Changing Colors - A Bruce Banner Story

Bruce Banner

Name: Bruce Banner/The Hulk
Age: 29
(Yes I know, in the movies/comics he was older when he became the hulk but for the sake of this story he's gonna be 29 :) )

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Bruce Banner tossed and turned on his flimsy medic's cot. Flashes of green illuminated the darkness behind his eyelids. Anger surged through him and he gripped the sheets underneath him so hard his knuckles turned white.

"No, no stay back! I can't-" he let out a gut-wrenching scream and shot up, gasping for air. As he looked around the small shack he had been living in for the past few months, his mind returned to reality. For Dr. Banner, though, reality was almost never any better than his nightmares.

"Right," he sighed, "Time for work."

It was only three in the morning but Bruce's nightmares made it all but impossible for him to fall asleep again. He got up and went to turn the shower on. As he waited for the water to warm up he looked in the mirror at the unrecognizable face staring back at him. Over the past sixth moths since his "incident" he had seen himself transform from someone with a thousand worries to someone with a million. Based on the pictures from the news, even the Hulk had smaller bags under his eyes than Bruce did.

He pulled off the boxers and t-shirt he had worn to bed and stepped into the shower, immediately regretting turning the temperature up so high. He felt a burst of protective anger inside of him from the Hulk and he clenched his fists, trying to keep it in check.

"It's just the shower," he gritted his teeth and let out a relieved sigh as he felt the other guy relax. Usually the Hulk was pretty good at telling imminent danger from minor pain, but sometimes he lacked necessary judgement. If Banner hadn't been able to calm him down this time it would've been the fifth shower he'd destroyed this month. He turned the temperature on the shower down slightly and closed his eyes as the water splashed onto his face.

•••

An hour later Bruce was sitting in the home of a man with a serious case of the flu, trying to bring down his fever with a damp wash cloth and Advil. The man's daughter stood next to the bed. Bruce noticed her holding back tears and realized how strong she was being. The poor girl was clearly upset but she didn't want to worry her father when he was so sick. Bruce gave her a half-hearted smile and patted her on the hand, "He'll be good as new by the morning. You just watch."

The little girl nodded but it was obvious she was doubtful. Bruce continued to work and by nightfall it was clear that he had been correct. The man's temperature had gone down substantially and he was currently conscious enough to hold a conversation with his daughter. When Bruce left she smiled and kissed him on the cheek, "Thank you Dr. Banner."

He laughed a little and ruffled her hair, "He needs anything, you come get me. Promise?"

She nodded, "Promise."

Banner closed the door behind him as he left, waving to the girl in the window when he got to the end of the property. Then he walked the three miles back to his small shack.

It had been a long day. All Bruce wanted to do was go to bed, but he hesitated when he thought about the nightmare from the night before. Instead of resting his eyes he walked over to his desk and opened his laptop. He almost never used the old thing since he was supposed to be off the grid. Getting rid of it seemed like the smartest option so no one could track him using GPS, but he couldn't bring himself to do it when the time came. It was home to far too many important medical discoveries from his time studying at Harvard and working for General Ross.

He sighed when the screensaver illuminated the room. It was a picture of his fiancé Betty from when they were straight out of college. That picture was the other reason he kept the stupid machine. Bruce didn't think he could bare being without her if he couldn't still see her face every day.

Bruce was still staring at Betty's smiling image two minutes later when he heard a knock at he door. He frowned, knowing it was probably serious. No one ever came to see him unless someone was sick, hurt, or dying. Since none of these situations were ever pleasant he came to dread the idea of company.

Banner closed his computer and got up from his desk to get the door. When he opened it his stomach dropped at the sight of a woman and a man. Both in suits. Both carrying guns. He felt an anxious tingling from the Hulk, but he wasn't ready to come out just yet. Bruce gulped and looked at his visitors.

"You two work for Ross?" his voice was shaky but unsurprised. The man hesitated before looking at the woman and nodding. She frowned and looked Bruce over.

"I think we need to talk," she said at last, pushing past him into the small room. The man followed and Bruce closed the door, turning to look at them both.

"Here's the thing," the woman spoke again, "We've been sent here to deliver you to General Ross."

"But you're not going to," Bruce guessed from the unsure look on the man's face, "Why not?"

The woman looked down at the ground as if trying to think of a way to put their situation into words. "We don't like what he has planned for you," she explained, "But we do like our jobs. So we're going to give you twenty minutes to get your things together and run. If you get across the border before we catch up to you we'll say we lost the trail."

He frowned, "And what happens if you do catch me?"

The man opened his mouth for the first time and repeated the woman's instruction with a booming voice: "Run."

•••

Authors Note:
Hey guys!! Thank you so much for reading the first chapter of my story! I have a few more ready to be published but I want some feedback first if possible!

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