18

'.....'= Thoughts 

"....."= Conversations 

______________________________________________

BACK TO THE LOCATION OF THE BATTLE...

As Tony and John were conversing about leaving, they saw General Ross approaching them with a contingent of military personnel. The tension in the air was palpable as the General stopped a few feet away from Tony and John.

The soldiers behind General Ross, upon his orders, started collecting the body of the Abomination. Whereas General Ross stepped towards Tony and John.

"I tried to tell you, General Ross, just how perilous these endeavors were. Now, are you prepared to confront the repercussions of your actions? Tragically, it is the innocent civilians who have borne the brunt of these consequences," Tony Stark admonished.

"Stark," Ross grunted, but couldn't find any words to refute the allegations. "Thank you," he muttered and turned around, paying no heed to the two people.

As he turned around, his face seemed to have aged even more. Bearing the brunt of his actions, Ross knew that he wouldn't be able to remain in his position in the army for long.

The events of the Abomination's rampage had caused significant damage to the city and loss of civilian lives, and Ross could no longer ignore the consequences of his relentless pursuit of power.

Walking away, Tony and John watched him with a mix of pity and relief. They knew that Ross had been consumed by his obsession with capturing the Hulk, and it had cost him greatly. Now, he would have to face the aftermath of his actions and the repercussions that awaited him.

"Looks like the General has finally realized the extent of his mistakes," John said, breaking the silence. "It's about time."

Tony nodded, his expression serious. "It's unfortunate that it took such a catastrophe for him to see the truth. But maybe now, he'll reevaluate his priorities and try to make amends."

Suddenly, a helicopter appeared in the sky, focusing on the Hulk, who grunted angrily and then started running away by jumping from building to building.

Seeing Hulk run far away from the scene of the destruction, Tony and John decided to leave as well.

The media had also started appearing but were being controlled by the army. They were instructed not to approach Tony or John, as well as the huge body of the Abomination, which had been covered by a large piece of cloth.

Still, that didn't stop the media from capturing photos of Tony and John, who had started walking towards the parking lot.

"What about Pepper and Happy?" John asked.

"They left already. They are now at Stark Tower," Tony replied calmly.

John nodded his head and walked towards his car after arriving at the parking lot. Bidding their goodbyes, both started to move away in different directions.

While driving, John's attention was focused on a thought that had been bugging him since the end of the fight.

'Why don't I feel guilty about killing? Why does it come to me so naturally? Moreover, the first time I ever killed people, I didn't feel even a tinge of emotion. Even if they were bad people, I had never killed anyone in my past life, let alone an animal. Is someone messing with my mind or is there something inherently wrong with me?' John wondered.

He couldn't shake off the unsettling feeling that something was off about his lack of guilt and remorse. Killing had become second nature to him, and he couldn't understand why.

'Or does this come from the system, through the memories and details of Whitebeard's abilities and fights, that were transferred to my brain? Does the Conquerors Haki play a part in it? Even when he saw the ruthlessly squished bodies and blood of the people back in the restaurant, John didn't feel much, except a bit bad for the dead people,' John wondered.

While he was deep in thought and driving in auto-mode, something fell from the sky.

The cars around him hadn't noticed, but due to his heightened senses that had been evolved due to the Observation Haki and the super soldier serum, he quickly noticed the person who was falling.

He already had a hint about the identity of the person falling from the sky.

He quickly drove his car in the direction of the falling person so that the other cars would not mistakenly hit him.

As he maneuvered through the road, he finally reached the spot where the person had landed.

Stepping out of the car, John observed the half-naked and tattered-short-wearing unconscious man who had fallen in front of his car.

"Banner," John looked at the unconscious man.

John approached the fallen man cautiously, not wanting to startle him when he woke up. He kneeled down beside him and gently tapped his cheek, trying to wake him.

"Hey, are you alright?" John asked, his voice filled with concern as the sudden stoppage of his car had created quite a commotion on the road.

Ignoring the people around, John helped Bruce stand up and then guided him towards his car.

'I am definitely going to get a ticket,' John wondered as he drove the car away from all the commotion.

The man groaned and slowly opened his eyes, blinking at the sudden light. He squinted up at John, confusion evident in his gaze.

"Where... am I?" the man mumbled, his voice weak and groggy.

"You fell from the sky," John replied, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "Do you remember anything? Do you remember me?"

The man struggled to properly sit up in the car, wincing in pain as he did so. He looked down at himself, noticing his torn clothes and dirt-covered body. There were no visible injuries on his body. However he kept holding his head, which John deemed to be the reason for his pain.

"Yeah, it's a bit fuzzy. We were fighting....," Bruce replied.

"Abomination," John completed his sentence.

"Abomination," Bruce repeated. "You have a good naming sense.

'I wish,' John thought as he had said the same name that was popularised in the movie itself.

"I'm John Wick. You can call me John," John introduced himself.

"I'm Bruce," the man replied, finally beginning to regain his bearings. "Bruce Banner."

"Do you have somewhere you want to go?" John asked.

Banner looked at John and, after a moment of silence, said, "Unfortunately, no."

______________________________________________________________________________________________ 

For 5+ advance chapters visit my patreon. 

patreon.com/StoryTeller229