roadoftrode AU-verse.

[blots]

No. I don't want to talk about my ... revelations. Why would I? I was brain-dead, jacked from the system for 31.3 seconds. And then the antibodies kicked in. I didn't live another life. It was a delusion. There's no such person as Thor, or Frigga, or Odin -- it's not real.

If it were real, I would have won.

Comments

let's retcon and say bruce is AU in this interaction

[hulkish]

And you're ignoring important variables to gain the result you want to find. Psychotic break, Loki, not casual hallucination.

Trode AU?

[blots]

Streamspace is unpredictable. I know that better than anyone. Where magic and mathematics collide, reality goes thin.

I haven't established what bruce's AU canon is yet but sure

[hulkish]

Which is precisely why I think these are more than just dreams. Delusions. Whatever you want to call them. You said it yourself, it's unpredictable. What you saw--

What did you see?

[blots]

What business is it of yours?

[hulkish]

[ bruce looks at him, absently rubbing a thumb in circles over the groove of his knuckle. he knows better than to cite concern. ]

None, except the more data I can collect, the clearer the picture might become.

[ he hopes. ]

[blots]

I'm not a test subject.

[ He gets antsy at even the thought of official authority. He dodged out of that burden once; now he's a lawbreaker, a criminal, a drifter on the fringes. He prefers that; he has power there. He won't risk it. ]

[hulkish]

[ his nostrils flare. ]

And I'm not in the business of torture.

[ something changes in the way bruce holds himself. he's taller, somehow. takes up more room. ]

[blots]

Are you accusing me of something? If so, go right on and say it.

[hulkish]

[ he has no idea what loki's referring to, but his brow furrows. ]

Would you admit to it if I did?

[blots]

I don't torture.

[ Not in this life, he doesn't torture.

...does he?

No. No, those memories are of Asgard. He blinks, roughly. ]

And I don't want to talk about what I saw.

[hulkish]

Great. Now that we've established our basic humanity...

[ he watches loki's face, annoyed that it inspires concern. ]

Alright, I. I get that. I don't usually want to talk about it either.

[blots]

Usually?

[hulkish]

I've started writing down my-- observations.

[blots]

[ Appalled. What if people see that? ]

At least don't put it on bandwidth storage.





ooc; hey look there's a map now!

[hulkish]

[ gentle scorn; he's hardly a fool. ]

It's properly encrypted. Although. Probably not against you.

[ gives him a considering look. ]

[blots]

[ He takes it as praise. ]

Not much is.

[hulkish]

[ good. he meant it that way. ]

So I've heard.

How. How much would it cost for you to write some better protections for my files?

[ his eyes plead for loki to not ask why. ]

[blots]

For you, I'd deal in favors. You might not like it when I call it in.

[hulkish]

That's-- fine. Better than I was expecting. Although I should tell you: my mobility's-- limited in the Capitol.

[blots]

How do you mean?

[hulkish]

It might be easier if you looked me up. Bruce Banner.

[ bruce banner: a very wanted criminal. actively hunted. danger to himself and others. monetary reward for any information on his whereabouts. (digging a little deeper will reveal that bruce is a biophysicist who found a genome that potentially is the source of magical ability; the reasons for his fugitive status aren't clear beyond "crimes against the state."). ]