Masquerade

Chapter 7

"Agent Romanoff, Agent Rose, would you escort Dr. Banner back to his-" Fury starts.

"Back where? You rented my room." Bruce says shortly.

"The cell was built-" But Bruce cuts him off.

"In case you needed to kill me, but you can't! I know! I tried, I got low. I didn't see an end, so I put a bullet in my mouth, and the other guy spit it out! So I moved on. I focused on helping other people. I was good, until you dragged me back into this freak show and put everyone here at risk!"

We all stare at him, our hearts pounding. I feel tears pricking my eyes, but I quickly wipe them away.

"You wanna know my secret, Agent Romanoff? You wanna know how I stay calm?" Nat and Fury pull their guns out, aiming them at the floor.

"Bruce.." I mumble, eyes wide. He looks at me, a questioning look on his face.

"Doctor Banner, put down the scepter." Steve says, his voice monotone. I take a step towards him, placing my hand on his arm. He quickly looks down in disbelief, staring at it. Suddenly the computer beeps, and we all snap our heads toward it.

"Got it." Tony says quickly.

"Sorry kids, you don't get to see my little party trick after all." Bruce chuckles, setting the scepter down.

Everything goes black for a moment. I can feel myself falling, falling fast. Then I'm staring up at a hole in the ceiling, wires and metal hanging from every which way. I look over and find Bruce laying face down, groaning in pain. I can here Natasha mumbling something into her earpiece, but I cant fully make it out.

"Bruce.." I gasp, calling out to him. It sends pain throughout my body, making me flinch. I look down and find my leg cut open, blood slowly gushing out. Bruce groans louder, anger filling his voice.

"Doctor Banner... Bruce, you gotta fight it. This is just what Loki wants. We're gonna be okay, listen to me," Natasha flags a couple of workers away, "We're gonna be okay, right? I swear on my life I will get you out of this! You will walk away, and never-"

"YOUR LIFE?" Bruce starts to get up, clothes ripping. Suddenly he's turning into the Hulk. I look over at Natasha and see fear in her eyes. I manage to limp over to her, trying to help her get the large pipe off her leg. We both look at Bruce and find him, big and green, staring at us.

"Bruce!" I cry out, pain overcoming me. He roars, and starts coming at us, just as we get Nat's leg unstuck.

~

I sit up in bed, gasping for air. I can feel the beads of sweat running down my body, giving me the feeling of drowning. I feel movement and look over, finding Bruce staring at me.

"What's wrong?" he mumbles sleepily.

"Just a dream darling, go back to sleep." I smile softly, leaning over and kissing his head. I slowly lay down and snuggle close to him, wrapping my arm around his waist. His hand comes up and cups my cheek, thumb slowly gliding across it.

I try all I can to clear my mind, but the memory burns bright, replaying over and over in my head. After what seems like hours, I fall back asleep.

~

"Doctor Banner," I smile as I walk into the lab, "How're you doing?"

Bruce looks up and gazes at me, lips thin. He nods in my direction, then looks back down. "I'm good Agent Rose. How are you?"

"I'm good as well." I nod, walking over and pulling a stool over by him.

"Fury send you?" Bruce asks quietly.