{action}

[sublimating]

[Bruce has skipped his jog in the morning to sleep in a little; there's no point in going on a long run to work himself up and wear himself out when the whole day is basically a long expanse of serene idling and keeping active. he's always tired when he goes to bed, which is the goal.]

[and he wakes up with a start at what sounds like a cannon going off, and then another, and there's sounds of alarm all around him; and his heartrate shoots up, so fast and so hard that he thinks he might lose it, and he thinks: use it, don't get used by it.]

[which is why a giant green manlike figure comes bursting out of what used to be one of the shelters, tearing it apart; the Hulk roars, earth-shaking though the earth is already shaking, arms wide and in a ready stance for whatever may come at him. and then pauses.]

[there's nothing to fight but a volcano.]

Comments

[cleanedslate]

[ he was up. still one of his better night's sleep, but he was heading back to the shelter with a small cache of probably-poisonous berries to show to someone who knows about these things while pretending he fully intends to eat them.

and then the rumbling, which honestly wouldn't have bothered him, because California, but he lives pretty damn far from gang warfare and what sounds like gunfire cranked up to 11 is more startling.

then, you know, it's a fight for his attention between the now-visible volcano and the much more visible Hulk.

he'd approve of the strategy if he knew, but as it is he just goes stalk-still, trying to process way too many things at once. ]

--Damn it, seriously?

[ he said, to no one, in an undertone ]

[sublimating]

[he spares a glance at Tony, just for a moment, but very visibly decides to ignore him, taking a few quick steps to the edge of the beach and tearing up a tree to hurl at the volcano with another challenging roar. that'll probably be very effective]

[cleanedslate]

[ super effective. he's very aware of his lack of suit, in this moment, and the words exposed, like a nerve come back to bite him, not really for the first time in recent history.

he takes a breath. thinks of half a dozen ways this could go really, really badly. then does it anyway ]

Have you considered the Olympics? Javelin throws are just like that, except with applause instead of futility.

[sublimating]

[he edges back a little, watching the volcano no less warily for the fact that it does not seem cowed by his display of force, and ignores Tony]

[cleanedslate]

Flattering. Remind me to complain to you when you're normal-sized and pink again.

[ if he loses the edge of glib, he might really freak out :|a ]