Bruce Banner

I appear once again in front of a large lab building near Columbia University. I notice there are two armed men standing guard at the building which is odd for a lab.

I walk up to the doors and look at a guard, they become tense as I walk up, "Is Doctor Banner here?"

They look at each other before one speaks, "That's none of your business, move along."

I nod, "I'll take that as a yes." I speak with Pride, "Keep your mouth shut and stand here until I leave." They both stiffen up like boards as I walk past and enter the building.

The first thing I see is a few normal offices, past them, I find a lab surrounded by glass walls. Inside the lab is two men wearing hazmat suits working on things. I open the sealed glass door and the two scientists heads whip over to look at me.

"Hey! What are you doing! This room is contaminated by radiation!" The scientist tries to shove me out of the room quickly but I don't move to his shove.

I look down at him, "Are you, Doctor Banner?" He continues to try and push me to no avail.

The other man just continues to work uninterested, "Yes, I'm Banner, let's go in the hall and talk." I finally let him push me out. As we get out into the hall he quickly takes off the revealing an average-looking man with a height of 5'8. He has a blue button-up on under the hazmat suit and square glasses.

He pulls down his glasses as he quickly takes some pills out of his pockets, "Here take these. Anti-rad pills."

I gesture my hand to deny them, "That insignificant amount of radiation can do nothing to me."

He looks confused "Great, a crazy, just take them."

I roll my eyes, "I'm not human I don't need them." As I speak my horns grow from my head.

He falls back onto his ass "Holy shit, what are you? A mutant?"

I smile at his reaction and offer him a hand to help him up. "I am the Devil, here to make a deal. With you preferably, but if I have to another chemist is fine too."

"Why do you need me?" He doesn't take my hand and just stares up at me.

"You were suggested by a trusted associate. I need a bio-chemist to "Invent" something for me, of course, I will give you the process to make it. I just need someone credible to be the one to 'Invent' it." I say with a charming smile.

He slowly gets up "But still, why me? There are loads of well know researchers who could publish something and have it accepted."

"Because the contract will make you rich and I wanted to bring someone well known and trusted into my circle. You will have to come to work under my company of course." I hand him a business card.

"Morningstar Inc.? Never heard of it." He looks at the card confused.

"Well until only a few hours ago I only owned the 5 best strip clubs and 2 best bars in New York City, and I renamed it a few months back. Now Oscorp is owned under me and we are a leader in the medical field." Banner looks surprised by the Oscorp part.

"And what would you want me to do?" He still has fear lingering on him as he speaks.

I gently slap his back "Loosen up, you are free to decline as long as you speak nothing of me." I hold my other hand out and a contract appears in a roll of flames.

He looks a bit calmer as he reads the contract. But I hear the sound of the front door opening so I put away my horns. A beautiful woman walks up to us as Banner quickly looks up at me from the contract and sees my horns are gone.

He quickly puts on a fake smile as she comes up and kisses him on the cheek, "Hey, Betty, what brings you here today?"

My brows at the woman far above his league. She is free of almost any sin and contains the potential to be a great person someday.

She smiles, "You forgot the lunch I made you." She looks up at me "And who is your handsome friend, Bruce?"

He looks up at me "This is uh, I mean he is-"

Seeing him struggle I cut him off as I reach out my hand, "I am Lucifer Creed-Morningstar." I kiss the back of her hand causing her to blush. "I didn't know Banner had such a cute girlfriend."

She looks at Banner, "I didn't know you knew the most eligible bachelor of New York. Mr. Creed is quite famous for his charity events and..." She looks up at me with a blush, "Handsome face."

I smile, "I'm flattered but I think Johnny or Tony should take the top bachelor status, I'm too much of a womanizer."

She laughs, "As if Johnny Storm and Tony Stark aren't womanizers. At least you're known for keeping your flings around rather than switching to new ones every other night."

I grin at her remark about Tony, "I don't know Johnny well but I know Tony is starting to grow out of that. Enough about that though. Banner, what do you think about the contract, I'm sure the terms are good enough for you. If you want I can add more benefits but I'll require more compensation."

Betty seems interested "Oh, what's the deal? It could be better than that contract my father gave you."

Banner nods, "He wants me to be the lead researcher for Morningstar Inc. and he will give me a valuable creation not made public yet. Not only that but the pay is insane."

Betty walks between Banner and me wrapping her arm around him reading the contract over his shoulder. Her eyes go wide when she looks at the pay, "That's enough to pay for our wedding a thousand times over!"

Banner blushes "I haven't even proposed yet."

She smiles at him knowingly, "Yet? I knew you were planning it."

Banner blushes more as he looks back at me, "Are these the only terms? Nothing in the sub-text I should be worried about?"

I smile "The Devil never lies." Betty laughs at what she thinks was a joke.

Banner looks at the contract thinking, "The Devil is the King of lies."

I scoff, "Slander."

Banner sighs, "What is the creation you want me to unveil?"

"A cure to addiction, that just so happens to save people from overdosing on some kinds of hard drugs." He looks shocked.

"That's fantastic! That could save millions!" He yells seemingly forgetting I'm the Devil. Then he realizes something "My contract with the military still has another six months."

Betty speaks up, "I'll speak to my dad, you can't pass up this opportunity." With those words, she steps outside to make a call.

"Good, now that she is gone let me explain. This is a demon's contract, it can do MANY things. For making the dead come back to the woman of your dreams falling head over heels for you. Hell, it can even give you superpowers if you want." He seems dazed as I grab his shoulder and look at him.

"Now tell me, what is it you truly desire."

His eyes focus on me as he speaks, "I want to marry Betty and have a happy life together with a modest house and no troubles doing what I love… chemistry."

I look at him oddly, "Wow, that is fucking boring. I'll add this to the contract as well then." I wave my hand over the contract and the words change.

He pulls out from the daze, "How did you do that?"

I roll my eyes "I'm The Morningstar."

He looks back at the contract "That's fair," Getting halfway through the contract he looks back at me, "Why do you want to unlock Betty's mutation? Wouldn't that be dangerous?"

I shake my head, "This world will become a dangerous place in the future, it would be better if she had a way to protect herself. Of course, I will give her the ability to have complete control over it. Also, it won't trigger unless she is in danger."

"What about me?" he asks confused.

"You do not have the gene, would you like some powers?"

He shakes his head as he continues to read, "Not really... Wow, you'll let us use your building for the wedding!? Betty would love that!"

I nod "The roof garden would be a great place for a wedding, lilacs were planted last month."

He puts his hand out, "... Lilacs are her favorite… Pen please."

I pull a pen out of my breast pocket and hand it to him "Just so you know, your soul is collateral if you don't fulfill the contract, but that probably won't happen."

He seems unconcerned as he signs the contract. Once he signs the contract he glows in a dark red light then falls to the ground unconscious. I set him in his desk chair with a small smile.

"Wise choice"