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Bruce woke up feeling confused and quite sore. He noticed he was lying in a pile of rubble and after feeling a cool breeze hit his face, he realized he must be outside. After looking around, however, he realized he wasn’t technically outside, but he wasn’t inside either. No, he was lying in what was once likely the 54th floor of a 93 story skyscraper. Yet what he wasn’t sure of, was what happened to the top 39 floors? Bruce shook his head, still feeling very foggy, and tried to get up. That’s when it hit him. He looked down and saw that he was completely naked. Rubble + missing clothes + Bruce Banner? Could it be more obvious? He must’ve hulked out, and by the looks of this mess, it was bad.
After this realization, he felt a surge of guilt sweep over him, it was so intense he literally felt paralyzed for a moment. Bruce was terrified. Not only had he been staying in Stark Tower with Tony and Pepper, but Pepper had just found out she was pregnant a few weeks ago. What if he hurt her or Tony? What if he hurt their baby? What if he killed them all? Bruce felt so sick by these worries he immediately proceeded to throw up all over himself.
“Nice Banner, you destroy half of my home and manage to puke on yourself in the process,” Bruce heard a familiar voice quipp sarcastically.
He quickly turned around feeling shocked. Hovering above him was Tony in his Iron Man suit with the mask pulled up and a smirk on his face. Tony glided down to where Bruce was lying and landed in what used to be one of Stark Tower’s countless Research and Development labs. In a softer tone Tony asked, “You okay, buddy?”
Bruce quickly responded, “Am I okay? Tony, where the hell is Pepper? What about the baby? Did I hurt them? Are they-”
Tony knew where this line of questioning was going and immediately cut Bruce off, “They’re fine. Pepper and the baby are both fine. Jarvis monitors your blood pressure levels and he alerted us when he noticed they were getting too high. Pepper was able to leave in the jet before things got bad. So quit worrying that you hurt anybody, because Bruce, you didn’t hurt anything - besides my incredible tower… but that’s beside the point.”
“This isn’t a fucking joke, Tony. I destroyed your home, I put your wife and baby in danger, I put everyone in Stark tower in danger. I knew coming to live with you was a bad idea.” Bruce tried to get up and leave (not that he knew where he would go) but he was still pretty disoriented from the transformation and fell back to the ground.
“Bruce, it is alright. Like I said, no one was hurt. Everyone in the building was able to evacuate because Jarvis’s warning allowed for an ample amount of time. And honestly, the building is just a building. One that can very easily be rebuilt. But you shouldn’t be worrying about all of this right now, you need to rest. Let me take you to my plane and we’ll fly to the house in Malibu. We’ll get you checked out and you’ll have plenty of time to recuperate,” Tony paused but then continued after seeing a look of intense anxiety sweep over Bruce’s face. “And no Pepper won’t be there. I know how you are and you wouldn’t be able to rest if you knew she was potentially in danger, so no worries. She’s visiting family in New Port. So sorry, but I guess you’re stuck with just me.”
Normally Bruce would have resisted; it’s not safe, it’s selfish. After doing such a horrible thing today, the only reasonable option he can think of is to get on the soonest flight to Kalcutta. Yet Bruce felt absolutely exhausted, so maybe Tony was right, maybe he does need to get some rest. He decided to go to Malibu with Tony and plan his move later when he had the energy. So all he did was nod and Tony picked him up under the arms, telling him to hang on, and flew Bruce to his plane. The second they boarded and Bruce was able to sit down, he was out like a light.
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Repairs began on Stark Tower only days after the incident, and within a few weeks they had already made an impressive amount of progress. Luckily the lower 50 floors had remained unscathed, so they just needed to rebuild up to the 93rd; and with the fast pace the builders were working, Tony figured they might have the Tower finished in a few months. He felt optimistic about everything and was even planning to add in some new precautions to try and prevent another unexpected hulk-out, along with some reactionary safety measures in the event one couldn’t be prevented. Bruce was also working on a project of his own, one that he had been oddly secretive about, to (in his own words), “Ensure the Hulk will no longer be a threat to Pepper, the baby, or anyone else.” This was a little concerning to Tony because how could he possibly ensure something like that when the Hulk is a giant green monster literally living inside Bruce... But, at the same time, Bruce was a grown ass man and Tony could tell that he needed some space, so he decided not to pry (yet).
In the weeks following the incident, Tony did not see much of Bruce. After finally convincing Bruce that he can’t just run away from his problems, he began spending all day everyday holed up in his lab working on his secret project. Tony allowed this to go on for about a month, when finally, he had had enough. It was time to see what Bruce was up to down there and simply check on his mental state, which has been questionable for a while now. Bruce is not aware of this, but Jarvis reported to Tony that the incident was set in motion by a really intense nightmare Bruce had, which caused his blood pressure to rise to “hulk levels.” Jarvis also informed Tony that this was not his first nightmare, rather they had been occurring quite frequently for the past few months. Jarvis told Tony that usually during the nightmares, Bruce mumbles something along the lines of “no hulk, those are our friends! Please don’t hurt them.” And it just so happened that one night, one of these nightmares got far too out of hand.
Tony made his way into Bruce’s lab and upon entering the room, he noticed that Bruce was holding a syringe full of a bright red solution. Tony noticed sweat dripping down his forehead and it seemed he was about to stab it into his other arm but quickly dropped it when he noticed Tony’s presence. The two awkwardly gazed at each other for a moment, neither knowing quite what to say, until Tony broke the silence with “Uhm… whatcha doing there Brucie?”
Bruce’s eyes shifted nervously from side to side, thinking of how to respond to Tony’s seemingly innocent question. He paused for a long while before finally replying in a quiet but serious tone “I’m eliminating the threat Tony.”
“What the hell do you mean you’re eliminating the threat? Bruce, what is in that syringe?” Tony demanded to know.
Bruce motioned to the monitor on his desk, and on it was a list of compounds, most of them highly lethal, that Tony figured composed the strange red liquid. “Bruce! This concoction you’ve made up will literally kill you, you realize that yeah?” Tony asked, completely exasperated.
Bruce looked him in the eyes and replied “Well I realize that’s a possibility, but I’m hoping that once this serum enters my body it will attack the gamma rays infused in my cells and essentially incapacitate the hulk. Forever.”
Tony shook his head violently. “This is absolutely insane Bruce! I mean dammit! Did you just forget about what happened the last time you decided to experiment on yourself?” Tony saw a look of hurt flash briefly over Bruce’s face upon hearing this comment, but as soon as it was there, it was gone. Tony felt a twinge of guilt at what he said, he knew Bruce hated himself for experimenting with gamma rays in the first place and hated to be reminded of it. But at the same time, Tony was angry. This was his best friend standing in front of him, and he probably would have killed himself had Tony not walked in when he did. Why didn’t Bruce feel like he could talk to Tony? How can he still not understand that Tony will always be there for him?
“Look. Bruce. Don’t play stupid with me, I know you know that the chances of you living through this serum are slim to none. I mean come on, that kind of concoction would kill anything it came into contact with. Even the hulk. And if the hulk dies, you die Bruce. Do you not realize that?” Tony pauses for a moment, and in a much quieter voice asks “Or do you realize it, and that’s what you want?”
Bruce takes a moment to carefully consider his words before replying. All he has allowed himself to think about since the incident is how to protect his loved ones… from himself. And that’s a terrible thing to have to think about, that you are the thing putting those you love in constant danger. Yet Tony is coming in here trying to act like he’s suicidal. He’s not suicidal. At least he doesn’t think he’s suicidal.
"I’m not trying to kill myself Tony. I’m doing this for the good of everyone else-”
“The good of everyone else?! That’s bullshit Bruce! If you were really concerned about what everyone else wants, then you wouldn’t be down here trying to poison yourself. We love you and I understand that you’re concerned about putting Pepper and the baby in danger, but there are other ways to go about it.” Tony tried to reason with him.
“You don’t understand what it’s like to be me, Tony. To live in constant fear of an uncontrollable part of yourself. To know that you’re a monster, a villain. The other guy, the hulk, has taken my life. All I’m trying to do is make sure he doesn’t take anyone else’s.” Bruce looked down to the floor, and before Tony could argue back, he noticed the other man had begun to sob quietly. He crumbled into himself and slowly sank to the floor, burying his head in his knees.
Tony sat beside him and gently patted his back. “Hey buddy, don’t cry. Listen, you’re right, I have absolutely no idea what it’s like to be you. I can’t imagine the terror you feel sometimes, but what I do know is that you’re not giving yourself, or the hulk, enough credit. Banner, you have been working with the Avengers for over 3 years now, and not only have you managed not to kill, or seriously injure, any civilian, but you’ve also saved countless lives. You’re not a villain Bruce, you’re a hero. You are an Avenger. And the Avengers need you. The world needs you. Pepper and I need you, and soon enough our baby is going to need their Uncle Bruce around. Especially to keep their father in line.” Tony noticed the smallest hint of a smile appear on Bruce’s face and he continued, “Look I know this isn’t easy, and it probably never will be easy. But it’s something we can work on, it’s something we can make better, especially if we work together.”
Bruce wiped the tears from his eyes, and started to allow himself to consider the possibility that maybe Tony’s right. Maybe they can find a way that doesn’t involve a deadly serum. Maybe what he was doing was selfish of him, and maybe he was trying to take the easy way out. Bruce forgets sometimes that the love he feels for other people isn’t just one sided. And maybe he does have a responsibility to be there for those he loves, even if it does give him anxiety. He reached over to grab the syringe and placed it into Tony’s hands, and even though Tony absolutely hates being handed things, he gladly took it. “Can you get rid of this?” Bruce asked.
Without hesitation Tony nodded and the two helped each other up off the floor. That night, Tony and Bruce planned out an entire list of safety precautions and other measures they could take not only to ensure everyone's safety, but also to put Bruce’s mind at ease. And when Bruce’s head hit his pillow that night, he was no longer plagued by nightmares of the hulk murdering his loved ones, rather he dreamt of something much more mundane. It was Christmas time, and all of his loved ones had gathered to celebrate. Bruce made everyone dinner and they sat around the table, simply enjoying each other's company. It was the best dream Bruce had had in years.