Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Day Five of the Reign of the Green King

“Arch-E has failed, Green Scar. The Wildebots of the Twisted Woods refuse peace.” Hiroim's statement was concise, to the point. Their attempt at diplomacy had failed, but the chosen qualifiers brought back to the royal capital not just a refusal: they brought back a choice for their leader to make.

The green giant, known by many names. Green Scar. Holku. Hulk. Worldbreaker and Sakaarson both. Now, he is the Green King. And alongside a kingdom, he has inherited a whole lot of new problems.

“And that's only the group I talked to. The biggest, but still...” A lot of which he couldn't just smash and call it a day. “Not as simple as we thought, big man. The Wildebots are not one people.” The machine life-form chimed in. Arch-E had been the sole member of the delegation the Green King had sent to sue peace with the Wildebots, cybernetic scourge of the empire he would now claim as his own.

Removing a tyrant was the easy part, the puny one would say. The history of their birth-planet Earth was filled with revolutionaries that failed to form a cohesive new state after toppling their oppressors or, post-formation, failed at becoming successful peace-time leaders and administrators.

The first order of business was to foster a sense of unity and mark a clear disconnect with the rule of the Red King, and one of the biggest eyesores was the clear difference in levels of security between provinces. The dead king had chosen a policy of neglect when it came to Wildebots attacks, which he had deemed 'regional issues', leaving the residents of provinces closer to the Twisted Woods to their own devices, with no protection from the army answering the central authority.

“They're fragmented. Leaderless. Chaotic.” Korg added. The rock warrior and the Shadow Priest would depart on their own diplomatic endeavors the following day, now that safe passage had been negotiated with the Fillians of the northern-most province.

“Wild?” Chimed in Elloe Kaifi. As the youngest and brashest of the group of gladiators turned Warbound revolutionaries, her companions were accustomed to her style of intervention.

Just like she was accustomed to the deadpan stares she often received in reply. She shrugged. “We get it, Korg. The groups have no more allegiance to each other than they have goodwill towards us.” She leaned forward on the rectangular table, the sun setting on Crown City illuminating her from behind. “So, when do we march?”

“Impossible.” Caiera the Oldstrong chimed in from the Hulk's right. Shadow Guard of the Red King. Queen of the Green King. Wielder of the Old Power. “We march any army into the Twisted Woods, we know not how many return. Worst, we may scatter the Wildebots to the four corners of Sakaar, triggering a crisis we have not the resources to deal with.”

“They were a problem before, figures now the Death's Head guards have joined them. Oh man, oh man.” Arch-E added, still feeling digital dread at the memories, surrounded by fellow cyberneticals who could nonetheless snap him in half like a twig if they so wished.

“Isn't that reason more?” Unpersuaded, Elloe retorted. “You know better than anyone else the strength of the Death's Heads. We need to strike before they do!” She added, standing up from her chair. “Arch-E, they refused peace. But what is it they want, then?”

“...the usual.” The robot let out after a few seconds of hesitation, with the synth equivalent of a sigh.

“Eradication and/or enslavement of all non-cybernetic life-forms, then. Which means that another clash with them is not a matter of if. Only when.” Elloe stressed the word and let her eyes move over each and every person at the table. No one disagreed. “So, we strike them now.”

“Many will die.”

“Many die right now, Korg. They can't be reasoned with. They can't be contained. And diplomacy has failed. Only one way forward but only if we act now!”

“I decide when we smash.” Finally, the head of the table spoke, commanding everyone's attention. The Green Scar had been content to listen, so far, for his life had taught him many things but chief among them: he was the strongest, but he wasn't always the most knowledgeable. He didn't always know everything about what surrounded him.

About whom surrounded him. As the Warbound had tragically learned, on the day of greatest betrayal so soon after their greatest triumph.

Thus, he who could have broken the world but chose to redeem it decided that to be the king Sakaar needed, he would follow his instincts. Surround himself with people he trusted. Grant them the freedom to speak as they saw fit when they sat at his table. Then he would make the ultimate decision on any matter at hand, and his word would be final. So would be the responsibility.

And the duty to remind people of their respective roles and responsibilities, when needed. “And this is not the time to smash. They are tired of war. Tired of bloodshed and violence.”

“...yet the violence still comes to them, Hulk.” Elloe insisted but sat back down, now visibly calmer. “I have no more love for it than anyone does. But what other choice do we have?”

“None that I can see.” Hulk continued, causing visible surprise in his Warbound. With the exception of Arch-E, who groaned, and Caiera, who remained unmoved as the stones. “I have heard many suggestions and opinions about what not to do. What can't be done. Only one proposed to do something. And we need to do something.”

“...it's to be more war, Holku?” Hiroim asked, eyes closing in thought.

“Maybe. But...” Caiera remained unshaken because her focus wasn't so much on the dealings at the table but her husband. She had gotten closer to him than any of the Warbound, despite their relationship initially finding themselves at opposite sides of an executioner's blade. Once sworn to eliminate him, she now carried his child and lead an empire as his Queen.

Thus, only she had noticed that her husband was focused less on the options currently available to him, and more on whether there remained others to be found somewhere they hadn't looked yet. Where he hadn't looked yet.

Inside.

“...leave us. I need to think. Let's reconvene for dinner.” The green giant suddenly announced. “I'll have an answer for you by then.” The proclamation was sudden, but the Warbound had learned to take these kinds of actions in stride. They excused themselves and filed out of the meeting room. Hiroim, last to do so, gave the royal couple a last evaluating look before closing the door behind him.

“Holku?” Caiera asked, as her husband's brow furrowed.

“I need to talk to him.” He declared as he stood. “Keep everyone out. No one gets to see me. No one.” She understood. She understood because she had seen. She had seen all of him, like he had seen all of her. She had seen the gladiator. She had seen the Sakaarson, and the World Breaker. She had seen the King.

And she had seen the Bruce.

-I-

“...why are you asking me?” Even the Green Scar didn't so easily enter this place. Desolate one moment, lush the next. Rivers of memories coasted islands of personality crystallized over decades of living. The skies blue and red and green and more with emotions. The winds carried songs of regret and cries of victory.

Across from him, sat in a twin of his own throne, was puny Banner.

The Green Scar hated coming into the mindscape. Because, if in the land of flesh and blood he could escape it, in a world of mind and spirit there was no escaping the knowledge that for all their differences, Banner was him. He was Banner. And together they were I.

“You have brains. Use them.” The Green King answered, frowning at the emotions coming off his counterpart.

“I don't think I should.” Banner retorted and the green giant's eyes went wide, balking.

“You don't think you should?! Banner...!” Lightning thundered across the sky as rage surged through him. He breathed heavily through his nostrils, hands grasping the throne's armrests... “Why?”

“Because I'm me. And I always screw everything up, don't I?” The bespectacled human explained, and the Hulk fought back the onset of nausea. “Let's be honest, Hulk... Green Scar. You win. You've managed...” A wave of self-loathing washed over him as the puny scientist spoke.  The river's waves took color as memories became more self-evident. “You didn't just survive a world of monster, you saved it. You smashed a tyrant, found friends and love... And you're now going to build a new world on top of that.”

“Hnnnngh...” The Green Scar grit his teeth, fingers grasping unbreakable rock as sweat poured from his brow.

“All of this not with me but despite me. No... Nononono. You've got... You've got something good here, Scar.” The scientist shook his head and, as he finished his spiel, the Green King gasped in relief as the wave retreated. His chest burned hot, hating this feeling. Hating that this puny, weak human, that his feelings had such power over him...! “I'm not going to ruin it. You're better off-”

“GET OVER YOURSELF, BANNER!” As the giant stood, the sky turned red. Lighting struck memories, boiling the worst of them back into seafoam. And just like Banner's commiseration had struck him, so did his anger strike Bruce like a warm desert wind. Silence reigned for a few seconds as the Green Scar calmed himself down enough to speak with him instead of at him. “Always thinking you're smarter than anyone else. Always thinking you know better, while in the same sentence admitting you know nothing.”

“I know myself.”

“Do you?” The king retorted. “You are me. I am you. We are I. And yet you know nothing of me, do you?” He paused, green eyes meeting brown as their shared mindscape went back to a neutral state once again. “And I know nothing of you. Never cared to learn...” He trailed off, sighing as he sat back down on his throne. “But she did. She would know all of us.”

“Caiera...” Bruce said. The Green Scar had to push down the twinge of jealousy and possessiveness.

“Yes. Caiera... And Korg.” The giant added. “And Hiroim. And Elloe, and Arch-E and No-Name. And the Hivelings, the farmers, the Shadow People... So many, Banner. So many, who had been left with no hope for so long.” He grinned maliciously. “We both know a thing or two about that.”

“You're the one who gave them back hope. Your actions did.”

“Damn straight. And I intend to keep on giving it to them, which is why you need to listen to me.” He straightened his back, head held high. Hiroim's lessons in posture were bearing fruit. “You don't trust yourself, and you don't want to make important decisions? I'm not asking that, puny human. I'm here to tell you what they need us to do.”

“...” Bruce stared at his green counterpart. Then, he went to mimic his sitting position, down to the splaying of the fingers.

“Smashing is useful. Fun, too, but we can't keep smashing forever. We need to make peace... And for that, we need equal parts strength and brains. Right?”

“...right.”

“You got brains.”

“I do.”

“And I got problems for you to solve. I decide what needs solving, you give me a solution. Easy.” Pathetic. “You'll never have to decide anything ever again. You'll never break or hurt anyone ever again.” Like he could! Never again. Banner was in control never again. He'd make sure of it. “You just help.”

He saw the thoughts dance behind Banner's eyes, irises darting quickly in different directions as he weighted all the pros and cons, thought everything through a million times... How could someone who thought about things so much be wrong so often, the Green Scar wondered.

“I don't think you understand what you're asking me, here.” He frowned.

“I'm not stupid, Banner.”

“You're not. You've proven that... Heh. 'Hulk slash'?” The sky flashed to blue as Banner discovered mirth in a common memory. The Green Scar found himself grinning back, sharing in the puny human's amusement. “That was a good one... But, Scar, I can't just... Magick you a solution from here.” Banner continued, shaking his head. “I need to look at the problem. Touch it. I need to look at the technology that the people of Sakaar have. God only knows if the Red King left behind an archive in any serviceable state... I need people to give instructions to. I...” He stopped, holding a hand to his face before looking at the Green Scar between splayed fingers. “I can't do it from here. I can't do it through you. Do you understand?”

“...yes.” The Green Scar replied, eyes softening.

“And do you understand that... During those times, we would be vulnerable. We... You. You would need to tell. Tell more people.” He looked down at the space between his feet. Of course, he understood. He wasn't stupid. But was he prepared? “Are you sure you're okay with that?” Was he ready to share him? Himself? Them? Share with people other than Caiera?

Share the puniest of parts, with the implicit admission that Banner could do something for them that he could not?

“No. I'm not.” He grunted back. “But I'll do it anyway. For them.” He added and returned his gaze to his mirror. “I'm still the one in charge, though, Banner.”

“I don't care to be. As long as I can help... Well.” Banner sighed and relaxed in the throne, eyes looking upwards at the now clear blue sky. A warm sun peeking through the clouds. “You should go tell Caiera before she starts worrying.”

“Worrying about what?” The Green Scar asked, an eyebrow raised.

“Remember what happens outside, every time we have one of these deep talks?”

...

Oh, fratz!

-I-

“C-Caiera?”

“Holku...?” As the Green Scar resurfaced to the land of flesh and blood, his eyes found focus on the figure of his wife. Who looked a bit paler in the face than he remembered. “Are you... Well?”

“Hmm, yes, I am.” He shrugged his head from side to side, flexing his hands. His body was his, still. Big. Strong. Green. Remarkably un-puny... But he figured it hadn't been like that for the duration of his conversation with Banner. “...let me guess. I was green, and pink, strong and puny, and everything at the same time?”

“Y-Yes. Also grey, I...” She bit her lower lip, clearly not knowing how to properly explain what she had witnessed. “I know not what I saw. You were there. So was Bruce... And I think others, too? I...” 'Others'? Could it be that...? He frowned. He needed to focus. One problem at the time. “Husband, there's more still to discover about you, is there?”

“You know the important things.” He answered as he stood up again. “You know what lies at the bottom of my soul. You know him, and us.”

“I know... And yet, there's more. I could perceive so much... Pain.” He grunted, avoiding his gaze. She stood by his side, placing her left hand on his shoulder. “Where do you come from, Holku? What was your life, that left you scarred so?”

“...one day.” He stated, still avoiding her gaze. His eyes focused on the world outside their bedroom as the sun had set behind the walls of Crown City and the Maca Mountains on the horizon. “When everything is not on the verge of crumbling again. Then, I will share.” He promised and chuckled. “Warning, though. It's a real horrorshow.”

“Horror... Show?” Caiera repeataed and Hulk chuckled.

“It's nothing... Now, is it dinner time yet?” He asked, figuring that better do it sooner rather than later.

They were his Warbound. Despite recent events, they were still the only ones he could trust with his secrets.

-I-

“When I'm not around, Caiera is in command.” When the group came back to the Royal Palace to meet the Green Scar and his Queen, they had expected to continue the conversation from that morning about what to do with the Wildebots. Instead... “If she's not available, Korg is in command.”

“Wait, I'm third? Why am I third?” The rockman asked, half a bite of coal still in his right hand.

“Because Hiroim is fourth. After that... Eh, you figure it out.” The Hulk shrugged.

“Holku, what is this about?” The Shadow Priest asked. Elloe kept her silence, a little miffed about not being included in this new hierarchy but deep down, knowing she had a long way before she could match her father.

“In case I'm not around and a decision needs to be made. I think it's important. Because I'm not always going to be around.” He explained, and in doing so made his Warbound only more and more confused. Save his queen, of course. “Don't like it any more than you do, but we got too many problems to solve.”

“Big guy, I'm waiting for you to start making sense. Are you talking about your death or...?”

“Oh no! Nononono, it's way too early to start thinking of a war of succession! I'm going to string your body up with wires and puppet you around, if need be!” Elloe piped up, only half joking as the prospect genuinely terrified her. “Tell me you're not sick or something!”

“I'm not sick! Pipe down, already!” He bellowed. And grunted, ignoring the little voice in his head that whispered 'technically...'. “I'm just... Hrrm.” This was getting ridiculous. Why was he trying to get to what he needed to say so meekly? Like he was scared? He was scared of nothing! Nothing! “...what I'm about to share with you does not leave this room.” He pointed firmly. “You bring it with you to your grave.”

“...we bring... what?” Korg asked, dinner now forgotten in favor of his Warbound. The rock-man focused on the Green Scar's face, looking for sign of discomfort or worry, trying to understand what had brought this on...

...only to suddenly have to start inclining his gaze downward... And downward...

“...what the...?” Further and further downward.

“Fratz?” Until, finally, it stopped.

“...so, uhm, I can understand that exception made for Caiera... This is a shock to you.” And the figure that sat where once did the Green Scar needed several sizes smaller garments. “The Green Scar asked for my help with your, ah, brains problems... And so, here I am.”

“...speak your name.” Hiroim said, seemingly the only island of calm among the surprise and confusion of the table as their king, gargantuan and emerald, had been replaced by a stranger smaller and weaker looking than any imperial.

“I am Doctor Robert Bruce Banner… You can call me Bruce, or Banner.” The pink-skinned man explained, acting and speaking as if he had found in this kind of situation many times before. “First order of business would be: are prescription glasses a thing, on Sakaar?”

Chapter Text

Day Thirty-two of the Reign of the Green King

'We're absolutely screwed.'

This was Elloe's initial reaction to the reveal of 'Bruce'. Banner. Puny Banner, as Holku insisted on referring to him as. A knee-jerk thought in response to the fact that, once again in such a short life, her worldview had been shattered.

The first had been when she got old enough to understand what a class divide was... Not in the socio-philosophical terms, granted, but around the time she started embracing the concept of 'men' and 'women', 'old' and 'young', she also grasped the concept of 'poor' and 'rich'.

Through the eyes of a friend of hers. Just as smart. Better at climbing trees. Worse at throwing rocks through the window of that old neighborhood curmudgeon who always complained about their ruckus. Such a similar soul who, nonetheless, had such raggedy clothes and couldn't take baths as often as she. Because she had been born in a different family.

Years later Elloe would see her working on a pleasure barge. The same pleasure barge which destruction then ignited the war with the Fillians.

The second time was when she understood that not all on Sakaar sought the betterment of their fellow man. Her father, Ronan, had been an often-ostracized member of the regional congress  of Okini, but even that Elloe could have rationalized to simple disagreement on matters of opinion.

But then came Lavin. Lavin Skee, former Imperial Guard Captain, sold his services as a bodyguard and was hired by her father to protect them from those who would do them harm. Because his father had been advocating for the rights of lower-class citizens.

And then the third time, which destroyed once and for all the notion that change on brutal, beautiful, cruel Sakaar could come without bloodletting. It came when her father was vaporized by Primus Vand for daring to speak up against their unjust imprisonment. That single event would push her, sustain her, drive her through their gladiatorial trials and the revolution.

The realization that the epitome of the violence and strength she had sought to use to bring about change, that pure incarnation that stitched and still held together their planet and fragile new peace, had a much squishier and softer looking side came as a close second in order of magnitude.

"Mind handing me that hydraulic spanner, Elloe?"

"Hmwhat?" As she thought back to the first meeting between the Warbound and the Bruce, where the first thing he had asked revealed he couldn't even see properly without aide, the now proudly bespectacled earthling broke her out of her reverie.

"The long and red metallic tool on your right side." He specified, pushing back what he called 'glasses' up the bridge of his nose as he straightened up. They were in an isolated room of the royal palace, surrounded by metal scrap, wires, and as many off-world technological implements as Elloe had seen in her entire life and as many as could be found, once the Green King had been given the order. Plus, some tools the human had created himself. "You're not exactly keeping an eye on the door. So, you might as well help me here."

Ello frowned and felt her cheeks go aflame. While this Bruce had a mind for the sciences and could find solutions the Green King couldn't, he was also nowhere near a fraction of the Scar’s strength. He was to be kept a secret, and someone from the Warbound –only ones allowed to know of his existence- was to always keep an eye on him when he was out and about.

That had so far fallen to Caiera but, as her rapid gestation progressed, she required increasing periods of absolute rest. Thus, today was Elloe's turn on the rotation.

"You talk big smack for a puny... Human, was that it?" The imperial shot back, grabbing the 'wrench' and resisting the urge to throw it at his head. Instead, she just walked over with it.

"Thank you kindly... And, well, when you need to share a life with the Hulk, smack is a daily occurrence." He replied with a small smirk, which ticked Elloe off. It was something that he and the Green Scar had in common. A little curve of their lips, a hint of hidden knowledge. A show of teeth to make you understand they knew something you didn't. And they dared you to ask... "So, what's on your mind?" Wait, what?

"What?" She said out loud before she could halt her tongue.

"You're thinking very, very loudly. It's distracting... For the both of us." She was 'thinking' very loudly? What even was this? "Want to share? Sometimes, you... Need to let things out." He paused. "I may be the biggest hypocrite in the world saying that, just so you know. Point still stands, it might help."

"...what exactly are you?" She let out.

"Is that what's on your mind?" He bent down again, working on the machine he had been building, robes they had procured for him still too big despite being the size for the smallest of the imperial men. He wasn't exactly thin or emaciated, but he was still so scrawny compared to any Sakaarian.

"No... Yes? Also." Let alone the Green Scar. Elloe scoffed, shaking her head from side to side. "It's... I guess it's just what you represent. Yet another... Shake-up in my life." She said... why? Why was she sharing this?

"We live in interesting times." She never had the instinct to share like this with anyone, excep maybe her mother... But no one else. Certainly not the Green Scar.

"We do... But that's not it." Except, this wasn't the Green Scar. Not exactly. The way it had been explained, they were their own thing and yet also each other, part of a whole and yet the whole... So, this Bruce was the Green Scar, but also not the Green Scar. "This is more... Personal." Someone infinitely more approachable but still, beneath the surface, possessed the strength to guard her secrets.

"You don't know who you are anymore." Her eyes went wide, and she moved her gaze to the back of his head. The Bruce wasn't even looking her way and yet, she felt heard. "Things have changed a lot, so fast. You've done and seen things you never thought you'd do and imagined you'd see... Amongst that chaos, having a constant like the Hulk can be comforting, hm?"

"...yeah."

"You don't need to overanalyze him. You don't need to think about him too in depth. He's the Hulk. He gets angry. And he smashes. Sounds about right?"

"...but it isn't right, is it not?"

"No. No, it's not." A sharp metallic sound echoed in the room, and she grit her teeth in visceral reaction. "It never has been... And I've had to live with him my entire life. There's nothing simple about the Hulk... About me. About us." He stood back up, wrench held in the right hand with the top of the tool placed on his left. The Bruce now regarded her. "We're many things, but what we cannot be is a constant."

"Yeah, I get it-!" It came fast. Faster than she ever expected from the 'puny Banner' but not faster than she should have been able to react. The wrench impacted her windpipe in just the right place, and for a moment she gasped for air. Hands flew to her throat, leaving her abdomen exposed.

The implement arched up and forward, smashing in her stomach. That's when she fell to her knees, wind knocked out of her. She coughed, barely holding herself up off the floor. "Kaff! Are... Are you crazy?!"

"Now, how did I do that?" What the fratz was this scrawny off-worder's problem?!

"You... Kaff! You caught me by surprise! You... Koff, prophets...!" She breathed loudly and slowly, regaining her composure. She looked up at where he stood with the most venomous glare she could muster. "Sneaky little..."

"Yup. Little, compared to you and many others. But sneaky... And knowledgeable. Also unassuming, yes?" He smiled like he hadn't just assaulted her and offered her his right hand. She looked at it like it was dripping with gore, but she eventually grasped it and allowed him to help her up. "That's the entire reason the Green Scar let me out. I have strengths he doesn't possess, and which are needed. Maybe not as impressive as smashing can be but... Still strengths." The grip was surprisingly strong, and he didn't stumble, despite her doing her best to put as much of her weight on him as possible. "So, what are your strengths?"

"Fratz if I know." Elloe grunted out, massaging her throat. It was definitely going to bruise... "If I knew that, I would have something of mine to orient this wreckage of a life around."

"Alright, so you don't know what you're good at. Do you know what you like, then?" He replied, walking past her and back to the bench. She followed him with her eyes as he dropped the tool and grabbed the sealed container with that foul beverage he had created. When he had asked to tour the city and had seen the white flowering plant in the marker's district, he had been adamant about getting a large supply of it. Then he roasted the beans, ground them into powder and then... Those were plants you feed to cattle!

"What I like?" She thought about it as he poured himself a cup, the bitter smell wafting in the air. "...what does that have to do with anything?"

"Take me. I like science but, before all of that, I like the senses... To perceive and observe, we could say." He answered, bringing the cup right in front of his face. He closed his eyes and subtly inhaled, a smile spreading on his lips. "I like using my head. And I like figuring stuff out." He focused on the scent of the beverage for a few seconds before re-opening his eyes... For a moment, she thought a silver glint had sparked there. "Like making coffee on an alien world."

"Ko-fi?" She mouthed, an eyebrow raised. "That's how that sludge is called?"

"Yes. I like this, too... But it's too bitter for you, isn't it?"

"It being bitter doesn't even begin to cover the problems I have with it." She scoffed, a hand on her forehead. Where was this going? This guy was as roundabout as the Green Scar was direct. "The plant you made it out of is something we give plow-pushers."

"Same back on my planet. It was a wild plant, which was thought best left for cattle to munch on... Until a herder noticed its hidden value. Centuries later, it is one of the most coveted commodities on the planet. It’s nectar, one of its most popular drinks." He declared before taking a long sip, chasing it up with a loud sigh of satisfaction. "Where most saw nothing and passed on, an unassuming low-born man saw something more... And people are like that, too." Hidden value in... People. "And so are the things we like." ...that sounded like something her father would say. "So, Elloe Kaifi... What is it you like?"

She held her gaze for a few more seconds before turning it to the side, now seriously thinking about a suitable answer. What is it that she liked? Was he referring to... An activity? A thing? A person, perhaps? The question had been quite vaguely worded, so she could only assume he wanted her to answer freely.

It had been what felt like ages since she had managed to dedicate herself to anything she could potentially call leisure. She hadn't done any reading in so long, why had she stopped? Those trees outside her childhood home, were they still there? Was the home itself? The portraits in stone mosaics, laid in the living room floor... Her great-grandfather's visage, her grandfather and then her father...

"...I liked my dad." She suddenly let out, her eyes still on the floor. She missed the flash of bright green in the Bruce's eyes. "I liked observing him doing what he did best. And I was always so proud... No matter how bad it got."

"He was a politician, correct?"

"Yes. A member of the Okini Community Congress... A powerless position, really, but he made it powerful." She continued exposing. Had she ever talked about her father like this to anyone? "Through connection, and grit, and wit, and compassion... Powerful enough to have him assassinated. Then kidnapped..." Had she ever talked with her father? Had she ever told him how proud she was? How much she loved him? Before... Before he...! "...killed. Vaporized." The warmth of rage rose in her core, pushing upwards past her heart. "There wasn't even a body left to bury...!"

"But there is you, isn't it?" He interjected, cutting through the haze before it could take over her mind. "There is you. You who believes in what he believed." She had fallen off that wagon so many times. Almost caused another war with the Hivelings... "Who helped bring about the revolution he championed." Through bloodshed, and violence. Her hands were forever tainted. "And is now in a position to do more. More than revolution, more than peace... You can help bring change." How?

"I am not my father." She didn't know how.

"Of course you're not. And you shouldn't try to be. Ever." The steel underlining the last word of the sentence caught Elloe by surprise. She finally looked at him in the face again. "Your father was a good man, from what I hear." He was. "But still, even if he is worth your admiration, emulation is something else entirely. You might admire him, you might have wanted to follow in his footsteps... But the gait is yours." The Bruce grabbed a small pitcher, which she hadn't noticed among the bunch of metallic contraption on the work station. He inclined it over his mug...

A trickle of white poured out and into the bitter ko-fi. 'Milk?'

"And as such, you should walk the path your own way. There's no disrespect in being different from him." The pitcher of milk back on the table, the Bruce then stretched his arm towards Elloe. Offering her the mug. "You like the same things and believe in the same ideals... Just, in your own way."

She stared at the mug, anticipating the usual revulsion... Except, the addition of the milk had done something to the ko-fi. Mixed with it, the bitterness in the scent had decisively been assuaged. Not only, it smelled... Intriguing.

She grabbed the mug with both hands, staring at it. Sniffing at it inquisitively... She looked back up at the Bruce. He was waiting for her to do something, arms crossed. She looked back down... Then groaned, grimaced, and with eyes closed took a reluctant swig.

...

...huh.

...ooooh? "What is...?" The taste was... Not bad. She... She wouldn't mindoooooooh what?! "Woah..." She felt a rush up her spine. Energy. Clarity. Vestiges of tiredness, suddenly gone. "What is this?"

"Coffee, but with milk. On my planet they call this a macchiato, the ‘Spotted One’. Let's just say you're not the first person to prefer it this way... Wait until I manage to synthetize some sugar. But anyway..." The Bruce explained and, for some reason, she really really wanted him to continue talking about the ko-fi. Also maybe she wanted to go for a run? Or read! It'd been years since she had read a good book. Oooh, the royal library! On the top floor! Hoping the Red King didn't turn it into wiping paper... Oh, maybe he had some banned books?! The possibilities were endless! "The prototype is ready."

"Ready?! What's ready? The proto-oh, the machine. You're talking about the machine." She let out and then slapped a hand on her mouth, eyes wide. The Bruce's own mirrored hers from behind his spectacles.

"...huh. Maybe Imperial physiology reacts to caffeine differently than humans. Anyway, yes, the Machine. The Wildebots repellent." He turned his gaze to the construct, twice as tall as Elloe in the shape of a column. "Once activated, any Wildebots caught in its range will go dormant."

"Really?! Just like that?!" She gasped, throwing her eyes back to the machine as well. Then to the Bruce. Machine. Bruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuce... Machine. Definitely machine.

"Yeah... But of course, one won't be enough. We're going to need a lot more. Let's say enough to cover the entire perimeter of the Twisted Woods." The entire perimeter...! That would end... The entire reason why her father had...! "Okini is the industrial heartland of the Empire, isn't it?"

"The Factory Parks, yes. Reverse-engineering, building, cataloguing, all that stuff." She bit her lip and hiccupped. What was in this thing?! She didn't feel bad but... Definitely off!

"We're going to need their help. And we'll need to introduce me to them." The Bruce continued. "The Green Scar can give the order, but I'm going to need to oversee the project in person, at least at the beginning. I will need to inspect the facilities, prepare them... I will need to be seen in Okini, and order around a bunch of people." He turned back to Elloe, that smirk from before on his face again. "A bunch of nerds."

"Nerds?"

"A human thing... Point is, I will need to be made public. And I will need to be introduced to the scientists and engineers of Okini." He explained, and then his eyes caught hers with a look of evaluation... No. Expectation.

He expected something from Elloe.

"Think you can make it happen, daughter of Ronan?" ...but she hadn't spoken her father's name in his presence, how...?

...

She had in the presence of the Green Scar, though. Her father himself had, too.

...

That son of a native.

-II-

"They've travelled a long way, Elloe..." Aman Okari in Kaifi had seen much in her life. Some of which she wished she could erase from her memory. In the throes of wanton excess and cheap cruelty of Imperial aristocracy, she had found comfort in the simple earnestness of her husband. She had raised her daughter proud as befit her station but then Ronan had begun following that heart of his...

Out of her entire family, she alone was spared kidnapping and death on account of her superior lineage. Many a night, she wished she had been allowed to share their fate... Yet, she persevered. For like she found solace in her husband's heart, he had found inspiration in her pride. This new world her daughter was building, alongside her 'Warbound'... It was different. It itched, at times, but she would persevere still. And they would make it good.

"Are you sure about serving them this?" Among the many things that had been changing for her and their family, this was one that Aman had had the most reservations about. The traditional sweets of Okuni, the way she had learned to make from her old nursemaid, paired with this... Foul smelling beverage?

"Trust me, mom. It's for the meeting." Elloe retorted. "Think of it as a metaphor."

"A metaphor for what, exactly...?" She sighed. On one hand, seeing her daughter don finery and do her hair up again –if only for special occasions- filled her with joy and nostalgia. The scars of battle and hardships of the revolution had done nothing to diminish her beauty. And to see her walk with such confidence, and hope... 'If you could only see her now, dear.'

"About how sometimes, to take a step forward, we need to venture down into the unknown... But that doesn't mean we're helpless." Elloe continued, giving her hair-comb one last tug before being satisfied. Aman saw her eyes then fall to the pitcher of milk and the smaller one with a mysterious clear liquid. "We're still there. We carry with us all that we are, and all that we'll ever be... And it's by mixing the two that we create the future."

"...your father would be very proud." She said and, for the first time in years, Aman saw her daughter smile. Beam, even. She was finding herself... "But come, now, so be it for your foul beverage. Are you going to introduce me to the Green King's mysterious envoy before the guests arrive? As the host, I believe I'm owed that grace."

"Rightly so, Lady Kaifi." The door to the side room where said guest had been preparing himself suddenly swung open, much to Aman's surprise. From it emerged an off-worlder, clad in the new green garbs which were going to identify representatives of the Green King's court. He was short, shorter than any imperial man. His face sported strange accessories, like the bottom of glasses trapped in a metallic frame, and he looked for all intents and purposes, unremarkable...

Yet... There was something to the way he walked. "Thanks for allowing us to host this in your house... I'm afraid it is among the only intact edifices of the area."

"You honor us with your presence, Envoy." She stretched out her hand and as she did, she saw the man visibly freeze and glance in Elloe's direction. Her daughter rolled her eyes and gestured... Oh prophet, this man was not versed in their culture at all, was he? His eyes finally lit up in remembrance and then grabbed Aman’s hand and placed his forehead on her middle knuckle. "I am Aman Okari in Kaifi... You are new to Sakaar, I assume?"

"Sort of, Lady Kaifi. I came with the Green King but was... Indisposed." He straightened up again, readjusting the clear accessories and his robes. "I am Bruce of the house of Banner." Elloe snorted in laughter behind Aman’s back. What…? "Alter of Science of the Green King."

Chapter Text

Day Seventy-four of the Reign of the Green King

"Is that a threat, Banner?"

"Watch it, Green Scar. You know what kind of people the truth is usually a threat to." It there had ever been a constant in the life of Bruce Banner and his Alters –what men of knowledge had dubbed the 'Banner System'- was change. A continuous, never-ending cavalcade of ups and downs, forwards and backwards motion, big and small. Nothing was ever as it seemed on the surface, and waves rocked at the shore of any island of peace they managed to build for themselves, forever more.

Collaborating, Bruce and the Green Scar had managed to improve life on Sakaar in concrete ways in a short time. The might of the Green Scar had unified the people, and what remnants of dissent had remained in the wake of his coronation had been quickly squashed... One betrayal had nearly destroyed the nascent fragile peace, but for once luck had been on their side.

As for the mysterious 'Alter of Science' Banner, the story that he had been cryogenically stored alongside the Hulk, exiled alongside him from Earth for being his blood brother and only finally released from their original vessel after Sakaar's unification, had gone utterly unchallenged. This had allowed Bruce to work undisturbed, and within a month a factory in Okini had been properly outfitted, workers selected and trained.

That factory now pumped out Wildebots repellents at the rhythm of three per week. Eventually, they would be able to cover the entire border of the Twisted Woods, allowing Korg's Graniteers –name the rock-man had chosen for the elite Imperial Soldiers he now led- and Hiroim's Shadowpact –the Green Holku's unseen eyes and ears, born out of necessity and the sting of betrayal- to focus on other matters.

The Fillians of the North had accepted a truce, and the Empire and its rebellious province were currently in the process of organizing a peace conference. Elloe's new obsession with the miraculous ko-fi had created a brand-new industry from the ground up, with hundreds of displaced now finding themselves hard at work on the first plantation of black beans, while her mother oversaw the construction of Sakaar's first coffee house, where all patrons of all races and classes would be welcome. If it succeeded, they had plans for more.

Arch-E was hard at work cataloguing what alien tech the Red King had left behind and organizing the creation of a new Imperial Corp of Salvagers. This would quicken any subsequent tech advancement Banner would want to implement. Caiera was going to bring into the world the Green King's child in little less than two weeks. The future looked bright...

And then a wave came crashing down on the island Sakaar.

"Although, I may have... Hm. Let me try and rephrase it. How would Elloe or Aman say it?" Bruce muttered and the Green Scar couldn't help but roll his eyes. The nature of Bruce's task over the last month had caused the puny human to spend more time with Elloe and her mother than anyone else, and old aristocratic Aman had made it her mission to try and refine the scientist by trade into a better public speaker. The success of their endeavors with the Okini community had depended on it. "...there's a strong chance that, if we don't take pre-emptive action, you may end up not being able to appear on Sakaar anymore, Green Scar."

"...explain." Well, he certainly had put it more diplomatically and less directly. It still didn't make the royal Hulk any more pleased.

"I'm gonna need to go into science for this. I know!" Banner raised his right hand up from his own stone throne before his Alter could retort angrily. "I know. I will make it incredibly simple... and the reason why I wanted to talk to you here is because here neither of us can lie to the other." He lowered it and straightened himself. "All the truth, nothing but the truth. I swear on mom's grave."

...that did it. It always did. On one hand, the effect that Rebecca had on him was a reminder that for all their differences and his power, the Green Scar was born from and a part of and was Bruce Banner. No power in the universe would ever change that, and those who had tried it had brought on nothing but tragedy and further destruction.

On the other, it was their mother. The one thing that all the members of the system held sacred. Invoking her name meant something, it always did.

"Proceed." The Green Scar nodded. Bruce exhaled and then got up from his throne.

"I'm going to use some images. Make it easier to understand... Okay, Scar. This is about Gamma." The scientist explained, and at the mere utterance of the word the sky above them began tinging green. "You remember Gamma."

"It's what powered your bomb." The Green Scar said with no malice. He was stating a simple fact.

"...yeah. The Gamma Bomb." What did Bruce say about the truth, earlier? He chuckled at his own expenses before shaking his head. "Anyway, Gamma is..." ...what was it, really?

Bruce Banner, like his father before him, were pioneers in radiations. Yet, Bruce was the only one who had even begun to scratch the surface of Gamma. This enigmatic, incoherent force of nature, sometimes acting like a particle, sometimes acting like a wave. Sometimes science, sometimes magic, sometimes... Something else.

"...let's say it's a force. A power that powered that bomb... But it also powers us, Green Scar." A wave of Bruce's hand, and helping materials materialized in thin hair, at the center of their hypothetical circle of thrones, if there were more than the two. An ephemeral sphere with a hole at the top and one at the bottom. Green energy flew in through the former and left the sphere through the latter. "It is by absorbing and burning Gamma that transformation is achieved, and all our... Incredible abilities are powered."

"So?" The Green Scar frowned. It was easy to follow, yes, but he still felt irritated by the fact that Banner was dumbing things down for him. Damn his brains.

"I used the term 'absorbing' because, Green Scar.... We might run on Gamma. We may absorb Gamma. We may be Gamma." Bruce continued, before pausing for a few seconds to make sure the Green Scar was following, and that he was going to pay attention to what came next. "But we do not create Gamma."

"...what?" At that, the Green Scar balked. His strength. The source of his might. Everything that made him the Green Scar... Was not actually his?

"First Law of Thermodynamics. Energy cannot be created nor destroyed. My bomb didn't make Gamma, Hulk. It just..." Bruce paused. What had his bomb done, really? "I thought I was just making a superior atomic bomb. Transforming other things into Gamma but..." But the output of energy had been much, much bigger than anything Bruce had ever planned for. Where did all that extra Gamma come from?

Where?

"Banner, focus!" The Green Scar's voice broke him out of his reverie. More than angry, the royal giant sounded... Agitated.

"Uhm, right. Anyway, there's a finite amount of Gamma in the universe. Earth, because of my bomb, is extremely rich in it. So, no problem as long as we're there. But anywhere else?" Another wave, and the two separated streams became one. As the Gamma energy left the sphere, it waved back up and then descended to feed the center once again. "Most of the time, all we have is the Gamma we bring with us. We burn it, expel it, absorb it over and over. And the angrier a Hulk gets..."

"The more Gamma we burn." The Green Scar nodded, grabbing his chin with a furrowed brow. "So Sakaar is poor in Gamma? Is that it?"

"If it was just that, it wouldn't be a problem. You see, not all members of our system are created equal." Banner waved his hand horizontally, cutting through the sphere imagery which subsequently split into four different silhouettes: a puny human one; a tall, royal one; a wild roaring one; and a grey, stylish one. "I can't burn Gamma. All I do is absorb it and then feed it to the other members... And each member has its own unique Gamma signature, and base Gamma consumption rate."

"...Banner." The Green Scar grunted. He was following so far, but he warned Banner not to get more nerdy on him. The scientist caught himself, clearing his throat.

"You all have... Differently flavored Gamma, which only one Hulk can use. You can't absorb Grey Gamma that's in the air, you can only absorb Green Scar Gamma. I'm the exception. The Gamma I absorb becomes 'pure' and gets evenly distributed among all of you." He explained, and the four silhouettes start expelling differently colored sparks in the air. "But the speed with which you consume or absorb Gamma is not the same. You, Green Scar, not only absorb and consume Gamma faster than all the other Hulks, but you also consume a lot more Gamma than you absorb." The Green King narrowed his eyes, his hand still resting on the armrest of the throne grasping it hard. "You're like a sports car, consuming ten liters per hour while only getting in... Five, I would say, per hour. And finally..."

"The Spikes." The former gladiator let out through gritted teeth, lowering his gaze to the ground. The space-faring species, driven mad by their hunger, which he had literally pacified with his flesh and his power...

"Yes. The Spikes." Pacified with his Gamma. "To save them, you fed them a lot of your Gamma. What is left in the environment is not enough to allow you to be out night and day forever anymore." Banner finished, then sighed. "When I was finally able to be out again, you were already feeding them. I'm sorry."

"Are you?" The Green Scar retorted, his teeth grinding. All his efforts. All the fighting. The pain. The sacrifice and violence and death and betrayal... And now?!

"I am, Green Scar. Holku. I'm sorry and I'm worried about what this is going to do to your people... And the child." The sky cleared, and with it the figures conjured by Bruce. Grey clouds filled the blue, thundering. "They are not going to grow up without a father."

"Won't they have you, Banner?" The king seethed, venomously glaring at the scientist... Who was telling the truth. He had promised to tell the truth, he had been telling the truth for this deep within their mind truth was all there was, and he was still being honest with him... Prophets, couldn't the puny scientist give him at least a minor excuse to be angry at something?! "Isn't that what you always wanted? Way back then, too...?"

"I won't deny our past. But what I've always wanted to be for any of my children, even for that baby Betty lost years ago..." Bruce retorted, now seething himself as he recalled a very painful memory... And a very punchable face, who had been holding information from him about what had happened to his estranged wife. Lied to his face while he poured his soul out, with the venom of cheap compassion, when all he had wanted was the truth! "Is to be a good father, Green Scar. Simply being a DNA donor is not enough. I refuse to be anything else, and I cannot be that without you, just like you cannot be that about me."

The Green Scar opened his mouth as if to say something but after a few attempts, he chose silence. And amusement, as he was reminded that Banner, when angry, had his same eyes.

"These children are going to be born Shadow People and Gamma Mutants both. I can look after their health. I can teach them letters. I can show them how to be curious and respectful of nature. I can love them in a way you cannot and break the generational curse of my father and his father before him...!" The scientist slapped a hand on his mouth, breathing deeply, forcing himself to stop his tirade before it devolved. The sky thundered, shone with green lightning and the rain started. "...but what if they're born with Hulks of their own?"

"Banner... You're contradicting yourself." The Green Scar retorted, calming down as the conversation veered to someone who wasn't even among the living yet. "If you vow to be a good parent, how can the child develop a Hulk?"

"Power itself can be quite the Hulk, Green Scar. Imagine, a life so young, yet possessing power they can't understand or properly wield... Imagine, if you will, if they slip up and hurt themselves... or others." The gazes of the two met and eventually softened as the rain increased in intensity. "The Sakaar you created will be a kingdom of peace, yes?"

"Yes."

"Then the child will need to learn control... Among other things." Banner concluded, hands joined beneath the folds of his verdant robe. "We... Cannot do this alone." The skies thundered with conviction and acceptance. Acceptance that this was what the Green Scar had signed up for. This is what he had created with his action. And this is what he wanted...

Regret? No. Helping the Spikes was the right thing to do. Everything he did had eventually led to peace. To something new for both the Sakaarians and the Hulk... The Hulks. Here, they would make a home. Here, they would thrive.

Here... They would not be alone.

Neither outside, nor inside.

"What's the plan, then, Banner?"

"Schedules." Was the simple reply from the scientist. "You can't not be seen regularly. So, the schedule must account for your presence so that you can be with your people, Caiera, the child... And it must account for mine, so that I can be out there syphoning Gamma, and continue the works as Alter of Science." He brought a hand to his chin, his mind already going through the necessary calculations, hoping that in this instance Gamma would act in a predictable way, or if it was gonna freak out, it'd freak out in their favour. "Also, we must release more Gamma in the environment."

"Without using another bomb, I hope." The Green Scar stated, mockingly.

"...not exactly." Of all the answers, that was not one the King expected. Before he could ask for a clarification, his attention was caught by a new noise echoing on their small island, cutting through the quickly diminishing rain. A rumble of shifting earth and cracking rock as at the north from his east and Banner's west, something else emerged.

A third throne of rock, with unique design and decoration. The Green Scar's throne was big and with a backrest taller than even he was, decorated with symbolisms of battle and conquest. Bruce's throne was more contained in size but much more saturated with bas-reliefs, which snaked into complex geometries which seemed to forever flow into one another.

This new throne now fully emerged from the ground was as big as the Green Scar's but much more uneven in features. Soft and smooth in places before emerging into pointier parts with no apparent rhyme or reason. What bas-reliefs there were were crude, more akin to the works of prehistoric ancestors or a child... All in all?

One could describe it as... Savage.

"Are you OUT OF YOUR MIND, BANNER?!" The Green Scar roared, and the clouds parted in his rage.

"He is, among all of us, the one with the biggest reserves of Gamma." Bruce didn't react in any outward manner, holding the royal Alter's gaze and enduring his bellowing. "Also, the one more likely to... Share without complaints."

"You will not! You will not unleash him! Think of what he could do! We've barely come onto peace, Banner!" The Green King would not be convinced, images of destruction and chaos filling his mind. Bruce, instead, suddenly smiled.

"Do you find him that dangerous, Green Scar?"

"OF COURSE I DO, YOU PUNY-! HE IS BUT A CHILD WITH THE POWER TO LEVEL CIT-" The Green Scar suddenly froze, stopping the tirade mid-sentence as it finally dawned on him. Banner's smile only widened, the image quite comical.

It took the kingly Hulk a few more seconds to stop gaping, before collapsing back onto his throne, both hands squarely on his face. He followed it up with a very loud groan. "Prophets damn it."

"Welcome to my world. And the rest of your life going forward, Green Scar." Banner commented and then took his own seat again, silent. Waiting for the Green Scar to speak again, allowing him his peace and silence to process the new realization. The clouds parted further, and the sun began shining through on their expanding circle once again.

"...we'll need to tell Caiera." The Green Scar chimed in after what felt, to him, like an eternity. "And the others. And we'll need... Need to..."

"Explain. And share. Tell them our full story." Banner nodded. "Share who we are."

"And who exactly are we, Banner? To each other?" The Green Scar added, moving his hands away to reveal a tad wearier expression than before.

"I had been thinking about it. At first, I thought you were my... Survival instinct, you know?" Banner moved his eyes to the sky. The green tinge was disappearing, leaving behind only cerulean. "I thought you represented my will to keep going, never give up or be bowed by circumstances. But it doesn't ring quite true. Then, I saw you sitting on that throne... And it hit me." He met the Green Scar's gaze with his own. "You... Are in control."

"Damn straight, I am." The Green King shot back and Bruce chuckled.

"Yeah but I mean at a deeper level... You, of all of us, are fit to sit on a throne. Because when the world turned against you... When you were exiled from it, when you found a new one bent on killing you... You didn't run." The scientist continued. "You didn't 'want to be left alone'. There have been many occasions where you could've just left but you didn't. We could say that it was because of your Warbound, and the people, but there's something else. Something deeper."

"Earth, Sakaar, other dimensions... Always the same music." The Green Scar picked up where Banner continued, finding his composure again. "They hunted us. Hurt us. Wanted us dead, or wanted to use us... No more, Banner. This is me... This is us, taking a stand. This is us telling them we're not moving anymore." He frowned, in a powerful low baritone. "If there is no place for us, we will make one. We will smash their heroes, capes and gods. Bore a hole into the very bedrock of reality until it fits us. As long as I'm around, Banner..." He finished with a low, menacing growl. "We. Are. In control."

"...fit for a king, I suppose. But do try not to squeeze too hard."

"Hmrr... So." The Green Scar's countenance softened and his gaze turned to the newest addition to their circle. Banner mimicked it, as the rays of sunlight seemed to focus on the third throne, motes highlighting it ethereally. "How the fratz are we going to explain the whole thing to him?"

"...so, hear me out."

-III-

"Hulk... Is gonna be uncle?" Her meeting with Holku had started a brand-new chapter in Caiera's life. Even after the fall of the Red King, her husband kept on adding pages to the epic of her life. She expected nothing else.

Still, nothing could have prepared the Oldstrong for the specific twists and turns. Her husband didn't just come from a different world: as he walked among them, he still lived in one. He crushed –or rather, smashed- basic tenets of life and existence the youngest of children held onto as fact, and went to as far as reserving the same fate to words of prophets and gods.

After the latest of what had become regular internal conversations between Holku and Bruce, her husband had bared his past to her like he had his heart. Once, on the planet called Earth, was a whole soul who had then been fractured by the vicissitudes of life. On one faithful day, through an act of salvation committed while he sought destruction, he was eternally shattered. Thus did the Sakaarson and World Breaker within one Bruce Banner of Earth came to be...

But, they were not alone. The one now occupying her husband's body was proof.

Not as tall or as big as the Green Scar. The features were softer, hair longer, and the countenance completely different from either Holku or Bruce. Not a regal leader humming with strength. Not a deceptively weak looking scientist, whose focus threatened to lay bare the secrets of the universe. This 'Hulk', as he referred to himself, was a turmoil of emotions. At first, she perceived fear in being summoned to a place he was unfamiliar with on an alien world. Then the embers of anger, as he readied himself for... To...?

To be hurt?

The first instinct of this Hulk, the moment he was released into their world of the living, was to prepare himself to be hurt.

Not to fight. Not to defend himself. Not for victory, conquest... Just... To hurt.

But then, he noticed her presence. He laid eyes on the queen of the Green Scar, laid on lush velvet, her hands on a distended belly, and they lit up in recognition and remembrance. Her husband had told her that, while a part of their Soul Cadre –the Bruce had referred to it as a 'system', but it tasted far too dry on her tongue-, this one did not share the same life experiences and... Maturity.

Thus, to him, the child within her belly would be a nephew. Or niece. So they had explained to their child-like counterpart.

"Yes." Caiera nodded, acknowledging and confirming his words. He stood frozen for a few seconds before slowly approaching Caiera, and kneeling at her bedside, eyes always fixated on her belly.

He was silent. The Oldstrong saw a myriad of emotions, thoughts and memories behind those eyes. They paralyzed the child-like giant, who could do little more but stare and think. She saw confusion, happiness, fear, apprehension.

She reached out to his right hand, grasping it and making him startle. She stopped and caught his eyes. Again, fear... Eventually, he relaxed and allowed her to continue.

"Be not afraid, Hulk." She reassured him, her voice low as she placed the Hulk's hand on her belly.

The green giant gasped. And when her child kicked, he smiled and laughed... Then, slowly, his face became hard. A firm scowl of determination.

"Hulk will protect child." He declared, eyes still on where his hand gently laid on Caiera's belly. "Hulk will smash all who want hurt child. And mother. A-And..." Then, his eyes shone, and his giant figure became wracked by decades of sadness and regret. "Hulk... Will make happy family."

"I know you will, Hulk. But not alone. Never alone." Caiera replied, placing her hand on his head now as the Hulk lowered it, fat tears splashing from his eyes. "Never again."