Who: Bruce Banner and Anakin Skywalker What: Chance meeting Where: The woods When: Wednesday, August 31. Warnings: references to canon violence Status: complete gdoc
One of the things that was instrumental in assisting Bruce in controlling the transitions between himself and the Hulk was deliberately allowing the Other Guy out to ‘play’ on a fairly regular basis. While he knew the town was pretty accepting and there were plenty of people around who were capable of putting him down if he lost control, he preferred to do these transitions in the woods where Hulk would have plenty of space to stretch his legs and smash some trees.
Today was one of those days and the Hulk was merrily ripping dead limbs off of some of the trees and breaking them apart with his bare hands when he heard the leaves rustling with nearby footsteps and turned to see who else was out here.
*
Anakin hadn’t expected to encounter the Hulk that afternoon. True, he had no idea who (or what) the Hulk was, but when he found him in the woods… it was not what he was expecting. He honestly had no idea if this large green giant was dangerous or not, but he pulled out his lightsaber just in case. He flicked on the weapon, a blue light emitting from the end of it.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he said softly. Reassuringly. Calmly.
He did have the ability to be calm and collected. When the time called for it. …this was quite possibly due to the fact that he hadn’t completely turned to the Dark Side before arriving in Madison Valley.
“Who are you?” he asked, his tone calm and steady.
*
The small human garnered a suspicious look from Hulk, particularly when the item in his hand began to glow blue and emit a faint buzzing sound. “Hulk,” he replied, pointing at his chest. “You?” he pointed at the smaller man.
“No hurt,” he agreed. Though if that glowy, buzzing light thing got close, Hulk would be rethinking that promise.
*
“Hello, Hulk.” Anakin said, easily. Even though Anakin was known to be quick to anger, he was also able to remain calm when the situation called for it. Like right now. He had never encountered a creature like Hulk before, he wasn’t sure what to expect from him. So he was trying to be as calm as possible for the moment.
That didn’t mean he was going to put away the lightsaber, though. He wasn’t stupid.
“My name is Anakin Skywalker,” he offered. “Why have I not seen you here before?”
*
“Banner around more,” Hulk explained before turning and cracking another dead limb off of a nearby tree.It was more fun to smash buildings and cars, but he knew he wasn’t allowed to do that here, so he made do with the trees that were in need of some pruning.
He didn’t think Banner had met this man before since the name didn’t sound familiar so it was entirely possible his explanation would not help much.
* “I don’t know Banner, either,” he told the green giant. “I may have heard the name, but I do not believe I have ever met him.” This time in Madison Valley, at least. Not that Anakin remembered meeting Bruce the last time, either.
He decided Hulk didn’t pose a threat to him at the moment, and his lightsaber flicked off. “Are you Banner as well?” he asked. “Or is Banner a friend?”
Anakin had no idea. Hulk would, though.
*
Hulk relaxed when the man turned off his glowing stick. “Banner puny. Hulk strong.” He held up his arms to show off his muscles as he grinned. “Banner smart.” So was Hulk, in his own way. His expression changed, his face contorting and he let out a low growl before sighing. “Banner say hi,” he said to Anakin.
Another minute or so and the large, green man had disappeared, replaced by a much shorter and less green man with a sheepish expression. “Give me a minute,” he said, ducking behind a nearby tree to grab the clothes that he left there before his transition.
“Bruce Banner,” he said once he was dressed.
*
“Oh, I have no doubt Hulk is strong,” Anakin readily agreed. Best not anger the green giant. Even Anakin was aware of that. And Anakin had absolutely no issues with angering almost anyone. “Hulk looks very strong. I wouldn’t be able to rip out tree limbs like that.”
He watched as Hulk transitioned into a small, human-looking person. “That is… amazing,” he said, softly. It didn’t phase him in the slightest that Bruce had lost his clothing during the transition, it wasn’t as though he didn’t know what a naked man looked like.
Though he knew they would both be more comfortable with Bruce dressed.
“It is nice to meet you, Bruce. I am Anakin Skywalker, but I am sure you knew that, as I told Hulk.”
–
“Nice to meet you too,” Bruce said, offering a hand to shake. “Hulk and I don’t manage to share everything, but I’m not completely unaware when he’s in control.” It was a lot better than it used to be, though he wasn’t going to get into that.
He was glad that the other man hadn’t set off the rage monster. Maybe next time he’d bring a friend along to serve as translator in case they encountered someone who might set off the Other Guy. The last thing Bruce needed was for his alter ego to go on a rampage under the dome.
*
“So… it’s like you are two separate beings that just happen to share the same body?” he asked. Even though Hulk’s body had been quite different than Bruce’s. “Perhaps body isn’t the word I am looking for.” Though he wasn’t exactly sure what word he was looking for.
“Are either of you dangerous?” he asked. “Hulk seemed… like he potentially could be, though I wasn’t quite afraid of him. Should I have been?”
The fact that Hulk hadn’t been aggressive toward him had made him less wary of the green giant.
*
That was close enough to an explanation that Bruce nodded. Honestly, even after all this time, he still didn’t have a good way to to describe their shared existence. “He has the potential to be dangerous,” he said, not seeing any reason to deny it. “There’s a lot more control now than there used to be though. I let him out to play once a week or so and that usually keeps him appeased.” Unless they were attacked, then he’d probably make a spontaneous appearance.
“Sorry if he unsettled you,” he said. “I don’t usually run into a lot of people out this way.”
*
Anakin shook his head slightly in response to Bruce’s words. “No, it is fine,” he told the man. “I was just not expecting it is all.” He had not expected to see a green giant in the forest that morning, but… he had, and it had not been Bruce’s fault in the slightest. He could not hold it against the man.
“How long have you been able to do that?” he asked. “I mean… how long has Hulk been a presence in your life?” After a moment, “Of course, you do not need to answer if you do not wish to.”
He would not wish for Bruce to answer if he felt uncomfortable doing so.
*
Bruce needed a moment to answer that. Between time travel and bouncing realities, it was hard to pin down a specific response. “Fifteen or so years?” he said, making a rough estimate. “It was a lab accident.” Trying to explain in more detail than that would be nearly impossible unless someone was well versed in several scientific disciplines.
“It’s something I’m much more comfortable discussing now than I used to be.” Largely thanks to his control.
*
“That is a good, long while,” Anakin said, softly. He understood that the lab accident that caused Bruce to become the Hulk might be a bit more scientific than Anakin would understand, so he didn’t press for further details. The fact that it was a lab accident was enough of an explanation for him at the moment.
“I can understand that as well,” he told the man. “There are things I have learned about myself and my future that I am more comfortable speaking about than I was when I was when I first learned,” he admitted. “Sometimes it takes time.”
*
“Well, if you’d ever like to discuss those things, I’m always willing to listen,” Bruce offered. “However, at the moment, I need to get back into town. It was nice meeting you, Anakin.” Bruce being who he was, he didn’t recognize the name at all and had no idea who the man in front of him was.
*
Anakin offered Bruce a small smile. “I greatly appreciate that, thank you.” It was refreshing, meeting someone who did not know who he was. He just appreciated meeting a person who accepted him as Anakin Skywalker, not potentially Darth Vader.
“It was nice to meet you as well, Bruce,” he said, smiling slightly. “I will see you around.” It had been an interesting visit, he was pleased to have met the man.