Wanda was having a nightmare. She was asleep in the back of the Quinjet after a particularly hard mission. Shivering and crying as red tendrils of magic wrapped around her. Bruce, who was sitting next to her reached out to wake her. When his hand touched her shoulder, a red blast of energy expanded outwards. Suddenly Bruce saw a lifetime of memories flash before his eyes.

Bruce was a kid, sitting on a bench on the edge of a basketball court. He was reading a history book. An older boy walked of the court and away from his friends. He sat on the bench next to Bruce who was so engrossed that he didn't look up.

"Hey, Book boy. It's time to go."

Bruce started.

"Benjy! Don't scare me like that." Bruce closed the book and put in his bag.

"What were you reading?"

"The Captain's Orders. It's a book written by Jim Morrita."

"Should I know who that is?"

"He's one of the Howling Commandos!"

"A football team?"

"Benjy! The Howling Commandos were Captain America's friends. An elite team of soldiers, comprised of like, a bunch of hero's!"

Benjy smiled as he stood up.

"Why don't you tell me about them on the way home?"

Bruce smiled and took his brothers hand.

"Ok! Did you know, that Captain America's real name is Steve Rodgers, and he used to be really small."

"Why did he join the army if he was so small?"

The pair started to walk through the streets of the small town.

"I don't know." Bruce frowned. "But his best friend was also in the army. Sargent Barnes, James Buchannan Barnes."

"Did they meet in the army?"

"No, they were friends growing up. Like brothers."

A voice cut into their moment.

"Hey, Hulker!"

The pair turned.

Another boy was standing behind them surrounded by his gang.

"Leave us alone." Benjy said. "Or pay the price."

Gone was the calm patient tone that wanted to hear about Captain America. Benjy's voice had turned to a low terrifying growl. Bruce clutched his bag and ducked behind his brother.

"I don't think so."

The fight lasted ten seconds. The other boy's nose was broken and his wrist was dislocated. Benjy was fine.

"You can go home and tell your mama that you tripped. But I want you to remember this next time you see me or my brother. Don't mess with the Hulker."

Benjy stormed off with Bruce in tow. After they had walked two blocks in silence, Benjy said:

"I'm sorry you were there for that Book Boy. You're too young for the blood."

"I've seen it before."

"That's not the point."

The memory changed.

Bruce was an adult in a lab. There was a sun roof and the rain was pounding hard. The room was filled with people. Benjy stood in the corner and smiled fondly.

Bruce spoke from a table in the center of the room. A rabbit was sitting on the table.

"Can I have your attention? Thank you. Today we are making history for the second time. My predecessor was lost before his time and the Captain made the sacrifice of the century. They were heroes. Now, we can be too."

He fitted a lamp over the animal. It started to give off a soft green glow. Bruce took a syringe and filled it with some thing, then he bent over the rabbit and raised his hand. All of a sudden, Thunder struck the building. Bruce's hand jerked into his arm as everything shattered around him. The lamp exploded and Bruce screamed in pain.

Then everything went black and time speed up.

The Brothers sat in the ruins of the lab. Benjy held Bruce as he cried.

"I guess you're a Hulker now too."

"No."

"No?"

"Hulker. The ER implies action, purpose. That thing doesn't have a purpose. It just destroys."

"So, it's just a Hulk?"

"That's not how words work Benjy." Bruce said with a chuckle. "But I need to go. You understand, right? If general Ross gets a hold of something like this…"

"I get it. Go."

Bruce got up and started running.

"Bruce, wait!" Benjy called.

Bruce turned.

"Promise you'll come home. When it's safe. Come home. We need to finish reading Animal Farm."

"I promise."

Bruce started in the Quinjet. He looked at his teammates. They all had tears in their eyes. He touched his cheek and his hand was wet.

"Bruce I am so sorry! I didn't mean to show everyone, that!" Wanda apologised hurriedly.

"It's ok, Wanda." Bruce said his voice shaky. "It was an accident." He stared off into the distance. Everybody could tell that he was thinking of a very different accident.

"I… I never knew you were a fan." Steve said.

"I was a short skinny poor asthmatic kid. It made sense."

"You were asthmatic?" Bucky asked moving to sit next to the doctor.

"Still am." Bruce said. "But it was… more sever as a kid."

"Is that really why they call you Hulk?" Wanda asked with a small smile.

"Yup. Apparently, when general ross showed up, Benjy was just coming around. He told him that the Hulk had killed everyone but only knocked him out. So, obviously he had no idea where the Hulk or Bruce Banner were."

"And the General bought it?" Natasha asked raising an eyebrow.

"Have you ever met him? I don't think there is a more brain-dead person on the planet." He sighed.

"Did you ever make it home?" Clint asked.

"No." Bruce said sadly.

"You look tired, Bruce. You should sleep." Wanda said.

"I don't think I can."

"I can help with that."

Bruce leaned back and closed his eyes. With a flick of Wanda's wrist, he fell asleep.

The Avengers sat in silence for a minute.

"Heroes?" Bucky asked. "He called us heroes."

"And I said it was impossible." Tony said. He had been quiet since he saw the incident. "I went on TV to tell the world that Project Rediscovery should be left on ice."

"This Benjy or Hulker was a good brother. Strong, protective and gentle." Thor said in a relatively low voice.

"Is anyone else bothered by the fact he never kept his promise?" Clint said.

"He thinks he's keeping it. He doesn't think it's safe yet." Natasha said.

The avengers waited in silence for the Quinjet to take them home.

So sorry for the massive break I took. I'm dealing with some issues in my personal life but I will do my best to keep writing. Eventually, I want Bruce to keep his promise but I need some ideas for how to do that. Please leave yours in the reviews.

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