Bruce Banner (ragecontained) wrote in onewaythreads, @ 2018-12-26 00:49:00 |
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Entry tags: | bruce banner |
Who: Bruce Banner and the Hulk
What: Bruce receives the gift from the Ruler.
When: Dec 25, 11.40 am.
Where: Bruce's room.
Rating: Low, little bit of swearing.
Robert Bruce Banner had seven PhDs, he'd been to space, he'd fought Thanos, he'd battled enemies homegrown and foreign and spent what felt like the entirety of his life with his consciousness shackled to a gamma-rayed green giant with anger issues. After all he'd seen in his life, he thought that nothing could surprise him.
Seven PhDs doesn't mean you're completely immune from dumbass decisions. He received the word like everyone else did that the guy in charge of Preya was handing out gifts, you selected three items that you wanted and he (if it was a he) would pick one of them to gift to each person on Christmas day. Bruce didn't even remember the other two things he picked, he didn't think when he wrote down his first option, didn't even think it would work, didn't think that the Ruler (and really, calling yourself the 'Ruler' makes you sound a little bit like a douche, and it reminded him of that whackjob Grandmaster back on Sakaar) would pick that particular thing.
Bruce hadn't slept, except for a few small dozes he managed to sneak in. He had rings under the rings under his eyes, his hair was all mussed up and he'd probably lost a bit more weight as the thought of having anything to eat made his stomach churn painfully. He thought Hulking out would kill him once, but it turned out not Hulking out was doing the same thing. He'd ran all the tests, blood tests, urine tests, EKG, MRI, everything that was in the medical journals and even stuff he came up with on his own. He knew he could have asked Tony about it, but he didn't want to burden Tony as he knew Tony was going through his own Post Thanos issues. Again, dumbass decisions.
Bruce was thumbing through some more journals when he heard the knock on the door. Opening it, he found that nobody was there though there was a small gift wrapped parcel about the size of a pen, with his name attached to it. Bruce poked his head out and looked down the hallway both ways before shrugging and picking up the parcel.
He shut the door behind him and sat down on the chair, opening the present. Inside there was a corked vial of liquid which seemed to be clear with a very slight green tint. Bruce frowned, looking at the nametag again. Merry Christmas, from the Ruler.
Holy shit, he thought, looking at the vial. Holy shit.
Bruce didn't know what he was supposed to do with it. Was he supposed to inject it? Inhale it? Snort it up his nose? Rub it through his hair? He didn't even know if it would work, but the scientist in him won out initially, opening the cork and depositing a small amount in a syringe so he could test it at a future possibility.
Chancing a glance around the room, he let out a sigh.
"I'm an idiot." With that said, he brought the vial to his lips and drank. It tasted strangely like eggnog, eggnog mixed with toothpaste mixed with... burning.
The vial tumbled out of his hand and crashed to the ground, glass smashing. Bruce felt like he was going to throw up, and he felt himself sway and fall out of the chair, landing on his hands and knees on the ground. He heard his breathing, heard the blood pounding in his ears, and he heard for the first time in what felt like years, the Hulk in his mind.
NO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING, BANNER!
But it was too late. Bruce couldn't stop the change if he tried. Glad at least that he wasn't wearing anything expensive, he felt the familiar changes, his muscles expanding, bones grinding painfully, what little clothing he wore was torn to shreds. The last thing he'd thought before Hulk took over completely was why couldn't the Ruler have given him stretchy pants?
The Hulk made his way to his feet, breathing heavily and looking down at his large curled fists. He felt anger, the familiar sensation that always brought him power and strength. He looked around the small room, the urge to smash everything inside was strong, but instead he looked at the window. He crashed through the room, sending furniture moving to the side but didn't really damage anything to get to his destination.
His eyes took in the surroundings. It was unfamiliar, there was no fighting, no bloodshed, no Thanos, no nothing. The Hulk's frown faded slightly as he looked out the window, anger still there but there were other emotions too, other thoughts.
Looking down at the device on the table, the Hulk talked into it.
"BANNER. WHAT DID YOU DO."
...
Bruce came to lying sprawled on the couch, and it was only when he went to wriggle over that he fell off, realising just how precariously he was placed on there. For a moment he lay there dazed, the sunlight streaming through the opened curtains caressing his hair. Then the memories slowly came back to him.
"Shit."
He scrambled to his feet, looking down at the remains of his clothes and realised he was naked. Grabbing a blanket from the couch and wrapping it around himself, he looked at his phone and realised his journal had been updated, though technically it hadn't been by him.
"Shit."
He looked around the room, seeing the remnants of the vial on the ground, the furniture pushed to the side but the room hadn't been trashed. He frowned, expecting the worst as he always did. Grabbing his phone, he went to sat down on the couch again, his head pounding with the usual post Hulk-out headache, but strangely... he felt strangely refreshed, like he'd just had the most satisfying sleep in his life.
BANNER.
Bruce blinked, hearing the Hulk in his head and he pressed his head to his temple.
I'M LISTENING. WHEN YOU ARE READY, WE WILL TALK.
Bruce let out a shaky nod, running a hand through his hair. Then, he felt the headache subside, but only slightly. He sat there on the couch, his head resting against the wall, the phone in his hand and his other hand now resting at his side as his head continued to throb. It... could have been worse. But as he sat there he knew that if he needed to turn green, he could. And he could feel the Hulk's presence in the back of his mind if he reached out.
"Merry Christmas." He muttered to himself. "But I'm still an idiot."
There was a faint flicker of amusement deep in his subconscious and he smiled too, looking down at his phone and checking to see what the fallout was.