happily ever after was happy everyone was after me

[gammapulsed]

Who: Bruce Banner and whichever Avenging types are hanging abouts
What: Bruce discovers he has a few 'roommates' in the free hostel place for new arrivals. And is not happy about it.
When: backdated to late Monday afternoon
Where: basic-level housing in Residential Zone 01 aka Kurzweil
Warnings: Possibly lethal levels of derp? Nah, we're good.

Comments

[ironhowdoesit]

Tony Stark has never been the silent, stealthy type, but the guy in front of him seems so enamored by the site of public housing, it's easy to follow unnoticed. Fortunately for Bruce, Tony has no idea who he his. Ross and SHIELD certainly didn't give a physical description of the gamma monster, and even if they had, Tony would have probably filed it as 'don't really care'.

"Could you hurry it up, buddy? Some of us have better things to do than shop project housing."

Yes Bruce, he is standing only a few feet away, dressed in a smart suit and jerk shades, giving you the most dubious expression ever.

[gammapulsed]

He flinches a little in surprise (damn it, Banner, you should be paying attention here) before rubbing at the back of his neck. Way too exposed without a hat on.

"Sorry, I didn't mean t- Must have been woolgathering. Sorry." Moving off to the side, he holds the door open for -- whoever this guy is. "There you go."

[ironhowdoesit]

"Thanks, but I can hold a door myself."

He steps around Bruce, tilting his sunglasses down so the other man can see the look of disdain in his eyes.

"If you're fantasizing about your dream house, don't let me stop you."

[gammapulsed]

"I was trying to be nice, is all," is the reply as Bruce purses his lips in a frown. "And I'm just, you know. I wasn't thinking of anything. Really. It's-" Shaking his head, he gives up a bit. "Never mind."

He fidgets in place, waiting for Tony to go ahead of him (mostly so he can see where not to go).

[ironhowdoesit]

"Yeah yeah."

Whatever Bruce just said, Tony has already forgotten. He slides past and into the hall, removing his shades completely as he does. It's... certainly not his Malibu house or suite in New York City, but it's passable. He expected the place to have touch screens and a fully functional AI--I mean for Christs sake he did at home--but it wasn't the slums he'd been expecting, so hey.

"Kind of kitschy," he remarks.

[wouldhavewords]

Well the clear answer is that there's really nowhere to go once they're in, because Thor is taking up a rather large amount of the hallway. He's clearly on his way out from wherever he came from, but there's always a chance of stopping to chat.

Which is exactly what he's going to do with a wide smile and a hammer in one hand. "Greetings!"

[gammapulsed]

Whuh oh. Bruce recognizes that face. Yes, indeed he does. That is one of the various faces from the network feed that is causing all his current paranoia slash anxiety attacks. Which most likely means that the rest can't be far behind. The realization has his jaw dropping before he turns to look at Stark and recognize his face from all those stupid, grocery check out tabloids.

"Oh, sh-"

If he actually finishes that curse, it's lost because it's at this point that he spins on his heel and starts to dash back out the door.

[usavatar]

Straight into Steve's tattered red, white and blue. He catches Bruce by the shoulders a moment before the other man slams full-tilt into him, looking down with a kind of bemusement- and then registering Thor and Tony-Ryan-Reynolds-Stark standing in the hallway as well.

Well. They all had to end up somewhere, he supposes.

Steve lets go of Bruce, giving him a once-over to make sure he's more or less undamaged. "Sorry- are you all right?"

[gammapulsed]

...Oh. Oh, that's a really large, dirty, off-white star in front of his nose. Bruce slowly raises his eyes to get a good eyeful of Captain America. A detached, neutral voice in his head chimes in: if he's a fake, that's a really good costume. Then the rest of his brain catches up to the fanboy section as he wriggles out of the man's grip.

"N-no, sorry, no, really, it's my fault since I wasn't really looking where I was heading and I was in a kind of rush anyway but I"m fine now, sir, so anyway I'm j-" He jerks a thumb over his shoulder before turning it around to point past Steve. "Just going to keep on going since I need to be getting somewhere anyway soon and that's- It's- Mn- Sorry."

And now - exit attempt part deux, stage left. Or is it right? He could never keep it straight and that's not the point right now anyway.

[ironhowdoesit]

"You heard the man, he's s-s-sorry."

Tony subtly rolls his eyes, before turning his attention back to Thor. "Hey big guy. Thor, right? I owe you a beer." He doesn't bother to address Steve just yet, because 1) he hates admitting he was wrong and 2) Steve actually thought he was Ryan Reynolds.

The insult hurt less when he learned that he was really from the past. But he gave a small signal with his hand to show that yes, he saw them.

[usavatar]

Steve reaches out to catch the back of Bruce's shift, half-lifting the man off the ground with his own momentum. "Wait, hang on."

He shoots Tony an impatient look before turning his attention back to Bruce. "What's the matter? Are you all right?"

[wouldhavewords]

"Indeed you do, my friend." And another grin, though he nods to Steve beyond both of Tony and Bruce. "Captain America, it is a pleasure to see you again."

Thor moves forward, one hand going to clap Tony on the shoulder as he smiles at both him and Bruce. "I believe introductions are in order for some of us."

[gammapulsed]

Bruce makes a strangled, panicked sound when he's hoisted a bit (or maybe it's just a regular choking sound as his collar hits his Adam's apple - who knows). Oh dear lord, this is feeling like high school all over again. Then again, if they shove him into a space station version of a locker, he'll most likely be done here and then able to get away.

"No, they're n- I mean, yes, I'm all right, perfectly all right, really, as long as I get to where I'm supposed to be i-in a timely fashion, so. If you could just- Please- Let me go? And then I'll be gone and out of your hair and-"

He's interrupted by a slow, steady beeping from the monitor on his wrist. "Oh, no." Deep breaths, Banner. Nice, deep breaths. Closing his eyes and focusing on that instead of all this, he's soon looking much calmer as the beeping stops with a small chime. "Okay. Good. Now can I please go?" Because Steve, you're still holding onto his shirt and this is the opposite of where he wants to be.

[hawkwards]

"Hey, what's the hold up--"

Meanwhile, Clint has arrived from behind Thor, since he and the big guy have been hanging out. Yes, you're all jealous that Clint is best friends with a thunder god. Get over it.

Anyhow, he edges around Thor to get a look at everyone else--Stark, who he can't help but lineface at after what Pietro said (even though he didn't believe it); the boy scout, who he's not sure what to make of just yet; and finally...

"You-- Banner?" He's never met the man before, of course, but hell if every agent at SHIELD doesn't know that face from the files.

[ironhowdoesit]

"I'll cover the first round, then we can all sit down and have a love-in as an icebreaker." He coughs slightly as Thor clasps him on the shoulder, before leaning over to stare at the newest newcomer.

"Great, it's my least favorite government agency- you guys stole that honor from the SEC so hey, pat yourselves on the back. And you mean Dr. Banner? Egghead supreme?"

[usavatar]

Steve looks from the rest of them to Bruce and back, knowing - between Clint's recognition and Dr. Banner's eagerness to escape - he's missing something important. The question of why Banner wants to get away being the most significant something at the moment.

So he plants himself firmly between Bruce and the others, his hand shifting from the man's shirt collar to his shoulder and hanging on. When he speaks, though, it's to Thor. " Really, you don't have to call me that. It's Steven. Steve Rogers."

He eyes Clint with much the same reservations the man seems to have about him. "Can I ask how you all know each other?"