This is my very self indulgent Project Hail Mary/The Incredible Hulk Crossover fic! I hope you all enjoy.
Project Gamma
After getting launched into Space by the illuminati, Hulk breaks free from his restraints and finds himself floating along in space. When he bumps into a strange ship, he clings on, hoping to get a ride back to Earth for some payback. However the astronaut that brings him in is on a one way trip. Ryland Grace and Bruce Banner find themselves in a predicament now as they work together to find a solution to the astrophage problem and their own growing feelings towards each other.
In other words, scientist x scientist thats kind of a slow burn?
Fic starts after the page break!
Chapter 1: Sudden Surprises (1,083 Words)
“I am truly sorry for what we’ve had to do. We had no choice. When you get angry, Bruce, you are a force of destruction.” Tony’s voice spoke calmly, but there was that Stark confidence he always seemed to radiate. Strange, Reed, and Blackbolt stood behind watching. Observing. Quietly.
Hulk growled as the video played in front of him. He recognized the people on screen as soon as he saw the video flicker on. Hulk balled up his fists, the metal restraints buckling instantly under the force, electricity pulsing as the Hulk thrashed around the spaceship in a blind rage, fumbling for an exit.
“We’ve picked your location carefully. A planet full of vegetation and no one you can hurt. You always said you wanted to be left alone… May you finally find peace.”
Hulk smashed the console that emitted Tony’s incessant yammering. He heaved slightly, pausing in his destruction before his face scrunched up again as he destroyed the ship. It didn’t take long before the ship finally gave out and crumpled in on itself, shooting Hulk out into the vastness of space.
Hulk’s eyes widened as he sucked in a breath and held it as he floated around aimlessly. He flailed a bit, trying desperately to grab onto something, anything to keep him from floating off. Hulk watched helplessly as the ship’s wreckage grew smaller and smaller as he drifted into the vastness of space.
“What? Rocky, we’re nowhere near any sign of life. Other than Erid and Earth, theres nothing out here for lightyears, bud.”
Rocky stomped around annoyed. He angrily banged his fists against the xenonite wall. “Grace! Do EVA! Now!”
Grace groaned loudly. “EVAs are exhausting work for a false alarm you know?” He rolled his eyes but went over to the airlock to put on his suit. “If there’s nothing out there, you owe me a soda.”
“No understand last word.”
“Don’t worry about it!” Grace called out as he exited the ship, even though he knew Rocky could hear him just fine. He peeked out into space. It still scared him, how empty space was. He was glad to have Rocky with him. He pulled himself out of the airlock and gripped onto a nearby handrail. He looked around the hull of the ship, but didn’t see anything. He grumbled and turned on his radio. “There’s nothing out here, Rocky.”
Rocky’s voice sparked through the radio. “Grace not close enough. Near fuel bays.”
“Fuel bays..” Grace absentmindedly nodded along and sighed. “Roger that, captain.”
“Rocky not captain.”
“I know, bud. Earth figure of speech.”
“Understand.”
Grace pulled himself along the handrails, closer and closer to the fuel bays. Should be right on the dormitory now… He thought to himself. He gave the hull a gentle knock. He heard Rocky’s startled trill on the radio before a returning knock. Grace chuckled to himself. When he looked up towards the fuel bays, he stiffened slightly. There was something…big..sticking to one of the fuel bays. He couldn’t make out what it was exactly but it was the bright green that had him interested.
Grace cautiously moved closer. He was right on the fuel bays now when he froze. Not only was the big green blob, enormous, it was humanoid. He recognized it. Grace sucked in a panicked breath as the Hulk slowly looked up at Grace, staring similarly like a wolf does as it stalks its prey. Hulk slowly uncurled himself from his grip on the hull and slowly moved towards Grace.
Grace stumbled back, but didn’t let go of his iron grip on the handrail. The Hulk was mere feet away from Ryland now. He cocked his head at Grace now. Grace softened slightly. Hulk gestured down at the hull.
“Wha…” Grace mumbled before it clicked. “Oh- Oh! You want to- oh. Uhm…” He cleared his throat and turned his radio to broadcast out towards Hulk. “You want to come into the ship?” He asked, his voice quavering slightly.
Hulk stared at first, as if lost in thought. Then the giant nodded slowly. Grace switched his radio off, then nodded. He gulped slightly as he made his way back to the airlock with the Hulk following. He hoped Rocky wouldn’t be too startled by Hulk, God knew he was.
When they got to the airlock, Grace looked at Hulk, then the airlock, then at Hulk again. “Eh…” Grace turned on his radio. “I think you might be too big. Is there anyway you can- crap what am I saying? Nevermind.”
As Grace got lost in his thoughts about how to get Hulk inside, he noticed the creature moving out of the corner of his eye. He turned over and saw Hulk’s vibrant green skin fading into a duller peach. His muscles shrinking into that of a malnourished husk.
Grace watched, a bit amazed at the transformation. It wasn’t until the scrawny man started flailing around, holding his throat wheezing that Grace snapped out of his trance. “Oh god, hang on!” Grace quickly grabbed hold of the man before he floated off and dragged him into the airlock.
The man stopped flailing and went limp.
Once the airlock was cycled, Grace quickly took off his helmet. “Hey, are you okay???” Dumb question to ask a man choking in space, he knew. He tried feeling for a pulse, but the man was cold and limp. Grace teared up a bit. The first human contact he’s had in so long was dead.
Rocky staggered as close as he could from his side of the wall. He watched carefully. Grace cleared his throat and wiped his eyes. “He’s… He’s dead, Rocky.”
Rocky shifted from foot to foot. He tapped on the wall gently, trying to get a better scan. “Not dead. Heart very faint. Almost dead.”
Grace’s eyes widened, his smile getting bigger. “Oh thank goodness!” He sighed with relief and examined the man in his lap a bit more closely. He was so thin, his ribs showing almost cartoonishly, he looked frail. His hair was a long mess and his face looked like it had been unshaven for a while. Grace chewed his lip. “This guy looks…rough.” He mumbled.
Grace scooped the man up and exited the airlock. He headed towards the dormitory.
“What Grace do, question?”
Grace tucked the man into his bed, making sure he was in a comfortable position. “He’s gonna be here a while. Best to make him comfortable, right, Rock?”
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"We are, the both of us, profane things. We shouldn't exist. It's not fair, and it's not our fault, but . . . at least there's an us, and maybe that makes it a little more bearable."
- Llambde Fyr to his brother Gamma
Llambde Fyr - The Elder Scrolls original character (future Dungeons and Dragons campaign)
After the events of the Red Year, Divayth Fyr escapes to the Clockwork City and takes responsibility for its survival in the wake of Sotha Sil's death. Some time later, he creates his fourth clone, Llambde Fyr, whose existence is both a source of great pride and secrecy to the wizard. Llambde, however, develops a resentment for his "father" after learning that he was not so much born as created, feeling robbed of the chance to be his own person.
The final straw comes when Llambde discovers Gamma, his one-third brother and an unviable - though fully sentient - attempt of Divayth's to find a 'cure' for the Falmer. Gamma's death motivates Llambde to escape Divayth and the Clockwork City for good, and as he leaves, he vows to destroy that which created him and his brother both.
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Chapter 2: Anomaly Awake/Bad First Impressions (1,467 words)
Bruce Banner wakes up on the Hail Mary. Ryland Grace is there when he wakes.
——————
Bruce’s eyes felt heavy. He felt so tired. He just wanted to rest for a bit. He tried taking a deep breath from his mouth, but choked on something. His eyes shot open and thats when he noticed the tube. He choked and gagged as his hands flew up to rip the tube out of his throat.
“Warning! Movement detected. Please remain still.” A female computerized voice spoke calmly, but it panicked Bruce nonetheless. A robotic hand held Bruce onto the bed as he thrashed around, desperate to be free. When he finally ripped out the tube, tossed it across the room, and yanked out all the other wires that were hooked onto him, he staggered around the room before dry heaving.
Bruce curled up in a corner of the room and watched as the robotic arms reached out for him. Bruce rubbed his hands over his face and breathed in harshly. He looked around and saw nothing but white walls and a strange ladder leading up to an open hatch.
“Oh god oh god oh god- Tony, what did you do???” Bruce cursed to himself underneath his breath. Was this another one of Earth’s Hulk contingency plans? This weird white room with a weird robot watching over him? Bruce panicked as his eyes darted around but he froze when he heard something coming up from where that hatch was.
He heard skittering and heavy thuds. He listened closely before he saw…someone? Descending the ladder. “I’m sorry for Armando! It’s just a medical bot I assure you!” The man said as he finally reached the bottom. Bruce squinted at him. The man had scruffy blonde hair and stubble, glasses that looked too loose for his face, a yellow jumpsuit halfway worn and tied around his waist, and a stupid science pun tshirt. He cleared his throat and slowly approached Bruce, though he looked a bit worried about something. “I’m Ryland. Ryland Grace.” He held out his hand towards Bruce. “You’re Bruce right? Bruce Banner? I’ve seen you in the papers-“
Bruce lunged forward and grabbed Grace’s arm. He flipped him onto his belly and shoved him against the wall, holding his hands behind his back. “You work for SHIELD, is that it?” Bruce snapped, tensing up. “Pretending to be a civilian for them? Or maybe this is another one of Ross’s Hulk capture attempts? Or is it-“
“Woah, woah! I-I don’t know what you’re talking about! We just-“
“We??” Bruce paused as he heard footsteps upstairs. Heavy footsteps. He tightened his grip on Grace’s arms. “How many of you are there exactly???”
Grace wriggled around underneath Bruce’s hands, trying to twist out of the man’s grasp. His glasses slipped down his nose and he quickly bucked his head up to try to get them back up. “I-It’s just me and my crew mate Rocky!”
Bruce thought for a second. He stared Grace down and watched him twitch and squirm underneath him.
Grace took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. “Do you…know where you are?”
Bruce scoffed. “If I did I don’t think I would be this confused, don’t you think?”
“Right, right. Uh… I can show you!! Just- let me go and follow me?” Grace mumbled. “Please?” He quietly added.
Bruce eyed him over before hesitantly releasing Grace and watching him go up the ladder. Bruce followed after a minute or two. Grace was there pacing around before seeing Bruce. He took another deep breath. He pointed over at something. “Just… Look.”
Bruce slowly walked over, constantly looking over his shoulder at Grace. His eyes widened when he saw a window, then an inky well with light speckles strewn everywhere. Space. This was Earth’s plan for him? Send him off to die in a rocket? He couldn’t say he disagreed, hell this was probably the right thing to do for a monster like him.
But he was still scared.
Bruce’s breath quickened and before he knew it, his head felt light and his heart felt like it was going to explode out of his chest.
“Woah woah! Easy!” Grace walked over and put his hand on Bruce’s shoulder. “I know- I was like that too when I first learned I was in space. Trust me, it’s gonna be alright.”
Bruce looked over at Ryland and he could’ve swore Grace tensed up a bit at the eye contact. He saw a slight green reflection in Grace’s glasses and immediately tried to calm himself down. “I… I’m sorry. I-“ Bruce stammered, but he shut himself up and took a deep breath.
Grace calmed down as well. Then the skittering noise returned. Bruce flinched and his eyes started to dart this way and that. He looked and looked, expecting this “Rocky” guy. When he finally located the source of the skittering and thuds, he was a bit taken aback. He stared at a strange rocky being with 5 legs. It paced around its side of the wall, trilling awfully. He walked over to the wall cautiously and crouched down.
Rocky thrummed and Bruce heard a computer start speaking. “Human awake now! Human hurt Grace, question?! Rocky saw fight in bedroom. Grace okay, question???” Rocky banged angrily on the wall at Bruce.
“I’m okay, bud!” Grace chewed on his lip and glanced at Bruce then at Rocky. “Rocky, this is… Banner. He was the anomaly you and Mary detected yesterday.”
“New word, question?”
“Banner, word for a strip of cloth or paper to display. That’s his name.” Grace points to Bruce.
“Ugly name, statement.” Rocky stomped.
Bruce looked from Rocky to Grace and then back to Rocky and then back at Grace. “Seems friendly.” He muttered sarcastically.
Grace huffed. “Can’t blame the guy for being worried, you shoved me against a wall and started screaming at me.”
Bruce rolled his eyes. Bruce stood up and looked over to Grace then walked around the lab. “Why are you even here? In space I mean. Without a crew too is strange.”
Grace looked down at his feet. “I uh… There were 3 of us originally but 2 of us died on the way here. We were sent to deal with the astrophage situation. The little alien microbes that are dimming the sun. Thats all I really remember… Oh and I’m a teacher! A middle school science teacher!”
Bruce raised an eyebrow. “The government sent a middle school science teacher to deal with the end of the world?”
Grace flushed a bit. “Alright, “Mr Fight-Now-Ask-Questions-later”! I used to be in the academia for your information! I have a PhD too! I think- Mary calls me ‘doctor’.” He remarked defensively.
Bruce walked over to the metal lab table and looked around at the equipment. He fiddled with some beakers. “What have you and your “crew” learned while you’ve been up here then?”
Grace sighed. “Rocky and I have been conducting as much research on astrophage as we can, but we still need to get definitive samples from the Petrova line. You do know what that is right?”
Bruce hums. “Vaguely. I know it has something to do with IR light but… the details are lost on me.”
“That’s partially right. Infrared is what the little suckers emit when they travel from the sun to venus. They toot to scoot basically.” Grace says with a small smile.
Bruce stares unamused.
“Ah… ahem- anyways. It’s their pathway basically. Rocky’s solar system has one too so his planet is going through the same problems Earth is having. Sun dimming and all.”
Bruce nodded along as Grace went about explaining the astrophage problem and his identity board and all of the fun Eridian biology he’s been learning to share back with Earth. Bruce fiddled with a pen as he listens, but he’s not entirely focused on Grace anymore.
“Hulk hate scientist. Almost as annoying as Banner. Hulk want out! Smash stupid scientist!” Bruce shudders as Hulk bangs at the insides of his head.
“I know, I know. But the ship is too small for you.” Bruce whispers to himself, but really its to Hulk.
“Puny Banner and puny scientist man!” Hulk rattles around inside, causing a slight headache for Bruce. “Hulk want to crush Stark! His fault Hulk in space! Hate him for sending Hulk here!”
Bruce clutches at his head, murmuring to himself. Grace pauses in his rant about how Eridian’s have such interesting cultures. “Hey are you alright?” Grace asks, a bit confused.
“I’m fine. Continue.”
“Armando should have some painkillers for your head if you want?”
Bruce thinks for a bit. “I’ll pass. We should really get to work on this astrophage problem anyways.” Bruce stands up and walks over to a cabinet and pulls out a laptop. “You have data on astrophage right?”
“Y-Yeah uhm. Right. Let’s get you some clothes first though.” Grace says as he guides Bruce back down to the dormitory for something to wear.
——————
Authors Notes
Idk how long this fic is gonna be so just buckle up for the ride if you’re invested!
