Strife of Misfortune(Wattys2016)

His Prison And Her Hell

An azure light captured the sky in a mosaic of blues. From the horizon came the golden star. It jumped from its chambers to claim the sky. It was a fierce giant upon the face of the jet. Tony sat in his aircraft, watching the night ascend into day. A flood of red bled from the horizon line and walked across the water.

Tony didn't sleep that entire night. His thoughts coursed through his mind in an irritating buzz. He couldn't stop thinking about Bruce. Tony wished he made this decision sooner. He wondered how it was like for him, being detained and denied his freedom. Tony should've thought about freeing him sooner, nobody deserved to be treated like a monster. His thoughts continued to spiral down into that direction. He wondered if Bruce was okay, if he was lonely or drifting into insanity. He was locked away far longer than he should have. It wasn't fair. Tony pledged to make it right.

Four hours later Tony arrived at Cuba where Bruce was being held. The scorching sun sizzled upon his skin as he climbed out of the jet. He shrunk from the sun's rage. The orb sent its rays to rake at Tony's skin, causing him to sweat uncontrollably. The Caribbean sun was different from the sun back at home. It was a fierce ball of fire, condemning the world with deadly sun rays. In New York, the orb's strength was cooled by the tides of winter. Capricorn was upon the horizon. It had dragged the giant into the frigid confines of frost. But it was here that the sun was safe from the he-goat, safe to reign in all it's glory and strength.

Two minutes later he was directed into the facility that laid hidden in the Pico Turquino mountains. Tony sighed with relief. A cool surge of air whipped around him as he entered the prison. Who needed the bad omen when there was air-conditioning? The cold air licked at his burning skin and caused his pores to close.

The place was swamped with security guards. There was a guard posted at every corner and turn. Each were armed with 9mm rifles. Tony grimaced. This was no place for Bruce.

A guard approached the hero. She was a tall lissome woman with strawberry blond hair wrapped into a braided bun. She gazed at him with her lilac eyes, beckoning him to follow her. Tony followed her through the place. She stopped at a metal door. It was bolted. The guard pressed a yellow button and pressed her hand against the scanner. With a click, the door opened and closed behind them. The facility was heavily guarded. More guards flocked around the balconies, looking down at the travelers, rifles held tightly in their grasps.

"This way please." The lady said, directing him into another room. An enormous glass floor sat in the center of the room. Tony approached it and saw Bruce sitting undereath it. "The stairs are this way." She pointed. The guard led him to the spiralling staircase that led to the lower level. The steps snaked around the glass prison, allowing Tony a full view of Bruce the entire time. "Prisoner 890786 you have a visitor."

"Send him away." Bruce said after a long silence. He didn't even move to face them. He kept his back towards them.

"I'm not going anywhere." Tony said.

"If you need me I'll be upstairs." The guard said before climbing the steps.

Silence multiplied between the men. Neither moved to speak. Tony's eyes darted at his back,waiting for Bruce to turn around. This wretched silence was unnerving. It was too uncomfortable to remain like this. Tony was the first to speak.

"Bruce."

"I know why you're here and I'm telling you to go away." Bruce said. His voice was a hoarse baritone, a drastic contrast to his normal voice. Something wasn't quite right with him. Tony could see that his friend was changing. He was adapting to this hellhole.

"You know why I'm here and yet you won't hear me out?!"

Bruce then twirled around and lunged at the glass. It vibrated with the force of his movements. Tony jumped. Everything happened so suddenly. He searched his friend's eyes and saw fear inside them, grief and madness. Bruce stared at Ironman with a wild glare. "You're here to free me and I'm telling you I don't want to get out!"

"Why?"

"'Why'" He mocked the question. His words devolved into a series of maniacal laughter. They've dried then liquefied into tears. His entire frame trembled. Tony had never seen Bruce like this, so broken and drowning in raw pain. He couldn't stand the sight of it. The prisoner struck the glass, allowing his tears to boil in his waterlines. All of his built of guilt suddenly spewed out of him. "You ask as if you don't know why!Dammit!" He struck the glass once more.

"Bruce..." Tony spoke cautiously. "Please calm down." He was visibly getting worked up. If Bruce continued there was no telling what would happen next. He needed to calm him down. "Take a deep breath." Tony spoke slowly. He was afraid despite the protective shield. His trembling voice conveyed it. "Inhale." The prisoner obeyed. "Exhale." Tony spoke the commands, watching Bruce's chest rise and fall with each instruction. He waited for Bruce to calm down before resuming his speech. "Sorry for angering you. I never realized just how hard this was for you. I understand why you're afraid of losing control again. "

"No you don't Tony." Bruce shook his head. "You don't know how it feels like to be your own enemy. I'm constantly at war with myself. I can't feel the way other people do for fear that the other guy will come out. I'm a prisoner in my own body Tony. You will never get that." His hands began to shake again. "I don't wanna leave for other people's sake. Whenever I'm out there somebody dies! I'm a walking time bomb and I cannot be trusted. I deserve to be locked away in this cell."

"Nobody deserves to be in there more than I do." Tony said. "I do know how it feels to have the blood of innocent people on your hands. I've killed my fair share from just my creations alone." He reflected on his past self. Tony frowned upon the memories. He felt like he was surfing through a stranger's mind and not his own. That man, that selfish cold hearted rich boy was not Tony anymore. He didn't care about the fame, the riches and the women. Tony would gladly give them all away if it meant erasing all the evils he has done. "And unlike you, I didn't care. I lived only for myself and that is where you and I differ. You have a heart, you feel compassion and guilt and that is what makes you Bruce Banner and not a monster. If you can't trust anything then trust your good heart." Tony gave him a weak smile. "Use it to become the hero you know you are."

"That's just it Tony." Bruce said. "I'm not a hero and I'm tired of acting like one."

"What if I told you you no longer have to Avenge?"

"I would tell you you're wrong." Bruce answered. "If I'm out there, Shield will stop at nothing to get me back and force me back into that team."

"What if I told you that I found a way to end the group once and for all?"

"Then I would tell you to prove it."

Tony grinned. "There's only one way to do that. And besides, I need your help, not the other guy's but you. Are you with me?"

Author's Note: I know you guys are probably getting tired of all these author notes. I'm sorry. But I'm here to warn of yet another mature scene that has been made private. 

Quick summary for those who don't wish to read it: Loki and Egypt returns to his bed chambers, they have an argument regarding Egypt's past life and the grudge he was holding against her.