Demons

Plot: Bruce never wanted anyone to know his pain, this wasn't his choice and he'd do anything to make things right. Taken by people unknown Bruce struggles to figure out what is happening before someone ends up dead. Tony, Clint and Bruce whumpage.

Once again there is a delay in Your Lie's third installment, but I had a lot of fun plotting this story and am very excited about it.

This one is based off a prompt kimbee gave me before my vacation (ThANKS KIMBEE!). I hope you all enjoy! There will be whumpage for Tony, Clint and Bruce, so enjoy that as well! I'll post the original prompt at the end because I don't want to give it all away just yet ^^

This is also the first time I've written a story from Bruce's perspective so I hope I do him justice!

Chapter One

It was silent.

Bruce opened his eyes with confusion as he tried to figure out exactly why it was so quiet. For Bruce life was never without noise – it was an all out battle of wills and a never-ending shouting match between him and the…Other Guy. There wasn't a second of the waking day that Bruce didn't have to fight to stay in complete control of his own body – the Other Guy was persistent if nothing else.

Now, however, Bruce's mind was as silent as the grave and it felt hollow and wrong.

Without the Hulk screaming on the edge of his consciousness Bruce sat up and looked around his current surroundings. A concrete cage greeted his eyes. It wasn't a promising sight. There was one door – no windows and four grey walls.

The only anomaly the otherwise plain room had was what appeared to be a TV screen embedded in the wall that stood opposite of the door. The screen was dark and Bruce couldn't see any wires or an on or off switch – at least none that he could get at. There was a thick pane of glass in front of it – probably bullet proof, but Bruce had no way to test the theory. And even if Banner had Tony's mechanical skills he would never be able to get to the heart of the machine…not that it would help him escape anyway.

If Tony were there and could get into the computer/television Bruce had no doubt that he'd figure out how to communicate with the others. They'd be free within the hour.

But Tony wasn't there – Bruce was alone.

Who had dared to stick him in a cell and where the hell was the Hulk? By now Bruce thought he'd be free – the Other Guy didn't like being caged, it was about the only point of agreement Bruce had with the beast.

Panic surged within Bruce as he started to realize the situation. He was taken by unknown friends or foes and had no idea what was going on with the Hulk. The silence mocked him as he stood and paced the space as he tried to think things through.

Who had him? Was it General Ross? Had that mad man finally gotten ahold of him and ripped the Hulk from his head? If that were the case – how was he still alive? And Why? The General had always wanted to dissect him like a science project – if Ross did have him Bruce was sure he should be dead, but he wasn't. So maybe it wasn't Ross.

The other possible culprit that sprung to mind was SHIELD. Had Fury finally realized how dangerous it was to have a pet rage monster and devised a plan to exercise the demon from Bruce's mind?

It hit Bruce like a ton of brinks and he sunk back down to his knees in the middle of the room – the Hulk, for whatever reason, was gone.

Gone.

Was it permanent? Did Bruce dare to dream that he might actually be free of his nightmare?

Banner slowly raised a shaky hand to cover his mouth, brokenly as he dipped forward to curl into himself. There had been a time when he had first been infected by the Gamma radiation that he believed he'd eventually be free of the Other Guy. He dreamed of freedom until it became painfully obvious that freedom would never granted to him.

Bruce hadn't believed he'd ever find salvation – yet here it was.

A sob broke out behind Bruce's trembling hand and he stopped caring about who had him. Whoever left him in this cold cell had done something for him that he hadn't been able to do for himself.

He was free.

Hot tears sprung to Bruce's pure brown eyes as he let his emotions take over him. He let go of all the 'control' he'd been forced to learn because of the Other Guy. The Hulk. Bruce let go and cried like a man who had lost everything only to be granted a second chance.

Bruce had a second shot at a normal life. He was no longer a monster – no longer a danger to everyone around him and everyone he cared about.

Laughter was added to the hysterical wet sobs of relief. Anyone watching the transformation would probably wonder if Bruce had finally lost his mind.

Ironically he had just gotten it back.

Face damp from tears Bruce tipped his head back and looked up at the non-descript ceiling. He wondered briefly where he was once again, but figured it didn't matter. SHIELD or not the Avengers would come for him.

Steve was protective over his team of misfits and Tony and Clint were loyal to a fault. Natasha wouldn't allow Clint to go anywhere dangerous without her by his side – not after the whole Loki incident. They'd come for him. They protected their family.

Bruce moved to lean against the wall, still on the ground – there was no reason to get up. He thought back to before he lost consciousness and ended up here in an attempt to fill some missing pieces.

Bruce and Tony had been in the lab most of the night working on this and that and Bruce was tired. Tired of being in the Tower, tired of working on meaningless thing that interested Tony more than himself. Bruce wasn't as interested in engineering as Tony was, even though Tony didn't seem to notice or care. Stark would talk for hours about possible designs and projects – he didn't always need an audience.

It was boring.

Not always, sometimes things blew up, which was always entertaining. Entertaining enough that Clint joined them on occasion. Despite Barton's lack of traditional education he picked up on things quickly and seemed to enjoy working with his hands. It was a bit surprising to Bruce how smart Clint actually was, but than again it was Barton's tactical mind that almost destroyed the helicarrier – not Loki's. Clint seemed to prefer it when others underestimated his intelligence. It gave him the upper hand.

Still, for once Bruce wanted to do something that revolved around his field of study so when he received an email inviting him to a conference hosted by one of his former peers Bruce announced that he was going.

Tony offered his limo and when the day came crawled into the back with Bruce.

"Tony, you realize this is a Theoretical Physics conference, right?" Bruce asked with the corner of his lips turned up in a shy smile. "Doctor Rockwell is going to be talking about dark matter and black holes."

"Bruce, it's in Vegas." Tony announced and slipped on a very dark pair of sunglasses despite the already tinted windows. "We'll party afterwards."

Bruce chuckled darkly in response and shook his head slowly. "I doubt the…Other Guy, could put up with such excitement."

Tony pouted and pushed the sunglasses down on his nose so Bruce could see his eyes. "You my friend need to have some fun. It's all seriousness with you – lose some control for once in your life. Don't be a constant downer."

"I lose control and people get hurt." Bruce shook his head, suddenly regretting accepting the invitation. So much for some good old fashion 'me' time. "Tony – "

"Yeah, yeah." Tony sighed dramatically and slid his sunglasses back into place. "I know – forever buried in angst. A day in the life of Bruce Banner."

Bruce knew that Tony would never understand what it was like to have a burden like the Hulk weigh down on him – no one would ever know. For that Bruce was glad, he would never wish the…Other Guy on anyone. Not even General Ross.

They drove to the airport and took Tony's privet jet the rest of the way to Vegas. Tony talked animatedly about what he hoped they'd do outside the conference and Bruce had pretty much given up the fight against the other man's enthusiasm.

When they had finally arrived in Vegas a limo picked them up – that's when things got fuzzy and finally Bruce's memory faded into darkness.

They must have been drugged – they, Tony had been with him. If that were the case – where was Tony? The panic returned with a vengeance and once again Bruce was relieved to be rid of his other half – yet if the Hulk were present he'd be freed of his prison.

Briefly – very briefly – Bruce wished the Hulk was there with him. If Tony was trapped somewhere nearby Bruce had no way to save him – or himself. Suddenly Bruce wished he'd listened to Clint when the man offered to teach him a few tricks when it came to survival in situations like this. Bruce had declined since he was sure he'd always have the Hulk watching his back – whether he wanted the beast to or not.

Bruce let the panic over whelmed him as he moved to the door and jiggled the locked knob. There was no keyhole – not that there was anything to pick a lock with in his current cage.

Behind him the television turned on with a click that signaled Bruce to turn around. The screen came to life and Bruce didn't quite understand what he was looking at – not until the man on the bed started to scream.

There it is, the beginning. The next chapter will be up on Monday.

Reviews and Reviewers are always loved! ^^