I do not own any of the named/recognizable characters present. They belong to Marvel. This was written purely for fun.
"Are you out of your goddamn collective minds?" Fury asked.
'So much for being reasonable,' Tony thought to himself as he smothered a snort of derision.
After Clint and Natasha had gone off to find the blood SHIELD had taken without permission, the rest of them had made their way to Fury's office. Steve and Thor took the lead, leaving Tony to walk beside the little boy. They moved slower than they would have normally walked in respect for the child in their midst.
The orange juice must have helped on some level, for they hadn't needed to stop to let Bruce overcome any dizzy spells, so that was definitely a plus, but the kid hadn't eaten anything yet, and that was a definite negative. Tony had carried the food items so the kid could eat while the adults discussed plans.
It was harder to get Bruce comfortable with separating from Tony. They didn't want the little guy to listen to the conversation, so it had been decided that Thor would stay outside with Bruce while Steve and Tony marched off to battle against Fury. It had taken a promise from Tony that he wasn't abandoning him for the poor kid to finally relinquish his iron-grip of the man's jeans, as well as an oath from the demigod that he would not harm him.
And though he could not see it as he walked into the office with Steve, Tony could feel the boy's distressed eyes following after him. He had pushed down the overwhelming guilt that had welled up in his chest for leaving the boy behind, but this had to be done.
But this was turning out to be a little more difficult than Tony had first thought. Fury looked between the two Avengers like they had both sprouted second heads.
"Not at all, sir," Steve replied, ever-respectful. "We believe that Dr. Banner will be more comfortable at the tower while an antidote is found."
The Director turned the intensity of his one-eyed stare on the super-soldier. "And who exactly is 'we'?" he inquired.
"The rest of the team," Tony answered with an easy shrug. "Do you really want one of your agents playing babysitter? He'll be better off in the tower."
"We don't even know how Arnolds' chemical fully affected him," Fury pointed out. "The tests haven't even been started yet; we don't even know if his blood is still radioactive."
As Tony's expression darkened at the mention of Bruce's blood—of which Fury seemed to know that SHIELD had taken—Steve spoke up again. "The tests can easily be done in the tower," the soldier explained. "At least, that's what Tony says."
"You don't believe me?" the engineer asked, turning to look at Steve.
The soldier went on as if he hadn't been interrupted. "The helicarrier is no place for a child—"
"Even if said child is radioactive and the slightest provocation of his emotions could result in catastrophic damage?" Fury cut in harshly.
Tony's eyes shot back to Fury. "Catastrophic?" he repeated, his incredulous voice going high. "Have you seen him?! The kid's—"
"Stark," Fury easily interrupted, effectively cutting the engineer off. "We don't know if the Hulk is still an issue or not. Children that young already have volatile emotions, but this is Bruce Banner we are talking about."
"I don't see how that makes a lick of difference," Tony shot back angrily.
"He seems like a good kid, sir," Steve countered, the single voice of calm in the angry room. "In the time that he's been awake, he hasn't run off or cried or screamed or anything."
Tony thought uncomfortably of the wetness that had appeared in the boy's frightened eyes when Tony had asked Bruce to wait outside with Thor, but didn't say anything.
"He is also still exhausted from the battle earlier," Fury counter-offered. He leaned back in his chair and studied the two men in front of him, silent for a long time. It was the kind of hush that even Tony knew better than to break.
Finally, Fury straightened back up and leaned forward on his desk, hands folded neatly together. "Neither of you have seen Dr. Banner's full file," he said at last. "There is little enough about his childhood that we know, but what we do know doesn't paint a very pleasant picture. There is a reason why the Hulk exists."
While Steve looked vaguely nervous at what Fury was alluding to, Tony rolled his eyes. "None of us exactly had a picture-perfect childhood, Nick," the engineer began.
"Not all of you attempted to blow up your school with a homemade bomb," Fury rejoined calmly.
That effectively cut off any sort of reasoning Tony had started to make. Next to him, he felt Steve grow tense, but he remained focused on Fury. A wave of nausea went through the engineer at the unexpected point of information about his friend.
In the smothering tension that suddenly filled the room, Fury continued. "You don't know what you're getting yourselves into. The anger that created the Hulk started long, long ago. This is a troubled child with the potential to cause some serious damage if he so much as gets irritated. If Dr. Banner as a full-grown man can only sometimes control his alter-ego, what makes you think a toddler can?"
It took what felt like ages for Tony to find his voice, but it must have been only a second or two. "That's if the Hulk is still even in there," he heard himself say, voice slightly hoarse. He cleared his throat and continued. "There are already floors in the tower that have been reinforced to handle the Hulk—the full-grown, behemoth Hulk. And besides, the kid is four; there can't be any way that the Hulk already existed at that age."
"You sure about that?" Fury asked.
"Sure enough," Tony shot back. "And this shouldn't even be about Hulk. This is about a kid who should have a welcoming environment to be comfortable in while we figure out how to fix this. He won't get that here, and don't you dare try to tell me otherwise."
Fury leveled his eye on the engineer, studying the man for a long moment. Tony didn't back down nor avert his eyes from the one-eyed stare.
A thought occurred to Tony suddenly, and he felt his glare darken. "He's not staying here in your cage, Fury," he declared. "If you're so worried that he's going to destroy things, let him out of here. I'll take full responsibility for anything that happens."
Another brief silence filled the office space for a moment before the sound of a clearing throat brought both Tony's and Fury's glare to Steve.
The soldier returned Fury's stare with one of his own. "Bruce has already started to attach himself to Tony, sir," he said. "If you were to separate them, the chances of what you fear could happen will go up. He'll be fine in the tower, sir; far better than he'd ever be here."
Fury looked back and forth between the two Avengers in front of him, contemplating in silence. Finally, he locked his eye on Tony again. "I want you to keep SHIELD updated on any and all progress you make," he said, eye narrowing a little at the victorious smile that spread on the engineer's face. "We'll keep working on getting information about Arnolds and his chemical on our end." He leaned back in his chair a little. "And maybe if Arnolds wakes up, he can let us know just what the hell he was trying to do."
"What's his condition?" Steve asked.
"He's still in the ICU," Fury disclosed. "Doctors aren't sure if he'll pull through." He looked back at Tony. "Keep in mind that that is the kind of damage you're potentially dealing with."
"He's four," Tony scoffed, "and he's on the tiny side of scrawny at the moment. If I can't deal with that, I don't deserve the title of Avenger." He paused briefly. "So, we done here?"
"We're done," Fury answered. "I'll have a jet prepared for your immediate departure."
Tony flashed a smile at the director before he turned swiftly on his heel and walked to the door. He heard Steve thank Fury behind him as he opened the door.
He immediately saw Thor, who was seated a few feet down the hall against the wall opposite from Fury's door. The demigod raised a finger to his lips and gestured forward. Tony looked down toward where Thor had pointed to and frowned slightly.
Seated across the hall from Thor was Bruce, who was curled up tightly within the blanket and currently dozing, head resting on his drawn-up knees. Mjölnir was placed next to him on the ground, posing no threat whatsoever.
The boy suddenly blinked awake when Steve shut Fury's door behind him. Bruce's eyes immediately found Tony.
Tony forced a smile to his lips and stepped toward to the little guy. "Well, everything's settled," he announced. "Everything go alright out here?" he asked, glancing over at the demigod on the ground as he came to a stop next to Bruce.
A small spark of sadness lit up in Thor's eyes. "He does not seem very fond of me at present," he replied, "but all was well during your meeting."
Tony frowned again and looked down at Bruce, who had inched slightly closer to the engineer and was casting a mildly frightened look over at Thor. "Well…"
He didn't get a chance to finish his thought, for his phone buzzed in his pocket. He swiftly pulled it out and unlocked the screen to see a message waiting there from Natasha: We found all of the blood, and it's been prepared for travel. The jet will be ready for take-off in ten minutes. Your armor is being loaded now.
"Well, it looks like our transportation is almost ready," Tony said. He knelt down next to Bruce. "Have you ever been on a plane before?" he asked as the boy looked over at him.
Bruce shook his head.
Tony smiled. "Well, you're in for a treat, then. You ready to see our chariot?"
The kid suppressed a small smile at the terminology and nodded, slowly rising to his feet.
"I'll walk you two out," Steve said. He glanced down at the demigod, who was still seated on the floor. "Can you stick around for a few minutes before you head back home?"
"Most certainly," Thor replied with a solemn nod, and then turned a smile over toward Bruce. "I wish you good health, little one, and that we may meet again."
Tony felt the boy scoot a little closer to his leg when the Asgardian had turned his attention to him, but when he glanced down, he saw a small smile on the kid's face. It was a strange combination of actions, but it made Tony feel a little bit better. The engineer looked back at Thor. "See you in a few weeks?"
"I will attempt to return with haste," Thor answered as he stood. "Take care."
After they left Thor behind, Steve led the way toward where the jet would be ready. Tony kept pace with Bruce, watching the boy's eyes wander around his surroundings. They passed by a series of windows, and Tony had to fight the grin that wanted to appear when Bruce's eyes widened. The helicarrier was still hovering over the ocean, and a series of clouds could be seen in the distance. Tony wasn't sure how far off the coast they were, but land wasn't visible from where they currently were inside.
Once Bruce realized they were already up in the air, his interest in their surroundings increased exponentially. He looked at everything, but never once raised his voice to ask a question about anything. It struck Tony as odd, but considering how new the environment was, on top of the numerous agents that passed them by, he figured the kid was just shy and didn't want any more attention drawn to himself.
Still, it made him wonder…
His thoughts were interrupted when Steve brought the group to a stop outside the door that would lead them to the main deck. The soldier turned and looked down at Bruce. "It's going to be really windy outside," Steve explained to the boy, "so hold on tight to that blanket, alright? And don't be afraid to grab on to something if the wind is too strong."
As he was being addressed by the soldier, Bruce had immediately trained his attention on Steve, completely abandoning his visual exploration of the aircraft. The boy gave a tentative nod and pulled the blanket more tightly around his tiny body before moving a little closer to Tony's side.
Tony prepared himself to grab the kid if the wind knocked him over as Steve pushed open the door to the deck. Immediately, a gust of wind rushed inside and engulfed them in a blanket of fast-moving air, made cold by the altitude.
The engineer heard Bruce gasp as tiny fingers instantly gripped the fabric of his jeans. He glanced down at the boy, who was now squinting against the wind to see outside. The kid's curiosity must have been more overpowering than any of the nervousness that the boy was probably still feeling.
The group stepped outside into the sunlight, and the wind continued to blow against them. The blanket around Bruce was held tightly in a small fist, but the corner that wasn't flapped in the wind like a cape, dancing on the heavy breezes that blew his brown curls into a familiar state of disarray. The boy's other hand still clutched at Tony's jeans, but he didn't look frightened at all.
Instead, the kid looked absolutely fascinated. Scattered across the deck were jets and technicians performing maintenance on the various aircrafts. Beyond the commotion to their right was the Atlantic, seemingly endless. To their left, they could just make out the coast to one of the states along the eastern shore of the US. Tony wasn't sure how much closer they had gotten to New York since they had returned after their fight in Georgia, so he couldn't say for certain which state's shoreline they could almost see. He also wasn't sure how high up they were, but the clouds overhead that Bruce kept looking up at seemed almost within reach.
It was all perfectly ordinary for Tony and Steve, but to a kid, this had to have been like something out of a dream or a wild flight of fantasy.
They found Natasha standing near one of the quinjets as a small group of technicians went about doing last-minute tune-ups. As if sensing them, she turned and watched the three-person group approach. Her eyes darted momentarily to Bruce before she regarded Tony and Steve. "We'll be set to board in another minute," she called over the wind. "We should get to the tower in a little over two hours."
"You're flying?" Tony asked.
As the team of technicians gave the all-clear on the jet and rushed off, Natasha gave a firm nod. She eyed Steve momentarily before she turned on her heel to start prepping the jet for flight, leaving the group of three alone.
The super-soldier glanced down at the boy, and then back at Tony. There was something like guilt in the blond man's expression, but before the engineer could comment on it, Steve spoke. "I'm going to see what we can do here to get our schedules cleared up to help out," he said, just loud enough to be heard over the jet and the roaring wind. "If you can manage for at least the first week or so, we ought to work out a system that allows at least one of us to be there every now and then to help."
"Cap, it's fine," Tony replied, the words genuine despite the scoff and hand-wave. "Nothing I can't handle."
"You shouldn't have to handle it on your own," Steve responded. The man's blue eyes drifted down to Bruce briefly, who was completely ignoring the conversation in lieu of studying the quinjet. There was a moment where nothing more was said, and then the soldier's shoulders sagged slightly with a sigh that was lost in the wind. "As soon as we have something figured out, we'll let you know. If you need anything at all, please don't try to handle it completely on your own. You are allowed to call for back-up."
"Steve, it'll be fine," Tony said, dropping his usual snark in an attempt to make the captain relax. "Just worry about taking care of your soldierly duties first. Until then, we'll be fine." He grinned down at the kid. "Right, Bruce?"
Bruce glanced up at Tony, but didn't make any movement to either affirm or negate the question.
"We'll be fine," Tony answered for him instead as he returned his eyes to Steve.
Steve didn't look convinced, but he didn't argue further. Instead, he turned his gaze to the boy. "Keep an eye on Tony here, alright?"
"Um, excuse you, who exactly is babysitting who?" Tony responded testily. When he saw a smile appear on the soldier's face, the engineer glanced down in time to see the shy smile on Bruce's face. The child nodded.
Tony rolled his eyes and made a shooing motion with his hands toward Steve. "Alright, go back inside before Natasha runs you over."
"I'm going, I'm going," Steve replied with a laugh, still smirking and starting to turn away. After a quick pause, he glanced over his shoulder. "In all seriousness, though, please let us know if you need anything."
"I will," Tony said. He turned and looked down at Bruce. "Ready to hit the skies?"
Bruce's eyes lingered on the blond super-soldier as Steve stepped off to watch the launch from a safe distance. When he looked up at Tony, he offered a tiny nod.
The pair stepped up the loading ramp and into the quinjet, where only Natasha was inside. She already had her headset on, and she glanced over her shoulder once they had boarded. "Ready?" she asked.
Tony glanced around the interior of the craft, easily finding his armor off in a corner next to the ramp. There was a cooler nearby, no doubt holding the blood SHIELD had taken from Bruce. "I'd say so," he answered.
"Then take a seat and buckle in," Natasha said as she turned back around to face the controls. "Set an example for our guest."
Tony rolled his eyes, but he sat himself down on the seat next to Bruce. The boy had already climbed up onto the seat and was on his knees, staring out the window with eyes wide with wonder. "Gotta put your seatbelt on, kiddo," he said. As Bruce glanced over, Tony buckled up in demonstration.
Bruce turned himself around to sit down properly on the bench before he easily buckled himself in. Immediately after, he eagerly started looking around the inside of the jet. His eyes instantly went to the ramp as it was lifted and the exit closed.
Tony bit back a grin. "Alright, Red, we're all buckled in. Safety first, and everything."
He could almost hear Natasha roll her eyes, but she neglected to comment and instead focused on getting the jet airborne.
As the quinjet began to shake a little with the liftoff, Tony laid his arm along the length of the bench and looked down at Bruce. The kid was turned around in his seat again, peeking over the back of the cushion and out the window.
Tony glanced past the glass as Natasha turned the jet and started to accelerate north, giving them a perfect view of the helicarrier. The engineer suspected she did it purposely for their young teammate, who stared avidly at the gigantic hovering aircraft as it started to grow smaller and smaller with distance.
When the aircraft suddenly started to disappear, Bruce's eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion. "Cloaking device," Tony explained as more and more of the helicarrier seemed to vanish into thin air. Bruce glanced up at him for a second before returning his eyes to the disappearing ship. Tony continued. "They have some very special technology that makes them turn invisible with the right wavelengths."
The furrow from the boy's brow disappeared quickly with the explanation, and the kid stared until there wasn't a single hint that the helicarrier had ever been in the sky.
"Alright, we're flying steady," Natasha said from the front of the jet. "You can take your seatbelts off now."
Tony did so immediately and turned so he was sitting properly on the bench again. A small smile appeared on his face when he realized that Bruce continued to stare out the window, just looking at the billowing clouds and the massive ocean far below.
After a few more minutes, the kid drew back far enough from the glass to yawn into a tiny hand. It was a sudden reminder to Tony that the boy hadn't slept properly yet, and rest was one of the most important things Bruce needed after a transformation.
Sleep and food.
"Did you eat those protein bars?" Tony asked the child.
Bruce sat himself back down and carefully unbuckled the seatbelt. Tired brown eyes turned briefly up to Tony as Bruce nodded, holding up a single timid finger.
"You only ate one?" Tony asked.
The boy nodded and yawned again, hiding it behind a fold in the blanket that was still wrapped around him. He leaned back on the bench and started looking around the interior of the jet again.
Tony watched the child for a second more before he pulled his phone from his pocket. He opened a new screen and started typing in possible avenues of research that would hopefully resolve this issue. The sound of the flying jet faded into the background the longer he worked, and with no outside noises to disrupt him, Tony was able to work easily in peace.
It was something touching his arm that startled Tony from his thoughts. His head whipped up at the same time Bruce flinched away from the engineer's side, blinking rapidly and looking up at Tony with fearful eyes. It took all of a second for Tony to realize that the boy had been dozing off and had unconsciously leaned against him.
When he also suddenly realized that Bruce had cowered away from him because of his violent reaction to the unexpected touch, Tony cringed internally. He smiled sheepishly down at the boy. "Didn't mean to startle you, Bruce," he apologized. As the boy marginally relaxed, Tony gestured at the bench. "You can lie down if you want to get some sleep. It'll be two or so hours before we get to where we're going."
Bruce remained frozen for a moment longer, and then he gingerly scooted down the bench away from Tony. Before the engineer could feel slighted, Bruce pulled his legs up onto the cushion. Using some of the spare fabric from the oversized blanket, he fashioned himself a makeshift pillow next to Tony's thigh and lay down.
While the child pulled the rest of the blanket more tightly around himself and curled into a ball, Tony continued to watch. Between the extreme exhaustion and the gentle rocking of the jet, Bruce was asleep in seconds flat. Before long, the tension in the boy's body had vanished, leaving his face as relaxed in slumber as it was when Tony found him in the crater after the battle. It was the first time since then that the kid had looked remotely relaxed.
As Bruce's breathing grew deep and even, Tony returned his attention to his phone.
A/N: I apologize for the delay in getting this out. It's been a really rough week. Thank you for your patience.
I'm going to be taking some parts from the comic!verse and incorporate it into Bruce's past presented here.
