Chapter 56: Chapter 56 - Bruce Banner
As they entered the bar, a few of the people that were closer to the door gave them a glance before returning to what they were doing, not paying any attention to the family.
This was good for them since their mission didn't require them to draw attention to themselves yet.
Glancing around the room, Lily spotted Bruce Banner sitting on a chair near the counter of the bar, looking at the soccer game that was currently going on.
The other Agents also spotted him right away, as they were briefed on his appearance before coming here, although he did look much more haggard than he did in the images.
But being on the run would do that to you.
Making their way over to an empty seat near the counter, they took a seat close enough to act when they got the order and waited.
They ordered food and drinks in order to blend in and waited for Fury to begin his part of the play.
And soon enough, he did.
Fury entered the bar around 15 minutes after them and drew slight attention due to his eyepatch.
He made his way over to the counter and sat down right beside Bruce, but he didn't interact with him just yet. Instead, he ordered a drink and looked up at the game.
A few minutes passed by in silence as they both watched the game without saying much until Fury made a comment.
"I don't quite get soccer."
Fury said loud enough for Bruce to hear, naturally directing the comment towards him.
"What's not to get? You kick the ball around."
Replied Bruce as he took a sip from his drink; however, he drank juice rather than alcohol.
"I just think it lacks excitement. Where's the fun in it?"
Fury commented as he turned to face Bruce properly this time, commenting directly to him. This caused Bruce to look away from the screen and look at Fury, instantly noticing his eyepatch.
"That's why I prefer the sports."
Bruce replied.
Of course, he would prefer a sport that lacks excitement; after all, he could not get too excited without turning into the big guy.
But Fury didn't know that yet; Lily did, and she listened to everything he said.
She sat nearby, listening to them speak back and forth about sports for a little bit as she thought to herself.
'I can feel the energy leaking from him.'
Due to her energy blast mutation and radiated cell mutation, she had a slight affinity for sensing energy and radiation around her, and Bruce was a mixture of both.
'Could it be Gamma Radiation?'
Lily had as much knowledge about Gamma Radiation as anyone else, she also had a bit of information about the comic versions of Hulk that she had skimmed on the Marvel Fan Wiki, but she wasn't an expert in it.
She knew it was what made him into the Hulk, and she knew that because of that, he constantly radiated the stuff, especially so in his Hulk form, but she didn't know what it was exactly.
She was curious about trying to expose herself to it and seeing if her cells could absorb and adapt to it and if she would gain anything from that, but such a thing would be risky.
To be exposed to the level of Gamma Radiation needed to do something like that, she would need to be close to Hulk for a period of time. She had no delusion she could fight Hulk with her current capabilities.
Hulk was one of the strongest Marvel characters; he was literally stated to have unlimited strength.
With his power only growing with his rage.
Snapping out from her thoughts, she heard the conversation between Fury and Bruce taking a sudden turn and Bruce asking Fury a question.
"How did you, uh, get the eyepatch?"
Bruce asked as he observed the man's eyepatch, starting to get wary due to the strange encounter.
"Ah, lost it in war."
Fury committed in a rather vague manner, and with that, Bruce was even more wary.
He was now done with this conversation and stood up to leave, excusing himself by saying he had something to do.
Noticing that Bruce was about to leave, he motioned for the Agents to begin their plan, and with his signal, they quickly made a move.
Agent Johnson stood up from her seat quickly and made it seem like she was heading over to the counter, only to accidentally bump into Bruce, who was turning around.
"S-Sorry."
Bruce stuttered out as he realized he had bumped into the lady and that her body was rather close to his own, making him nervous.
"Well, now, you can bump into me anytime. What's your name, cutie?"
Johnson said as she took on a flirtatious nature, her arms moving around his waist so he couldn't just run away from her.
"Um, David."
He replied, making up a fake name on the spot.
"Look, sorry, but I-"
His words were cut short by Agent Peterson, who came from the side and suddenly grabbed him by the collar, pulling him away from the lady, acting like an angry spouse.
"You like makin' time with another guy's girl, fella?"
He said loudly and aggressively, pulling the man closer by the collar and lifting him off the ground slightly.
Bruce panicked and pulled up his hands to block the man in case he tried to attack him, sputtering.
"Hey, I didn't- Please, you shouldn't grab me."
Bruce warned as he didn't want to become the big guy. But the Agents and S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't know about the big guy; this was all just a test.
"Or what."
Peterson said as he straightened his back and towered over the man as if threatening him.
"P-Please, I'm warning you. Don't.."
"You're warning me?"
Peterson said as he cut the man off, his act of anger being rather good. Even Lily would be convinced if she was normal, that was.
At this point, Fury tried to play the part of a bystander and de-escalate the situation by approaching them.
"Hey, there's no for that, let's-"
"Don't try to be a hero, pal."
As he was about to finish his sentence, Agent Peterson punched him in the face, and he was sent stumbling back.
Even though the punch was planned, and Fury knew it was coming, Lily could definitely tell it was a hard one. Peterson was much buffer than Fury, after all.
'That's gotta hurt.'
She commented in her mind as she watched from the side.
As Fury readjusted himself after such a hard punch to the face, Bruce suddenly began to change.
Clinching his head, his eyes turned green, and his skin slowly followed. His size grew slowly.
"I...warned you...I-"
His words were drowned out by the screams of the people in the crowd as his body began to change.
"What's happening to him? Wha-"
"Oh my god!"
People yelled and started to run away from him, creating a mess of the place.
But the one who created the most mess was the big guy, Hulk; his transformation broke the tables around him and shattered the wooden floor from his weight.
"Hulk smash!"
He yelled as he was about to slam him first into Peterson, but how could Lily allow that to happen.
This was the exact reason she was brought.
Quickly running out from the crowd, she jumped in front of the punch and crossed her hands, tanking the punch with her body. The impact of the fist caused her feet to crack into the wooden floor below her and for it to sink to the ground.
However, she stopped it.
Chapter 57: Chapter 57 - Mission Complete
Lily used her crossed hands to take the impact of the punch, her body moving back slightly from the force that was behind it.
'Ouch.'
She was able to stop the punch from reaching the man, but it was still a punch from the Hulk; it was powerful and painful. Even if it wasn't able to injure her, it was still enough to hurt.
He held back, which was why she wasn't even injured.
His intention was just to push the man away; at most, the impact from the fist would just send the man flying backward, maybe breaking a few bones, but it wouldn't have killed him.
Not only did he hold back, but he also wasn't angry, just annoyed, so his strength was nowhere near how it would normally be.
But this worked out just fine for Lily; she wanted to try and allow her body to absorb and adapt to the Gamma Radiation his body was giving out. She wanted to see if she could benefit from it.
And the amount he gave off while in his Hulk form was much more than how much he normally had on him.
So, staying closer to him in this form would benefit her more.
"Hi."
She said as she lowered her arms, seeing the Hulk step back. She didn't lower her guard, though, keeping her eyes locked on the man.
Hulk growled in mild anger, picking up the nearby jukebox and raising it above his head as he yelled.
"Hulk smash!"
However, before he could throw the jukebox, Fury stepped forward and held his hand out, speaking loud enough for Hulk to hear.
"No. No, I don't think you're gonna want to be doing that."
His words drew the attention of Hulk, who looked down at him without throwing the jukebox just yet. But he had yet to drop the box.
"At least I don't think the man I just met— the man inside you— wants to do that."
He said, following up his speech as he noticed he had the big guy's attention. As for Lily, she stood nearby to the side, ready to act if Hulk made a move but also absorbing as much of the radiation as she could.
"He seemed like a decent enough guy to not want to hurt these people. And are you really willing to fight a little girl?"
His words seem to strike a chord with the green giant, as his eyes falter for a moment, glancing around at the people that looked at him in fear and the girl that stood to the side.
Maybe it was his inner Bruce Banner leaking out, or maybe Hulk was just a nice guy, to begin with, but he didn't seem like he wanted to hurt anyone.
He didn't even want to turn; he was forced to.
"Why don't you just put it down?"
Lily added as she moved closer and offered a hand. The closer she was to him, the stronger the radiation he leaked.
The Hulk hesitated for a moment before placing down the jukebox, and slowly the green began to fade away, and his body shrunk in size.
In a matter of seconds, he went from his massive size to the small frame of the man he once was, Bruce Banner.
He was completely naked, so Lily looked away, allowing Fury to quickly make his move and cover the man up with his jacket.
Lily was disappointed, she had gotten some Gamma Radiation from the man, but it was nowhere near enough for her body to be able to replicate it on its own yet.
She didn't even have a proper resistance to it developed.
But since she had some in her cells, with time, her body would slowly break it down and learn about it. Given enough time, she would eventually be able to produce it on her own using her mutation and maybe even improve her resistance to it as well.
While this process was currently slow, more exposure to Gamma Radiation would speed it up, so she would spend as much time as she could around Hulk when she had the chance.
"Sorry about that; it's hard to keep it under control at times."
Bruce replied as he stood up with the help of Fury. He didn't pass out since he didn't spend too much time as Hulk.
"Is that the results of the experiments?"
Fury asked the man; his identity was already exposed to an extent, so he had no reason to hide it any longer.
"You know about that?"
Bruce replied but then glanced over to the girl, remembering that she had tanked an attack from the Hulk, so it only made sense that they weren't normal.
"Of course you do."
He said as he shook his head, realizing he had been set up.
"I should leave now. Please don't try to stop me."
Bruce said as he pushed away from Fury's help and began to walk away from them. Fury decided not to stop him, as he had already gotten the information he wanted from this meeting.
Further attempts to meet or interact with Bruce Banner could be put to a halt, so with that, the mission was over.
And finally, it was time to return home.
Not much had been gained from this, but nothing was lost. And if anything, she was able to meet a significant Canon character, get her hands on Gamma Radiation, and even show off her capabilities to Fury.
She looked forward to her growth at S.H.I.E.L.D.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
ZeroX0666
ZeroX0666
I know not a lot happened here, but that's mainly because she can't do much to the Hulk right now; fighting would be meaningless. Plus, this was just a small cut scene in the comics.
Another time skip coming soon, among other things.
Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
12 Power
stone 
Paragraph comment