Banner's inner voice

Ye Mo gently placed Emma Frost's hand into the sleeve of his hoodie, then pulled the hem down a little to cover her shoulders. Her face was still pale, but her breathing was steady. He glanced at Tony not far away; Tony was squatting next to the armor, flipping through a data panel, without even looking up.

"I'm going to the lab," Ye Mo said as he walked over.

Tony stopped what he was doing, looked up at him, and asked, "Banner?"

"Um."

"Don't say too much," Tony said, lowering his voice. "It's not that he doesn't want to change, it's that he's afraid he doesn't deserve to be saved."

Ye Mo smiled and said, "I'm not here to be a Mind Stone mentor, just to chat for a bit. Besides, what I'm best at is making friends with monsters."

Tony didn't say anything more, he just nodded.

Ye Mo turned and left, his footsteps making a soft sound on the rubble. The area around the base had quieted down; the scorch marks from the fight were still smoking, and there was a metallic smell in the air. He walked around the collapsed wall, through the half-collapsed corridor, and at the end was a blown-open isolation room.

Bruce sat in the corner, leaning against the wall, his arms wrapped around his knees, his head down. His clothes were torn in several places, he had a scratch on his forehead, and he looked very tired.

Ye Mo didn't get too close. He found a solid block of cement about two meters away and sat down. He didn't say anything, but simply took off his boxing gloves, took out the Vibranium fragments one by one, and slowly wiped them on his lap.

He didn't speak for quite a while.

"You know what? When you collapsed just now, Emma Frost said something."

Bruce didn't move, but his ears twitched slightly.

"She said, 'It also has pain in its eyes,'" Ye Mo continued. "I didn't understand then. Now I do."

Bruce looked up, his eyes somewhat vacant.

"I'm not the Hulk," he said, his voice hoarse. "I'm Bruce. But every time I transform, everyone only sees that thing. They don't run away, they just fight. Nobody ever asks me if I want to be like that."

Ye Mo nodded. "I know."

"You couldn't possibly know," Bruce said with a wry smile. "You've never seen a little girl run away crying because you lost control. You've never woken up every morning and checked to see if you've killed anyone."

Ye Mo didn't refute. He wiped the last fragment clean and put it into his backpack.

"The day I transmigrated here, I was almost beaten to death by bandits," he said. "At that time, I thought, 'Oh well, I'll just give up and live one day at a time.' But later I realized that giving up was useless. What's coming will still come."

Bruce looked at him.

"I'm scared too." Ye Mo touched the scratches on his face. "I'm scared of dying, scared of losing, scared of my teammates getting hurt. But I'm even more afraid of one thing—being able to do something but pretending not to see it."

He paused.

"You're not a monster. You just have an ability that nobody wants. But you've always controlled it, instead of letting it control you. That's enough."

Bruce lowered his head, his fingers slowly clenching and unclenching.

"When I was little... my dad always said I was useless." He said softly, "He said scientists were all useless and couldn't change the world. Later, I did the gamma experiment, and I thought I could prove him wrong. But... I ruined everything."

"So what does your dad say now?" Ye Mo asked.

"He's gone," Bruce said, closing his eyes, "But I can still hear him cursing me."

Ye Mo remained silent for a while.

"I have a system," he said, "Constantly chattering in my head. But it never tells me what to do. It just watches and waits for me to choose. Sometimes I find it annoying, but then I realized—it wants me to be responsible for myself."

He looked at Bruce.

"You're sitting here not because you've been defeated, but because you're still conscious. You still remember who you are. That's more important than anything else."

Bruce opened his eyes and stared at him for a long time.

"Aren't you afraid of me?" he asked.

"Scared, huh?" Ye Mo grinned. "You could smash me to the ground with one punch, but Emma Frost dared to rush up and block that blow, so why should I dodge?"

Bruce's eyes flickered.

Is she alright?

"She's asleep," Ye Mo said. "She's just exhausted. She saw the pain in your eyes, so she didn't back down."

Bruce lowered his head, his voice becoming very soft. "I don't want to hurt anyone... but I can't control it."

"Then don't shoulder this alone," Ye Mo said. "I'm not here to persuade you to accept the transformation. I'm here to tell you—you don't have to be perfect to be trusted. You can be afraid, you can hesitate, you can make mistakes. But we're all here."

He stood up, took two steps forward, squatted down, and looked Bruce in the eye.

"Next time you want to change again, don't think about hiding. Just shout. I'll come. Tony will come. Emma Frost will come too. We may not be able to solve the problem immediately, but we can work together to find a solution."

Bruce looked at him, his eyes slightly red.

"Why you?" he asked. "Why you of all people to come and tell me these things?"

"Because I'm also someone no one can rely on." Ye Mo stood up, brushing the dust off his pants. "When I transmigrated, I didn't even have a name. But now, I have teammates. You are too."

He reached out his hand.

Bruce didn't move.

Ye Mo wasn't in a hurry; his hand remained suspended in the air.

After a few seconds, Bruce slowly raised his hand and placed it on top of him.

Ye Mo pulled hard and dragged him up.

"Let's go," he said. "Tony has some new signal data; if you don't go check it out, he'll be nagging about it all night."

Bruce steadied himself and nodded.

The two walked outside. When they reached the door, Bruce suddenly stopped.

"Ye Mo," he called out.

"Um?"

Thank you... for not treating me like a tool.

Ye Mo turned around and smiled, "You're a human being, not a weapon. I have that much common sense."

They continued walking. Outside the ruins, the sky was already beginning to brighten. Tony was still in the same spot; when he saw them emerge, he looked up at them.

"I've compiled the data," he said. "The frequency is a bit strange; it doesn't seem like Earth technology."

Bruce took the tablet, swiped the screen, and slowly frowned.

"This band..." he said softly, "I've seen similar records in the gamma experiment logs. But that was fifty years ago, from a secret Soviet Union project."

"A Cold War relic?" Ye Mo leaned closer.

"No." Bruce shook his head. "This isn't a communication signal. This is... Consciousness Synchronization Protocol."

Ye Mo and Tony both looked at him.

"Someone is attempting to remotely access the brain," Bruce's voice deepened. "Not just controlling Abomination. They're testing the limits of mental intrusion."

Tony immediately brought up the analysis interface. "Has the signal source been located?"

"68 degrees north latitude, near the Arctic Circle." Bruce pointed to a spot on the map, "There's an abandoned research station there. Codenamed ' Ice Casket '."

Ye Mo stared at that spot.

Looks like we'll have to go on a trip.

Tony closed the device. "The armor needs a power replenishment. We can take off in four hours."

Bruce took a deep breath and handed the tablet back.

"I'll go with you," he said. "I'll stop hiding."

Ye Mo glanced at him, said nothing, and simply patted his shoulder.

The three stood at the edge of the ruins, sunlight shining on them. In the distance, a small drone slowly rose into the air and flew north.

Ye Mo squinted at the sky and suddenly felt a throbbing in his temple.

He raised his hand and pressed it to his forehead.

Deep within the Gene Spiral Tower, a certain layer suddenly glowed faintly.