⍟ ⎊ ⧗Chapter 55: Meeting Bruce⍟ ⎊ ⧗
The next morning, the plan was set in action. Hulk got Scrapper 142, who also happened to be a Valkyrie, to the door of the room, where this time two guards stood until Valkyrie walked inside. Thor had told me about the Valkyries. Apparently, they were a team of female elite soldiers, sworn to protect the throne. However, legend has it that they were all dead. And yet, here stood one of them. Valkyrie made her way towards Hulk.
"Angry girl." Hulk greeted her.
Valkyrie let out a chuckle. Hulk played around, swinging his hammer. Valkyrie dodged, sliding across the floor underneath him before standing back up, playfully kicking him to the ground.
"What's going on? What are you..." Valkyrie began.
However, her face fell when she saw Thor. Valkyrie narrowed her eyes before she stormed off, prepared to leave.
"You're so thick-headed that you can't tell when someone's hiding all the way across the universe and wants to be left alone?" Valkyrie questioned.
"We need to talk." Thor began.
"No, you wanna talk to me." Valkyrie corrected.
Thor glanced over at Hulk. "I need her to stay."
"Stay?" Hulk repeated before going over towards his bed. "Block."
He then hurled the bed frame of the skull of an animal. Right before Valkyrie could reach the door, Hulk threw the skull right in front of her, barely missing the Asgardian. Thor and I spun around, looking at Hulk, mortified. What the hell?
"Stay." Hulk urged. "Please."
"Please." Thor added.
Reluctantly, Valkyrie stopped, turning back around to face us. She gave him a small nod. "All right. Here's the deal. I'll listen to you..."
She trailed off as she walked over towards the rack of drinks, grabbing a big jug before continuing. "...till this is empty."
"Asgard is in danger and people are dying. We need to get back there. I need your help." Thor urged.
Thor and I then watched as she finished the entire huge jug. My eyes widened in shock. Wow...that was impressive. I mean, it wasn't healthy, but that was some skill.
"Wow." Thor said in disbelief.
"Finished. Bye." Valkyrie retorted.
She then dropped the jug on the ground, causing it to shatter into a tiny million of pieces. Before she could walk off though, Thor blurted out.
"Odin is dead. Hela, the Goddess of Death, has invaded Asgard." Thor revealed.
This was enough to stop Valkyrie. However, she wore a grim look. "If Hela's back, then Asgard's already lost."
"I'm going to stop her." Thor replied.
"Alone?" Valkyrie inquired in disbelief.
"Nope. I'm putting together a team. It's me, you, Mariana, and the big guy." Thor mentioned.
"No. No team. Only Hulk." Hulk retorted as he played with a ball, throwing it against the wall.
"It's me, Mariana, and you." Thor reiterated.
"I think it's only you and your friend here." Valkyrie retorted.
"Wait, just listen. The Valkyrie are legend." Thor persisted, standing in front of Valkyrie to stop her from going anywhere. "Elite warriors of Asgard sworn to defend the throne."
"I'm not getting dragged into another one of Odin's family squabbles." Valkyrie argued.
Thor furrowed her brows. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Your sister. Her power comes from Asgard, same as yours. When it grew beyond Odin's control she massacred everyone in the palace and tried to seize the throne." Valkyrie explained. "When she tried to escape her banishment he sent the Valkyrie in to fight her back. I only survived because..."
I watched as she trailed off, looking in pain. Valkyrie then shook her head. "Look, I already faced her once back when I believed in the throne, and it cost me everything. That's what's wrong with Asgard. The throne, the secrets, the whole golden sham."
My heart clenched. From the look on her face I could tell she suffered through a lot, too much. She was trying to run from her past. Something I tried to do as well. But the thing is you can't run from your past. In the end, it'll always catch up with you, sooner or later.
"I agree." Thor confirmed.
He tried to stop her by grabbing her wrist, however she quickly got out of his grasp, quickly pointing a dagger to his neck. My eyes widened in shock. Oh jeez...Valkyrie narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't get familiar."
"Okay, let's not do something you'll regret." I warned.
I took a step towards them, but Valkyrie warned me not to take another step near her as she took out another dagger, pointing it towards me. I raised my hands, slowly backing away. Okay, maybe I'll just sit this one out. Besides, Thor can handle himself just fine.
"I agree." Thor intervened, earning back Valkyrie's gaze. "That's why I turned down the throne. But this isn't about the crown. This is about the people. They're dying and they're your people, too."
"Forget it. I have." Valkyrie retorted, shoving Thor back.
"Okay." Thor said.
"Okay." She confirmed.
"Good. Great."
"Great."
I furrowed my brows as I glanced back and forth, watching their exchange. What's going on? Thor then wore a smile as he replied. "Thank you."
"For what?" Valkyrie inquired, confused.
"For this." Thor answered.
Thor then took out a control that was responsible for shocking him. He then revealed another control. My eyes lit up. Did he get mine?
"Didn't see that, did you? I also got Mariana's here too." Thor mentioned.
My eyes lit up. He did get mine! Yes, now I can take off this stupid disk. Valkyrie shrugged. "I might've stolen it. So what?"
Thor and I turned off the device, now able to take off the disks that were latched onto the side of our necks. I let out a sigh of relief, feeling better.
"There...That's better." Thor said. He then turned back to face Valkyrie. "You know, go ahead. Stay here and enslave people for that lunatic. Keep drinking, keep hiding."
Thor then turned towards Hulk, raising his hands, motioning for the ball. Hulk then threw him the ball before throwing it against the window. The ball didn't stop though. However, Thor didn't see it coming.
"But me, I choose to run toward my problems and not away from them. Because that's what..." Thor trailed off.
We watched as the ball came back, hitting him in the side of his face. I grimaced. That looked like it hurt. We all watched as Thor slowly bounced back up on his feet, punching the air as he shook it off. Looks like he's all right. I glanced back at the window to see a small crack that the ball created.
"Because that's what heroes do." Thor concluded.
He then turned towards me, giving me a nod. Without any warning, Thor then ran towards the window, shattering it as he jumped out. He could've asked me to smash the glass. I glanced over at Valkyrie.
"Listen, I don't know exactly what you've been through, but I have a feeling it was devastating. However, you can't run from the past. Believe me, I've tried and failed. You can't change the past, but you can change your future, change the way you live." I mentioned.
She remained silent at my words. I wasn't sure if she was considering my words or not, so I decided to take off, following after him, hopping out the window and using the slanted walls to slide down enough to leap off and latch onto another building, wrapping my arms around it as I though I was a koala. This was extreme parkour, something I thought I'd ever do.
Then again, I did not think I would ever jump out of a Quinjet, fight against a demon, fight robots, be an Inhuman, end up stranded in another dimension, be locked up in a virtual world, fight in an alien arena on a different planet, and now to face Hela. I could feel my hands trembling and my heart racing. I could feel my nerves rising. It had been a long while since I had a panic attack, but the last thing I wanted was to have one right now.
I took a deep breath, closing my eyes. Okay, I can do this. I remembered what my Uncle Eli Just take things, one step at a time. View it like pieces of a puzzle. You'll frustrate yourself if you see as one whole big picture when it's not anywhere near complete. So break it down. Turn it into small jobs, make it easier. That way it won't overwhelm you.
Oh Uncle Eli, how I miss you. How I wish you were here...but he's not and crying over that is not going to help me. Just break it down, step by step, Mari. Just focus on getting off this planet first. I remained dangling around the building until I was calmer. Once I was focused and my heart rate went back to normal, I then reached the ground.
"Friends stay!" Hulk shouted out as I stormed off.
As soon as I reached the Quinjet, Thor was already inside, touching the control panel up at the cockpit. This a whole lot more spacious than the Quinjets S.H.I.E.L.D. had. There was clothing on the ground along with some crates and boxes.
"Welcome. Voice activation required." A female voice rang out.
"Thor."
We then heard a beep followed by her voice. "Access denied."
Thor's face fell, but he quickly tried again. "Thor, son of Odin."
"Access denied."
"God of Thunder."
"Access denied."
"Strongest Avenger."
"Access denied."
"Strongest Avenger." Thor repeated.
"Access denied." She echoed.
"I don't think it's working." I pointed out.
"You think?" Thor retorted before cursing. "Damn you, Stark. Point Break."
All of the sudden, the entire Quinjet powered up. The female voice responded. "Welcome, Point Break."
Thor let out a chuckle as he glanced over at me. We exchanged grins. This is it. We're leaving this terrible place. Our victory was cut short though as Hulk began to tear apart the Quinjet, making his way towards the us.
"Friends stay!" Hulk exclaimed.
My eyes widened in horror. He's going to destroy the one thing that will get us off this hell.
I extended out my hands. "No, no, no! Stop!"
"Stay!" Hulk insisted, continuing to make his way towards us.
"No! Hulk, stop breaking everything!" Thor urged.
Hulk didn't listen as he kept on marching forth, destroying the walls and the ceiling, shutting the Quinjet. Thor and I quickly scrambled about, pressing buttons on the control panel that would help us.
"Don't go!" Hulk insisted.
Finally, a holographic video of Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow, was thrown up in front of us. That was enough to make Hulk stop. Hulk's face fell as he kept his gaze on Natasha, slowly raising a hand out towards her.
"Nice work, big guy.We don't know where Ultron's headed, but you're going very high, very fast. So, I need you to turn this bird around, okay? We can't track you in stealth mode, so I need you to help me out. Okay? I need you to..." Natasha trailed off.
The hologram then faded. We watched as Hulk shook his head as he took a step back. Hulk then punched his face before slamming himself against one of the walls.
"No! No, Banner!" Hulk shouted.
We then watched as he let out a few more screams, slamming back and forth against the walls before Hulk had changed back into Bruce. I stared in awe. He's back...Fortunately, he was wearing a sack that Hulk was wearing around his waist. So the good news was he wasn't naked.
"Oh, jeez." Bruce gasped.
"Banner." Thor called out. "Hey. You all right, Banner?"
We slowly approached Bruce, but he was startled, letting out a yelp. Thor and I immediately raised our hands. The last thing we wanted was to spook him and for him to turn back into the Hulk, accidentally hitting us. Thor shushed Bruce as he slowly reached forth.
"Sun's going down. Sun's going down." Thor repeated. "That's it, breathe. I won't hurt you. Sun's going down."
Bruce took several deep breaths before calming down, looking back at Thor. He definitely was a whole lot calmer than a few moments ago.
"Thor." Bruce said.
Thor nodded. "Yeah."
"What happened to your hair?" Bruce questioned.
"Some creepy old man cut it off." Thor informed him.
"It looks good." Bruce mentioned.
"Oh, thanks." Thor said, surprised to hear his answer.
Bruce then looked around, confusion was written all across his face. Did he know were we were? Better yet, did he know everything that occurred while Hulk was in control or did he have no idea?
"Where are we?" Bruce asked before noticing me. "Who are you?"
"I'm Mariana Reyes." I said, introducing myself.
"She's a friend." Thor chimed in.
I can't believe this is happening. I'm here with two Avengers, and one's already calling me their friend. If this is a dream, I don't ever want to wake up.
"Nice to meet you." Bruce replied before changing the subject. "How's Nat?"
"Nat is good, I'm sure." Thor assured him, though he didn't look too confident.
"Is she okay?" Bruce pressed. "And what about Sokovia?"
"Sokovia?" Thor and I repeated, rather stupefied.
"The city, Sokovia." Bruce clarified. "Did we save it?"
Thor and I exchanged grim looks. How were we going to tell him that event was two years ago? Thor hesitated before replying.
"Banner, listen." He began.
Bruce's eyes widened. "What?"
"Sokovia, Ultron, the destruction, that was all two years ago." I clarified.
Bruce shook his head, still trying to comprehend. "What are you saying?"
"Well..." Thor trailed off, unsure of what to say."
"I've been Hulk for two years?" Bruce asked, completely baffled.
Thor nodded. "I'm afraid so."
"What the hell happened?" Bruce inquired.
We remained silent, unsure of what to say. He then made his way towards the cockpit, activating the ship. Thor hesistated before speaking up. "Banner, there's something you should know."
However, before he could say a word, the same robotic female voice as before rang out. "Voice activation required."
"Banner." Bruce replied.
"Welcome, strongest Avenger." Her voice responded.
I snickered. Ouch, that's got to hurt. Thor was taken back, blurting out. "Uh, what?"
"Technology doesn't lie." I quipped.
"This is Stark's doing, not technology." Thor corrected, letting out a huff.
Looks like someone's grumpy. Bruce then intervened, contacting the A.I. of the Quinjet. "Ship's log."
We then saw a holographic video of what happened before the Quinjet landed. We saw Hulk hanging on for dear life in the Quinjet before static took over, ending the video. All of the sudden, we heard an alarm in the distance. That didn't sound good.
"Thor, where are we?" Bruce asked.
"Yeah, about that..." Thor began.
All of the sudden, we saw a giant hologram of the Grandmaster in front of us, projecting to the entire city.
"Sakaar, hear ye. Attention please. I have some bad news. My beloved exalted champion has turned up missing. Take to the streets. Celebrate my champion." He announced.
Bruce furrowed his brows. "Who's that?"
"He kind of runs the place." Thor answered.
"You actually lived at his place for awhile." I chimed in.
"I did?" Bruce inquired, looking over at us in shock.
"Yeah. Quite a lot's happened. You, Mariana, and I had a fight recently." Thor informed him.
"Did I win?" Bruce asked.
"No, Mariana and I won. Easily." Thor replied.
"Doesn't sound right." Bruce commented, looking dubious.
Technically, the fight was rigged. But I didn't want to get into that. Bruce already a lot on his mind
"Well, it's true." Thor retorted. "Right, Mariana?"
I raised my hands. "Don't drag me into this."
"It seems that that criminally seductive Lord of Thunder and the Sapphire Volt has stolen him away." The Grandmaster continued.
Well, this is great. Now they suspect we've taken Hulk. Just wonderful, now I'm wanted on another planet too. As if being a wanted criminal on one planet wasn't enough.
"Seductive God of Thunder." Thor corrected, annoyed. He then turned back to face Bruce and me. "We need to move."
"Oh, no. This is bad. This is really, really bad." Bruce said, placing a hand over his head as he let out several gasps. "Thor, I think I'm freaking out."
My eyes widened. Immediately, Thor and I surrounded Bruce as we blurted out. "No, no, no."
"Don't freak out. You're okay." Thor assured him.
"You'll be all right. We'll be out of here in no time." I added, trying to calm him down.
"Put these on." Thor advised, giving him a pair of pants, a shirt, and a jacket.
"These are Tony's clothes." Bruce stated.
"I know, come on." Thor urged.
"Is he here?" Bruce asked.
"No, he's not here. But listen. Just stay calm, okay? The sun's going down. The sun's getting really low. Sun's going down. The sun's going down. It's getting really low." Thor repeated as though it was some sort of chant or cheer.
Why does he keep saying that? After Bruce put on the clothes, we left the Quinjet, making our way through the city. The three of us walked through an alley, where there weren't many people about. We then sat down on a few steps.
"Oh, shoot." Bruce said as he tried to process everything that had happened.
"Sun's getting low." Thor continued.
"Would you stop saying that?" Bruce urged, growing annoyed.
"I just need you to stay calm." Thor mentioned.
"Calm? I'm on an alien planet!" Bruce snapped.
"It's just a planet. You've been on a planet before." Thor replied.
I scoffed. "Thor, it doesn't work that like that. We're from Earth, this is all a bit much. We weren't raised like you, learning and travelling to other planets as though they were countries."
"Yeah. Exactly." Bruce agreed. "We've been to one planet."
"Now you've been on two. That's a good thing. It's a new experience." Thor pointed out.
Bruce groaned, looking mortified as he ran a hand through his hair. "My neurons, they're firing faster than my brain can handle the information."
"I understand. All of this is hard to process as well. It was all overwhelming." I mentioned, letting him know he wasn't alone.
Thor looked at me baffled. "Really? You seem to be doing just fine."
"I've learned how to hide how I really feel. I'm an agent after all." I shrugged.
"The whole thing is totally different this time. In the past, I always felt like Hulk and I each had a hand on the wheel. But this time, it's like he had the keys to the car and I was locked in the trunk." Bruce commented.
"All right, well, you're back now. That's all that matters." Thor replied.
"No, it's not what matters. What I'm trying to tell you, is that if I turn into the Hulk again, Banner may never come back. And we're stranded on a planet that is designed to stress me out." Bruce protested.
"We're not stranded. I'm gonna figure out a way to get us home." Thor assured him.
Bruce wore a relieved look. "Thank you."
"Not your home, though. Asgard. My home." Thor corrected.
Bruce stared at him, taken back. "What?"
"Listen, my people are in great danger. You, Mariana, and I, we have to fight this really powerful being, who also happens to be my sister." Thor explained.
Bruce grimaced, shaking his head. "Okay, that is so wrong on so many...I don't wanna fight your sister. That's a family issue."
"No, she's an evil being." Thor insisted.
"I don't care what she is. I'm not fighting any more beings. I'm sick of it." Bruce shot back, looking done with all this.
"What?" Thor repeated, baffled.
"I just told you. If I turn into the Hulk, I am never gonna come back again. And you don't care." Bruce retorted.
"No, no. I'm putting together the team. The Hulk is the fire." Thor explained.
"Wait, you're just using me to get to the Hulk." Bruce said, realizing what Thor was he was doing.
Thor's eyes widened. "What? No!"
"It's gross. You don't care about me. You're not my friend." Bruce retorted.
"No! I don't even like the Hulk. He's all like...'Smash, smash, smash.' I prefer you." Thor assured him.
Bruce cracked a smile, looking relieved. "Thanks."
"But if I'm being honest, when it comes to fighting evil beings, he is very powerful and useful." Thor mentioned, not backing down about Hulk.
"Thor." I scolded. "He doesn't mean it. We care about you, Bruce. Even if Thor isn't showing it right now. But he means well."
"Thanks, I like your new friend a bit more than you right now." Bruce mentioned, glaring at Thor. "And Banner's powerful and useful, too."
"Is he though?" Thor asked with a shrug, not looking convinved.
"Okay. How many Ph.Ds does Hulk have? Zero. How many Ph.Ds does Banner have? Seven." Bruce shot back.
My eyes widened in shock. "You have seven? That's awesome! I've only got three."
Bruce's eyes lit up. "You have Ph.Ds? In what?"
"Chemical and bioengineering, biochemistry, and engineering." I informed him.
"That's impressive." Bruce mentioned in awe.
I cracked a smile, but waved it off with a hand, not wanting to make a big deal out if it. But regardless of that, I thanked him. Thor let out a sigh. "Fine, you don't have to fight anyone. But we're in danger here, so we have to move."
Thor then grabbed a blue cloak near us, placing it over his head. He quickly handed me a green cloak next to it. I scrunched my nose. These are terrible disguises, but they'll do as we have nothing better. With that in mind, I thanked Thor before placing the cloak over my head.
"What are you doing with that?" Bruce questioned, baffled.
"I need a disguise. I'm a fugitive. We both are." Thor explained.
"I need a disguise." Bruce said, searching his jacket pockets.
"Believe me you are in disguise plenty enough." I retorted.
"I'll be Tony Stark." Bruce suggested, taking out a pair of sunglasses.
"What?" Thor and I said, baffled.
"Yeah. Tony and the gypsies." Bruce clarified.
I huffed. "We are not gypies, and you are not Tony."
"You're Bruce. Bruce Banner." Thor chimed in.
"Then why did you dress me up like Tony?" Bruce inquired.
"Because you were naked." Thor reminded him.
Bruce nodded. "Okay, I'll give you that."
I inspected the area, seeing if there were any guard saround, when I heard Thor's voice ring out. "What are you doing? Stop doing that!"
I then spun back around to see Bruce pulling his pants, but Thor tried to stop him. I furrowed my brows. What the hell? I look away for a moment, and things get weird.
"Tony wears his pants super tight." Bruce explained.
"Stop it!" Thor urged.
"I'm sorry." Bruce apologized.
"Why are you being so weird?" Thor asked, rather baffled.
"I don't know. Maybe the fact that I was trapped for two years inside of a monster made me a little weird." Bruce retorted, taking a step towards Thor.
We then watched as a few of his veins on his face and neck grew green as the last words he uttered sounded a whole lot like Hulk. Uh-oh. Thor immediately extended his hands out towards Bruce, resting them on his shoulders.
"Hey. It's okay." Thor assured him.
"You're good. Just take a few deep breaths and calm down." I chimed in, trying to get him to ease his nerves.
"Come on." Thor advised.
We then followed Thor through the alley. As we walked on, Thor spoke up, going over our next move. "Listen, we're gonna go to Asgard and you're not gonna have to think about the Hulk ever again. All right?"
"All right." Bruce confirmed.
However, as soon as we walked out of the alley, Bruce was hit in the face by green dust. His entire face was filled with green dust. We then saw the streets engulfed with people dressed as the Hulk or holding masks of the Hulk, whether they be giant or small masks. People danced and jumped around as they cheered and smiled. Some of them waved flags and banners around. This was like a huge parade for Hulk.
"Hulk! Hulk! Hulk!" They chanted.
Thor and I stared in horror, whispering. "Oh this is bad."
We then turned around to see guards in gray robes and masks searching for us. Thor and I quickly spun back around, covering our faces. However, Bruce was nowhere to be seen. My heart dropped. Where did he go? Oh dear. I hope he doesn't turn into the Hulk. The last thing he mentioned was that this planet stressed him out, which was bad. If he turns into the Hulk we're done for. Things just went from bad to worse.