shards - pietro maximoff

chapter twenty-four ; time travel and tacos

"Okay, so what kinda drugs did he do to get like this? Because I'm not sure if I want you to keep them far away from me or hand them over, honestly."

Dahlia and Pietro had gotten a ride with the other Avengers, wanting to observe the adventure they were embarking upon, but what they were met with was nothing like they had known. The Hulk, at least in their memory, was an angry, ravaging monster, who hated Bruce Banner and destroyed everything in his path. So what the hell was sitting in front of them?

It looked as if Bruce was midway through morphing into Hulk, for his face still held the scientist's features, a comforting smile, and a shirt, which was an odd sight. However, he was still large and green, so they had no idea what was happening, if he had maybe had an accident, or would turn into the monster they knew, any moment now.

"I'm so confused." Scott definitely spoke for all of them as they stared at the Hulk/Bruce that was demolishing a plate of food before them.

"These are confusing times." Bruce looked dead serious.

Scott's mouth continued to hang agape. "Right. No, no, that's not what I meant."

He continued to eat as he spoke. "No, I get it. I'm kidding! I know. It's crazy. I'm wearing shirts now."

"Yeah! Wh- How? Why?" Scott spluttered.

"Yeah, what he said." Pietro gestured to Scott.

"Five years ago, we got our asses beaten. Except it was worse for me. Because I lost twice. First, Hulk lost, then Banner lost. Then, we all lost."

Natasha, though still a bit freaked out by his appearance, tried to comfort him. "No one blamed you, Bruce."

"I did," His face fell but began to lift as he continued. "For years, I've been treating the Hulk like he's some kind of disease, something to get rid of. But then I started looking at him as the cure. Eighteen months in a gamma lab. I put the brains and the brawn together. And now look at me. Best of both worlds..."

Three children walked up to Bruce tentatively, looking nervous to ask him something. "Excuse me, Mr. Hulk?"

A smile came across his face as he turned to them. "Yes?"

"Can we get a photo?"

"100%, little person. Come on, step up." He patted the spot beside him, handing the phone to Scott. "Do you mind?"

"Oh, yeah." Scott held up the camera, snapping a picture.

The three kids posed behind him, Bruce throwing up peace signs, thoroughly enjoying this interaction.

"Don't you wanna grab one with me? I'm Ant-Man." Scott said as he handed the phone back.

Dead silence.

He evidently felt embarrassed, trying to cover his tracks. "They're Hulk fans, they don't know Ant-Man. Nobody does."

Dahlia stifled a chuckle and gestured for Pietro to hand her the phone, not wanting this fun to go undocumented.

"Wait, no, no, no, he feels bad. No, he wants you to... he wants to..." Bruce anxiously tried to fix the situation, but only seemed to make it worse. "You want to take a picture with him, right?"

The small boy shook his head vigorously, terror in his eyes. "Stranger Danger."

"Hate to break it to you, kid, but Hulk's a stranger too." Dahlia scrunched up her nose. The kid's eyes went wide, looking at Bruce with fear.

"He's even saying no he doesn't. I get it. I don't want it either." Scott stumbled over his words.

"But, come on, the kid! But he... but you..."