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Luke's bar is open, but only barely. Luke is still in the process of setting up the chairs around the tables, making sure everything is neat and organized. While Luke keeps an eye on them, there happens o be a couple of the more 'rough' patrons that inhabit the streets of Harlem in the bar tonight, each sipping a beer and being generally rowdy.
Again, Bruce was in the neighborhood consulting with a fellow scientist. Last night worked so well, Bruce decides to stop by the bar again. He pushes open the door. This time he has a backpack with him. It has a few notebooks in it. He slips onto a stool and looks around for Luke, his new friend. Bruce doesn't have many of those. He grins. "I was hoping you were going to follow through on that cold chicken promise. I'll have a beer in any case."
Hearing the bell, Luke turns his gaze to the front door and lets out a little chuckle. "I can get you a plate, sure man. Just give me a minute. Just take a seat up at the bar and i'll be with you in a moment."
Luke sets the last of the chairs down on the floor and heads towards the back room. As he vanishes into the back, one of the hoodlums glances over at Bruce and smirks. "Look what we got here, boys. I think someone got lost."
Bruce slides onto the stool. He hears the rough types laugh and the comment, and he looks over in their direction for a moment. He wets his lips and turns back to the bar. Luke is a big guy. He should be able to handle any rough characters. Bruce is aware of the racial strife in the area as an academic point of view, however, his head is always too wrapped around thoughts of science and his Hulk problem to be away of it in his immediate environment. He pulls a notebook out of his backpack. He's such a nerd.
Luke may be a big guy, but unfortunately he isn't in the room at the moment. The trio of hoodlums rise from their table and mosey over towards Bruce, moving to surround the little guy with one on each side, and one just behind. The 'leader' grins, "Hey man. What are you doing here? Don't you think you might be in the wrong part of town. Don't really look like you belong down here." One of the other makes a move to snatch the backpack.
Bruce gets a sinking feeling and a really bad case of deja vu. Good thing there aren't lockers to shove him into. Why don't some people ever grow up? "I just stopped by after visiting a friend…no please. Don't take that. That's just got notes in there that I need." He puts his hand on the backpack to make sure it doesn't go away. "Look…I didn't know it was going to be a problem. This is a nice place, but I'll go." Turn the other cheek.
Luke wanders out from the back room with a plate of chicken and some mashed potatoes. "Alright, I managed to sneak a plate away and save it for you, but I didn't have a chance to get the gra…"
Luke stops, frowning and setting the plate down onto the bar. "Look, fellas. Leave the guy alone, he is just as welcome here are your punk asses..likely more so. Back off. Now."
The one standing with the backpack glances over at Luke and smirks, "Back off, pops, before you get hurt." The guy pulls a revolver from the waistband of his pocket. "Might as well give us the cash in the register as well, while your at it punk."
Bruce slips off the stool and yanks on the backpack as the guy pulls on the revolver. "It's okay, I can leave…whoa, no. Please put that down. You're going to get hurt," warns Bruce. His eyes are filled with fear, but not for the reason that some might expect. "Please put that away." He bumps into teh guy behind the stool as he tries to back away.
Luke for his part looks down at the gun, then back up at the fool holding it and shakes his bald head. "Son, you are just too dumb to function. Get the hell out of here before I shove that pea shooter up your ass." Luke starts to stalk forward, a snarl coming to his face, "And I was in such a good mood."
The guy with the gun smirks, and as soon as Luke starts to move forward…pulls the trigger with a bang. And then she pulls it three more times in rapid succession. "Get the goods!" he screams to his companions. Let's go, before the cops show!"
With their attention on Luke, Bruce has pulled away and is moving towards the door. He would like to help out Luke, but it's best for everyone if he tries to get away. He will be between the robbers and the door, backpack grasped to his chest.
One of the hoodlums, the one closest to the door, looks at Bruce and smirks pulling out his own pistol. "Where do you think you're going? We can't let you leave, you've seen us just plug that dude."
Unbeknownst to him, his two companions are standing there in awe as the gunsmoke dissipates and Luke is standing there no worse for wear, save for a quartet of bullet holes in the center of his shirt. "God damnit, I just got this shirt!" He stalks forwards to steps and grabs the gun in one of his massive hands, squeezing the metal…and the goon's fingers…into a deformed lump of metal, flesh and bone. The goon, obviously, screams as the third pulls out another gun.
Bruce says, "Don't shoot! Please. I'll leave. Just leave him alone. Really, you don't understand. It's going to be really bad for you." Bruce's voice is nervous, then his eyes widen as he sees beyond his own personal thug to the others and Luke's reaction. That would be great. Luke take care of them, and Bruce just stays out of the way. He can feel his pulse rising. "I have to go!"
The goon that had the gun trained on Bruce startles when the scream behind him occurs, and the flinch causes the goon to reflexively pull the trigger on the gun, causing the firearm to discharge at Bruce.
Luke smacks the guy with the now obviously broken hand in the head, sending him crumpling to the floor unconscious with a minimal effort before he turns his eyes to the remaining goon, gun out and wavering at the owner of the bar. He fires, adding a few more holes to Luke's shirt while Luke just shaks his head and walking forward to smack that goon down as well with a light rap to the cranium. "Idiot."
Bruce cries out when he feels the pain of the bullet burst through his chest. He clutches the wound and falls forward. "No…" he murmurs. It always starts with his eyes. His vision gets blurry, then there is the feeling of pain at the same time as a feeling of falling asleep. Someone else awakens, and he too feels pain as the smaller body stretches and grows. Hulk is not happy. He feels the bullet in the puny body, and his growing bulk pushes the metal from inside him. Hulk needs Banner alive after all. His hands become massive fists and his back splits the shirt with a loud rip, and soon, a hulking green monster is on his kees barring the door and glaring at the puny human in front of him. He roars with a deafening growl, showing large square teeth, and he rises and rises, roaring again in agner and pain as the bullet tinks on the floor. He reaches up and backhands the man in he can.
Well, that was totally unexpected. This night is not going well for Luke. Ruined shirt, attempted robbery, three unconscious thugs that will require police or medical intervention…and now a giant, green…thing. "Woah.." says Luke, eyeing the creature with some little bit of trepidation. "Oh shit. Ok, dude, calm down. It's over now.." Luke curls up his fist into a ball, and readies himself for a fight. "You need to get out of here, I ain't going to be so friendly if you mess up my bar!"
Hulk turns on Luke at his voice. He steps forward, hitting his head on a light fixture and slapping it away. It smashes against the back of the bar. He narrows his eyes at Luke, then looks down seeing the unconscious men on the ground. He snarls and picks on up and tosses him across the room onto a pool table as if he were a beanbag. He turns back to Luke.
Luke Cage sighs and mutters under his breath, "God damn it.." Luke lets out a battle cry and moves forward the few feet between him and the Hulk, and with all the strength he can muster throws a haymaker at the big, green giants jaw.
Hulk is surprised. He wasn't expecting that. His head jerks, and he takes a step back and shakes his head with confusion at the severity of the punch. If he can, Hulk will try to grab Luke's hand and lift him.
Luke Cage stares, stunned, as the big, green, hulking thing shrugs off his best punch. That haymaker would have taken out a tank, so the fact this thing is still standing after just baffles him for long enough to get grabbed easily. "Woah…what the hell?!" He kicks, uselessly, at the Hulk. "Put me down!"
Hulk holds Luke there a moment as though wondering what to do with him. Does he recognize him as a good guy. He could fling him somewhere. But, something in Hulk's brain…that remnant of Bruce kicks in. Hulk cant have him trying to punch him again, so he drops Luke behind the counter. "Big man hurts. Don't hit Hulk. Makes Hulk mad!" Hulk steps back from the bar, but sees the chicken. He sniffs deeply. "Hungry."
Luke Cage stands up from behind the bar and just stares at the Hulk. "Um..yeah. Sure..Hulk? But I can't have you tearing up my bar and smashing those duded over there. I know they did worn, but they're already done or, dig?" He looks to the chicken and then back to Hulk and shakes his head. "You want the chicken…you can take the chicken." He slides the plate over, "Why don't you just bring back the little guy..he will fit through the door better on the way out."
Hulk snarfs down the chicken. "Banner is puny…" With eating the chicken and listening to Luke, Hulk will eventually transform back, leaving a halfnaked, exhausted Bruce on the floor. He can't find his glasses. "I'm sorry…did I hurt anyone?" He quickly gathers his things.
Luke Cage just stares in awe at Bruce, "I…i'm not sure." says Luke as he moves from around the bar, grabbing the bullet hole riddled shirt off his back and tossing it to the much smaller man as he makes his way past him to go check on the guy on the pool table. "Nothing a hospital won't fix, at least." Once that guy is checked on, Luke moves over to help Bruce, picking up the glasses on the floor and offering them to him. "I'm gonna have to call the cops on this, and something tells me you don't want to be here for that."
"I'll pay for the damage. Don't call the cops on me. Forget you ever saw me…please? I can't leave the city yet." Bruce takes the glasses. His shoes are busted out. His shirt is useless. He looks like a homeless man. "I'm going…I'm going." He apologizes once more, grabs his backpack and runs out of the door, hoping the night will provide sufficient cover.
Luke Cage says, "Dude! Wait!.." cries Luke, but Bruce is already running out the door. Luke sighs, shaking his head. "Man, I wasn't going to call the cops on you…" he mutters after the fleeing scientist. "I was going to offer out some clothes.."