Feral
Chapter One: Alley Cat
xXxXx
Bruce glanced out the window of the small café he was sitting in, drinking tea and watching as people went on their way. He had a perfect view of the street and he sipped his tea as people were rushing about, trying to get where they were going and escape the chill of the late November day.
He smiled as one young woman simply meandered down the other side of the street, smiling and reveling in the cold that had already turned her nose red. The woman snugged down into her scarf as she passed an alleyway, her eyes curiously glancing down it. Bruce frowned when the woman seemed to freeze for a moment before suddenly walking down the street with purpose, her face paler than it had been.
Curious about the woman's sudden change, Bruce paid more attention as others walked by the alleyway. Business men, children, teens, and other random people walked by as he watched. Something caused all of them to glance down the alleyway, and caused all of them to hurry on their way. Frowning, Bruce left a tip for the waitress and left the warmth of the café, huddling deeper into his worn coat as he carefully crossed the street and walked over to the alleyway. Watching his step as he entered the alleyway, he got a few steps in before he looked up from the icy ground. When he did, he froze, an odd sort of fear stirring.
Terrified dark green eyes stared back at him from under long, filthy black hair. After a moment the girl scrambled backwards, bare feet slipping in the pink snow that surrounded her. Long, vicious cuts peeked out from under the torn and dirty jeans. Blood oozed from the slash marks covering what Bruce could see of the girl's arms and chest, her long sleeve shirt just as destroyed as her pants. Even from twenty feet away and in a dark alley, Bruce could see the dark bruises that mottled her neck and cheeks and the way that her right ankle was swollen nearly twice the size of her left. The loud hiss of pain that escaped the girl when her back finally landed against the end of the alley way shook Bruce out of his stupor and smothering the odd fear.
He took a step forward, but stopped when the girl tried to push herself further away. Carefully, Bruce raised his hands and sank down to sit on the cold ground, ignoring the way the snow immediately melted and soaked his pants. Slowly, he lowered his hands to rest on his knees, careful to keep the clearly in the girl's line of sight. He tried to make himself as unthreatening as possible, a lot easier when he wasn't big and green.
"I'm sorry if I startled you." The girl's eyes, which had been flickering around looking for an escape route, instantly locked on him. He swallowed at the pure intensity of the fear that they held. "My name's Bruce." He smiled gently at the girl. "What's your name?"
Wariness crept into the girl's fearful eyes as she brought her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them to try and keep warm. Bruce waited patiently, silently meditating and trying to calm his anger at the girl's appearance because no child should look like this one did. So lost in his meditation and fight for control, he almost missed the girls quiet voice.
"…licia."
Bruce leaned forward slightly, a small sigh of relief escaping. "Alicia?"
The girl shook her head slightly, her face hidden by her knees. "Felicia."
Bruce smiled encouragingly at the girl. "Hello Felicia. That's a pretty name." he looked at what he could see of Felicia's injuries, now mostly hidden by a curtain of her hair. "Felicia, could I take a look at your injuries? They look really bad."
Her head jerked up, shock overriding the fear in her eyes. She stared at him, confusing clear on her face.
"I promise I won't hurt you. I just want to help." Bruce looked at her, worry clear on his face.
Felicia studied his face carefully for several minutes before slowly inching her way forward, wincing each time any pressure was placed on her right ankle. Bruce remained completely still, watching her hesitate and slide backwards several times. She stopped a foot in front of Bruce, body tensed for a quick scramble away from him if he did something wrong.
Bruce carefully reached one hand forward, palm up, stopping halfway between them and letting the girl bridge the final gap. Carefully, she held out her left arm and let it barely rest in his palm. A flash of green appeared in his eyes for a moment as he realized just how skinny the girl was, her skin clinging tightly to her bones. Pushing his anger back, he focused on the cuts that decorated so much of the arm. All were badly infected and some appeared to be at least two weeks old. When he looked at her hand, he found a third degree burn. It stretched in a straight line across her palm. Felicia pulled her left arm back and let Bruce look at her right arm. He found matching wounds, like whoever had inflicted them had wanted her scars to be symmetrical, down to the burn on her hands. The burn seemed to be her oldest injury, and was the only one he could see that was not infected.
Bruce looked at the girl's neck and noticed something that the bruises decorating it had hidden when at a distance. Several one inch cuts were placed seemingly randomly all over it. Frowning, Bruce looked at the cuts on her arms again. His eyes widened as he realized that all of them were just deep enough to ensure scarring, and all avoided major blood vessels.
"He didn't want to kill me." Her voice slurred faintly.
Bruce's head jerked up to look into Felicia's eyes, but she had lowered her head and hunched down to make herself smaller. Bruce fought the urge to hug the girl protectively and swallowed down all of his questions as he felt the girl's hand shaking from something other than the cold.
"We need to get you to a hospital. These injuries are more serious than I thought." Bruce knew that most of Felicia's injuries were non-life threatening. It was the infections and the hypothermia that were what really worried him as he examined the girl. Carefully, Bruce checked the girl's pulse, finding it weak.
Felicia listed slightly to the side, her eyes fighting to stay open and her breathing slow and shallow as she tried to stay awake. She pulled her hand back slightly, fear and unease taking over her features again.
"Felicia, you're barely conscious right now. It's not safe for you to be out in this weather, especially not in this condition." Bruce watched as she braced herself on her left arm, the cold numbing the pain she must be in. "Please, let me help get you to a hospital."
Felicia twisted slightly, clearly having trouble thinking. Finally, she looked up at Brue, studying his face carefully for a few minutes before giving a tiny nod.
A sigh of relief escaped Bruce as he slowly stood up, his legs stiff from the cold ground. He offered his hands to the small girl in front of him. Felicia stared at his hands for a minute before carefully grasping them with hers and pulling herself up. Her right leg gave out when she tried to put her weight on her swollen ankle and would have fallen if Bruce had not immediately wrapped an arm of support around her. He looked down at her worriedly as he felt her tense at his touch.
"Felicia, I don't think you will be able to walk on your own." Felicia chewed on her lip worriedly, not even noticing when her lip split and began to bleed. She glanced nervously up at Bruce and he smiled softly down at her. "I promise I won't hurt you." Bruce looked down at the girl questioningly.
Felicia looked at him nervously before giving a tiny nod to Bruce's silent question. Gingerly, Bruce scooped the girl into his arms, wary of the injuries that crisscrossed her back. His jaw clenched as he realized just how light the girl was. Carefully he carried the girl from the alley way, glancing around a spotting a payphone nearby. Slipping the necessary coins in, Bruce quickly called 911. A short while later, an ambulance and a police car pulled up.
Felicia was barely conscious, her head listing against Bruce's shoulder, but when the EMTs tried to take her from Bruce, her small hands gripped his coat tight and she let out a terrified whine.
The EMT looked at Bruce. "Sir, it may be best if you come with us."
Bruce nodded in agreement and climbed into the ambulance while the EMT informed an officer. Felicia's grip on his coat only tightened when Bruce tried to place her on the wheeled cot, burying herself into his coat. The EMT got on after them, quickly handing Bruce a blanket to wrap around the half frozen girl. The position that Felicia was in only gave the EMT access to her feet, so the EMT immediately began examining the girl's swollen ankle as they drove.
When they finally got to the hospital, a pair of detectives and a woman with a camera were waiting for them. Felicia began to panic when the male detective approached, so the female detective stopped him and came forward instead.
She knelt down so that she was looking up into Felicia's downcast face. "Sweetie? Is it okay if we take some pictures of your injuries? I promise we won't hurt you." She watched as Felicia's terrified eyes flickered over to the male detective. "Okay. He won't be in the room, I promise. Is that okay?"
Felicia gave a tiny, nervous nod and the detective led them into the hospital and to a room that had been prepared for them. The male detective remained in the hallway, making a quick stop to request a female doctor and female nurse to look over the girl.
Bruce carefully laid the girl down on the hospital bed, but Felicia refused to relinquish her hold on his coat. Bruce felt like his hands were huge as he carefully wrapped them around the girl's. "Felicia, it's okay. You're safe here. These people are not going to hurt you." Her eyes fought their way open to study his face, exhaustion almost drowning the fear that was there. He smiled sadly down at her. "I'll be right out in the hall, okay? I promise."
Felicia's eyes slid closed for a moment before opening again, her grip relaxing enough for Bruce to gently slide his coat from her fingers. He stepped out of the way and back into the hall, where the male detective began to question him. Bruce kept his eyes on Felicia until the nurse pulled the curtains to give the girl privacy as the ruined clothes were removed and placed in evidence bags. Bruce focused his attention on the detective questioning him, telling him what little information he had managed to glean from the girl and how he had found her. Finally, the female detective finished getting the pictures and got out of the way of the doctor and nurse.
She looked at Bruce, clearly fighting to hold back tears. "The girl fell unconscious about halfway through, when we removed her clothes." The detective looked away, swallowing. "That child…she began to panic when we did that."
The male detective was scowling, not at all pleased by what he was being told. "How bad are her injuries?"
"Most of the cuts aren't too bad, it's mostly the infection in all of them that's worrisome." The doctor was drying her hands as she exited the room, looking back at the girl she had been treating. "We need to get an X-ray on her ankle, which looks to be either fractured or very badly twisted. I'm going ahead and getting a full body X-ray to make sure there are no other hidden injuries. On her back are several burn spots as well as several infected cuts. She is severely malnourished and dehydrated and also suffering from hypothermia. The most worrisome injury is high on her inner right thigh, two deep cuts crossing each other like an X." She looked at Bruce and the detectives, the lines around her eyes deep in grief. "That injury as well as several others in the area were covered by her jeans."
The female detective choked on a sob while the blood drained from the male detective's face. Bruce fought down his anger, knowing that losing control here would do no one good. He looked at the doctor, his jaw tense. "She was…"
The doctor nodded. "She was sexually assaulted." She took a few steps forward to get out of the way of the gurney as Felicia was rolled off to get X-rayed, her pale form tiny. The doctor focused on Bruce. "That girl has obviously been physically and mentally abused, probably emotionally as well. The oldest injury is the burns on her hands, which look to be around three weeks old." She watched as Bruce sank into a chair, grief weighing him down.
"Mister…?" The nurse stepped forward, glancing at the doctor a bit nervously.
He looked up at the nurse and smiled apologetically. "Ah. My name's Bruce Banner."
The nurse nodded. "Mr. Banner, it may be best if you stay close to the girl for now. She seems to have latched onto you as a sort of safe haven." The nurse turned to the doctor. "If that girl wakes up and Mr. Banner isn't there, she could have a severe panic attack and seriously hurt herself."
The doctor nodded in agreement and turned back to Bruce. "That would probably be a good idea, at least for a day or so."
"Of course." Bruce immediately nodded agreement.
The doctor nodded and turned to the nurse. "Make sure he has enough blankets and pillows. I'm off to check the girl's X-rays and properly treat her ankle." Without another word, the doctor walked off down the hall.
The nurse smiled sadly at them before running off to do her job. The male detective laid a hand on Bruce's shoulder to get his attention. "We can have an officer pick you up a couple of changes of clothes so that you don't have to leave."
Bruce smiled gratefully up at the man. "Thank you. I'm actually staying at a motel, if they could just pick up my bags and return the key that might be easier." He dug the key out of his pocket and handed it over to the detective, who nodded and left to take care of that.
The female detective sat down next to Bruce, dabbing furiously at her eyes. They waited in silence until the doctor returned, walking next to the gurney with Felicia. The doctor waited until Felicia was settled once again on the hospital bed before coming over to talk to them once again.
"Her ankle has a small fracture, but that's it. No other breaks." The doctor handed the detective a small file. "This is my preliminary report, I'll send a final one to your office later."
The detective nodded in thanks and glanced at the child. "I hope we catch this monster soon." With that, she nodded them farewell and left.
The doctor focused on Bruce. "She should stay asleep for a while, but you can go sit with her. The other bed in the room is clean, so if you need to you can use it."
Bruce smiled up at her. "Thank you." He stood and walked past the doctor and into the girl's room, quickly setting in the chair placed next to her bed. He watched quietly as the girl slept, gently reaching out to stroke Felicia's now clean hair. Sadness overwhelmed his expression when, even unconscious, the girl flinched from his touch.
xXxXx
Bruce had been keeping Felicia company for two days, helping her through nightmares and panic attacks. The girl barely spoke and when she did, it was never louder than a whisper.
"Felicia…?" Bruce leaned forward in his chair next to her bed. "How old are you?"
The girl fidgeted with the sheet resting on her lap, twisting it in her hands. "…Eight."
Bruce ran his fingers through his hair as he sighed softly. "Where are you from?"
Felicia seemed to shrink into herself, her eyes filling with something dark. Her face was pale as she silently shook her head, her hands trembling violently in her lap.
Bruce reached out gently and stroked her hair, sadness in his expression when she unconsciously leaned into the touch for a moment before flinching away.
xXxXx
Two weeks later, and Felicia was well enough to leave the hospital. The female detective had gone to a thrift store and found Felicia some clothes from that would fit. Since Felicia had refused to say anything about her family, they were forced to release her into foster care. She quietly went with the social worker, glancing back every other step to look at Bruce. After the girl was out of sight, Bruce left to go get a motel room and think about what he was going to do next.
Six hours later, a police officer knocks on the door and asks him to come to the hospital.
Felicia had been checked back in with two new cuts on each of her wrists.
After some discussion, the police decided to try having Bruce look after her. She still refused to answer any questions about what happened to her.
xXxXx
Three months, and Bruce had gotten them lost in a bad area of town.
A drug deal gone very wrong and bullets were flying across the street. Bruce tucked Felicia into a corner and hoped that the police got here soon as he shielded Felicia as best he could.
Then a stray bullet caught him in the shoulder and the Other Guy decided to visit just as the police arrived.
The drug dealers and the police were shocked for only a moment before they opened fire. After several thrown cars, it was obvious that the Hulk had had enough. He huffed and took a few lumbering steps back, away from the people who continued to shoot. He glanced over his shoulder, spotting an escape route.
Suddenly small arms grabbed one of his legs and a small voice reached his sensitive ears.
"Are you gonna leave me too?"
xXxXx
Bruce groaned as he came to, his eyes blinking at the sight the branches above his head. He knew what had happened, and the vague memories that were starting to return only confirmed it. He only hoped that the little girl hadn't been hurt by the Other Guy.
Then a small face entered his range of vision, black hair swinging and green eyes bright and concerned.
"Are you awake now?"
Bruce sat up sharply in surprise and was shocked at the blanket that fell into his lap. He looked over at Felicia and noticed a small pile of men's clothes next to her. Bruce frowned at the girl. "Did you steal those?"
She shook her head, the faint barely there smirk on her face allowing Bruce a glimpse of who the girl used to be, and held up a wad of cash. "I grabbed it off the ground just before you picked me up and ran." She shoved the pile of clothes closer to him and pointed over her shoulder. "I'm going to go over there. You stopped next to a lake, and it's really pretty." Without another word she turned and disappeared into the brush, giving him some privacy to get dressed.
Bruce shivered as he pulled the clothes on, glancing around at the snow silent woods. Once he had retrieved the blanket from the ground, he followed the direction in which Felicia had disappeared.
Felicia crouched on the edge of a frozen pond, nearly hidden between a couple piles of snow. Dark green eyes at half mast, wind tugged her black hair away from her shoulders. She gently traced designs on the ice with her index finger, seemingly lost in thought. Bruce was loathe to disturb the girl's moment of peace probably the first in months, so he lingered silently among the trees, simply watching over her. Tension melted away from her shoulders, her eyes falling completely shut as she relaxed. She leaned forward slightly, placing both hands flat on the ice. A sudden blink, a sharp breathe and she yanked her hands back and huddled down into a ball, her shoulders tense and trembling.
Bruce took a few steps forward, purposefully make noise to alert her to his presence. "Felicia? Are you okay?"
Felicia's shoulders hunched, her hands fisting in the sleeves of her jacket. Bruce carefully settled next to her and watched as snow was blown across the pond, meditating and letting the girl calm down in her own time. Bruce was brought out of his meditation nearly an hour later by a small hand gently clasping his sleeve.
"Sorry." Felicia's voice was tiny and frail when she spoke, the tremors that Bruce could feel through her hand clear in her voice. She hunched herself, wrapping her arms around her knees and staring blankly out at the snow with haunted eyes.
"Felicia." Bruce gently nudged her chin with one finger, saddened by the fact that even that small touch made her flinch, but she turned and looked at him with numerous emotions in her eyes. "Felicia, there is nothing for you to be sorry about. Nothing. Okay?" She gave a tiny nod after a moment and Bruce carefully brushed some hair away from her face. "Where's your family? They must be so worried."
Tears welling in her eyes, Felicia buried her face in her knees. "Dead." The sadness in her quiet voice broke Bruce's heart. He carefully stroked her hair as sobs shook her tiny shoulders. After a moment one of her hands broke its tight grip on her knees, reaching towards him and clasping onto his coat tightly. Gingerly he wrapped his arms around her, hesitating when she flinched at the touch. A shaky breathe and Felicia buried herself in Bruce's arms, clinging to him as if her life depended on it.
Finally she calmed down, more from exhaustion and lack of tears than lack of sorrow, and Bruce carefully stood, cradling her in his arms. He looked down at the tired girl. "Felicia?"
Her eyes seemed almost broken when she looked up at him.
"You got the clothes from a town near here, correct?
A tiny, shaky nod.
"Could you point me in the right direction?"
A trembling hand pointed off to the southwest. Bruce rested his cheek on the top of her head for just a moment.
"Okay. You get some rest okay?"
Felicia nodded slowly against his chest, already drifting off.
xXxXx
Bruce smiled softly when he got back to the motel room he had grudgingly left Felicia in and found her still asleep. He hadn't wanted her to wake up alone while he had gone to get them something to eat. He was glad that there had been a diner just across the street from the motel in the small town in Michigan that they had ended up near.
He watched as the scent of the freshly cooked food brought the young girl to consciousness. Felicia sat up and rubbed at her eyes that were still red from all the crying. Bruce began setting out the foods. "Why don't you go wash your face to help you wake up? Then we can eat."
The still sleepy girl nodded and wandered towards the bathroom, nearly running into the closed door before she remembered to open it.
Bruce was glad that she had had a relatively calm sleep, as she had been waking with choked back screams almost every night since he had met her.
Felicia looked more awake and her eyes looked less sore when she came to the table. Bruce pushed the paper plate of food he had prepared over to her and watched as she dug in. She had gained some weight over the past three months, but she was still very thin. She blinked up at him for a moment when she paused to chew and darted her eyes at the plate in front of him, silently reminding him that he needed to eat as well. Bruce chuckled softly and began to eat his own food, still keeping an eye on the fragile girl that had come into his care.
xXxXx
Felicia was standing at the open door of the motel room watching the thick heavy grey clouds that hung above. When the snow finally began to fall, she became fidgety and kept glancing back at Bruce.
"Felicia, do you want to go play in the snow?" Bruce couldn't hide the amusement in his eyes.
Felicia nodded. "I like the snow." Her voice was as quiet as it always seemed to be, but for once wasn't laden with sadness or fear.
Bruce smiled at the girl and made a slight shooing motion with his hands. "Just don't go too far, okay?"
The tiniest of smiles and she was out the door, arms spread and face up to catch the snow.
Bruce watched her for a few minutes before deciding to make a call. He grabbed the phone off its hook and dialed a number he had memorized for emergencies.
"This is Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, how may I help you?"
Bruce's lips twitched as the lady rattled off the long name. "I uh, I need to speak with Natasha Romanov?"
"I'm sorry, I can't—"
Bruce cut the lady off, needing to talk to someone who knew what he was calling about. "This is Doctor Bruce Banner."
A shocked gasp from the other end of the line. "Of course! I'm sorry, I'll connect you immediately!"
A few clicks and Natasha's smooth voice answered. "I was expecting you to call sooner than this, Dr. Banner."
Some tension leaked out of Bruce's shoulders. "How bad?" his voice cracked with worry in the middle.
Natasha was silent for a moment. "A large amount of structural damage, several demolished cars. A few scrapes and bruises." She paused. "No fatalities and no serious injuries."
Bruce collapsed into the chair he had been standing next to. "Oh thank goodness."
He could practically hear her smile on her voice. "We have the bags you left behind and I have been told to tell you that Tony is holding them hostage until you at least come visit."
Bruce chuckled, the relief still a heady thing. "I'll, uh, I'll keep that in mind." His eyes drifted over to the window where he saw Felicia slowly turning in the snow.
Natasha was quiet for a few moments. "Bruce." He blinked at the use of his first name. "I'm glad I'm the one you called."
Bruce smiled softly. "Well, I know that you will give it to me straight. The others might try to sugar coat it." He leaned back in his chair, watching Felicia's almost peaceful movements.
"Nothing to sugar coat." Natasha listened as Bruce drew a few slightly shaky breathes. "It would be nice to see you though. Tony is absolutely convinced that you have been captured by someone and are in dire need of rescuing."
Bruce choked back some laughter at the words. "No—" A few chuckles escaped him. "No rescuing necessary. I'm fine."
"But your bags need rescuing." Natasha sounded pleased by the laughter that escaped him. "Come visit New York, Bruce."
"I'll, uh, I'll try. Thank you, Natasha."
Natasha sighed. "You're welcome Bruce. Goodbye."
"Goodbye." Bruce hung up the phone and went to the door of the room, opening it and letting the chilly breeze that accompanied the snow in. "Felicia." The girl looked at him over her shoulder. "I don't want you to catch a cold. Come in and warm up."
The girl came inside and closed the door. She disappeared quickly into the bathroom. Bruce went to the bag they had found her at the local thrift shop, a sturdy blue denim backpack with white stars painted on, and got her a change of clothes, leaving them on the table just in reach of the bathroom door. Felicia poked her head out and spotted them before grabbing them and disappearing again. Bruce heard a quick shower run before she came out with a towel draped over her still wet hair.
Bruce smiled at the girl and pulled the other chair in front of him, patting the seat. Once she was settled, he started helping her dry her hair, something they had started to do in order to help her get used to people touching her again.
"Felicia, do you have anywhere to go?"
The girl froze for a second before shaking her head.
Bruce lowered his hands, making sure the towel was wrapped around the girl's shoulders as he did so. "Would you like to come to New York?"
Bright eyes looked at him, hope buried deep and struggling to break free. "I can stay with you?"
The desperate hope she tried to hide in her voice brought a sad smile to his face, but he swiftly replaced it with a rather hopeful one of his own. "If you want to, I'm willing to try and make sure it happens."
Felicia reached out and grabbed one of his hands. "I want to."
Bruce smiled at her. "Okay then."
xXxXx
Bruce was standing just inside the entrance of Stark Tower, now renamed for the Avengers, with Felicia tucked tightly into his side, not sure what to do. A crowd of business people began to come through the door and jostled them further into the tower until they were standing in the center of the floor. Felicia's already tight grip on his pants tightened and he put one hand on her furthest shoulder, gently holding her just a bit closer as he looked around trying to find the right person for him to talk to.
"Dr. Banner!"
Bruce felt relieved when he spotted Steve Rogers' smiling face in the crowd, steadily making his way towards him.
Steve's smile brightened when he finally made it through the after lunch rush of returning people. "It's good to see you again! How have you—" Steve blinked in surprise as he noticed the small child that was trying to bury herself into Bruce's leg. He softened his smile as he knelt down. "Hello there, miss."
Felicia flinched and tried to hide herself more behind Bruce's legs. Bruce gave Steve a sad, apologetic smile when he glanced up and gently stroked Felicia's hair.
"Felicia, it's okay. This is Steve Rogers. He will never hurt you, okay?"
Felicia stared up at Bruce for a moment before relaxing the tiniest bit, but not budging from her hiding spot.
Steve stood up and looked at Bruce, numerous questions in his eyes, but before he could speak the doors opened and Tony and Natasha came in, bickering about something.
Tony spotted Steve and Bruce and made a beeline to them. "Bruce, back me up here—Why is there a tiny thing in my tower?" He frowned and pointed at Felicia, his original thought completely derailed.
Felicia stared at the finger that was inches away from her face and tilted her head to the side, considering.
Natasha quirked a fine brow. "At the moment, I think she is contemplating biting your finger." Her red lips twitched with amusement as the child continued staring at the finger.
Tony pulled his finger back with a glare at Natasha.
Bruce rested a hand on Felicia's hair, feeling how tight her grip had gotten on his pants. "This is Felicia. I'm taking care of her. Felicia," She glanced up at him as he spoke. "This is Tony Stark and Natasha Romanov. They're my friends." He glanced at Tony. "I, uh, I was informed that you were holding my bags hostage?"
Tony was staring down at Felicia in confusion, but Bruce's question brought his head up with a grin. "Yes. Yes I am." A slight pout crossed his face. "But Steve wouldn't let me go through them."
Steve rolled his eyes. "Tony…"
Bruce smiled. "It probably would have confused you, since one of those bags has the clothes that were given to Felicia."
Tony blinked. "Opening one of your bags and finding a bunch of kid's clothes?" He blinked again. "Yes, that would have."
"How long do we have you, Doc?" Natasha looked at him, her eyes calculating and assessing.
"I thought, um, that I would get my bags, and then we'd find a place to stay and figure it out from there." He glanced down at Felicia who was a bit calmer now that it didn't seem like the others were going to touch her.
Tony immediately frowned. "Nonsense!" He turned and started walking towards the elevators. "You have a room here, and I'm sure we can figure something out for tiny! You don't have to go anywhere."
Bruce blinked in surprise. "Are you sure? I mean, you don't—"
"No stay, no bags!" Tony was smirking as he waited for them in the elevator, completely pleased with himself.
Steve rolled his eyes again, but was clearly trying to keep a smile off his face as he got on as well.
Natasha glanced sidelong at Bruce. "He can be such a child sometimes. But he's right in that you should stay here." She walked by them and into the elevator.
Bruce looked down at Felicia and stroked her hair. "You okay?" He waited until the girl gave a small nod before he went to the elevator as well, Felicia still attached to his leg.
When the elevator doors opened at their destination, Bruce was greeted by the sight of Agent Phil Coulson doing paperwork at the coffee table in the living room. Bruce froze in confusion and Felicia's grip tightened at the sight of the new person. Bruce blinked rapidly for a moment. "Clearly I've missed a lot."
Clint popped his head out of a doorway, a welcoming grin on his face. "You have no idea, Doc." He disappeared and the sound of running water was heard for a moment before he reappeared, drying his hands on a towel. "Who's the kiddo?"
At this comment, Coulson looked up from his files with a slight frown on his face.
Bruce shifted slightly, giving them a momentarily clearer view of the girl before she shifted behind his legs again. "This is Felicia, I'm taking care of her." He pointed to each of the men in turn. "This is Clint Barton and Phil Coulson, who I had thought passed away."
Coulson quirked a brow. "Are you sure that is wise with your…condition?"
Clint held up a hand. "Wait. More importantly, how long have you been taking care of her?"
Bruce's lips twitched into a smile. "Since before the latest incident."
"Since Chicago?" Clint squatted to be on eye level with the girl. "That's pretty impressive kiddo."
Coulson was still frowning. "And how long do you plan to take care of her?"
Bruce's hand tightened minutely on Felicia's shoulder as he looked at Coulson with determination. "As long as I possibly can." Bruce could feel Felicia's hands tighten on his slacks and hear the quiet sound of threads snapping.
Steve had a thoughtful frown on his face. "Wouldn't it be better for her to have a steady home life? Not travelling around all the time?"
Bruce could feel Felicia's body trembling rapidly.
Steve glanced around. "I mean, why don't both of you just stay here? Instead of wandering?"
Felicia's trembling froze in surprise and her grip slackened as she stared at Steve.
Tony's expression went thoughtful for a moment before he grinned. "That's good! But!" He pointed down at Felicia, who once again looked at his finger like she might bite it. "Ground rules! Don't touch my coffee, and don't enter my lab! Got it? Got it. Good."
With that he turned on his heel and left the room, considering the matter settled.
Bruce looked around at the others, his eye landing on Natasha first.
She smiled softly. "We are all living here now. Tony even prepared a room for Thor when he returns." She started, walking over to the sofa and settling gracefully. "And it would be nice to have another non-idiot in the residence."
Bruce looked over at Clint.
Clint grinned. "It's up to you, Doc."
Bruce turned to Steve.
"I wouldn't have suggested it if I wasn't okay with it." Steve smiled softly at the girl who was still hiding behind Bruce.
When Bruce turned to Coulson, he found the agent had disappeared. He knelt down to talk to Felicia.
"Do you want to try staying here?"
Felicia looked around the room quickly then examined the three other people in the room very carefully before turning back to Bruce and giving a tiny nod.
xXxXx
Director Fury scraped a hand across his brow. "What do you mean by 'there is now a child living in the Tower?'"
Coulson's expression was blank. "Exactly what I said."
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New Author's Note: I decided to rewrite the first chapter, mainly the first half because it was just bothering me. So no new chapter yet, but I'm working on it.
Original Author's Note: I have a lot of this story already plotted out, and it will be broken into three parts with maybe some one-shots. I plan to go till she is thirteen with Feral, and then continue with from that point in the next one. The series will go till she is in her twenties, as far as I have plotted. It will also cross over with a few other fandoms.
I hope you decide to stick with me on this ride.
Lady of the Shards