It had been a full day since Banner had returned to Ponyville, and his heart was torn to see the shape of the city. Buildings had been reduced to rubble and there were homeless ponies practically everywhere. And from what Twilight had told him, a number of other ponies besides those who had been with him had seen Banner turn into the Hulk, so his secret had spread across the entire town by the time he got back. The town's populace watched as he climbed out of the balloon, and he had been unable to read their faces. So when he saw their reaction, he was surprised to say the least.
"Look, it's Doctor Banner!"
"Is he alright? His clothes look ripped apart."
"Thank Celestia that he's no longer green."
"I don't understand," Banner muttered to Celestia, listening as all the ponies voiced their concern for him. "I destroyed their homes. I unleashed one of the greatest terrors known to my species upon them, and they knew that I was the one who did it. Why do they still care about me?"
"This isn't the first time a giant monster has come through and destroyed Ponyville," Twilight told him with a grin. "Heck, even Spike turned into a giant, greedy dragon and wrecked the city. However, the ponies here don't judge you based on what you do as a monster, but what you do in day-to-day life. And you save lives and help out whenever you can." Banner didn't know what to say as all of the ponies walked over to his group and started to ask him questions, so Celestia had to step in.
"Sorry, but he cannot answer questions at the moment. He is needed at the hospital." The ponies (the news reporters especially) wanted him to stay and answer more questions, but the authority of the princess quelled them. Rarity said that she was going to make a new outfit for Banner as she walked off, and Rainbow Dash mentioned that she had cloud duty. Pinkie and AJ both had to go to their jobs and Fluttershy had spent too long away from her animals. That left only Twilight and Celestia to go to the hospital with Banner.
"Why am I going to the hospital again?" he asked them once they were outside the main doors.
"Because you agreed to let us help you, so we're going to need a sample of your blood to find out more about the Hulk," Twilight said with a smile. Banner stopped in his tracks, but Twilight cut him off before he could complain. "Look, you agreed to let us help you, so unless you want us experimenting on you, we need a blood sample. Which will it be?" Banner opened his mouth, but closed it again with a thin smile. Twilight had nailed him; he'd much rather prefer them trying to cure a bit of his blood rather than trying to cure all of him. So with a sigh of defeat, he opened the door and walked inside.
"Dr. Banner!" the receptionist said with a smile. "I'm glad to see that you are alright. After the fiasco yesterday, we thought that you would be gone for good."
"And nopony's mad that I turned into a green, raging monster and destroyed the town?" he asked cautiously.
"Please, that was nothing compared to what Discord did a while back," she said with a chuckle. "He made Big Mac into a dog and caused all the buildings to float. What's a green monster compared to him?" This Discord intrigued Banner, but not in a good way. He had found that those who can manipulate reality were often not to be trusted. "So, what can we do for you?"
"I need..." he began, looking back at Twilight who indicated for him to continue. "To have some blood examined." The receptionist looked at him over the rim of her glasses, a curious smile on her face.
"After the last little incident we had when we tried to draw blood, I would have never expected you to request it. But if you're certain that you can control your green friend, then I see no reason why we can't." The receptionist called down one of the doctors, who greeted Banner with a smile.
"Dr. Banner! Glad to see that you are alright. I hear that you wish to have a little blood drawn?" he asked with a grin.
"That is correct, Dr. Lifeline," Banner muttered. "And don't worry, I won't...get angry."
"Well I certainly hope not," he said with a chuckle, walking towards an examination room. "This way please, the others can come if they want." Twilight and Celestia followed him down the hallway into the examination room. Some of the other patients laughed at Banner's outfit (his shredded pants) as they entered the room.
"Now then, if you'll sit down on the bed, the nurse get the needle." Banner sat down uncomfortably as the doctor left, Celestia and Twilight giving him nervous looks.
"Are you sure that you are ready for this?" Celestia asked hesitantly.
"You didn't give me much of a choice," Banner grunted. The ponies looked at him hesitantly as the doctor re-entered the room with the nurse, holding a small needle in her hoof.
"Now you'll only feel a small prick, but please try to control your anger," she said sternly. Celestia and Twilight looked on nervously as the nurse brought the needle near Banner's arm. Banner looked away and closed his eyes. The nurse gently inserted the needle into his arm, while Dr. Lifeline kept his eyes on Banner the entire time. Banner's eyes went wild for a second, but he gently exhaled and calmed down, allowing a little of his blood to be drawn.
"There you go, Dr. Banner, your blood has been successfully drawn," Dr. Lifeline said with a smile, showing Banner the vial of blood. Twilight and Celestia looked at his blood unimpressed.
"Huh, I thought that it would be green," Celestia muttered as the nurse bandaged Banner's arm.
"Get me mad enough and it will definitely turn green," he said with a pained grin. He took the vial of blood from the doctor and looked at it, seeing the destuctive potential of what he was holding. "Let's get back to the library, I don't want to be carrying this around for too long." Twilight held out her hoof to receive the blood, but Banner clenched it even tighter and walked by her.
"He doesn't trust me," Twilight said with a sigh.
"With what he has to deal with, I'd say that he doesn't trust anyone," Celestia comforted her. The two followed Banner out of the library, Twilight wondering what secrets his blood would hold.
----=-=----
Twilight had no idea what to make of the sample she was observing. After saying goodbye to Celestia, Twilight and Banner had gone back to her library to examine the blood sample. To get started, the two of them had gone into the basement where Twilight kept her lab equipment. Banner pulled up a chair and watched as Twilight put his blood on a slide. She slipped it under her microscope and looked into the eyepiece with a huge smile, interested to see what secrets were hidden within.
"I don't believe it..." she muttered to herself as she looked at his blood. "I've never seen blood like this before. It's...incredible. Your blood has been mutated beyond anything I've ever seen."
"You've looked at blood samples before?" Banner asked, raising an eyebrow. "I didn't know that you were this into science."
"Oh I love science, but I've studied everything there is to study in Ponyville," she muttered, turning a knob on the microscope. "But that was until you showed up! Now I know that there is so much more for me to learn! Like, how does a black hole work? Or, why can a two ton metal car move faster than a horse? Or, what's a Thor?"
"You know Thor?" Banner asked.
"No. You talk in your sleep," Twilight said with a grin. "Okay, now that I've seen your blood up close, I can now work up an antidote for the Hulk gene," she said with a smile, walking over to her shelves. She started to levitate bottles towards her.
"It's not going to work," Banner said with a shrug. "But you're welcome to try." Twilight walked over to the slide and gently tilted one of the bottles over, carefully pouring one drop onto the blood. She quickly moved to the microscope and squeeled with delight as the magic began to repair the damage to his cells. Then the cells began to mutate and turn green, fighting back against the magic potion and quickly consuming it in a matter of seconds. Once the potion had been destroyed, the cells returned to their normal state, leaving a shocked Twilight.
"Did it work?" Banner asked with a smirk. Twilight sighed and pulled out the next bottle.
"Okay, so it's a little tougher than I thought," she said with a frown. "But I refuse to give up!"
"Trust me, giving up would save you time," Banner suggested.
"If you want me to give up so badly, why'd you agree to this in the first place?" She retorted.
"Because I'm desperate," Banner whispered to himself as Twilight continued working. She poured a much more powerful acidic potion onto the blood, that was created to specifically get rid of poisons without damaging the pony it was meant to heal. But just like before, the Hulk's cells overcame the potion and quickly eliminated it. Twilight growled in frustration as Banner shook his head with a smile. He had spent years trying to get rid of the Hulk with the most advanced sciences in his world. If Twilight could somehow manage it, he would take back everything that he had thought about her--and her world.
Knock Knock.
"Banner, can you get that? Me and this sample are about to have a frank exchange of ideas," Twilight growled, pouring four potions onto his blood at once. He headed upstairs as Twilight sighed in frustration, walking to the front door and opening it.
"Hello, Dr. Banner," Rarity said with a smile. "I came to drop off your outfit. May I come in?" Banner heard Twilight roar in frustration, but he figured as long as she stayed down there they were safe.
"Sure, come on in but stay out of the basement," he warned her.
"Twilight?" Rarity asked.
"Twilight," Banner confirmed. He moved aside and allowed Rarity to enter. She walked over to a chair and plopped her bag down on the floor, opening it and lifting out his new clothes.
"Voila! What do you think?" she asked, floating the clothes over to him. "I may not like the color green, but it works amazingly with you." She had done what she said and made his shirt a Hulk green, something that he wasn't sure that he agreed with.
"It looks...great," Banner said with a forced smile, putting the shirt on. Rarity gave him his pants and looked away as he slipped them on, smiling when she saw him in his full outfit.
"You look amazing in it," she said with a smile, walking around him to see how it looked. "Yes...green is definitely your color."
"Thanks again for the clothes. Again, I have nothing with which to pay you back," Banner said, realizing he said that often. He really did rely on the compassion of others often, didn't he? Both of them looked at the basement door as Twilight let loose another cry of rage, telling him that Hulk's cells were getting the better of her.
"You have any plans while she's...being Twilight?" Rarity asked.
"I think I'm going to go for a walk," Banner muttered looking out the window. "I need something to calm me down or else..."
"I understand. Go and relax. Twilight's going to be busy for a while." Banner nodded and opened the door for Rarity, who smiled at him as she left. Banner closed the door behind him as he left, hearing Twilight scream in rage as she failed again. He shook his head, knowing that she'd never figure it out. He walked out of the library, heading off towards his destination.
---=-=---
He didn't know why he headed to Sugar Cube Corners, but he did know that he could use some friendly company at the moment and none of the ponies were more friendly than Pinkie. He walked into the store to find Pinkie rolling around on the floor with two foals, one a unicorn and the other a pegasus. He was a little shocked to see that, he never knew Pinkie had kids.
"Hey Doctor B!" Pinkie said with a giggle as he walked in, hopping up with both the foals on her back. "What can I do for ya?" Banner walked over to a table and sat down, opening one of the menus at the table and looking through it.
"Not much, just wanted to order something and to talk," he said, finding something that looked good. Pinkie placed the foals on the table and sat across from him.
"Well, lucky for you, I can provide both," she said with a smile. The two foals looked at him with interest and crawled over to him. He looked at them with a smile as they gawked at him with awe, curiosity shining in their eyes.
"Well, hello there," he said to them with a grin. Both of them smiled and reached their hooves out to him. Banner looked at Pinkie with an unsure face, but she waved him on. He put one hand under each of them and pulled them over to him, both of them giggling at him. "I didn't know that you had foals, Pinkie," Banner said as the two began to crawl on him.
"Oh, they're not mine. They belong to the Cakes. They're the ponies that run the place," Pinkie explained, giggling as one of the foals began to pull on Banner's shirt. "Their names are Pumpkin Cake and Pound Cake. Aren't they just cute?" Banner was aware of the other ponies in the shop smiling at him as he tried to keep the foals from crawling over him. He gently picked them both up in one hand each and set them down on the table. Both of them sniffled and held out their hooves again, wanting back up.
"Don't worry, I'll take them off your hooves," Pinkie said, picking them both up and placing them on her back. As she went up the stairs, a pony with frosting on her head walked over to him.
"Thanks for playing with them, they love to see new things," she said with a smile. "My name is Mrs. Cake. What can I get for you?"
"Just a coffee. Decaf please," he said with a sigh. She nodded and headed off to the back, leaving Banner to look around the shop. The ponies there were talking with each other while looking at him out of the corner of their eyes. He didn't see any malice in them, and after the scene with the foals, they seemed to be more accepting. Mrs. Cake brought out his coffee and he sipped it slowly, glad to have something that reminded him of home.
"Sorry about that, but they needed their nap," Pinkie said with a grin as she sat back down. "By the way, if you see Pound Cake on the ceiling, let me know. He's still trying to fly."
"I didn't know that baby pegasi could still fly," Banner commented. "I thought they had to be at least an adolescent."
"Nope, he can fly whenever he wants. Makes getting him off the ceiling a problem," Pinkie said with a sigh. Banner continued to drink his coffee as Pinkie just stared at him.
"What?" he eventually asked her.
"Looking at you, I would never have guessed that there was a monster inside of you," she said. Banner's face fell as she said this, another reminder of his curse. "Why is Hulk so angry all the time?"
"Hulk has constantly been hunted since the day he came into existence," Banner said with a sigh, putting down his coffee. "Every time he comes out, someone is there to try and hurt him. And in order to protect himself he has to smash them, which makes them hunt him with even more tenacity. All he wants is to be left alone, but no one lets him."
"I don't know why he wants to be alone. I'd go crazy without all my friends," Pinkie said with a smile, "friends like Twilight and Rainbow Dash and you." Banner looked at her over the rim of his cup, appreciating that she had said that. He didn't like to have friends because of the Hulk, but then again, the Hulk had a heck of a time with her. She was the bane of the Hulk.
"Aren't you already crazy?" he asked with a smile. Pinkie thought about it for a minute before she began to laugh.
"I guess you're right, I am crazy!" Banner laughed as well and the two talked for a little while longer, until night fell and the shop had to close. Banner ordered one last coffee and left once he had finished it, waving goodbye to Pinkie and the foals, who had snuck down from upstairs to see him again. As he walked away from the store, he wondered where to go next. He didn't want to head back to the library, but he had no idea where to go. He decided that he would find a place to stargaze and try to enjoy himself. So he headed off to a hill that he'd spotted in the distance, smiling to himself.
---=-=---
The night sky always calmed him. He assumed that was because he was constantly on the run from the goverment and he spent many nights out under the starry sky. The stars always calmed him down, helped him to think: Like, how the ponies had managed to convince him to come back even after everything that happened. Even after he had turned into the Hulk and run rampant through the town, they still forgave him and let him come back. He hadn't received kindness like that in a long time.
"Mind if I join you?" Banner sat up and looked over to find a mid-night blue alicorn standing next to him, a friendly look on her face. From his readings, this was Princess Luna, one of the two princesses, along with Celestia.
"Sure," he said with a shrug, laying back down. "Nothing I can do to stop you."
"From what I've heard about you, that is not entirely true," she said with a thin smile, lying down on her back next to him. She lay next to him for a while, her eyes on the stars. "What do you think of the stars, Dr. Banner?"
"I wish I could be among them," he said with a longing sigh, staring off into the vastness. "Far away from all other life so that the Hulk can never hurt anyone again."
"But wouldn't you be lonely?" she asked him.
"My happiness means little as long as the Hulk is kept away from others," he replied softly. Luna looked at him, feeling his pain. She could see the sorrow in his eyes, sorrow from a lifetime of pain.
"How did you become the Hulk?" When Banner didn't answer, she thought that she had asked a question the he didn't like to answer. After a few minutes, she had gone back to stargazing when he finally answered.
"I was experimenting on gamma radiation to help create the perfect human," Banner began, going back into his memories. "Stronger, faster, immune to diseases. It would have been a cure for many of the world's problems. But my employers wanted to use my research as a weapon, to turn my miracle formula into a tool for destruction. So on the day we were supposed to test the potential for the gamma rays...it all went wrong." Banner flashed back to the explosion, when his body was cooked with rays so powerful that any normal human would have been killed. But Banner wasn't a normal human. He was cursed.
"What happened after that?"
"The gamma went off and fried me like a microwave, but with gamma rays," he continued, snapping out of his memories. "I should have died, but a certain something helped me survive."
"The Hulk," Luna said with a frown.
"Yep. And ever since that day, I've been a target for the military and secret goverment organizations--as well as those who wish to weaponize the Hulk."
"Weaponize the Hulk? But you are his host and you cannot control him! Why would anypony wish to make more of him?"
"Because he is the ultimate weapon," Banner replied coldly. "And no one could stop an army of Hulks. That, and the fact that he can get destructive around civilization, is why I try to stay away from others. He's a monster and I have to make sure that he is my burden alone to bear." Luna looked at the human with a newfound sense of respect. His entire life had been stripped away from him by others, yet his only concern was to keep said others and the rest of the world safe from his monster. Whereas she...
"I had a monster inside of me too," she whispered. Banner looked over at her, remembering what he had read about her. "I was a creature called Nightmare Moon. I became that way after my jealousy for my sister and her light became unbearable. But unlike you, who does everything he can to keep the monster under control, I succumbed to its power and let my hate rule me. My sister had to intervene, and I was placed on the moon for a thousand years, imprisoned with my hatred. If not for Twilight and her friends, I would still be that monster today." Banner raised an eyebrow at the whole 'to the moon' part. Last time he'd checked, there was no oxygen on the moon and therefor Luna would have suffocated instantly. Then again, he had a massive monstrosity inside of him and he constantly talked with gods...so he supposed that a pony on the moon wasn't so far fetched.
"Trying to sympathize with me?" he asked her.
"No, I'm trying to tell you to give Twilight and the others a chance. They helped me when I was a monster; they can help you too." Banner shook his head with a chuckle.
"Sorry Luna, but there is only one cure for me," he said with a grin. When Luna looked at him funny, he stuck out his thumb and brought it along his neck. Her widening eyes told him that she understood.
"Death? But surely you would never--"
"I have tried multiple times," he corrected her, gaining a look of horror. "But every time I do, HE stops me. So I gave up trying to cure him or to get rid of him. All I can do is contain him and pray that I'm far away from any life when he finally decides to come out." Banner noticed that the moon was nearly at its zenith and that is was time for him to head back.
"You make a lovely night, Luna," he said as he stood up, stretching his back. "And thank you for trying to console me. While it didn't work, it's always nice to know that others care." He waved goodbye to her and headed back towards the direction of the library. Luna watched him go with a shake of her head.
"Such a strong will...yet there is no ambition in his eyes. He truly has given up on himself," she said with another sad shake of her head, spreading her wings and taking flight back to Canterlot. Banner arrived back at the library a few minutes later, being greeted by the sound of silence. He felt concern for Twilight's well being and he opened the door to the basement, carefully descending just in case anything went wrong. He found the pony asleep at her lab table, his small bit of blood glowing green with gamma, telling him that she had failed.
"Don't feel too bad, greater minds than yours have tried and also failed," he muttered to her. He reached onto a shelf and pulled off a blanket, gently putting it over her shoulders to keep her warm. He then went back up the stairs and laid down on the floor, closing his eyes and allowing himself to go back into his memories, of a time when he wasn't a monster and his life was perfect.