Daughter of the Hulk

Daughter

Bruce Banner was nervous, more nervous than he'd ever been. It took a monumental effort to stop himself from changing in to his alter ego. The big guy seemed as if he too was nervous. He was in a bad situation, as usual, and he sure hoped the plane would get in soon.
His attire, a brown leather jacket, red cap and jeans looked inconspicuous enough for him to blend in. And as he waited for a child to walk through the arrival doors he had to mentally prepare himself.
He wasn't sure why in the world he had agreed to take his daughter in, until yesterday he hadn't even known she existed! But now.....we'll she sure better be ready to be on the move. He found himself hoping she wasn't a ditsy girl afraid of germs and living without makeup, half the time he lived in his car.

Suddenly he saw the people arriving.

Through the crowd of people he saw no one who looked anything like him or Rachel, the woman he'd once dated. No one even gave him a second glance. That was, until one girl caught his attention. At the back of the group, a brown duffel bag clutched tightly in her hand was a small girl, no taller than his waist.
She had long dark brown hair, tanned skin, deep brown eyes and a deeply serious expression. She wore a faded green shirt, dusty and paint splattered grey jeans and a black leather jacket. She looked as though she was on a mission as she scanned the crowd. Their gazes met, and he just knew, he just knew that she was his daughter.

She seemed to think the same thing and dragged her duffel bag unsteadily over to him, and she squinted as she looked up at him curiously. He was shocked by how much she looked like him.
" Are you Kathryn Parks?" Bruce asked hopefully.
" Kathryn Banner, mum's name means nothing to me anymore," Kathryn answered calmly, still squinting up at him.
Bruce noted her rough, twang filled accent. He felt a strange swell of pride when she used his last name.
" And my last name does?" Bruce inquired, an eyebrow raised.
" It does now. So, of you're my dad, then let's go so I can get a look at my new city," Kathryn said casually, taking his hand in her own tiny one.
Bruce was even more surprised by this turn of events but didn't argue with her and led her out of the airport and in to New York. Leading her in to the car park, now carrying her bag for her he showed her to his small old car. It was truck, light brown in colour, with darker brown rims and seats. It was a very old model and yet was a sturdy vehicle that covered the miles well and could out on a burst of speed if needed.
" Nice car, good paint job, excellent hydraulics by the looks of them, sturdy tyre tread. Nice car dad," Kathryn said, whistling appreciatively as she looked over his vehicle.
Bruce felt that strange pride again at her words, knowing instantly that's he was smart.
He climbed in to the drivers seat, with Kathryn hopping eagerly in to the passenger side. He started to drive, threading quickly through the streets of New York as his daughter stared up at the building with wide eyes.
" So.......Kathryn, have a good flight?" Bruce asked awkwardly, not sure how else to start up a conversation.
The girl looked at him with a raised eyebrow, an expression that he had just pulled off many times at the airport.
" It was fine, but let's get a few things straight first. No one calls me Kathryn, NO ONE! I hate being called Kathryn so everyone calls me Kat, I'll let you off because you didn't know, dad," Kathryn said with a no nonsense tone.
Bruce smirked at her strong and forceful tone, she was a tough nut!
" Sorry, Kat, you sure you want to call me dad?" Bruce inquired, using her preferred name.
" Why? You got something better?" Kat asked bluntly, yet sarcasm creeping in to her tone.
" Ummm, no," Bruce answered honestly.
He glanced at her from time to time to see her staring out the window once more, but she was yawning quite frequently, and her eyes would close every now and then for short periods of time.
" Tired?" He chuckled, knowing jet lag had to be catching up to her.
With her eyes open again, and a determined look on he face she shook her head.
" Nope, I'm wide awake," Kat lied.
Bruce grinned as he watched her eyes dropping closed yet again. She was putting up a good fight but soon he saw her eyes close completely and they didn't reopen as she sprawled in her seat, her resting limply on the window. A little bit of fog was on the window under where her nose was.
He chuckled at this sight and continued to drive. It was mid afternoon, and he had to navigate the traffic bore he finally got out of the city. Slowly he drove in to his latest hideout, a small wooden cabin in the forest near New York. It was hidden and so far had proved safe. As he parked, he looked to see that Kat hadn't stirred and was still out like a light. Taking her bag inside he came back and saw that she still hadn't stirred. With a small smirk he unbuckled her with a muffled click and picked her up in his strong arms. She was tiny! She was easy to carry with her light weight and his string muscles, he carried her slowly inside, not wanting to wake her.

There was a small bed in the cabin where he slept and he put her in his bed, tucking the blankets up around her. As he was leaving the room he heard a muffled groan. Turning in concern he saw Kat's eyes open slightly, and yet she was still half asleep.
" Is it morning already?" Kat asked in a muffled, small voice.
" No, go back to sleep Kat," Bruce chuckled.
Kat didn't need any more encouragement and in a moment was back in her deep sleep. Bruce walked back over and stroked the hairs out of her face, all the while dimming the light in the room so she could sleep easily. He stopped frozen for a moment at the sight of purple bruises around her neck in the shape of large hands, they'd been covered by her jacket collar earlier. On closer inspection he saw that there was an almost healed cut on her temple and an almost faded bruise around that too. He made a mental note to find out what had happened.
He felt rage surge through him at the thought of someone hurting this kid but shook it off, knowing it'd do no good to shift in here. Besides, she was asleep, he wasn't getting any answers tonight.
With that thought, he changed in to his pyjamas and crashed on the couch, a peaceful smile on his face.

It was around midnight when he was woken by a scream.

Snapping open his eyes he bolted to Kat's room and flung open the door. What he saw made his heart pound hard in his chest. Kat was thrashing around in her sleep, her limbs flailing wildly and she screamed and whimpered every now and then. Her eyes darted around under her eyelids and she thrashed some more. With a crash she tumbled from the bed and continued thrashing on the floor, bed sheets tangled around her.
" Kat!" Bruce called frantically as he rushed forward and knelt beside his kid on the floor.
She didn't react to him and flailed around wildly.
Without knowing what he was doing, Bruce cradled her in his arms, holding her wild struggles back with his strong yet gentle arms.
" Shh, shh, Kat, wake up Kat, wake up," Bruce murmured worriedly.
Kat didn't awaken but her struggles stopped and she instead slept limply in his arms. With a sigh he Ickes her back in, seeing the struggle was over. Whatever it was, he had a feeling that it was because of the bruises and cuts on her body.
" Sleep well Kat," Bruce murmured as he left her once again.