A/N: I sincerely apologize in my extremely long delay in updating, however it did, for me, turned out to be a very good thing. I knew where I wanted to go with this story, but thanks to Iron Man 3, the recent Captain America movie, and with what we know now about 'Age of Ultron' the bigger picture came into view and my direction with this story fell right into place. So with a little rewrite and a clearer idea of the whole plot, I'm continuing this story.


December 23rd, 2011

235 days since last incident

"Breathe in and out, letting the diaphragm easily do its job while relaxing the body. Listen to your breathing. Follow it, let it guide you. Once your body is completely relaxed that's when you work on the mind. The beginning of anger is always felt physically before you realize it mentally. If you curb it in your physical being, you can master it in the mental. The key is controlling your breathing first and fore most."

His breathing eased as his mind continued to drift from the chaotic uncertainties of his life to the vast openness of a desert. The image of the desert was what calmed him. The heat of the sun, the uninhabited dunes of sand, and in the middle of the thousands of miles of desert there he stood. He always appeared shirtless and barefooted, walking over the cool sand despite the sun's hot rays, and searching the horizon with his eyes for something. He never knew what he was searching for, but he always did it. It was a constant longing that compelled his search. A longing for something he didn't quite know yet; maybe it was freedom, or help, someone out there who would see him and come to his aid. Or, just maybe, it was a longing for the emptiness. Maybe he was making sure no one else was around. If no one was around then there was no one he could hurt.

Occasionally when he would take a glance behind him he would see a figure. An image of a giant that was big, bulky, and green. The green giant never bothered him, never spoke a word, but it always followed with pent up rage, breathing heavily and angrily while clenching and unclenching its fists. He could hear its roar in his own head and feel its anger coursing through his own blood.

He used to be scared of it and wanted to run as far away from it as he could. He tried trapping it a few times, tried caging it in the desert of his mind, only for it to be too powerful. It would break free every time and become angrier after each attempt to confine it. So he stopped trying to entrap it and decided to accept it. To let it be.

And now when he looked back and saw the green giant following, it reassured him to know it was there. He knew as long as it was following then he would be safe. He could turn his attention to the desert horizon with the sun beating down on him and search without fear. And that was his life, he figured. It was just him, alone, and being followed by the monster that was ready to protect him even if it was from himself.

It took him a long time to realize that taming the monster wasn't the secret, but accepting it was. The monster, the other guy…the Hulk, whatever the name, it was a part of him. In order to control it he had to control himself. It was his own rage, his own anger and bitterness, and his own subconscious that drove the Hulk. Control his body, control his mind, accept his own anger, and then, and only then, could he control the Hulk. They could act as one instead of as separates.

…beep…beep…

Breathe in.

beep…beep…beep...

Breathe...breathe...C'mon, focus Banner. Breathe...

It was dark. There was barely enough light to see and through the fog he saw her. The spy, Natasha Romanoff, was staring up with wide fearful eyes as she coward away. The fear he felt was consuming and in that fear he was blinded, wanting to attack everyone he thought wanted to hurt him, even her. He raised his hand, not a fist, and drew it back in preparation to backhand her...

Beep…Beep…Beep...

Focus. Focus! Breathe out.

"Please, Bruce!" Natasha plead while cowarding in on herself and holding out her hands in a foolish attempt to stop the blow. Looking exactly like his mother all those years ago. "Stop!"

He saw the look of fear in her eyes as he raised his hand up and swung.

BREATHE!

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Bruce opened his eyes as he tried to suck in a breath of air. His throat felt like it was in a strangle hold as he forced in and out the air to his burning lungs. It took him several minutes to finally steady his breathing, calming his inner rage, as his watch kept beeping. It was the timer was going off indicating he'd been meditating for two hours. He silenced the alarm and rubbed a hand over his face and then through his hair as he felt his body give a sudden quiver. There was barely any sunlight coming through the closed blinds over the frosted window. The warmth from the desert faded from his body as he felt a shiver run up his spine from a cold draft in the cabin.

Getting up off the floor, he headed to the bathroom to take a shower.


The snow fall hadn't eased since she arrived in the Canadian province. Sitting in a wicker chair at a small two person table on the front porch, surrounded by thick forest in every direction, Natasha withdrew a heavy breath and watched the endless fall of the white flakes. A day ago she had been enjoying a nice beach with an emerald ocean in the Caribbean. Today, she was freezing along a mountainside all because she didn't dare to go anywhere without her cell phone, or her laptop, or her guns. Being prepared for anything to happen at any given time was all part of the job.

She knew it had to have been Tony Stark who had given the doctor her number. She was taken back to their very brief phone conversation. Banner had sounded panicked, but what had made her give into his request was his desperation.

"Natasha, please," he nearly plead. "I don't know who..." Banner went silent and she could hear his sigh of frustration before he told her, "There's no one else I can call."

A week was all she promised him. She was on vacation from SHIELD for a month and had only been able to enjoy four of those vacation days. By this time next week she wanted to be back on that beach or so help her she would kill Banner herself.

"You're not bothered by this cold?"

She looked to her left and saw Langkowski standing just outside the front door. Despite the cold they were both in hoodies. "I'm Russian. I've lived through worse with much less."

He pulled out the other wicker chair and sat down while sipping at what she assumed was coffee. The man didn't look like much of a scientist with his short chopped dirty blond hair, blue eyes, muscular build and height. Where Banner barely cleared her own height, Langkowski towered over her at 6 foot 4. Last night before going to bed, she had done a search on her laptop. Before Langkowski was a professor of physics, he had made millions as an NFL football player for the Green Bay Packers. How a man went from one day being a professional American football player to a Canadian physics professor didn't baffle her nearly as much as how Langkowski and Banner managed to be, and stay, friends.

She saw him suddenly go rigid as something caught his attention. Natasha followed his eyes and felt her own breath catch for a brief moment. Standing several yards in front of them, and barely visible through the thick snowfall, was a wolf. She watched as it stood almost frozen in front of them. Then, just as quickly as it appeared, it disappeared as it turned and headed deeper into the forest.

"Beautiful, aren't they?"

"And vicious."

Langkowski huffed out a laugh. "No worse than you I would imagine. So, how long have you known Bruce?"

Natasha shook her head and said, "We barely know each other."

"Yet you came all the way here?" he asked confused.

"It's not what you think-"

"I don't think you know what I think."

Natasha stared over at the scientist and nearly smirked. She had a feeling she might actually come to endure his company. "Okay, Professor, enlighten me then," she challenged.

Langkowski turned to her and leaned on the table. He took a moment to look her over before saying, "I'm sure you've noticed by now that Bruce never was good at making friends. Work was his life and he liked doing it alone for the most part. There were colleagues over the years, myself included, yet very few of us who he actually considered friends. Since his accident, his colleagues either ignored him or turned on him completely by helping General Ross. It's safe to say that his trust in people dwindled even more. So, Miss Romanoff, the fact that he called you tells me that he not only considers you a friend but also someone he trusts. Whatever it was that brought you two together, it was of enough importance to get a man who prefers to be left alone to ask for your help. There's been one other woman who's ever gotten him to do that, and she's missing."

Natasha studied him for a long moment looking for a lie or deception. There was none. Everything out of his mouth was the truth and she felt a shiver run though her that wasn't from the cold. What he had said made her uneasy. "You didn't betray his trust or turn your back on him. Why?"

He smiled softly as he told her, "I guess for the same reason why you're here."

Natasha gave the scientist a smile as she stood. "But I never told you what that was," she said as she walked around him.

"You didn't have to...friend."

She stopped at the door and looked down at Langkowski. Once he looked up at her, she told him, "It was nice talking to you, Walter."

"I prefer Walt, and you too, Miss Romanoff."

"Natasha," she corrected as she opened the door and walked inside.

Banner was sitting at the kitchen table when she walked in. He was staring down at an opened newspaper, rubbing one hand through his unruly wavy damp hair and flexing his other hand around a coffee cup. She was afraid he might break it if he squeezed too hard. There were dark circles under his eyes and she could tell he either hadn't slept or hadn't slept well. He also wasn't shaving. The shadow of a beard had grown a little thicker since yesterday. At least he was decently dressed.

"Maybe you should avoid reading the paper."

Banner barely glanced her way before leaning back in the chair and folding the paper closed. She poured herself a cup of the coffee Walter had brewed and took a sip before seeing if there was creamer in the refrigerator.

"Tony said he would send the satellite surveillance footage to your email. He said something about cryptic code protection and that you have programs to enhance the footage."

Natasha looked over at him while saying, "I'll check, but as of this morning I hadn't received anything. He might not be able to get footage of the actual road. It's very rural with overcast of trees, the incline of the mountain could interfere with angles, and then there's the cloud coverage. It's a good possibly he'll have nothing for you."

He studied her for a brief moment before giving a nod. That smirk that she knew now held back much more than a sarcastic remark twisted up on his face before he looked away.

Though she would never show it, she still felt uneasy around Banner. She knew that if something were to happen and he turned into the other guy, that there wasn't a single thing she could do to stop him. All her training, combat skills, and weapons would be useless.

An uncomfortable silence settled into the kitchen and she decided to ask him something that'd been on her mind since last night. "I thought you had moved on."

Banner had been sitting with his eyes closed while he slowly finished the coffee in his cup when she'd spoke. He opened his eyes and peered over at her in confusion.

"That's what you said on the Helicarrier. You moved on and started helping others. So, why are you once again trying to find a cure for yourself?" When he didn't give her an answer, she asked, "Is it because of what happened in New York?"

"No," he quickly answered before dowing the rest of his coffee and getting up.

"The incident on the Helicarrier then," she said as she watched his sudden shift in body lanauge. The way his back stiffened and his jaw twitched and how he refused to look at her even though he was now nearly standing right next to her at the sink. "I know what you're going through. Your feelings of guilt, but what happened wasn't your fault, a bomb exploded. No one blames you, you were in pain and scared. What you did in New York after was more than enough to make up for it. Your debt was paid."

He had cleaned out the coffee cup, dried it, then put it away in the cabinet as he listened to her. Bracing himself on the counter, his hands gripping the edges of the sink, Bruce finally turned his eyes to her. It was hard to read Banner, he kept so much so close to his chest as he hid behind his wit and sarcasm. Right then his wall was down and she saw the pain and fear, but most of all his anger darkening his eyes as he said, "My debt, Natasha...is never going to stop piling up."

"How'd you know that? I have a past full of red miles long too, but I believe that I can make up for it."

"You have choices and you can control your actions, the outcome is entirely up to you. I don't have that luxtury." He was quiet for a moment as she saw him working something over in his head. "There's this notion in statistics and probability theory called statistical regularity," he explained as he stared back down at the sink. "It says that random events exhibit regularity when repeated enough times. Basically, when you repeat a series of trials, it will produce similar, but not identical, results. Every time I...Hulk out, even though the circumstances may be different, the outcome will always be the same given enough times. The chance of destruction, of hurting, maybe even killing innocent people, will always exist. It's a game of chance, played over and over for the rest of my life. The Hulk won't let me take my life, so...my only other option is to take his."

She sucked in a breath of air as he straightened off the counter and walked away. "Where're you going?"

Banner didn't answer as he opened the door to the garage then shut the door behind him. Natasha heard Walter walk into the kitchen as she started for the door when her cell chimed.

"Where's Bruce?" Walter asked as she was pulling the cell from her pocket.

"In the garage," she told him as she read the text message. "Package's been delivered," she read the text off the phone. "I'm going to talk to Rhodey. Once you see, you'll know why. Oh, and tell Bruce to turn his damn phone on. Tony."

"He's not out here and his motorcycle's gone," Walter said from the garage door at the same moment she heard the soft mummer of an engine revving outside.

Natasha sat her cup down and immediately headed to the front door. As she swung it open she saw Bruce on a motorcycle speeding down the road with the bike kicking up loose snow in its wake. She sighed and shook her head in frustration at the guy. He just couldn't do this the easy way. Shutting the door, she went to retrieve her laptop that was sitting on the coffee table in the living room, having brought it down with her earlier that morning. It didn't take long for her to connect to her email and to open the encrypted video files sent by Stark. But first she brought up her global tracker and typed in the code. A green light appeared on the screen and began to beep not far from her location.

"What's beeping?"

"Banner," she said as she looked up at Walter who was standing above her behind the couch. "I put a tracker in his pants." Walter gave her a weird look. She saw the small enticing of a smirk form and immediately said, "Don't even think it, Walt."

"No, no, of course not," he said as he brought the cup of coffee to his lips and took a sip.

Natasha went back to the laptop and opened the email from Stark. There were two attached video files and as she played the first, Walter leaned over the back of the couch to also watch.

There was no clear view of the road just like she'd suspected. There was a reason whoever attacked Samson and took Betty Ross had chosen that particular spot to ambush the car. After seconds of watching, she saw something come out of the sky. From the grainy video all she could make out was a flash of light and nothing more. Then, a few minutes later, the car turned onto the road and disappeared under foliage and the ridge of the mountain that obscured the view. What seemed like minutes passed and then the flash of light shot up toward the sky and was gone.

Opening the second, she played the video and it was an enhanced image of the flash of light they had seen. It was zoomed in and slightly unfocused but it didn't take a clear image to know exactly what it was. It was a suit, bigger and bulker than that of Iron Man's, but it was identical. Natasha had seen a suit like that before.

"What is that?"

She shook her head in shock as she answered, "It's one of Tony Starks', built specifically for the military." Natasha looked up at him.

Walter stared at her for a moment before looking back to the video. "And it took Betty?"

"Now you see why I warned Banner to wait. It is a trap. General Ross wanted to lure him-"

"If Ross wanted Bruce, Natasha, he definitely found the way," he said as he pointed to the smaller screen that was still beeping as it tracked Banner's location. "Because he's heading into town."


He had to make one pit-stop en route to the hospital. Normally he would have left, disappeared, without ever saying goodbye to anyone because he would have no one to say goodbye to. This time it was different. The bike came to a stop outside the diner and he looked in and saw Janelle working behind the counter. She was talking to a customer and smiling at something. It took him some time to gather enough courage and strength to turn the bike off and get off it. He took off the helmet as he approached the door and then let out a breath as he entered the diner.

The bell chimed above the door, indicating an arriving customer, and Janelle looked up at him. Her smile slipped slightly, revealing a sense of worry before she recovered. He had told her he would come by last night for dinner but never showed. It didn't even occur to him to call either.

"Your usual, Doc?" she asked as she walked toward him.

Bruce shook his head as he stopped at the counter but didn't sit. "No not today. I uh…" he looked around at the other customers before eyeing the counter. "I'm sorry for not coming by last night. There's a friend of mine, he, uh, he's in the hospital here. Yesterday, he was involved in a car accident."

"The one on Hillside Road heading up to the mountains, yeah I heard about that."

Tentatively glancing up at her, he saw the sadness in her eyes but she didn't look angry. "I remember you telling me once that you knew someone who works there, at the hospital?"

She thought back and gave a nod. "Yeah. He's a janitor."

"You think you could give him a call for me?" he asked as he stared into her eyes. "Please."

Janelle hesitated but only for a moment. He was surprised that she never asked him why or what was going on. It wasn't until after she got off the phone with her friend that she told him, "Favor for a favor. I think we're even, Doc. Your time here is up, isn't it?"

Bruce didn't know what to expect, but he was still amazed at how calm she appeared. And that he was the one having trouble breathing. Not trusting himself to talk, he smiled and backed away. Then, gathering what little breath he had, said, "Goodbye and thanks, for everything."

Janelle smiled as she said, "Good luck." She turned away and headed back down the counter, adjusting her apron and pulling out her pen to write down an order.

Leaving the diner, he got back on the bike and started it up as he felt his chest ache. Blaming it on the cold air he was breathing in, he donned on the helmet before releasing the brake.


Washington D.C., Maryland

He waited outside the busy coffee shop that seemed to be a hotspot for all the Georgetown undergrads as he sipped on a hot soy latte and checked his watch yet again. Colonel James "Rhodey" Rhodes, his friend and comrade, was late. Tony paced around the outdoor seating area that was empty due to the cold and snow as he searched the traffic and pedestrians for any sign of Rhodey. Ten minutes past their confirmed meeting time, the man finally rounded a corner and approached him.

"Where the hell have you been?"

"Sorry, I got held up. You do know that Christmas is two days away, right?"

Tony stared at him and said, "And I found out that you've already re-gifted my gift."

"What?" Rhodes stared back while asking, "What's this about and why couldn't you talk to me about it over the phone?"

"Spies," Tony said as he looked around the street as if they were going to jump out at him from the piles of snow.

"Right." Rhodes sighed and they started to walk. "I'm assuming this has to do with SHIELD?"

"Actually it has to do with you. Like I said, you re-gifted and I want to know who you gave it to."

"Who did I give what to? You've lost me."

Tony nearly yelled as he said, "My suits, Rhodey. The ones that were classified and-"

"Excuse me?" Rhodes stopped and waited until he turned to face him. "I don't just give highly specialized and classified armor suits away."

Stepping up to him, Tony asked, "Then explain to me how one of my suits ended up being used in a kidnapping that occurred yesterday."

"Kidnapping," Rhodes exclaimed. "What're you talking about, Tony? Who's been-"

"That's not important," Tony interrupted, not ready to give up that information just yet. He had to hold at least some of his cards back. "Just tell me who, that's all. I want a name, now."

Rhodes looked around, now the one looking scared of spies jumping out of shadows, before telling him, "We only sold one as a test item, a prototype." Looking up at him, his friend answered, "General Thaddeus Ross for his operation in capturing the Hulk. It was reconfigured to his specifications and dubbed the 'Hulk Buster'."

"And SHIELD knows about this?" Tony asked, startled that Ross even still had permission to go after Banner.

Rhodes huffed out at laugh and asked incredulously, "Are you that naïve, Tony? General Ross works for SHIELD; he can't make a move without the World Security Council and SHIELD giving him the go-ahead. They never stopped trying to get Banner. Fury wants him for the Avengers, but everyone else wants him as a weapon, even the Council. You saw the cage on the Helicarrier. You know what it was built for, it's your design."

"I thought that it was only a precaution," Tony said as he felt a fear grip his chest. Bruce had been right; he wasn't safe. "And Bruce was the last person I thought they would throw in that thing. At the time I designed it, the council was trying to get Ross to hand over Blonsky. I thought he was the reason for the cage, not-"

Rhodes looked grim as he shook his head. "He's a danger, Tony, an unpredictable health hazard. You don't know him."

"I know him," he stressed as he stepped into Rhodes. "I know he saved my life and the lives of not only the rest of the Avengers but millions-"

"Right, when he's in control of it he can work with you. But when he's not in control, he'll hurt anyone and everyone in his way with no remorse. Death follows the Hulk everywhere, Tony, it's only a matter of when."

Tony stepped away as he let out a laugh. This was ridiculous. "Banner's never killed anyone as the Hulk except for alien invaders."

Rhodes stared over at him and Tony knew there was so much he didn't know about his friend. "I wish I could tell you that you're right, my friend, but unfortunately you're not. You should read the papers. This isn't anything new."

"Papers lie."

"But dead bodies don't. He's responsible for the deaths of two scientists at Culver University as well as an army officer, a police officer from Idaho, and two Canadian bear hunters," Rhodes told him.

Tony stood stunned as he took all of that in. He wasn't sure how to take that about Dr. Bruce Banner. This was all shocking and uncharacteristic of the mild-mannered, shy, and incredibly genius scientist he had befriended. Then, he realized that he didn't care how many people Bruce may have inadvertently killed as the Hulk. Tony knew that all of those deaths were accidental and nothing that Bruce willingly committed. He couldn't persecute him and let Agent Barton off the hook for the lives he took while on the Helicarrier. It wouldn't be fair or right. Barton didn't mean to cause the deaths of his fellow agents just as Bruce didn't mean to cause the deaths of his fellow humans.

"Well, I'm sure that the hunters were trying to hunt him instead of bears that day," Tony said once he shook off the shock.

"Self-defense or not, he needs to be in a secure location-"

"In a cage and locked away from the rest of the world," Tony bitterly snapped back. "Last I checked that's no way to treat a hero. I can't believe you, Rhodey, as a military man how can you just sit back and do nothing?"

"Because I am a military man," Rhodes answered. "I have my orders, Tony. I know that you'll never understand, but it is my duty." He patted him on the shoulder as he walked around him. "I'm sorry about your friend. I am, but you have to stay out of it. Whatever's going on, you don't want to be anywhere near it."

Tony watched as Rhodes headed down the sidewalk. After a moment of debating, he pulled out his phone and called Agent Romanoff.

"What'd you want, Stark?"

"It's about Banner. Where is he?"

"He decided to be a cowboy and go off to meet General Ross alone."

Tony closed his eyes at hearing that. He should've known Bruce would do something like that. It was hard to get to really know Bruce Banner, but what he did find out about him from the few months they spent together was that the man was highly self-sacrificial. Because Bruce didn't think too highly of himself he had no problem sacrificing for others.

"I've got a tracker on him," Natasha told him. "I put it in his pants."

"Good; let's hope he doesn't lose it. Are you going after him?"

Natasha was quiet a moment before answering, "No. I don't think that's what he wants."

"Look, Agent-"

"That's not saying that I'm going to abandon him, Stark," she cut him off. "I've got a feeling that something bigger is happening. Why would the Council and SHIELD approve giving General Ross the suit after the attack on New York? Banner, and the Hulk, proved they were on our side so he should no longer be pursued as a fugitive. This isn't sounding right and I think we need to find out all the players first before we make a move."

Tony had to agree. Once they knew all the people involved the better luck they had at finding out what was going on and who was behind it. He'd learned very early that not everything was what it seemed when it came to SHIELD and the World Security Council. "So we let him get taken."

"And then we go after him."

"Sounds like a plan, Agent Romanoff. Keep me informed." Tony got off the phone and headed toward his car.


British Columbia, Canada

Other than a beeping from the heart monitor the hospital room was quiet. General Ross had been called away for a phone call and he watched as Ross left the room as he pushed a mop bucket up the hall. He placed a caution wet floor sign at the end of the hall and applied soapy water to the floor before opening the door to the ICU room. He used the bucket and mop stick to hold open the door so he could hear anyone approaching.

Samson appeared to be asleep even though his heart rate was varying from 72 to 75 beats per minute. His chest was rising and falling rapidly like he was struggling to maintain a stable breathing pattern. Bruce walked over to the bed and took in Samson's vitals and stasis as he picked up the chart at the end of the bed. Dr. Samson had several broken bones in his right leg and both his arms, his ribs were all either cracked or broken, and his neck was bruised and the clavicle, collarbone, was also broken along with having a severe concussion. There had been swelling of the brain but it appears to have gone down.

Bruce took out an x-ray and held it up to the light to get a better look when he heard a soft cough come from the bed. He looked over to see Dr. Leonard Samson staring at him.

Samson cleared his harsh throat and said, "What's the prognosis?"

He looked back at the x-ray before putting it back. "You'll live."

Samson watched him as he circled the bed and stood next to him. "How is she? No one will tell me. She's not…"

Bruce stared down at the psychiatrist and realized that he had no idea that she, that Betty, was missing. Shaking his head, he assured him, "She's not."

He let out a breath and turned to look at the ceiling, relief written all over his face. "I bet she's happy to see you."

Bruce looked at the floor as he heard a slight bitterness in the doctor's voice. He hoped the resentment was all for him and none of it was for Betty. He couldn't bear it to think that Samson held any ill will toward his own wife. "I actually came to see you."

Samson didn't believe that for a second as he looked over at him with disbelieving eyes.

"What happened? Can you tell me what you saw?" he asked as he stared down at the man in the bed. The beeping on the heart monitor shot up and Bruce looked over to see it was racing toward the hundreds.

Samson tried to steady his breathing and calm the racing of his heart but it was no use. He was hyperventilating.

"Breathe, Samson," he calmly told him as he found the button for the pain meds and pushed it; he hoped the sudden spike in panic was due to the increase in pain. It would be better than it being from remembering the accident. He opened a drawer and found a plastic mask and put it over Samson's mouth and nose.

Samson's hand covered his and held it tightly as he took deep breaths into the mask. Bruce felt the pain from the clenching of Samson's hand and suddenly had to control his own breathing as well. Then Samson's other hand shot up and fisted his shirt and pulled him down to him. Bruce grabbed hold of the bed railing to keep from falling on top of Samson as he tried to jerk his hand out from under his while pushing up on the rail.

"Let go of me," he desperately told Samson through gritting teeth. For an injured man, Samson was incredibly strong. As he looked down at him, Bruce realized he was trying to speak through the mask. It was muffled so he leaned a little closer to hear it clearer.

As the beeping slowed due to the pain meds kicking in, Samson told him, "Iron…iron suit…"

Bruce leaned back as the hands relaxed. He untwisted Samson's fingers from his shirt and laid the limp hand on the bed. Taking a breath, he tried to understand what he just heard. An iron suit? The only iron suits he knew of were those of Tony's and the one the military had for the War Machine, James Rhodes.

Yet, Samson had seen an iron suit.

Backing away from the bed he heard a noise in the hall and turned toward the door. Going over to it, he peered through the opening and saw down the hall a nurse approaching with General Ross. He grabbed the mop handle and used it to push the bucket out into the hall as he started down the other way with his back to the both of them.

"Excuse me," he heard the nurse say from down the hall. "Excuse me, sir!"

Bruce didn't turn around as he continued to the corner.

"Hey, stop!" he heard Ross bellow out a lot closer.

Bruce glanced over his shoulder and saw the sudden recognition on Ross's face as he approached.

"Bruce?" Ross said as pulled out his phone while coming after him.

Bruce immediately dumped over the bucket full of soapy water as he started to run toward the stairwell door. There was a yelp and thud against the wall as he pushed open the door and glanced back to see Ross pushing himself up off the floor from where he'd slipped. As the stairwell door banged close behind him he stumbled up the steps instead of down as he headed to the roof. Pushing the door open he sucked in a rush of cold air as he kept running. Heading toward the edge, he took off the button-down shirt he'd been wearing and tossed it before slowing down to pull off the shoes before picking up speed.

Right before he jumped up to the low hanging wall at the edge of the roof he let the Hulk take over. He felt his body grow as his mind fogged and then the moment he touched his barefoot to the edge of the wall he pushed off, flying farther and higher into the air. He came down and shook the ground as he hit before running a few more strides and leapt again as he headed toward the mountains.

Landing on a snow covered peak, the Hulk let out a roar that caused the mountain to tremble so hard it sent a couple of avalanches sliding toward the forest below. The rage he felt pulsed and quaked through his whole body as his muscles flexed and his hands clenched, ready to hit, smash, and destroy anything in his path. Looking around the mountain tops, he realized that the threat was gone and he was alone.

He was disappointed that there was nothing to unleash his anger on so he jumped down and took it out on the trees and boulders as he plowed a reckless path through the forest. He cleared a lake in a jump and kept moving as he smashed every tree, rock, and thing in his path.

Then, he heard a noise. Looking up toward the sky, he saw a bolt of light with flames coming out of it shoot by. Roaring at the intruder, he leapt up to the sky to knock the iron suit out of it as it came back around. His fist collided with the iron suit and sent it spiraling to the ground. The Hulk landed beside it and took a look at it, making sure it wasn't a friend, before picking it up. As he went to throw it he felt a burn in his hand as the iron suit shot him with a blast. He tossed it into a tree as he roared in pain before charging toward it.

The iron suit charged back and they collided into each other and fell to the ground with an impact that resembled a small crater in hard frozen ground. This iron suit was strong, but he knew he was stronger, and angrier, as he let out a roar as he slammed his fist over and over into the iron suit. He was hit with a couple more blasts that only enraged him even more before the iron suit shot up to the sky.

Walking over to a tall fir tree, he ripped it out of the ground and threw it up into the sky after the iron suit. Then he picked up a boulder before taking a running jump up into the sky. At spotting the iron suit blasting the tree, he took aim and threw the boulder. It hit its target, sending the suit spiraling back down into the trees. The Hulk broke through trees as he fell back to the ground. He hit the frozen tundra hard but got up and charged toward where the iron suit had fallen.

As he busted through a tree and saw the iron suit lying in the snow, he roared as he jumped up into the air to come down on the iron suit when it moved and shot a blast at him. He flipped mid-air and landed on his back. Huffing out a breath of frustration, he jumped up and turned when he heard the growls of something else. There were multiple puny roars and growling that were weak compared to his but they had teeth, sharp teeth that dug into his skin.

The Hulk tossed one wolf off his arm as more jumped on him. He kicked two and threw three but they kept coming back more aggressive and angry. Letting out a roar, he lifted his hands up and brought them smashing into the ground, shaking and splitting the earth and knocking the wolves away. He turned and didn't see the iron suit anywhere in the forest or in the sky. He felt his breathing getting heavier and his foggy mind lighter as he hit his knees.

It was getting hard to breathe easy, hard to stay angry. It was also getting hard to move. His body was aching and bending with an unbearable pain as muscles and cartilage deteriorated in less than a minute. It always hurt more getting smaller than it ever did getting bigger; that was why most of the time during or after he shrank back down he would pass out. It wasn't from the fatigue, but the overwhelming amount of pain.

As he collapsed in the snow, he heard a noise. Bruce moaned into the soft cold snow and turned his head. Opening his eyes, he saw an iron suit land next to him as his vision tunneled then slipped into darkness.


Stark Tower

Manhattan, New York

"We lost him."

"What'd you mean you lost him?" Tony snapped into the phone. "There is no we in this because you planted the device on him and was supposed to track him to his final destination, Agent." He saw Pepper's head pop up from where she'd been lounging on the couch with a book in her hand. "What was his last known?"

"Shortly after he crossed into Nevada. After that, the signal went dead. Stark-"

"I'll find him," Tony said, cutting Natasha off. "I'm leaving for Nevada now."

Pepper had put the book down and was walking over to him as he disconnected the call without another word to Agent Romanoff. "You're going to Nevada now?"

Tony sat his glass down as he headed toward the elevator. "It's nothing, okay. Just a thing with Banner that I have to go and clean up, that's all."

"A thing with Banner," Pepper said as she stopped him at the elevator. "You're not flying off as Iron Man so can I assume this isn't a dire emergency."

"It actually is pretty dire, as in Banner might die if I don't find him. But I have no idea where I'm going once I get to Nevada so I thought I'll take the jet instead. Find a hotel room. It might be a while."

"Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, Tony."

Tony wrinkled his head in confusion and said, "That's right. I remember Rhodey telling me something like that earlier today." At seeing the look on her face, he sighed and told her, "I'll try to make it quick. Promise."

Pepper shook her head at him but let him go after giving him a kiss goodbye. "I'll lock up when I leave."

"You're the greatest," he called out as the elevator doors slid shut.


Undisclosed Location

Nevada

He was shivering as he became aware of movement around him. There was something solid and cool under him sending shivers up his spine and into his muscles. Jerking as he felt something prick his arm, he opened his eyes only to shut them at the blinding light. He jerked again and felt his arms strain along with his legs and waist. He could barely move. Opening his eyes again he looked toward his feet and saw the straps holding him down onto a steel table.

Glancing around him he saw several people in scrubs and one man wearing a white coat. The man looked familiar but he couldn't place him as his head swam and vision clouded

"Relax, Dr. Banner," the man in the white coat said as he pushed his chest and eased him back down onto the cold steel. "We're not done yet."

"Duh-" Bruce slurred before getting out the whole word, "Done? Wha—what…?"

"It'll all be clear in the morning, Doctor."

The man in white placed a mask over Bruce's face, making it harder to speak but easier to breathe. Then he stopped struggling completely.

TBC…