AlienWarlord
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C83 Spider-Man
🕑 Added 2022-08-27 07:43:36 +0000 UTCThankfully, when Banner returned to Stanley's Pizza Parlor, Stan was already closing up without a customer in sight.
“Your back!” The old man greeted Bruce warmly. “Did you get what you needed?”
“No...” Banner answered as he looked outside the windows for any sign of Spider-Man.
“What’s the matter? Were you followed?” Stan asks as he stops what he was doing and checks the windows as well.
“Probably...” Bruce answers as the kitchen door swings open behind them, causing the two to swing their heads around.
“Hello again.” Peter says as he waves to them and inspects the pizza that was still left out. “Hey, this looks okay. Are you from New York?”
Too shocked to answer the question, the old man turned to look towards Bruce, wordlessly asking what was happening with his eyes.
“Don’t look at me. I have no idea what’s going on today.” Banner said as he watched the Spider-Man carefully inspecting the leftover pizzas.
“I ask because usually, the pizza outside of New York is subpar at best, with a few exceptions of course. This looks like something I could get in the city. There’s no way you’re from Virginia.” Peter says but soon loses interest in the pizza, as the old man didn’t seem very talkative.
“Should we talk upstairs?” Peter turned back toward Bruce and gestured toward the passing civilians outside.
“Umm, yeah.” Banner replies, not wanting to draw attention to himself.
“Are you gonna be okay, kid?” Stan finally speaks.
“Yeah, I think so.” Banner says as he follows Peter toward the kitchen, where they went upstairs to his apartment.
——————————————
As the kitchen door was closing behind Banner, the door to the shop opened, and in came a dark-haired woman with blue eyes and a middle-aged man with dark hair and eyes.
[Insert picture of Betty Ross here]
As Betty entered the shop with her boyfriend, Leonard, she saw a very familiar backside of a man heading to the back room. She instinctively knew who it was but wasn’t sure if her eyes weren’t deceiving her.
‘Bruce?’ She thought as Stan turned to see her with a look of worry on his face.
“We're pretty well closed here, Bets. I'm sorry.” The old man says as he glances at the door, only increasing Betty's suspicion.
“Oh, come on, Stan. It's Friday night.” She responded while studying Stan's odd behavior. “Who just went in the back?”
“Just a plumber.” Stan lies but sadly she could see right through it. “Toilets broken.”
“Bruce is fixing toilets now?” Betty says with a raised brow, causing Stan’s eyes to widen which proves her suspicions right instantly.
“Uhh...” Stan was lost for words for the second time today.
“Bruce?” Leonard questions with a confused look. “Isn’t he dead?”
“Listen, you kids should really get going.” Stan tried his best but Betty simply ignores him and marches into the kitchen.
“Wait!” The old man calls out but she was already gone.
Standing frozen with the old pizza shop owner, Betty's boyfriend's face slowly morphed into one of concern and jealousy.
He always hoped that Bettys missing ex was dead, not because he hated the man, but because he loves Betty and knows how she feels for the other man.
While Stan started muttering to himself about how he did his best and that this wasn’t his problem anymore, Leonard walked out of the shop and took out his cell phone, making a quick call.
————————————
Climbing the stairs to his temporary apartment, Bruce lets Peter inside and turns on the lights. The blinds were still shut tight so they simply took a seat in the living room without worry.
“How can you help me?” Banner asks skeptically.
In his mind, the Avengers may be strong but they can’t face the might of the United States Military.
“First, the military isn’t after you, Thaddeus Ross is.” Peter says, confusing Banner.
“Ross is a General. If he’s after me, the military is too.” Bruce corrects Peter with a shake of his head.
“No, he lied to his superior about the reason for his trip to Brazil. The government thought that he was simply going to extract a scientist, nothing more. They didn’t even know you were there. Most people think that you’re dead.” Peter said, causing Banner to raise an eyebrow.
“So, does that mean he’s in trouble now?” He asks hopefully.
“No, not yet.” Peter said with a shake of his head.
“So you’re telling me that after lying to his superiors and that whole mess in Brazil, Ross hasn’t even been reprimanded and is probably still out there hunting for me?” Banner raises his voice angrily.
“Say the word and we’ll move in, Web-Head.” Peter could hear Tony’s voice through his earpiece but didn’t reply.
“Well, his superiors don’t know just yet. Ross has become very adept at hiding his misdeeds over the years, but that doesn’t mean they won’t find out. After all, the Avengers are involved now.” Peter says as he turns his head, sensing someone coming up the stairs.
“Right...” Banner says but before he could continue, the door to the stairway flies open and hits the wall.
*bang*
“Bruce?!” Betty exclaims as she marches into the room, determined to find out what was going on.
“Betty?!” Bruce practically jumps out of his seat in surprise as their eyes meet.
“Well, this just got complicated...” Peter says, causing Betty to turn towards him next.
“Spider-Man?” She mutters in shock.
“Yeah, hello.” Pete says with a wave. “I’m here to help Bruce.”
“Help with what?”
———————————————
After a long explanation, where Peter sat back and watched the two reunited lovers speak, Betty was finally up to speed on what’s been going on.
“What is it like? When it happens, what do you experience?” Betty asks curiously, completely forgetting her boyfriend is waiting downstairs for her.
“Remember those experiments we volunteered for at Harvard? The induced hallucinations? It’s a lot like that, just a thousand times worse. It’s like someone poured a liter of acid into my brain.” Bruce explains.
“Do you remember anything?” She asks again.
“Just fragments. Images mostly. There’s too much noise, I can never derive anything out of it.” He says.
“But then, it’s still you, inside of it...” Betty says but was soon cut off.
“No. No, it’s not.” Bruce says resolutely.
“Okay, this is touching and all but it’s getting late, so let’s get this show on the road. The Avengers are willing to help and shelter you. We can deal with the military and help you research your condition. Are you interested?”
“Bruce, I don't understand why we can't just walk in and talk to my father.” Betty ignores Peter and speaks, trusting her father as she was raised by the man.
“No, he told me what he was gonna do. He wants it out of me. He wants to dissect it so he can replicate it. He wants to make it a weapon. I can't let that happen. It’s too dangerous” Banner says, knowing just how scary the beast inside of himself was.
Betty didn’t know what to say. In her eyes, her father is a bit stern but he was still her father and she loved him, not some power-hungry general that would do anything for results.
Though if what Bruce said is true, then how could she ever look at her father the same way again?
“So....” Peter says, feeling like a third wheel somehow. “You want our help?”
“Yes, anything to get Ross off my back, but I need the research from the Super Soldier Recreation experiment. That’s why I came here, but it’s all been deleted. I’ll never be able to cure myself without that data.” Bruce says dejectedly.
“No, it’s not.” Betty says, causing Banner's head to snap toward her. “I have all the data from the project at home. I knew something was fishy when you disappeared so I copied it all and hid it away.”
“There, problem solved. Where is it?” Peter says as he wants to leave Virginia tonight.
He knew how the movie went for this one, and if it goes by the same plot, then Ross and his soldiers would be arriving by tomorrow. Though things have changed with Peter's arrival, so he just wants to be safe.
Peter isn’t worried about the military, as General Ross and his army could be handled by a single Avenger, but the Hulk is a whole other story.
The Hulk is a dangerous enemy after all. Ross is probably the only person on this planet that can anger Banner with his mere presence, so it’s best to just keep them far apart for everyone’s safety.
A/N: 1458 words.
