A minute after Loki vanished, Bruce walked up to Tony and stood in the doorway of the other room with the symbol on his arm still fresh.

"Uh, hey. Your friend says he's done," he said softly, making Tony come back to reality. Bruce stuck out his arm. "This is what you wanted, right?"

Tony blinked slowly, seeming to break his frazzled state and looked at the mark. "Yeah that should keep a demon out." Tony threw the Henna man a wad of bills wrapped in a rubber band and the man walked to the elevator to leave. "It would be better over your heart, though. I'll buy a kit for next time. It took a crazy amount of money just to get him to do your arm."

Bruce's eyes widened. "That was lot of ... I'm sorry. I don't have any money, but I'll pay you back somehow. Really. Please don't spend any more money on me."

Tony almost laughed at Bruce's reaction. "What, that? That was nothing. Mostly hush money since I don't want anyone finding out I got a random hobo an occult tattoo in my house. The media would have a field day if they found out. Trust me, I have money to burn."

"You say that like you're a celebrity or something."

"Well, my name is on the building."

"Uh, sorry. I couldn't get a good view of the outside while I was unconscious and tied up," he muttered. "Wait, a rich man named Tony? ...You're Tony Stark," Bruce answered himself. He sighed and put his hands behind his head, turning away. "A celebrity that leads a double-life as a demon hunter. Just when you thought you saw it all."

"Yeah, Double-O me. Living a secret life of action and adventure." Tony shook his head. "Nah, I mostly provide recon and funding and stuff. Occasionally I hunt, but only when I know I can handle it or I want to know what something is, like your case."

"Speaking of that, you were saying something about talking to someone who might have a clue about me?"

Tony paused. "Yeah... I spoke to him while you were in make-up. He's never heard of a demon possessing someone so much as to create a mutation. I think this might be something new. Something, not magical, or supernatural. Maybe the accident?"

Bruce pursed his lips and put his hand to his chin. "Maybe... do you have any idea what we could do to get that information?"

"Well for starters we could check your old work. I mean that's where you were normal last, right? If this were a normal hunt, I would start at the scene of the crime." Tony began walking down a hallway and Bruce followed. "We'll look there for clues, maybe figure out what happened to you. I'll bring some sensors and we'll see what we find."

"Well, that would be a good idea, except for the fact that I'm kind of public enemy number one over there. Do you really want to be seen walking around with a suspect in several mur-... crimes? Unless you have a solution for that, of course."

"Hey, from all the news and police reports on the event they have no idea who or even what did this. You, as Bruce Banner, is, for all intents and purposes, missing in action. I've been following you for months and I still didn't know what you even looked like. It'll be fine." Tony opened up one door and Bruce followed him inside. "Besides, everyone trusts a man in a suit." Tony opened up a closet door revealing row after row of freshly pressed suits. "Pick one out that fits and matches your eyes. Then take a shower. That way you won't look and smell like a hobo."

"I'm gonna ignore that last comment in favor of saying thanks," Bruce said as he walked into the closet.

Bruce caught Tony fiddling with the strange block when he came out in a fresh dark suit smelling like expensive soap and aftershave. "Well don't you look like a million bucks. I've got our transportation all ready to go."

Bruce looked at the block in Tony's hand with a grimace. "That might end badly if the 'transportation' is too... much for someone like me to take."

Tony made a face and looked from the block to Bruce and back. True, the teleportation was a bit temperamental at times. He was man enough to admit that his spell-work was never 100%. "Alright plan B. Jarv, get the limo and tell the airport to get my plane ready for takeoff in 30."

"Right away, sir."

"This whole thing isn't going to be seen by the public-eye or anything, right? I mean... the suits, the limo, a plane... it's just, I don't know. Kind of conspicuous, right?"

"Well a bit. But as it turns out, your old lab is a subsidiary of one of my branch companies, so in a roundabout way, I own it. It would be only natural for me to make an appearance and survey what happened so that," Tony pulled out his phone. "'We can work to prevent such a horrible tragedy in the future and build a brighter tomorrow for us and for our children.' Or something like that."

Bruce snorted at Tony's remark. "Okay, okay. I believe you. Let's just get going."

"Alright. Oh, and before I forget." Tony rushed up to Bruce and quickly fastened a clip-on name tag to his lapel. "From now on you are the co-head of my R&D department. That should keep some eyes off of you, Dr. Spankinski." Tony could not help but smile at the code name.

"You really enjoy flirting with danger, don't you?" Bruce felt a small smile curl on his lips.

"Me and danger are friends with benefits." Tony smiled and led the pair to the elevator. "Come on, your limo awaits."

Down stairs Bruce and Tony were met by a nearly abandoned lobby. Sure there were people buzzing about here and there, but most seemed to keep their distance upon seeing the boss. Once outside Tony quickly jumped into the open limousine door, with Bruce right behind him. Suddenly the door closed by itself and the car began instantly. They did not even make eye contact with anyone on the way there.

"So, before we get there, I was wondering if I could take a look at your computer. What did you call it, JARVIS?" Bruce asked. "I mean, if not, its fine, but I thought maybe I should take a crash course in... demonology. Before we get there, I mean."

"Oh, yeah sure. Probably for the best you find out what is real and what isn't." Tony fished a tablet from between the seats and handed it to Bruce. "Jarv, make a profile for Bruce. You tell him everything he needs to know. Give him hunter clearance."

"With pleasure, sir," JARVIS answered as the tablet came to life. Bruce squinted his eyes at the sea of text that flooded the screen. "This is going to take me a while," he muttered as Tony leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes.

Even upon arriving at Tony's private air strip, Bruce still did not look up from the tablet. Tony guided him silently and made sure he did not hurt himself or drop the tablet. After a good couple of hours, the pilot spoke over the intercom and announced that the plane would be landing in twenty minutes within two miles of the research lab. Bruce finally looked up and handed the tablet back to Tony's free hand, the other holding a glass of scotch. Tony frowned.

"Can you just put it down there?"

Bruce looked a bit confused, but nodded and put it down unquestioningly.

"I think that's the best I'm going to get for now. Once we land I should be able to point us in the right direction." Bruce sighed. Tony finished his drink and handed it back to the stewardess, who pointed at the fasten seat belt sign with a stern face. He caught himself mid-eye roll and snapped his belt on, giving her a wink. The stewardess smiled and returned to her own seat at the front of the plane.

When the plane landed, Bruce was able to find the right direction to go and the two grabbed their bags and got into the sports car that was waiting for them. They were stopped about a half mile from the scene by investigators.

"Excuse me, that's about as far as you can go, gentlemen," one of them called out to the two. "This site is under investigation for a serious health violation. I'm going to have to ask you to turn back."

Tony rolled down the window and held up a piece of paper. "Yeah, we're from corporate here to examine the area and assess the damages and blah, blah, you know the drill."

"I'm going to need to see some identi- Mr. Stark! I'm sorry, sir. Please continue in this direction," the investigator flustered. Tony waved him off and drove on.

They drove up just a few minutes more and Tony waved off the other investigators on site. After some protest, the two were finally alone right outside of the destroyed lab.

"Wait, Tony," Bruce called when Tony started to walk into the site. "I wanted to thank you...for everything that you've done, but I can't ask you to keep going with me." Tony gave him a frown and Bruce interrupted before he could answer. "I looked up my file. I... I don't remember what happens to me when I...leave... and I wanted to see what I...become, so I looked it up and," Bruce looked the hunter in the eyes. "I can't ask you to be around me anymore. I appreciate all that you've done, but this is way over my head...over your head. Please just leave me alone to do this myself."

Tony stifled a laugh and grabbed Bruce by the shoulder. "Ah, Bruce. That's funny. That really is." Tony looked him square in the eye. "You would not last a second in monster town without me. You're too new to go alone in the hunter world now. I don't care if you get mean and green; it's too much. Trust me. We're in this together." Tony patted him twice before walking ahead. "Besides, I'm too handsome to die."

Bruce licked his bottom lip. "You might not think that way soon," he muttered under his breath.

He followed Tony inside the half-destroyed building and walked to the main room that showed the cause of the destruction. The building was still standing, although on its last legs. Cracks and holes in the walls allowed some light to shine through the darkened room as Bruce walked over to the side wall and flicked on the light switch. Sparks blasted from some of the fixtures, but otherwise there was still a dim glow bright enough to see in the dark corners of the room that the natural light could not reach. "Well, that's lucky. What should we be searching for, exactly?"

"I don't know, radiation or something. That's what you were working on, right?" Tony pulled out his tablet again and activated a sensor he pulled from his bag and began waving it around the building. "Where were you last?"

"In front of the reactor in the middle of the room, right... well, it was right here," Bruce pointed to the remains of the reactor. "The last thing I remember about this place was that I was working on this. Then everyone started panicking all of the sudden."

"Okay, and then it exploded or something?"

Tony walked over to where Bruce was pointing. He made a face at the data readings and pushed on the tablet screen.

"You were working with gamma radiation, right?" Tony flipped a few switches. "Do you know if anyone else, well, survived?"

"I... When I woke up, the police arrived. When they were questioning me, they told me everyone was... dead. So, no, nobody survived except me. Aren't I lucky?" Bruce asked sarcastically, softly.

"Very, actually. There's not a single bit of radiation left here! I mean there should be something, even a little bit, but there is nothing. It's all gone."

Bruce let out a dry laugh at first but then tensed. "Wait, are you sure it wasn't just from the place getting cleaned out after the accident? How can there be absolutely nothing there?"

"If the radiation in here was enough to kill someone, there would at least be some residue. But there's none. Even cleaning can't get rid of all of it."

"So you're saying that I... took it all? I absorbed it and became that?" Bruce got up from his place by the broken reactor and walked over to another part of the lab. "How is that even scientifically possible? Wait a second," he turned and walked back over to Tony. "Your friend, that guy you phoned while I was getting inked; you said that he was an expert on the supernatural and couldn't think about how this could be a supernatural cause, right? Well, if this isn't scientifically possible, then we're going to have to assume its supernatural, right?" Bruce started pacing. "However, after reading through your notes, which I assume contain about as much information as can be figured by someone who does this kind of thing on a regular basis, I couldn't find anything close to something like this happening. If you told your friend everything I told you before; how there was a lab accident with gamma radiation and what I am now, then wouldn't he be able to figure out what exactly this situation is? What other category besides science or supernatural is there?"

Tony paused then sighed. "Honestly... There is no reason it can't be both. A supernatural entity using magic to help the flow of science. In this case, possibly making you a sponge for gamma radiation. It's rare, but not impossible. I use magic and science all of the time. They blend rather well. Magic is more of an unutilized force than something crazy; though the rules are completely random really. There are so many dependencies that it's almost impossible to predict."

"So, how can we test this? There's no one around to get answers from and my blood is- did you hear something?"

Tony stood there silent, but heard nothing.

Just as Bruce was ready to brush it off, the sound of a chunk of metal dropping to the floor clanked out. The two whipped their heads towards the now occupied doorway. Three wolf-like creatures stalked into the light, their teeth snarled and their eyes completely black.

"Werewolves?" Tony backed up a step from shock but quickly began feeling for his small silver knife. He was not expecting a fight here, but a hunter always has a little something just in case.

"No, I don't think so; they don't look right. They have black eyes like a demon…I've never seen anything weird out here before," Bruce said, his voice starting to give away his declining composure.

"What, both at the same time?" Tony shouted back. He was beginning to not like this theme.

"M-maybe they were drawn here by the accident?"

"Well silver, salt, and holy water. Works for just about everything, let's see if it works here." Tony waited for one of the beasts to charge before giving them a quick jab in the back with a silver knife.

The blade made the monster howl. Tony pulled another knife from under his jacket and tossed it to a startled Bruce. "Silver: Effective. Holy water..." Tony pulled a small flask from his breast pocket and poured it into the wound, making the monster howl even louder, this time making the wound steam and burn. "Holy water: also effective... What the hell?"

Tony looked over to Bruce and noticed that the other two monsters were beginning to gang up on him. He quickly threw whatever holy water he had left on the two monsters and grabbed Bruce by the arm and threw him out into the hallway. Tony then ripped open a pouch from his pocket and dumped a salt line across the door frame. The monsters charged but they could not cross the line. "Salt: Effective." Tony shook his head and walked over to where Bruce had fallen. "Well these guys are strange. You okay Bruce?"

Bruce was on his hands and knees on the ground. He let out a groan and dropped his head on the ground. "N-no..."

"What's wrong? Did one of them bite you?"

"You threw a knife at me!" Bruce shouted from his position on the ground while shakily pushing out his arm. Blood was running down it from the elbow, the drops running down his fingertips and burning into the ground.

Tony drew in a sharp breath. "Sorry about that. Look, Bruce, we need to move. I'll get you to a hospital, one who can deal with a few holes in their supplies. Come on buddy, can you get up?"

"No.. y-you need to l-leave... now."

"I can't leave you with three demon-werewolves bleeding out on the floor. They'll rip you apart."

"They're... they're the least of your concerns," Bruce gasped out. He lifted his face to meet Tony's eyes. His eyes were starting to glow green.

Tony did not physically recoil in shock, but he did in his mind. That was not normal, but Bruce was not normal. Tony put a comforting hand on Bruce's shuddering shoulder. "When you come to, call my office. I'll come get you if you're far away, okay?"

Tony got up and left after Bruce was able to give him one last nod. He ran down the halls using the door in the back. He made it to his car just as he heard a roar and a large crash. With one last look, he drove away from the demolished site as the building fell to the ground.

Bruce woke up with a start and instantly regretted it. He squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed his head, shaking dirt off of himself. After a few moments, he pulled himself out of the earth with a groan and grabbed onto the remains of his pants. He looked around at his surroundings and let out a sigh, a bit of relief rushing over him when he did not see a litter of bodies around him. He spotted the looks of civilization several miles away and started heading in that direction.

After what felt like hours of walking with bare feet on the uneven gravel, Bruce cautiously entered the small town. Looking around, he could not see anyone on the street or anything identifying where he was. He spotted a phone booth within the outskirts of town and walked into it. Breaking the phone's wires, he was able to finally hear a dial tone. He tapped in the number he remembered reading in Tony's files and waited as the phone rang.

"Hello, Stark Industries. How can I help you?" A voice promptly said after a few rings.

"Tony? I need to talk to Tony. Tell him its Bruce calling, please."

"Just one moment." The voice replied. The line was silent for a few moments before the voice returned. "I'm sorry, but Mr. Stark is currently unavailable. Shall I schedule an appointment?"

"No. You didn't even try, did you?"

"I assure you that Mr. Stark is very busy at the moment. Would you like me to leave a message for you?"

"No. I'm on a payphone. Can you just tell him that I called? Thanks." Bruce hung up the phone and kneaded his brow. "Now what?" He got out of the phone booth and looked around, looking for any signs of life.

"Dr. Banner?" A smooth voice said suddenly behind Bruce. He quickly turned to see a dark haired man standing behind him. "Mr. Stark has sent me to collect you."

"But I just called and he didn't ans-. Who are you?"

"I am an associate of Stark's." He gave Bruce a crisp business card. "Luke Laufeyson, Head of Sales. Mr. Stark gave me instructions to look for the man in the torn trousers… Please follow me."

Bruce twirled the card over in his hands. He nodded his head and started walking next to the man. He led Bruce to a very expensive looking black car and quickly took the driver's seat. Bruce took his place in the passenger's seat and before he had put the seat belt on they were speeding down the road.

"So," The man began. "How do you know Mr. Stark?"

"I, uh, we're business partners." Bruce cringed at his excuse, feeling more insecure in his torn up pants then he was before.

The man eyed Bruce up and down as Bruce straightened his pants. "I see... Stark does have a fine taste in friends, doesn't he? Would you mind if I...?" He put his hand over the radio dial.

Bruce nodded and suddenly the radio blared to life in a rapid symphony.

"Ah, I hope classical is alright?" Bruce nodded again, not really paying attention. When the song ended the local news report began. Overall it was nothing but political problems and some sensationalist world news, but the last news story caught Bruce's attention.

"The local lab that had just recently suffered a small meltdown has been demolished today. In a secret decision by the lab's parent company, Stark Industries, the lab was torn down. According to a memo from the CEO, the lab was deemed unsafe and a hazard to the surrounding community. However, Stark Industries is under some scrutiny for this move, as the cleanup crew found traces of what appears to be human remains in the rubble. Though the company has claimed that these are likely the remains of a large animal, Stark Industries will face an investigation until the matter is settled."

Luke looked at the radio and shook his head in disapproval. "Poor things."

Bruce had tensed in his seat. "Yeah, it's always sad to hear about something getting caught up in a bad situation that wasn't really warranted, huh?"

"Well, c'est la vie." He shrugged. "Though it makes you think what could have made Mr. Stark make such a decision. It seems rather sudden."

"I'm sure he had good reasons for doing so."

"I'm sure." Luke smiled politely. "But I heard that something big was found leaving the rubble right after the building went down. No one knows what it was. Some say it was some secret experiment that Stark is trying to cover up."

Bruce's hands started to shake so he curled them into tight fists. "That, heh, that sounds like a conspiracy theory to me... kind of like Area 51 or something," Bruce gave a shaky smile.

"Perhaps." Luke paused. "But perhaps there is more to the world. Perhaps there really are giant green monsters playing as men."

Bruce looked over at Loki and swallowed heavily. "I-I don- Who did you say you were in relation to Tony again?"

"Just an associate, Dr. Banner. We work in similar circles." Luke gave Bruce a smile like a shark. "I am no one of consequence really. Besides, I always like to have a favor or two I can call on."

"Oh, right. Heh, sorry to make you repeat yourself."

"Not at all, Dr. Banner." Luke smiled again and pulled up to a large hotel. "Here we are. Mr. Stark is having a drink in the bar."

"Uh, right. Thanks for the ride." Bruce practically flew out of the car and onto the curb. He would have just run straight through the hotel door but he realized that he was still only in torn-up pants. "It beats staying in the car with him," he muttered to himself as he walked into the lobby and towards the bar, moving swiftly to avoid being stopped by employees. He soon saw the back of Tony's head at the bar. He was the only customer there and Bruce approached as the bartender left. "Tony?"

Tony turned sluggishly to meet Bruce, already half-drunk. If Bruce was not half-naked Tony probably would have hugged him right then and there. It was probably the alcohol talking when Tony began. "Bruce, 's that you? Aw man Bruce, are you okay? It's almost all day. What happen?"

"I..." Bruce frowned and sat next to him on a bar stool. "I woke up several miles from what seemed to be an abandoned town. I called you from a phone booth, but I was told that you were busy. You know, normal secratary talk to get you to go away. When I got out, your associate said that you sent him to drive me to you."

"Damn secretaries, give me their name, I'll fire 'em." Tony slurred and put an arm around Bruce. "Let's get back up to the room. I'll order pizza or something. I would kill for a pizza right now. Wait, who picked you up?"

"Luke Laufeyson, head of sales."

Tony gave Bruce a blank stare, then his face twisted into a grimace, but he hid it quickly. "Right...Luke. Ha, head of sales... Okay great, whatever. How do you like your pizza?"