Author's Note: This is the last chapter before the epilogue. I hope you enjoyed the story.
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Kitty shifted in her seat when they showed some stock footage of the Hulk before cutting to commercial. It appeared to be from the incident in Harlem. The roaring face of the Hulk contrasted with Dr. Banner standing in a news studio looking like his Arrid Extra Dry was failing while strangers hugged him.
After the commercial, Dr. Banner had returned to his chair.
"You're seeing a therapist, so I didn't push you about you mentioning your suicide attempt," said the host. "But I need to know, was it a suicide attempt or did you know the Hulk would save you?"
Dr. Banner said, "I'm not sure. I wanted to die at that moment, but I don't know if I thought about whether it would work or not. I wasn't thinking very clearly or I wouldn't have pulled that trigger."
"Did you ever try to kill yourself another time?"
"No, but I thought about it. I was seeing my therapist and the Hulk and I were getting better. I was more aware of being the Hulk and it terrified me." Dr. Banner touched his glasses. "I even bought the Hulk eyeglasses so he could see better. I could see better when I was him. When I learned of my wife's affair, I took more anti-psychotic drugs than a schizophrenic four times my size, so I can't go to a corner drug store and get rat poison, if I want to end it."
"I don't need to hear this."
"I can't die," said Dr. Banner. "At least, not by my hand, because the Hulk will see it coming. The last time I thought about killing myself he wouldn't let me out to act on it - the Hulk took control of our body for three years."
"Three years," repeated the host.
"He planned on forever." Dr. Banner explained. "But I escaped."
"Escaped?"
"When I crossed the rainbow bridge to return to Earth, I felt the Hulk inside my head as a separate person for the first time in years. I was separate from him, again," explained Dr. Banner. "My pregnant wife found herself married to a stranger."
"You lost me," said the host.
"My wife told Thor I keep her big green husband locked up inside me," explained Dr. Banner. "As I said due to my therapy, the Hulk and I were becoming one person. My wife fell in love with this man who kills wild animals with his bare hands and chops lumber with an axe bigger than me. I'm a science teacher that goes to farmer's markets to check out the fresh produce for fun. I'm surprised she stayed as long as she did. I, finally, like me. I'm not going to be someone else for her. She can love me for me or forget her."
"Someone will love you for you."
"Somebody does." Dr. Banner smiled - a real smile that filled his whole face.
"Did your wife know?" said the host. "I don't want to be a wet blanket, but maybe, she left you because she knew about this somebody."
Dr. Banner shrugged his shoulders. "It's possible."
"Does your somebody know about..."
Dr. Banner's smile got even bigger. "My somebody is a huge fan of the way I lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster. It's all cool."
"If you had this somebody, why did you over-medicate yourself when your wife left?"
"I didn't pull a House and swallow half a pill bottle," said Dr. Banner. "I got a prescription for a one time dose from my doctor. Before I went on medication, my doctor and I agreed I would do no self-prescribing. That means I have to call him and say I need drugs and he gets to say no."
"People must have a hard time saying no to you?"
"My friends tell me no all the time," said Dr. Banner. "However, the headmaster at the school where I work has me get the students to do their chores when they're slacking. We have a janitor/maintenance man, but chores help the students feel like it's their home, too. The students know of my condition, so the headmaster might believe they're less likely to say no to me."
"How did they find out?"
"I was helping another teacher rotate his tires and the jack broke." Dr. Banner couldn't tell the story of him touching Rogue because that wasn't his story to tell. "I, probably, would have had two broken legs, if it wasn't for the Hulk, or worse. The rest of the year, people were making jokes about cars falling on me."
"Do you take any unnecessary risks because you know the Hulk will save you?"
"I take less risks because I don't want the Hulk to make a mess," Dr. Banner replied. "Then I've jumped out of planes without a parachute because I know the Hulk will break my fall. I suppose the answer is, normally, I take less risks because I don't want the Hulk to make an appearance, but if the Hulk is going to show anyway then let the bullets fly, so to speak."
"And yet you ride a motorcycle."
"I don't like being closed in," said Dr. Banner. "Mr. Stark's Audi convertible is nice, but I don't have that kind of money."
The host smiled.
"Do you find my discomfort amusing?"
"No," said the host. "Your claustrophobia shows that you're a normal person with an extraordinary problem."
xxxx
After the show was over, the host said, "Off the record, what really happened at Worthington Labs?"
"Worthington was working on something S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't want developed and Ironman was asked to make it disappear," explained Bruce. "He used me."
"And you loved every second," said Tony.
Bruce gave Tony a dirty look. "I get fucked over and you come out smelling like a rose."
"You're the naked green guy. I'm the man in the metal suit." Tony put an arm around Bruce. "We have our roles to play."
"Tony, next time you get to be the insane person." Bruce stuck out his tongue.
"Don't show me your tongue unless you're prepared to use it," said Tony.
"You would so like that," said Bruce. "If the Hulk didn't turn that building into rumble, innocent people would have died and thousands more would have had their lives ruined. I would have played my part, even if I had to become a fugitive, again."
The host laughed. "So the government conspiracy people aren't that insane after all."
"This stays off the record," said Bruce.
"Only if I get an interview with Tony Stark," said the host.
Tony shook the host's hand. "You drive a hard bargain."
"Mr. Stark, you should have told me beforehand," said the host. "I spent the last hour nearly shitting in my pants thinking Dr. Banner could have another incident when the incident at Worthington Labs was planned."
"We didn't know if we could trust you," said Tony, "besides you nearly shitting in your pants makes good TV and adds creditability to our story. You would be amazed at Bruce's level of control. He teaches at a small prep school. He's one of six houseparents responsible for 28 teenagers. I don't know how he does it."
Bruce said, "They're good kids." They had five new students and four students were graduating that changed the total from 27 to 28. They had 5 houseparents until Cyclops or Professor X returned. Right now, they had 16 students because the three of the five new students wouldn't be starting till the fall and some of the students went home to their families for summer vacation.
"They're teenagers," said Tony. "They wanted to know the color of my underwear and if there was a Mrs. Tony Stark. A couple of those girls were threatening to clone me."
"I have this Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde thing going," said Bruce. "If I can't make mad scientist jokes with my students, who can? We won't get to cloning till the fall. However, if they want to get some extra credit over the summer, I'm all for it."
"It's a shame this is off the record," said the host. "This sounds like the better interview."
"If I still have a job, maybe, I can come back with one of my former students and we can talk science," said Bruce.
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Author's Note: Anyone, who doesn't know who House is, shame on you. Actually, my mother and I were watching House two days ago and she asked me why he was limping. And I said he's always limping; if he isn't limping, it's a dream sequence. So my mother may be the only person that doesn't watch House.