"If you think this is just a trick," Rowan said lightly, "then feel free to treat it as one."
He pointed at the four paper cups on the table. With a casual flick of his fingers, the clear water inside them darkened, steaming gently as the scent of coffee filled the room. The cups drifted forward and settled neatly in front of Bruce Banner, Betty Ross, and Dr. Sterns.
"Guest chooses," Rowan added. "Coffee it is."
The three of them lifted their cups cautiously. The aroma was real. The taste confirmed it.
They exchanged glances and then studied Rowan more closely.
They knew stage magic. Sleight of hand. Chemical tricks. None of those applied here. The cups were ordinary. The coffee was genuine. Rowan's clothes were light, fitted, and left nowhere to hide equipment.
There was no explanation that fit.
"Let me explain who we are," Rowan said, taking a sip of his own coffee. "The Academy I mentioned is a school for people with abilities beyond the norm. Students. Teachers. Anyone whose existence doesn't fit comfortably into the world's expectations."
He looked directly at Banner. "Dr. Banner, you meet our criteria perfectly. That's why I'm here."
He deliberately avoided certain words. Labels that only stirred fear and resistance. The Academy had moved past them long ago.
"Abilities?" Banner repeated, frowning. "I'm not gifted. I'm a lab accident."
"What do you think an ability is?" Rowan asked calmly.
Banner hesitated. "Control over fire or ice. Magnetism. Telekinesis. Things like that. Comic-book stuff."
"That's one category," Rowan replied. "But it's not the whole picture. Strength beyond human limits is an ability. Transformation is an ability. It doesn't matter whether it's inherited or acquired."
He met Banner's eyes. "You can become the Hulk. That makes you extraordinary. The cause doesn't change the fact."
Banner shook his head. "Even if what you're saying is real, I'm not interested. This ends tonight. I take the serum, remove the green gene, and go back to being normal."
He glanced at Betty, determination edging his voice. "No more running. No more soldiers. No more monsters."
Rowan listened without interrupting.
Then he smiled.
"That's perfectly fine," he said. "We don't force anyone. Students and teachers choose us. If you're certain, then we part ways here."
And with that, he vanished.
No flash. No sound. Just absence.
Banner, Betty, and Sterns all jumped.
Silence followed.
Whatever Rowan had claimed to be, whatever academy he represented, it clearly wasn't fantasy.
High above the building, invisible against the night sky, Rowan stayed exactly where he was.
You couldn't rush a decision like this. Pressure only hardened resistance.
Banner still believed there was a clean ending waiting for him. A version of life where the monster vanished and everything returned to how it should have been.
That illusion would break soon enough.
If the serum failed, he would still transform.
If it worked, someone would still come for him.
Either way, the truth would arrive quickly.
Below, the lights in the lab stayed on as Sterns, Banner, and Betty finalized their preparations. Rowan watched through the window as Banner was strapped to the table, injected, transformed, soothed, and then injected again.
For a moment, Banner was human.
Then the real show began.
Military vehicles rolled in from every direction. Soldiers secured rooftops. Snipers took positions with tranquilizer rifles. The campus emptied under emergency orders.
Inside, the three scientists argued.
Sterns admitted he had replicated Banner's blood samples. He spoke of medical miracles, universal cures, accolades that would change the world.
Banner saw something else entirely.
Weapons. Armies. Endless war.
Before the argument could escalate further, a tranquilizer round punched through the window and buried itself in Banner's back. His body stiffened, then collapsed.
The lab door exploded inward.
Emil Blonsky stormed inside, fury written across his face. He grabbed Banner by the collar, struck him repeatedly, shouting for the monster to come out and face him.
Nothing happened.
Blonsky roared in frustration.
Soldiers flooded the room moments later, restraining Banner and hauling him away. Betty screamed. Sterns froze.
When the lab finally fell quiet, Blonsky returned.
He forced Sterns to inject him with the replicated blood.
Rowan watched it all without interfering.
Some paths had to be walked to their end before another could begin.