Bruce felt the bumps on the road, making him groan. He wished he had a better sleeping arrangement but he had to work with what he was dealt with. It wasn't good for someone his age and he knew it.
But he had no choice, for he was on the run.. You see? He had an accident back in his hometown of Winnipeg, Manitoba. He was irradiated with intense gamma rays and was transformed into the Incredible Hulk, ever since then.. Bruce Banner was being chased by the authorities, he didn't even know how many days it had been since he left Winnipeg. All he knew now was he had nowhere to go but to stay on the road and hide.
Everything went on in his head, he saw people running away from him, from Hulk.. Bruce groaned in his sleep as he shook, he didn't want to hurt anyone and that's why he was also running. Hulk roared at them and told them to leave him alone, but some cops didn't get the memo and shot bullets at him. Bruce woke up with a gasp.
"NO!"
His heart was pounding in his chest, he held it tightly and took a couple of deep breaths to calm himself down before the situation got ugly and.. Green, once he got calm and clear-headed. Bruce sighed with relief, he couldn't help but to chuckle.
"You almost fucked up there, Bruce.. Maybe try to stay calm next time and not freak out by a dream?"
No one but himself could hear him, even the driver was too busy focusing on the road. He closed his eyes again and let out a sigh. Feeling heavy and tired once again…
Hours flew by and Bruce was woken up by the driver banging on the side of the truck.
"Alright. This is the nearest town. Get outta my truck and head into town. Maybe take a shower because I think your hair needs it."
Bruce groaned, feeling personally attacked, but he had to calm himself and collect his thoughts, so he pulled out his wallet and flipped through whatever cash he had collected from various part-time jobs he did when he could. He gave the man 18 dollars.
"Here. It's not much, but it should cover…"
"Fine. I don't know what you're doing on the road, Kid. But I hope it'll get you somewhere."
The man drove away, leaving Bruce coughing as the sand picked up in the air.
The young 15 year old growled.
"DICK!"
His eyes then glowed green, which was followed by a familiar feeling of rage. Bruce quickly realised it and he closed his eyes. He began to pant and breathe heavily.
"No no no! Don't! DON'T!"
He tried everything, he grabbed his right arm's wrist and squeezed it. Thinking of anything that could make him calm, he squeezed his eyes shut until an image of his sister came back to him..
"Lily…"
Tears flowed down his eyes but a small smile formed on his face, he opened up his eyes to reveal they were back to their normal brown.
Bruce then rubbed his hands against his face, feeling the soft but sweaty skin that he had. He then felt his hair which indeed felt oily and with thick hairs poking out of his scalp.
"Ugh.. Guess I might have to trim my hair. How am I going to do that? I don't have scissors in this?"
He then rummaged through his backpack, showing that he had a water bottle for drinking, money, extra clothes for when he hulked out or lost his clothes, tools like lockpicks, Bruce took a moment to close his eyes about that one.
"I need it.. I'm sorry officer.. What if I have to enter an abandoned building.. What am I doing with my life?"
It was then that he saw a picture of his family, Dr. David Banner and Sophie Banner with his little sister, Lily Banner.. A single tear fell from his eye as he rubbed the picture with his thumb when he picked it up.
"I'm sorry.. I-I had to.. I didn't want to but I had to! I'd be putting you in danger and.."
Bruce's hands then shook as he stopped thinking about it, he gave up and lowered his shoulders and head.
"What am I doing.. I gotta get breakfast. I should have enough money to purchase food."
The young man then made his way into the seemingly quiet town, Bruce couldn't help but to feel a sense of unease, this was a whole new place that he never heard of. And to make matters worse, he couldn't stay in a hotel or a motel because they needed identification so that was out of the question.
In his head, he was thinking of all the possible places he could stay, an alleyway like a homeless person? No way..
Bruce bit his lip as he walked through the town's high street, he pulled up his hood and hid his face, or at least he hoped it would do that..
He saw a local diner and decided to take a chance, his stomach was rumbling and he knew if he didn't get any food in his system.. He might just actually die and who knows what will happen from there.
As Bruce entered the diner, he saw a couple of people, mostly local teens and the adults. He tried to fit in by putting his hands in his pocket and head down, Bruce then walked up to the stools and sat down. An old lady approached him with a gruff looking face.
"Can I help you son?"
"I'll take some fries and a burger.. Please?"
"Sure hon. How about you take off that hood and we'll give you a good healthy meal."
Bruce froze for a moment, he didn't know what to do. But instinct took over and he shakingly removed his hood, revealing his messy hair and weary face which was dripping with sweat.
Someone looked at him, it was an older man wearing a red vest and a yellow fisher's shirt. He got up from his seat and walked up to Bruce.
"You got a problem, boy… I saw you. Shaking like you were a damn bomb.. Now who the hell do you think you are!"
"I-I'm sorry.. I didn't m-mean to offend you."
The man grabbed Bruce by his hoodie, he felt scared and let out a gasp.
"You think because you are from another place, you can just waltz in here and assert yourself without even introducing yourself.. BOY!"
Bruce felt his heartbeat quicker than usual. He knew he had to get away.
"Please…Sir..Let me go…"
"Nuh-Uh! I will not! You are not leaving until I get an answer from you!"
The 15 year old groaned as he shook his head. Inside his head, he felt every connection to reality snap away, something was going on and he knew exactly what..
"I'm..I'm warning you.. Don't make me angry… You wouldn't like me… I'm.. Angry!"
"Oh really!? Well you wouldn't like me when I'm going to punch you in the face for being a little brat!"
He was about to raise his fist when Bruce's eyes flashed green. Making the man gasp in shock.
Bruce growled as he was released, everyone in the diner was horrified at what they saw, even the older lady came out with his meal, she dropped his plate and screamed.
"WHY COULDN'T YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONEEEEE!"
He then arched his back and roared as his muscles swelled, filling the empty spaces in his clothes, the straps on his backpack snapped off and fell to the ground. Bruce cried out in agony as he felt his body grow bigger, he looked down at his hands as best he could, they were turning green but his vision was getting blurry as he lost control, he snarled and hissed, making everyone who could, run out of the diner in fear.
Bruce stepped forward, his foot breaking out of his shoe and baring his foot, he felt the sole of his foot stepping on the floor but he didn't care at this point. Bruce's mind was turning feral and seemingly mindless as he continued to lose control, his right sleeve burst as he growled, the older man was still frozen in fear as he looked at the young man who grew bigger and greener, his hoodie ripped off and left him in a tattered white shirt and ripped purple makeshift shorts, his remaining shoe completely ripped as his foot expanded in size.
Hulk roared at the older man, letting out saliva fly out of his mouth and the loud boom of his voice. He stared at the man as he growled in anger.
"I-I…I'm sorry bud. I fucked up.. Didn't I?"
He soon was flying out of the diner, crashing through the window and landing against a wall, knocking himself out cold. Hulk roared as he smashed through the diner, he looked around and picked up a car, swinging it around like it was nothing until he threw it at a building, what looked like a Post Office of sorts, Hulk roared as the sheriffs arrived to deal with the situation.
The green teenager stared at them as they came out of their cruisers with pistols drawn.
"Now now! W-We don't know any trouble.. Mr…"
Hulk knew they didn't know him, it seems like news doesn't travel very far or something.. But they were still a threat that needed to be dealt with!
He was about to go and smash them but then something in his head was nagging him, like it was tugging at his mind. He couldn't explain it but it felt like he shouldn't harm them, he shook his head and placed his hand on his head and growled sadly.
"No… D-Don't…" He said.
Hulk then opened up his eyes and roared, he jumped away, propelling himself into the air at colossal speeds like a missile..
Miles away from town, a 15 year old boy found himself on the sand in the desert, he gripped the sand with his right hand, dragging it across the dirt and sand until he released it to rub his hand against his face.
"Ughh… W-Wha… W-Where… Where am I?"
He looked around and was horrified, did he really just transform again?! Bruce quickly got up and checked his body, he was wearing only torn clothes like a tattered white shirt and purple shorts. Bruce cried out in frustration.
"FUCK SAKES!"
Bruce knew he had to do something, he sadly took the hike back to town where he saw the destruction of town.. He sighed with disappointment, he didn't want this. He just wanted a place where he could bunker down and perhaps get a meal, so he decided to go back to the diner where the police had put up police tape and locked up the place, he managed to sneak through and find his backpack, he picked it up and noticed one of the straps was missing.
"Great.. Well. I can always fix it, I do have a repair kit in here somewhere…"
He then saw the plate smashed on the floor, the burger was perfectly situated where Bruce could grab it, he knew eating off from the floor was completely hazardous but his stomach was rumbling extremely badly..
He took the moment to grab it and take a bite of it, his teenager mind felt at ease that he took each bite with ease. Not caring about anything.. Except when it tasted like dog puke.
"Ohh.. Ohh! Fuck me!"
He spat it out and groaned in frustration.
"Okay.. Okay.. Calm down Brucey. You don't want to hulk out again. Last thing this town needs is another green boy incident. First thing however is.."
His eyes lit up with glee as he knew there was still food left fresh on the tables, he took a bite of a real burger and felt relieved to actually have real food again..
Bruce fell down as he took another bite of his burger, he placed his right hand on his head and chewed on his burger. He closed his eyes and sighed..
"Am I still a teenager.. Or am I something else? Am I a man or a monster?"
This question made him wonder, he had an extraordinary power. He could grow muscles and get super strength! It was something that every teenager would dream of! But here he was. Clad in a tattered shirt and pants. Barefoot and having disheveled hair.
"I think I just answered that myself.."
He took another bite of his burger and sighed. He grabbed his bag and walked out of the diner, going through the back door as he stood behind a dumpster, he pulled out his repair kit and used a needle & thread.
"Sewing skills don't fail me now. Thank you Mrs. Howe.. You can do it…"
Bruce stabbed the needle through the thread and poked it through the strap of the bag, then sewed it together slowly, he tried his best to make it presentable until he finally got it back into tip top shape.
"Phew.. That's the only reason why I have that in there.. Can't really repair these rags anymore."
He looked down at his tattered clothes and sighed.
"Damn. I wish my clothes could just regenerate. That would be good for my clothing budget."
Finally, he was about to pull off his shirt when he thought about doing something.
"Okay.. Let's have fun."
He then tore it off and roared with a smile.
"Rawr! I'm… Really distasteful…"
Bruce sighed with regret, he then removed his makeshift shorts, leaving him in his relatively intact boxers.
He then dug into his bag and pulled out his fresh clothes, a white shirt and a black hoodie with fresh purple pants.
"Einstein wore the same clothes everyday. Why shouldn't I?"
But then he noticed..
"Holy… No.. No…NO!"
He had no shoes.
"Damn it Bruce Jackson Banner! You should've packed shoes!" He paced around the alleyway as he tapped his hand against his chin.
He then sighed. "How the hell would've I fit it anyway? This bag is small, I can't fit an entire friggin' circus." But then Bruce turned around. "Aww just shut up. You are a GENIUS! Figure it out!" He shouted out, but then he slapped his hand against his mouth, covering it as he realized his voice was getting too loud.
So Bruce quietly puts on his fresh hoodie and purple pants, walking down the high street until he finds a new pair of shoes in a store. He knew that he couldn't exactly pay for them now as everybody was hiding, he felt frustrated with what he was going to do, he grabbed them and placed them on his feet, doing a Kyle Reese…
They were a pair of Adidas white runners. Not his typical brand but hey.. He had to work with what he got.
Finally, he got out of town, walking down the road which he knew all too well. Bruce took a moment to breathe.
Why was he on the run really.. Was something deeper or was there something more to be told?
Bruce knew the answers but he felt like someone or something was watching him, so he looked at blank air and gave a wink…
To Be Continued…