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sixwordstories2016-03-19 06:22 pm
greenscientist) wrote in sixwordstories2016-03-19 06:22 pm
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Technically...I am on both sides.
Yeah, yeah, I know, you've got that look.
[Stark of course would want Bruce on his side. Sorry, but he's staying on the fence for this one.]
[Stark of course would want Bruce on his side. Sorry, but he's staying on the fence for this one.]
[arms crossed]
Better to keep the war going then?
Better to keep the war going then?
Yeah, no. I'm not going to be used as a weapon in this.
[That's been done before.]
[That's been done before.]
[Ouch.]
Destroy my friends, yes that sounds like a great idea.
[You're not baiting him into this.]
Destroy my friends, yes that sounds like a great idea.
[You're not baiting him into this.]
You have the power to save your friends.
[His tone is incredulous, as though unable to believe he is even having to explain this.]
You are the strongest among them. That bestows upon you a responsibility, regardless of whether you choose to accept it.
[His tone is incredulous, as though unable to believe he is even having to explain this.]
You are the strongest among them. That bestows upon you a responsibility, regardless of whether you choose to accept it.
No, I don't. They start throwing punches, what's to stop me from....from...
[Bruce can't go on from there, he doesn't want to hurt them. Can't you understand that? He wouldn't be able to control the Other Guy in a fight that big. The best thing he could do was stay out of it.]
[Bruce can't go on from there, he doesn't want to hurt them. Can't you understand that? He wouldn't be able to control the Other Guy in a fight that big. The best thing he could do was stay out of it.]
From killing them with your own hands? Do you truly have so little faith in yourself?
[Exodus has been trying to keep his mental distance, but Banner's distress is almost palpable now. He barely even has to probe the man's mind, the image haunting him all but shouting to a telepath of his stature.]
Ah. Of course. I suppose you are not entirely to blame, Wanda Maximoff's mutant gifts are most potent. She struck you where you are weakest, not your body but your spirit.
[Exodus has been trying to keep his mental distance, but Banner's distress is almost palpable now. He barely even has to probe the man's mind, the image haunting him all but shouting to a telepath of his stature.]
Ah. Of course. I suppose you are not entirely to blame, Wanda Maximoff's mutant gifts are most potent. She struck you where you are weakest, not your body but your spirit.
[Okay, this conversation has gone from uncomfortable to more revealing than he thought it would be. His expression darkens, shifting to step back slightly.]
...doesn't matter. [Either way he is not putting himself, or the Other Guy, in that situation. It will only make things worse, it always does.]
...doesn't matter. [Either way he is not putting himself, or the Other Guy, in that situation. It will only make things worse, it always does.]
[His brow furrows as he considers this new information. Originally he had just come here to confirm what his people already suspected, that this man would not be a player. But if Banner's self-imposed exile was caused by one of his genetic kin, that means he has a responsibility here too.]
It does. [His voice is firm again, though no longer disdainful.] You were a hero once, as much as you want to run from it now. Your strength was needed in New York. It is needed again now.
It does. [His voice is firm again, though no longer disdainful.] You were a hero once, as much as you want to run from it now. Your strength was needed in New York. It is needed again now.
[Bruce's voice is bitter in return.]
Yes, and it's needed in Iraq and Afghanistan and the Middle East. Don't give me the 'useful-weapon' talk, that only puts you in the same class as the General.
[He doesn't just have zero respect for General Ross, it's in the negative numbers.] Bigger weapons only lead to bigger conflicts. Not a solution.
Yes, and it's needed in Iraq and Afghanistan and the Middle East. Don't give me the 'useful-weapon' talk, that only puts you in the same class as the General.
[He doesn't just have zero respect for General Ross, it's in the negative numbers.] Bigger weapons only lead to bigger conflicts. Not a solution.
[Exodus isn't offended. He knows of the General and in some ways the comparison is not without merit. But...]
Weapons come in classes. There is a difference between a sword and a shield.
[That was General Ross's mistake, in his opinion. Trust a man with the nickname 'Thunderbolt' to be shortsighted.] Were you only a sword in the battle of New York? I recall footage of your alter standing between the Chitauri leviathans and their prey. I recall him following the orders of a better man than General Ross, a man who understood that weapons can protect as well as destroy.
Weapons come in classes. There is a difference between a sword and a shield.
[That was General Ross's mistake, in his opinion. Trust a man with the nickname 'Thunderbolt' to be shortsighted.] Were you only a sword in the battle of New York? I recall footage of your alter standing between the Chitauri leviathans and their prey. I recall him following the orders of a better man than General Ross, a man who understood that weapons can protect as well as destroy.
Poetic.
[Flatly.]
All he...all I did was smash the bad guys. Easy when they all look alike.
[Deciding who was friend and foe when they all looked like friendlies? That's not a situation Bruce contemplates Hulk dealing with well.]
[Flatly.]
All he...all I did was smash the bad guys. Easy when they all look alike.
[Deciding who was friend and foe when they all looked like friendlies? That's not a situation Bruce contemplates Hulk dealing with well.]
It's only tactics. Captain Rogers would likely tell you the same were he not presently... occupied.
[An impassive shrug.]
You did more than "smash the bad guys". Did you know all the damage from the battle was confined to a six block radius? That was you, when you trusted yourself enough to be part of a team. You not only engaged the enemy, you kept them from spreading. You saved lives that day, and you have it in you to save them again. If you are willing to stop running and face yourself.
[He can't help but feel the slightest twinge of sympathy for Banner now. What he had thought to be simply cowardice has turned out to be something much more complicated.]
[An impassive shrug.]
You did more than "smash the bad guys". Did you know all the damage from the battle was confined to a six block radius? That was you, when you trusted yourself enough to be part of a team. You not only engaged the enemy, you kept them from spreading. You saved lives that day, and you have it in you to save them again. If you are willing to stop running and face yourself.
[He can't help but feel the slightest twinge of sympathy for Banner now. What he had thought to be simply cowardice has turned out to be something much more complicated.]
[Sure he was scared. Considering the ticking time bomb he carries around inside himself every day, a little mistrust was a healthy thing he would think. But in truth, he didn't want to choose sides because that meant hurting his friends. He had so few of those. He'd already had to give up everything so he wouldn't hurt the ones he used to have.
Like Betty.
And Natasha.]
That day was different.
Like Betty.
And Natasha.]
That day was different.
Edited 2016-03-20 02:29 (UTC)
[He's used to seeing this kind of fear, but usually it comes from confused young mutants grappling with their powers. He is used to taking those youth and teaching them his way, but Banner is a grown man who has already chosen his path. He will never make a soldier of him, but that doesn't mean the man is beyond his help.]
It was not, it only appears so from your currently-limited perspective. Since Wanda Maximoff's tampering with your mind you no longer trust yourself as you did that day.
[Bluntly:]
I cannot promise you mastery over yourself, Bruce Banner. Even my mastery of my abilities is not complete. But... I can teach you what I have learned about controlling a power that seems too great for any man to handle. If you are willing. You needn't fear harming me, my mutant gifts make me far better equipped than most to face your alter.
It was not, it only appears so from your currently-limited perspective. Since Wanda Maximoff's tampering with your mind you no longer trust yourself as you did that day.
[Bluntly:]
I cannot promise you mastery over yourself, Bruce Banner. Even my mastery of my abilities is not complete. But... I can teach you what I have learned about controlling a power that seems too great for any man to handle. If you are willing. You needn't fear harming me, my mutant gifts make me far better equipped than most to face your alter.
[He almost smiles at that, finding that hard to believe. This guy a match for the Hulk? Laughable.]
No offense. But I do better alone.
All alone.
No offense. But I do better alone.
All alone.
[You are really pushing his buttons. The flash of anger over his face for a second would scare off most people who knew what he was capable of. Hulk snarling in the back of his mind.
No one talks about Betty like that get him steady he's fishing, we'll regret it.]
You don't know what you're talking about.
No one talks about Betty like that get him steady he's fishing, we'll regret it.]
You don't know what you're talking about.
[Of course he's pushing your buttons. It's unfortunate but necessary than an object lesson is needed before Banner can trust in his ability to survive an encounter with the Hulk.
And if he is being entirely truthful with himself, it is not entirely unfortunate that he test himself against the strongest of the Avengers either. Indeed, the highly uncharacteristic smirk he is now wearing is not fully feigned.]
I would wager I know more of what I speak of than you. How long has it been since you saw her last Banner, seven years? Eight? Not a call or even a letter since the Harlem incident. Do you wonder if she has moved on yet, reconciled with that doctor friend of hers perhaps? You know better than most what absence does to the heart.
And if he is being entirely truthful with himself, it is not entirely unfortunate that he test himself against the strongest of the Avengers either. Indeed, the highly uncharacteristic smirk he is now wearing is not fully feigned.]
I would wager I know more of what I speak of than you. How long has it been since you saw her last Banner, seven years? Eight? Not a call or even a letter since the Harlem incident. Do you wonder if she has moved on yet, reconciled with that doctor friend of hers perhaps? You know better than most what absence does to the heart.
[If he only knew how deep he had buried his feelings for Betty. He would have never brought them up again.]
Stop.
[Just walk away, Banner. All he had to do was walk away from this and there wouldn't be an incident.]
Stop.
[Just walk away, Banner. All he had to do was walk away from this and there wouldn't be an incident.]
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