Tightrope

Battlefield

The lengths Bruce has to go to bypass the authorities, disobeying their orders with the excuse that he can't understand what they're saying when he does, adds nothing for his desire to stay out of trouble and to just 'be good.'

He shouts when he stands beside the abomination, "Blonsky!"

The giant abruptly comes to a haunt in his destruction, all too happy to see the doctor.

Bruce gestures, "I'm here. On time. Like I said I'd be."

The authorities' ceasefire over the strange encounter that just gets weirder. Abomination steps forward;

"You know what I want."

Bruce rolls his eyes, carefully removing his shirt;

"Yeah yeah. All about the muscles and no brains- hold this? It's not mine, so don't lose it."

An authority figure questions briefly why he's been handed a purple button down.

"Come on you big green jerk, don't let Elizabeth down," Banner shuts his eyes as he whispers with a cringe and lets the hulk take over.

The poking and prodding, all of the intense emotions he's held inside for the past few days finally all explode as the green giant gets his wish and moves to crush Blonsky with one swing.

He roars as he takes control, eager to avenge the one person Hulk has cared the most about since the day he was born, Betty Ross.

The guns continue to be silent as the two wrestle in the street. The abomination is all too happy to indulge the hulk in his request for a fight.

. . . . . . . . . .

Izabella busies herself, lifting a binder left out in the main room of the safe house.

The image of small child of around five was marked down as 'deceased' after an incident 9 year ago twists her stomach. She turns the page to find the father; 'deceased.' She turns again; the mother, the brother. Izabella breathes and flips to the end of the folder to find a final member of the missing community- deceased.

Izabella slips into the chair behind her, a photograph in hand as she reads the biography.

She can't recall anything that could've happened even if all signs point to her. In frustration she rotates her palm upward and with a fierce biting on both her lips tries to focus on the energy as he runs through her fingertips. She breathes through doubt.

If Natasha believes in her, then Izabella has no reason not to believe in herself. She can almost hear Banner's voice in the background when she shuts her eyes and focuses on the image, the threads, the concept of another world. Her hands are small but they are powerful.

Entering a state of complete and utter weightlessness seems to help her feel every bit of the energy pooling through her.

It hurts but maybe it will be worthwhile. She focuses through it all, muttering the name of her intended target.

Brody's entry into the living room of the safe house demands silence as he quietly watches the green energy obey her every bend and twist, watching in awe as Izabella focuses intently on her goals. It is almost alive as it bends and transforms around her fingers.

Mikhailov breathes through it all; She can do good because she is good.

Brody camps bravely beside her;

"What else can you do?"

Izabella looks at the photo, rotated just enough for Brody to see, "Maybe, bring her back?"

"Did you ask the adults?" Linda taps her shoulder, crashing the area with a juice box in her hand.

"Um...No."