By the time Bruce Banner came home with grocery bags, Nick Fury was gone.
Betty sat dazed on the living room carpet, knees tucked beneath her.
Bruce quickly shut the door, hurried over, and gently helped her onto the sofa, his heart aching.
"Betty…"
"…"
She blinked back to focus, saw Bruce—and without a word, leaned forward and pressed her lips to his.
Bruce froze for a moment, then felt the wild urgency in her kiss. He didn't resist—he gave in.
With a thud, they tumbled from the sofa onto the rug, clothes slipping away piece by piece…
"Do you love me, Bruce?"
"Of course."
"Really?"
"I swear to God."
"Then you'll help me avenge my father, won't you?"
"Yes…"
His dazed eyes sharpened suddenly.
But Betty didn't give him time to think.
"My father's dead. Avenge him, Bruce!"
"…Alright. I will."
Bruce sank into her.
Betty's face lit with joy. She wrapped her arms around his neck, lips close to his ear, whispering between ragged breaths—
"Then, my love, become the Hulk again."
"…"
Hulk?
Bruce's eyes snapped wide.
"What… did you say?"
"Become the Hulk again."
"Hulk is dead."
"But you're not."
"What?"
His disbelief met Betty's twisted expression in the flickering light. "The one who killed my father is the same one who killed the Hulk. Don't you want revenge?"
Bruce's mind flickered back—Hawk standing before him.
Betty drew a breath, locking her gaze on him. "You do know who it was, Bruce. He killed my dad. Avenge him."
Nick Fury hadn't given her a name.
But before leaving, he'd told her—her father's killer and Hulk's killer were the same man.
She had once asked Bruce who killed the Hulk.
He hadn't answered.
She hadn't pressed. Back then, the Hulk's absence had been a relief—the general had no more reason to keep her from Bruce.
But…
Now was different.
Now she desperately wanted Bruce to be the Hulk again.
Only then did she have a chance for vengeance.
Her eyes shone with fervent hope. "Tell me, Bruce—you can still become the Hulk, right?"
Bruce met her gaze in silence.
Betty's eyes brightened.
Like Gwen understood Hawk, Betty understood Bruce.
Silence meant not "impossible"—but that there was a way.
Her heart raced. She clutched him tighter, pleading.
"Bruce, I've lost my father. Help me avenge him!"
"I…"
Holding her trembling body, Bruce clenched his teeth, shook his head. "I'm sorry."
Betty froze.
In a rush, she sat upright, staring at him with tear-swollen eyes.
"Bruce?"
"Betty."
Bruce scrambled up, looking down at her where she'd fallen back to the rug. He gave a bitter smile. "Hulk is gone."
He had made peace with it.
Losing the Hulk had its downsides—but more upsides.
In short—
He could finally live as a normal man.
That was good.
Bruce wasn't wild by nature. He was a scientist. Now, as an ordinary man, he could return to a lab, draw a good salary, and pursue his work.
In fact, he already had plans.
Stark Industries had a gamma lab in Jersey. Though Tony was developing treatments, he'd promised Bruce could use the facility.
So…
In theory, another exposure to gamma radiation might trigger the mutation again.
That was why he had hesitated when Betty asked if it was possible.
But he didn't want to.
He'd worked too hard to regain normal life.
"Betty."
Bruce gripped her shoulders, looking deep into her eyes. "Yes, there might be a way. But whether it works, I don't know. Hulk was born of an accident. Maybe I'd succeed—or maybe I'd die. If you insist, I'll try. Just say the word."
Their eyes locked.
Betty saw the determination in him—his face saying clearly: If you ask, I'll do it.
She collapsed, sobbing into his chest.
Bruce held her silently, arms tight around her.
After a long while, her tears ebbed. Her eyes were redder, more swollen. But calmer.
She took the tissue he handed, dabbed her cheeks, then asked quietly: "How did my father really die?"
Bruce hesitated, then told her.
She hadn't known.
But he did.
When she'd first received the news, he'd been there. He'd taken care of her as she fainted in grief. And he'd called Fury. Fury had told him the truth.
Just like with him—
Hawk had taken revenge swiftly. In one day, he stormed from New Mexico to Quantico and stomped General Ross's skull.
Bruce remembered hearing it—and feeling a flicker of dark satisfaction.
After all—Ross had hunted him once, driven him into hiding in that stinking slum in Barra da Tijuca.
So learning Ross had died chasing another man? Bruce had felt relief.
Betty listened to it all, her tone flat when she asked again:
"Who was it?"
"Betty."
Bruce frowned. "No weapon can touch him. And… forget it. Let it go."
He'd wanted to say Ross brought it on himself.
But out of respect for the dead, he stopped.
"The military already gave in."
"I know. But the military knows who he is. And you do too."
Her voice was calm. She lifted her eyes to him. "I just want to know his name. Don't worry, Bruce—I won't do anything. I can't."
Bruce sighed.
"…Hawk."
"Hawk? His surname?"
"I only know him as Hawk."
Bruce shook his head. "He killed the Hulk because his sister died in the crossfire of Hulk and Abomination's fight. Just before Christmas, he found me, killed the Hulk, but spared me. If Ross hadn't gone after him, then Ross…"
Bruce trailed off.
But he knew he'd said enough.
Even the military had chosen to bury the matter. Not just because Hawk was strong—
But because Hawk was right.
When they couldn't crush the enemy with force, they suddenly became very reasonable.
Betty smiled faintly.
"Don't worry, Bruce. I only wanted his name."
"Alright."
Bruce sighed. Seeing her face softening after hearing Hawk's name, he asked, "Are you okay?"
Betty smiled again, stood.
"I'm tired, Bruce."
"Alright."
He stood too. "Let's go to bed."
She shook her head. "I want to sleep alone tonight. Please?"
He didn't mind. He nodded.
"I'll walk you up."
"Okay."
He saw her back to her room. At the door, he almost said something—but seeing her already turned away in bed, he shook his head, turned off the lights, and closed the door.
The moment it clicked shut—
Betty's eyes snapped open.
Calm no more—her gaze burned with fury.
Hotter.
Brighter.
"Hawk."
"The New Yorker."
"Anya."
"Just wait."
"I will avenge you, Father."
"I swear it."
"…"
(End of Chapter)
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