"Bring Hulk out. I need him for something."
Banner had just stepped out of the elevator when he stopped short. Looking at Lucian sitting on the couch, he swallowed, his fingers instinctively clutching the hem of his lab coat.
"Uh... by bring him out, do you mean what I think you mean?"
"Do you have a second Hulk inside you?"
Lucian pointed at him.
"I mean the big green guy."
Banner didn't move.
He needed Hulk for something?
Those words hit Banner's ears like a death sentence.
He knew all too well what that green monster meant. It wasn't some superhero's superpower, but a nightmare he couldn't wake up from.
Every time Hulk took over his body, Banner's consciousness cut out completely. Whenever he opened his eyes again, he was always faced with rubble everywhere, innocent bystanders screaming in terror, and the military's endless gunfire and shelling.
He remembered General Ross's armored vehicles and the attack helicopters Hulk had smashed into scrap. Every transformation meant he would spend the next few months scurrying from hiding place to hiding place like a rat.
It felt awful.
He hated Hulk. He saw this monster as a malignant disease that could destroy his entire life at any moment.
"No."
Banner shook his head.
Lucian didn't press him.
Banner's concerns were perfectly normal. Anyone with such an irritable monster living inside them would probably struggle to sleep soundly.
But Hulk wasn't merely an ability.
He had a consciousness of his own. He got angry and held grudges. With Banner suppressing him deep inside his body as though he were a disease for so long, it would have been strange if nothing went wrong.
"I know Hulk has cost you a lot."
Lucian stood up.
"It's normal to be afraid of him. Losing control and