Summary: Stubborn, and headstrong heiress Justine Worthington, comes to work in the molecular division of the R&D department at Start Industries, courtesy of her cousin's shrewdness. She soon meets Dr. Banner, who finds her interesting enough, and calm enough, so as to want her to become his research partner. The more he finds out about her, the more he wonders if perhaps he would be willing to take a chance, especially when she develops a serum to help him control the Other Guy. However, when Earth once more comes under attack, and she is kidnapped by the enemy, both her serum and his affections come to be tested as the Avengers must work together to fight.
Okay, so I'm trying something with a group of stories that would all be tied together through the same characters. I will only post one chapter of each, and will only update it if you all believe that it is worth the time or reading. If I reach enough reviews, then I will continue this story - if not, it will simply not be apart of my ideas. so, let me know what you think. Thanks.
The Hulk roared as he smashed another couple of Chitauri into the pavement of the battered New York street, dropping them from the the height of a hundred feet as they were climbing up buildings. Throwing another down, he saw there were no more on this one, and he jumped back to street level. Looking around, he spotted a group going into a library, where the sounds of screams could be heard. Roaring again, he stomped his way into the building, throwing Chitauri around as he damaged the entryway.
The sound of a scream to his left caught his attention as he saw a young woman trapped by a fallen bookcase, a Chitauri approaching her with the intent to kill. Running over, he knocked the creature back, pulling the bookcase off of the young woman. Her blue eyes widened in fear as she shouted: "Behind you!" pointing to a creature who was readying his weapon to shoot the Hulk in the back.
He turned around, and with a roar, threw the creature into the wall, watching as it crumbled to the ground. Its companion went back toward the woman as she screamed, and with another swipe of his hand he threw that one into the wall as well. He looked back at the blond woman, and noticing that she was having trouble getting up, reached down as gently as possible, picking her up and setting her on her feet. Her blue eyes looked into his as she nodded. "Thank you." she said, trying to walk out of the building. He could hear the battle still going on outside, but seeing her favor her right leg, the Hulk decided to get her out before the Chitauri returned to the library.
Walking toward her, he picked her up again, carrying her out of the building before she could even raise her voice in protest – not that she would, as she had seen what had happened to Harlem. He was already the Hulk, to anger him more would be plain suicide. So, she simply settled into his arm, and waiting until he would put her down. "Tina!" a male voice called in the din of voices all screaming from the devastation.
"Lyle!" the girl in the Hulk's arms called back, and knowing that she had met someone she knew, he set her down on the ground. She immediately fell into the tall blonde's arms embracing him tightly as he tried to lead her away.
"Are you okay?" Jake asked as the Hulk ran down the road, he had more work to do, and the portal was still open.
Eventually the fighting stopped, he had only seen the girl once more before it ended, and she was being led out of the danger area by her friend. She had looked at him, her eyes expressing how grateful she had been as her lips curved into a smile. He had managed to smile back, and went back to destroying a Leviathan.
Once it was over, and happy that he had been an active participant in helping someone out of the damage; the Hulk shrunk back down to Bruce Banner... who tried to find some clothes to fit his now shrunken body. The girl forgotten.
It was Monday. Justine Worthington walked through the ground floor of Stark Tower. Four months ago, Mr. Stark wouldn't even give her the time of day, promptly shooing her out of his office only ten minutes after she had arrived. She looked at her watch, the hands showed 8:22am; she was on time. Now it was only a matter of getting to her predetermined floor. The thirty-ninth. It was a coveted position at her old job, one floor away from one of the highest positions in the industry, where all the secret things were developed. Restricted Access.
If only Lyle Wilkerson could see her now... he wouldn't be snickering at her wanting to break away from the family mold and become a scientist.
She had graduated from NYU with a major in Molecular Research with the hope that she would one day work for a company like Stark Industries, developing things at the molecular level was something she liked to do. It was a dream come true – if only it hadn't taken her lawyer of a cousin to be able to almost blackmail Mr. Stark into giving her the position. Her cousin worked in the legal department of Stark Industries, a good twenty floors below hers, had been for a few years; but when Mr. Stark asked her to go above and beyond the call of duty, to help Captain Rogers in his rehabilitation, she had asked for a favor.
It was a Saturday that she was interviewed, her background checked, her clearance level determined, and she was told she started work the following Monday. Mr. Stark had made it clear that he was only hiring her because of Emma, and if she didn't fit the position well she would be bumped down to the lower levels of R&D. She would have laughed, explaining to Mr. Stark that considering she was the top of her class at NYU that she would be more than apt at her job... but decided that actions speak louder than words. Or rather, that's what her father always told her.
So here she was, waiting for the elevator to reach her new floor, her identity badge already in her hand as she prepared herself for the first day of working with some of the most renown scientists in the field. The doors opened, the R&D department's sign above the door beyond the elevator, the subtitle stating 'Molecular Research'. Yes, this was where she was to go. Scanning her badge, the door opened before her, allowing her into another room where lockers lined three walls; alphabetized.
"Welcome to R&D Miss Worthington." a disembodied voice spoke, "It seems you found your department well enough."
"Yes, thank you." she spoke to the air, the voice reminding her too much of the butler her parents employed. She chuckled, just thinking about how Finley would have reacted to the voice.
"That's good. In case you're wondering, which I'm sure you are, I am J.A.R.V.I.S, the Aritificial Intelligence system for Stark Tower. Your locker is located under the 'W', as all lockers are alphabetized." the voice said.
"Thank you... Jarvis." she replied slowly, "Is there anything else I may need to know?"
"Yes, Miss Worthington. You will be working with Dr. Harrison, he is six groups of tables to your right when you get inside, three tables down." Jarvis informed.
"I take it that the tables are lined up like a grid of sorts?" she asked as she found her locker, quickly putting her finger in the scanner and hearing the lock click.
"They are. Dr. Wes Harrison will inform you of your position here, and what it is you will be working on." Jarvis said, "Is there anything else you wish to know?"
"Just lunch and closing hours." Justine said as she shrugged into her lab coat, her name already embroidered on the front. She closed the lockers and went to wash her hands.
"Lunch is at twelve, and closing is a six." Jarvis answered, "I hope you have a good day, Miss Worthington."
She smiled up where she saw a camera, "Thank you Jarvis, you have been most helpful." she replied, opening up the door.
"You are too kind, Miss Worthington." she heard right before she entered the large research room.
Jarvis had been right, the tables were set up in a pattern, with sections which were partitioned off by one table being adjacent instead of perpendicular to two other tables. Creating a box with one side open. Justine thought it was pretty smart as it would save on space by having the tables set up like boxy horseshoes. Finding the sixth group to the right, she soon found the third table down, a researcher so engrossed in his microscope he didn't notice her approach.
"Dr. Harrison?" she asked tentatively, causing the man to look up. His brown eyes scanned her appearance before he smiled.
"Dr. Worthington I presume?" he asked, stretching his hand out.
"Yes, and I feel thankful that you are here to welcome me." Justine responded, watching as the Dr. Harrison laughed.
"I'm sure you do. Here, have a seat." Dr. Harrison motioned to the seat beside his, "Alright, so, how much do you remember from your education?"
Six o'clock rolled around soon enough, and Justine was feeling slightly overwhelmed by all the work which now overloaded her mind. However, she felt as if she had done her work well, and could go home feeling very satisfied at completing her first day at work. Not only had she made friends with Dr. Harrison, but she had managed to have lunch with a few of the other researchers.
The one who was currently talking her ears off was Helen Rourke, the researcher in charge of the sanitized rooms of the department. She was one of the younger ones, only about twenty-nine to Justine's just-turned-twenty-six, whose dyed red hair made her stick out among the normal hair colors of the department. Though it was soon obvious why the woman had decided to use the bold color – her personality was far too brusque, and the red suit her.
"So, do you have a boyfriend?" Helen asked as they hung their lab coats up in their lockers.
Justine put her jean jacket on, "If you had asked me three months ago, I would have said 'yes'. As of right now? No." she answered.
Helen 'awed' "What happened?" she asked, completely disregarding that she had only known the woman for a few hours.
"Life." Justine replied, "After the invasion, I had nowhere to work. Lyle insisted that it didn't matter that I didn't have to work... which I didn't understand because I had made it clear that I wanted to work. He didn't understand based on my upbringing."
"Why? Where are you from?" Helen asked, reapplying her makeup in the mirror she had glued to the locker.
"My family comes from Connecticut... Greenwich specifically." Justine answered, not looking forward to how she would respond.
Helen's eyes widened, "You come from money?" she asked. Sheepishly, Justine nodded. It was always like this, she'd meet someone, then they'd ask where she was from. Her family's affluence always played a role after that, and she wasn't ever just considered a person, she was a pocketbook that people could borrow from. "That's... different."
"Most people are probably from around here, aren't they? No backgrounds like that included." Justine said.
Helen chuckled, "Most are from much lower places than Greenwich. They kinda worked themselves up to where they are..." she said slowly, watching as Justine nodded, embarrassed. "Though that doesn't make you less of a good researcher – in fact it probably makes you better. Proving something to your father or something?"
Justine laughed, "Close. My mother."
"Ooh, an interesting storyline. Let me guess, you're going against your mother's likes and wants."
"Expectations really. Mother is from America and father is from England. She wanted to be acceptable to my grandmother, and so she became my grandmother. As for me, I'm expected to do something rather... important."
"And English."
"Basically." Justine replied as she slung her purse over her shoulder, "My previous boyfriend was her choice. Lyle comes from a family which is closely connected with my family. It was expected to expand the Worthington name, and influence."
"So you went to college and broke all their dreams." Helen finished.
"Not quite, they still believe I'm going to fall on my face and go running home to them asking for them to forgive me and support me for the rest of my life." Justine replied, "I suppose it is the one thing I fear more than anything, winding up back on their doorstep, selling myself short."
They both walked toward the elevator, Helen pressing the button. "I doubt that. Hey, where do you live? I'll drop you."
Over the next few days, Justine had gotten the routine of her work schedule down. She would show up to Stark Industries, work next to Dr. Harrison until lunch, accompany Helen to the deli down the street, then work again until six.
On Saturday she came in a little later, knowing that Saturday was the day when R&D was officially closed, the only scientists that were there were there of their own free will. Nodding to the few members of personnel that were there, she headed to her work desk, fully prepared for simply finishing up her work from the day before.
The sound of someone clearing their throat brought her attention from the slides underneath her microscope. She brought her head up, turning around to see an older looking man whose brown hair was graying at the temples. "Can I help you?" she asked, wondering where she'd seen him before.
"Uh, yeah, I'm looking for Dr. Harrison. Is he not here today?" the man asked, pushing his glasses further up on his nose.
Justine looked around the room, wondering who the guy was. "No, no he's not. He took today off. Can I help you with something Dr.?"
"Oh, yeah, sorry. Banner, Bruce Banner." he answered extending his hand.
Her eyes grew large as she realized just who it was who she was in front of, now she knew where she'd seen him. Helen had pointed him out on Wednesday, showing her who she'd be working with once she moved up in the ranks of R&D. Apparently he was someone that the female members of the staff thought to be rather good-looking. She couldn't argue, they were right. For an older man, who was rumored to be in his forties, he was looking rather good.
"Miss?" Dr. Banner's voice broke through her fog of sudden attraction; still extended. "I think people usually shake the hand and reply with their own name."
"Sorry, spaced out there. Justine Worthington." she replied, shaking his hand as her face got red. "I work with Dr. Harrison."
Dr. Banner looked her over, "You're Emma's cousin?" he asked.
Justine chucked softly, that seemed to be the reaction with most of the senior researchers. "Yeah, I am."
"I can see it. You guys have similar eyes, except yours are blue." Dr. Banner said, wondering where his statement had come from. "Okay, so maybe you know about something he was supposed to leave for me to pick up? It should say 'Cellrec' on it."
"Oh, I did see that. One moment." after sifting through a stack of papers, she lifted a particular group of stapled papers which did say 'Cellrec' on them. "Here you go." she said passing him the papers. "You guys are working on cellular reconstruction?"
Dr. Banner looked up at her with a surprised look. "You know about it?"
"I've read the reports by Dr. Mosaliganti, he thinks its possible." Justine replied, "Is it surprising that I know about it?"
Bruce shook his head, "Somewhat. Most people don't know what I'm talking about when I mention such a thing like cellular reconstruction." he said.
"I'm a biologist who likes to work on the molecular level. Its likely to happen... though I've read some of your work, like your thesis on positron emission generated by radioactive decay. That was interesting to say the least. One of my friends had me read it, he was trying to convince me into that field. However the Dirac equation was a bit mind numbing." she explained.
"What did you decide to be your field then?" Dr. Banner inquired.
"Molecular and cellular biology. I was particularly interested in genetics when I started, interested in the theories put up by Prof. Charles Xavier. But that's another concept which usually bores people."
"Most people aren't scientists. You will find I'm not as easily bored over something like genetics. I take it you wrote your own thesis on something similar?" he said.
"I wrote my thesis on regeneration of cells. The concept being that damaged cells can revert back to their original form in order to assist with healing people who have gone through rather traumatic things – like burns." she replied. "God, I sound like a nerd."
Dr. Banner chuckled, "No you don't." he replied, "I've always been interested in that kind of thing."
"Hey Worthington! Could I get your help on something over here?" one of the researchers from the other table called.
"Looks like you're needed." Dr. Banner said, "I'll let you get back to work. Perhaps we can pick up this discussion another time?"
Justine nodded, "I'd like that. I'll see you sometime, after all we work in the same building." she said, moving around him and going to Tom Leary's desk.
Bruce watched her for a moment as she observed the slides through the microscope. It was funny, she didn't look like a scientist, but it was obvious her brain worked like one. Going back to the elevator he headed back up to his floor, wondering why he said he'd finish the conversation.
Walking into apartment, Justine quickly checked her messages. First one was from Emma, asking if she was free Wednesday for lunch, and how she was faring at Stark Tower, she decided she'd call her back; second was from Lyle, which she deleted once his voice came over the speaker; and the third was from her mother, demanding to know why she hadn't called her back in a week.
Getting the chinese take-out menu from the fridge, she quickly dialed the number. She'd need some food before she took on her mother, not wanting to deal with her on an empty stomach. By the time she had showered and gotten into her pajamas, the food had arrived, and setting it all on her kitchen counter, she ate the melange of food, watching the thunder and lightening outside. It was rather nice looking.
Ah, such was the life of the twenty-six year old, who six months ago was eating dinner with her boyfriend of four years, believing that her life would be limited to the mundane existence that she had been apart of. Finishing up, her phone rang again, the ringtone informing her that it was her mother.
"Hello mother." she answered.
"Justine! Where the hell have you been?" her mother, Viola Baxter-Worthington (as the hyphen meant quite a bit to the woman), demanded to know why her daughter hadn't called her back. Her voice obviously straining from the wish to screech – but she was simply too ladylike to screech, especially in front of her mother-in-law.
"Work. I was just about to call you." Justine replied, turning on the TV to see what was on, "Ooh." she said sympathetically as she watched the poor contestants on the screen get knocked back into the water, her mother's voice droning in the background. "Watch it!" she whispered.
"Are you listening to me?" her mother asked irritatedly.
"Yeah, yeah, you were telling me about your dinner with the Maxwells." Justine replied.
"You know, Lyle was there."
"Was he really, how fortunate for him – ooh, that hurt." she replied to the screen, "Seriously Julie?"
"What are you watching?" Viola inquired sweetly.
"The news. People are getting beat up in Belgium, and St. Petersburg is on the verge of a crisis." she said, laughing at herself as she used the name of the current contestant. Her mother wasn't impressed.
"Well, how unfortunate for Belgium. And the Soviets are always on the verge of a crisis." her mother retorted, and Justine rolled her eyes at the phone.
"Yeah, well, unfortunate indeed... ouch, that had to hurt."
"So when are you moving out of the City?" her mother asked.
"Say what?"
"Well, you aren't used to living by yourself-"
"I do just fine, thanks. But look, I got to go, I have a pressing engagement." she said, wishing to just get her mother off the phone.
"I wish you could have seen Lyle last night, darling. He looked so alone."
"Yeah, well he put himself there, so that's not my fault." she replied.
"He asked how you were."
"How marvelous for him."
"Oh darling, you were together so many years, how can you be so sure that this is what you really want?" her mother asked.
"I'm not marrying Lyle if that's what you want. I'm not going to fake my life through, thanks." like you. She added in her mind.
"Justine, you would have been happy in the end. You wouldn't have ever had to worry about anything."
"Yeah, but isn't that part of life? Great-grandad wouldn't have agreed with such a concept. Or have you forgotten how he left all the safety in the world to begin life here as an immigrant?"
"That was a completely different time period. And I still disagree with you-"
"Oh, mom? Are you there? Mom?" she started rubbing her finger over the phone, using the crackling of a nearby chip bag to imitate bad reception. "Mom?"
"Honey? Hon-" she hung up.
She wasn't sure when it was that she had become unhappy with her life, but she had really noticed it the day that the 'flying lizard aliens' had come to call – or invade. She could remember the bookcase falling on her, and Lyle leaving her for 'help'. Yet, as soon as he left, she was instantly targeted. That was an interesting day, and she hadn't ever forgotten how the Hulk had saved her, even taking her out of the building which was crumbling. He had become her hero in that second, and she almost wished she had seen him when he wasn't angry.
But it was after that that she truly began questioning Lyle. Sure, she was comfortable... but happy? Not in the slightest. Her conversation with Dr. Banner seemed to have cemented the idea. Lyle always made fun of how much of a nerd she had been, and would always tell her she was rambling as she described the various processes involved with the molecular biological part of anything. She found it fascinating, he found it abhorrent. To hear Dr. Banner actually say he was enjoying himself, enough to say he wished to continue the conversation, was a surprise – then again, he was a scientist himself. Lyle simply majored in political sciences.
She could hear his voice, its posh London accent so haughty that she always felt insulted, as she spoke to the scientist that afternoon, saying: "Honestly, darling, do you expect me to understand a word that you're saying? Its not English." She would simply fall into silence, refraining from speaking such things in his presence... it was of no use.
Looking up at the clock, she realized that in her watching the TV for so long, it was now too late to call Emma. The poor woman was probably asleep, and Justine wasn't going to disturb her – besides, she would drop by the next day, find out if Emma needed a babysitter for her five-year-old son Andrew. She had to admit, Emma was one of the only cousins she could stand...
She decided to do a little reading before bed, and choosing a book from the shelf, and a cup of tea, she settled down; falling asleep after only a few pages. Her dreams once more reliving her experiences during the invasion.
But, as usual, the Hulk smashed through the wall at the right time.
Well? What do you all think? Okay, leave me a review, and if enough of you like it I will continue. If you have any criticism, please let me know, and I will be more than happy to listen to you. :D Thanks.