Genius at Work

[betterthaneiinstein]

Bruce and his erector set and my artfully cropping out dad’s reactions

[betterthaneiinstein]

Happy Fourth of July || Self Para

He was nine, a month away from ten. Aunt Elaine and Jen had come out to visit, well, they called it a visit but it was more of a checking in thing. Aunt Susan was terrified she wasn’t going to be a good parent so every chance she could her sister would come for a “visit”. It was to make sure Bruce was alive, the house was still standing, and Susan still had her sanity.

Susan’s life had been turned upside and all her sibling that hadn’t been locked in a mental institution checked on her regularly. No one checked on how Bruce was adjusting but he was just fine. Keeping to himself, quiet in his room as always. Jen was pretty good at just invading his space, not allowing him the quiet time.

This visit was no different. Jen came bounding in the room, leaving an imprint of the door knob on the wall behind it.

“Aunt Susan said we’re going to see that big bridge!”

“The Golden Gate Bridge.”

“I know what it’s called, it’s also big.”

“Use its name then, you’re not a child.”

“I am so! You are too!”

“I am not nor am I going to see any bridge.”

“But Bruuuuuce-ah.”

Each of Jen’s words were dragged out to the full extent she could, deflating into the pose that told Bruce he wasn’t any fun without using words. Bruce’s house may be new but hanging out with Jen wasn’t. Shaking his head no, Bruce repeated that wasn’t going and turned back the book he was reading.

It didn’t take long for Jen to get the hint and she took off down the way she came, hopefully, that was enough of family time for now. He’d only been here five months, that feeling that this could be taken from him at any time, like so many other homes, still hung over everything that happened. Bruce didn’t feel like this was his home, they weren’t going to take him sightseeing because he could be gone tomorrow or next week, no one knew for sure, it was the leaving that was inevitable.

What Bruce was missing was the date. There was a reason Elaine and Jen had come at this time. With no school in session, Bruce was able to bury himself in work, the only thing he knew was it summer. June, July, August, somewhere in one of those months but past that he hadn’t a clue without festive calendars hung in the classroom and season appropriate art projects he was required to complete. Since there wasn’t anyone making him glue strips of red, white, and blue together, the Fourth of July was lost on the boy.

Had he been aware, Jen would have been forced to listen to a discussion on how technically America freed themselves from Britain on July second. It was a pointless day meant to be symbolic and so people could have an equally pointless celebration and stealing our land from native peoples was not something worth celebrating.

Thankfully, for the entire block, that speech wasn’t given. Bruce carried on as he’d been and remained unaware of the date. All he knew were the errors in this physics textbook and that his family was far too inconsiderate of his quiet time and personal space.

In the living room through to the kitchen, it sounded like a heard of elephants (and one budding dancer who couldn’t decide between ballet and tap). The thumps and thuds that weren’t otherwise that, set to a chorus of sisters that didn’t stop talking made reading about impossible.

The noise dulled but soon Aunt Elaine came softly up the stairs, Bruce barely heard her coming before she knocked on the door. They were keen on disrupting his personal time today. Glaring over the brim of his glasses, Bruce sighed, she wasn’t going to come in until he gave an okay but she wasn’t going away either.

“Won’t you come in, please?”

“What’s this I hear about you not going to San Fransisco with us?”

“I don’t want to go. There’s nothing to see there that I haven’t seen before.”

“The firework show will be new to you, I assume those are only done yearly.”

“Firework show?” pressing a few buttons on his watch, lighting up in that distinct green glow. “Oh.”

“Have you changed your mind then?”

“No.”

Bruce pushed up his glasses and tried to think of a good reason not to go, that he had better things to do than spend time with them, and preparing himself in case Aunt Elaine brought up spending time with family and she’d left her husband back home. She didn’t fight the point, though. There wasn’t a lecture on how this was important, instead, she stood up and went towards the door.

“Your cousin, your aunt, and I are leaving in twenty minutes to have a family picnic. You’re invited to join us.”

Turning back to his book, Bruce tried to find that feeling of relief. A quiet day, home all alone. This was a dream come true. Aunt Susan wouldn’t be looming and fussing over him, asking him if he wanted to go play with the neighbor kids. He could perhaps try out a few experiments free of lectures.

Yet he kept rereading the same sentence, there was a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. Whatever that was Bruce would be happy not to feel it again. Slamming the book closed, Bruce turned to face his room, needing someone to be angry with.

He didn’t understand it, there was the dismissal he wanted, it was okay to not go. So why did he feel terrible? And worse, why was he entertaining the thought of going? She said he didn’t have to go, what more could he want?

This wasn’t fair!

Bruce got up and changed his clothes, he packed a bag with notebooks, things to read, pens and pencils, and another sweatshirt (just in case). Walking himself down the stairs, he stood in the kitchen with the rest of his family and reluctantly ready to tag along.

There was a small, silent ‘thank you’ from Elaine but her attention quickly turned to keeping Jen out of the festive but store bought cookies. Aunt Susan didn’t say anything as her nephew stood there, clutching his belongings like they’d be taken and trying to physically take up as little space as possible. Not so much as a smile.

–

It was a two-hour drive, longer than necessary considering there were plenty of places to watch fireworks in Modesto but Bruce would later learn Aunt Susan took them there to impress. This was as impressive as she could get, a day trip to celebrate the holiday with one of the nation’s better-known landmarks. It was something the sisters had discussed doing since they’d made the move out west though.

Everything was packed and it wasn’t even midday. They found a place and put down their blanket. The location was ideal, high enough that they looked down on the bridge, it was one of those locations that were supposed to a secret yet looking around it was anything but. The water was a sharp blue rather than the often photographed greyish blue and the notorious fog.

The kind of day that would have had artists setting up everywhere but there wasn’t a free piece of land to be seen. It didn’t feel like his life. It felt like a Norman Rockwell painting. This was too perfect, too good to be something he was experiencing all his own.

Aunt Elaine set out a picnic lunch, it was modest but she promised all the good stuff was for dinner. Aunt Susan made him a sandwich, Bruce didn’t snap about how he was old enough to fix his own food, he even told her thank you. It still went uneaten as he buried himself in his reading. Jen ran around their blanket nonstop, she played with bubbles, with her toys, she did everyone’s hair and by two o’clock was bored out of her mind.

They tried everything they could to entertain the poor girl, Bruce finally caved and played what felt like fifty rounds of Go Fish where, apparently, the most important thing was to let Jen win. He didn’t find that fair but few would argue with two women staring you down and telling you not to ask for that card.

Dinner wasn’t as good as promised, cold chicken and store bought salads dripping in sauce. Bruce stuck to the fruit tray they’d put together. Eating chunks of watermelon and trying not to be disappointed about this sticky sensation he couldn’t wipe off his fingers.

Dusk took forever to fall, and Bruce was glad he had his sweatshirt. Jen wound up playing with other kids from neighboring blankets as slowly they all found themselves bored with what was provided for them. As the sky darkened you could hear calls of mothers from all over the park, beckoning for the kids to return to their blankets and chairs.

Bruce packed his belongings up as his aunts did the same. Elaine even offered to take stuff to the car but Aunt Susan wasn’t allowing it. The anticipation was mixed with the adults reassuring them everything would start soon. When the first boom filled the air, before it had a chance to light the sky, the entire city seemed to go silent.

Jen pointed out the colors of each firework, Bruce told her which chemical produced that color. Both children sat cross-legged on their blanket, necks tilted back. Aunt Susan stretched her arm around Bruce’s shoulders, powering through the flinch. It took a couple minutes but Bruce relaxed, the comfort was nice for when they set off a few a once. The louder booms and in such quick succession were startling. Bruce, for all he tried, was still a jumpy kid.

He missed the shared look between his aunts, they knew that fear all too well but more than that, they knew their brother caused it. Both fought the urge to coddle the boy who wanted nothing to do with them. Bruce just sat there, though, holding his glasses in his hand and jabbering with his cousin about how fireworks were made.

For the first time, though, he allowed his aunt to be his comfort. Even if for a night. This was his first holiday with his family in a long time. He’d gone through enough without his mom now that it was starting to become a normal feeling, it still hurt, though. Sitting there looking out on the bay and thinking about how much his mom would have loved it but these women around him weren’t strangers, they were his family.

It wasn’t until the finale, the bigger booms and more of them, that Bruce pulled his knees to his chest. Glasses discarded and his fingers in his ears. The gentle touch of Susan rubbing his back kept him grounded. Jen found her way over to her mom but managed to watch as the sky lit red, white, and blue.

The smell of sulfur had barely cleared before mobs of people snatched up their belongings in an effort to ‘beat the rush’. The Banner/Walters blanket stayed put, there was going to be a traffic jam no matter when they left and there was no use rushing Bruce to the car in this state just to sit in a bumper to bumper mess.

Elaine kept Jen occupied, Bruce could hear them talking but they sounded miles away.  Susan rubbed his back until Bruce sat up straight, folding his legs to sit cross-legged again.

“Is that it?”

“Underwhelming, wasn’t it?” Aunt Elaine asked.

Bruce nodded his head and the adults shared a laugh, one that said all fireworks shows are underwhelming. No one brought up why they were still on their blanket, nor did they move to get up. Not until the crowd thinned.

By then, Jen was asleep. Bruce and Susan packed down all they’d brought up and Elaine carried her daughter to the car. They’d barely left San Francisco’s city limits before Bruce was asleep in the car. Content, as he laid against the window, sleeping with what his aunts swore, was a smile.

[betterthaneiinstein]

Does your character have siblings or family members in their age group? Which one are they closest with?: Bruce only has Jen in his age group. The rest are his parent's age. He and Jen are incredibly close. She's every bit the pesky kid sister she'd be if they shared parents. Bruce would do anything for her, even when he's acting like she's the most annoying person on the planet.

What is/was your character’s relationship with their mother like?: Distant. Rebecca was intentionally kept from Bruce. She loved him dearly and that's the part he remembers. He doesn't remember how absent she was, he just remembers how she was the light in his young life. Everything was brighter and better when mommy was around. Unfortunately, there's no chance for a relationship now but Bruce does try to make her proud all the same.

What is/was your character’s relationship with their father like?: Abusive. That's the only word that could be used. Brian not just physically abused Bruce but mentally. Brian was a drinker, a survivor of abuse, and mentally ill. He was dead convinced his genes were altered and his son would be a monster that Bruce didn't stand a chance in this world. Everything Bruce did angered his father and either he paid for it or his mom did. Brian was also the reason Rebecca wasn't available, he was jealous of the attention his son received so he took his wife out as much as possible. Leaving Bruce with two absent parents. These days he's terrified Brian will come back looking for him and still doesn't feel completely safe.

Has your character ever witnessed something that fundamentally changed them? If so, does anyone else know?: It's a bit of a broken record in the story of Bruce Banner but yes; the death of his mother. He witnessed it right in front of him. He was eight. And still beats himself up for not being able to protect her. In fact, there's an alter that holds all that guilt and one that holds all the anger. The only people who know are family, even then, Jen doesn't know the whole story. Bruce doesn't know it but Aunt Susan does everything to keep that day out of his memories, her way of protecting him.

On an average day, what can be found in your character’s pockets?: Money, a wallet, pens, papers, lots of papers, and after that it depends on where he's been and what he's been doing and if you're talking about pants pockets or lab coat pockets, coat pockets.

Does your character have recurring themes in their dreams?: Loosely, yes. They revolve around a happy, normal life. What that entails is different every time.

Does your character have recurring themes in their nightmares?: Yes and they are reoccurying. To the point Bruce won't sleep sometimes out of fear. They always contain the monster that is his father and that helpless feeling.

Has your character ever fired a gun? If so, what was their first target?: Gun range targets. Bruce worked on a military base for a while and though he had no reason, there have been soliders that came through that wanted to see if he could fire a gun or didn't believe he could hit anything. While his stance and form lacks, Bruce is pretty good at hitting a target but it's all science and math he can do in his head in a second.

Is your character’s current socioeconomic status different than it was when they were growing up?: It's hard to gauge. His dad was a renowned scientist, who did more than all right. Bruce wasn't really showered with gifts though. Aunt Susan was more strapped for cash than that but Bruce never wanted for anything. He's doing great in the job he has but it also comes with a home and meals so it's pretty easy to succeed.

Does your character feel more comfortable with more clothing, or with less clothing?: MORE! The more layers the better. Minimum three layers at any given time.

In what situation was your character the most afraid they’ve ever been?: The courtroom. Durning Brian's trial. Bruce stone-faced lied for his dad and he was scared of the judge and going to jail and he was scared of his dad and he was scared he was going to go to hell. It was too much for a boy who'd already cracked mentally.

In what situation was your character the most calm they’ve ever been?: Calm isn't a word Bruce knows. There isn't a memory of a calm time.

Is your character bothered by the sight of blood? If so, in what way?: Not in the slightest.

Does your character remember names or faces easier?: Names. Facts are easier for him.

Is your character preoccupied with money or material possession? Why or why not?: In a sense, yes. Money is how he's going to save the world. Bruce has ideas for days, things that will make life better for so many but he needs money to both do the studies and to put it into production. Since about age fifteen he's been very focused on finding finical backers.

Which does your character idealize most; happiness or success?: It sounds so...awful and cliche but Bruce doesn't think he'll even find happiness. He doesn't want success, though, it's not the opposite of happiness to him. He wants to help. More than anything in the world, Bruce wants to help people.

What was your character’s favorite toy as a child?: Guardian. Which he still has.

Is your character more likely to admire wisdom or ambition in others?: Ambition. it's sort of a neither situtaion, Bruce likes those with intelligence but ambition and willingness to learn have won him over when he thought they wouldn't/

What is your character’s biggest relationship flaw? Has this flaw destroyed relationships for them before?: Bruce hasn't even been able to make it to relationships. He doesn't know how to form solid bonds like that and usually messes it all up before it happens. Not for lack of trying, though.

In what ways does your character compare themselves to others? Do they do this for the sake of self-validation, or self-criticism?: Bruce has long been far, far outside of normal. He does aspire to have something like that. Not that he'd admit it but he's jealous of people with friends and things to do and all the normal experiences. But he was in college by thirteen, no one wanted to hang out with a child and he couldn't make himself mature faster. He's always been alone and it comforts him in a way but buried deep down and behind locked doors is that want to fit in. In that way he compares himself. He sees that as normal and is aware of how abnormal he is.

When it comes to his intelligence, though, he's certainly abnormal but sees himself as the norm. Everyone else is all wrong.

If something tragic or negative happens to your character, do they believe they may have caused or deserved it, or are they quick to blame others?: Based on his life, Bruce knows he deserved it. it was his doing and he deserved every bit. If he wasn't such a monster it wouldn't have happened.

What does your character like in other people?: One of the biggest things for Bruce is when people are understanding and accepting. He knows he's weird but he doesn't know how to not be himself so when people are understanding even of the simplest things like his quiet voice or the lack of eye contact, he finds himself endeared more to the person.

What does your character dislike in other people?: Anger and aggression. Though, Bruce will surround himself with people like this. It's easier for him to fall in line, to be the victim, than to have healthy bonds with people.

How quick is your character to trust someone else?: So, so freaking slow.

How quick is your character to suspect someone else? Does this change if they are close with that person?: Suspect them of what? Bruce thinks everyone is talking to him because they want something. But a lifetime of been beaten up for answers to the final teaches you everyone is using you.

How does your character behave around children?: Unsure of himself. There's not been much exposure to children in Bruce's life.

How does your character normally deal with confrontation?: Terribly. Bruce will shut down. Given enough time an alter will come out, though, likely the aggressor.

How quick or slow is your character to resort to physical violence in a confrontation?: Bruce has never thrown a punch, it takes a lot for him to do so in self-defense.

What did your character dream of being or doing as a child? Did that dream come true?: No but almost? Bruce wanted to be a doctor and he was pre-med for a while. He went to achieve the dream until he was there and realized it wasn't his dream. He needed more science based things and less people based helping.

What does your character find repulsive or disgusting?: There's nothing, really. He likes to learn too much to be disgusted.

Describe a scenario in which your character feels most comfortable: Alone in the lab. No one allowed to come in, no time limit, just him and all the equipment. Add that all the results are coming up as he wants and you'll have when Bruce is happiest.

Describe a scenario in which your character feels most uncomfortable: Currently that situation is lecturing to his classes. Bruce still hasn't found comfort in that.

In the face of criticism, is your character defensive, self-deprecating, or willing to improve?: Depends too much on who is criticizing and what. Because of his intellect, Bruce doesn't take well to being told he's wrong because he usually isn't. Other things like interpersonal skills, fashion, anything that isn't his intelligence, he gets a little self-defensive out of reflex but days later, upon reflection, will be willing to change if it makes sense or is doable.

Is your character more likely to keep trying a solution/method that didn’t work the first time, or immediately move on to a different solution/method?: I can't even say immediately work on another because he'll have already run ten different ways to do what he's doing in his head before starting. Changing the variables as he goes.

How does your character behave around people they like?: The more Bruce likes someone the more he tries to hide his personality and who he is. He becomes less and less natural the longer he spends time with a person. It goes away eventually but that takes a while. Befriending Bruce takes a lot of work.

How does your character behave around people they dislike?: Angry. He has spent his life trying not to be angry but when Bruce is around someone he doesn't like it's obvious. He's agitated, annoyed, and condescends to them without worry. Unless scared of them.

Is your character more concerned with defending their honor, or protecting their status?: Honor, I'd think. One of his big motivators in life is showing the Banner name isn't tainted with the madness that his father showed.

Is your character more likely to remove a problem/threat, or remove themselves from a problem/threat?: In a sense, Bruce is more likely to remove himself. He does it by retreating, though, and allowing an alter out instead.

Has your character ever been bitten by an animal? How were they affected (or unaffected)?: Surely lab animals have bit him before. Depending on the injury Bruce might now which animal is selected for the next project first kind of thing but other than that it's hazards of the job.

How does your character treat people in service jobs?: Same as he treats anyone else which isn't exactly polite but he's not going out of his way to be a dick to them.

Does your character feel that they deserve to have what they want, whether it be material or abstract, or do they feel they must earn it first?: Earn it. And he's working damn hard for it too.

Has your character ever had a parental figure who was not related to them?: No.

Has your character ever had a dependent figure who was not related to them?: No.

How easy or difficult is it for your character to say “I love you?” Can they say it without meaning it?: Bruce says it to his aunt, to Jen, because he knows he's supposed to but he doesn't know the emotions that go with it. He doesn't know what it is to love someone.

What does your character believe will happen to them after they die? Does this belief scare them?: That he will be buried in the ground and decompose. There's nothing scary about it to Bruce at all.

[betterthaneiinstein]

Past experience says you can always count on Bruce Banner to be at the wrong place at the wrong time...and do the right thing.

Bruce Banner about himself (and the trouble he always lands in) (Hulk: Let the Battle Begin #1)

[betterthaneiinstein]

Personality Type: Melancholic

It’s outdated and long disproved but sort of fun. Basically, it’s an ancient Greek thing where people’s personalities had to do with what body fluids you had an excess of (or a lack of). Wiki

[ Info from here ]

Perfectionists

Self-Deprecating

Stubborn

Tenacious

Had I read about the types before taking the test, where Bruce would land would be obvious, beyond obvious, actually. They type the Melancholic as the scientists and analysts of the world. As if crafted strictly from the definition of this, Bruce fits too well. 

*

Much of the points stem from perfectionism in one way or another. All other traits circle back to the need for everything to be perfect. Which actually goes well with Bruce’s childhood. His father thought Bruce was damaged, broken, all wrong when he was still in the womb, he knew his son was messed up before he met him. 

Starting out life knowing you’re not wanted, you’re an alien who isn’t good enough and steals attention, it’s no wonder Bruce didn’t want to be the best. If he was good at all he did then he’d show his dad he wasn’t some messed up mutant. Of course, Bruce never really had chance for that. The more he excelled the more he was considered a freak and the more his father thought he was right. 

That striving, though, it doesn’t just leave. Bruce still carries it with him now and it’s only ever a problem when it collides with wanting to please people (another symptom of abuse, not this personality type). Which was why he ended up leaving the army, he wanted perfection and they wanted results. 

Beyond that, everything else is an offshoot of perfectionism. This type is not at all rash. they need to plan, prepare or they’ll get panicky if they can’t. 

Not known for beating around the bush, blunt and getting right to the point. 

CRAVE alone time. 

If they have someone to talk to in an alone and quiet space (safe space) they will talk a lot. 

This personality type isn’t known for sharing, which when you couple with Bruce being an only child, his stuff is HIS stuff. Do not touch. 

It’s interesting how well suited Bruce is for this type and in the test it was off the charts the answer, so much so another type had a zero percent. Many other personality types I have to take a stab at narrowing it down but everything, in every description, this is very Bruce Banner. 

[betterthaneiinstein]

password: nevermindallthat

15, October

A month ago I was able to call Susan and tell her I’d made a friend. That there was this weird boy who didn’t know how to shave but he was kind and he didn’t mind me. In fact, he didn’t mind me so much I was invited back over. One time I just showed up and he let me in, he didn’t tell me to leave or that I was too strange for bringing pizza and expecting him to spend time with me. 

Of course, she said he wasn’t really my friend, she always says that but she’s lived through me being used almost as much as I have. She’s just less trusting. But Billy wasn’t anything other than a nice guy. 

I really liked him. He was so nice and he was sweet and people here are gruff and abrasive. He was different. I felt safe which is such a rare feeling for me. I didn’t want it to stop. 

Now I think Aunt Susan was right. He’s never at home, one time on the quad he didn’t even say hi back. There’s this conventionally good-looking blonde boy he’s always with now. In other words, I was never really his type, just the best  he could do. Something better came along. 

Which, that helps me sleep most nights. It’s okay, I wouldn’t want to hang out with me either but for a couple short weeks, I was given the gift of thinking I wasn’t actually that bad.

Maybe if I promised to be nicer, I could be nicer. Or if I helped him with his courses. That’d be easy. I could be less weird. Would it help if I was less weird? 

I can be less weird, I promise. I can. I won’t be weird, I won’t be mean. I’ll be good. 

[betterthaneiinstein]

[betterthaneiinstein]

Bedroom     Aesthetic 

Having moved his bedroom to a much, much smaller room, there’s limited space for belongings. But it’s the space with the most personality and the only space with anything hung on the wall that isn’t work. (The image of Einstein being a poster hung on the wall)

[betterthaneiinstein]

I wish I could find a bigger, more complete set picture but this is all google would give me. 

These are the dishes Aunt Susan bought Bruce. it’s the last gift he remembers receiving from her (and hates them because of that though he’s never bought other dishes). She bought them as a gift when he got into the doctorate program and was no longer living in a dorm. 

[betterthaneiinstein]

password: professorbanner

30, August 

Re: My last entry. 

Perhaps I should make an effort to be “out there” more, as they say. Though I’ve always hated the idea of burdening someone else with...myself, having a friend here might do me well. 

I wouldn’t be able to pick just anyone, they would have to be trustworthy and analytical, able to offer clear information about my whereabouts. None of that concern. I don’t need berated with dozens of questions asking if I am okay. Were I okay, I wouldn’t be blacking out. I need to know what I did during those times, in clear fact. 

Not to mention it would be nice to know that when things like this do occur that someone is there to, well, take care of me. I know I’m supposed to be old enough to do so on my own. I’m a genius, I should have been able to care for myself years ago, but I need help. They’re getting worse. It’s no time to be alone. 

Do you think the university would allow Jen to stay for a weekend? Are professors allowed visitors? Though I do suppose this is my job, my home, and it’s not a jail. I have rights.  

I just need a friend now. What a time to be me. That’ll win everyone over. 

This is my pledge, if only to myself, to do more. To be social even if it kills me. Find a friend. 

Just one. 

[betterthaneiinstein]

For Your Information

When Bruce was just barely born his mom gifted him a stuffed animal, as mothers do, Quickly it became the only comfort young Bruce had. Between his mom and dad constantly away and his ‘nanny’ just as cold and distant (and aggressive) as his absent parents, the stuffed alien was Bruce’s best friend. 

He named it Guardian, took it everywhere with him, talked to it as though it were real. The above and below panels are Bruce setting Guardian up to watch his back so he could sneak a peek at his Christmas presents. 

(The green lines are because the comic talked about how the Hulk was always a part of Bruce)

Not many things managed to stick with Bruce through his entire life but this is one of them. Which is why I’m posting about it. This is in his apartment (should anyone ever be welcomed inside. Guardian will still have prime seating in Bruce’s bed, almost as if put on display, he treats it very well and definitely still talks to it. However, at the age he now, Bruce recognizes he shouldn’t be doing these things and will deny them. (You’ll get further with Bruce if you don’t even address the stuffed animal) 

(Bruce upon meeting Betty Ross, just freshly moved in and working on the gamma bomb. General Ross rips Guardian’s arm off on the next page}

Because of the circumstances, Bruce has little left of his mom. Add that to this being his first and for the longest time only friend, Bruce is going to hold on to Guardian for as long as he can. 

(Irrelevant to the group but that is the gammabomb in the background, it’s the Hulk being born. But I just really love this panel so I’m including it. Fight me.)

[betterthaneiinstein]

Home   Lab   Aesthetic

images from around google

[betterthaneiinstein]

For Your Information

This is one of the things that’s not a headcanon but it’s not anything else? It’s needed information with no place. 

When Bruce was eight, almost nine, his father was found guilty of uxoricide and sentenced to a mental institution. (Though one comic does say Bruce was four when it happened but the majority say eight) 

I could only find one piece of information on the length of the sentence, in a character encyclopedia of all places. It says Brian Banner spent 15 years in the institution. This lines up well enough for the canon story. 

This means that Bruce is about 25 when his father is released. Which also means that in regards to this particular AU, Brian is still alive. 

We all know it’s not like he’s going to come knocking on Bruce’s apartment door or anything, it was never said he tried to escape in the comics and I don’t see him being the type to attempt it. However, it is canon (from one of my favorite little series where we get to see teen Bruce) that Brian sends Bruce letters. Aunt Susan typically intercepts those but she’s no longer around to do that. 

I do not put it past Brian to keep tabs on his son. 

It’s not at all likely that anything will need to come of this information. This falls under things that excite the mun and probably just me. However I wanted to get something out, the things I know and what is fact. It all plays a part in things and there would/could be low key stress on Bruce’s part over his dad potentially just showing up. That’s nothing more than fear of the man though and didn’t go away for a long, long time after Brian died.