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.
Chapter 58: Chapter 58 - Ava Starr
A few days flew by quickly and without much happening aside from training for Lily.
As for the mission, it was deemed a success by Fury, and she was praised for her part in it. Fury said that he was pleased with her capabilities and judgment and that he looked forward to working with her.
She never heard the exact details about how it turned out in the end, but she heard Fury called a meeting with the higher-ups to discuss the matter and knew that the meeting would end with the decision to not attempt to capture Bruce.
Instead, they would just monitor him.
But that wasn't relevant for Lily right now; instead, she was ordered to come in for an official test to see if she could begin further field missions.
On the 5th of March, Lily made her way down to the training grounds of the S.H.I.E.L.D. building in her training suit, greeted by one of the Agents who had thought her so far.
"Today, you will be put to the test to see if you can be allowed to enter the field officially. This test will be monitored by multiple of the Higher Ups, so do your best."
Spoke the Agent as he led her over to the combat area within the training grounds; there, she saw another figure standing at the ready.
The figure was dressed in a full-body suit of what could be called armor.
It was completely white and looked like a mixture of fabric and metallic parts, making a semi-robotic suit. It had a small white hoodie that covered the head of the figure, under which the figure wore a mask with multiple glowing red dots.
These dots were cameras that allowed the figure inside to see the outside.
The figure was clearly female, as Lily could see the curves on the figure even through the suit.
It took Lily a second to remember who the figure was, but after getting closer and getting a good view of the suit, she quickly realized who it was before her.
Ava Starr, also known as Ghost.
'So it's around that time?'
Lily commented in her head as she reviewed the information she knew about the lady.
Ava Starr was a very unfortunate girl who gained the ability to change her body because of a quantum accident that killed her parents.
While that may sound like a good thing at first, it wasn't. The powers were highly unstable, and she couldn't control them independently, making her molecular structure and equilibrium imbalanced.
This caused her to phase in and out of normality outside of her control, and it even increased the rate at which her body was breaking down and thus dying.
Lily remembered that at a young age, the girl was taken in by S.H.I.E.L.D. and lied to, used for her powers, and made to do their dirty work until she no longer had use to them.
Eventually, she was discarded and made into the villain.
But that hadn't happened yet; before her, the girl stood in the new suit that S.H.I.E.L.D. had given her, under the belief that if she worked for them, she would eventually get a cure.
Lily pitied the girl; how could she not.
The girl was so foolish and naive, she wanted a single thing, a cure so that she could have a normal life, yet she couldn't have that even after all she had done.
She was truly pitiful.
"This is Ghost; she will be your sparring partner for the test."
Spoke the Agent as they approached the figure, introducing the two of them to each other.
Ghost had on her full body suit, so Lily couldn't see her face, but Ghost could see just how young Lily was.
"A child? You want me to fight a child?"
Spoke Ghost with reluctance in her voice.
She wasn't some cold-blooded killer; she was just someone that wanted to have a normal life. How could she possibly go along with something like fighting a young girl?
"Do not underestimate her due to her age; she can kill you if she hits you."
Replied the Agent, which wasn't very believable to Ghost, who had never seen Lily before.
"Lily, you will be fighting unarmed, Ghost; you are permitted to use a weapon of choice. Guns, however, are not permitted."
The Agent explained as he stood between them like a referee about to begin a match.
"I don't need a weapon to fight a child."
Replied Ghost, as she was still reluctant to do something against the girl, but she had to since it was her task. She decided that finishing the match quickly would be for the best.
"Please use a weapon; I do not want to hurt you."
Lily finally spoke to the girl directly, looking up at her since she was shorter.
She wasn't being arrogant when she said that; she was being honest.
The current Ghost didn't have the strength or durability to withstand her attacks because she hadn't yet learned to use her abilities properly.
Meaning if Lily was to hit her directly, she would most likely suffer an injury. She would probably break her if she didn't greatly limit her strength.
Not to mention, without a weapon, the girl had no way of hurting Lily because of Lily's very high durability.
Of course, it probably sounded a bit like childish arrogance to the girl when Lily spoke.
"Don't worry."
Ghost replied without saying much and still didn't take a weapon, so Lily didn't force it.
Instead, they both got into positions to begin the match, and the Agents went over the basic rules.
Surrendering or being unable to keep fighting were the two ways to win.
Fatal or permanent injuries also weren't allowed; he specifically told Lily to not break any of the girl's bones.
Once everything was explained, the match began.
Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
12 Power
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