Author's Note: I don't own anything more than my toothbrush. Yadda, yadda, yadda.
xxxx
The following morning, Kitty and the other students saw Dr. Banner on CNN. He was going to be on a hour long interview show later that day. Moments before the interview, everyone at the school gathered around the TV, except Jimmy and Hank, who watched TV from their bedroom. Kitty had Dagmar on her lap.
"Dr. Banner, it is nice to finally meet you," said the host, shaking Dr. Banner's hand.
"It's good to be here." Dr. Banner let go of his hand and walked over to his seat. "I'd like to say hello to all my students." Finally, he sat down.
"You can say the name of the school," said the host.
"I rather not. It's a small school and we don't need or desire that kind of attention."
The host asked, "Didn't you teach at Berkeley?"
"Before my accident, yes." Dr. Banner's eyes seemed to be focused on his hands that were folded in his lap.
"You have degrees in medicine and physics." The host mentioned the schools Dr. Banner had attended and the degrees he received. "You were working in medical research when you had your accident. I realize that you were probably told by your lawyer not to talk about the incident at Worthington Labs. But Worthington Labs is the kind of place you would have worked at if your life took another turn, and it is a matter of public record that you were invited to tour the facility the day of the incident."
Dr. Banner nodded.
"Let's go to a commercial." Before the commercial break, the TV station showed the destroyed annex to Alcatraz where Worthington Labs was once housed. So much for unbiased reporting. It was an overhead shot and one of the people on the ground could have been Dr. Banner. Kitty could make out the glint of Ironman's red and gold suit.
After the commercial, the host mentioned his name then said, "I am here with Dr. Robert Bruce Banner also know as the Incredible Hulk. Here you are under studio lights appearing stressed and you aren't green. You teach, so you must have it under control."
"I take medication," said Dr. Banner. "I've also studied yoga and meditation."
"You're here to tell your story. What would you like to tell the audience?"
"That most of the time I'm an ordinary person. I have a baby daughter, who is probably watching me, from her nanny's lap. Hi, Dagmar." Dr. Banner waved to the camera.
Kitty helped Dagmar wave back.
"I play peek-a-boo with my daughter, ride my motorcycle and hang out at farmer's markets. I love to cook. I can talk for hours about the heirloom tomatoes you can find in and around West Chester. I simply have a medical condition that causes my body to react in a unique way to anger and other strong emotions."
"We all seen the news about the Hulk," said the host. "This was the first time eyewitnesses watched you change. Does it hurt?"
"No," said Dr. Banner. "All I can feel when I change is my anger, fear or another strong emotion. It's like my mind is flooded with rage. No pain."
"Do you remember being the Hulk?"
"I remember the feelings associated with it, but if all the Hulk is thinking is rage, smash, smash, more rage, that's all I remember. The Hulk and I are two people sharing the same body. The medicine I'm taking quiets him, but he's still in my mind. The cameras are making me nervous. I'm a private person."
"Dr. Banner, if you feel the need to leave, please, excuse yourself."
"I've felt the need to leave since before I entered the green room." Dr. Banner smiled at the camera then the host.
"Were you taking your medication when you visited Worthington Labs?" asked the host.
"Yes, but my doctor tells me that only way I can be trully Hulk-free is if I'm drugged to the point where I'm nearly unconscious. My doctor hates that he has to medicate one of the most brilliant minds on the planet to the point where I can barely think. His words, not mine. He gave me an EEG and an MRI as a precaution before medicating me. My brain has no structural abnormalities." Dr. Banner smiled. "I'm disturbingly normal."
"Why is that disturbing?"
"The anti-mutant people can say that the mutants were born that way, but I was just like anyone else before my lab accident," said Dr. Banner. That was untrue. Something was different about him that caused him to survive when he should have died, but he was making a point. "Before I changed in front of a laboratory full of eyewitnesses, all anyone saw was an socially awkward middle-aged man."
"Do your students know about your condition?"
"Yes, they know. What bothers me is some of their parents didn't know? Like all. I'm fairly certain none of my students ran home to yell, 'Guess what? Our newest teacher is the Hulk.' Now that their parents know I wonder if we're going to have a mass exodus from the school followed by me being fired. You don't see me being hired by MIT or any other big name school after this interview."
"You're medicated."
"Yes, and if the medication was perfect, I wouldn't have had the incident at Worthington Labs." That was so a lie. He became the Hulk because he invited the Hulk out to play - everyone has Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters knew that - but he couldn't admit that on TV. "At this time, for me to be Hulk-free, I need to be so stoned that I can't dress myself or put together a coherent sentence. However, maybe tomorrow, thanks to this show, someone will find a medicine that I can take to keep me from changing into the Hulk and still allow me to go through my activities of daily living."
The host said, "You never know."
"It isn't very likely," said Dr. Banner. "Pharmaceutical companies don't stay in business by creating medicines designed for a single consumer."
"Is your thinking dulled right now?"
"Yes, it is." Dr. Banner gave a small smile.
"Dr. Banner, I'm so sorry that you have to live like this."
"I went on the medication, so I could have sexual relations with my wife. My wife has since left me. Our daughter is worth much more than me losing a few IQ points. I can live with my head being a bit cloudy if it keeps everyone safe."
"I assume you are seeing a therapist."
"I've been seeing the same therapist off and on for almost four years. Hello, Dr. Rosen." Dr. Banner waved to the camera. "She's taught me to like myself and to forgive my failures in control. We all get angry and feel like hitting a pillow, punching a wall or letting out a string of curses. I can't."
"I never thought about it that way."
"After the Hulk split out the bullet I tried to swallow, I allowed myself to feel enough anger that I wouldn't have an incident, but going around angry all the time was only making me miserable. Here I am trying to locate Loki's power-source - slash - weapon and Tony Stark, Ironman, is telling me my life matters and I'm worth something."
"You didn't believe him."
Dr. Banner shook his head.
"I usually ask probing questions and, because of your condition, my hands are tied," said the host. "I can see from the way you wring your hands and look at the camera then look away that you're nervous and the green guy is just aching to make an appearance. What I'm trying to say is: There have been days when I've been stuck in traffic, had a bad day at work, had to deal with trouble at home or all three and I've lost my temper."
Dr. Banner took a deep breath then smiled at the host. "I lose my temper and I make the five o'clock news."
"Dr. Banner, why did you appear on this show?"
"Because people see the Hulk as a monster and I want people to know that most of the time I'm a normal man just doing my best to survive."
The host said, "We got emails from several universities stating they would hire you."
"But how many would let me teach? They would hide me in a lab somewhere just to say I'm on their payroll. I may no longer be a fugitive, but I'm still untouchable. I bet most people wouldn't even want me flipping burgers."
"That isn't true," said the host.
Dr. Banner stood and walked over to the host. "Then give me a hug and prove to me that I'm not untouchable."
Not only did the host hug him, but many people working behind the scenes hugged him. One lady had tears in her eyes as she hugged Dr. Banner. People were still hugging Dr. Banner when they went to the next commercial break. Kitty watched with tears in her eyes.
xxxx
Author's Note: I don't do real person fan fiction. You can imagine the unnamed non-described host is any host (real or imagined) on CNN or one of its associated stations.