Bruce Banner | The Hulk (greenskin) wrote in spinningcompass, @ 2012-12-29 19:29:00 |
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Entry tags: | !closed |
Who: Bruce Banner and Bruce Banner
Where: Between the Clinic and the apartments
What: The two Bruces meet
When: Friday night
Warnings/Rating: PG
Status Complete!
It had happened, and yet not happened. Quantum reality being hat it was, Schrodinger's power had ruled Bruce's life fro almost a month now. Two experiments, based on the quantum nature of reality, one created when a wizard tested the nature of magic, the other created when a scientist tested the fundamentals of science, connected across time, and space, and reality, and all of the above, including Bruce, were shifted.
Since then, they had lived in a haze as reality adjusted to having two men fundamentally the same, and yet so different, in the same area. Neither had seen the other, nor realized the other was around, since then. And now, well, reality abhors a vacuum, they say. Some meetings are destined to happened, and some, well, are just accidents. This one, fittingly enough, happened to be both.
When Bruce Banner 2, wizard, shaman, and happily involved with Gwen, wandered along one fine evening, humming to himself, he was smiling, and magic crackled around him as he walked. He had stopped concealing it, lately, as he no longer felt the need. Surely an island where so many magic users were living was one where he could exist 'out' so to speak. So he walked, crackling with magic, and grinning.
From the other direction, Bruce Banner 1, scientist, doctor, and currently enamored of Inari, was pondering new ways to help treat both vampires and the other residents of the island. When he came around the building and slammed headlong into the other man, it took him a long moment of dazzedness to realize what he was looking at, and then he was gaping widely. Oh! A doppelganger.
He rose and extended his hand.
Bruce 2 eyed the hand, and then slowly extended his own, staring. The man before him appeared to be him, but that was weird. There had been duplicates before, but why now? Why here? Their hands met with a crackle of science and magic realities connecting, and then they were thrown apart.
"What the-?" Both men landed with an oomph and then stared at each other. Bruce 1 shuddered and swallowed. "Bruce Banner, I presume?" "Bruce 2 nodded, and eyed the other man, then got up. "And I suppose you are, as well?" Magic flowed as he bespoke a spell and as he nodded, Bruce 1 found himself picked up, and dusted off. Bruce 2 spoke first. "My magic shows you to be who you say you are... but different from me, fundamentally. Why can I sense no magic on you?"
Bruce 1 stared. "Ah... two reasons. One, because I have no magic. Two, because I don't really like magic. Three, because what the living heck?"
Bruce 2 couldn't help but laugh. "So you, your experiment, your Hulk, you do have a Hulk right?" Bruce 1 nodded. "Okay, good. So your experiment, your life, your Hulk, all came from what... science?" Bruce 1 nodded, then spoke softly. "And Yours came from magic? Does that mean you can control it? Or get rid of it?" Eagerness lit his face and hope, and Bruce 2 almost hated to crush it, but he shook his head. "yes it did, but I'm sorry. No. The Hulk, while I can sometimes control of direct him, is still a wild force, and doeshis own thing, most of the time."
Bruce 1 sighed, shaking his head. "I'm sorry."
There was silence, then a chuckle. "Well, this is awkward." Both of them spoke simultaneously. Then laughed. they were in someways similar, and yet, different.
Bruce 1 spoke. "One thing. Your feelings about Inari Raith? "
Bruce 2 blinked. "She is a nice person and deserves our help, and I am working on ways to do that, but she is just a client. Why... are you... do you... like her?" Bruce 1 flushed red, and nodded. "I don't love her, but it would be easy to do so. She is a good soul, and gentle, and beautiful. We've kissed and walked together..."
Bruce 2 nibbled a lip, then nodded. "And how do you feel about Gwen?" Bruce 1 blinked. "Ah, well... she's nice, and a friend, and seeing her is a nice thing. That's all. why... wait... do you... like her?" Bruce 2 had his turn to blush. "Yes. We... have done more..."
Bruce stared at Bruce and they both swore. Bruce 1 spoke slowly. "This could get complicated. We look alike, and sound alike and only the uses of science and magic separate us. we'll have to introduce ourselves, anew, to everyone. I wonder how this happened... wait. the experiment on the fundamentals of scinece... it was quantum based..." And Bruce 2 grinned, catching his idea. "And my experiment on the fundamentals of magic was based on the magic of quantum singularity as well! They must have connected, and brought me here from an alternate universe... or you here. Which universe are we in?"
Then they blinked and grinned. "Science can answer that." :Magic can answer that." And they laughed at their dual answers. "Let's go find out." Bruce 1 waved a hand toward the clinic, and together, eyeing each other somewhat warily, they headed there.
Three hours, several experiments, lots of talking, and much smoke later, they walked out of the clinic again, somewhat singed, but both alive, one of them somewhat depressed. Bruce 2 was speaking slowly, worriedly. "So... it seems that I am in your reality, but the same universe. We have the same memories, but with a different bent, but all the equipment is your scientific stuff. Which is fine, I can make the magical equipment over again. I recently moved to a new room, maybe my stuff from back home will arrive there, as yours did."
Bruce 1 nodded, then hmmed. "We should check in on the network, and see what havoc might have been created. This is... weird. And will probably be weird to others." Bruce 1 stuck out his hand and then smiled at Bruce 2. "We should figure out ways to distinguish ourselves."
Bruce 2 slowly spoke. "I used Robert sometimes, when on the road, as we discussed. I could use it again. I even used ita little with Gwen." Bruce 1 nodded, wincing. He had bad memories of the name their father had given them and had always used his middle name. "Okay. I guess that could work."
They stared at each other, then nodded. Bruce 1 spoke. "Well, ah... we should talk more, I think. later? We can both make network posts, explaining this, from our point of view. Right?"
"Right. See... see you later, Bruce." And they turned, both very disturbed, to go to separate quarters, Robert Banner and Bruce Banner, the same and yet different men.