Ready, Fire, Aim!

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

Bruce nodded. "Sounds good," he said absently, lost in thought. He ran all the variables in his head several times, trying to come up with the probability of something going wrong, and what was the optimum way of things going smoothly. Falling back on math and science gave him a sort of comfort, one that he even had when he was a kid, besides his mother. He didn't even see Tony fly off, still sitting in the dirt, trying to prepare himself for everything. The last time he'd Hulk'd out anywhere other than New York was in Harlem, and that hadn't exactly ended all that well.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony tried for a different tactic and flew straight into town, landing in the center of a very busy center. He didn't land near anyone, though. There were assorted gasps and shouts, pointing and rapid whispering. He waved, being sure not to seem threatening, then flipped up the face mask. "Crap, I don't speak Portuguese.. Yes, i am IronMan! Hablen ingles? Hablen ingles?" He called, wondering if anyone understood. "Does anyone speak both English and Portugese?" Someone came forward, an older gentlemen. "You are.. The IronMan?"

"Yup that's me. So listen, I need a favor.."

 

Ten minutes later he flew into the air, waving to the people. "I'll be right back! Uh.. Regresaria!" He called flying back off towards the woods. Okay, so once people knew he was a hero they were calm.. How would they handle Hulk?

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

Bruce's eyes flickered upwards as Tony returned and he stopped in the middle of his pacing, which he had started to do a few minutes earlier. "So, how did it go?" he asked nervously.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

"Pretty well. More than anything I think they were just surprised to see a suit of armor flying around. You know how it is," he sniffed, patting Bruce's arm. "Don't worry. It'll be fine- I've got a translator waiting, and they know I'm coming back. As long as the Hulk stays calm, and doesn't smash, everything will work out," Tony assured him.

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

Bruce nodded. Not wanting to wait anymore in fear of losing all his resolve, he closed his eyes and pulled the Other Guy's presence forward. He sent a mental plea as he himself shifted underneath the other's suffocating presence to not do anything stupid, before he was enveloped in black.

 

The Hulk stood in Bruce's place, instantly recognizing Tony in his suit. He grinned, leaning forward and resting his large fists on the ground in that very ape-like manner of his, excited to see Tony in red and gold again.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

"Hey big guy! Good to see you again," Tony greeted, shifting his weight. Now came the tricky part. "I want to show you to some people today, alright? People. We want them to see how cool Hulk is, but you can't smash. Think you can do that?" He asked, hoping against hope that he would comply. "If you be calm and don't smash in front of the people, we can smash as long as you like when we get away from the people. Deal? They won't hurt Hulk."

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

The Hulk's grin disappeared. He was more than a little hesitant to comply with what Tony wanted, considering the last time he saw people, they were firing lasers at him and showering him with bullets. Not only that, but Bruce's anxiety and fear had begun to feed into his rage, and he fumed not-so silently, tearing apart trees and causing clods of dirt to rain down on the both of them. A voice in the back of his mind tried to remind him that there was a difference between soldiers and people, but it was drowned out by anger, and the Hulk outwardly began to resemble his classic persona of blind rage rather than the one that Tony had began to see over the past weeks. Tony was still his friend, but he didn't want to be anywhere near people: he just wanted to be left alone.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony staggered back, eyes widening slightly as the Hulk started to get angry. "People! Not soldiers! People! They won't hurt Hulk, they just want to see you!" He tried, holding up his hands as he tried to calm him down. Crap! Uh.. An idea came to mind then, a horrible idea, but what choice did he have? Throwing caution to the wind, he stepped out of his suit and ran to stand in front of the Hulk, bracing for impact in case he we struck. "People! Like me! Hulk, you have to stop!"

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

A large green arm raised itself to swat the person in front of him away, a snarl in his lips, when an alarm began to blare in the back of Hulk's mind. He stopped himself, instead turning slightly and bringing his massive fist down in the ground beside Tony, trying to ease some of the anger boiling inside him. Dirt flew everywhere, covering Tony in a thick layer of it. The Hulk staggered back, angry and ashamed for having come so close to crushing his only friend when he'd worked so hard to be careful around him in the past. "People. Not soldiers..." he repeated.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony brought up his hands and shielded his face, coughing and spitting up dirt. He was covered in dirt now, but that was the least of his worries. Wiping it out of his eyes, he looked back up at Hulk. "People, like me. Weak people, puny people who can be smashed easily," he said carefully. "If you want Ross to go away, you have to show people that you are good. And you are good, Hulk."

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

Hulk's thick brows stitched themselves together, thinking slowly through the anger. "Hulk good," he said carefully in agreement. He felt the rage begin to ebb away, and he breathed deeply through his nose, mouth pressed together in a hard line. He'd never concentrated more than he has now, fighting away his primal urge to smash everything and anything in sight. Tony wasn't a threat; he was a friend.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony knew better than to touch him now; Hulk wasn't exactly like a human in the sense that he would see that as comforting. "Yes, Hulk is good. You didn't smash me just now, and that's good. The people just want to see you. If the people see you, then they don't hate hulk. If they like hulk, then they hate Ross," he tried to explain.

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

"Ross make everyone hate Hulk! And Banner! People think Hulk is a monster, not good!" he asked angrily. What would anyone seeing him make any difference? They would just run away and scream at him. Not only did he feel angry at everything Ross had done to him, but he felt hopeless too. Nothing he did would make any difference in the way people saw them! That's why he was better off alone, er- well, alone with his Tin Man. "Why would they like Hulk?" he grumbled.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

"They have to get to know you! They only know Ross, so they just believe what he says. But, if they saw you, and what a great person you are, they would know that Ross is lying. They don't know any better, that's why we teach them. You can do that, can't you?" Tony prompted, looking up at him. That hopeless face was enough to melt anyone's heart.

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

The Hulk thought about this, and after a moment nodded slowly, still hesitant, but willing to follow Tony's lead. He trusted him, probably even more than Banner, and they were the same person! The possibility of not living as an outcast for the rest of his life was definitely appealing, and he couldn't remember a time when he was happier (rather than feeling nothing but rage) than when he was with Tony.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

"Great. Just remember not to smash, and don't hurt people. They might be scared at first, but we'll show them that you won't hurt them. C'mon big guy," Tony said, climbing back into the suit. The eyes flashed to life and he flew up, checking everything before turning to the Hulk. "Follow me. Just go slow and don't touch people, okay?" He asked, leading the way slowly back towards town.

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

The Hulk followed, and they made the trip pretty quickly, despite their slow pace. He looked around as people stared, some whispering and some shouting things at him in an unknown language. Some tried to run away, and a couple began to throw things at him. He tried to remain calm, keeping his eyes on Tony's suit instead, and trying to ignore the gawking people below. He held his lumbering arms close to his body, so as to not accidentally break anything. He was uncomfortable to say the least, and if you knew who he really was, you could say he resembled Banner in the way he tried to avoid anything that came his way, coupled with his nervous stature. He resembled a wild animal placed in a domestic home; he didn't understand anything around him, and he wanted to leave as soon as possible.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony jetted up and caught a can as it was thrown. "Hey! Stop that," he exclaimed, his eyes scanning the crowd until he found his translator. He got the guy's attention and nodded before saying, "We are Avengers." The crowd started to quiet with Ironman floating above them, the nervous translator repeating what had been said. "When a man tried to take over the world, we stopped him. I am IronMan, and this is Hulk. He is a hero, like me. He won't hurt anyone." He prayed as the man translated, watching the crowd.

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

The large crowd murmured and whispered among themselves, eyes shifting from the hulking brute to the shiny flying machine in front of them. A few had access to tv, and had seen what had happened in New York. They remembered seeing them there, and how they had saved the world.

 

The people's murmured and stares were making him twitchy, not being used to having so many people around. He was about to turn and leave, when a boy, probably about 7, broke away from his mother and brothers, and ran over to him, inclining his head to see his massive form. He held a small green rag, it was bunched together at the sides to resemble a head, arms, and legs, and it had 2 black eyes in the middle of it's head. He held it up to him, asking questioningly, "Você realmente dele?" The Hulk stared at the boy, unsure what to do. He had never seen someone so small, and he couldn't understand a word that he said.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony couldn't help but stare along with the crowd, dumbfounded. That little boy.. Could either prove their point or ruin everything. He landed a few feet away, giving them some space. "Hulk," he began, looking between them, "I know you don't understand him. I don't either. Remember: gentle. I think that doll is supposed to be you, he's your fan. He likes you." He looked to the translator for help.

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

The Hulk leaned forward, trying to get as close to the ground as possible to look at the boy. The confusion showed clearly on his face, and he looked at Tony, unsure. The boy brought his hand to the Hulk's own, looking so small and fragile against his dark green skin, pulling away slightly from the heat the Hulk gave off. The giant jumped back at first, startled, but after a moment he inched forward again, curiosity in his eyes. He was about to reach up and pat the boy, but remembered Tony's warning not to from before, and instead lifted his hand to pick the boy up, causing gasps and shouts in Portuguese to fly from the spectator's mouths. He was as gentle as he could, and he simply let the boy sit in his open palms, both studying each other, before the boy smiled.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony raised his hands towards the crowd in a calming gesture, drawing on what little he knew. "Facil! Facil! Não perigoso!" He looked to the translator again, who helped him call out that the Hulk wasn't dangerous. When nothing happened he waved a hand at the two, talking while he was translated. "See? He is not a danger. The Hulk is a hero. We are Avengers, we protect people."

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

Tony's shouting drew his attention away from the boy for a moment, and the boy took the opportunity to scamper up the Hulk's arm to sit on his shoulder. He stared at his alarmed, his green eyes wide, but they softened a bit when he saw the awed look on the boy's face. It was so strange to have someone just come near him, much less crawl around him and sit on his shoulders. He roared enthusiastically, making a huge grin spread across the boy's tanned cheeks, and a few of the spectators laughed, although most seemed terrified.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony landed again and stepped out of the suit, holding up his hands. Well.. He would just have to try Spanish. "Yo soy Tony Stark. Yo soy muy rico, y un heroe. Este persona es un heroe tambien," he said, waving a hand at the Hulk. The man translated this as well, just in case. He at least seemed to understand that the Hulk wouldn't hurt anyone. Walking over to his green friend, Tony patted his leg. "See? He will not hurt this boy. He will not hurt anyone. He is a good person, and only attacks bad people."

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

The crowd began to settle down, most of them understanding Tony's message. The Hulk held his hand up to his shoulder, allowing the boy to hold on to a few on his fingers as he set him back down on the ground, waving and proceeding to walk over to his very worried mother. His brothers seemed overly excited and even a little jealous, speaking rapidly in Portuguese. The Hulk looked at Tony, unsure of what to do now.