Chapter Text
“I am truly sorry for what we’ve had to do. We had no choice. When you get angry, Bruce, you are a force of destruction.” Tony’s voice spoke calmly, but there was that Stark confidence he always seemed to radiate. Strange, Reed, and Blackbolt stood behind watching. Observing. Quietly standing like ants hoping not to get crushed by walking feet.
Hulk growled as the video played in front of him. He recognized the people on screen as soon as he saw the video flicker on. Hulk balled up his fists, the metal restraints buckling instantly under the force, electricity pulsing as the Hulk thrashed around the spaceship in a blind rage, fumbling for an exit.
“We’ve picked your location carefully. A planet full of vegetation and no one you can hurt. You always said you wanted to be left alone… May you finally find peace.”
Hulk smashed the console that emitted Tony’s incessant yammering. He heaved slightly, pausing in his destruction before his face scrunched up again as he destroyed the ship. It didn’t take long before the ship finally gave out and crumpled in on itself, shooting Hulk out into the vastness of space.
Hulk’s eyes widened as he sucked in a breath and held it as he floated around aimlessly. He flailed a bit, trying desperately to grab onto something, anything to keep him from floating off. Hulk watched helplessly as the ship’s wreckage grew smaller and smaller as he drifted into the vastness of space.
“Grace! Something big stuck on ship!” Rocky thrummed as the Hail Mary’s alarm blared loudly about a “Blip C”.
“What? It’s probably a bit of debris or something, bud.” Grace hummed, going over to turn off the alarms. He fiddled with the controls for a bit before the noise stopped.
Rocky stomped around annoyed. He angrily banged his fists against the xenonite wall. “No! Organic thing! Human! Grace! Do EVA! Now!”
“What? No that’s impossible, Rock. We’re several lightyears away from Earth! No humans around here except for me. Plus EVAs are exhausting work for a false alarm you know?” He rolled his eyes but went over to the airlock to put on his suit. “If there’s nothing out there, you owe me a soda.”
“No understand last word.”
“Don’t worry about it!” Grace called out as he exited the ship, even though he knew Rocky could hear him just fine. He peeked out into space. It still scared him, how empty space was. He was glad to have Rocky with him. He pulled himself out of the airlock and gripped onto a nearby handrail. He looked around the hull of the ship, but didn’t see anything. He grumbled and turned on his radio. “There’s nothing out here, Rocky.”
Rocky’s voice sparked through the radio. “Grace not close enough. Near fuel bays.”
“Fuel bays..” Grace absentmindedly nodded along and sighed. “Roger that, captain.”
“Rocky not captain.”
“I know, bud. Earth figure of speech.”
“Understand.”
Grace pulled himself along the handrails, closer and closer to the fuel bays. Should be right on the dormitory now… He thought to himself. He gave the hull a gentle knock. He heard Rocky’s startled trill on the radio before a returning knock. Grace chuckled to himself. When he looked up towards the fuel bays, he stiffened slightly. There was something… big… sticking to one of the fuel bays. He couldn’t make out what it was exactly but it was the bright green that had him interested.
Grace cautiously moved closer. He was right on the fuel bays now when he froze. Not only was the big green blob, enormous, but it was humanoid. He recognized it. Grace sucked in a panicked breath as the Hulk slowly looked up at Grace, staring similarly like a wolf does as it stalks its prey. Hulk slowly uncurled himself from his grip on the hull and moved towards Grace.
Grace stumbled back, but didn’t let go of his iron grip on the handrail. The Hulk was mere feet away from Ryland now. He cocked his head at Grace. Grace softened slightly. Hulk gestured down at the hull.
“Wha…” Grace mumbled before it clicked. “Oh- Oh! You want to- oh. Uhm…” He cleared his throat and turned his radio to broadcast out towards Hulk. “You want to come on board the ship?” He asked, his voice quavering slightly.
Hulk stared at first, as if lost in thought. Then the giant nodded slowly. Grace switched his radio off, then nodded. He gulped slightly as he made his way back to the airlock with the Hulk following. He hoped Rocky wouldn’t be too startled by Hulk, God knew he was.
When they got to the airlock, Grace looked at Hulk, then the airlock, then at Hulk again. “Eh…” Grace turned on his radio. “I think you might be too big. Is there any way you can- crap what am I saying? Never mind.”
As Grace got lost in his thoughts about how to get Hulk inside, he noticed the creature moving out of the corner of his eye. He turned over and saw Hulk’s vibrant green skin fading into a duller peach. His muscles shrinking into that of a malnourished husk.
Grace watched, a bit amazed at the transformation. It wasn’t until the scrawny man started flailing around, holding his throat wheezing that Grace snapped out of his trance. “Oh god, hang on!” Grace quickly grabbed hold of the man before he floated off and dragged him into the airlock.
The man stopped flailing and went limp.
Once the airlock was cycled, Grace quickly took off his helmet. “Hey, are you okay???” Dumb question to ask a man choking in space, he knew. He tried feeling for a pulse, but the man was cold and limp. Grace teared up a bit. The first human contact he’s had in so long was dead.
Rocky staggered as close as he could from his side of the wall. He watched carefully. Grace cleared his throat and wiped his eyes. “He’s… He’s dead, Rocky.”
Rocky shifted from foot to foot. He tapped on the wall gently, trying to get a better view. “Not dead. Heart very faint. Almost dead.”
Grace’s eyes widened, his smile getting bigger. “Oh thank goodness!” He sighed with relief and examined the man in his lap a bit more closely. He was so thin, his ribs showing almost cartoonishly, he looked frail. His hair was a long mess and his face looked like it had been unshaven for a while. Grace chewed his lip. “This guy looks…rough.” He mumbled.
Grace scooped the man up and exited the airlock. He headed towards the dormitory.
“What Grace do, question?”
Grace tucked the man into his bed, making sure he was in a comfortable position. “He’s gonna be here a while. Best to make him comfortable, right, Rock?”