❝Whatever happens, just know that I never stopped trying.❞
. . .in which she must do whatever she can to protect the world and what's left of the ones she loves.
[BOOK THREE]
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★ ★ ★
"Can I call you Doctor Claire?"
Marlena rolled her eyes and looked over at Bruce, who was more or less thrilled with the sight of her. She knew there was a reason she hated wearing her glasses in public, and as of the moment, Bruce was one of those reasons. She lost one of her contact lenses somewhere in the compound, and since then Bruce had been teasing her about it. She was surprised he had time to between their time traveling preparations, but she figured a man with seven PhDs could accomplish just about anything he wanted to. "Give me about six more months to get my MD and you can," she answered and turned her attention to the machine he was typing away on.
"Wait, how long have you been back in school?"
"Two years, why do you ask?"
"I'm pretty sure it takes four years to get your MD."
"Well, I did finish a year and a half worth of my required credits after graduating high school, and now I have nothing to do but homework and hang out with Steve, so I've been excelling," Marlena explained to Bruce. "We might not all have a genius-level intellect like you and Tony, but a lot of us are still smarter than average."
"I'm really proud of you, Marlena," Bruce said to her with a smile on his face. "You've come such a long way."
"Thank you, Bruce."
"I'm just glad Tony and I aren't the only scientists in the group anymore," Bruce chuckled quietly and looked down at Marlena, who now seemed so small since his transition to the Hulk.
"Sort of."
"You're a chemist," Bruce reminded her.
"Yes, and while science is my main point of study, I'll likely never find myself in the same standings as you and Tony when it comes to the vast amount of knowledge you possess," Marlena chuckled, "I can't just sit and have a casual conversation about quantum physics the way you and Tony can, though the subject is very intriguing. Who knows? Maybe I can learn a thing or two from you and our favorite Shellhead. Maybe I can broaden my scientific horizons."
"You could so do that."
"Can we hurry up and do this?" Scott called, the sound of his voice interrupting Marlena's conversation with Bruce. "I really have to pee."
Marlena shook her head at him and looked at Natasha. The two of them had almost forgotten how annoying it was being surrounded by nothing but men. The testosterone was almost suffocating. "Is it too late to bail out?" she asked the redhead.
