So, in case you didn't realise, I decided that Coulson lives. They were faking everyone out so that they'd work as a team. I love Clark Gregg, so he couldn't die on me. Also, Ullr, Freya and Kvasir are actual Vanirians from Asgard, according to Norse/Thor cannon. I however have no idea how or if they were characterised, so I just did it my way.
Ullr, Kvasir and Freya arrived the next day by portal. They were apparently of Vanir, a sister race to the Asgardians. Selvig brought them to the secret base, where the ruins of the Hellicarrier had been stored in an underground chamber for repair following Loki's escape.
The rest of the Avengers and their associates (meaning Pepper and Darcy), as well as the high-ranking agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, converged on the base permanently for moral support and a LOT of meetings discussing strategy, training and the possibility that we may need to evacuate to another planet, if such a thing could be done.
Dr Banner and I hadn't really spoken since that first day—I knew I made him nervous, and I personally didn't know what would happen if I tried to mimic his powers. However, Tony Stark and I, as the resident pessimists, became fast friends. I spent a lot of time in his lab, which was connected to Banner's by a glass wall and a door. Jane's was on the other side, and I found myself making more female friends in a day than I could ever remember having in my whole life. One day about a week after we got to the base, Stark caught me watching Banner through the glass.
"You're staring at him." He observed in a bored voice, but I could tell he was entertained. "May I assume you have a bit of a crush on our good physicist?"
"No you may not," I replied, turning away. "He's just interesting to watch."
"He's reading." Tony told me, as if I couldn't tell.
"It's not what he's doing, it's how he feels as he's doing it."
"Oh yeah, I forgot about your empathy thing."
"Empath. And I can't help but watch when I feel radiating anger, but I see peaceful, quiet research."
"Yeah, he said the trick to controlling the Other Guy was to always be angry."
"The Other Guy?" I asked in amusement. "That's what he calls the—" I gestured to a height far above mine with one hand. Tony nodded. "I suppose it's better than 'The Hulk'. Nicer connotation, given who Dr Banner is when he's himself."
"I guess," Tony shrugged. "After Loki he stayed at Stark Tower, helping Pepper and I rebuild. He really is brilliant, and the Other Guy can hold his tequila like MAD."
I laughed. "You spent time with the Other Guy?"
"After the fight in New York he got a little more confident about letting us around him while he was transformed. I had to be in the suit, that was his stipulation, but we had some good times in the steel-enforced room in the basement."
"I think it's nice you have each other." I said.
"I don't have to be an empath to know you are feeling…" he held one hand over his forehead like a carnival fortune teller, "envious."
"I am envious." I nodded. "You are unique, just like Fury says. And although you frequently go your own ways once the danger is over, you can still know you'll… be there for each other."
"Yeah yeah, it's nice and we're all family," Stark rolled his eyes at me, but I could tell he did have a sentimental attachment to them all. "You wanna get out of here so I can work?"
"Mais oui," I mock bowed and left the lab, only to be caught by Jane.
"Catharine!" she called from next to Banner's office. "Come in here!"
Bracing myself for any emotions Banner might be radiating, I entered the lab and looked over the astrophysicists' shoulder. She was looking at images of the Vanirians' arrival, trying to figure out how the portal worked.
"Huh," I said, tilting my head as I regarded the satellite photos. "Interesting. And you said you met Thor for the first time in a twister?"
"It was a dirt storm, and she hit him with a car," Darcy supplied cheerfully, walking into Banner's lab with a dozen or so McDonald's bags.
"I grazed him with a car." Jane defended haughtily, and I felt her slight guilt.
"It's not like you hurt him," I consoled.
"Here doc," Darcy said, tossing a bag across the room. I didn't think anyone but me had taken notice of Banner behind a couple huge books and a monitor, but he caught the bag with one hand.
"Thanks Darcy," he said. His quiet voice and unsure disposition never failed to be a surprise to me, given what I sensed when he was near.
Darcy continued to pass out food, and Avengers converged on the lab, dragging chairs and research and Vanirians around one of the large tables in the middle of the room.
"Thought I smelled Big Macs." Tony said happily, stealing a bag from Pepper and inhaling. "Ahh, calories and bad decisions."
"Nobody's forcing you," Banner teased, taking the bag from his friend. I always sensed a greater sense of calm from him when he was with Stark and Pepper, probably because of all the time they'd spent together. "The Big Guy could eat another one."
"Oh no," Tony took his bag back and hopped up onto a counter. "I'm not complaining." He tossed a burger to Rogers, who grinned. He'd already been introduced to the wonders of fast food by me and Barton, who shared a mutual love for Harvey's.
Thor and the Vanirians had a million questions about what they were consuming, and soon all the computers in the room were being used for the purpose of youtubing commercials from every fast food corporation we could think of for visual aids.
Soon everyone went back to work and the lab was quiet again. Sighing as Jane became unresponsive as she lost herself in her work, I slid off my wheelie chair and headed down the hall to my own office.
"Miss Krueger," I heard Dr Banner call as he caught up to me.
"Catharine," I smiled, trying to ease the nerves I knew he was having.
"Bruce." He replied. "I was… well, I wanted to know whether you'd tried to… Hulk-out, as Stark puts it."
I laughed. "No, I haven't. I thought perhaps we should talk before I did that."
"You didn't talk to Thor."
"All I did was take his hammer. His powers have nothing to do with his state of being; it was a parlour trick. But I know you fear what I might experience as a 'hulk', though I don't know why— you wouldn't be responsible for me, no more than you are responsible for anything you do as the Other Guy."
"Once you know what it's like…" he hesitated, then seemed to decide it was best to be perfectly honest. "I do wonder how your experience will affect how you look at me."
"It will not change, Doctor." I assured him. "You didn't ask for this, and I cannot judge you for an accident. Besides, I heard you saved a young man's life when you absorbed all that radiation? You may not believe it, Bruce, but you were a hero for that."
"Hero," he scoffed, and I felt intense hatred. "I broke Harlem, you know."
"I heard," I smiled. "But I was in Israel at the time, and we have our own problems. As far as I am concerned, you made up for any damage you might have done to Harlem by defeating Loki's army. I think they have forgiven you. Besides, Harlem could stand to be broken." We were both quiet for a moment before I asked quietly, "Would you like to be there when I try to… 'Hulk out'?"
"I thought I had to be." He answered.
"Not necessarily. It'll be quicker if you are, but I can summon up the emotions I feel from you even if you aren't in the room. It is like a type of meditation."
"I would like to be there— I think Thor and I are the only ones who could stop you from doing something dangerous."
"I've thought of that," I smiled. "Tony, come in." I said, tapping my earpiece. When Iron Man replied I asked, "Get that camera online. Come on." I said to Bruce. I led him to the elevator then down to the underground bunker where the hellicarrier was being worked on. "Freya!" I called to the Vanirian woman. She was ridiculously beautiful, and although I've never been embarrassed of my slightly curvy body, dark hair and light brown eyes, next to her I felt short, fat and frumpy.
"Catharine," the woman smiled, gliding over to us. Her blonde hair nearly trailed the floor, and it wafted behind her as though she was followed around by a fan. "What you requested has been done."
"Wonderful," I grinned. "Do you mind if I showed Dr Banner now?"
"Not at all."
We boarded the ship, which was now being called Midgaard, and made our way toward the brig. Freya and Eric had recreated the massive glass cage meant for Bruce but used for Loki. I opened the door and gestured for him to follow me inside.
"If it can hold a demigod it can hold two of us," I reasoned, sensing his hesitance. Nodding thoughtfully, he walked inside and the door slid shut behind us. "Tony has got the footage from the cameras in his lab," I explained. "He'll be monitoring us."
"Have fu-un," Tony's voice came over the ship's PA, and we both smiled.
"All right, I think the best thing to do is for you to explain to me how you feel when the Other Guy breaks through the surface. Not just emotions, but how it feels physically as well." I sat cross legged on the floor and looked up at him.
Bruce was quiet for a long time, just staring into my eyes, and eventually he began to speak quietly. "Mostly I just feel fear- I always hate to let him out because, like you said, I'm not responsible for myself. Usually by the time my body starts to change my mind has ceased its protests, so I don't feel all the pain. But when I shrink back down, I usually pass out, because I'm tired and my entire body is in agony. My body stretches to three times its size, and my muscles ache for days afterward."
"And to be the Other Guy? Are you still in there somewhere?" I asked quietly.
"It's like I'm in the back of his mind. He can talk, but doesn't very often. Rogers said in New York I smiled. Usually I don't remember everything."
"Okay," I nodded. "Turn around." When Bruce raised a brow, I popped a couple of buttons on my shirt. "I'm rather attached to this shirt." I replied. Once I was just in bra and panties, I closed my eyes. I focussed on his anger, letting what I felt course through me, consuming me. After a few moments I began to feel like my brain wasn't in control of my body as I stood up. Then I began to feel the fear. I thought of the video I'd seen of the Hulk in action, and willed my body to comply. Soon I felt an intense pain as I got taller and broader. My voice cried out, but it was much lower than normal, nearly a growl. Bruce was stuttering in front of me in shock. When I opened my eyes he was no longer a head taller than me, but several feet shorter. Obviously I wasn't as big as him when he was the Other Guy, but I assumed that had to do with my own physiology.
"Wow." Bruce breathed. Experimentally I struck the sides of the great cage, making it shake and rattle but nothing came loose. Feeling an uncontrollable anger at my inability to break it, I hit it again, harder. Nothing happened. Letting out a great roar, I fell back. Eventually the beastly roar became a human moan, and I collapsed on the ground.
"Holy shit," I heard Tony's voice say over the intercom before I passed out.