"No matter what happens you have to stay in the Quinjet."

Thomas nodded at his mother.

"This is going to be a lot for you to take in but you have to promise that none of this goes to anyone. In the wrong hands you put me, your father and all you uncles in danger."

"Yes mother." He couldn't help but feel a little annoyed as she had repeated this several times during the trip.

"Good"

Thomas couldn't help but look at his dad, sitting in the back looking completely uncomfortable. He could tell by the way he kept fiddling with his glasses and hands that he was nervous. Was this secret really that terrifying for him? He almost felt bad.

Thomas was surprised his mother could fly a jet but she mentioned that Clint was the real piolet before she landed the craft on a sandy beach.

"Okay, first things first." Natasha opened the back of the jet. "Your father and I are…. Well maybe once you see him you'll catch on."

Bruce was visibly nervous. Natasha walked up and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Don't resist, just let him go. I'll look after him. I always do" She pulled his dress shirt off.

"EW, mom what are you doing?"

"Just pay attention. You wanted to know why your father didn't get mad. This is why."

Thomas watched his father's skin go green as his body shifted into a creature twice his size and all muscle all in the matter of seconds.

"That's not possible…"

"Your father and I are a part of the Avengers as is your Uncles."

"So you're the Black Widow." Thomas stated.

"You catch on fast kid. Now stay here while the other guy lets off some steam. I'll introduce you in a bit."

Before Thomas could protest his mother, in a black skin tight suit, was gone following the path of destruction.

Thomas now understood his past with the Marks household. His dad didn't get mad because it threated the life of everyone on the block. Thomas felt guilt seep into his head. All this time he was pushing his dads buttons because he thought his dad was being stupid, but in reality he was risking the lives of a whole bunch of people and his dad left to save their lives. Thomas' guilt grew.

Those few days he was left to fend for himself, it was due to the Avengers team being called in for something. His parents were superheroes. It all made sense now.

Thomas wasn't sure he was glad or upset. Surely he didn't possess any powers because he was adopted and it would have been a huge risk for his parents to take him in, so why did they?

"Alright Thomas, time for you to meet the other guy." Natasha stood in the door way.

He felt a weight drop in his stomach. There was no way he or she could get close enough to have a conversation with the Hulk. Didn't he just smash things? Did he even talk?

"Hulk will protect you like he does the rest of the team. You're one of us, if you want to be." Natasha said seemingly reading his mind. Slowly he followed her.

It wasn't really hard to find out where the Hulk had been, all Thomas had to do was follow the knocked down and uprooted trees.

"You want to tame the Hulk?"

"I didn't think that was possible."

His mother just laughed. "How do you think we got Bruce back when we needed to round up?"

Thomas remained quiet not really thinking about what happened after their battles. She leaned down and whispered in his ear what she did. "You just have to make sure you keep eye contact and don't let him know you're afraid. He really won't hurt you."

"He smells fear?"

Another laugh. "No Thomas. It just makes your dad feel bad. He's not too fond of the other guy but it's those small things he seems to remember. Any sign of fear and your dad will think he terrifies you and… just make his life a little easier and pretend it's nothing out of the ordinary." She stood on a sand dune watching as the Hulk threw a tree to the side.

Thomas fell back a little behind Natasha. Pretend it's nothing out of the ordinary? How could Thomas casually walk up to the Hulk like he could be squashed in a heartbeat? He understood the idea of acting, but he never found himself as a great actor. Did everyone on the Avengers team just act like the Hulk was no different than they were?

"Hey big guy, I have someone I think you should meet."

With a grunt the Hulk turned his attention to Widow and then to Thomas.

"Bruce wanted to protect him and that's why you've been kept…" Natasha paused looking for the best way to phrase it. "…hidden."

The Hulk moved closer and Thomas held his breath trying to remember to not be afraid. He won't hurt you. He won't hurt you. He repeated the mantra over and over again. It didn't help his nerves that he noticed his mother move to be behind him.

"Uh…hey dad." Looking up he did notice the Hulk had the same eyes as his dad. The thought relaxed him a bit.

"I'm sorry I've been a pain in the ass the past few years. If I had known I wouldn't have pushed your buttons." Thomas rubbed the back of his neck.

He looked over to his mom and she gestured for him to try what she had instructed him to do. Closing his eyes he took a deep breath. He locked eyes with his dad and held his hand out palm facing away from him.

He watched as the Hulk followed suit seeming to be hesitant at first. Following the instructions he turned his hand up.

The next few seconds happened so quick he almost didn't register them. Bullets were fired from what he later found out was a helicopter and the Hulk had pushed Thomas behind him as Natasha screamed out his name and he landed harshly in the sand. The Hulk let out an angry roar and charged toward the incoming fleet.

Natasha slid beside him. "Back to the jet don't look back and don't come looking for us. Lock the doors and don't let anyone in." She pulled something out of her pocket and pushed it into his hand. "Call your uncles and let them know what happened they will track us through the jet. Now go." She pushed him to his feet and in the direction of the jet.

Thomas opened his mouth to argue when he was cut off by the sight of men running through the trees toward them bullets blazing. His mother took half of them out before having to reload. "GO!"

He turn and sprinted following his mother's direction looking back to find she was no longer there. The run to the jet was easy as he didn't run into anyone. Locking the doors behind him he finally let himself fall to a sit on the floor to catch his breath. Looking in his hand he found and ear piece. Putting it in, he held down one of the buttons.

"This is Thomas, anyone copy?"

"Alright Thomas I need you to sit in the piolets seat and look for a button that says rad."

Thomas continued to follow his mother's directions. Finally, after a few more instructions from his mom he was able to get a hold of his Uncle.

"Look Tasha some of us have a business to run."

"I thought Auntie Pepper ran the business."

"Thomas? What are you…? I'm on my way."

Thomas pulled the head gear off finally letting himself relax. Help was on the way and his parents were safe for now.

A loud banging from the back made Thomas jump. Thinking quickly he pulled the head set with him and ran to the back. Half way there he heard the floor under him sounded different and with a quick look he found a hidden handle. Pulling he found a small opening leading to the under carriage of the jet. Quickly he slid in as the back door was being pried open.

The under carriage held all the extra supplies. There were another two Iron man suits and quivers of arrows and a bow, lots of pistols and ammunition as well as medical supplies. Quietly Thomas grabbed two pistols and holsters and attached them to his legs than picked up the bow and a quiver of arrows as well. Finishing his looks he grabbed a string of grenades. As a second thought he grabbed some bandages. Digitalis? Something he knew was commonly called foxgloves. He has done enough research on it in Bio-Chem class to know what it would do and its affects. Why did they have those? He grabbed the small vial anyway.

Heading back to the hidden door he lifted up to the boots of what looked like about 20 people. He pulled a pin and threw the grenade and closed the door before running the opposite direction he threw it not knowing how much damage it would do to the jet. The loud bang created a hole in the floor of the jet and he sprinted and jumped up pulling a pistol out and looked for anything that moved.

He pushed back the panic as his eyes swept over the bodies and limbs. He did this. Blood thundered in his ears and his heart rate rose to a level he didn't ever remember it reaching. On his way out he couldn't help but notice the little USA flags on the shoulders of the bodies. Peeking out the back of the jet he saw another group of soldiers on the beach to his left. Taking a deep breath he pulled the pin of another grenade and threw it as far as he could, already running in to the woods, hoping the explosion would leave them distracted as he went out to look for his parents.

As he ran he pushed the ear piece. "Widow, I'm armed and out, the jet isn't safe." He slid down a dune to avoid being seen by men running off to his right. He slid the pistol back in its holster and pulled the bow off his shoulder. Pulling an arrow out he noticed the tip wasn't a normal arrow tip. The one he had pulled out had a rounded tip and little davits in it almost like a miniature silver golf ball.

"You can't be out here Thomas." He noticed how out of breath his mother sounded.

After another moment to catch his breath he continued his way through the trees.

"Just no grenades at you father" Natasha sighed. "We need him on our side."

Thomas froze as he looked for something to hide behind as a group of soldiers stood in front of him. He let out silent curses as they pointed to him, guns raised. He pulled the string back and tried to aim. Letting go the arrow flew and landed a good five feet in front of the group. He let out another string of curses as the soldiers laughed. He drummed his fingers against the handle not noticing the button and as he pressed it he watched the group of soldiers fall to the ground after what looked like being electrocuted. Pulling out another arrow this one with different tip and slowly made his way to the group. Satisfied they were no longer a threat he picked up the arrow in the sand and put it back in to the quiver.

With another quick look around he bolted through the trees. Off to his left he could see the large green mass he knew was his father and headed that direction. He knew it was complete luck that got him out of the last encounter with the soldiers. He was not about to test how much luck he still had. His dad would protect him and if he was lucky, his mom would be there too.

The beach front was completely destroyed with helicopters littered everywhere and bodies. The once blue waters around the island were now pink. The breeze carried the smell of dead bodies mixed with the salt of the ocean. Thomas' stomach heaved and he puked into the tree line. He had never seen a body in his life and today he's seen more than he wished.

Taking a few seconds to collect himself he pulled his bow back and aimed for one of the helicopters. He moved his aim up a bit to take into account the distance and to the left for the breeze and holding his breath he let go and watched it fly. As the arrow moved closer, his finger fidgeted by the button not wanting to wait. When he couldn't wait anymore he watched as the tip smoked and was disappointed when it did nothing more.

There was movement behind him and he turned an arrow already equip. He almost cried out when he saw his mother.

"Clint would be happy to see you picked his favourite."

"Yeah until he saw what a lousy shot I was."

She chuckled and wrapped her arm around his shoulder and kissed his head. "You holding up okay?"

"Yeah." Thomas said suddenly out of breath.

"Hey big guy! I found a way off this island. It won't stop these guys but it may delay them long enough for us to get away."

The Hulk grunted in responded. And Natasha turned to Thomas. "Hold on tight" and before he could responded she had tossed him up and he clung around the neck of the Hulk as his mother clung to his own waist. Climbing up, Natasha sat herself on the Hulks right shoulder directing him. Thomas on the other hand could only see the green of his dads back. Through the ear piece he heard his mother mention something about a jump and holding on really tight.

His hands slipped as the Hulk landed and Thomas hit the ground hard knocking the wind out of his lungs. His mother landed gracefully in front of him. "I'm going to scope the area and look for a spot to signal Tony without Ross knowing. Thomas, look after you father, I think it's about time for a lullaby." She said with a smirk before she took off in to the dense forest easily dodging roots and low hanging branches.

"Alright big guy, I need my dad back so let's try this again."

Thomas followed the instructions and for a second was worried when he saw the Hulk wander off and as he followed he noticed him shrink down to normal size as he collapsed to the ground. He now understood why his mother had taken his shirt off looking at the condition of his now destroyed pants. Kneeling beside his dad watched for what was to come next ignoring the rocks and pine needles pressed against his legs.

"Thomas?" Bruce blinked looking around confused. Panic hit him as he noticed he was not on the jet and he wasn't on the same island. Natasha was nowhere to be seen.

Thomas saw the panicked looked and explained. "We were attacked but you got us to safety and mom went to look for a way to signal the rest of the team."

"What are you doing here?" Bruce's eye widened as he saw the arsenal of weaponry his son had. There was no way Natasha would have let him out of the jet if it was dangerous, but if the jet was fine than wouldn't they be in the jet?

Thomas didn't know what came over him, but he through his arms around his dad and hugged him like his life depended on it. He almost died today and if he had, his dad would have thought that he hated him. "I don't hate you dad. I'm sorry for everything."

Bruce hugged him back relief washing over him hearing those words.

"We need to move. I don't know who it is but they will catch up to us soon enough."

Looking at his dad Thomas smiled before taking his jacket off and handing it to him along with one of the pistols he had strapped to him.

"So Natasha did the lullaby and left?" Bruce asked as they worked their way up a hill.

"Not exactly." Thomas panted out of breath. "I did the lullaby"

"Really?" Bruce sounded surprised. "Didn't think he'd warm up to you so quickly."

"Mom just told me to keep calm, said you wouldn't hurt me."

Bruce chuckled a bit. "The Hulk… the other guy, isn't me. A complete other entity more like."

Thomas shrugged. "Maybe, but I did see you in there."

Bruce laughed. "Now you sound like Natasha."

The two made it to the top of the hill and Thomas couldn't help but notice his father's bare feet. Together they looked over the water to see the island still surrounded by copters that were now collecting soldiers and dead. Bruce looked away not wanting to see the pile up of bodies. How many of those men had families? Wives and Children that were now fatherless because of him.

"I took quite a few out myself." Thomas said reading his father's body language.

The two continued in silence slowly distancing themselves from what Thomas now knew was Ross.

"So who is this Ross person?" Thomas finally asked holding a branch back for his dad.

Bruce gave him every detail as they continued to walk. He told him about the experiment, Betty and the Avengers initiate. As well as the abomination and his time moving from place to place where S.H.E.I.L.D found him in Calcutta, India.

"So your blood is what he wants. Well if he can't get it while you're the Hu…the other guy…" Thomas was catching on to the fact the Hulk was referred to as 'the other guy'. "…than why does he keep trying? The best to get it would be to take it while you were…not the other guy, right?"

"Lucky for me, he isn't as smart as you and I."

"Okay, so how come your blood didn't kill the abomination guy but it does other people?"

"Balonski had some of the super serum beforehand I guess. I never really thought about it."

Thomas knew that last part was a lie. He knew it was the gamma radiation that killed others, but he continued. "What if there were some people it killed and others it didn't others who are immune? Surely there are others that wouldn't die from your blood..."

Bruce stopped and stood in Thomas' way.

"Look I've been looking into my blood all my life trying to find a way to get rid of the other guy with no such luck. I'm not giving it to anyone to test that theory. Too many people die on account of the other guy I don't want to be responsible for more deaths and if they did survive who's to say they won't end up like me?" Bruce turned and looked away. "I wouldn't wish that on my enemies. It's a nightmare."

Thomas chose to ignore the last point. That was the reason he didn't have kids of his own, the fear of someone else stuck having to go through what he does. Thomas pushed forward. "You obviously have some control over it right? You didn't kill me, the exact opposite actually."

"One person does not out weight the thousand I did kill." Bruce's voice had gone soft.

"One person can make all the difference besides, if you didn't I wouldn't be here and neither would mom. You…he…whoever… was protecting us."

Bruce just shook his head. Before Thomas could continue something hit him in the back with the force to knock him forward. Bruce jumped to his side. Thomas felt his eyelids get heavy. He had seen enough television to know what tranquilizer did to people. "Go. I'll be fine." To Thomas he could hardly make out what he said as the world started to sway and his muscles became unresponsive. Someone kissed his forehead and muttered something about coming back before everything went black.