Chapter 57 - Mission Complete

Lily used her crossed hands to take the impact of the punch, her body moving back slightly from the force that was behind it.

'Ouch.'

She was able to stop the punch from reaching the man, but it was still a punch from the Hulk; it was powerful and painful. Even if it wasn't able to injure her, it was still enough to hurt.

He held back, which was why she wasn't even injured.

His intention was just to push the man away; at most, the impact from the fist would just send the man flying backward, maybe breaking a few bones, but it wouldn't have killed him.

Not only did he hold back, but he also wasn't angry, just annoyed, so his strength was nowhere near how it would normally be.

But this worked out just fine for Lily; she wanted to try and allow her body to absorb and adapt to the Gamma Radiation his body was giving out. She wanted to see if she could benefit from it.

And the amount he gave off while in his Hulk form was much more than how much he normally had on him.

So, staying closer to him in this form would benefit her more.

"Hi."

She said as she lowered her arms, seeing the Hulk step back. She didn't lower her guard, though, keeping her eyes locked on the man.

Hulk growled in mild anger, picking up the nearby jukebox and raising it above his head as he yelled.

"Hulk smash!"

However, before he could throw the jukebox, Fury stepped forward and held his hand out, speaking loud enough for Hulk to hear.

"No. No, I don't think you're gonna want to be doing that."

His words drew the attention of Hulk, who looked down at him without throwing the jukebox just yet. But he had yet to drop the box.

"At least I don't think the man I just met— the man inside you— wants to do that."

He said, following up his speech as he noticed he had the big guy's attention. As for Lily, she stood nearby to the side, ready to act if Hulk made a move but also absorbing as much of the radiation as she could.

"He seemed like a decent enough guy to not want to hurt these people. And are you really willing to fight a little girl?"

His words seem to strike a chord with the green giant, as his eyes falter for a moment, glancing around at the people that looked at him in fear and the girl that stood to the side.

Maybe it was his inner Bruce Banner leaking out, or maybe Hulk was just a nice guy, to begin with, but he didn't seem like he wanted to hurt anyone.

He didn't even want to turn; he was forced to.

"Why don't you just put it down?"

Lily added as she moved closer and offered a hand. The closer she was to him, the stronger the radiation he leaked.

The Hulk hesitated for a moment before placing down the jukebox, and slowly the green began to fade away, and his body shrunk in size.

In a matter of seconds, he went from his massive size to the small frame of the man he once was, Bruce Banner.

He was completely naked, so Lily looked away, allowing Fury to quickly make his move and cover the man up with his jacket.

Lily was disappointed, she had gotten some Gamma Radiation from the man, but it was nowhere near enough for her body to be able to replicate it on its own yet.

She didn't even have a proper resistance to it developed.

But since she had some in her cells, with time, her body would slowly break it down and learn about it. Given enough time, she would eventually be able to produce it on her own using her mutation and maybe even improve her resistance to it as well.

While this process was currently slow, more exposure to Gamma Radiation would speed it up, so she would spend as much time as she could around Hulk when she had the chance.

"Sorry about that; it's hard to keep it under control at times."

Bruce replied as he stood up with the help of Fury. He didn't pass out since he didn't spend too much time as Hulk.

"Is that the results of the experiments?"

Fury asked the man; his identity was already exposed to an extent, so he had no reason to hide it any longer.

"You know about that?"

Bruce replied but then glanced over to the girl, remembering that she had tanked an attack from the Hulk, so it only made sense that they weren't normal.

"Of course you do."

He said as he shook his head, realizing he had been set up.

"I should leave now. Please don't try to stop me."

Bruce said as he pushed away from Fury's help and began to walk away from them. Fury decided not to stop him, as he had already gotten the information he wanted from this meeting.

Further attempts to meet or interact with Bruce Banner could be put to a halt, so with that, the mission was over.

And finally, it was time to return home.

Not much had been gained from this, but nothing was lost. And if anything, she was able to meet a significant Canon character, get her hands on Gamma Radiation, and even show off her capabilities to Fury.

She looked forward to her growth at S.H.I.E.L.D.