Marvel Outtakes & One Shots

Just here as a friend Dr B.B.

Story: Lark; Bruce helps Aria in her time of need

Aria's POV

She was a ball of overwhelming anxiety and emotions. More so beyond anything she'd ever felt before to the point that she didn't know why she was even still here. Taking a deep breath Aria shook out her tense arms before raising her wrapped hands and took aim at the heavy bag in the crowded noisy gym. Shutting out the sounds of friendly chatter, metal clinking against metal as people worked out or replaced the weights they'd been using until her pounding heartbeat was the only sound she could hear. Her punch landed with precision exactly on the spot she was focused on, like always and that for whatever reason pissed her off even more. Ignoring this unsettled feeling in the core of her chest she threw another punch and then another and another. Aria kept going until she was breathing hard and she was nearly crying as she hugged the swaying bag letting it shift her slight body with its movement. Ignoring the way everyone was staring at her she slowly stood up to unwrap her hands and made her way to the weapons training room.

Once she was inside her instinct was to tell FRIDAY to put the room on lockdown, but she wasn't allowed to do that while she was on probation. Clenching the balled up tape in her hand she throws it across the room while simultaneously conjuring a throwing knife to pin it to the wall fifty feet away. For a second she just stood there continuing to breathe hard and fast as every emotion Aria had ever felt and new ones she didn't understand washed over her like a tidal wave pulling her under until it felt like she would drown while she stood in a room miles and miles away from the ocean. She never should have agreed to this stupid agreement she wasn't going to cut it and they were going to kick her out and she'd have no one to blame but herself.

A shiver of fear licked up her scared spine. Where could she possibly go where Henri couldn't find her? His reach was such that she had been beyond lucky in her year on her own that he hadn't found her. It would only be that much easier now for him that the world knew her face from the many press conferences she'd been forced to attend with the team over the last year. Anywhere she went Aria knew she'd be recognized sooner than she would want making it so that she wouldn't be able to stay in one place longer than a few hours at most. It would probably take mere days before she was locked up again in her old room, or worse his room, with a power dampening collar locked in place around her neck.

Rage induced fear had her power unleashing upon the room in a burst of unexpected force at her scream of hopelessness. A strong pulse of raw power expelled from her body as knives of every shape and size burst from her body to embed themselves into the walls and thick bulletproof glass that let people look in. Shaking, Aria's vision clouded with tears making it so that she couldn't see clearly. Refusing to acknowledge that she was crying, she exited the room blindly retracing the path through the crowded gym to get to the door that led to the elevators. Wisely no one spoke to her for fear of her reaction.

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Bruce's POV

No one had ever seen the usually tightly restrained small woman so emotionally uncontrolled. They'd seen her show every emotion on the spectrum of anger and annoyance, but not vulnerable like this. Lark scared them because this was different and after hearing about her suspension a few days ago no one wanted to be a target for whatever had her exploding knives like that. Well that wasn't strictly true. One person was bold enough to follow after her even knowing that they could possibly be hurt. But Aria needed someone to be there for her and knowing a little something about being overwhelmed by his emotions Bruce hopped off the treadmill to go after her. It hadn't been a conscious decision; he just felt like he needed to help her and knew Peter wouldn't be by until later after visiting his aunt in the city.