Bruce Banner X Autistic Reader - Blog Posts

Unforeseen Events (Part 3)

Summary: You move into Stark Tower, and start working with Dr Banner more often, something you would enjoy if you didn't suddenly feel so weird around him.

Warnings/tags: Mentions of blood, mentions of injuries, mentions of stitches, mentions of anaesthetic, inaccurate medical drama, Bruce is a sweetheart, Tony is a bit mean in this one, mentions of chest compressions, Thor is clueless about Midgardian stuff

***************************************************

This is a dream.

That was what you thought the first time you looked around your living quarters. Even now, you sometimes still wonder if you're dreaming. This is absolutely crazy, you think. A whole floor on Stark Tower, as well as the hangout floor you share with the Avengers?

The other Avengers have more or less accepted you as one of the team, even though you're not actually an Avenger. They include you in pretty much everything they do, except for missions - although you know about the missions anyway, because Bruce has to be there for the meetings, and he lets you tag along.

On top of moving you to Stark Tower, paying all your bills, and so on, Tony (he insists that you call him that) also insisted on you resting until your injuries were all better.

"No working, at all," he said. "I can't have my best lab assistant not at their best."

You were about to protest, but thought better of it. After all, Bruce was resting too, so it's not like he'd have been stuck with another lab assistant.

It wasn't that you had anything against the other lab assistants, it was just because you didn't want to make Bruce have to get used to a stranger before he had to then get used to you again.

Or so you tell yourself.

It's definitely nothing to do with the fact that your heart jumps whenever he catches your eye. Or the fact that you feel a jolt every time he brushes against you. And it's definitely got nothing to do with Tony's smirking at you every time he sees you together.

Fortunately, Tony hasn't actually said anything to you after the lovebird incident, but you're pretty sure he's up to something. What, you have no idea, but you're pretty sure it's going to happen soon.

Unfortunately, you're starting to suspect that he might be right - at least about you liking Dr Banner. You didn't really want to admit it at first, and put it down to all manner of things: Tony making things awkward with that unfortunate 'lovebird' comment, Hulk making things awkward by beating you up, both of you being shy people…

But it's been several months since you first moved into Stark Tower, and if anything, you've grown even more awkward around Bruce than before. It's not an unpleasant awkward, exactly. You really do enjoy being around him.

Surely it's too early to admit you're in love with him, though? Yes, you like him, but could some of it just be because you're very socially awkward? That doesn't make you in love with him, right?

There's a knock on the door.

"Y/N?" It's Tony. "We need you in the lab!"

You jump up like you've been electrocuted. "Oh, my gosh! I'm so sorry, I completely forgot! I'll be right down!"

***************************************************

You rush into the lab only a few minutes later.

Bruce looks up from his work, smiling when he sees you. "Hey, Y/N."

You manage a small smile. "Hi. Sorry I'm late."

"It's alright. I know it's kind of a weird time to be working."

You step over to take a look at what he's working on. "I kind of feel like I should be used to it by now."

"Are you criticising my routine?"

"I don't think waking up super early, grabbing a coffee, and then working non-stop in the lab until you fall asleep is exactly a routine."

He shrugs. "Technically, it is a routine."

"Technically."

Bruce just chuckles.

You both fall silent as you get to work. Tony's usually the one keeping the conversation going, but he's gone off to do - something, you're not quite sure what.

You've got a nasty feeling that he's trying to get you and Bruce together. Not that you're complaining. You just don't like the way he's trying to orchestrate it.

But you have no idea if Bruce even likes you. You've never been the best at reading social cues, and - well, you get the impression that Bruce isn't really the type to make his feelings obvious.

Crash!

You groan. The beaker that was sitting innocently on the bench just a moment ago is now smashed on the floor, helped along by your elbow.

Of all the-

"Y/N? You okay?"

You nod. "I'm fine. Just clumsy."

Bending down, you start picking up the pieces.

"It's okay, I can clean it up-"

You let out a yelp.

Bruce rushes around, full of concern. "Oh, no. You're bleeding. Here, let me-" He reaches out to take your hand.

Your heart jumps, and you yank your hand away. "No, it's - it's fine. I'll just - put a plaster on it."

Bruce looks a little hurt. "Can I at least take a look?"

The thought of him touching you makes your heart jump again. "It's fine. I need to clean this up."

"I can clean it up. Or Tony can."

"I can clean up what?"

You groan when you hear Tony's voice. Of course he has to come back now!

He comes to a stop when he sees you. "Ooh, you don't look so good, kid."

"Sweetie, I need to take a look at your hand," says Bruce softly. "There might be some glass stuck in there."

Your heart leaps into your throat at the pet name. "Okay," you mutter, feeling like it's probably better to be sensible right now, and just let him take a look at your hand.

"Yeah, you guys go do that," says Tony. "I'll take care of things back here."

"Thanks," says Bruce as he helps you up.

He must have guessed that you're feeling a little dizzy, because he's walking slower than usual, and is keeping a firm hold on one of your arms - not enough to hurt you, but enough so that he can keep you steady.

***************************************************

Once you're sat down on the examination table, Bruce goes into full doctor mode. You'd find it adorable if you weren't trying to calm your racing heart every time he does - well, anything. Even him typing something into your chart makes you blush.

Okay, maybe I do like him. Just a bit…

"Okay," he says, as he stands up. "It doesn't look like any glass got into the cut, but you are going to need stitches."

You nod. "Okay."

Fortunately, Bruce is pretty good at stitching, so it's over very quickly, although your face has now become a raging inferno. Why, you're not quite sure. He is just doing his job, after all.

"All done," he says softly, patting your arm. "I'll just bandage it up, and then we can finish up."

By the time he's done bandaging your arm, your face feels like the surface - no, the core of the Sun, and your heart feels like it's about to explode out of your chest.

"Thanks," you mumble.

Bruce smiles softly. "It's alright. You don't have to thank me." He reaches out to help you as you stand up. "Are you okay to walk?"

You nod. "I think I'll be fine."

***************************************************

As you walk back through the lab, you notice that most of the stuff's already been tidied and put away. That's usually your job, but Tony must have taken pity on you, seeing as you're injured.

The man himself is taking a look at something on the computer. He looks up, smiling when he sees you. "Oh, hey, kid. We were going to put on a movie after we've finished up here. You want to join us?"

You pause for a moment. You're pretty tired, but you don't want to be rude. But on the other hand, watching a movie doesn't really require much energy, so…

"Okay. I'll join you. Can I go and get some stuff first?"

"Sure."

Bruce pokes his head in. "Oh, hey - Y/N?"

"Yeah?"

"I forgot to tell you - the anaesthetic will probably wear off in about four to six hours."

You nod. "Okay."

"Tell me if you're starting to feel uncomfortable. I don't want you to be in pain, alright?"

You nod again as you feel the heat starting to creep up into your cheeks again.

"Y/N's joining us for the movie tonight," says Tony.

Bruce smiles. "That's nice."

"Yeah - um - see you there!"

***************************************************

What on earth is wrong with me? you wonder as you look around your room for - something, you're not quite sure what. Why can't I even stand to be in the same room as Bruce now? What's going on?

And where are my nice pajamas?

What's wrong with you, Y/N? Are you seriously trying to impress Bruce with what pajamas you wear? What kind of-

"A-ha!" You hold up the pajamas triumphantly, even though there's nobody else in the room to see them.

There's a knock on your door. "Y/N?" It's Nat. "Movie's starting in five!"

"Yeah, I know, coming!"

After changing into your pajamas and grabbing your favourite blanket, you rush downstairs.

All the girls are squished up on one sofa, with absolutely no space to spare.

And there's no way you're sitting on the boys' couch. They'll squish you half to death.

So that only leaves one other sofa in the room.

Bruce's sofa.

It's not that the others don't like him sitting with them, or that they're scared he's going to Hulk out mid-movie. He just prefers his personal space.

He must have noticed you hesitating, because he smiles, and pats the spot next to him.

Blushing, you go over, and sit down, curling up as you wrap yourself in the blanket.

Bruce moves over to give you some more space while you get yourself comfortable.

"Comfy?" he asks softly.

You nod. "Yes, thanks."

You're pretty sure Tony's had something to do with this, judging by the smirk on his face, but you ignore him, and turn to face the TV.

The first movie's good, but you'd be enjoying it a lot more if you weren't so hyper-aware of what Bruce is doing. Every time he shifts, every time he gets up to get a snack or a drink, every time he eats or drinks anything…

"Well, that was rather nice," says Thor, when the movie's over.

He starts to get up, but Tony stops him. "Where are you going?"

Thor gives him a funny look. "The movie is over. We are supposed to go to bed now, are we not?"

The room erupts in laughter.

"Thor, do you seriously not know how a movie night works?" asks Jane, wiping tears from her eyes.

He looks confused. "We have watched the movie, so we now go to bed. Is that not how this works?"

"You can watch more than one movie during a movie night."

"Oh." Thor sits back down. "Well, I did wonder what we were going to do with all those snacks."

"What snacks?" says Tony. "You ate them all!"

This results in more laughter.

"We've gotta get you up to speed with this stuff, man!" laughs Clint.

Once you've all calmed down, Nat suggests watching a medical drama.

"It's got good reviews, and it's supposed to be pretty accurate," she says.

"I think we'll let our resident doctor decide on that," says Steve, with a look at Bruce.

He blushes. "I - okay."

The show's about twenty minutes in when you hear Bruce gasp.

"Are you okay?" you whisper.

He turns to you looking absolutely horrified. "That's not how you do chest compressions!"

"What do you mean?"

"Are they compressing the patient's stomach? And their hands are all wrong. You don't put your hands like that. You put them like this-" he shows you.

And that's pretty much how the rest of the movie goes, with Bruce explaining everything they're doing wrong medically.

Not that you mind. You're not finding the movie particularly interesting anyway, and it's nice to hear Bruce talking about something he's so passionate about.

When the movie's over, everyone looks expectantly at Bruce.

"Well?"

He sighs. "Not accurate, at all."

"Really?" The sarcastic inflection in Tony's voice makes you giggle. "I would never have guessed."

"Oh-" Bruce blushes. "Sorry - was I being too loud?"

Steve smiles, and shakes his head. "Don't listen to Tony. You weren't bothering anyone."

You sigh, and slump back, suddenly feeling exhausted. "I think I might turn in now."

Everyone groans.

"Just one more movie!" begs Tony. "Please? For me? For Bruce?"

Your face burns, and you stare at the floor.

"It's okay, Y/N," says Bruce. "You don't have to stay if you don't want to."

You breathe a sigh of relief. "In that case, I think I will turn in."

And then you're out of the room before anyone can reply.

***************************************************

As you get ready for bed, you can't stop thinking about what Tony said. He more or less told all the Avengers that you have a massive crush on Bruce.

Is it really that obvious? you wonder, as you climb into bed. Am I really that unsubtle?

There's a gentle knock on your bedroom door.

"Can I come in?" It's Bruce.

You nod, but then remember he can't see you from the other side of the door. "Yes."

He steps inside. "Are you okay? You left pretty quickly. Did Tony upset you?"

You shake your head. "It's fine. I was just tired."

"Same here. It's been a long day." He pauses for a moment. "You know, we don't have any upcoming projects, so we have some days off."

You nod, wondering where he's going with this. "That's good."

He blushes. "I - I just thought you should know. Goodnight."

You feel a bit disappointed that he didn't ask you out or anything, but he is an introvert, after all. He's going to need to recharge. Fun as he is, Tony Stark is pretty exhausting to be around, and you're feeling pretty drained yourself.

And it's not like he likes you back, right?

***************************************************

Part 4 coming soon

As always, I do not give permission for anyone to copy my work, repost it elsewhere, etc.

Unforeseen Events (Part 2)

Summary: Things change a lot after the Battle of New York.

Warnings/tags: Mention of injuries, probably OOC Tony Stark, Bruce is a sweetheart, mention of violence, SHIELD is a terrible employer, probable medical inaccuracies

****************************************************

Pain.

That's all you know.

Pure, pulsing pain.

And noise.

Your head's full of it.

There's voices, but you can't hear what they're saying over the noise inside your head.

As the noise slowly fades, and you begin to realise that you're not dead, you force yourself to open your eyes. The light burns, but you stubbornly keep them open, determined to find out where you are, and what has happened.

Once your eyes adjust to the light, you see Steve sitting by your bed.

"Hey, Y/N. How are you feeling?"

"Sore."

"Well, that checks out, considering you've got several broken ribs, a concussion, a broken arm, and a broken leg."

Oh - that's why my arm and leg feel so heavy. A wave of panic suddenly washes over you. "Wait - how am I going to pay for all this? I don't have insurance."

There's a knock at the door, and Mr Stark pops his head in. "Hey, kid. This a good time to visit?"

You suddenly feel very tired. But you don't want to be rude, and kick him out, so you just nod.

Mr Stark hovers rather awkwardly at the side of your bed. "So - how are you feeling?"

"Sore. And tired. And I have no idea how I'm going to pay for this."

"I'm paying," says Mr Stark. "And don't protest, kid - this is the least I can do."

You don't really have the strength to argue, but even if you did, you wouldn't. After all, Mr Stark's a billionaire. He can afford to pay someone's medical bills - and you could definitely do without more debt.

"Dr Banner feels pretty bad about the whole thing," says Steve. "He looked like he was going to be sick when he found out that Hulk beat you up."

But it wasn't his fault. He tried to warn me. It was my own fault. Why does he feel bad about that?

Agent Romanoff suddenly pokes her head in. "Hey, Y/N. Good to see you're awake."

You give her a small smile and a nod.

"Guys, does Bruce know she's awake?"

Judging from the awkward looks Steve and Mr Stark give each other, he doesn't.

Agent Romanoff sighs. "You guys know better than anyone that he's been asking after her ever since he found out she was hurt."

Steve gets up. "Are you sure he's okay to?"

That's when you suddenly sink into oblivion once again. You've been fighting it ever since you woke up, but - well, you've lost.

****************************************************

When you wake up again, you feel a bit stronger, although you're still pretty tired - and you're still in pain.

As you look around the room, you see Dr Banner sitting by your bed, his head in his hands.

Your heart leaps, causing your monitor to beep.

Dr Banner jumps up, but the alarm on his face fades to relief when he sees that you're awake.

As he sits down, his shoulders slump. He looks absolutely exhausted, like he hasn't slept in days. "I'm so sorry," he says softly. "The other guy… he just - I couldn't control it…"

His voice cracks, and he stops, fighting to keep his composure. You feel a jolt when you notice how red and swollen his eyes are. He looks like he was crying for hours.

He takes a deep breath, still trying to regain his composure. "How are you feeling?"

You think for a moment. You don't want to lie to him, but you also don't want to make him feel any worse than he already does. "Sore," you finally say.

"I'm so sorry," repeats Dr Banner.

"It wasn't your fault. You tried to warn me."

"I wasn't fast enough. I just…"

You reach out with your good hand, and touch his arm. "It's fine. I didn't die."

"But you could have."

"I didn't," you repeat. Feeling like it might be better to change the subject, you add, "Where are the others?"

"They went to go get lunch," says Dr Banner. "Do you want anything?"

You pause for a moment. You're kind of hungry, but you don't want to make Dr Banner go out of his way.

He must have guessed what you're thinking, because he hastily adds, "I was gonna get something anyway, so…"

You nod. "Okay."

"What would you like?"

Once you've told him, he nods, and then almost runs out of the room.

He's back only a few minutes later, with the lunch - and Mr Stark.

"Hey, kid," says Mr Stark. "Mind if I join you?"

You glance at Dr Banner. He seems okay with it, so you nod. "You can join us."

Dr Banner sits down by your bed again, while Mr Stark stands.

"So," he says, "what do you think you're gonna do, once you're better?"

"I don't really know," you admit. "I don't really want to work for SHIELD anymore, but I can't really quit-"

"What do you mean, you can't?"

"I don't have anywhere else to go. And after the whole weapons thing, I don't really think I trust them any more."

Mr Stark raises an eyebrow. "You didn't question them before?"

"Well, no, I do - I did question stuff. But I just didn't care enough about that job, really. I joined because I wanted to be a spy, like a gadget-master, or something. But the job isn't terrible. I mean, it pays the bills."

"I thought you said you were behind on rent?"

"SHIELD isn't very regular with hiring me. Sometimes I can go months without being hired. This was my second assignment this year. That's why I'm behind on rent."

Mr Stark frowns. "So this is a regular thing?"

You nod. "Yeah."

"Well, that's not fair," says Dr Banner. "That's not right. SHIELD shouldn't be treating you like that."

You sigh. "Well, I don't really have a choice, do I?"

Mr Stark steps forward. "No. You do."

You stare at him. "What do you mean?"

"You can come work for me. Before you come for me, I know Stark Industries has kind of a shady past-"

"But at least you're being honest about it. To me, anyway."

Mr Stark pauses for a moment. "You said your dream job was to be a gadget-master. Do you still want that?"

You bite your lip. "I don't really know, to be honest. I actually don't mind being a lab assistant most of the time. It really just depends on who I'm working for - what they're like. Their personality, I mean."

"Who was the worst person you ever had to work for?"

"Well, there was one guy who lost his temper and threw a flask at me. But that was my own fault. I wasn't paying attention."

"What did SHIELD do?" asks Mr Stark.

"They told him off."

Dr Banner looks horrified. "They didn't fire him?"

You shake your head.

"That's - that's not okay. They should have fired him."

"I would have fired him," adds Mr Stark. "On the spot."

"He did apologise-" you begin, but Mr Stark cuts you off.

"I don't care if he apologised. He shouldn't have done that. And SHIELD shouldn't have let him stay on." He sighs. "Look, kid, I get it if you don't want to work for me. But I'm not letting you stay in SHIELD. I can pull a few strings, and get you a job someplace else, where you'll be treated right. I can get you another job as a lab assistant, if that's what you want."

"You'd really do that?" you ask.

"Of course."

You take a deep breath. "I'll think about it. About what job I want, I mean."

Mr Stark nods. "Sure. Take all the time you need."

****************************************************

You sigh as you put your book aside. You've been trying to read, but your mind's elsewhere.

There's a knock at the door.

Dr Banner pokes his head in. "Hey, Y/N," he says. "Can I come in?"

You nod "Okay."

He moves to sit by your bed. "I heard the hospital's - uh, kicking you out."

You sigh. "Yeah."

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know. I'm so behind on rent, I probably don't even have my apartment any more."

"I'm sorry," he says softly. "I… I wish there was something I could do."

"Um - actually…" You turn to him as well as your cracked ribs allow you. "Could you fetch Mr Stark, please?"

He gets up. "Yeah - sure. I can do that."

It's only a few minutes before he's back with Mr Stark.

"Hey, kid," says Mr Stark. "You wanted to see me?"

You nod, suddenly feeling rather nervous. "I was wondering - is that job opportunity still open?"

He gives you a funny look. "Of course it's still open."

You take a deep breath. "Well - in that case, I'd like to keep on being a lab assistant."

He smiles. "Great! I'm assuming you want a permanent position, so - is there anyone you'd want to work with? In other words, who was your favourite?"

"Dr Banner."

His smile grows wider. "Are you just saying that because he's in the room?"

You shake your head. "Of course not! I'm saying that he's my favourite, because he is. He's polite, and he's professional, and he's overall just a really nice person."

"You hear that, Bruce?"

You look over, and smile. It's pretty obvious that he did hear, considering how red his face is, and how he's staring at the floor and fiddling with his glasses.

"I'm not that nice," he mutters.

You suppress the urge to tell him he is, mainly because you don't want to embarrass him any further.

"You know, that actually works out pretty well," says Mr Stark. "You see, Pepper and I are rebranding Stark Tower as Avengers Tower. We're putting in rooms - well, floors - for each of the Avengers. We've got more than enough floors for everyone, so you could come live at Avengers Tower. Then you wouldn't have to pay rent, or worry about bills, or anything. You could just - you know, work and live life. How about it, kid?"

Your jaw drops. "You're joking, right?"

"Actually, I'm deadly serious."

"You're serious? I mean - I'll take it! Thank you! I - I mean-"

He just chuckles. "No need to thank me, kid. I know it's not quite the least I can do, but believe me, this isn't exactly what I'd call generous."

You pause. "Hang on - what's the catch?"

"Catch? What, you don't like living with Earth's mightiest superheroes, working your dream job with your favourite scientist, and never having to worry about money again?"

"Well, no - I was just wondering about - well, you said you weren't being generous."

"Well, I could give you a mansion anywhere in the world, give you a million dollars a month, all expenses paid for…"

You laugh. "To be honest, I don't know what I'd do with myself if I had that."

"So you'll take my first offer?"

You nod.

"Great! I'll send a moving team to your old apartment to get your stuff."

You smile shyly. "Thanks. It's very kind of you. Oh - do you need a key?"

He shrugs. "It'd help."

"I think there's one in my old uniform - wherever that is. And there's one under the doorstep."

"Thanks!" Mr Stark steps towards the door. "I'll go tell them now, and stop bothering you lovebirds."

You and Dr Banner both stare at him in shock as he leaves the room.

"I - uh - I should go," says Dr Banner, his face even redder than before, fiddling with his glasses so violently that he's in danger of breaking them. "Uh - see you around."

And just like that, you're left alone, completely stunned, and completely unable to make sense of what just happened.

****************************************************

Part 3

As always, I do not give permission for anyone to copy my work, repost it elsewhere, etc.

Unforeseen Events

Pairing: Bruce Banner x Shy!Fem!Autistic!Reader

Warnings/tags: Violence, mention of suicide attempt (no details), angst, autistic reader, spoilers for Avengers, implied head injury, mentions of weapons of mass destruction, mention of the arms race

Summary: Being assigned as Dr Banner’s lab assistant was not what you’d signed up for when you joined SHIELD.

A/N: This is a bit angstier than my usual style, but it will get fluffier later on, I promise!

***************************************************

When you were first noticed by SHIELD, you were ecstatic at being one of the select few chosen to be an agent. But you quickly learned that was not how things worked.

Even though you were hoping to work with gadgets, or maybe even go out into the field, once you’d mastered your poker face, SHIELD had other ideas.

So, you're now a lab assistant, working with - well, for - various genius scientists. It can be boring, sure, and the scientists aren’t usually the most sociable or polite, but it's not terrible, really. And you haven't really had to put your life on the line.

Well, until quite recently.

You were working with a guy called Selvig, who was working on something called a Tesseract, a weird glowing blue cube that emitted gamma radiation, which was apparently fished up from an ocean about the same time that they found Captain America.

That last assignment was the first time you'd had a brush with death on the job. The Tesseract had somehow opened some kind of portal, which had let Loki into the lab. He captured Selvig, Agent Barton, and a couple other agents, killed several more, and then escaped. You only just managed to escape before the whole place blew up.

Needless to say, you were pretty shaken up about the whole incident, and you considered quitting, but - well, there weren't really any other jobs that you could do, since you'd pigeonholed yourself so far into intelligence. And you knew it wasn't likely that SHIELD would let you go, anyway.

Your phone buzzes.

Picking it up, you groan when you see who it is, but you accept the call anyway.

"L/N?"

"Agent Hill?"

"We need you on the carrier."

Seriously? I only just escaped being killed once, and now they're recruiting me again? "Yes, Agent." You don't bother asking why. If she'd wanted you to know why right now, she'd have told you.

After you've grabbed your stuff, left a note with instructions on what to do if you don't return, and texted your family with similar instructions (just in case you don't return), you take one last look around your apartment.

Well, I guess this is goodbye - hopefully just for now.

***************************************************

You stand, speechless, as you try to take in the information that Agent Hill has just given you.

“We’re assigning you as lab assistant to Dr Bruce Banner.”

The words play over and over in your head, as you try to make sense of them. Dr Banner? The super-genius with like seven PhDs? The guy who turns into the Hulk? You’ve had surprises like this before, but never one like this. How am I supposed to deal with a guy who turns into a giant green rage monster that can’t be reasoned with? How do I not stress him out? How do I…?

Agent Hill seems to notice what you're thinking. “Dr Banner hasn’t had an - incident - in over a year. He’s here purely to help us identify what might be powering the Tesseract - and the Sceptre.”

I don’t really have a choice, do I? If I refuse, they’ll fire me. If I concede, well… The odds don’t look great all round. I might as well agree.

“Where is Dr Banner now?” you ask.

“He’s being shown to his lab by Agent Romanoff.”

Despite having worked for SHIELD for a few years now, you're still not really familiar with this ship. You mostly work on the ground bases, so this is maybe the second time you’d been on this thing.

As a result, it takes you a while to find Dr Banner’s lab.

On the way, you bump into none other than Captain America. Literally.

You never really understood the hype around finding Captain America was still alive. Sure, it's great that a guy who was frozen for seventy years is still alive, but you don’t really hero-worship celebrities like a lot of the other agents seem to, especially Agent Coulson.

“Oh - sorry, sir!” you gasp.

He gives you a funny look. “Uh, it's just Steve.”

“Right, right,” you mutter, adding an extra apology for good measure.

Steve seems unsure whether to be amused or annoyed. “One apology's enough, Ms. L/N.”

“Um - yeah, right.” You rub your hands together nervously. “Uh, you don't happen to know where Dr Banner's lab is, please?”

“Might I ask why you're looking for Dr Banner's lab?”

“Oh, um, I'm his lab assistant. Or I'm going to be, anyway…”

“Right. I'll take you there; I was going there myself anyway.”

“Oh, um, thanks,” you mutter, feeling rather awkward.

You're both silent as you head up to the lab. You're not sure if Steve feels as awkward as you, or if he's just a naturally quiet person. You're really hoping it's the latter.

As you near the lab, you hear a yell.

"Ow!"

Steve rushes in with you in tow. "Are you nuts?"

You look around in confusion. There's two guys there, one of which is probably Dr. Banner, although you don't know which.

"You really have got a lid on it, haven't you?" remarks one of the guys. "What's your secret? Mellow jazz, bongo drums, huge bag of-"

"Is everything a joke to you?" demands Steve.

The guy he's addressing doesn't seem bothered. "Funny things are."

"Threatening the safety of everyone on this ship isn't funny. No offence, doctor."

The other guy, presumably Dr Banner, looks up. "It's alright," he says. "I wouldn't have come aboard if I couldn't handle - pointy things."

"You the new lab assistant, kid?" asks the other guy.

You nod rather nervously.

"I'm Tony Stark." He turns back to Dr Banner. "You're tiptoeing, big man. You need to strut."

"And you need to focus on the problem, Mr Stark," snaps Steve.

"You think I'm not?" asks Mr Stark. "Why did Fury call us in? Why now? Why not before? What isn't he telling us?"

"You think Fury's hiding something?"

"He's a spy. Captain, he's the spy. His secrets have secrets." He gestures towards Dr Banner. "It's bugging him, too."

Dr Banner seems reluctant to be brought into the conversation. "Uh… I just want to finish my work here, and…"

But Steve's not convinced. "Doctor?"

Dr Banner sighs. "'A warm light for all mankind'. Loki's jab at the cube."

"I heard it."

He gestures towards Mr Stark. "Well, I think that was meant for you. Even if Barton didn't tell Loki about the tower, it was still all over the news."

"Stark Tower?" asks Steve. "That big, ugly-" Mr Stark gives him a look -"building in New York?"

"It's powered by an arc reactor, a self-sustaining energy source. That building will run itself for what, a year?"

"It's just a prototype," says Mr Stark. "I'm kind of the only name in clean energy right now."

"So why didn't SHIELD bring him in on the Tesseract project?" asks Dr Banner. "I mean, what are they even doing in the energy business in the first place?"

"I should probably look into that, once my decryption program finishes breaking into all of SHIELD's secure files."

"I'm sorry, did you say-" begins Steve.

"JARVIS has been running it since I hit the bridge. In a few hours, I'll know every dirty secret SHIELD has ever tried to hide."

Steve isn't impressed. "I think you're confused about why they didn't want you around."

"An intelligence organisation that fears intelligence? Historically - not awesome."

"I think Loki's trying to wind us up. He means to start a war. We have orders. We should follow them."

"Following them's not really my style."

"And you're all about style, aren't you?"

"Of the people in this room, which one is A. Wearing a spangly outfit, and B. Not of use?"

Steve sighs. "Just find the cube."

After he's stepped out, you look around awkwardly, wondering what you're supposed to do.

"So, we kind of have everything under control here…" says Mr Stark.

There's a long, awkward pause. You're not really sure what you're supposed to do now. You don't want to bother Dr Banner and Mr Stark while they're working, but you know you'll get told off if you're caught 'slacking off' - and even if you did want to slack off, there's nowhere to go, and nothing to do.

Dr Banner looks up. "Uh, actually, could you come over here a sec?"

You step over slightly too quickly, almost tripping over your own feet. "Uh - yeah?"

"Could you note down these numbers, please?"

"Okay." You start scribbling down the numbers, while trying to calm your racing heart.

This is definitely not what you signed up for.

When you were little, you pictured espionage as being a cool secret agent, wielding lots of crazy gadgets, killing villains, and generally having daring escapades like what you’d read in books. Sort of like James Bond, or Sherlock Holmes, or something.

But even as you grew out of that phase, you still held onto the dream of one day becoming a spy - not in the field, of course; your poker face couldn’t fool a child, but a gadget-master. You had it all planned out in your head; you’d be like Smithers from Alex Rider, sitting in your office, working on your latest invention, and thinking up cool gadgets in your spare time.

But even if this isn't what you signed up for, it's not terrible. Be a genius’s personal assistant, put up with their moods, listen (well, look like you’re listening) to massive infodumps on niche topics you'll never understand, all for a sum that only just pays the bills? Not bad, really.

"Hey, I never caught your name, kid," says Mr Stark suddenly.

You jump at the sound of his voice. "Oh - er - it's L/N."

"You got a first name?"

"It's Y/N. But everybody goes by last names here."

"So, how'd you wind up here?"

You blush. "It's stupid."

Dr Banner looks up. "It's alright. You don't have to tell us if you don't want to."

You nod, and turn back to the numbers, but your mind's elsewhere as you write them down.

Dr Banner seems surprisingly chill for a guy who can turn into the Hulk. Or maybe he just has really, really good self-control. Either way, it's nice to be working for someone who's actually civil for once. You've never been assistant to anyone super nice in the past; some of the other scientists haven't been the most polite in the past.

The worst you had happen to you was when some particularly volatile scientist lost his temper at you for not paying attention to something about some weird niche branch of quantitative chemistry, and threw a conical flask in your direction. (To be fair, he apologised profusely afterward, and was actually alright for the rest of his stay.)

"Y/N?" says Dr Banner.

You look up. "Yeah?"

"I think we're good here."

"O-kay…" Is he trying to get rid of me?

Taking a deep breath, you say, "Well - I don't really have anywhere else to go."

"What do you mean?"

"Well - I - I'm literally just a lab assistant. This is the only job I have here. And even if you give me your express permission to do whatever, if I get caught, it'll cost me my job. I don't have a safety net; my family don't live in New York, and I'm already behind on rent, so if I lose my job…"

Dr Banner looks almost horrified. "Oh, no, no, I don't want you to risk losing your job. I just thought you might want to - you know, not have to stand around? I - I used to be a lab assistant, so I know it gets kind of - boring."

"We're both pretty much done here anyway," adds Mr Stark. "All we have to do is wait for my decryption program to finish breaking into SHIELD's secure files."

You nod. "Yeah, I heard."

"So what do you think, kid? Do you think Fury's hiding something?"

Your heart jumps, but you try not to look too nervous. "Uh… probably? I - never really thought to try and find out…" You're not feeling very comfortable with Mr Stark breaking into SHIELD's secure files, but that small, rebellious, powerful part of you really, really wants to see those files now. And you also don't want to get on his bad side, since your job is more or less in his hands. "Captain America doesn't seem too bothered."

You almost facepalm at your stupid, stupid blunder. Oh, you idiot!

But Mr Stark doesn't seem bothered. "He's a soldier, kid. He's trained to follow orders. Wondering if they shouldn't have kept him on ice?"

That's a bit mean, even if he is a bit too perfect.

"He's not wrong about Loki," says Dr Banner. "He does have the jump on us."

Mr Stark snorts. "What he's got is an ACME dynamite kit. It's gonna blow up in his face. And I'm gonna be there when it does."

Dr Banner smiles. "I'll read all about it."

"Or you'll be suiting up, like the rest of us."

"See, I don't get a suit of armour. I'm exposed, like a nerve. It's a nightmare."

You can't help feeling a pang of - something. Is it pity? Sympathy?

Or is it because you get what he means?

Mr Stark's suddenly serious. "You know, I've got a cluster of shrapnel trying to make its way to my heart. This-" he tapped his light circle -"stops it. This little circle of light is a part of me now. It's a terrible privilege."

"But you can control it."

"Because I learned how."

Dr Banner shakes his head. "It's different."

He tries to get back to his work, but Mr Stark stops him. "Hey, I read all about your accident. That much gamma exposure should've killed you."

"So you're saying the Hulk-" He pauses. Even the mention of the Hulk seems to put him on edge. "You're saying that the other guy saved my life? That's a nice sentiment. Saved it for - what?"

Again, you feel that weird pang. Is this empathy? you wonder. How could I be able to empathise with a guy who's had such a different life than mine? I have no idea what turning into the Hulk is like, but I'm somehow able to understand? How?

"I guess we'll find out," says Mr Stark, after an awkward pause.

"You might not like that," says Dr Banner.

"You just might."

***************************************************

It's the next morning when Director Fury bursts into the lab, every inch of him living up to his name.

"What are you doing, Mr Stark?" he demands.

Oh, no. You know immediately what's happened. SHIELD must have found out that Mr Stark's trying to hack into their computers.

"Kind of been wondering the same about you," remarks Mr Stark.

"You're supposed to be locating the Tesseract."

"We are," says Dr Banner. "The model's locked, and we're sweeping for the signature now. As soon as we get a hit, we'll have the location within half a mile."

"And you'll get your cube back, no muss, no fuss," adds Mr Stark, just as a load of secure files suddenly pop up on the lab computer screen. "What is Phase 2?"

Steve bursts in, slamming a weapon onto one of the benches. "Phase 2 is when SHIELD uses the cube to make weapons. Sorry, the computer was running a little slow for me."

Weapons?

"Rogers, we gathered everything related to the Tesseract. This does not mean that we're-"

Mr Stark interrupts. "I'm sorry, Nick. What - were you lying?"

You stare in shock at the computer screen. Weapon plans. This is what the world is coming to?

"I was wrong, director," says Steve. "The world hasn't changed a bit."

Couldn't agree more. Seriously - did we learn nothing from the last arms race?

Then two other people rush in. One's a medieval giant of a man, and the other's probably an agent.

"Did you know about this?" demands Dr Banner of them.

"You wanna think about removing yourself from this environment, doctor?" demands the agent.

You hastily step back. Sure, Dr Banner seems to have a pretty tight lid on the Hulk, but from the way the agent's looking at him, you've got a nasty feeling that the lid might be loosening.

Dr Banner just laughs. "I was in Calcutta. I was pretty well removed."

The agent isn't amused. "Loki's manipulating you."

"And you've been doing what, exactly?"

They're manipulating people, too? You're not sure why that would shock you so much, but for some reason, it does.

"You didn't come here because I bat my eyelashes at you."

"Yes, and I'm not leaving just because you get a little twitchy," retorts Dr Banner. "I'd like to know why SHIELD is using the Tesseract to make weapons of mass destruction."

The director points to the medieval giant. "Because of him."

"Me?"

"Last year, Earth had a visitor from another planet that flattened a small town, and we learned that we are hopelessly, hilariously, outgunned."

Okay, that makes sense, but it still doesn't excuse you keeping us all in the dark about this.

"My people want nothing but peace with your planet," says the medieval man.

"But you're not the only people out there, are you? The world's filling up with people who can't be matched or controlled."

"Like you controlled the cube?" demands Steve.

"Your work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it," says the medieval man. "It is the signal to all the realms that Earth is ready for a higher form of war."

"You forced our hand," protests the director. "We had to come up with something?"

"A nuclear deterrent," remarks Mr Stark, his tone dripping sarcasm. "Because that always calms everything right down."

"Remind me how you made your fortune, Stark?"

You back away to the edge of the lab. You're irrelevant here, and you don't want any part in this argument. Besides, if things get ugly, it never hurts to have an escape route.

"You speak of control, yet you court chaos," says the medieval man.

"It's his M.O., isn't it?" says Dr Banner. "I mean, what are we, a team? No, no, we're a chemical mixture that creates chaos. We're a time bomb."

The director steps forward. You can see the fear in his eyes. "You need to step away."

Mr Stark puts an arm around Steve. "Why shouldn't the guy let off a little steam?"

Steve pushes him away. "You know damn well why! Back off!"

Oh, no. You start to edge towards the door. You don't want to get caught in the crossfire if anyone here starts fighting, least of all Mr Stark and Steve.

The medieval man laughs. "You people are so petty - and tiny."

"Agent Romanoff," says the director, "would you escort Dr Banner back to his-"

"Where?" demands Dr Banner. "You rented my room."

"The cage was just-"

"In case you tried to kill me, but you can't. I know, I tried." You stare at him in shock. "I got low, and I didn't see an end, but the other guy wouldn't let me. So I moved on. I focused on helping people. I was good, until you dragged me back into this freak show, and put everyone here at risk. You want to know my secret? You want to know how I keep myself calm?"

You're almost at the door now. You can see the Sceptre in Dr Banner's hand, and you really don't want to get stabbed today. Or any day.

"Dr Banner, put down the Sceptre," says Steve.

Dr Banner looks shocked to find that he's holding it, and hastily puts it down.

The computer beeping seems to break the tension slightly.

"Sorry, kids," says Dr Banner. "Guess you don't get to see my party trick after all."

He goes over to take a look, and after pausing for a moment, you join him.

You can hear the others starting to argue again, but you don't care. The numbers on the screen are more important right now - even if you're not sure what they mean.

Dr Banner knows, though, and judging from the look on his face, it's not good.

"Oh, my God," he mutters.

Suddenly, an explosion seems to rip the lab apart.

Once your head clears a bit, you realise that you must have fallen through the floor, and that you're trapped under some of the debris.

Looking over, you see Dr Banner on his hands and knees, gripping at the floor, grunting, trying desperately to control himself. You know you should probably go and try to calm him down, but you're so panicked that you have no idea what you would even say.

As you try to pull yourself free, some of the metal falls, making a loud clanging noise.

Dr Banner looks over to you. His eyes are green. You feel a shudder run through you.

"Get - away - from - me!" His voice is changing, slowly morphing into a growl.

The fear that rushes through you gives you the strength you need to pull yourself free, just as the lights go out.

A deafening, primal roar breaks the air, and with it your last nerve.

So you run.

You don't even bother trying to look for an escape. All you're trying to do is keep away from the Hulk.

But it's no use. He's too fast for you.

Finding the stairs, you begin to run up them.

You trip.

In another moment, Hulk's on top of you.

And then everything goes black.

***************************************************

Part 2

As always, I do not give permission for anyone to copy my work, repost it elsewhere, etc.