Forever With You(Science Bros)

Bruce Banner

     I open my eyes. It's too white. Why is it so white? What... my eyes. Too bright. Can't see. I can't see!

"Clint, what happened?" a voice, familiar.

"I don't know. He was captured by Ross. Ross did something Nat. There's an implant. I can't get it out." Natasha Romanoff. My mind is scrambled. I can't...

"An implant? What?"

"Dr Howell says it's connected to his nervous system. It won't come out." that's Clint. Where am I?! I jolt up into a sitting position. My eyes relax and adjust.

"Bruce." it is Natasha.

"Nat."

"Are you okay?" Nat sounds concerned.

"N-never better!" I make an attempt at some swagger. Nat laughs, but I can see the concern in her eyes. I wince in pain as I shift my position. Clint walks over.

"Easy Bruce. You really took a beating, and Ross's shocker isn't helping." Ross. Damn the man. Why does he hate me so much?

"Ross. Where is he?" Clint and Nat look at each other. Clint rubs the back of his neck.

"He's with Hill. He's coming any minute to take you away. I'm so sorry Bruce. The only thing me and Nat can do now is run with you. I can't promise safety. Ross has got the government behind him." I am shocked at Clint's suggestion.

"No! I'm not going to let you risk your lives for me! I'll go with Ross!"

"Bruce, no. Look what he's already done to you! We can't let him—"

"That's not your decision to make... uh, Agent... Baxton." It was Ross. He grabbed by arm, yanking me off the bed, the tubes in my arm ripping out painfully

"Hey! You can't do that!" Clint yells

"Barton. You remember what you wagered. You're in the wind." Hill spoke calmly, and I'm surprised Clint didn't throw one of his famous temper tantrums. He merely picked up his bow and quiver and his back and left the room. As he left he clapped my shoulder and I wince as the spike on his hand injects a tracker in my bloodstream.

"Sorry buddy. But I made a promise, and that's one of the few things I don't break," he whispered as he passed. Oh yeah, well I made myself a promise as well. I promised not to let any of my friends put themselves in harms way for me. And I never break my promises. Then, in a louder voice, to Ross. "It's Barton. And you should know, I never, ever let anyone hurt my friends. So, with or without S.H.I.E.L.D. or the Avengers behind me, if you do anything, anything at all to Bruce Banner, I will know and you will live to regret it." He stalked out of the room, and you could practically see the unbound anger coming off of him in waves. Ross didn't seem fazed by Clint's threat though.

"Prepare the package for transport." one of Ross's men grabs my wrists and cuffs them with heavy adamantium. One of the only things the Hulk cannot break.The, in one swift motion he lifts a heavy lead pipe from the ground and slams it over my head. I collapse to the ground and unconsciousness claims me once more.

When I woke, my body ached all over. My face throbbed where Ross had hit me, and my head felt like it was filled with cotton. I opened my eyes to find myself in a small, dimly lit cell. This wasn't the Helicarrier, that was sure. The cold from the floor seeped into my bare skin, causing me to shiver. There is a metal chair bolted to the ground. the cell has no other furnishings. The air is stale and dry, and a single blue bulb flickers in a panel at the top of the cell. The door to the cell creaked open, and two guards stepped in, dragging me to my feet. I barely had time to register what was happening before they began beating me. Fists and boots connected with my ribs, my stomach, my face. I tried to curl into a ball, to protect myself, but it was no use. The assault seemed to go on forever. Finally, they stopped, leaving me gasping for breath on the floor. Blood dripped from my nose and mouth, and I could taste the metallic tang of it on my lips. One of the guards grabbed me by the hair, pulling my head up to look into my eyes. He laughed wickedly and threw me onto the floor. The other guard smirked.

"You think this was bad? Once we're done with you, you'll be wishing for something as sweet as this pain. Hey, Meekus! We're ready for the Bloode Doktor." I freeze. The Bloode Doktor? The name evokes terror, but also... something else. The guards grab me and chain me down in the chair, then leave, and another man enters. He is of hulking form, huge in height and muscle. He smiles.

"Ah, Doctor Banner. This will be fun." I tremble. The Bloode Doktor is enjoying my fear. Through my fear, I see his crisp white lab coat is covered in dark splotches, ink or blood. His face is covered, and all I can see are his piercing, green eyes. Gamma green. Not natural. Is this man, this Bloode Doktor, is he irradiated too? My voice shakes.

"W-who are you? W-wha-what do you want?" My voice is barely a whisper. I am terrified, petrified. The Bloode Doktor grins.

"I believe you know that answer, Brucie Boy." I do know. That is why I'm so terrified. But I don't answer. I want to be wrong. "What? Cat got your tongue? Come on Brucie Boy. Fine. Be like that. But you know why I'm here, don't you?" he pulled a sterile metal needle from his pocket and took a vial filled with a serum, then shot it into me. I screamed and writhed in pain. The Bloode Doktor's laughed as he jabbed me again and again. I was begging, crying, for darkness to embrace me, to make it all go away. And then, it finally did.

     "Uhhh... Samson... it was Samson..." everything hurts. I can't see. My ears are ringing. Someone is speaking, but they seem a million miles away.

     "Bruce? You okay? Come on, up and at 'em buddy." I groan. I can feel someone pushing the locks of damp hair back from my face. My vision starts to clear.

    "Steve? Cap?" I manage to croak, my voice raspy and weak. Steve Rogers nods, his expression grave yet determined. 

     "Yeah, it's me, Bruce. We're getting you out of here." relief washes over me, mingled with pain and confusion. 

     "How did you find me?" Steve's eyes flicker with a mix of regret and resolve. 

     "We've been tracking Ross's movements. We knew he was up to something big, but we didn't expect this. I've been undercover for a good two years now, gaining Ross's trust." I try to sit up, but sharp pain shoots through my body, forcing me to groan and lie back down.

     "Samson...  Leonard Samson... he's gone crazy. They've done something to him. I know him, Steve. I knew him." Steve hesitates. "What? What aren't you telling me Steve?"

     "Samson... He's not the man you remember. I know you were close. I'm so sorry Bruce." I shake my head.

     "He was different. Unnatural." I try and sit up, but I just collapse back down with a yell of pain. "I can't move! What's happening?!" Steve rubs my back gently.

     "Bruce, listen to me," Steve says, his voice firm yet gentle. "Samson... he's been altered. They've used some kind of experimental procedure on him. He's not the man you remember." I clench my fists, trying to make sense of Steve's words through the haze of pain. 

     "Altered? How? What did they do to him?" Steve hesitates, choosing his words carefully. 

     "They injected him with a variant of the Super Soldier Serum. It was supposed to enhance his strength and durability, but it's had... unintended consequences."

My breath catches. "Gamma radiation?" Steve nods solemnly. 

     "They were trying to replicate the effects of your transformation, but it's gone wrong. Samson's mind... it's been affected. He's become unstable, unpredictable." Samson. Gamma. Altered. Unstable. Dangerous. I couldn't process the words.

     "Steve... What's happening to me? I can't think straight..." Steve speaks gently.

     "That implant? It's a neural scrambler. They—"

     "—Aaaaaooooowwww!!!"

     "Bruce? Bruce?" I am vaguely aware that someone else has entered the room. "Ross." Steve's voice has gone from concerned and gentle to hard in a second.

     "That's General Ross to you, Major Dillips. Or should I say, Captain Rogers?"

     "S-steve? Wha-what's happening?"

     "It's going to be alright Bruce. You'll be alright."

     "Oh no. You will not be alright. Bruce Banner is in my custody, and you, Mr Rogers, are breaking the law. Take him away boys. As for you, Banner, you will be taking a little trip." Even before seeing the pipe I know what is going to happen next. But darkness is better than pain, so I embrace the darkness.