Bannette

Fever

Bridgette Smith had the strangest skill. She was able to communicate with the Hulk, and rather well at that. Tony Stark was the second to her ability. The gamma beast was triggered by high stress, spiking adrenaline, and the ever famous anger of Dr. Bruce Banner. Daring to go head to head with the titan put her into a type of perspective for the Hulk. By constantly encountering her, it made it easier for him to recognize her in the blinding rage. She could calm him.

The Hulk was the other side to Dr. Banner, an alternative personality that was released when things got rough and he was in danger. He was very aware of the girl as she was important to the puny doctor. Hulk was fond of her as well and was increasingly protective of her. It wasn't always necessary as Ricochet could handle any kind of trouble. She was a beacon of light that he could always find. She smiled and laughed with the Hulk. She wasn't scared of him.

When Bridgette encountered serious danger that could hurt her, the Hulk's temper exploded. No one was to hurt Bridgette. She was strong, like Hulk. Hulk liked Bridgette. She was his friend.

They were separated from the rest of the Avengers after taking on a rogue unit of Hydra. They had encountered a weapon and Bridgette had destroyed it before it could entirely release its toxins. There was a little smoke but she seemed all right as she gave a broad grin in victory. The site had taken place on a chilly mountain side and they were to meet the others at the halfway mark.

Hulk had noticed that Bridgette was very quiet. Looking down, she didn't seem any different. A little pale, but that was most likely because of the cold climate. He could see the small puffs of frosted air as she breathed and her gaze remained forward. The Hulk shrugged it off and continued on.

Next, he realized that she was falling behind, no longer able to match his stride. Confused, he had to glance over his shoulder to see her. The puffs of frost were more prominent now, as if she was out of breath.

"Bridgette?" he called, his deep voice traveling well despite the wind. The snow and freezing weather were starting to work against them. They needed to hurry back to camp.

"I'm good, big guy," she assured him, giving a half smile. "Just not used to all this snow." She tugged the heavy scarf so that it could cover the lower portion of her face. Hulk gave a nod and continued to plow a path through the building snow. He didn't like the quiet Bridgette, but she said she was okay, so Hulk believed her.

Not much later, the coughing started. At first, it was very quiet and muffled by the scarf and Hulk didn't think anything of it, blaming the weather. Then it started to get worse, louder, and more violent. Turning around, his pulse spiked when he saw the Avenger on all fours, the white snow splattered with dark red blood.

"Bridgette!" he shouted, footsteps thundering as he rushed to her. She didn't answer him as she heaved, the sickening sound of dense liquid hitting the snow. The hood of her coat had fallen back and the wind pushed her hair about her face, the russet color looking strange against her ashy pale skin.

The Hulk could scarcely think as fear fueled his adrenaline. He couldn't smash an illness or whatever had taken hold of Bridgette. Banner could fix sickness but he needed to stay the Hulk, it was too dangerous for Banner right now. An idea came to mind: Tony! He was very smart, he worked with Banner, he could figure it out!

Scooping up the girl in his arms, he began to run toward camp.

His pounding footsteps announced his arrival well before he was in sight. The other Avengers exchanged a concerned glance as they all rose to their feet, just in case the big guy was running because there was an attack of some sort. Instead, the green gamma beast barreled at them with an alarming speed. Snow sprayed as he skidded to a stop, looking about and stomping up to Iron Man when he was spotted.

"Whoa, big green, what's going on-?"

"Help Bridgette!" he instructed firmly. It took Tony a moment to notice the small figure of Ricochet in the Hulk's massive grip, holding onto her perhaps too tightly. It was startling, the sight of her. She seemed so much smaller than her usual self, almost like a child instead of the force resisting titan she truly was.

The team hurried together and pulled out one of the makeshift beds, but the Hulk was reluctant to put her down. He didn't want to let her go. She was safe with him.

"Tell me what happened," instructed Tony, as he would rather the information first before trying to force the big guy to let go of the girl. Hulk tried to explain what they had encountered. The small machine. The dust it had made and Bridgette had accidentally touched as she smashed the device. Hulk's panic rose again as Bridgette started to cough once more. She struggled against his hold and he carefully placed her on her feet where she promptly fell to the ground, shaking as she propped herself up on her arms. Her breathing sounded rattled and she seemed so tiny. It was like the light had been pulled from her.

Tony set to work on what he could figure out and started to put phone calls through to SHIELD and Director Fury for assistance. Hulk was unable to do anything. He couldn't change back into Banner, it was too dangerous. They could still be attacked at any moment. He couldn't smash when there was nothing to hit. He couldn't help Tony with finding a cure.

"B...Bruce..." came a wheeze. Hulk quickly look to see that Bridgette pushing herself upright, her back to him. Hulk could see her shaking.

"Bruce...!" her voice tried again, cracking with the effort.

"Bridgette," called the Hulk as carefully as he could. She flinched at his voice and turned around to see him. A weak smile pulled at her mouth. She was still breathing hard and her forehead was beaded with sweat while her body fought hard against the sickness the machine had given her.

"Hey, big guy," she managed. There was a feverish flush to her, blue eyes not exactly focusing on him. "Have you...have you seen Bruce?" She trembled as she tried to push herself to her feet. "I-I've got to-" Her legs gave up beneath her and the green beast caught her quickly, bringing her back into the safety of his hold.

"Bruce..." she whimpered. Her breathing was slowing down and she was becoming very still. Her eyes had closed as she rested her head against the giant's green chest, so very tired...


REVIEW! Just felt like drabbling a bit, kinda sad, but it's not definite or anything and I could continue this piece if you wanted me to-It's just late and I'm tired honestly. As always, any prompts or scenes you would like to see, let me know! I kinda want to do a smutty scene, if anyone would be interested? Could be fun!

Hope you enjoyed!