A/N: I forgot to mention, this takes place after Iron Man 3!

Thanks for the reviews, the follows, and the favorites! I hope you like this next chapter!

Chapter Two

Dr. Banner was already working on something when Reyna walked into the lab the following morning. He was wearing wire-framed glasses as he squinted at the touch screen computer in front of him, looking the part as brilliant scientist.

"Good morning," Reyna greeted cheerfully. Since they were to work closely with each other, she figured they might as well start on the right foot.

He glanced up at her. "Morning," he muttered before going back to the screen.

'A man of many words,' she thought sarcastically.

She walked over to the table and sat next to him, albeit awkwardly. "What should I do?"

Dr. Banner took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes before facing her. Reyna had thought that she was getting on his nerves with the way he was acting, but when she looked in his eyes, she saw a kind of spark. Was that amusement? Or excitement? He even cracked a half-smile.

"I've been up all night studying up on immunohematology," he told her. "I never even considered it until you mentioned it yesterday. It seems that the gamma radiation I was exposed to mutated the antigens on my red cells therefore causing the antibodies in my serum to react. You were absolutely right."

Reyna smiled bashfully. "I was just applying what I learned in class. Granted, this situation is a tad different than what we learned but I didn't see why the theory wouldn't apply here."

"Yes, well, I do want to try that elution process you explained. That sounds like a good first step. Everything you need should be at that table over there and if not, just let me know."

Reyna headed over to the table he had been talking about and got straight to work. She inwardly groaned because elution was very boring and time consuming- but couldn't complain too much since she needed this job.

After an hour or working in silence, Reyna was ready to burst. She didn't want to admit that she was one of those peoples that needed to talk during silences, but she really was. Not that she found Dr. Banner to be particularly interesting- maybe the Hulk was- but he was a person and she really wanted to start a conversation.

She looked up from her work as the tubes with blood were incubating and decided to check him out. His dark eyes never left the screen, as he studied something. His graying hair was in waves, looking slightly unkempt, but not in a bad way. He was a good-looking guy, she admitted. He was probably forty. If she were older she would totally go for him.

"You two are so boring to watch," Tony Stark said, pretty much announcing his presence as he entered the lab. He was dressed casually in jeans and a tight fitting t-shirt. "I was hoping for some forbidden 'professor/student' action. These tables are pretty sturdy if you want to try."

Dr. Banner covered his face with his hand in embarrassment. "Tony…"

Reyna just laughed. Finally, someone with a sense of humor. "Do you make inappropriate comments like this all the time?" she asked, truly curious.

Stark nodded. "Pretty much. Life's too short to be shy and reserved."

Reyna agreed. "Am I allowed to make inappropriate comments?"

Her boss pointed a finger at her. "Only if it's clever. So, you find the cure yet?"

Reyna scanned the tubes that were in front of her incubating. Should she be farther along? Had she already messed up on the first day? "I haven't even eluted off the antibodies yet…I'm sorry. I'll work faster."

"Don't listen to him," Dr. Banner told her. "You're doing fine."

Reyna smiled. "Okay good. I was starting to get nervous there." She placed her hand over her heart, hoping to slow it down. "I hope you don't mind me asking but why are you trying to get rid of the Hulk? I thought he was a superhero. And that the Avengers were some kind of team."

"Crime fighting's not a full time job," Tony answered. "Nor do we enjoy it when we're trying to love normal lives. I may not have the suit anymore but I will always be Iron Man. Dr. Banner over here doesn't want to be a big green rage monster for the rest of his life but that won't stop him from helping people when he can."

Reyna nodded, processing this information. "So, you guys just want to be normal. I can understand that. But most ordinary people are boring…"

"Have you met me?" Tony interrupted. "Nothing about me is boring!"

"I wouldn't mind a bit of boring," Dr. Banner commented quietly.

The rest of the day was uneventful. Reyna was able to elute off the antibodies and preserved them separately in serum to prepare for testing in the morning.

She had hoped that Dr. Banner would have opened up a bit more while they were working in silence yet again but unfortunately he was closed up like a clam. She definitely liked Tony Stark. He was funny and very entertaining. There was never a dull moment with that guy. But she wished she could know more about the Hulk's alter ego. He was a mystery.

"Hey, did you know Iron Man isn't Iron Man anymore?" Reyna asked her brother over the phone as she made her way home. It was starting to get dark so she tried to hustle along.

'Yeah,' she heard her brother's voice reply. 'He announced it at a press conference.'

Reyna blinked. "I'm always behind on this kinda stuff…"

'Hey listen, I gotta go so I'll talk to you later, okay?'

Before Reyna could even reply, she heard the familiar click signaling that he hung up. She had hoped that he wouldn't hang up so quickly since she still had a bit left to walk home. She had no one left to call so she hastened her pace.

With only a couple of blocks left, she thought she was home free until she started hearing heavy footsteps following behind her.

'Keep walking,' she told herself. 'Just keep walking.'

The person was getting closer. Against her better judgment, she turned around to see who was following her and wished she hadn't. An older man with shoulder-length blonde hair and intimidating leather clothes was trailing her.

She gasped involuntarily and did the only thing she could think of. She took off running and suddenly regretted wearing heels to work that day.

It didn't take long for the man to catch up to her. He easily grabbed her from around the waist and slammed her against the nearest wall in an alleyway so no one would see them.

Reyna whimpered in fear, not knowing what to do. He grinned creepily at her and she opened her mouth to scream, "Somebody help me!" Her voice cracked at her attempt to raise her voice.

"Shut up!" he snapped. Without warning, he raised his hand and slapped her across the face. The loud smack echoed throughout the alleyway. The stinging feeling that swiftly enveloped her cheek was overwhelming and tears clouded her vision.

"Don't try screaming again," he warned, his alcoholic breath suffocating her. "You won't like what happens to you."

Making sure to keep her mouth shut, she tried to wriggle out of his grip. Catching on, he shoved his forearm over her neck to keep her in place, choking her as he began to grope her breast roughly. The tears were free-flowing down her cheeks now as she tried to get his arm off of her. "Please…stop…" she whispered, unable to raise her voice.

"Just going to have some fun," he slurred. "You'll enjoy it." His free arm left her chest and began making its way up her skirt.

Reyna started to squirm more strongly, causing his choking arm to press further into her neck. She was gasping desperately for air when the man was abruptly pulled off of her and thrown across the alley. The lack of support was too much for her and she collapsed on the ground. She began coughing violently and missed the majority of what was going on in front of her.

"Last time I checked screaming for help doesn't mean someone's having a good time," she heard a different voice say. "Plus, she's not your type."

"Screw you!" she heard her assailant scream. She watched as he clenched a fist and tried to drill her rescuer in the face. He ducked easily and shot what looked like a rope at him. Before she could even process what was going on, the blonde man was hanging above the street, completely wrapped up and gagged.

"These guys just get easier to take down," her rescuer mumbled. A pair of red and blue boots entered her line of vision. She raised her eyes and saw that he was wearing a mask and was completely recognizable. Spiderman.

"You okay?" he asked.

Reyna meant to respond but she couldn't find her voice. She began blubbering like a baby instead.

"Hey, hey, it's okay," he comforted. He kneeled down next to her and patted her back in a soothing manner. "He's not going to hurt you anymore."

Reyna nodded and wiped her eyes furiously. Could she be any more embarrassing?

She looked up to actually face him. She saw her own rumpled reflection when she stared into those slightly creepy spider eyes. She was a pathetic mess.

"What's your name?" he asked, his voice sounding extremely comforting to her.

She sniffled. "Reyna…"

"Okay Reyna, can you stand?" he inquired nicely.

She tried to stand on her feet but she collapsed back on the ground, he shaky legs unable to hold up her weight.

"I'll take that as a no." He stood up and hoisted her to her feet, his arm around her, supporting her. "Where do you live?"

She raised her arm to point. "Two blocks away."

"Hold on tight," he told her. He lifted his free arm and shot a web from his wrist. They were off the ground easily and were swinging in the air. The feeling was upsetting her stomach and she wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and sleep her life away.

When they made it to the small apartment complex, Spiderman proceeded to head inside, still practically carrying Reyna alongside him. "Which one?"

"Twenty-five."

Spiderman was on top of it; leading the way like he knew the place and then opening the door when she handed him the keys. He led her to the small worn out couch in the middle of the room and looked around.

Reyna was suddenly embarrassed, wishing she'd cleaned up a bit before she left for the work this morning. There were dishes in the sink, a rumpled pink blanket on the couch next to her, and scattered shoes on the ground. If it weren't for the seriousness of the situation, she would have laughed at the fact that Spiderman was standing in her ordinary, small living room.

"You should be okay now," he said. "Maybe put some ice on that eye."

Reyna nodded. "Thank you, Spiderman."

Her masked hero shrugged. "It's my job." He backed out of her apartment using the front door leaving Reyna to her thoughts. She heard the door next to her home open, Peter Parker's apartment, and wondered if the ruckus had woken him up.

She lay down on the couch, unable to get back up and closed her eyes. Sleep took over.

A/N: So, I decided to include Spiderman. I just really liked Andrew Garfield's performance in that movie so I thought it'd be fun to have him in this. Please review!