Changing Colors - A Bruce Banner Story

Splash

Bruce woke up to the feeling of sea water barely touching his feet. He groaned as he sat up and looked around.

"What happened?" he rubbed his eyes and when his vision cleared up he saw that he was sitting on a rocky beach. He also saw a girl sitting up, bandaging her arm.

"Indigo!" he suddenly remembered.

The girl looked up at him. The expression on her face was a mix of anger and surprise, "God, Banner, you scared the crap out of me. I thought you were dead." He opened his mouth to respond but before he could get the words out her frown turned into a relieved smile, "Thank god you're not."

He stared at her in silence for a moment and then said, "I don't understand. We were flying and then there were gunshots and that's all I-" He stopped, realizing what must have happened.

"Oh god," he covered his face with his hands, "Don't tell me you saw-"

"The Hulk?" she whispered, "Yeah I saw him. He saved my life." She pulled his hands away from his face, "You saved my life."

Banner shook his head, "No, you don't understand. That thing isn't me. It's- It's-"

It suddenly occurred to him that he was dripping wet, "My backpack!"

He scrambled to his feet, wincing in pain as he searched the sand for his bag.

Indigo made an awkward little noise and he turned to see her holding up his drenched bag. His duffle bag sat at her feet. That was wet as well.

"No! No!" he grabbed the backpack and pulled his laptop out. He opened it up and set it down on a nearby rock.

He had a moment of hope as the home screen flickered on for a second. Then the pixels that made up the familiar face of his fiancé glitched and distorted and finally the screen went black.

"No! Betty!" his voice broke and his yelling turned into a choked sob. He hit a button and then another one but nothing happened.

Eventually he sat down, just staring at the dark screen. The reflection staring back at him had tears running down it's face. "No, please," he cried softly, "I can't do this without you Betty."

He had forgotten Indigo was standing behind him, but even if he had remembered he wasn't sure he would care. This was the last piece he had left of the woman he loved, not to mention his discoveries and data. Finally he got tired of staring at his own reflection. That was the opposite of what he wanted his computer to show him. He swore and picked it up, standing up and throwing it as hard as he could at the flat face of one of the inland rocks. The computer hit the hard surface and he heard a shattering noise.

Bruce stared at the place where it had struck the rock for a minute, or maybe it was five, and then sat back down in the sand. He cried into his hands, not bothering to try and be quiet about it.

The laptop probably wasn't the only thing that had been ruined. There was a tie Betty had given him for his birthday in the duffel bag. Probably drenched beyond recognition.

Bruce felt a gentle hand on his back but he didn't look up.

Indigo rubbed his back gently and just sat with him for a while, not saying anything. In any other situation Bruce would have been embarrassed about his tears, but right now he was in too much pain to feel anything else.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed when he finally looked up from his tear soaked hands. His eyes were puffy and he was having trouble seeing much of anything.

When Indigo's face came into focus his eyes teared up again, "I'm so sorry."

She shook her head, "You have nothing to be sorry about." She rubbed his back again and he choked out another sob, pulling her into a bear hug.

She seemed surprised at first but then she hugged him back, still rubbing her hand up and down as if she was comforting a child.

Bruce finally pulled himself together enough to see what he could salvage from his bags. The tie had miraculously survived, although it would need to be dried out. The same went for his other clothes, including the ones he was wearing. He laid everything out on the side of rock he had thrown his computer against. The sun was beginning to come up so he figured they would dry within a few hours. He took his t-shirt off, but figured he would have to suffer through the drenched pants for now.

Some of his medical tools had also held up against the water, which he learned was what Indigo had been using to bandage her wounds when he woke up.

Indigo's bag on the other hand was completely intact.

"Waterproof," she explained, "You learn tricks like that once you've been on the run long enough."

He sighed, "Wish I would've thought of that. To be fair though I didn't exactly expect to be sent hurtling into the Atlantic Ocean."

"Is that where we are?" she asked him, glancing around.

He nodded, "I think so. This looks like the Bay of Biscay if I'm thinking of the right landscape- the Northern Atlantic Ocean. That means we landed on the West Coast of France."

Indigo smiled a little, "Thank god." Then she looked at him, "I'm sorry about your computer."

He looked down at his hands and sighed, "Not your fault. I don't remember exactly what happened, but I'm pretty sure you saved all of us."

She laughed, "Actually I sent us all hurdling to our deaths. You're the one who saved us. We were falling so fast I blacked out as soon as we hit the water. From what I remember though, I'm pretty sure you didn't pull your parachute. How- how are you not dead?"

Banner shrugged, "I told you, it wasn't me. You met the big guy. He can take a lot of force. He must've cushioned your fall."

She nodded as if trying to understand, "So the big green thing isn't you. He just- what? Appears out of thin air when you're in danger?"

"Something like that," he rolled his eyes.

"Then he's also the one who destroyed Manhattan six months ago," she looked over at him, "Not you."

He remained silent so she kept going, "I knew I recognized you from somewhere. Doctor Banner. The scientist who suffers from Gamma Radiation gone wrong. That's you isn't it?"

He nodded, but still didn't speak. At least not for another minute before he told her, "I hurt a lot of people. I understand if you want to go. I'd be afraid of me too."

He couldn't meet her eyes but he felt her crouch down next to him again, "You may have hurt people, but you're doing your best to fix it. I'm not afraid of you. I'm amazed. You're strong, Banner. The Hulk does not define you."

He looked at her and gave her a half-hearted smile, "You don't know the Hulk like I do. Now c'mon. You know all about me. I want to know how you knocked a helicopter and an airplane clean out of the sky. Because that definitely wasn't the Hulk."

•••

Author's Note: Hi guys!! I'm so so so sorry I haven't updated in a while. I honestly didn't think anyone really read or enjoyed this story all that much. Hearing from the few of you who left comments on some of my previous chapters made me realize that I should keep writing for the people who do like it. Thank you so much guys, you mean the world to me.

Let me know what you think of this chapter in the comments!

Chapter Question: What's your favorite Marvel ship?

My answer: Honestly I like Bruce and Clint aka Hulkeye. Also Loki and like anyone else 😂