A/N: And welcome to the fourth installment! *checks to make sure this is the fourth* With this one, it might be better to at least read Awake and Alive first. You don't have to, but some of the stuff will make more sense. Other than that, enjoy! :D
Even if I say it'll be alright
Still I hear you say you want to end your life
Now and again we try to just stay alive
Maybe we'll turn it around 'cause it's not too late
It's never too late
-Never Too Late; Three Days Grace
Bruce had an emergency pager from when he was on the run. It was for those people that he was concerned about, or that he trusted. If someone had a bad medical condition, he would sometimes give them the pager number. It was mostly when there were children though. He was a sucker for children.
However, he had honestly forgotten he even had it. Until the dumb thing went off in the middle of the night. Then he was searching for the beeping pager in the pitch black of his room.
"Stupid pager. Who's trying to get ahold of me anyways?" He muttered, finally unearthing the source of the beeps. He squinted at it a few moments before pushing his glasses on his nose. There was a simple phone number on it. Bruce sighed and grabbed his phone. Whatever this person needed, they probably needed to talk to him now. It was only a few rings before whoever was on the other end picked up.
"Bruce? Is this you?" A man asked. Bruce's tired mind noted the heavy African accent, the actual voice only sparking a faint recognition.
"Ah, yes, this is Bruce. Who is this?" He questioned, racking his brain to remember.
"This is Kofi. Do you not remember?" Bruce remembered now; a small village in the Bush, a dying mother and child, and a promise.
"Yes, I remember." He said quietly, running a hand through his hair.
"Good! Listen, my daughter, she is sick, other doctors don't know what to do." Kofi was worried, Bruce could tell. He had birthed Kofi's daughter, Abeni, close to two years ago. She had been two months premature, it was miracle that she was still alive, and there was no doubt that she had health problems. It was no wonder that the local doctors didn't know what was wrong.
"What is wrong with her, how does she feel?" He asked, quickly pulling out his duffel bag and throwing some clothes into it.
"She has been vomiting, and is very hot. She gets tired very easily." Kofi listed off the symptoms. Bruce winced. Of course it was serious. He started writing a note to everyone, explaining what happened.
"Kofi, listen, I want you to put her somewhere that no one else will go, build a hut for her if you have to, but you have make sure that no one else will be around her. This is highly contagious, other people can catch it easily." He said, grabbing the bag and heading towards the lab. He didn't even notice the note falling behind the bureau.
"Jarvis, turn off all alarms until I'm gone." He hissed, covering the phone.
"Yes sir."
"I will do this. Will you come?" Kofi asked.
"Yes, I will come." Bruce said.
"Good. I will see you soon, friend." Kofi hung up, and Bruce tucked his phone into his pocket before beginning to gather up the supplies he would need. He was just glad that Stark Industries had a good medical line, and that Tony kept samples in the lab. Otherwise there could be problems.
Tony was always a late riser, and today was no exception. It was odd however, that Bruce still wasn't up. Usually as soon as he stepped out of the elevator into the lab, he could hear the doctor muttering to himself, and, on particularly bad days, things banging. Today there was just silence. He glanced around, no sign of the rumpled doctor.
"Bruce?" He called.
"I'm afraid Dr. Banner left late last night." Jarvis' cool voice rang out. Tony cursed, banging his hand on a table.
"Wake everyone up, tell them to meet in Banner's room." He said coldly, walking out.
"Of course, Mr. Stark."
Somewhere in Africa…
It hadn't been difficult to find a flight to Africa with Tony's card. From there, he rented a Jeep and sped to the interior, reciting everything he knew about Lassa Fever in his head. The symptoms were exactly what little Abeni had. It was transmitted by mice, but that was useless information, he couldn't exactly kill all the mice in the village, even with the Hulk. Normally it wasn't deadly, but with someone like Abeni it could be, because of her complications. Luckily Tony had plenty of Ribavirin, the antiviral drug used to treat it. Bruce really wasn't sure why, and wasn't really sure he wanted to know. All he knew was that he was thankful. He also had a barrel of fresh water in the back of the Jeep. It should be able to last while he was there; Abeni would need clean, fresh water.
Quick Note: I forgot to tell people; in the last chapter of Done Hanging On, the little boy, Neal, was from White Collar. :D