Bruce is starting to feel hot, and he can blame the fire in Kobra's hands, but it's coming from someplace deeper within him. For all he talks about being aware of one's anger, he's not quite aware of how angry he is now, or how close he is to snapping. Maybe the better way to phrase it would be that the Hulk is close to the surface; Bruce has changed into him more often in the past few months -- starting with the helicarrier -- than he has in a long time. The hallucinogens also ate away at the barrier between Bruce and the Hulk, even though he hasn't quite realized that yet either; he's always angry, yes, but his fuse is shorter than it has been in a long time, and in a way he hasn't experienced yet.
He gets to experience it now.
Kobra's being ridiculous; he's letting his anger over things that were ill-advised, but not in Sharon's power, take over him, and he's actually going to use this fire he somehow found to hurt Sharon. He knows Sharon's not defenseless -- logically, he knows that -- but she's still a woman, and Kobra's still a powerful man right now, and that's a kind of violence that sickens him, right down to his core, right down to his childhood...
And hadn't he attacked women, too? He was on drugs, mostly out of his mind and full up of fear and rage and defensiveness... He's no better than...
...no.
The heat that had been licking at his skin suddenly seizes him from the inside; his brain is boiling with it, and he knows what this is. This is the Hulk, clawing his way out, scratching his way to the surface, and Bruce isn't letting him out this time. For an instant, he considers not resisting, wonders if that would bypass the Hulk's rage, but what if it doesn't? What if it doesn't, and Bruce just lets him out? It's only just starting; he might be able to fight it off, if he just tries hard enough, if he just holds on --
He stumbles back from Kobra, his nails digging into his palms now, and he struggles, and fights, and pushes -- but it's happening faster than it has before, and Bruce knows that it's way past letting anything happen; it's happening, and he never said yes.
He sinks to his knees and then falls forward onto his hands as his body starts to shift, his skin tinting green as his shoulders expand, his shirt tearing. He cries out; the pain's never not a shock, not when it feels like he's being dipped in acid slowly, and when he looks up at Kobra, his eyes are flashing green.
"Run."
And then with the cracking and stretching of a few more bones and muscles, the Hulk is on his knees in front of Kobra. This time, when he lifts his head, his eyes are brown like Bruce's -- but Bruce is definitely not at home. He snarls and then smirks slowly, his muscles tensing as he prepares to leap.
"Run." Bruce had been warning Kobra. The Hulk's giving the mouse a head start.
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He gets to experience it now.
Kobra's being ridiculous; he's letting his anger over things that were ill-advised, but not in Sharon's power, take over him, and he's actually going to use this fire he somehow found to hurt Sharon. He knows Sharon's not defenseless -- logically, he knows that -- but she's still a woman, and Kobra's still a powerful man right now, and that's a kind of violence that sickens him, right down to his core, right down to his childhood...
And hadn't he attacked women, too? He was on drugs, mostly out of his mind and full up of fear and rage and defensiveness... He's no better than...
...no.
The heat that had been licking at his skin suddenly seizes him from the inside; his brain is boiling with it, and he knows what this is. This is the Hulk, clawing his way out, scratching his way to the surface, and Bruce isn't letting him out this time. For an instant, he considers not resisting, wonders if that would bypass the Hulk's rage, but what if it doesn't? What if it doesn't, and Bruce just lets him out? It's only just starting; he might be able to fight it off, if he just tries hard enough, if he just holds on --
He stumbles back from Kobra, his nails digging into his palms now, and he struggles, and fights, and pushes -- but it's happening faster than it has before, and Bruce knows that it's way past letting anything happen; it's happening, and he never said yes.
He sinks to his knees and then falls forward onto his hands as his body starts to shift, his skin tinting green as his shoulders expand, his shirt tearing. He cries out; the pain's never not a shock, not when it feels like he's being dipped in acid slowly, and when he looks up at Kobra, his eyes are flashing green.
"Run."
And then with the cracking and stretching of a few more bones and muscles, the Hulk is on his knees in front of Kobra. This time, when he lifts his head, his eyes are brown like Bruce's -- but Bruce is definitely not at home. He snarls and then smirks slowly, his muscles tensing as he prepares to leap.
"Run." Bruce had been warning Kobra. The Hulk's giving the mouse a head start.