kore_logs | now i'm stronger than yesterday

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now i'm stronger than yesterday

Who: The Hulk, some unfortunate scientists, and YOU.
When: Early morning hours of Day 22 (before sunrise). Good mooooorning.
Where: Near the woods.
What: After going missing for four in-game days, Bruce comes back... Kind of. Come mingle with the big guy!

At some point in time, Bruce wakes up to find himself held captive, and he decides to break free.

That much, at least, the Hulk knows, or can guess, or whatever – he doesn't really care about Banner's issues very much at all because Banner doesn't care about his, and if he didn't need the Hulk, he wouldn't have let him out in the first place. Why should the Hulk care about him? What the Hulk does care about are people trying to hurt Banner because Banner's body is his body somewhere down the line, and that is so not okay. That is the opposite of okay.

They might be able to contain Banner, but the Hulk is convinced they can't contain him.

He's right. Of course. He's the strongest there is, and these dinky, wimpy little scientists with their stupid machines are so easy to squish. Too easy – there's a nagging, a tugging, and something from Banner's end bleeds through. It isn't really a conscious thought, or a string of words, but it's something the Hulk understands anyway. Take prisoners to interrogate. What were they doing to Banner, what did they want to do with the Hulk?

The Hulk snorts, but nods to himself. Okay, Banner. That's a good one.

While the Hulk's deciding this, his captors realize the Hulk's right – they aren't going to win this one.

The Hulk couldn't pinpoint the exact moment when they start to move him; he's busy fighting, dealing with a particularly thorny (but ultimately destroyed, thanks) machine. He does notice when he starts to fall.

Roaring in rage, he drops out of the sky much like Loki's box did, and he lands on his back, with a loud crash, just outside of the woods. In his arms, he's cradling one live scientist. Two dead ones tumble out with him, in crumpled heaps beside him, but he doesn't really pay attention to that. What matters to him is trying to figure out where those white coat bastards dropped him. He holds out his captive, looking into his face, and thinks of how to interrogate.

Maybe if he just growls in his face.

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Stupid Banner influence. He can ignore it when he's blitzed on rage, which he isn't currently, and so the bleedover from Banner is stronger and more likely to loosen even his agitation. It's so not fair; can't Banner ever let him have something? Like smashing Fang Lady if he wants to? Not that he really would kill her, even without Banner telling him not to. Shake her up a little (literally) and then leave her, sure.

"How do you know Banner?" he snaps, pressing ahead. He doesn't know who Pendragon is and he doesn't care. All that matters is why she's important enough to Banner that the recognition reaches through.

Banner?

That caught her off guard even more than being hefted off the ground. Oh, she'd been deeply concerned about Banner. Enough to attempt several (unsuccessful) rituals to locate him. But she hadn't expected that nagging problem to pop up in this moment.

Then again, judging by the men in lab coats, there was a certain logic to it, certainly.

"He's a friend," she replied diplomatically. "One I should very much like to see again. Alive."

Banner and his friends. The others aren't so bad though, so he guesses he can spare this one. He eyes her a second longer, and then drops her -- only a little far off the ground. Just a little!

"You will. And you're welcome." Because the Hulk's the only reason Banner got out of there when he did, and he wants people to know that.

Mina landed with as much dignity as possible. Not a lot, of course. But even without the fae, she was a Queen in her own right and she would play the part, dammit.

She pushed herself up on her palms, staring at the creature, determined to hide whatever fear or lingering doubts she had. Most would ask that creature what it was. But Mina prided herself for knowing better.

"Who are you?" she asked instead.

He straightens up slightly. "The Hulk." This time, he sneers. "Banner's better half."

He hitches his scientist closer and stomps past her, eyeing the buildings in the town center. "Where's that?"

Well.

It took Mina a few seconds to process this startling little bit of information. And then she decided that she wasn't meant to process it at the moment. So she tucked it away, neatly in the back of her mind. Or tried to, anyway. She was quickly learning a lesson in humility when it came to the estimation of her own composure. But she would rail against it all the way.

This wasn't a battle situation precisely, but it needed to be treated like one.

She stood up, smoothing down the lines of her trousers and trying very hard not to dissolve like jelly. "That is the town," she said, trying to speak to the...Hulk...as though she were speaking to Banner. "But you don't want to go there. The people are panicked and they're likely to attack anything they don't understand. Which would damage your trophy there."

He glares down at her. "Duh." Like the Hulk doesn't know all about how dangerous population centers are? He twists around, looking up at the sky where he fell from, and then out over the trees.

"Don't know how they dropped me here."

A line formed between her eyes. She glanced up, her eyes flicking only briefly to the sky before they settled on the...whatever he was...again. He had been dropped. Like the damn box. And he claimed to be Banner.

Where these people making monsters of the entire population?

And what of those who already were monsters?

"Do you know who or what that is?" she asked, pointing to the unconscious scientist.

"Puny scientist." He glances back at the others, and he is sad they died, if only because they might've had more answers otherwise.

"Banner let Hulk out to destroy them, which he did." There's a note of pride in his voice, but it fades again when he remembers coming into being in that place, what that means. He's not fond of the idea of being used for anything, even as Banner.

"They let Banner wake up. Their mistake."

"Clearly," Mina replied dryly.

She eyed the limp scientist in the Hulk creature's hands. "I don't suppose you'll let me have a look at that?" she asked with a bit of a self-deprecating smile. "I might be able to get some answers, you know."

He's protective of his hostage, and he narrows his eyes at her, uncertain. Banner trusts her; that much he can feel, but the Hulk doesn't know yet.

"What are you going to do?"

"First of all," Mina said, rubbing her hands together, her rings clanking against each other, "make sure he doesn't die. It looks like he's had a rather nasty couple of bumps. Seeing as I used to be a doctor, I really ought to check to make sure there's nothing going on internally that'll kill him."

For a moment, she felt the impulse to explain internal bleeding to the brute. But that seemed a bit silly, didn't it? If he was Banner, then he damn well know exactly what that meant.

This wasn't a child.

"Secondly," she continued, trying to sound more confident than she felt, "I have the ability to make people tell the truth. Without any silly chemicals to clog up one's system."

No, he can piece it together. He isn't an idiot; a lot of Banner's knowledge filters through. What's lacking are the interpersonal skills, but someone born out of rage doesn't really have to care about other people, generally.

He eyes her carefully.

"Magic." It's clear he doesn't approve of it, but it's better when it's not directed against him.

"Yes," she said, raising her chin defiantly. "Magic."

Well, not in the strictest sense of the word. Mina did possess Cruac magic, of course. But this was no spell. Just a simple application of her natural, Kindred abilities. But she didn't much feel the need to differentiate right now.

"A much safer way to extra information."

He growls, but he already knows he's probably going to give in. He just doesn't trust magic because he can't throw it.

"Keep your magic away from me," he threatens, and then drops the scientist at her feet. He's going to be pretty sore by the time this is over.

Mina briskly walked over to the scientist, taking off her jacket and setting it down on the ground in a neatly folded pile. She started checking vitals, checking pupils for dilation, doing all the essentials. Just like riding a bloody bicycle.

"I won't use my magic on you or anyone else," she murmured, undoing the scientist's shirt enough to check a pulse point, "as long as they don't give me cause. And you certainly have not."

She just caught him on a good day. The Hulk doesn't have much to say to that, except to snort.

"The Hulk doesn't smash unless you give him a reason. So don't."

Because she'll so lose. The Hulk is nothing but confident in his ability to win every fight, ever.

"A fair exchange."

Well, the scientist was alive, at any rate. Mina would slip some vitae later, just to make sure any internal injuries she was missing were properly attended to. She couldn't afford to keep a ghoul long term, but for the purposes of healing, it seemed like an acceptable use of blood.

"I'll have to get it back to the clinic," she said. "For observation. I suppose I should tell Carter and Coulson about this..."

Something worms its way to the front of his mind -- not Banner, but knowledge.

"Flag Man." She's totally going to know he means Captain America, right? Sure. "And Metal Man. I'm taking him to the Avengers."

The Hulk's forbidding tone is more because, well, that is what he was doing, and also because he isn't sure he wants to let her have him. He doesn't know her, but he likes the Avengers; they worked together before. He's also concerned with someone stealing his thunder, and here he is, helping.

A frustrated noise rose up into Mina's throat. But she swallowed it. Of course this creature wouldn't leave the scientist with her. Why would anyone? She was persona non grata around this hellhole.

And she knew she wasn't equipped to fight. Not right now. It would require time and energy and spells she hadn't yet mastered.

With a resigned sigh, she stood up, holding her hands up in surrender and taking a few steps away from the scientist.

She so would have liked to poke around in his head.

He nods and scoops the scientist up, then points at her.

"You come too."

Helping times two: now he's bringing the magician lady who can drag the answers out of his head. That's two strikes in his favor.

That earned the creature an arched look. "Me?" she asked incredulously. "What do you need me for?"

For that matter, who the hell were Flag Man and Metal Man? They sounded like alter egos Wayne used to go by in Chicago.

...oh.

"Steve?" she asked.

"Magic." Duh. Weren't they just talking about that? Maybe she's not so smart after all. Still, the Hulk thinks she'll be useful -- he just wants to make sure the people he's fought with before get in on this too.

The Hulk nods. "Flag Man." Double duh. Jeez, what's with her?

Oh, dear Goddess. Could this get any more absurd? Mina was suddenly seized with the urgent desire to blow her own brains out. Not that it would do her much good.

She sighed softly, gesturing to the unconscious scientist. "He's yours to do with as you please," she said in surrender.

He tilts his head.

"And you."

now i'm stronger than yesterday

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