Avenger Fic | Promise in the Days Ahead | Chapter Three - Steve Takes Charge
Title: Promise in the Days Ahead | Part Two of Every Road Has Two Directions series, and a continuation of Walking the Path Between Welcome and Exile. The earlier story can be found with my LJ tags or at at AO3
Fandom: Avengers Movie Verse
Author: Laurie
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Violence in later chapters
Word Count and link to past chapters WIP. Chapter One - 2,753 words. Chapter Two - 4141 words. Chapter Three - 3388 words.
Pairings and Relationships: Tony Stark/Pepper Potts; Tony Stark/Bruce Banner; Bruce Banner/Natasha Romanov; Clint Barton/Phil Coulson; Steve Rogers/Bruce Banner; Thor Odinson/Jane Foster; Betty Ross/Leonard Samson; Bruce Banner & Avengers; Clint Barton & Avengers; Steve Rogers & Avengers; Tony Stark & Avengers; Thor & Avengers
Characters: Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, Clint Barton, Steve Rogers, Thor Odinson, Natasha Romanov, Phil Coulson, Jane Foster, Darcy Lewis, Nick Fury, Maria Hill, Leonard Samsom, Betty Ross, Thaddeus Ross, Samuel Sterns, Serpent Society.
Author's notes: Beta'ed by sparrowhawk17 She's a star. I really appreciate her help.
This story in rough draft is 53,000 words and is currently a WIP with thirteen chapters. I'm going to start posting one chapter a week while I continue to write the story.
Summary: Banner's gone. The Avengers on Earth will do what they can to protect their missing teammate and pave the way for his return. To do so, they're going to have to learn as much as they can about Bruce Banner. Along the way they find themselves learning about each other as well, and the people that were thrown together to stop an alien invasion become a team.
Chapter Three. Steve Takes Charge
“I'll take care of Director Fury, Tony,” Steve was being all Captain America about this. He looked - spangly, even if he was wearing regular clothes. Tony felt a wave of rebellion rising up at the order Steve had just given, in his firm, 'Captain America is doing the right thing voice.'
Fury had handled Bruce all wrong. Tony wanted to explain in detail to the one-eyed bastard just how much his strong-arming Bruce hadn't worked. He drummed his fingers on the top of the rosewood table, thinking. Across the table from him, Clint was slouched down in his chair, frowning and staring up at the ceiling. He looked a million miles away.
Their little strategy session on how to best help Bruce had concluded with tasks for all of them to do. Tony had to admit that Captain America was as talented and as clear with planning long-term strategy as he'd been with giving them impromptu orders during the Battle of Manhattan. Tony had no problem with Steve taking charge. He had no problem with following Steve's lead for making Bruce's life on the run safer and paving the way for him to return someday, and stay free. Not giving Fury any shit, uh, no.
“Stark, if you indulge yourself in this childish desire to throw a tantrum at Fury, you will undermine Steve's authority. The Avengers will not be seen as a team, but as people just thrown together by circumstance and splintering apart now that the crisis has passed. The director is more willing to listen to Steve. He grew up respecting the legend of Captain America, and should we not give Bruce that edge?” Natasha looked pointedly at Tony, then rose gracefully from the conference room table and poured herself a cup of coffee from the hospitality cart.
He knew she was still watching him from across the room. Damn it. She never tolerated him indulging in dramatic self-expression without calling him on it. And No, he didn't pout when he couldn't have his way. That... no. He wasn't pouting. It was just that usually his way was so much better. Why couldn't other people see that?
He brooded while she sipped her coffee, and now he felt Cap's eyes on him, too. God, double-teamed. Clint sat up abruptly and Tony glanced at him. Clint slowly shook his head. Tony narrowed his eyes, staring at him. Hell, not even Clint was on his side. Clint usually wasn't averse to causing a little mayhem. Maybe he should think this through a little more.
Steve was sitting patiently at the other end of the table. He was giving Tony space to reconsider, he knew Steve was, and he felt appreciative of that and annoyed at the same time.
He rolled around in his mind the likely consequences of unloading his opinion on Fury, and then sighed. He hated to admit it, but he could see Natasha's point. She was a hell of a profiler; nobody could read people like she could.
He sighed again. Loudly. Okay, he'd take her advice. He still wanted to shove his boot up Fury's ass, though. It would have to keep. He nodded at Steve.
Steve rose and walked around the table. He laid his hand on Tony's shoulder. “C'mon, Soldier. Let's go. We can take turns with the punching bag and you can pretend it's Fury's head. I've got to be calmer myself before I talk with him.”
That sounded... actually, that sounded kind of attractive to Tony. “Can I draw an eye patch on the bag?”
Steve laughed, and Tony stood up, grumbling, “Okay, okay. Fury's yours. Anyway, I need to put my nimble fingers to use after we're done managing our anger. I'll make sure we know what S.H.I.E.L.D.'s up to concerning Bruce.”
“I'm leaving,” Natasha said. “I have some contacts in the city that might know why Hydra wants Bruce.”
“If you need a hand, call me,” Clint told her.
Nodding, she said something in Russian again, and Clint stood up, saying, “I'll meet you in your room. I want to pull some things from Bruce's file first, give Stark a list of people who Bruce helped over the years.”
“Send it to Pepper, Clint. She's in her office. She knows PR work forwards and backwards,” Tony said, and started walking towards the door, Steve following.
“Yeah, no.” Tony and Steve stopped walking and turned around. Clint shook his head. “Bad idea. Pepper's too conflicted; even if she doesn't mean to do it, she's going to come across as ambivalent if she does the talking. She could help you find the right media people to talk to, though. Think she'll want to do that? She clearly prefers that Bruce not come back.”
Tony shrugged, not liking the fact that he and Pepper were on different sides of the fence about Bruce. “She'd give me a list. If I asked her to do it, she'd take charge of the PR. She's done other things for me that she hated doing, like, umm... changing out the arc reactor in my chest.”
Natasha gave him another death glare. “Which is why you shouldn't ask her to do this. Leave her alone. She can be our canary in the mine. If she changes her mind about Bruce, then you'll know the media campaign is working.”
“Clint, just shoot the list to JARVIS, and I'll take care of it without Pepper's help. I'm a genius; I can design a media campaign,” Tony said, with a touch of temper.
Natasha gave him a level look, and then nodded at him, and he knew she was trusting him to keep his word.
She stepped close to Steve and caught his hand, squeezed it briefly, then reached over to Tony and gave his earlobe a sharp tug before letting go and walking out the door. Clint went back to the computer station, re-opened a file, and raised it up into the air.
Steve walked briskly to the door and waited for Tony. He opened the door for him and let him pass through first, his manners as much a part of him as his honest face and strong muscles.
They moved through the hallway and rode the elevator in silence, but it didn't feel awkward to Tony. He and Steve were just occupied with their own thoughts. Tony began designing the code for his quiet foray into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s data banks and then his mind drifted to what Bruce had mentioned in his farewell message, that Tony should look at the sketches Steve had drawn of them.
So after they worked out and Tony saw for himself how Steve could totally demolish the best punching bag his money could buy, he'd ask about Steve's art.
* * *
“Sir, Captain Rogers is asking for entrance to your suite,” JAVIS announced.
Tony raised his head from Pepper's lap, and placed his Starktablet on the coffee table. He'd been testing his new spy code before sending it S.H.I.E.L.D.'s way.
“Tell him to come on in. Have you found anything in news reports, police reports, about Bruce?”
Tony sat up on the couch and rubbed his face. Pepper yawned, then gave Tony a kiss, before murmuring that she was going to go to bed and to tell Steve she said goodnight.
JARVIS answered after Pepper had left the living room. “No, sir. Nothing conclusive. There are, of course, a steady stream of people who have reported seeing the man who changes into the Hulk, but the majority of those accounts occurred before Doctor Banner left this morning.”
“Let me know if he turns up. Hopefully, we can tap into security cameras and get some visual confirmation.”
“Yes, sir.”
Steve walked in, and Tony waved hello. “Pepper says goodnight. Any news?”
Steve sat down next to Tony and handed him a sketch pad. “S.H.I.E.L.D. still has agents stationed in the lobby. Fury hasn't contacted me either. I'm certainly not going to bring it to his attention that Bruce is gone.”
Tony snorted.
Steve continued. “Natasha checked in. She's flying down to Florida, following a Hydra lead. Clint is preparing some red herrings to use if Bruce is sighted, to send people looking for him in a different direction.”
Tony waved a hand at his tablet on the coffee table. “I should be able to send our little spy into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s computers before too long. Still running some tests. I've set it so that any mention by S.H.I.E.L.D. of Bruce or the Hulk or the Avengers gets copied to JARVIS. And so far, there's no police or legitimate private sightings of Bruce, as far as JARVIS has been able to monitor.”
“I have an idea for your media campaign. I thought I'd polish up one of my sketches of Bruce, and let you use it as you think best,” Steve said, a little too casually.
Ah, Steve was concerned about Tony's opinion of his artwork. That was cute, Tony thought, and opened the sketchbook. “Show me, Cap.”
Steve flipped the pages, Tony getting quick glimpses of himself and the rest of the team, before Steve halted at a sketch of Bruce right after he'd joined the party on the viaduct in Manhattan.
Tony studied the picture. “He looks so calm going to face that monster.” Tony remembered that moment when he'd led the leviathan to the team, but being airborne, he hadn't seen the details of the encounter. Not like Steve had observed it, and Christ, Steve was good. He'd really caught Bruce, disheveled, and showing so much fucking courage by walking out and facing down that leviathan. He looked almost serene, in that backward glance, the monster coming straight at him, and filling up the page.
“You've got some major talent, Rogers. It's a cliché, but that whole bit about a picture being worth a thousand words? Well, how can anybody look at this sketch and not feel something positive about Bruce and the Hulk? He's a god-damned hero.”
Steve nodded. “I drew the Hulk, too. Here,” and he turned to the next drawing. “Bruce had just transformed. His shirt is still ripping to tatters as he's throwing himself at the leviathan.”
Tony admired the Hulk's muscles, and smiled at the expression on the Hulk's face. Bruce liked to distance himself from the Hulk, calling him “the other guy” but he could see Bruce within the Hulk's features. Okay, maybe a more direct, less verbal, and really angry and huge Bruce, but... Bruce. “Put them both together, Cap. Let the public see how Big Green fought to save this world.”
“Well, maybe it will help. I'll leave this with you for tonight. Bruce wanted you to look at some of the other drawings I did of you two together.” Steve smiled at him and stood up.
Tony's finger hovered over the drawing of the Hulk; he looked up at Steve, feeling troubled. “Do you ever wonder where the Hulk comes from?”
“I know it was from science but to me it seems more like a fairy tale, with Bruce being cursed somehow.”
Tony nodded. “His transformations do seem magical. We haven't even begun to touch upon the science involved. Compton Scattering? Dimensional folding? There has to be more than just physics at play. What happened to Bruce to make him so angry that he transformed to this incredible, formidable version of himself when he was blasted with gamma radiation?”
Steve's expression turned thoughtful. “Bruce told me that he's always angry and that's why he can control changing. But I don't think it was always that way. I think after he stopped trying to get rid of the Hulk was when he learned how to manage his transformations. From what S.H.I.E.L.D. let me read about him, in the earlier years Bruce changed when he was in some kind of danger. His body reacted to pain or fear--”
“Like on the helicarrier. Of course, Loki was helping.”
“Yes. Or in the past his heartbeat would speed up, then the Hulk would come out. To protect him, I think. Maybe Bruce needed protection when he was growing up-”
“And he didn't get it.” Tony pictured a small boy, with big brown eyes and curls galore, scared and mistreated. “I think that Clint knows more about Bruce than we do. Let's talk to him tomorrow.”
“There was something Clint said this afternoon that's been bothering me a lot. He said Bruce traded-”
“Sex for survival.” Tony scowled. “It makes me want to find him and make sure he never has to do things like that ever again. You're such a Boy Scout, Rogers, I'm never sure what kinds of sordid stuff you were exposed to before being thawed out.”
Steve looked evenly at him. “My father drank himself to death and sometimes, when he'd had a snootful, he shoved me and Mama around.”
“Son-of-a-bitch.”
“It was a long time ago. Even to me, it was a long time ago,” Steve said softly.
“My Dad talked about you a lot. He didn't tell me your dad was an alcoholic, though. Probably a little too close to home to mention.”
Steve looked sharply at Tony, but didn't make any comments about Howard Stark's drinking habits. Tony wasn't sure he was grateful for that or not. From what he'd learned, it seemed like his dad had changed a lot from the man Steve had been friends with, back in World War II.
Steve crossed his arms. “After Mama passed, I went to an orphanage. Some of the other children told me about what had happened to them. Some had families that used to beat on them. Boys and girls were forced to have sex with relatives or they ran away and became prostitutes before they were sent to the Home. We had child abuse during the Depression and the Forties, Tony. Maybe it wasn't talked about or reported as much, but I'm very aware of how much children can be hurt by others.”
“Maybe the Avengers could donate some of the money from the toys to groups who work with abused kids.” Tony stretched his arms, thinking about pre-serum Steve in an orphanage. He'd have been tiny. Probably got his ass kicked on a regular basis for sticking up for what he thought was the right thing.
“That's a good idea.” Steve smiled at him and Tony felt his mouth curving up in response. Another one of Captain America's superpowers, that smile.
“Pepper handles all of Stark Industries' charities,” Tony said. “I'll talk to her about helping with this.”
Steve rubbed one hand on the back of his neck. “Let's mention it to the others first, after we do what we can for Bruce.”
Tony flashed on Bruce's self-deprecating smile. It was a wonder Bruce didn't stay the Hulk all the time, given all the shitty things that had happened to him.
“God. Bruce. He's a doctor, a biophysicist. He puts the 'G' in genius. He should never have had to give assholes sex so he could survive.” Tony said.
“I know,” Steve said firmly, his eyes finding Tony's. “And I'm not shocked that Bruce has had to sell his body. I just really hate the thought that he was forced to make those decisions. I want him to be safe as much as you do. You asked me earlier today if I respected Bruce. It's because I do, that I accepted his decision to leave.”
Tony made a plaintive noise and flopped back against the couch. “I know that. I'm just a selfish bastard. I want him here, working with me. It's, it's like seeing an expensive, specialized tool being used to pound rocks. His life is being wasted out there. Bruce is brilliant, he should be treated like a national treasure. I hope this plan to gain him amnesty works, Cap.”
Steve sat back down, half turned on the couch to face him. “Being a doctor must be important to him, too, Tony. I doubt he feels he's wasting his time by treating people who don't have medical care.”
“Not helping, Steve. Hell, if he would come back I'd fund a free clinic for him, if he wanted to keep treating the poor. And confession time: I'm feeling guilty for designing weapons to capture the Hulk. You watched the footage from Culver University, too, didn't you?”
“Yes. It was part of the briefing on Doctor Banner from Director Fury.”
“Those sonic cannons that almost took the Hulk down? I made them. I made Bruce feel pain.” Tony remembered Bruce sitting on the bed in Tony's room, talking to him about it. Bruce hadn't been angry with Tony, though. He should have been.
“Did you know the Hulk was Doctor Banner?” Steve asked.
“Didn't have a clue. Or that the Hulk was even human. I should have investigated more before agreeing to the contract.”
“You thought he was a monster.”
“Yes.” Tony made a sound of disgust. “Watching the film, I could see the Hulk fighting against the sonic waves, and the cannons were working, he was immobilized - the theory is sound - but then the Hulk gathered strength from somewhere, got up, and escaped. Bruce isn't even mad at me for building those weapons for General Ross.”
“If the Hulk came from within Bruce, then when he's the Hulk Bruce must be within that giant muscular body. That quality you described, the Hulk finding the strength to keep resisting the cannons - that's Bruce.”
“Well, he gave up on himself at one point. I worry about that, too. What if he does figure out a way to outsmart the Hulk and tries again to kill himself? He's been so alone the last six years. Even if he did make some friends, he couldn't really be straight with them about who he really is. He would have left them behind to run again, and start over. Over and over and over. Here, he'd have us to keep him from feeling blue. And turning green.”
Steve did that 'Captain America is with you' thing again with his eyes and his chin. “We're going to achieve this mission, Tony. Don't get disheartened. I told Bruce he became an Avenger when he rode up on that motorcycle and joined us in battle. Maybe knowing we consider him a teammate will help him to hang on.”
Sighing, Tony said, “He didn't sound like he was ever considering coming back, unless we needed him to fight or needed his scientific razzle-dazzle again.”
“And what do you think the odds are that we won't run into something as crazy as Loki and the Chitauri invading us? I think we'll see Bruce again.” Steve smiled at him, and it was something gentle this time, and warm, and reassuring. A Steve Rogers smile, somehow, not a Captain America one.
Steve pushed himself up from the couch. Tony followed his example and walked Steve to the door. Before he stepped into the hallway, Steve paused and grasped Tony's shoulder and gently rocked him a little before letting go.
“Goodnight, Soldier. I'll pick up my sketchbook in the morning.”
“Soldier? Are you kidding me?”
Steve just grinned at him before leaving.
Tony belatedly remembered Steve calling him that earlier, during their strategy session, and had the unsettling suspicion that he'd just been saddled with a new nickname.
He wondered where Bruce was sleeping tonight, if he even had a roof over his head.
* * *
Hours later, Pepper was warm and soft beside him in the bed, but sleep still eluded him. This was the time, when he would be so tired, that his failures haunted him. This night, he kept seeing the sonic cannons dragging the Hulk down, and Bruce, shoeless, shirtless, only rags around his groin, walking slowly along a dark road.
* * *
Fandom: Avengers Movie Verse
Author: Laurie
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Violence in later chapters
Word Count and link to past chapters WIP. Chapter One - 2,753 words. Chapter Two - 4141 words. Chapter Three - 3388 words.
Pairings and Relationships: Tony Stark/Pepper Potts; Tony Stark/Bruce Banner; Bruce Banner/Natasha Romanov; Clint Barton/Phil Coulson; Steve Rogers/Bruce Banner; Thor Odinson/Jane Foster; Betty Ross/Leonard Samson; Bruce Banner & Avengers; Clint Barton & Avengers; Steve Rogers & Avengers; Tony Stark & Avengers; Thor & Avengers
Characters: Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, Clint Barton, Steve Rogers, Thor Odinson, Natasha Romanov, Phil Coulson, Jane Foster, Darcy Lewis, Nick Fury, Maria Hill, Leonard Samsom, Betty Ross, Thaddeus Ross, Samuel Sterns, Serpent Society.
Author's notes: Beta'ed by sparrowhawk17 She's a star. I really appreciate her help.
This story in rough draft is 53,000 words and is currently a WIP with thirteen chapters. I'm going to start posting one chapter a week while I continue to write the story.
Summary: Banner's gone. The Avengers on Earth will do what they can to protect their missing teammate and pave the way for his return. To do so, they're going to have to learn as much as they can about Bruce Banner. Along the way they find themselves learning about each other as well, and the people that were thrown together to stop an alien invasion become a team.
Chapter Three. Steve Takes Charge
“I'll take care of Director Fury, Tony,” Steve was being all Captain America about this. He looked - spangly, even if he was wearing regular clothes. Tony felt a wave of rebellion rising up at the order Steve had just given, in his firm, 'Captain America is doing the right thing voice.'
Fury had handled Bruce all wrong. Tony wanted to explain in detail to the one-eyed bastard just how much his strong-arming Bruce hadn't worked. He drummed his fingers on the top of the rosewood table, thinking. Across the table from him, Clint was slouched down in his chair, frowning and staring up at the ceiling. He looked a million miles away.
Their little strategy session on how to best help Bruce had concluded with tasks for all of them to do. Tony had to admit that Captain America was as talented and as clear with planning long-term strategy as he'd been with giving them impromptu orders during the Battle of Manhattan. Tony had no problem with Steve taking charge. He had no problem with following Steve's lead for making Bruce's life on the run safer and paving the way for him to return someday, and stay free. Not giving Fury any shit, uh, no.
“Stark, if you indulge yourself in this childish desire to throw a tantrum at Fury, you will undermine Steve's authority. The Avengers will not be seen as a team, but as people just thrown together by circumstance and splintering apart now that the crisis has passed. The director is more willing to listen to Steve. He grew up respecting the legend of Captain America, and should we not give Bruce that edge?” Natasha looked pointedly at Tony, then rose gracefully from the conference room table and poured herself a cup of coffee from the hospitality cart.
He knew she was still watching him from across the room. Damn it. She never tolerated him indulging in dramatic self-expression without calling him on it. And No, he didn't pout when he couldn't have his way. That... no. He wasn't pouting. It was just that usually his way was so much better. Why couldn't other people see that?
He brooded while she sipped her coffee, and now he felt Cap's eyes on him, too. God, double-teamed. Clint sat up abruptly and Tony glanced at him. Clint slowly shook his head. Tony narrowed his eyes, staring at him. Hell, not even Clint was on his side. Clint usually wasn't averse to causing a little mayhem. Maybe he should think this through a little more.
Steve was sitting patiently at the other end of the table. He was giving Tony space to reconsider, he knew Steve was, and he felt appreciative of that and annoyed at the same time.
He rolled around in his mind the likely consequences of unloading his opinion on Fury, and then sighed. He hated to admit it, but he could see Natasha's point. She was a hell of a profiler; nobody could read people like she could.
He sighed again. Loudly. Okay, he'd take her advice. He still wanted to shove his boot up Fury's ass, though. It would have to keep. He nodded at Steve.
Steve rose and walked around the table. He laid his hand on Tony's shoulder. “C'mon, Soldier. Let's go. We can take turns with the punching bag and you can pretend it's Fury's head. I've got to be calmer myself before I talk with him.”
That sounded... actually, that sounded kind of attractive to Tony. “Can I draw an eye patch on the bag?”
Steve laughed, and Tony stood up, grumbling, “Okay, okay. Fury's yours. Anyway, I need to put my nimble fingers to use after we're done managing our anger. I'll make sure we know what S.H.I.E.L.D.'s up to concerning Bruce.”
“I'm leaving,” Natasha said. “I have some contacts in the city that might know why Hydra wants Bruce.”
“If you need a hand, call me,” Clint told her.
Nodding, she said something in Russian again, and Clint stood up, saying, “I'll meet you in your room. I want to pull some things from Bruce's file first, give Stark a list of people who Bruce helped over the years.”
“Send it to Pepper, Clint. She's in her office. She knows PR work forwards and backwards,” Tony said, and started walking towards the door, Steve following.
“Yeah, no.” Tony and Steve stopped walking and turned around. Clint shook his head. “Bad idea. Pepper's too conflicted; even if she doesn't mean to do it, she's going to come across as ambivalent if she does the talking. She could help you find the right media people to talk to, though. Think she'll want to do that? She clearly prefers that Bruce not come back.”
Tony shrugged, not liking the fact that he and Pepper were on different sides of the fence about Bruce. “She'd give me a list. If I asked her to do it, she'd take charge of the PR. She's done other things for me that she hated doing, like, umm... changing out the arc reactor in my chest.”
Natasha gave him another death glare. “Which is why you shouldn't ask her to do this. Leave her alone. She can be our canary in the mine. If she changes her mind about Bruce, then you'll know the media campaign is working.”
“Clint, just shoot the list to JARVIS, and I'll take care of it without Pepper's help. I'm a genius; I can design a media campaign,” Tony said, with a touch of temper.
Natasha gave him a level look, and then nodded at him, and he knew she was trusting him to keep his word.
She stepped close to Steve and caught his hand, squeezed it briefly, then reached over to Tony and gave his earlobe a sharp tug before letting go and walking out the door. Clint went back to the computer station, re-opened a file, and raised it up into the air.
Steve walked briskly to the door and waited for Tony. He opened the door for him and let him pass through first, his manners as much a part of him as his honest face and strong muscles.
They moved through the hallway and rode the elevator in silence, but it didn't feel awkward to Tony. He and Steve were just occupied with their own thoughts. Tony began designing the code for his quiet foray into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s data banks and then his mind drifted to what Bruce had mentioned in his farewell message, that Tony should look at the sketches Steve had drawn of them.
So after they worked out and Tony saw for himself how Steve could totally demolish the best punching bag his money could buy, he'd ask about Steve's art.
* * *
“Sir, Captain Rogers is asking for entrance to your suite,” JAVIS announced.
Tony raised his head from Pepper's lap, and placed his Starktablet on the coffee table. He'd been testing his new spy code before sending it S.H.I.E.L.D.'s way.
“Tell him to come on in. Have you found anything in news reports, police reports, about Bruce?”
Tony sat up on the couch and rubbed his face. Pepper yawned, then gave Tony a kiss, before murmuring that she was going to go to bed and to tell Steve she said goodnight.
JARVIS answered after Pepper had left the living room. “No, sir. Nothing conclusive. There are, of course, a steady stream of people who have reported seeing the man who changes into the Hulk, but the majority of those accounts occurred before Doctor Banner left this morning.”
“Let me know if he turns up. Hopefully, we can tap into security cameras and get some visual confirmation.”
“Yes, sir.”
Steve walked in, and Tony waved hello. “Pepper says goodnight. Any news?”
Steve sat down next to Tony and handed him a sketch pad. “S.H.I.E.L.D. still has agents stationed in the lobby. Fury hasn't contacted me either. I'm certainly not going to bring it to his attention that Bruce is gone.”
Tony snorted.
Steve continued. “Natasha checked in. She's flying down to Florida, following a Hydra lead. Clint is preparing some red herrings to use if Bruce is sighted, to send people looking for him in a different direction.”
Tony waved a hand at his tablet on the coffee table. “I should be able to send our little spy into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s computers before too long. Still running some tests. I've set it so that any mention by S.H.I.E.L.D. of Bruce or the Hulk or the Avengers gets copied to JARVIS. And so far, there's no police or legitimate private sightings of Bruce, as far as JARVIS has been able to monitor.”
“I have an idea for your media campaign. I thought I'd polish up one of my sketches of Bruce, and let you use it as you think best,” Steve said, a little too casually.
Ah, Steve was concerned about Tony's opinion of his artwork. That was cute, Tony thought, and opened the sketchbook. “Show me, Cap.”
Steve flipped the pages, Tony getting quick glimpses of himself and the rest of the team, before Steve halted at a sketch of Bruce right after he'd joined the party on the viaduct in Manhattan.
Tony studied the picture. “He looks so calm going to face that monster.” Tony remembered that moment when he'd led the leviathan to the team, but being airborne, he hadn't seen the details of the encounter. Not like Steve had observed it, and Christ, Steve was good. He'd really caught Bruce, disheveled, and showing so much fucking courage by walking out and facing down that leviathan. He looked almost serene, in that backward glance, the monster coming straight at him, and filling up the page.
“You've got some major talent, Rogers. It's a cliché, but that whole bit about a picture being worth a thousand words? Well, how can anybody look at this sketch and not feel something positive about Bruce and the Hulk? He's a god-damned hero.”
Steve nodded. “I drew the Hulk, too. Here,” and he turned to the next drawing. “Bruce had just transformed. His shirt is still ripping to tatters as he's throwing himself at the leviathan.”
Tony admired the Hulk's muscles, and smiled at the expression on the Hulk's face. Bruce liked to distance himself from the Hulk, calling him “the other guy” but he could see Bruce within the Hulk's features. Okay, maybe a more direct, less verbal, and really angry and huge Bruce, but... Bruce. “Put them both together, Cap. Let the public see how Big Green fought to save this world.”
“Well, maybe it will help. I'll leave this with you for tonight. Bruce wanted you to look at some of the other drawings I did of you two together.” Steve smiled at him and stood up.
Tony's finger hovered over the drawing of the Hulk; he looked up at Steve, feeling troubled. “Do you ever wonder where the Hulk comes from?”
“I know it was from science but to me it seems more like a fairy tale, with Bruce being cursed somehow.”
Tony nodded. “His transformations do seem magical. We haven't even begun to touch upon the science involved. Compton Scattering? Dimensional folding? There has to be more than just physics at play. What happened to Bruce to make him so angry that he transformed to this incredible, formidable version of himself when he was blasted with gamma radiation?”
Steve's expression turned thoughtful. “Bruce told me that he's always angry and that's why he can control changing. But I don't think it was always that way. I think after he stopped trying to get rid of the Hulk was when he learned how to manage his transformations. From what S.H.I.E.L.D. let me read about him, in the earlier years Bruce changed when he was in some kind of danger. His body reacted to pain or fear--”
“Like on the helicarrier. Of course, Loki was helping.”
“Yes. Or in the past his heartbeat would speed up, then the Hulk would come out. To protect him, I think. Maybe Bruce needed protection when he was growing up-”
“And he didn't get it.” Tony pictured a small boy, with big brown eyes and curls galore, scared and mistreated. “I think that Clint knows more about Bruce than we do. Let's talk to him tomorrow.”
“There was something Clint said this afternoon that's been bothering me a lot. He said Bruce traded-”
“Sex for survival.” Tony scowled. “It makes me want to find him and make sure he never has to do things like that ever again. You're such a Boy Scout, Rogers, I'm never sure what kinds of sordid stuff you were exposed to before being thawed out.”
Steve looked evenly at him. “My father drank himself to death and sometimes, when he'd had a snootful, he shoved me and Mama around.”
“Son-of-a-bitch.”
“It was a long time ago. Even to me, it was a long time ago,” Steve said softly.
“My Dad talked about you a lot. He didn't tell me your dad was an alcoholic, though. Probably a little too close to home to mention.”
Steve looked sharply at Tony, but didn't make any comments about Howard Stark's drinking habits. Tony wasn't sure he was grateful for that or not. From what he'd learned, it seemed like his dad had changed a lot from the man Steve had been friends with, back in World War II.
Steve crossed his arms. “After Mama passed, I went to an orphanage. Some of the other children told me about what had happened to them. Some had families that used to beat on them. Boys and girls were forced to have sex with relatives or they ran away and became prostitutes before they were sent to the Home. We had child abuse during the Depression and the Forties, Tony. Maybe it wasn't talked about or reported as much, but I'm very aware of how much children can be hurt by others.”
“Maybe the Avengers could donate some of the money from the toys to groups who work with abused kids.” Tony stretched his arms, thinking about pre-serum Steve in an orphanage. He'd have been tiny. Probably got his ass kicked on a regular basis for sticking up for what he thought was the right thing.
“That's a good idea.” Steve smiled at him and Tony felt his mouth curving up in response. Another one of Captain America's superpowers, that smile.
“Pepper handles all of Stark Industries' charities,” Tony said. “I'll talk to her about helping with this.”
Steve rubbed one hand on the back of his neck. “Let's mention it to the others first, after we do what we can for Bruce.”
Tony flashed on Bruce's self-deprecating smile. It was a wonder Bruce didn't stay the Hulk all the time, given all the shitty things that had happened to him.
“God. Bruce. He's a doctor, a biophysicist. He puts the 'G' in genius. He should never have had to give assholes sex so he could survive.” Tony said.
“I know,” Steve said firmly, his eyes finding Tony's. “And I'm not shocked that Bruce has had to sell his body. I just really hate the thought that he was forced to make those decisions. I want him to be safe as much as you do. You asked me earlier today if I respected Bruce. It's because I do, that I accepted his decision to leave.”
Tony made a plaintive noise and flopped back against the couch. “I know that. I'm just a selfish bastard. I want him here, working with me. It's, it's like seeing an expensive, specialized tool being used to pound rocks. His life is being wasted out there. Bruce is brilliant, he should be treated like a national treasure. I hope this plan to gain him amnesty works, Cap.”
Steve sat back down, half turned on the couch to face him. “Being a doctor must be important to him, too, Tony. I doubt he feels he's wasting his time by treating people who don't have medical care.”
“Not helping, Steve. Hell, if he would come back I'd fund a free clinic for him, if he wanted to keep treating the poor. And confession time: I'm feeling guilty for designing weapons to capture the Hulk. You watched the footage from Culver University, too, didn't you?”
“Yes. It was part of the briefing on Doctor Banner from Director Fury.”
“Those sonic cannons that almost took the Hulk down? I made them. I made Bruce feel pain.” Tony remembered Bruce sitting on the bed in Tony's room, talking to him about it. Bruce hadn't been angry with Tony, though. He should have been.
“Did you know the Hulk was Doctor Banner?” Steve asked.
“Didn't have a clue. Or that the Hulk was even human. I should have investigated more before agreeing to the contract.”
“You thought he was a monster.”
“Yes.” Tony made a sound of disgust. “Watching the film, I could see the Hulk fighting against the sonic waves, and the cannons were working, he was immobilized - the theory is sound - but then the Hulk gathered strength from somewhere, got up, and escaped. Bruce isn't even mad at me for building those weapons for General Ross.”
“If the Hulk came from within Bruce, then when he's the Hulk Bruce must be within that giant muscular body. That quality you described, the Hulk finding the strength to keep resisting the cannons - that's Bruce.”
“Well, he gave up on himself at one point. I worry about that, too. What if he does figure out a way to outsmart the Hulk and tries again to kill himself? He's been so alone the last six years. Even if he did make some friends, he couldn't really be straight with them about who he really is. He would have left them behind to run again, and start over. Over and over and over. Here, he'd have us to keep him from feeling blue. And turning green.”
Steve did that 'Captain America is with you' thing again with his eyes and his chin. “We're going to achieve this mission, Tony. Don't get disheartened. I told Bruce he became an Avenger when he rode up on that motorcycle and joined us in battle. Maybe knowing we consider him a teammate will help him to hang on.”
Sighing, Tony said, “He didn't sound like he was ever considering coming back, unless we needed him to fight or needed his scientific razzle-dazzle again.”
“And what do you think the odds are that we won't run into something as crazy as Loki and the Chitauri invading us? I think we'll see Bruce again.” Steve smiled at him, and it was something gentle this time, and warm, and reassuring. A Steve Rogers smile, somehow, not a Captain America one.
Steve pushed himself up from the couch. Tony followed his example and walked Steve to the door. Before he stepped into the hallway, Steve paused and grasped Tony's shoulder and gently rocked him a little before letting go.
“Goodnight, Soldier. I'll pick up my sketchbook in the morning.”
“Soldier? Are you kidding me?”
Steve just grinned at him before leaving.
Tony belatedly remembered Steve calling him that earlier, during their strategy session, and had the unsettling suspicion that he'd just been saddled with a new nickname.
He wondered where Bruce was sleeping tonight, if he even had a roof over his head.
* * *
Hours later, Pepper was warm and soft beside him in the bed, but sleep still eluded him. This was the time, when he would be so tired, that his failures haunted him. This night, he kept seeing the sonic cannons dragging the Hulk down, and Bruce, shoeless, shirtless, only rags around his groin, walking slowly along a dark road.
* * *