Hey ya'll, as promised, here's the new chapter! Has anyone seen 'The Kids Are All Right' yet? Holy crap. Mark Ruffalo on a motorcycle with a leather jacket looking all sexy and- ahem. Anyways... Yeah. I just watched it, I totally recommend it though, I wasn't a huge fan of the ending. It kind of bothered me actually. PM me if you want to discuss, but I'm not going to spoil it for anyone.
Also, this is kind of amusing, and shows how my brain works sometimes. There was a 3.8 earthquake while I was finishing writing this and I was laying in bed, my first instinct was to grab my Hulk bobble head and my iPod and run under the doorway where I sat with my roommate's cat for twenty minutes before deeming it safe. The earthquake lasted like three seconds. But still, it scared the bejebus out of me.
Anyhoo, enjoy this rather dark, semi intense in some scenes chapter. I hope you like it!
Disclaimer: I own none of this. Just Minnie. But nothing else (Except Dr. Fleischer).
"You're sure you don't mind watching her?" I asked Steve who nodded.
"Everything will be fine." he promised.
"Okay, well, ask Amanda anything you need to, uh, she's not allergic to anything, don't feed her sweets, she'll be bouncing off the walls, and, well, considering we haven't looked too deeply into her genetics, that's actually a possibility we haven't run across yet, but, anyways, uh, if she gets too hyper, just let her run out her energy with Thor, I swear every parent needs a hyperactive Norse god to tire their kids out." I laughed and Steve chuckled. "You're sure?"
"It's fine." he said and I smiled before I hugged him.
"Thank you so much Steve." I said.
"It's not a problem, now go." he said and I nodded before I went upstairs where Bruce was talking with Luke. Luke handed him a key and Bruce shook his hand before looking at me.
"What was that?"
"Luke lent me his bike, we're going for a ride." he said and I chuckled lightly.
"Do you know how to ride a motorcycle Bruce?" I asked with a small smile and he looked at me before he smiled lightly.
"'Course." he replied. I smiled as we went to the garage and he pulled a tarp off of the bike. "Here," he handed me a helmet and I put it on before striking a pose. "Oh it's very you." he said and I laughed as he pulled his own helmet on and I helped buckle it. He quickly buckled mine before he got onto the bike. He kick started it and then held my hand as I climbed onto the back.
"God I haven't been on one of these since college." I said and he looked back at me. "There was this guy who used to ride a Harley, he used to like to drive me places." I nodded and he raised an eyebrow. "The key piece of information to take away from that story is; I married you." I said before I leaned forward and lightly kissed him, he smiled, and turned to face the road before taking off. I wrapped my arms around his waist, and held on as we rode. We had been riding for awhile before he pulled into a gas station, and started to fill the bike up.
"You okay?" he asked and I nodded.
"Yeah, fine." I said as I rubbed my arms slightly. I had only worn a sweater, not knowing that we would be on a motorcycle and that we were going such a long distance. "Where are we going?"
"Dayton." he answered as he slipped his leather jacket off and slipped it over my shoulders.
"Bruce, are you sure you want to do that?" I asked, the jacket slipping slightly.
"No, I'm not." he said softly. "But I- I think I need to do it." he said and I smiled gently.
"If you're sure." I said as he caught the jacket and held it out to me. I turned and slipped my arms into it.
"As sure as I'm going to get." he said moving up closer behind me. I smiled as he wrapped his arms around my waist, before the gas pump stopped. He let go of me and walked over to it, replaced it and looked at me. "Ready?" he asked and I nodded. He got onto the bike and started it before I got onto the back.
"Honey, you sure you don't want the jacket?" I asked, buckling my helmet back on.
"You look like you need it more." he said, watching me finish buckling the helmet, before he started to pull away from the gas station. I quickly wrapped my arms around his waist, holding on tightly. When we stopped again it was at a grocery store in Dayton. We went inside and straight to the flower section. I watched him pick up a bunch of flowers, and smell them before he smiled lightly at me. I smiled gently before walking over to him. "What do you think of these?" he asked and I smelled them. They were pale pink roses
"I think they're beautiful." I said and he nodded before he took my hand and led me to checkout. We bought the roses and then went back out to the bike and went from the grocery store to a cemetery.
We parked the bike and I hopped off, unbuckling my helmet with one hand and holding the flowers with another. He stared at the area around us for a long moment before he sighed and climbed off the bike. "How long has it been?" I asked and he looked at me, he looked up at the sky for a moment, before he finished unbuckling the helmet and put it down on the bike. He ran a hand through his curly black hair and then looked back at me.
"Since the funeral." he admitted and I nodded after a moment.
"Okay." I said. He took my hand and led me through the different rows of headstones and graves before we were deep in the cemetery. There was a small group of gangster looking guys not too far from where we were, but I noticed them surrounding a fresh grave, they nodded to us as we walked by and I nodded to them before we stepped up to a grave reading
"In loving memory of wife and mother
Rebecca Banner,
Death is only a shadow,
Across the path to Heaven."
Bruce knelt down and pulled a few weeds from around the headstone, and then looked back at me. I unwrapped the flowers from the plastic they had come in and handed them to him, he took one from the rest before placing them into the cemetery vase. He stood up, brushing his hands on his jeans, before walking over to me. He wrapped one arm around my shoulders and held the other flower to me. I leaned up and kissed his cheek gently.
"My aunt was the one who arranged everything." he said as I smelled the rose. "She was kind of religious." he shrugged and I smiled gently.
"It's a beautiful headstone Bruce." I said and he nodded. I walked over to the headstone and put the flower he had given to me on top of it. He smiled lightly as I turned back, my eyes noticed a figure moving towards us and my face fell. Bruce turned around and I saw his shoulders tense up.
"I thought you said he was going to New Mexico." he said looking at me. I just shrugged, not knowing what to say as Brian Banner, who I only recognized from pictures Tony had made a point of showing me, strode- or stumbled- over to us.
"You know sweetheart," he said looking at me. "You got a lot of gall marrying my boy here, knowing what he is and all."
"What he is, is a good person." I hissed as I moved in front of Bruce. "Something you never bothered finding out about him, and something you'll never know."
"I hear I got a grandkid. How does that work, what with the uh, the green guy, 'less she's more of a mutant then we know about." he shrugged, nodding to me and I frowned.
"Go back to the bike." Bruce said to me.
"Bruce I-"
"Go." he said sharply, making me wince slightly, before I nodded. I walked away from the grave, and looked back as Brian stepped closer to his estranged son. The two were exchanging words I didn't hear.
When I got to the bike I realized I was still holding the plastic from the flowers. I crumpled it up and was about to throw it away, before I noticed a black car that hadn't been in the parking lot before. I walked over to it, and casually looked inside it, in case it was someone who had just parked outside of the cemetery looking for somewhere to sleep. It was full of empty liquor bottles and what looked like a lab coat.
"Bingo." I muttered as I checked the door. Not only did he leave the door unlocked, he left the keys in the ignition. I sighed as I looked around the car, not really knowing what I was looking for. I didn't see anything in the driver's side, so I moved to the passenger's side, careful not to leave any fingerprints by wrapping my hand with the plastic from the flowers. I found an ID card in the glove box and pulled it out before dropping it in surprise at the picture.
I launched myself out of the car, feeling slightly sick. I paced a few times, that face- God, why did it have to be that face? I finally sighed, and ran my hand through my hair before I went back to the car and picked up the ID card. "Hans Fleischer… Is that your name?" I muttered. I let out a long sigh, and noticed a piece of paper crumpled up between the seats. I could see someone walking towards the car so I quickly grabbed it before I got out of the car and pulled the plastic off of my hand, and shut the door. I sighed seeing Bruce walking out of the shadows and walked over to him quickly. I wrapped my arms around him tightly and he slowly hugged me back.
"What were you doing?" he asked after a minute and I looked at him, before I held up the ID card I had swiped.
"Looks like Brian has been working with the good doctor." I said, my voice cracking slightly. I saw a flash of green in Bruce's eye and he took a breath before he nodded, the paper I had taken was now in my pocket and I didn't want to show it to him until I had taken a look at it. "What happened? Where's your father?"
"That man," he scoffed. "Started a fight with those gang bangers a few rows over, they had some sort of bottle they were passing around, and he went over there trying to get it from them, and eventually insults were thrown." he shook his head as I rolled my eyes.
"So you left him there to deal with them?" I asked and he nodded.
"He's not my problem," he said. "He stopped being my problem the day he was locked up. We should go, I think I need to take Tony up on that field offer." he muttered and I nodded. We went back to the bike and he got on, I smiled at him lightly as I buckled my helmet and he looked away, not returning the smile. I waited for him to start the bike before I got on, and wrapped my arms around him. He lightly touched my hands before he took one and gently lifted it up to kiss my knuckles, and then put it back on his waist before he pulled out of the parking lot.
"Hey Tony." I said softly to Tony who was sitting on the hood of his rental car. He looked at us and smiled lightly.
"Brought you some extra clothes big guy." he said nodding to a bag next to him on the hood of the car.
"Uh, thanks." Bruce said and Tony handed me a large Starbucks cup.
"Where did you find an open Starbucks?" I asked with a small laugh.
"I'm Tony Stark, I can do anything." he replied easily and I laughed lightly before Bruce started unbuttoning his shirt.
"Can you look over there for a minute?" I asked and Tony rolled his eyes but turned his head as I walked over to Bruce. "I think this'll be good for you." I said softly and he nodded as I unbuttoned the buttons at his wrists. His watch came off and then he slipped the shirt off of his shoulders, I smiled, kissing his chest, and then I leaned up and kissed him. "Shoes and the belt too." I said and he kicked his shoes off while I unbuckled his belt. I held the shoes and belt and he looked like he wanted to say something, but decided against it. He leaned down and kissed me gently, running his fingers through my hair before he pulled away. He took a few steps back and quickly changed into what Tony like to call the Enormous Green Rage Machine.
He stared down at me for a moment and I smiled. I walked over to him and looked up at him. There were so few times he changed when he wasn't extremely pissed off, though after whatever happened at the cemetery I was surprised he wasn't beating something (Probably a tree, or Tony's rental car) into the ground in frustration, rather he stared down at me. He held his hand out and with one finger very gently touched my hair. I touched his large hand and smiled lightly. "Let it out big guy." I said and he grinned before turning away and letting out a very loud roar. I jumped, and then scurried back over to Tony who was watching us.
"Nice moment you had with the Hulk there."
"Shut up." I muttered and he nudged my knee lightly.
"Think you'll be inviting him to date night instead of Brucie boy?" he asked and I looked at him. "Course, the way I've heard it, you've already slept with him."
"I'm never telling Dallas anything again."
"Surprisingly it wasn't Dallas." he answered as Hulk moved over to a very large tree and wrapped his arms around the trunk. "Think he can do it?" he asked and I looked at him.
"The ground crumbles under his feet when he runs too quickly, of course he can do it."
"And you guys insisted on driving." he muttered and I smiled. "Of course, it is one way of getting HYDRA's attention."
"Yeah, it worked for when we were getting you out of town." I said pointedly and he frowned lightly. "How much do you remember?"
"It's still bits and pieces. Most of its back, the important things, what's your real name again?" he asked with a frown and I smiled.
"It's not important," I said and he smiled. "What about why you did this to yourself, do you remember- Told you." I said suddenly as Hulk ripped the tree from the ground.
"Oh, look at that." he said as I sipped my black and white mocha. "And, yes, I remember why I did it."
"You remember the-"
"No no, no." he shook his head. "I remember the purpose of wiping my mind, but I don't remember any of the details. It's kind of aggravating actually, it's like having something on the tip of your tongue, but not remembering what it is." he shrugged.
"So if it wasn't Dallas, who was it?" I asked and he looked at me.
"Jarvis, actually." he said and I scowled.
"I am so spilling something on him next time I'm in a Jarvis encoded facility." I muttered and he laughed. "Bruce may or may not have mentioned it as well." he said as Bruce swung the tree up and down into the ground, birds flew out of it and branches and leaves went flying.
"Why the hell would he have mentioned that to you?" I asked.
"I'm the one making the serum every time he needs a refill, he was asking me to up the strength." he said and I blushed lightly. "Hey nothing to be ashamed of, we've all got our kinks, yours just happens to be huge and green. How does that even work anyway, I'm dying to know." he looked at me and I rolled my eyes.
"He wasn't huge and green, if he was I'm pretty sure there would be a bed sized hole in the floor of my bedroom." I said and he smirked. "Stop it." I pointed my finger at him. He laughed and I sipped my warm drink again. "It was like when his eyes go green and you know the Hulk is coming- Don't even think about it." I cut him off as he opened his mouth. He rolled his eyes and I heard a low rumble of thunder in the distance. Hulk turned and roared back at the sky making Tony and myself chuckle lightly.
"Shit." I muttered and he looked at me. I nodded to the grass about twenty feet away where Bruce's watch was sitting on the ground. "I'll go get it."
"You sure? I've got the suit in the back." he nodded to the car and I smiled lightly.
"It'll be fine." I said. I got up and moved slowly towards the watch, I could see Hulk watching me; he had dropped the tree when he went to shout at the sky. The thunder rumbled again, closer as a few drops started to fall from the sky. I moved to the watch and picked it up, and looked up, surprised to see Hulk standing very close to me. "It's hard to believe someone so big could be so quiet." I smiled at him. "You done getting it off your chest?" I asked and he continued to look down at me. He reached down, as if to put his hand on the ground next to me, when a pair of hands grabbed me around the waist and pulled me back. "What are you doing?" I asked Luke Cage in shock.
"Tony told me where ya'll were." he said as he continued to pull me back. "He didn't tell me what a dumbass you were being, what were you doing getting that close to that thing?" he asked.
"He's my husband!" I said as Hulk's eyes widened and he growled.
"He's not your husband right now." he said pushing me behind him. "He was going to grab you."
"No he wasn't!" I insisted, though I had no way of knowing if he was or not. Even so, I didn't need a SHIELD operative telling me what he was going to do or not do. Luke shoved me behind him, and I stumbled on a gopher hole, yelping slightly as I stumbled back, falling right on my ass. Oh boy...
"You're pretty big." Luke said with a smirk to Hulk who was advancing on him. "I've fought bigger."
"I highly doubt that." Tony said from inside the Iron man suit. He flew over us and landed in front of Hulk, holding his hands out as if to keep Luke away from Hulk. "Just step away Cage," Tony started slowly. "If anyone can calm that guy down, it's her. And he's not really big on her being manhandled." he said as I stood up.
"Tony look out!" I gasped as Hulk grabbed tony by the leg and tossed him to the side quickly. The thrusters kicked in and he landed safely on the ground before stumbling slightly. Hulk grabbed Luke and threw him farther into the field; he landed near the tree Hulk had demolished. The rain was starting to get heavier as Hulk moved over to me. "Bruce," I said as I moved close to him. "You need to change back, now." I said looking up at him. He looked over his shoulder as Luke Cage tried to take him by surprise, holding a very large tree limb, he was swinging it towards Bruce who caught it, and used it to swing the man into the ground. "Stop!" I shrieked but it fell on deaf ears. Tony moved over to us while Hulk was distracted and pulled me away from the fight and to the cars. "What the hell is he doing here?" I asked and Tony sighed.
"I asked him where we should go where there was lots of open space and no chance of strangers catching sight of the green sasquatch over there." he nodded to Hulk who was currently fighting Luke.
"And what, you invited him to come with?" I asked and Tony rolled his eyes.
"Believe it or not, I get that he doesn't want people seeing him like this." he said as he gestured to them. "I didn't invite him, he just showed up. Now do you want me to go help Cage, or do you want him to learn his lesson?"
"Let him learn his lesson." I decided after a minute. "But if it gets too bad, then we'll help him."
"His skin can't be broken, not even by bullets."
"What was the point of holding up the pulsar?" I asked and he shrugged.
"It'd knock him back." he said and I laughed lightly.
"Basically, no point?"
"What can I say? He's durable. Maybe even as good as a Duralex glass." he said and I laughed. "What? Have you ever dropped one of those?"
"Yeah, dropped a couple of 'em." I said and he nodded.
"So you know, they practically can't be broken... I bet I could break one."
"In the suit, sure." I nodded. "Oh shit that can't have felt good." I said as Hulk picked up the tree and hit Luke with it.
"Probably what the Duralex glass felt like when you dropped it." he said and I smiled. "What do you say later we test their durability?" he asked and I nodded.
"I'm sure Kayla would love that." I said. "Do you think you should break them up?"
"Nah, they're fine." a long bolt of lightning struck the ground and I jumped, grabbing Tony's arm, then looked at him and let go quickly. "What?"
"You're in all metal, you're an electrical conductor." I said.
"And yet surprisingly, the suit seems to power up with the lightning. 'Least it did when Thor hit me with it…" he said thoughtfully and I shrugged.
"Whatever, I still don't want to be toasted." I muttered, and the thunder clapped right overhead. I jumped and noticed Hulk get distracted; Luke took the opportunity to jump on his back and using a thick branch wrap his arms around Hulk's neck. Hulk reached up, breaking the branch easily and swept Luke off of him. "God, this is getting so repetitive." I muttered before I walked out into the field.
"What do you think you're doing?" Tony demanded as he followed me.
"I'm ending this." I said. The thunder clapped again, and lightning followed, the rain had soaked me to the bone, to the point I didn't care I was wet anymore. "Enough!" I shouted at the two fighting men. Both stopped and looked at me as I stood there, probably looking like quite a sight. "This has gone on long enough!" I shouted at them. "Luke, you're an idiot, I get it, you're brig and strong, and you don't have a scratch on you, but the only reason he attacked in the first place was because of you shoving me. You took one look at him and your ego told you that you needed to fight him, I don't know what you're trying to prove, but I don't care. That's the only reason you came here tonight, was to fight him, there's no other reason." I said and he stared at me in slight surprise, as did Hulk and Bruce. "You," I said looking at Hulk who looked, dare I say, startled, that I was turning my attention on him. "Enough is enough." I said crossing my arms. "I'm flattered, I am, but I'm fine." I sighed. I took a tentative step forward, neither did anything so I walked over to Hulk and looked up at him. He knelt down so he was almost level with me. "It's time to change back." I said to him before I leaned forward and lightly kissed his chin.
"Mrs. Banner-"
"Luke, you should go, now." I said looking at him. He nodded and started to trek out of the wet field. I looked back at Hulk who was shrinking back to his normal size and let out a breath.
I don't know what I would have done if that hadn't worked.
So, this was my longest chapter yet. It took up 12 pages on Word. I hope you liked it! Minnie isn't so scared of the Hulk anymore, and has grown to accept him more, not that she didn't accept him before, but she was more scared of him before in case you don't remember her admitting she was scared. Anyways, hope you enjoyed it, please review!