InsaneJournal

Who: Bruce and Spider-Man
What: Chillin out maxin relaxin all cool, shootin' some b-ball outside of the school - Or you know, having a Chat.
Where: Bruce's digs in Jersey
When: Recently



Bruce had just made it back to his lab for the first in a few days, and was making himself familiar with everything Gwen had managed to do. He was amused, and incredibly grateful. He wasn’t sure about the new equipment but she’d made it look almost decent and that alone was a feat all on it’s own.

He was looking at her last note regarding Mary Jane and sighing to himself, he wasn’t sure this was anything he wanted to - or should - get involved with. He put the note in his pocket and made a mental note to ask a woman. He just needed to find one to ask.

He was doing most of the work on the anti-Hulk device at Tony’s lab, but he’d stopped by here to run some reports and feel a little less confined for a while. He was working on a drawing, when he heard the loud echoing knock on his warehouse door. Contrary to his regular attitude he was beginning to just stop worrying about who was on the other side of the door these days. What the hell did it matter anyway? “Come in,” he called out. “It’s open.”

It really wasn’t Spidey’s style to go in through the door, but you know, he didn’t want to start this meeting the wrong way. He had a bad feeling about it. He wasn’t exactly sure why, because by all reports Bruce Banner sounded like a brilliant guy, and Gwen’s recommendation meant a lot. Then again, he told himself as he dropped down the building and landed on the doorstep, she did recommend Doc Connors, too. So did I. Maybe you’re just a sucker when it comes to science, Spidey. It was so true. He was way more excited to see what Banner was working on than he was to meet the guy. This whole thing where some people knew stuff and others didn’t, it made him nervous.

The door swung open and Spidey wandered in, feeling spindly in his red-and-blue suit. For some reason he never felt as comfortable on two feet as he did on a wall when he had the mask on. “I was hoping you’d say Who’s there and I could come up with a lame knock knock joke.”

Bruce raised his eyebrows and looked up when the door opened. Spider-Man. Naturally Spider-Man would pop in for a visit. Of course. “Hey there,” he said tilting his head to the side a bit clearly confused. This wasn’t the first time, at least not for Bruce, but he realized quite some time ago that made very little difference in the grand scheme of things in this current situation.

“Sorry to disappoint, I think I skipped the day they taught ‘common sense,’” he chuckled a bit if only because it was very true. Isn’t that how they all wound up in their messes? May as well throw all sense out the window.

Okay, that was a little unexpected. Hey there was not really the way people greeted a masked man wandering into their top secret lab. Spidey turned in a circle mid-stride, looking around for some sign that he could read amongst all the equipment, and then kicked a heel out to continue his path toward Bruce. “Funny thing for a scientist to say,” he commented, obviously sizing him up behind the screens that protected his eyes. Spidey was planning on getting the most out of this trip, because he was blowing half his weekend on a train ride managing it.

Bruce took his glasses off and set them aside while he gave Spidey a look, “What exactly is it that scientists are supposed to say?” he asked unable to recall ever seeing the “things scientists say” textbooks while he was in school. “What can I do for you today, Spidey?” he asked with almost a half smile.

Spidey squinted behind the mask. His eyes weren’t immediately visible, but his head twitched to one side. “Your assistant said she thought you knew me.” The guy was so relaxed and even the people who were used to him in general got kind of nervous when he was standing within reach. Masks were a little unnerving, especially when you couldn’t see the other guy’s eyes. That was just the way it was. Spidey was no Phantom of the Opera, but he wasn’t here for tea. Jeez.

“Did she?” he asked though didn’t expect an answer. He wasn’t entirely concerned about the visit, but then again he was doing his best not to be overly concerned about much of anything since he went ahead and let public enemy number one escape on his watch. He was causing enough trouble without chasing Spider-Man (of all people) off of his property. “Do you want to sit? Or climb a wall? Dangle from the ceiling? Lots of options.” He still had no idea what he was doing here but he could be polite.

Spidey sighed when Bruce acknowledged and then ignored his lead-in. He was a high school kid, not a lawyer. Being convincing meant being earnest, and that was if you were lucky. He decided to stay standing right where he was, because that was what people did in the movies when they meant business. “Listen, if you could see my cute smile, you would totally give in and tell me everything I want to know. Since that’s not going to happen, I’d really like it if you’d just tell me what the deal is with you coming from a parallel universe in which you live inside my head along with the other dude.”

Bruce tilted his head to the other side and walked around from where he was standing on one side of his table to the other and leaned against it. He folded his arms and looked Spidey over for a moment. “Come again?” he asked after a moment. “I’m happy to tell you anything I can, but you might want to give me a jumping off point that makes a bit more sense than what you just threw at me.”

Spidey hesitated. He wanted to talk about this but he also didn’t want to reveal how much Gwen had told him. What if there were some things that Banner had only told Gwen, and would compromise her position? Or, if the guy got angry and he wasn’t a liar, her life? “Okay. Somebody mentioned a team. The only team I know around here is the Avengers, which I learned about by Google-fu just yesterday, even though they fought a battle with aliens recently that I somehow... missed. Can you explain that to me?” Spidey crossed his arms and attempted to sound like Aunt May when she caught him eating cheeseburgers before dinner.

“I’m afraid I can’t explain the battle with the aliens, that wasn’t me...Well it was me but it wasn’t me. I’m not from their world. Or timeline. Or however it works. I lived a completely different life than the rest of them, but the Avengers I know aren’t so far removed from them. And the you that I know...” It was confusing to try and explain but he was doing his best. “Well you and I know each other pretty well where I come from too.”

Spidey dropped the crossed arms and his head tipped all the way to the other side. His voice revealed how disturbed he was by that last revelation. “That’s kind of freaky, doc,” he said, eying the man and finding him completely unassuming. Doc Connors had been mild-looking too, totally harmless in a brilliant way, and Peter was getting to the point where he was just waiting for everybody to go Frankenstein on him.

Bruce nodded enthusiastically, “You’re telling me, and I deal in freaky...” he said with a humorless chuckle. “I met your friend Miss Stacy,” he added after a moment. “She doesn’t like to be told no does she? I didn’t even get the proper chance to try.”

Slowly, Peter moved around Bruce, almost as if he had a certain blast radius, and turned his attention to the lab and the screens. He looked down at the tables and sniffed at the air while continuing the conversation. He liked to be distracted by something else when he was talking about Gwen. “No, not really. But she is good, and you’d be smart to hire her for whatever you’re doing here.” Peter didn’t hesitate on his recommendation of Gwen. He wasn’t going to pretend she wasn’t good just because he didn’t really like her working here.

Bruce watched him check things out, he wondered just how much Spidey knew about him but he was almost afraid to ask. He chuckled at the comment and nodded, “Frankly I don’t think I had much of a choice in the matter,” he said honestly. “I haven’t had a lab assistant in a long time, but she seems to be keeping herself well occupied all things considered.”

Gwen was too good to take no for an answer when it came to a research position, and Peter knew that. Considering this guy’s personality it couldn’t have been that hard, but maybe she should take it easy if the guy was going to turn into Mr. Hyde at any second. Peter leaned on the counter behind him. “I just want to know what your deal is, if you really know all about me. How come? We work together on something?” Peter glanced around, as if it might give him a hint.

“What’s my deal? We’ve worked on a few things together over the years, we tend to run in the same crowds every once in a while, nothing earth shattering I’m afraid. I don’t really run in crowds too often, but when I do you usually aren’t too far behind. What exactly do you know about me?” He hadn’t wanted to go there, mostly because he didn’t want to talk about. The Hulk was always the damn elephant in the room and once in a while Bruce liked to forget that (though he never could). “I’m not one of the bad guys,” he said after a moment. Almost like an addendum. Spidey was probably worried about Gwen Stacy, Bruce would be lying if he said he wasn’t worried too. He was a loner for a reason.

"Years?" Spidey asked, surprised. He hadn't even worn the mask for more than six months. Spidey took all his weight on two palms at the edge of the counter and then folded up like an accordion to set his toes next to his hands. It felt just slightly more comfortable, and the way this conversation was going, Spidey could use all the comfort he could get. "Just rumors," he replied cautiously. He didn't want it to seem like Gwen was exposing secrets her first few days on the job. "Something about how you can be dangerous. Are you dangerous, doc?" Spidey asked, tipping his chin the other way.

Bruce chuckled slightly, “Years,” he said with a shrug. There wasn’t a lot he could do about this situation and he had discovered already that there was no way to make this less awkward. It was always going to be awkward. He raised his eyebrows as the Spider continued to make himself at home. Again, not a lot he could do about that either. And it didn’t bother him. “Yes,” he answered simply enough. “I am. But I’m not out to hurt anyone, I don’t want to hurt anyone. And I always try not to, and I would much rather be here in my lab away from anyone who would want to do me any harm either. It’s a delicate balance. But I’m not going to lie to you. I certainly can be quite dangerous. But the hope is that,” he paused and cleaned off his glasses again before setting them back on his face, “That won’t always be the case. I’ve been known to come through more than once.”

The thing about the Spider-man mask was that it didn’t blink when Peter did, and when he was looking at someone the big bug-eyed stare just lingered much longer than he did. It stared, and stared, the new kid on the block trying to take in the magnitude of what this guy was saying. “I’ve been friends with dangerous people before,” he said, finally, his weight literally rocking back and forth from one set of three fingers to another. “Even one that hurt someone I cared about. But I’m not exactly all ready for that to happen again. Maybe you want to re-think having an assistant, doc.” In one movement, Spidey lifted all his weight again and unfolded from the counter, pushing off so he landed on his feet and headed for the door. “Or what you’ll do if she drops a beaker or something. I don’t want to go to anymore funerals.”

Bruce nodded, he had to agree really. He’d tried to agree more than once. Then again the beaker analogy was only slightly amusing and he sighed a bit, “I’d probably send her out to buy a new beaker, it doesn’t work that way. But I know what you’re saying and you’re not wrong. I should probably rethink a lot of things, or so I’ve been saying for the better part of my adult life. But, I wouldn’t want to make you or her uncomfortable, I have enough of that going around. Just...You’re not wrong.” Was about all he could say, he wasn’t in the business of arguing about this, he definitely didn’t want to stick up for himself because there was no real leg to stand on. He was as bad at insisting the answer was no as Miss Stacy was at accepting it seemed. Maybe it wouldn’t be so terrible, though he didn’t believe that for a second. Terrible was pretty much the currency the Hulk dealt in most days.

Spider-man glanced over his shoulder at the door as the door swung open. Pale light filtered through and there wasn’t much to him but a skinny silhouette. “Just don’t hurt anybody.” He turned away, lifted a wrist, and shut a web into the distance. “Or you can forget the Christmas fruitcake.” Then he was gone.