Chapter Text
How Bruce felt would be the least of his concerns. He just needed to get to the ruins, posthaste.
Rather than going on with his usual walking pace, he kept himself enduring forward using a light running pace to reach his destination faster than he anticipated. Of course he couldn't prevent himself from becoming exhausted faster, but he has experienced worse before; it wasn't a big deal to him. He'd been running for a few minutes by then, so there wasn't anything in his view just yet. The vocalist knew he'd reach the ruins in less than 20 minutes, with the rate he progressed. He also decided to pass his time by observing the world around him.
Clouds were visible kilometers away from him, drifting off into the discolored blue sky. Bruce noticed the atmosphere retained a muddy gray hue, and would blend with the clouds. He concluded the ruins may have caused it, as the discolored atmosphere inched closer to him while he paced himself. Oddly enough, the sight would be comforting. It didn't appear as great as the outside world, but it only reminded him of why he was coming back at all. He quickly recalled that he had the camera, so he snapped a few images as he temporarily slowed himself. Then, he sprinted off once more.
Bruce permitted his gut to push him to his absolute limit as he heard the same, demented groans in his mind. All he could do was freeze, beginning to tremble as he heard a pained bellow the moment he stopped. He grew fearful, proceeding to pull himself forward—even when he needed to pause—to get there even quicker.
Ed, don't worry…I'm gettin' there, Bruce thought, growling under his breath. He promptly wondered what may have been happening for Eddie to sound so distressed and angry, and a lurking suspicion arose the more he pondered on it. He attempted to ignore it until he found out what caused such noises. He glanced around his surroundings to see if there was anything he could utilize, in case someone were to catch a glimpse of him. Unfortunately, there would be no sight of an object to block his whereabouts. He thought he heard engines howling nearby.
But he saw something, out in the sky. Suspended a hundred meters above the air would be a helicopter. It looked like a speck within Bruce's eyes, and floated stationary in an area eerily close to the ruins. He almost knew what it could've been.
Damn it…I should have known he was going to be targeted eventually… Bruce thought, grunting as he unintentionally slowed himself. He heaved a sigh, glaring up at the dot in the sky and waited for it to depart. He'd rather not get caught by people he had no knowledge about, especially if they could be some sort of threat. Just watching them, he became unsure of their motives. It seemed as if they were surveilling the entity.
He hated he couldn't deliberately hide himself, though he would be fine. The helicopters eventually departed from the area as nothing happened. No fighting back? No killing? Bruce grimaced until he started forward for—what had to be—the third time. He'd also notice an indicator that he was almost there: a long trail of smoke, billowing from the middle of the ruins. And within the light smog, a silhouette towered kilometers away, unmoving and quiet. That wouldn't stop him from running, and he chose to continue on. No matter the cost.
The ruins looked to be sunken in as Bruce collapsed to the earth, body heavy and heaved exhausted breaths. From the entrance of the field to the entrance of the ruins, where he stood felt as if he lay on the edge of a gorge. In reality, the abandoned city had broken down, three to four meters below normal ground level. The entire patch of ground was that way. Where Bruce found himself, he managed to earn himself a clear view of everything. His eyes were heavy and his muscles were sore, but he pulled himself to his knees and rested to recollect himself.
"That was a terrible idea, Bruce…" Bruce muttered quietly, fixing his ragged bangs as he shifted his hand through his hair. He gazed at the silhouette ahead of him, observing his movements to see if he was truly asleep. Though he clarified if the helicopters were in the vicinity—and found nothing, which relieved him. He made his move, grasping the edge of the hill with his uninjured hand. Slowly, gently, he slid down the hill and noticed the sediment crumbling under his form. It seemed discolored and bloodied, clearly damaged by the destruction done within the area. He landed on the ends of his feet first and caught himself with his hands, rising back up as he turned towards the figure ahead of him.
As the vocalist approached the middle of the ruins, he observed how the whole place was leveled. No buildings visible, the large foundations present through the destroyed asphalt and dust, huge piles of debris placed along the edges of the sunken earth, also piled up in a select few areas, more-so on the opposite side of the ruins rather than settled in the middle. And to think he had footage of the entity doing all of that. He believed it to be nothing more than therapeutic.
Any sort of action would have to be quiet, calculated and predictable. Bruce knew doing anything that could be too sudden would get himself hurt in any way whatsoever. He moved his eyes from the ground to Eddie looming in front of him, visibly dead asleep. Although it was quite early that morning when Bruce arrived there, he expected not much would be happening. He did think the entity would've been up by now; it was unusual he remained still.
Bruce brought himself closer to the entity, originally standing 30 meters away from him. And that would be the closest he'd ever been to him, with nothing separating them in that moment. The details unnerved him, in a way—glancing at the deep lines and rough stature, he found himself discouraged having to disrupt his rest. He lifted his hand, reaching out as he gently tapped the entity's face with a nervous, vibrating hum.
"…Eddie—you have a visitor…" He mumbled, chills striking him as his hand rested in front of him. He quickly retracted back and shook his head.
The smallest movements wouldn't be able to wake such a massive creature up. Huh. He must've been awake all of last night, hmm, Bruce sighed, beginning to believe the helicopters may have had something to do with it. He kept the assumption in consideration as he lifted his hand again, this time much rougher than his initial attempt. He would ball his hand into a fist and swung into the side of the entity's lower face, near his cheek. Still, nothing. He almost considered waiting for Ed to wake up on his own, but that could take hours. Something Bruce didn't want to deal with.
"I should've expected him not to wake up so simply. How can I wake him up without getting myself into any shit?" Bruce muttered, beginning to search around for something to catalyze the entity's awakening. He didn't care what he could find, as long as it got the job done for him. Feeling the earth crumble beneath his feet as he wandered, perhaps there could be something under some of the rubble he found himself treading on. He ripped the pieces of debris up from the ground, doing so until he found pieces of shrapnel surrounding him. They ranged from medium-sized to nearly being the size of him. One, specifically, would be large enough for him to utilize in waking Ed up. He even struggled carrying it at times. He dragged it over to the sleeping giant looming over him, anticipating whatever may happen once he woke the entity.
The shrapnel had a thin, crooked edge at the bottom as Bruce dragged it along the ground. So Bruce heaved it up over his head, holding his breath while aiming for Eddie's wrist. Once he gained the strength, he slammed the edge of the shrapnel into the entity's lined wrist; he noticed a deep crack as he pulled it out, a deep lavender fluid exposed for a second before closing right back up.
At last. Bruce wouldn't have to wait any longer. He slowly moved back as a deep growl boomed into the earth and surged through his body, quickly lowering himself to follow behind the shrapnel. Eddie let out an agitated groan as Bruce rose from dread. Definitely pissed him off…I think...
—Who was that. I swear, if another one of those fucking helicopters stalks me one more time… Eddie rumbled, gradually breaking from his deep, exhausted slumber. He slowly opened one of his blue eyes, flaring with rage as his stare was glued towards the sky. He'd progressively shift his head as his beaming eye lowered down to the ground, eventually moving to see a tiny man in front of him. He seemingly shielded himself behind the shrapnel, a bandaged hand along the edges and clearly wearing all white. Eddie's eyes suddenly shot open upon realizing and briskly shot up to his knees, leaving the ruins in a brief shiver. …BRUCE?!
"Long time, no see, hmm?" Bruce said, dread ceasing as he shoved the sharp piece of metal away from him. "I'm sorry for hitting you. I was trying to get your attention, and you just wouldn't wake up."
Yeah, I can SEE that. What the hell are you even doing here? Don't you have other things to worry about? I told you, I'd be back there eventually! Eddie growled, furrowing his brows as he eased up slowly. He heaved a deep sigh through his jagged teeth, beginning to lower himself to see Bruce more clearly. He then rested his chin along one of his hands. But I need to admit—I wasn't expecting you to show up, considering all you've gone through. Why'd you come back at all, especially when you HATE the ruins?
Bruce shuffled his feet, eyeing the ruins occasionally. "I know, I know. It's just—I was planning on taking you back to London with me, and you still are! I talked to 'Arry about it, and he put me on a time limit of 48 hours because we can't 'mess around' or else we'll get in trouble. Since we're still connected I ended up hearing your typical grunts and noises, and it sounded distressed. I'm intending on taking you home, but we should probably address the noises first," Bruce explained, pulling out his phone to check how much time had passed. "Right. We only have 44 hours left, so that gives us plenty of time."
Eddie grimaced, one of his eyes twitching due to the cause of his apparent irritation. I don't think I should leave just yet. Damn helicopters won't leave me be when I have deliberately warned them several times to stay out of here. I know they'll try to abduct me if I use another form, so I'm basically stuck until they leave, he growled, checking his surroundings slowly once more. Any given moment, he thought the helicopters would be around him. Fortunately, not at that moment.
"I can tell they're causing you trouble. But now that you're awake, we could probably catch up on some things and nobody's watching us. It's likely been a long week for both of us, so how are you doing? Besides the helicopters, and such."
Hanging in there. I finally cleaned up the rest of the ruins and devastated the remaining buildings. I'm sure you've noticed, Eddie said, pulling himself to the side to reveal the rest of the barren landscape as he used his hand to guide Bruce's view. All Eddie could do was sit there, a grin of pride gliding along his raging face. The vocalist was impressed how organized it was, but there would be a layer of debris the entity couldn't clean up all that well. Better than what it used to be, if you ask me. Plus, cleaning up wouldn't have hurt, since nobody's living here.
"Except you," Bruce remarked. "But I'm impressed. You managed to make it seem like nothing used to stand in this area! Tearing it all to the ground must've been amusing to you, I'll bet. It still hurt you as much as it did me."
Eddie nodded, releasing another grumble—not directed at Bruce. That's all I can describe it as. It helped me let go of the rage I've been holding in, and it was the only thing to keep me amused while I have these bloody cowards trying to strike me down every other hour. I just want to start shit solely out of spite, because it's AGGRAVATING.
"Yeah…there has to be some way for them to stop," Bruce said. Even when he thought he was free, the rest of the world wouldn't leave him to be in peace.
I'm absolutely sure they wouldn't listen. So, how have you been holding up? You don't appear as…disgruntled as when I last saw you, Ed asked, gazing down at Bruce's hand first.
"I've been fine. I got out of the hospital a few days ago after Dave dragged me there after the band saw the state I was in. My hand, I still have it, obviously. They ended up finding shards of glass trapped under my skin and some parts were deep enough to leave me in stitches. I'm stuck with them for another week or two, but it's manageable. The injury will leave permanent scarring, but at least my hand looks cool!" Bruce explained, lifting his hand as he smiled. "I've come to appreciate it. Yes, that was foolish of me, but it shows I've stayed resilient the whole time."
Eddie smiled and nodded. There's that mentality I tried to give to you. I don't find it wrong to sacrifice something for the ones you care about—hell, I say EMBRACE it for all I care, as long as it doesn't affect me. How'd the band react to the sight?
"…They were terrified. Yet, they were relieved that was the only thing that was affected while I was gone," Bruce answered, acknowledging what the entity said at first. Oddly profound for him.
And…how's the rest of the band in general? Steve isn't too subtle about wanting me back there.
Bruce agreed with him. He explained how the bassist kept staring through the images and videos of the destruction, which led to Eddie discovering the camera being in Bruce's possession again. Of course, Ed was unsure how to feel about it, simply rolling his eyes and giving a remark that he uses it too much.
"The band is fine. We managed to finish the majority of the album, and we have to do some edits to a few things. The reason I have the camera again is because 'Arry wants me to get some more pictures, just with the ruins and all. At first he was hesitant for me to visit, but clearly he wanted me to get you. I could see it in his face. I'm not sure why he'd want more photos and such, so I'm starting to think he may be planning something else? Again, no idea exactly, and I guess we'll find out," Bruce stated.
Ed knew Steve would be planning something if he was that interested in something, and he didn't say anything more. Typical Steve.
Both Bruce and Eddie discussed other things they've dealt with during the one week of them being apart, with the entity pausing once he remembered something.
Oh, right, Ed murmured, gazing at the piles of debris a few hundred meters away from where he sat. He tried to recall where an object hid, noticing a blue light illuminating through a towering pile of debris. It was the largest in the vicinity, at least 40 meters in height and width as Eddie gradually lifted himself up and approached the pile. He plunged his massive hand into it, trembling the ruins as he revealed an orb the size of his head; he drew one of his claws on the top of it, eyes gleaming as he stared at the light radiating from the sphere. He returned to his original spot and glanced down at Bruce, his raging grin reforming as Bruce found himself stunned.
"Woah…what's that?" Bruce wondered, almost approaching the towering entity ahead of him. Though, he paused and awaited for his response.
I found this shortly after you left last week. Well, I didn't find it. I thought I saw someone in the middle of the night, on the top of this weird orb. They didn't say anything and they looked familiar, and they had a cloak…actually, she had a cloak. I simply took it at first, but the more I stared at it, the more I thought: AM I capable of having such a thing? Just the look of it alone…was compelling. By your stare, I can tell you want to give it a look, Eddie hummed, slowly bringing himself over to Bruce as the latter slid closer. You have to see how amazing this is.
In front of him was an orb of the Earth. He simply appeared mesmerized, unsure how to react to such a thing. "…Can I?"
Touching this does nothing. It won't harm the world in any way if you do, so go ahead, the entity silently cackled, his massive hand descending down in front of the vocalist. However he pulled Bruce onto his unoccupied hand, with the orb hovering right above him. That would give Bruce the ability to place his very hand on it, so he extended his bandaged hand up and rubbed it along its surface. He observed the oceans swirling and lapping through the thin, blanket-like clouds, the lands resting within the waters as life continued like so, progressing so silently and calmly. Well, it's not in the best condition. It could always be worse, I guess.
Eddie lifted both of his hands and Bruce stood in the middle of the entity's dominant hand. In that moment, he felt an overwhelming radiation of power flowing through his veins the longer he stared at it. He left his hand on top of it, failing to move back from the sight. It was…beautiful. Bruce brought his attention to Eddie, evidently astonished to his very core. "Eddie. Do you realize what you're even holding? This should ASTOUND YOU. And better yet? It sounds like the Oracle might've given it to you!"
Believe me, it does. I can't really find a purpose on why I have it or why she could've possibly given it to me, so I didn't think much of it, Eddie huffed, carefully tapping Bruce with his thumb to regain his attention. He watched Bruce jolt as he fell to his knees, breaking into a sudden cackle. As a result, the vocalist earned a rumbling cackle from the entity. Looks like I gotta be careful when I share that with you ever again.
"I may have gotten a bit carried away. Sorry," Bruce chuckled, heaving a sigh.
Apologizing…for being in a trance? I don't understand you being "sorry" for such a thing.
The entity was right. The orb had possessed too much power and could easily get into someone's head. "It may not be the Earth, but it is oddly close to it. It's amazing…it—it holds so much power. Surely you having possession of it may not affect you like it did me, or even anyone else?"
Eddie shrugged. He suspected it wouldn't affect him anyway, spinning the orb in his claw-like fingers. However, part of him would be grateful he was given it nonetheless. Once Bruce was fully finished staring, Eddie placed him back down onto the surface, retaining his bright grin within the deep shadow overcasting Bruce.
I hope you enjoyed yourself, Bruce. But now, about the reason why you're here.
The entity believed addressing Bruce's arrival was their top priority. Bruce had discovered what caused the trouble, and have shown no sign of stopping. Eddie can't exactly leave, because they'd—undoubtedly—search him down and trap him. It seemed that he was handling it himself fairly well, and Ed didn't want Bruce to get strung into any issues that he shouldn't be involved or affiliated with. If Bruce were to wait around for it to end, he would be there for years. Most of all, this was entirely on Eddie. He started it, so he'd defend himself as much as possible.
"Yes, I know I shouldn't help you and you have this taken care of, but you clearly seem to be having problems. I'd rather help you than having to stay stuck here with no chance of leaving again," Bruce started, watching Eddie place the orb beside him. "Nobody wants that, and I know you don't want that. Don't you think you should take action against the people attacking you?"
Eddie shifted away from Bruce, furrowing his brows as he hesitated. I could, but we know our situation wouldn't turn out so well.
Bruce realized this wasn't like Eddie. Why was he being so apprehensive? He would go for it at any given opportunity. "…Eddie, you're never hesitant about anything. What's actually going on?"
The entity grumbled under his breath as a howl echoed through the air, rapidly approaching him and hostility radiating around them. …Too much. Here we go. Again— He stopped himself as his attention shot towards the orb beside him. Never hid the orb again…GREAT! He snapped, shoving the orb into a pile of debris only a few meters away from him. He proceeded to rise to his feet and pulled his legs into a wide stance, balancing his weight as he trembled the world below him. He angrily stared at the approaching objects with raging eyes.
"Ed! Try to be careful—"
I'M the one that doesn't have to be careful. I'll be fine, Eddie huffed, pulling his hand behind his form and tried to move Bruce away from the giant figure near him. I need you to go and hide behind something. You dying here is the LAST THING everybody needs.
Unfortunately, Bruce refused to listen to him, but he sprinted towards a small pile of debris nearby, only a few meters from Eddie. "…They're back, aren't they?"
What else? It's progressively getting worse EVERY DAY, he sneered, violently snapping his head down towards Bruce and wildly glared. His eyes shot back up as he witnessed a helicopter zipping straight towards him, bringing himself much lower to the ground with another rumbling growl. I have reasons why I never destroyed these damn helicopters, but I can't bring myself to care what happens. I'm obligated to fight back, at least once.
Bruce froze. He wasn't fighting back at all. He never has. Bruce found himself wondering what even occurred when he was absent. He remembered the camera he held onto, but what Eddie had just mentioned burned into his head. So much was wrong. Bruce didn't know what to think. What else would he find out? "You haven't tried to defend yourself!? Why—"
BRUCE. PLEASE BE QUIET FOR A MINUTE, Eddie roared, instantly grasping the helicopter directly over his head. He swung it down to his face, the vile stench of death radiating from him for anyone inside. HEY. I WARNED YOU. You have the absolute AUDACITY to pull this shit again?
Without any sort of struggle the helicopter imploded in his massive hand, grinding the destroyed vehicle into the ground. He stared at the shrapnel beneath him, hissing out a deep cackle as he went back to towering over the ruins. Bruce appeared paralyzed, and not because of the sight in front of him. Of course, he practically watched someone die, and he was horrified.
"I must've come off too strong…you seem to be doing better," Bruce sputtered, noticing Ed staring at his claws.
I am. I've been holding back for so long. I shouldn't have done that, but I couldn't take it.
No more theorizing or assuming. Bruce left the debris as he slowly approached the entity, fear streaking his gaze and concern rising in his chest. "Eddie…since we talked prior to my departure a week back, you've seemed…more tame. I surely thought you would've killed me by now, you aren't destroying everything in your path or at any given moment, you've stayed here this whole time and now you're…you've been different. You aren't yourself. How come you're so worried for me now? Did everything drain you so badly that you're simply…a husk of your past self? Existing? Basically everything about you…gone?"
Eddie sighed, dragging his claws along his face. It's so complicated, Bruce. It's—everything. You're not understanding what I had to endure for months, let alone this entire past week. My life was practically stripped away from me, I had to lose my physical body, and those bloody drones would do EVERYTHING in their power to keep me at bay…just so I wouldn't destroy shit! I may be free from their hold, but I am nowhere near running free from the ruins. Those drones have done REPREHENSIBLE damage to the two of us, and now I'm someone else's main target once again because of course, I'M DANGEROUS AND THE WORST THERE'S EVER BEEN! Eddie collapsed to his knees and violently shook Bruce, heaving several breaths as he wildly looked back up. Fantastic…ANOTHER one. Just WONDERFUL.
He wouldn't flinch as a second helicopter struck his form several times, growling by the faint stinging he had grown used to.
"What are you doing!? You have to stop them!" Bruce screamed, but Eddie refused to respond. He bolted in front of the entity and he howled out to the helicopter ahead of them. "Just leave him be!"
I CAN TAKE CARE OF EVERYTHING MYSELF.
"Eddie, you're doing literally NOTHING to them! Why are they unable to get it in their heads that you are just trying to live? Sure, dangerous entity shouldn't be running around cities causing havoc, but seriously! You never wanted to be here in the first place!"
BRUCE. JUST GO.
The earth sunk into a deep tremble the more enraged Eddie grew, hearing the howling surrounding him as Bruce appeared distraught, the latter finally screaming at the entity to take action. "EDDIE, DEFEND YOURSELF! I'm not leaving until you DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT."
Bruce moved away from Eddie as the helicopter drifted closer to the figure, hundreds of shells exploding along his spine. He tried not to get angry with Bruce, but he deliberately failed to listen to him, which only prompted Ed to get angrier towards the vehicle ahead of him. As a result, the whole world nearly trembled beneath Eddie's feet, spite spilling into his violent breaths as his mind started to race. A stare Bruce never experienced with him, and it was mortifying. Bruce's own fearful stare revealed to the entity he actually had to do something.
Eddie's chest grew heavy, digging his claws into his head as he groaned with a long quiver. He lowered his chest to his knees as his voice grew louder, transforming into an uncontrollable bellow that cracked the ground as he sprung straight towards the helicopter. Without a single thought, the helicopter blew under the smallest bit of pressure in the entity's grasp. He immediately plunged the debris into the earth, rattling the ruins from the impact alone. The rage pooled around both Eddie and Bruce, the trembling worsening as the entity left his jaw hanging open with gravely heaves.
A booming roar erupted the ground beneath the entity, letting it ring for a mere ten seconds before stomping back and forth around Bruce. I—CANNOT TAKE IT ANYMORE. Days of warning them, standing down every single time, COMPLYING to them and yet they constantly FAIL to listen to me! It's a constant cycle of being confronted, ambushed, bloody WHATEVER. Whoever fucking wants me dead, I guess they're not getting their cowardly men back after their persistent shooting and harassing me! EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM ARE GOING TO BE DEAD THEMSELVES. IF THEY WON'T LISTEN TO ME, THEN I WON'T LISTEN, EITHER. I'LL LET THEM FACE MY GODDAMN WRATH.
Eddie bashed his fists into the debris, the earth shattering from the entity's weight as he collapsed back to his knees, narrowly missing Bruce in the process. He crumbled down and rested his head into his arms, dust swirling around him as he lay in the same spot. His eyes were sealed shut and his erratic breathing slowed, not moving for what felt like minutes. Bruce silently ached, also walking over to him and placed his hand onto Eddie's thumb, a sorrowful gaze forming. "Eddie…"
The entity rumbled a growl. I absolutely hate showing this weak—cowardice side…but I can only take so much before I fail to hold myself back. Just—give me a minute, Eddie huffed, finally looking Bruce dead in the eyes and confessed:
Bruce. I know everything that happened. After what we committed here, someone wants us DEAD.
Bruce blinked. He supposed that would make sense and why Eddie acted so defensive and odd at the time. He didn't seem surprised, and it only encouraged him with an idea. Obviously, it would not be a great one in many eyes.
"Is that so…the drones weren't very subtle about trying to kill me, and all. But I may have an idea to stop the attacks against you," he said.
Eddie pulled his head off of his arms, suspiciously gazing at him. He listened to Bruce quietly, also catching onto the fact the vocalist was hesitating. …I'm listening. What do you have in mind?
"Usually I'd be very against this and 'Arry told us not to mess around, but what the hell. Wanna go farther out in the country to a little somewhere?" Bruce wondered, a smirk slowly revealing itself on his face. Eddie's chest dropped, gritting his fangs as he anticipated Bruce's idea.
Bruce. If you're thinking what I'm thinking—
"Let's go find that bloody city and give it a taste of how you're feeling," Bruce announced.
Both of them stared at each other, falling into silence. The looming figure once considered it, but he knew the consequences and what could occur without informing anyone, so he shut it down immediately. The fact Bruce reignited the idea shocked him, but he noticed a sensation of amusement—now that they managed to find themselves on the same wavelength. Bruce seemed determined, putting both of his arms out as if encouraging him.
"If they want me dead, how about we go out in a blaze of glory?" He started, quickly chuckling as he shook his head. "Not literally. What I mean is, you've been through too much in the last several months and nothing has gotten better for you. It won't, if we don't decide to take action. You obviously don't have to do much, yet I feel like we can't have you wilting away like you are. You're Eddie, for god's sake! Why not embrace going back to what you do best?"
Eddie couldn't respond at first. Before he said anything, he gazed at the shattered ground beneath him, suddenly receiving the sound of another helicopter shooting towards him. He wouldn't lift his gaze as he rose his palm, sensing the helicopter slam into it and crumbled a mere instant. His hand would be covered in soot and small cuts quickly closed up, regenerating from the collision. He would gain a sense of fleeting contentment, dwelling on Bruce's offer. …You haven't been yourself, either.
"Well, I guess I haven't been the same since leaving this wretched place," Bruce admitted, his arms remaining spanned across. "So, what do you say, Ed?"
Quite an offer, isn't it? Eddie let out a huff at first. The huff slowly grew into a maniacal rumbling cackle, the same one Bruce knew well. He held his laugh as he leaned forward, closer to Bruce. Bruce! You've found quite a taste for destruction lately, which I never expected from you. Hell, nothing can really stop me!
"Isn't destruction originally your nature? I'm simply trying to encourage you what makes you—you. You've needed it recently. Go ahead and return to your roots!"
I forgot you utilize your persuasion so easily, Eddie sighed, rising back up to his feet and trembled the earth with a long yawn. He clutched the orb once more and let it hover within his claws, bending down and offering his giant hand to Bruce. Of course, the vocalist briskly climbed on. I'm ready whenever you are.