Chapter Text
They didn’t trust me. I was dangerous. I could hurt people. They didn’t want anyone near me.
That was fine. I didn’t want to be near anyone. Getting close to people was dangerous. You can’t love a freak. Freaks only hurt you. Especially freaks that can turn their blood into-
Dr. Banner’s hand. On my shoulder. “Crystal, I need you to focus-” Yeah, like that’s easy. Ever. Worse when he’s around. Hand on my shoulder. Oh. my. god. Was that his cologne? It was, wasn't it? Oh it smelled so good…
Wait. Focus. Right. Gotta show Dr. Banner I can do this.
Gotta show Ms. Uniform that they don’t need to put me down.
Permanently.
Hand out. Deep breath. Focus on the cup of blood on the table. Focus. Focus- wait. Why was everything warm? Why did Dr. Banner feel warmer than usual? Close eyes. Focus on the warmth.
Focus on the- no, no no no. Don’t focus on the warmth.
Focus on the cup. Focus on the stuff over there. Focus, focus focus focus… crack!
The cup broke. I know it broke. Open your eyes, slowly, very slowly… The cup is gone, instead just one big spikey crystal. Good. That was supposed to happen.
But- I could do more with it, right? I could, couldn’t I? Like- yeah, like that. Tearing apart the small pieces from the big one, make them all separate… and suspended in the air like- yep. Like that. What else could I-
“Crystal!”
Shit! Shit shit fuck! Blood all over me, on the ground, covering my clothes. Angry Ms. Uniform, angry Ms. Uniform! I was not cringing back when she marched over to me. I was not.
Her hand was on my shoulder, but I didn’t really want her to touch me and oh god she was irritated- “Doing more than simple things right now will scare the researchers.” She was whispering. She had never whispered before.
Glance over at the people. One of them, a woman with short black hair, was trembling. Hands couldn't hold her clip board. It fell. She picked it up as the man beside her stared at me.
He was scribbling notes. Eyes crinkled, smirk. Satisfied? Creepily interested. The last one was quiet. His stare was even more unsettling than the creepy guy.
Not good. Science experiment. Too interesting. No! No no no, I was not going to be stuck in here. I couldn’t be stuck in here. I didn’t want to be a science experiment-
“Shh…” Dr. Banner’s two fingers were on my pulse. He was standing behind me like before.
“Breathe deeply, Crystal…” Breathe in, breathe out. I dropped the crystals I’d pulled from my shirt after my accident. “That’s it…” Breathe in deeply, breathe out slowly…
Bruce squeezed my shoulder. Job well done. I didn’t blush. That middle guy wasn’t creepily staring at me. I wasn’t shaking.
I wanted to leave. “Now, let’s try something a little more complex.” I couldn’t leave.