ᵉˣⁱᵗ ʷᵒᵘⁿᵈˢ ▸ 𝐁𝐑𝐔𝐂𝐄 𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐑 ✓

eight.

EXIT WOUNDS.
008. | ❛ wonderful land of. ❜

TIME HAD ESCAPED MILA AND WHEN SHE HAD WOKEN UP, THE NEXT DAY HAD ARISEN. THE ALARM CLOCK REMINDED HER THAT SHE DEFINITELY OVERSLEPT, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY MISSED THE APPOINTMENT SHE HAD WITH BRUCE AND TONY. She wasn't briefed on the hallways or floors of the tower, so she didn't really know how to make it to the lab. She placed herself at her doorway and peered out to see if anyone was looming around; she thought to herself, "Of course, The Avengers won't be sleeping in. They have a world to keep safe."

With no hope at all, she knocked on Steve's door to receive only silence on his side. Mila placed her hands on her hips, and tried to wrap her mind together to remember where Steve was leading her before she had her panic attack. Retracing her steps, she made her way back into a long corridor. Backwards wasn't an option so the only way was forward, and once again she had come to another intersection.

"Okay, this isn't that confusing. So if I had built a tower like this, where would I put it?" Mila said standing between the left and the right of the hallway.

She saw the glass windows that was in front of her and looked down both corridors, she saw that the right had a continuing pattern of glass windows. But the left side had stopped halfway through, Mila turned left and continued down the hallway until she came across a familiar face standing outside two giant doors.

"Dr. Jones," Bruce called out waving her over while placing his glasses on his head. "Did you get lost?"

Mila smiled sweetly at him, "Please Dr. Banner call me Mila, using the doctor makes me sound old. I might love my profession but I'd do anything to remain young."

Bruce laughed at the already young scientist. Hearing her talk about looking younger certainly felt like she herself was crazy. The glowing face that radiated in a smile didn't portray oldness, but livelihood and youth. "You certainly know how I feel. I feel like we are well acquainted to call each other by our first names."

Mila chuckled and gently nodded before brushing her hair aside, "Shall we continue, Bruce?"

The way that Bruce had rolled over her lips was euphoric because never did he ever hear it sound so smooth. It wasn't pronounced harsh nor felt like fear; it genuinely sounded like she saw him for him and not the ego that everyone was so familiar with.

"We shall, Mila."

The two went inside and all eyes landed on them, and though they kept their poker face intact; they all wanted to smile at what many of the team were speculating. The rest of the team went to work looking through papers, while Bruce, Tony, and Mila worked on the other side to figure out her powers.

"So how long have you had these powers?" Bruce asked jotting down what she had said to help aid him and Tony in her request of help.

She fidgeted with her hands,
"A while after your Battle of New York, I would say a good 3 years."

The two men held back their reactions, never knowing someone to be kept in isolation for so long. She looked put together and strong, never did anyone of them suspect of her horrid past before she came to them for help.

"Have you ever tested your powers out on anyone?" Tony asked cautiously with his word choices.

Mila shook her head rather quickly, "I could never, Tony. Once I figured that my powers were going in a negative direction, I locked myself up. I couldn't cause anyone any harm. I hurt one person accidentally, and I almost hurt another when Oz came out."

"Oz?" Tony asked raising his eyebrows. "Like the wonderful Wizard of?"

She could hear a loud voice erupt from the other side, "I understood that reference."

"Anyways, it's in other words, what you saw the other night. Oz came out when I attacked those robots, she caused me to black out. She's almost like the darkness of me, only one genuine time did she take control and almost unleash a radioactive material into a town. That's why I'm so afraid, because one day I can sleep and... I'm afraid I'll become her." Mila said almost dying in volume and holding back the tears that were already welling up in her eyes.

Tony and Bruce looked at each other before Bruce spoke, "We aren't going to let Oz take over you. You came for our help and that's what we are going to give you." She felt his almost rough palm engulf her hand, and she showed her face with a sympathetic smile.

"Well, Mila. The last thing we need from you is to show us your powers in action." Tony asked almost in disregard of what she had just said.

"No offense, Tony. But did you not hear what I just said?" Mila said getting up out of her chair following him over to where the rest of the group was.

"Not on me," Tony said grabbing Steve's shield, "On this bad boy."

Mila wanted to back up and run, but she had collided with Bruce's chest behind her. She looked into his eyes, that gave her some reassurance that nothing bad would happen; that she was in good company.

"I'm just saying for everybody that is behind me, you might want to be on the other side of that shield." Mila adverted, and like ants they all went behind Steve, who was now holding the shield.

"If my powers cut through that, I'm sorry Steve." Mila said before she held her hand up and gathered the power to ball and shot it at the shield. It bounced off of Captain's shield back to Mila, and she caught it in her hands before subjecting it to a small version and back into her hands.

The team looked in awe at the smokey stain it left the shield, and with a smile on his face, Tony looked over to Mila. "How comfortable are you?"

"About what?" Mila asked for almost all of them who didn't know where Tony was going with this.

"Accompanying us."

"To where?" She kept the questions coming not getting the hunt of his preposition.

"To Wakanda."