OK, this was a mistake.

I pretend to not see one of the train employees not so discreetly stare at me from down the aisle while talking with one of her co-workers. It's obvious they know what I did; the question is: what are they going to do about it?

Hopping the turnstile and jumping into the train car has not been the smartest thing I've been doing in my time on the road. I've just been so worn down recently, and the thought of saving myself several days and dozens of miles to get to my next destination was too good of an opportunity to pass up. Or so I told myself.

What I promised myself would be a one-time thing turned into several times this past week. I should've taken the time to scrounge up enough for the train ticket today, but my impatience got the better of me.

Too late to do anything about that now, Rebecca. Why isn't foresight 20/20 like hindsight is? Now that's a question I ask myself a lot.

The workers continue talking about me as I turn my head toward the window, making myself watch as a varied mix of houses and trees fly past as the train carries us by. A sight to get lost in any other time, but for now I had to think of what to do.

Option one is a no-go: I don't have the money to pay for my fare. What cash I did have went into buying a fresh set of clothes to replace the ones that were destroyed last week after a punk on the street made the mistake of trying to rob me. The She-Hulk didn't take too kindly to that, let's just say.

I'm not sure when the next stop is, but I could conceivably make my way off the train there. I'd have to lose these employees first, though, and hope they don't find chasing me down worth the effort.

What would happen if they did catch me? That brief thought causes something to stir within me, the feeling of a restless presence, and I abandon the thought.

The two employees are still in talk mode and don't look like they're ready to make a move on me quite yet. I pretend to be oblivious for a few more seconds. Am I timing this right? I don't have a lot of options. Now or never.

I bring my hands down to the armrests on my seat and pivot my legs to the aisle, my arms pushing me to my feet, which immediately carry me away from the train employees and through the door separating the two train cars. The sounds of spinning wheels grinding along the railroad tracks immediately grows louder as I cross the walkway into the next car, before opening the next door and finding protection in the new space. I don't look behind me; instead, I continue moving at a pace brisk enough to put distance between me and my watchers, but not quickly enough to draw attention to myself from any other passenger.

Soon I'm at the end of this current car, and I once again make my way to the next. As I open the door to the next car, I stop dead in my tracks, as straight ahead of me is a security officer making a beeline down the aisle in my direction.

Shit. Shit!

I turn myself around and slam the door behind me, dragging myself back into the previous car. Waiting for me here is just as unwelcome of a sight: the two uniformed employees moving toward me one after the other.

SHIT.

My body is frozen. My eyes dart toward the train window, and see the train, while having slowed, was still moving. The stop was getting near, but not quickly enough. I made my move too soon.

Options are getting scarce. Forward and backward are blocked. Instinctively, my body takes the only other option available, and I lock the sliding door of the train car's bathroom behind me. It's only a few seconds before I hear the banging of fists against the door's surface, and the muffled sounds of shouts coming from the other side.

I lean against the tiny sink built into the wall of the tiny rectangle I've trapped myself in, and the pounding of the wronged representatives of the train company keeps intensifying, echoing around me in my small cage. Now the lock, begins to jiggle, as no doubt they're attempting to jimmy the door open. Joining the chorus is the pounding of my heartbeat, and the deep pants of my panicked lungs inhaling, exhaling.

I'm afraid.

A tightness grows in my chest, and a cold chill spreads throughout my body. I look up into the small, scratched-up mirror and see that a pair of pale green eyes are staring back at me.

I've exhausted all of my options. The She-Hulk, however, hasn't.

She's not wasting any time getting to work, either. My hair has already doubled in length, and my brand new v-neck top is showing cleavage that definitely doesn't belong to me. Those changes are only the firsts; the familiar pangs of the transformation begin to burn their way through my body, nerves lighting on fire as my muscles begin to swell atop the painful cracking of my growing skeleton, my clothes growing tight.

Grimacing, I watch in the mirror as green shoulders tear their way through the seams of my shirt, my massive arms following suit and splitting the fabric of my sleeves. A series of growth spasms erupts through my legs, a mix of pain and numbness flowing through them. My widening feet find relief as I feel them rip open the cheap material of my bargain sneakers. The white capris I'm wearing begin to lose their battle against my thickening calves as they begin to split up my tree-trunk sized legs, massive thighs forcing the fabric apart loudly all the way up to the waistband above my hips.

I hear a groan escape my lips as I witness the half-human/half-monster in the reflection arch her back in response to a wave of pain through her bones. As my ribs and spine crack, the front of my bra snaps open, unleashing enlarged breasts which pull apart the shirt's fabric with ease, revealing the tight lumps of stark abdominal muscles. I feel a burst of power growing from my core — the agony of the change is beginning to numb as my adrenaline kicks into overdrive.

That fear I was feeling just a few minutes ago has transformed into something else. I'm...angry. So, so angry. Everything is anger.

And in that anger she emerges. My brain no longer controls the body which is no longer human. In that mirror's reflection, behind those green eyes is the She-Hulk staring back at her massive, green-skinned body. She's conducting this train, and it's full speed ahead.

With a growl, she flexes her left arm and the door tears off its hinges and knocks one of the train's security guards against the opposite wall. The beast steps out into the corridor and unleashes a roar, tearing off whatever was left of my shirt and bra and throwing them to the floor, leaving only the tattered capri pants hanging off her hips. The passengers, turning around at the sound of the commotion, begin to light up in horror. Screams echo in the train car as passengers begin to stumble out of their seats and run the opposite direction of her. She doesn't care; in fact, that's what she likes. They can run in fear all they like, those puny humans.

The She-Hulk steps forward and, grabbing her by the arm, lifts up the woman who was watching me minutes earlier, the one who tipped me off that I had finally been caught. She struggles in the powerful grip of the monster, her body convulsing in panic as her feet desperately kicks around searching for solid ground. She's screaming, and the She-Hulk seems to soak it in.

The security guards and other employees struggle to find their balance as the train lurches to a halt. The She-Hulk's attention diverts out the window, and sees the scenery has grown still, replaced by the concrete construction of a train station. Holding the woman in her right hand, the She-Hulk rips up the nearest bench and, with a quick flick of her power, launches the chair through the side of the train with enough momentum to smash through the large pane glass window.

"Your stop," she growls. The woman's screams echo into the train station as she finds herself launched through the broken window, coming to land painfully on the concrete station platform. With a frightful smirk, the She-Hulk turns herself around and, with a quick extension of her two arms, lifts the two men up in the air, and smiles. Seconds later, they're finding themselves rolling across the concrete alongside their colleague.

A massive roar fills the train and echoes outward as the She-Hulk bellows her rage into the ether. Crouching down on her legs, the monster propels herself upward with a mighty leap, tearing through the metal roof of the train car and freeing herself into the open air.

Her body carries her in a strong arc over trees, houses, and streets, before she lands creating a crater in a small grassy patch on the side of the road. Her stay there is short-lived, however, as her leg muscles, absorbing the recoil of her landing, launch her airborne once again, creating her next arc.

This continues for what seems to me like miles, but it's hard to be certain; it's not my train anymore, after all. I'm just a passenger on this ride, and, like the train we just escaped from, I have to wait for my stop.