TECH HAVEN — NIGHT
The lights hummed back to life the moment Arthur stepped inside. Dust from Culver still clung to his coat. The adrenaline had long faded, replaced by the steady weight of what was coming.
Astra's soft, concerned voice filled the chamber.
> "Arthur… your vitals are still off. You shouldn't be walking around."
"I've walked around with worse," he muttered, heading straight for the Bio-Lab.
The room lit up in layers — scanners unfolding, containment chambers activating.
He pulled out the vial of Blonsky's blood, still sealed in the System's encrypted storage.
"Astra," he said, setting it into the analyzer, "full isolation. No cross-contamination, no replication without my clearance."
> "Already locked. And… Arthur? This sample is dangerous. More than the footage suggested."
He sighed. "Yeah. I saw what it did to him. The serum works —it just works wrong."
The machine engaged, the crimson sample breaking apart into molecular strands.
Arthur watched the process in silence.
> "Will you try to use it?" Astra asked, her tone soft.
"Not as it is," he said. "But maybe I can learn something from it. Something that won't turn me into a psychopath"
Astra hesitated.
> "I don't want it to hurt you."
He smiled faintly. "I know. That's why we'll be careful."
A notification blinked on the holo-wall — incoming call.
Tony.
Arthur exhaled once. "…Here we go."
---
PHONE CALL — STARK RESIDENCE
Arthur picked up the call, "Put me on. Put me—Pepper—stop—give me the—
(indistinct wrestling noises), Tell me you're not dead."
"Not dead"
"Great. Because CNN just showed you being yeeted by a helicopter explosion, and my day was going fine until I had to wonder if I needed to send flowers."
"Touched. Really." Arthur deadpanned.
"Have you lost your damn mind?"
"Hi, Pepper."
"Don't 'hi Pepper' me! Do you have any idea how dangerous—"
Pepper's voice overlapped immediately.
"Arthur, what were you thinking?!"
Arthur scrunched his face. "Which part exactly? The dodging bullets or the flying debris? I need specifics."
Tony's voice rose.
"The specifics? THE PART WHERE YOU ALMOST GOT TURNED INTO A LAWYER-SHAPED PANCAKE!"
Pepper cut in, firm. "We saw the news. You were in front of the firing line. Arthur? Are you okay? You looked hurt in the footage."
"Three ribs, one ligament. Nothing dramatic." Arthur shrugged.
"NOTHING—? Arthur, a helicopter fell on you. That's not "nothing," that's Tuesday for me, sure, but for normal people? That's a whole thing." Tony countered.
Arthur chimed,"Well, lucky for me I've never been normal."
Tony paused.
"…Okay, that one actually sounded like something I would say, and now I'm concerned for entirely different reasons."
Arthur leaned against the counter. "In my defense, Ross wasn't listening to reason."
"So your solution was to stand in front of a tank?" Tony snapped.
"What are you, allergic to self-preservation? God...is this how everyone feels talking to me?"
Pepper sighed. "You scared us, Arthur."
That landed harder than either of Tony's accusations.
"Look," Arthur said gently, "I wasn't trying to be reckless. I was trying to stop a disaster. Didn't succeed… but I had to try."
"What were you even doing there?" Tony inquired.
"Handling a Client "
"Client...What Clie—You mean Banner?
You walked into a military operation for Banner?"
"Well someone had to...the man doesn't deserve to be hunted like a dog, because of Ross's obsession with the Captain Spandex Serum."
Tony went quiet for half a beat.
When he spoke again, his voice was lower, calmer — the Tony people rarely heard.
"…Next time, call me."
Arthur blinked. "…What?"
Tony cleared his throat aggressively.
"I'm just saying — if a green rage monster is involved, maybe don't handle it alone. I've got suits, you've got… whatever you've got. Teamwork!"
Pepper added softly, "He's right. You don't have to do everything by yourself."
Arthur's tone softened. "I hear you. Both of you."
Tony, back to sarcasm:
"Good. Because if you die, Pepper will kill me, and I can't die before I finish the new arc reactor."
Arthur laughed. "God forbid."
Pepper: "Promise you'll be more careful."
Arthur: "I'll try. Can't promise more than that."
Tony muttered, "Trying is fine. Dying is not." and hung up.
Astra whispered quietly in his ear — unheard by anyone else:
> "They care about you."
Arthur didn't answer out loud… but he didn't disagree.
Night fell over the city, but the world didn't slow down.
Every major outlet had seized onto the Culver footage — even the ones Arthur didn't own. Astra had already seeded the clips, the angles, the timestamps through backdoor channels. But now the world had picked them up on their own.
---
BREAKING NEWS — MILITARY USE OF FORCE ON U.S. CAMPUS SPARKS NATIONAL OUTCRY
The anchor looked tense, shuffling her papers.
"Tonight, shocking footage has emerged showing General Thaddeus Ross deploying heavily armed troops — including sonic weaponry — against Dr. Bruce Banner on the Culver University campus."
The screen cut to shaky student videos:
troops advancing, cannons firing, Hulk trying to shield himself.
Then —
A panel appeared: three analysts, one retired colonel, one civil rights attorney.
The colonel shook his head immediately.
"This is beyond protocol. These are battlefield assets. You don't use them on U.S. soil unless something has gone catastrophically wrong."
The attorney chimed in:
"Wrong? It's illegal. Banner was a civilian, not an enemy combatant. Ross violated half the oversight framework we have."
Another panelist added,
"Public sentiment is already swinging. People don't see a monster. They see a man who was turned into something he didn't want being hunted"
Arthur watched quietly, arms folded.
Astra whispered beside him:
> "Your influence is visible — but subtle. They followed the footage patterns you released."
"Good," Arthur murmured. "It needs to feel organic."
A notification pinged.
Astra displayed the headline before Arthur even asked.
"THE MONSTER WE MADE: HOW THE GOVERNMENT CREATED ITS OWN NIGHTMARE AND BLAMED A SCIENTIST FOR SURVIVING IT"
by Christine Everhart
Arthur skimmed it.
Christine had gone for the throat — without fabrication, without sensationalism. Just sharp questions and hard facts:
Ross's unauthorized deployment
Banner's legal civilian status
The suspicious secrecy around the "Super Soldier revival program"
The emotional angle: Betty Ross caught in the crossfire
Astra spoke softly.
> "She writes very effectively."
"That's why I bought the company," Arthur said dryly.
Astra hummed.
> "Do you think she suspects the footage came from you?"
"No. Christine thinks everyone leaks from guilt or ego. Convenient belief."
---
Screens flipped again — this time user-generated feeds Astra pulled from across the country.
College students protesting on campuses:
"LET BANNER LIVE FREE!"
"STOP THE HUNT!"
"HULK PROTECTED BETTY — YOU SHOT FIRST!"
"TODAY IT'S BRUCE — ARE WE NEXT ?"
Crowds chanting.
Handmade signs.
A candlelight vigil outside Culver's campus fence.
Astra spoke again, quieter.
> "Human empathy is… stronger than I predicted."
Arthur gave a small smile. "People root for underdogs. Banner's the biggest one alive."
A drone feed showed more protests growing in front of a federal building in D.C., reporters swamped across steps asking officials if Banner was still considered a fugitive.
And then—
White House press secretary on live podium, sweating through questions:
"At this time, given the newly surfaced evidence, Dr. Banner's legal status is… under review. All military actions are put on hold for further investigation."
Arthur punched the air in delight after hearing that.
"Oh this is going to make things so much more simple to handle now."
"Let's hope the military tribunal doesn't tear my head off for the bad PR they had to deal with."
---
The cabin was quiet enough to hear the rain tapping against the window, soft and steady. Bruce sat on the edge of the old futon with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders, muscles aching from the transformation but finally relaxed. Betty slept beside him, curled toward his warmth, steady breaths rising and falling against his arm.
He held the remote loosely, flipping through channels without really watching — until he wasn't flipping anymore.
CNN.
Footage from Culver.
Footage of him.
Except… not the monster everyone always showed.
A shaky student video replayed on loop: soldiers advancing, sonic cannons deploying, Arthur Steele shouting at Ross to stand down.
Another channel played Christine Everhart's article in bold letters, the anchor reading excerpts aloud:
"…a man chased like an animal, cornered because of someone else's obsession…"
Bruce felt something twist in his chest — painful, familiar, but… different.
Not fear.
Not shame.
Something warmer.
Dangerously warm.
He lowered the volume, afraid the sound might wake Betty.
Another panel debated his fate:
"Banner wasn't attacking anyone — he was reacting to military force."
"Ross escalated a non-lethal situation into a battlefield."
"This was a violation of every standard we have."
Bruce blinked hard, breath catching.
People were defending him.
Publicly.
He wasn't used to this — to not being the villain of the story.
Betty stirred awake, rubbing her eyes. "Bruce? What's wrong?"
He swallowed, voice barely above a whisper.
"Look…"
He tilted the screen toward her.
She sat up slowly, eyes widening as the commentary continued.
"Christine Everhart calls this— 'state-sanctioned harassment.' Bruce… they're siding with you."
Bruce let out a shaky breath. "I don't understand… After everything I've done — everything Hulk's done…"
Betty placed her hand gently over his.
"Maybe they finally see the difference between you and him."
He shook his head, overwhelmed.
"Arthur… he's doing all of this. He's—he's fighting for me like I matter. Like I'm… worth saving."
"You are," Betty whispered.
Bruce stared at the screen again — at Arthur standing firm against soldiers, at students chanting his name.
For the first time in years, a fragile, dangerous thought crept in:
Maybe I'm not alone anymore.
---
The military courtroom wasn't grand — it was harsh, practical, cold, like everything in Ross's world. Fluorescent lights hummed overhead. Uniforms lined the walls in rigid rows. No reporters, no civilians — just brass, legal counsel, and a tension so thick it clung to the air.
Arthur entered Calm. Controlled & Collected. The kind of composure that made seasoned officers shift uncomfortably.
Ross sat at the defendant's table, jaw tight enough to crack a tooth.
The presiding judge, an older general with silver hair and a face carved by decades of war, lifted a hand.
"Mr. Steele, you may proceed."
Arthur stepped to the center, placing a thin folder on the lectern — almost too casually.
"Your honors," he began, voice measured, "this isn't about a strategic failure or a mission gone wrong. This is about legality. Responsibility. And a chain of command being ignored in the pursuit of a personal crusade."
Ross's attorney immediately stood. "Objection—"
"Overruled," the judge said flatly. "Sit down."
Arthur clicked a small remote.
Screens lit up around the room:
Soldiers advancing on a university lawn
Arthur's conversation with Ross trying to stop him from escalating the situation and telling him to calmly help Bruce.
Ross accepting that he is hunting Bruce for weaponising Hulk.
Sonic cannons deploying against a single unarmed target
Gas grenades thrown into a civilian building
Radio logs showing Ross ignoring stand-down protocols
Shaky footage of students screaming as explosions rocked the campus
A low murmur spread through the room.
Arthur didn't raise his voice — he didn't need to.
He let the images do most of the talking.
"Dr. Bruce Banner," he continued, "is a respected scientist. A non-combatant. And as of the morning before this incident, trying to stay hidden to avoid exactly the situation which was forced upon him. General Ross knowingly led soilders to their deaths , fully aware that Hulk will react if attacked, their sacrifices could have been avoided"
He looked straight at Ross when he said it.
Ross's jaw twitched.
One officer leaned toward another.
"This is bad…"
"Real bad."
Arthur turned another page.
"For years, instead of addressing the trauma of a man who never volunteered for what he became, the U.S. Army pursued him as an unstable asset — not as a human being. Culver University wasn't a battlefield. It was an academic institution. Students. Professors. Unarmed civilians."
One of the judges interrupted, brows furrowing.
"General Ross, is it true you deployed sonic weaponry in a populated civilian zone?"
Ross clenched his fists. "We believed Banner posed an immediate threat—"
Arthur cut in gently but firmly.
"Banner did not engage until after your men fired first."
Ross glared. "He's a monster!"
Arthur didn't flinch.
"He protected your daughter."
Silence slammed into the room.
Ross inhaled sharply — shaken, angry, lost for a retort.
Arthur stepped back, letting the weight of that truth settle.
"If this tribunal chooses to ignore these facts," he finished, "then it is choosing precedent. The precedent that the military may act without restraint, without accountability, and without oversight whenever fear overrides judgment."
He closed the folder softly.
"That precedent will not end with Bruce Banner."
Another judge leaned forward.
"Mr. Steele… are you implying future liability?"
Arthur met his gaze evenly.
"I'm stating certainty."
Ross's attorney attempted another objection and was ignored entirely.
A general questioned "How can we be certain that the Bruce Banner will not lose control of the Hulk and lead to civilian causalities or property damages."
"If you look at all the reported and recorded incidents of Hulk losing control— every single time Bruce banner was either provoked or was hunted." Arthur countered, "I would also like to pose a question, how sure is the US military that if given custody they will not create more Hulks."
"Bruce Banner is the only who can make sure that no unnecessary blood is shed because of the Hulk, had he not been the man of integrity and compassion that he is , we would have had to deal with a man who was a monster not because of the Hulk but despite him after all that his own country put him through, and I leave you to speculate on the kind of destruction we would be seeing now." Arthur declared.
The panel whispered among themselves.
No one spoke for several minutes.
Finally, the presiding judge looked up.
"General Ross… given the evidence provided, your actions constitute a violation of engagement protocol, misuse of military resources, and breach of the Posse Comitatus Act."
Ross's breath hitched.
Arthur didn't smile.
He didn't gloat.
He simply watched justice inch into the room.
Then the gavel struck.
---
The White house representative made the announcement later that evening.
"After examining the evidences provided by his Counselor the special military tribunal has come to a decision that Bruce Banner is no longer a fugitive. All charges related to property damage, manslaughter and flight from custody are vacated. General Ross has been ordered to mediate a meeting of the President and with Doctor Banner who would like to personally thank him for his service to the Nation."
Public cheers erupted.
Protests turned celebratory.
Bruce stood outside the cabin, leaning against the railing.
The forest was quiet.
Betty stood beside him, reading the news alert on her phone.
"You're free, Bruce," she whispered. "Really free."
He swallowed hard.
"I don't know how to live like that anymore."
Betty smiled gently. "Then let's learn together."
Bruce nodded — slowly, but with growing clarity.
"There's one more thing I need to do," he said.
"Sterns might have answers… and we owe Arthur the truth about what we know."
Betty squeezed his hand. "Then we go to New York."
Bruce looked out across the trees, the weight of years finally lifting.
"Yeah," he murmured. "It's time."
---
A/N.
There you have it folks, I had this idea that Bruce would never have had to run if the public perception and support was enough to deter the government. We can see that in real life too, that when the public outcry is beyond government control they are forced to sometimes back off , not always but I felt in this scenario it was possible to be done.
Now that the canon has deviated a bit what will be the butterfly effect, I have something in store for that as well , keep reading.
Ciao..!!!