I did fairly well in school, getting the highest grades in my classes. I was particularly interested in sciences and math. My mother was glad that I was able to do so well in school.

When I got into high school, I started focusing my attention to science. I took all the science classes I could, and made the highest grades. I didn't have very many friends, but the ones I had supported me through everything. They helped me with my studies, and encouraged me. They were there when my mother passed away. They helped more than my father, who started drinking more and more. I didn't see much of him after that. I delved further into my studies and got a scholarship to an amazing college. My life changed forever after I went to this college.

While I was there, I met a woman named Betty. She was smart, pretty, and funny. Needless to say, I fell in love with her. We took many classes together, since we had the same interests. After college, we got married. She was the most beautiful bride I have ever seen. I'll admit that I'm more than a bit biased.

A few years after our wedding, I found out that Betty was going to have a baby. One day, on our way to the doctor for her check up, we were in an accident. The ambulance sped away with Betty, leaving me behind. I wasn't hurt. Not physically. But it felt like my heart was being torn in two. I couldn't believe what had just happened. My wife, my pregnant wife, might die. And I wasn't there with her. I might not be able to say goodbye.

I was able to go to the hospital a little over an hour later. When I entered Betty's room, I found her pale and still. She wasn't dead, though. She was still breathing. The doctor told me that she had lost the baby in the wreck, but that she would be alright. I stayed with her until she was able to leave the hospital.

We mourned the loss of our baby for months. Nothing felt right again for the longest time. Finally, we were able to get back in the groove of life. I got a job at a laboratory, where we studied steroids and things. Betty was a science teacher. We got back into the rhythm and tried to forget about the baby.

I made some bad decisions, and after a little while, Betty and I separated. I immersed myself in my studies, keeping my mind off of her. The dull ache couldn't be helped, though. Nothing could stop the pain that I felt every time I heard of her, or saw one of her pictures. I couldn't keep myself from thinking of her. She was my life.

A few months later, my colleagues and I found a way to replicate the Super Soldier Serum used on Captain America so long ago. I was the only one willing to see if it worked. Everyone else was too scared.

It turns out that it wasn't such a great idea to try out the Super Soldier Serum. It didn't work. I felt angry, but there was no physical change. I felt like I had to hit things, like everything was against me. My friends tried to calm me, but it only made me more agitated. I went back home after the test. I couldn't calm down. Of course, Betty took that night to come visit.

Just seeing her caused my heart to thud even faster, though not in the way it should. It made me angry. It made me want to tear something apart. When she tried to come over to me, I blew up. I could feel my body changing, getting bigger. The muscles stretched and my clothes were ripped, though, by some miracle, my pants stayed mostly intact. I could see the fear in Betty's eyes as I became so huge that I shoved furniture aside. I was so tall now that I had to bend to keep my head from going through the ceiling. But I wasn't just tall. I was huge. I took up most of the room. When she tried to speak, I smacked her to the floor. She looked up at me in terror. It is a look I will never forget. She ran out after that, leaving me alone. I had never been more grateful for the silence.

I ran away the next day. Or rather, I flew away. I bought a ticket for the first flight to Africa. I needed to be away from everything. I couldn't stay in the U.S. Not after what happened. If Betty told anyone, and I was sure she would, someone would be after me. I thought it would be best to remove myself from the country. I didn't know that there was an agency called S.H.I.E.L.D., or that they would track me down and attempt to capture me. How very wrong I was.

It turned out that there was indeed an agency called S.H.I.E.L.D., and that they did indeed track me down and attempt to capture me. I say attempt, because it didn't go so well. Not for anyone involved. I flipped out and broke a few houses while I was trying to escape. S.H.I.E.L.D. never came after me again after that. Another team did, though. They called me a monster, and I had to agree that I was. I had killed people, when all I was trying to do was help. I didn't want them to kill me, though. I wasn't suicidal. Yet.

After the first run-in with General Ross, Betty's father, I got low. Real low. I felt that I needed to rid the world of myself. But I didn't want anyone else killing me. I knew that when I was in danger, the Hulk, which was what I decided to call my other half, would take over and I would lose control. But I thought that if I were to start it, maybe I'd be able to complete the task. Maybe I could get rid of myself. Maybe I'd be able to relieve the world of the horror that I'd brought into it.

I was wrong. Nothing I could do would get rid of him. Turns out he doesn't work that way. He will always get his way. Always. He doesn't take anything else. I put a bullet in my mouth, no other idea coming to mind. As I bit down, I could feel myself changing, like I had before. My skin stretched and stretched until I was pretty sure that I was bigger than I had been before. Then, my larger self, the Hulk, unceremoniously spit the bullet out onto the ground in front of me. Before I knew what was happening, I was back down to my normal size. I had no idea what happened for a moment. I was able to figure it out, though, after a bit.

After that day, I turned everything around. I started helping people around me. I opened up a little hospital in my house. I didn't expect the immense number of people that came to my door after that. A lot of the cases were small; a child with the flu, a lingering headache, nausea. Then, when people became aware of my medical abilities, more and more people came, with worse and worse diseases. I did all I could for them, and I was able to cure most everybody who came. I had heard more 'thank you's in one month than I had the rest of my life.

I was able to continue this for years, but eventually General Ross' group found me. I went to Calcutta then. There, I thought, I would be pretty well removed. It turns out that I wasn't removed enough. A little while after I set up a hospital there, a young girl came to me, saying that her father was sick. I followed her to where she said her father would be. She had actually led me straight to a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, Natasha Romanoff. She was nice enough, I suppose, not threatening me or anything. She convinced me to go with her back to the helicarrier. I was to track down the Tesseract, a mysterious cube that someone called Loki had stolen.

I'll never forget that week. It was insane. We fought Loki and his army, lost lots of lives, and broke plenty of buildings. But we also saved the world, sent Loki back to Asgard, and had shawarma. It was gross.

It has been three years since that week. Three long years. We've had fun, the Avengers and me. We haven't had any other world threats, thankfully. We usually take care of the little things now, like shortages of cheese in the fridge. Steve hates that. We also accepted Loki into our little group. He's changed. A lot. Way more than any of us thought he would. I mean, I knew he was quite different from the Loki who tried to take over Manhattan, and then, the world. But I didn't know he could be so funny and nice. I'm glad he is.

I'm sitting in my bedroom now, hunched over on my bed. There's nothing I can do to stop the painful ache that entered my heart this morning. I was out shopping. For cheese. And I saw someone who I thought I would never see again. It was Betty. She has changed a lot. Sad, dull orbs took the place of her bright, shining eyes that I used to see every day. She was quiet and looked heartbroken. I couldn't help myself. I walked up to her and whispered her name. She jumped and looked up at me, startled. She backed away, and I let her. She didn't seem to recognize me. I wanted to tell her that it was me. That I wanted to be able to hold her again. That I still loved her. But she backed away, fear in her eyes. She was scared of me. It broke my heart. I didn't think that could happen more than once.

Now I'm alone in my room. Everything is quiet. I have an old picture of myself and Betty in my hands. It was taken on the day we found out that she was going to have a baby. We were so happy...

I look up at a knock at the door. I slide the picture onto the bed beside me and call for whoever it is to enter. I am slightly surprised when Natasha slips in, silent as ever. I am even more surprised when she comes over to sit beside me. She puts her head on my shoulder and puts an arm around me. We just sit there for a while, no words needed. She is a calming, soothing presence for me. We've gotten a lot closer over the years. She supports me when I need it, and I try my best to do the same for her. She usually goes to Clint, but she is still always there for me when I need her to be.

After a long moment of quiet reassurance, Natasha looks up at me. Her breath is barely a whisper, but it is still audible in the silence of the room.

"I love you."

My name is Bruce Banner, and even though I'm a monster, I am loved.

A/N: Again, so sorry for how long this took. I hope that I didn't mess things up too much with this chapter. As stated in the first a/n, I don't know anything about Bruce. I got this far off of Ecotiger's help. But since there are different universes, it's hard to decide on which storyline to use. I made up some of the stuff in this chapter, and I hope that you aren't too upset if I left out a favorite part.

As always, please review! :)