CHAPTER 24
[Bruce Banner POV]
I waited until the team came back from their mission before I decided to leave. I don't think I have it in me to just hightail it out at my earliest convenience when they were not around.
As expected, the talk with Natasha had almost been my breaking point and no matter how much she thought we had going on, she had no place in the heart of a monster like me.
I just couldn't do it to her. Not after…
I already promised Steve that if it's another extinction level disaster then I'd be sure to show up and that's the most I can do.
With the tension going on around because of the Accord and the International outcry, the last thing they needed was a code green.
They already have their hands full with the Maximoff twins and Vision, the pardons for the twins, Vision's identity, Stark fighting for autonomy on behalf of Steve and also Thor being off-world. The last thing they needed was another Hulk rampage.
It would have been different had Thor been here but I guess that's just the universe telling old Bruce that he's not getting anything for free.
Maybe I can start in Seychelles, Tony did say it's a nice place to get the mood on and it's also quiet.
I was about to put away my bag inside the truck but a very bland yet familiar voice called me to a stop.
"Banner, mind if we have a talk?"
Oh good gracious, please let this not be the 'talk' I'm thinking of.
"Sure. I got a bit of time to spare." I said and he nodded before resting against the truck and looked at me with an almost human red face.
Taking a closer look at him now, I see that he's been making some modifications to his body, especially his head. The silver sheen of Vibranium that crossed from the back of his head to where the Mind Stone was crowned was gone and looked like a normal head if not for the collar.
His neck on the other hand had traces of a metallic collar that was very high and covered his full neck.
He was wearing a white shirt and black vest matched with black pants, a look that I'm sure came from Tony no doubt.
"So what's it you wanted to talk about?"
We haven't had that much of a conversation that didn't revolve around my thoughts of the Mind Stone and deformities of a human body so I'm not quite sure as to what to expect.
"You're leaving right?"
The way he asked the question made me sigh. He wasn't asking if I was leaving but why I was leaving.
"What do you think? You're the one with the super processor for a brain after all." I gave him a half eye but he held my stare for a moment before he sighed and scratched his head in an all too human motion.
I think it's better if I stopped seeing him as some sort of advanced sentient robot and more as a person. So far, the number of times he's acted like a truly logical part machine was when he was making calculations for some experiments he wanted to perform.
"It's an impulsive decision at best. One born from fear and past insecurities… but I guess it's not actually my place to say that, is it? Makes me come off as self-righteous." He did put some thought into his words, that I could tell, but that didn't mean it didn't sting quite a bit.
"It's because you don't understand. You might think you do, but you don't. The Hulk isn't some… beast that can be tamed. He might act friendly and sometimes display a bit of sentience but he is anything but. All it takes is just a push, one single mistake, and everything around me starts crumbling down."
I could still remember, quite vividly like a very recent memory, the number of times such a thing had happened in the past.
The result never changed. Not once was the end result different. Whenever the Hulk surfaces, it always ends up with people getting hurt. That was the curse that followed ever since it awakened in me.
"I can't risk another rampage, Vision. Not a single one."
They think I like this? That I'm happy about my decision? For a long time, this has been the first place where I'm fully accepted and yet I still have to leave because there's just no curing me.
"Face it. I'm the biggest nerve of the team. I'm a two edged blade."
I had to stop myself there before my emotions gets the better of me or if it thinks I'm being cornered.
"Honestly, I can't deny any of what you just said. In fact, the reason why I'm here in the first place is just to try and convince you not to leave but that might have been too conceited of me. I am not all-knowing after all."
His voice was a tone lower as he said that. I can't blame him since I'm sure he was being objective in his calculations or whatever, about the importance of the Avengers sticking together but there are just some things that you just have to throw away, despite their apparent importance.
I'm not too happy about the Accord the UN were trying to push forward for obvious reasons since I know better than anyone how messed up they were, but that was more reason for me not being here.
"No, you're not." I said.
"I'm going out on a limb here, but what if there was a way to fully be conscious of your alter ego's actions? What if you could really communicate with the Hulk?"
His question surprised me but that died down immediately as it was the same thing I'd wondered ever since that fateful day but the following events of destruction after destruction convinced me otherwise.
"It's not possible, Vision." Don't do that. Don't give me hope.
"I know it might be presumptuous of me to say this but I fully believe it's possible."
"What? How?" If it had been another person who had said this, I would have ignored them but Vision was different. Even now, none of us still understood what he was capable of.
"Basic psychology: be aware of the other's presence. You already know the Hulk is its own person so all you have to do is blur the line between the both of you as much as possible and try to understand the similarities around the blurred lines." He explained.
"And how do you suppose I do that? We're not exactly buddies despite what you guys might think due to his cooperation."
He gave me a look that seemed really familiar to me as if he was calling me stupid.
"How else can you do that? You'll have to frequently switch between Banner and Hulk until you both get on the same mental level. At least to some extent as I believe his mental strength is vastly higher than yours."
I reeled back in shock at the ludicrous words that came out of Vision's mouth with a tone that made it seem like a relatively normal thing to do.
Frequently switching between myself and the Hulk? Did he not hear a word I said?
I let that thing out and all he's going to do is wreck havoc until he becomes bored of it.
Oh, I see!
The stupidity must come from Stark, or maybe Jarvis' psych eval of his creator, otherwise this fully sentient synthezoid wouldn't speak this kind of heretical words.
And yet…
"What?" Was all I could say.
"Leave the complications aside and simplify everything else. How can you expect to talk with something you keep pushing away?"
"BECAUSE YOU CAN'T TALK TO THE HULK!!"
I took in deep and slow breaths to calm my erratic beating heart after shouting at Vision who just stood there, waiting for me to catch my breath.
"You know that's a lie, right? Everyone in the team has had a form of conversation with him, Natasha can testify strongly to that. So why are you the one least interested in doing it?"
I just couldn't wrap my head about what he's saying at this point. Try talking to the Hulk? How was that even possible?
"You can take your time to think about it. Just know that I'll be happy to help if you decide to give it a try." He stood up and started walking back to the Compound but he stopped a few yards away from me and turned around.
"I have evidence to believe that Ross is overseeing or planning to undergo a genetic mutation experiment. Do with that piece of information what you will."
And with that he was gone.
Sigh.
"I need to clear my head." I entered the truck and drove off. What I needed now was a place devoid of any human presence to get my mind back in order.
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