The next day was kind of normal. Quiet, I feel uneasy for some reason.
I found myself at the Avengers compound, staring out the window as I sipped at my coffee.
The door squeaked open, and I turned to find the Black Widow, or Scarlet Johansson walking in.
"You okay? It's been a long time," she asked.
I shrugged, half-smiling, though I could tell she wasn't buying it. "Yeah, just... thinking. You know how it is."
"Thinking about what?" she asked me another question, and this time I just smiled.
"Nothing in particular, a lot has changed since... I left." I told her.
Natasha walked over to the counter, grabbing a cup of coffee for herself. "Yeah, a lot's changed. Some good, some not so much." She leaned against the counter. "But you're here now. That's what matters."
I gave a small nod, not quite meeting her gaze. It wasn't that I didn't appreciate her words—it was just... things had been moving so fast, and I wasn't sure how I fit in anymore. I was part of something bigger, something complicated.
"What's the plan, Banner?" Natasha asked. She clearly wanted more than just surface-level answers. I couldn't give her those.
"Natasha, I feel empty, there's no direction in my life now. This certainly is better than... my past few years but now I've nothing." I confessed to her, opening up a bit.
"You know," she began slowly, "feeling lost after everything we've been through isn't unusual. It's okay to feel like you're trying to find yourself again."
I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "I don't think it's just about me trying to find myself. It's more like... I don't even know who I am anymore. The world keeps turning, but I don't. I'm not sure what role I'm supposed to play anymore."
"You were never just the Hulk, Banner. You're a brilliant scientist. You're a part of the Avengers, part of something bigger than yourself. Maybe it's not about finding a role, maybe it's about building a new one."
"Well, off to a bad start, let's shift to a more positive tone, you know what I mean?" I asked her.
"Let's just watch TV," I told her.
Natasha smiled. "Alright, let's take a break," she said, walking over to the couch and dropping down beside me.
I grabbed the TV remote and turned on the TV. The first channel was the news channel, "New Vigilante in New York?" I read out the title.
The Anchor began, "Good evening, folks. We begin tonight with an unusual turn of events in the heart of the city. Police are reporting a high-stakes robbery that was thwarted by an unknown figure—who appears to have some rather... unconventional methods.
Earlier today, a group of armed robbers attempted to hold up a store on the outskirts of downtown. What seemed like just another day of crime was quickly interrupted by a mysterious vigilante, whose actions have left both criminals and law enforcement stunned.
Eyewitnesses describe the figure as a young man who displayed some extraordinary abilities. One witness, who wished to remain anonymous, claims they saw him teleport and emit beams of light powerful enough to disarm and incapacitate the robbers.
Despite the apparent heroics, questions are already being raised about the identity of this new figure. Police are calling him 'Illuminant'."
Natasha leaned forward. "Well, this is new," she muttered, her eyes narrowing as she analyzed the news report.
I couldn't help but feel a bit of curiosity. The way they described this so-called "Illuminant" made him sound... familiar, though I couldn't quite place why. The powers, the mysterious aura—it was like something out of a story I'd read or heard before.
"He seems interesting but surprising," I told her, Illuminant? I don't think I know a Marvel character with that name.
"So, what've you been doing?" I asked her.
"Well, after... the Avengers split up, I've gone my own way, stayed in the dark, and went back to reunite with my family."
"After everything happened... I went back to my roots. Reunited with my family, and found some closure. Took some time to figure things out. But it's never really done, is it? The mission always calls."
"Things with the Avengers... it's complicated. After the split, I just needed to reconnect with who I was before all the chaos. I went back to Russia for a while, back to the people I grew up with. You know, trying to rebuild the bonds I thought I lost. I met my sister again, and... I don't want to elaborate. But after that, I went to find Steve and help him rescue some people from the raft- it's a prison." She told me.
"Yeah... cool story," I told her, to which she chuckled.
"That's it?"
"Yeah, that's it," I said.
"So, what are you gonna do now?"
"I don't know. Maybe I will come to terms with the green guy." I told her.
"Last time I saw you both at Wakanda, Hulk... was fine with you." She told me. "He was
cooperating, calm, I saw you controlling Hulk's body, what's up with that?"
"Yeah... I'll talk about that later, it was nice catching up with you, Natasha," I told her as I got up to leave. A headache? The whole picture zoomed out on me.
"Sure, take your time." She told me.
The flood of memories came in waves, crashing against the walls of my brain. I gasped for air, struggling to stay awake. It was like someone had turned on a projector, and suddenly, Bruce's memories weren't just fragments—they were now vivid f***ing images, holy shit, it hurts.
I dropped to the ground, now on my knees. I punched the ground, in frustration. Natasha, came rushing to me, "Bruce, are you okay?" She held me in her arms.
"Yeah, what do you think!" Natasha quickly grabbed her phone and called the medics on the compound.
I gritted my teeth, "I NEED HELP!"
The sound of footsteps reached my ears, and I saw Tony rushing toward us, a worried frown on his face. "What happened?" he asked, crouching down beside me.
"She called the medics," Natasha said, her voice still trying to keep it together despite the panic in her eyes. "He's... He's not himself. He's losing control."
"Alright, we're getting you to the med bay. We'll figure this out."
"Where the hell are the medics?" Tony shouted as the nurses rushed into the room with a stretcher.
They rested me on the stretcher, and after a moment, blank. I was not there, I couldn't think of anything, I couldn't do anything.
An hour later...
I was at the med bay in the compound, I looked at the nurse beside me, "How are you feeling?" She asked me.
"...I'm fine. Excuse me, how long have I been here?"
"You've been here for about an hour. We had to sedate you for a bit to keep you calm," she said. "You were... unresponsive at first, but you're stabilizing now. How do you feel?"
"I feel amazing, thank you for asking." I got up from the bed.
"Mr. Banner, your body is fine, but there's a lot of activity in your brain."
I froze. "What kind of activity?" I asked.
The nurse hesitated before answering. "There's a lot of electrical activity. Almost like... multiple signals are firing at once. It's like your brain is overloaded. We did an EEG, and the scans came back... unusual. It's almost as if you're processing more than just memories. Like there's something... else happening."
"Alright... that's fine, can I leave now?" I asked her. I heard footsteps outside the room when the door creaked open, it was Tony and Natasha, they were the only ones there in the compound anyway.
"How are you feeling?" Tony asked.
I waved a hand. "I'm fine. They told me I'm stabilizing." I gave a slight shrug.
Natasha looked at me. "Bruce, you don't seem fine. That... whatever it was, it's not just a normal headache. The medics are concerned about the activity in your brain. It's like there's a war happening up there, isn't there?" She asked me.
"I told you that I'm fine, didn't I?" I asked her. "I just need some time." I got up from the bed and left the room.
"Tony, do you have a spare car or something?" The question I asked was very dumb but I don't know, it was forced out of me.
"A spare car? What do you need a car for, Banner?"
"I just... I need some air. A change of scenery." The words felt strange coming out of my mouth.
Natasha exchanged a glance with Tony. "You sure you're okay to go out?" she asked.
I smiled at her. "Yeah, I'll be fine. I just need to think and clear my head. "
Tony rubbed his chin, considering for a moment. "Alright, alright. I'll have one of the guys bring you a car. But you're not going alone. Someone's gotta keep an eye on you."
Tony was already pulling out his phone, likely calling for the car. He wasn't going to let me go without some backup, especially after what had happened earlier. Natasha stepped closer, but I stopped her.
"I'm fine, I really am. I know you're worried but it isn't anything serious, okay?" I told her
Natasha didn't look convinced, but she nodded anyway.
"Okay, the car's at the gate, be safe, and don't do anything crazy. Don't be like 'I'm always angry', you know what I mean?"
"Yeah, yeah," I muttered, stepping toward the door. I walked to the gate, where the car was parked.
I entered the car, it was a Bugatti. The driver didn't speak, which was fine by me, but he was in the driving seat, which was not fine by me.
"Hey, man, what's your name?" I asked him.
"Rodrigo, sir." He responded. I nodded, "Rodrigo, can you sit in the passenger seat and let me behind the wheel?"
Rodrigo glanced at me through the rearview mirror, hesitating for a second before responding. "Uh, sir, I'm not sure if that's... advisable."
"I'm advising you, not the other way 'round. Now, please do me a favour and sit here." I requested him to which he hesitated but gave in at the end.
"Thank you, Rodrigo, I'll tell Tony to give you a raise." I told him.
I quickly hopped onto the driver's seat. I turned on the engine, and BOOM.
"You know," I said, keeping my voice casual, "I don't really know what I'm doing. But right now, this... this feels right."
He glanced at me, still unsure, but he nodded. "Just be careful, sir. That's a lot of power under your feet."
"Yeah," I muttered, gripping the wheel tightly, "but it's the only power I can trust right now."