Dr Bruce Banner (docbrucebanner) wrote in thedisplaced, @ 2018-06-06 21:41:00 |
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Entry tags: | !log/thread, betty ross (mcu), bruce banner / hulk (mcu) |
Who: Betty Ross and Bruce Banner
When: Wednesday, May 16, the day after this exchange
Where: The Starbucks in Council 2. 11:00 am.
What: Awkward conversations
Warnings: Low
Status: Complete in gdoc
Betty had only been in town a few days and she still wasn’t completely settled in. She had been uprooted from her job at Culver’s and into another dimension. That was a bit inconvenient. She spent her days looking for another job, sniffing around the schools and portal project. The thing that disturbed her the most was that Bruce was alive and well, and functioning as a normal person here. Betty had messaged him on the network (it was too much like Facebook but she didn’t know his number). He asked her for coffee.
So she sat in the Starbucks at 10:59, dressed in a soft floral dress and flats, her messenger bag stashed under the table. She ordered an iced coffee and planted herself near a window.
If he didn’t show up, she knew it wasn’t meant to be-- for her to be anywhere near his life. The Hulk was her creation as well, he shouldn’t have to shoulder it all on his own.
“Damn it, damn it, damn it.”
Bruce had meant to be there early. At least a half hour early, in fact, just so he could be there first and meet Betty when she came through the door so she wouldn’t worry about him being a no-show. He left Tony’s place with enough time, but a fender-bender along the way caused a traffic blockup. When he finally arrived, he couldn’t find any parking spaces close by, so had to pull into a space a couple of blocks away. So, at one minute to 11, he found himself jogging down the sidewalk as fast as he could. The Other Guy might’ve been the Strongest Avenger, but Bruce was out of shape, and he held a painful stitch in his side that developed as he ran.
Worst case scenario was that Betty had enough and left the Starbucks, having just missed him. And by worst case, Bruce considered that nearly on par with Thanos’ snap. Sure, he could’ve called or texted to let her know he was running late, but he didn’t want Betty to think he was making excuses not to see her.
Twenty four seconds past 11:00, Bruce pushed through the door of Starbucks, panting and sweating, with the announcement, “I’m here!”, which turned the heads of every customer inside. He gasped deeply to catch his breath, and noticed all eyes were upon him, making him embarrassed and self conscious. That is, until he spotted Betty at her table… and then he became extremely embarrassed and self conscious. “Uhhhhh…” he glanced around nervously and went over to where she sat. “Hi?”
Betty checked her phone and noticed it was 11 on the dot. She would give him a few more minutes, he had been late when they were still studying in school. Maybe he wanted to make a grand entrance. (No, that didn’t seem like Bruce at all). While he was cocky and sure of himself, he also had a small part of him that was scared. She had seen it in him. She had seen the Hulk and saw his rage. Even in his rage, there was fear. Hulk just wanted to be left alone.
Bruce busting in caused Betty to jump a little in her seat and stare over at Bruce. He looked older, and there were greys at his temples. She had to admit, it was pretty distinguished looking. She was still in school when Bruce worked with her-- back when they first met. He was her mentor in a way… but that had changed fast when Betty kissed him. Of course she made the first move.
“Hi…” she repeated. “Get yourself something to drink, I’ll wait.” She held her own cup to her lips and took a sip.
For several moments, all Bruce could do was stand and stare: Betty barely changed from the last time he saw her, and a conflict of emotions raged within his soul. Naturally he was happy to see her, to the point of being overwhelmed by sentimentality, but guilt was just as strong. Bruce offered a weak smile and told her, “Okay.”
With his back turned, standing in line, he took a deep breath to compose himself and prepare for the conversation that would follow. She’d want to know his motivations, but he was afraid he didn’t have any good excuse for not contacting her after the Chitari invasion in New York. He ordered an iced, herbal tea - Bruce rarely drank caffeinated beverages because he was always worried it might aggravate the Other Guy. He carried his cup to the table and sat down opposite Betty.
“So,” he began, insecurely, “You’re looking well. It’s been a while,” then immediately regretted his words, deciding they sounded stupid.
Betty shot him a dirty look. But then it quickly changed into a soft smile. “Is that what you got, Banner? It’s been awhile?” She shifted in her seat, tucking her dress under her bottom again. Little quirks like that, checking to see if her purse was still there, adjusting her clothing. Checking her phone. She was a nervous kind of person. Her father made her that way.
“How about this. We don’t talk about what’s happened since I’ve seen you. We just talk about now.” She knew she was behind, since it was no longer 2012. But she didn’t know all that happened in between. “Or we could and you could just skip over the part where you were back in the States and didn’t call me.” Again, she softened. “You were saving the world. I’ll give you a break.”
Being around Betty again brought back all sorts of fond memories - Bruce had nearly forgotten her little quirks, but he’d picked up a few more of his own since the last time they’d met. He was a lot more insecure, one could even describe him as skittish, particularly when the environment was unfamiliar… and being with his ex-girlfriend and not knowing how she was going to react made Bruce just as nervous as finding himself naked on an alien planet with Thor. Her dirty look caused his forehead to wrinkle, and while her smile was heartening, it did little to alive the guilt he felt. The cup of tea he purchased was placed in front of him upon the table, holding it with both hands almost like a shield that separated them - at least that’s what he body language suggested.
Looking down at the table instead of her, Bruce said, “Technically it wasn’t me, it was the Other Guy. And he wasn’t the only one - it was a team effort with all the Avengers helping.” He didn’t want to take any credit, whatsoever. “I hate to tell you, Betty, but I didn’t call you after the invasion, either. I… uhhh… I came barging into your life before, it wouldn’t have been right for me to do it again. I figured… I guess I figured it was better we moved on?” It was a difficult confession to make, sitting opposite her, but he remained stoic to try to hide his true feelings.
“Now?” Bruce glanced around the Starbucks. “I came through the portal in mid-February. At that time, all of the Displaced had been taken from Tumbleweed and put on a cruise ship that took us to these different, legendary ports-of-call. We all just got back at the beginning of April, so a lot of us, including myself, are still sort of finding their place. I’m staying with Tony in his Malibu mansion, which somehow appeared here, too.”
The way Bruce sat made her sad, she hated what the Hulk had done to him. She remembered being in the back of the helicopter, holding his shackled hands. She remembered when they tried to pull the Hulk out to test a serum, and she had jumped on top of the creature to bring Bruce back. Apparently, the creature won Bruce in the end, with the way he acted.
Mentioning moving on, her cheeks went flush. She was embarrassed but knew it was worth it to at least try something while she was here-- it had to mean something. “Better if we moved on. We were in this together, Bruce. I helped create The Other Guy with you. It’s not fair for you to run off. Do you think I would have curled up and died if you said you didn’t want a relationship with me? Don’t flatter yourself.”
She had grown angry in those few moments and put her head into her hands. “I’m-- I’m sorry. You’re living with Tony. Right. I figured you’d be with someone from the team…”
When Betty brought up her participation in the botched experiment, Bruce hung his head low and pursed his lips as he indulged in his daily dose of self-loathing. He was so caught up in his private thoughts, that he misheard Betty’s statement about relationships, and he snapped to attention, looking at her first with surprise, but then understanding when his brain registered what she’d actually said. Betty’s anger was unexpected, but Bruce felt it was justified, so to get off the subject for a little to let both their emotions cool down, he told her, “Actually, I split my time between Tony’s and the Avengers’ compound. I… uhhh… didn’t have a place of my own before I was brought here so… it’s convenient. Every other day I work in the medical department of the Resettlement Bureau, but I also help study the Portal’s activities there. That, in a addition to my own private research and experiments. Where are you staying?”
He went with her changing the subject. Betty’s heart fell. It would be stupid to say she still felt something all these years later. She had worried about him for so long, he became an obsession. It’s hard to retrain your brain to stop thinking about someone. She wasn’t in love with him, but she loved him once. And that’s what she felt.
“I have an apartment. It’s just … normal, basic.” She pressed her lips together in a tight line. “What are you working on now? Not curing yourself, that’s for sure…”
“Your home didn’t show up here?” Bruce questioned. “A lot of people’s do.” A pause. “If you need anything, let me know, okay? Relocating is tough as it is, what to speak of appearing in a totally different world. Are you looking for a job?” As for his research, Bruce rubbed his hand over his stubbly chin and guiltily drawled, “Welllllll… sort of, yes. Just because I have my condition in control doesn’t mean I want it. I’m living with a split personality, and if there’s a way to take both halves and make them hole, I’ll do it.”
Betty had a house back home, but she had moved out of it after the incident with the Hulk. It belonged to her father anyway. He offered her the ol’ ‘if you need anything’ at her and she frowned slightly. “If there’s a college here, I’ll find something.”
She shook her head, split personality he called it. “I have the research. Just… not here.” She threw up her hands. “And it’s a lot to remember…”
“I know you will,” came Bruce’s convicted response. Betty was always resourceful, with a tenacious personality - once she made up her mind to do something, nothing could deter her from her goal. It was one of the traits that Bruce always admired. There was no doubt that she’d be able to succeed in this new place.
What she then told him was a surprise. “You… you mean our original research? I tried to locate it, but came up with nothing. I thought everything was destroyed when the Other Guy first emerged, or else your father confiscated it all from the wreckage.”
“I was able to hide some of it. I knew when you were … transformed, it would be a big deal. I saved some of it before they could get to confiscate it. Actually, I had a kid from the school do it while I was in the hospital. Good kid. Can’t remember his name. R...Rick maybe?” She shook her head, “And then they raided my house when you came back in town. But the flash drive is still around. I don’t know why.”
Bruce could do nothing but stare for several moments in complete amazement. He’d given up on ever seeing that information again… but if Betty had saved it? “Rick Jones?” he offered the last name as a suggestion, but given there was a person by that name who, in an alternative universe was a close friend, then it was no coincidence. But suggesting the name also gave Bruce a chance to compose himself and find his voice, which was nervous with excitement. “Do you… do you know if you saved the information collected when things started going bad? The actual moment when the experiment went wrong?” He found himself leaning forward in his seat as he eagerly asked. “If so, we might be able to reverse engineer the process.”
He was so caught up in the possibility that he didn’t notice two significant points - the first was that the flash drive wasn’t actually here, and the second was how quick he was to include Betty in helping him with his hypothetical experiment.
Betty noticed right away. Part of her was excited, the other part insulted. Now he wanted her help. “It was right up to the point of the experiment. To the gamma ray exposure. I kept detailed notes.” She smiled a little. Bruce would remember that Betty was very attentive to detail when it came to her work. Their work.
“I don’t know if we can undo gamma radiation exposure, Bruce. But it’s worth a try, I guess, if it’s turning you into a monster.”
“We won’t,” Bruce replied as a matter of fact, but still sounding optimistic. “I’ll always be stuck as an radioactive mess. But it may be possible to block the adrenal process that triggers a transformation, much the same way antidepressants balance neurotransmitters in the brain. It’s a theory that I’ve been working on for years, but could never quite figure out the mechanics, how the gamma rays distorted my DNA. Your flash drive might just hold the key.”
In his excitement, Bruce suddenly was transported into the past, where he and Betty sat together in his office for the first time, discussing with great enthusiasm the possibility of using gamma radiation instead of vita radiation to kick start the super soldier serum he’d been tasked with recreating. It was so long ago, they were bright and optimistic, and he was foolishly in love with a grad student whom he was supposed to be teaching. This memory caused Bruce to freeze and stare at Betty, his mouth hanging open, as he snapped back to the reality of their current situation.
Bruce clenched both hands into tight fists that quaked with the pressure, and hung his head in shame, unable to look Betty in the eyes. He hated the Hulk with a furious passion for taking everything away from him, but what he couldn’t admit was what Betty first pointed out to him over the network after she arrived: the Hulk was him, Bruce hated himself, and the traits the Hulk embodied. He was to blame for fucking up everything, and it was difficult coming to terms with that realization.
“Betty… I’m ...” he mumbled. “I really am sorry for not contacting when I had the chance. You were right there from the beginning. Maybe you wouldn’t have curled up and died, but that’s how I felt.”
In his mind, Bruce could hear the Hulk’s voice deriding him, Puny Banner! Stupid! Weak!
Betty listened to his theory with rapt attention. She always liked it when he starting spouting out ideas and solutions. She watched him go lax and ball up his fists. What was that? He was unpredictable now, wasn’t he? Maybe the gamma rays had distorted him further. Maybe he was more Hulk than Bruce now? She wasn’t sure until she had more time to talk to him.
She shook her head and reached out for his arm. “Bruce… when it first happened and you disappeared, I started to date Leonard. I didn’t want to, I wanted to wait for you to come back. Not everyone knew what happened in that lab that day, so in order to keep it secret, I went out with him.” Betty squeezed his wrist and rubbed her thumb over the bones in his arm. “I did curl up and die, I think. So I’ve already been there once.”
That small bit of contact was all it took for a shiver to run down Bruce’s spine, but it was what she said that broke his heart. Curled up and died? He’d done that to her. They both had suffered because of his stubbornness. But as he glanced tenderly at where her arm rested upon his arm, Bruce wondered, without accusation or anger, “You could’ve tried to contact me?”
“I tried. That Mr. Blue guy? Samuel Sterns? I tried tracking him down. No luck. And SHIELD was already looking for you. I just. I didn’t think it would be wise if I were to find you. Someone would have been watching me.” She pulled her hand away and held her cup between both hands. “Look, Bruce, we could talk about this all day and not find a way to fix it. I’ve got an interview at the college here in town… I want to be early.” She reached under the table for her purse.
Bruce was about to tell her what happened to Sterns, information privy to him only after the Avengers were formed, and he started doing work for SHIELD. He wanted to tell her that he understood why she wouldn’t want to contact him after he fled the mess in Harlem, but what about after he’d become an Avenger, and his name was pretty much cleared and he was pretty much a free man? Even the tiniest hint that she was still interested would’ve sent him running toward her.
But then she declared she had to leave. Bruce was taken off guard, and his first thought was to wonder why she scheduled something like this so close to their meeting? Was this her way of trying to escape an awkward situation? No, Bruce was sure Betty wouldn’t do something like that. Maybe this was the only time they could schedule? Irregardless, he decided to take Betty at her word.
“Okay…” he said, trying not to sound disappointed, but falling short, since the lonely expression upon his face gave it away. He stood up at the same time as Betty. “We’ll uh… have to continue this talk later, alright? Good luck with the interview.”
It had been a few months since the Avengers saved New York. Betty had saw it all on the news. When she saw that green monster, her heart sank. Bruce was back. Maybe the shock stopped her? Maybe she thought he didn’t want her around?
Betty was trying to get into a job as soon as possible, but also wanted to see Bruce-- as soon as possible. Scheduling the two worked out for her, because the conversation with Bruce wasn’t going well, in her opinion.
“Yeah.” She nodded, a bit of a self-deprecating smile on her face. “We can continue later.” Betty looked at him for a moment, how there was more grey in his hair than before. And then she turned to walk away, into the Texas heat.