So, like I promised, here is chapter 9! I was so worried I wasn't going to have time to finish it this weekend, and I probably should do my homework, but hey, when inspiration strikes, you just have to write!

Oh, and MoonyTheAlchemist: no, I haven't seen Rocky Horror Picture Show, but it sounds really funny!

Thanks to all my readers for sticking with the story so far, and I hope you like the next chapter!


"Well? What's missing?" Ross demanded. He slapped Bruce in the face. "May I remind you, that your friends are one button away from being blown to smithereens because of you."

Bruce continued his silence.

Ross laughed, but it didn't reach his eyes. "You inhuman monster. Can't even save your own friends, not if it means you get hurt. Fine, have it your way. Follow me."

Bruce followed him back down the hallway towards the cell his friends were staying in. With a sign from Ross, Vincent went in and shut the door behind him.


Gravley flipped his phone shut. He just finished talking to Betty, and now he was getting nervous.

Wes Gravley had met Betty Ross after her father decided that she needed a nice, strong military man for a boyfriend or husband or something along those lines, and had set him up with her for a date. While they had nothing in common, they became very close friends, especially after Bruce had left. Betty saw Gravley as a confidant, and she told him everything. Gravley, who really liked her (not in that way, but as a friend), showed her that she could trust him by not telling her dad anything she said. So, naturally, Betty had often talked about Bruce.

This call had told him that Ross was a little crazy when it came to Bruce Banner. He would stop at nothing to destroy the man he considered a monster, even when all evidence proved otherwise. When he told Betty that Ross had Bruce, she nearly lost it.

"Do whatever you can to keep him safe, please. I'm taking the next flight out there, but I can't do anything until I get there. Please don't let my father hurt him."

So he agreed, but now he was stuck. He still answered to Vincent, who answered to Ross, and Vincent was obviously on Ross's side as long as that meant he could get his revenge on Tony Stark for whatever he did to him. The only way to help Bruce was to completely flout direct orders.

This was going to be fun.


The Avengers were not ready for Vincent to walk into the cell, especially considering they thought Tony was done getting beat up for the day. Moving protectively around him, they were more surprised when Vincent grabbed Natasha and yanked her up on her feet.

"Hey!" shouted Tony. "I thought you said you weren't going to hurt them!"

"If Dr. Banner behaves," drawled Vincent, "I won't hurt her."

A rumbling by the wall drew their attention. Turning over towards the wall nearest the door, they saw it seem to rise up, almost like a garage door. What was left in its place was a think glass wall, giving them a view of Bruce and Ross staring inside the cell like they were fish in a bowl. When Ross started to talk, they learned that the glass itself was not soundproof, but the garage-like wall was.

"Now, Dr. Banner, I assume you are human enough to save your friend Miss Romanoff. I will count to three, and you tell me what I'm missing from the formula—" Tony's eyes widened as Bruce glanced over to him, "—or Vincent will shoot your friend."

Bruce paled. He was ready to lose it.

"Bruce..." said Tony.

"Tony, you can't expect me to make this choice." He was nearing a breakdown. Bruce could feel his pulse start to beat out of control, and he was starting to breathe hard, but he couldn't lose control. He couldn't, or more than one person would die.

"One," said Ross. Vincent cocked the gun.

"Bruce," Tony said, "if it has to be me or her, let it be her."

"Tony…"

"Two." Vincent placed the gun against Natasha's head. She would have fought back but she feared that Ross would still be willing to blow up the room even if one of his best men was still inside.

"If only one of us can live, Bruce, LET IT BE HER!" Tony shouted desperately.

"Starkanium. The last ingredient is Starkanium."

Tony relaxed, and Vincent dropped Natasha but kept hold of the gun. Ross, on the other hand, was confused. "What the hell is Starkanium?"

Bruce looked at Tony, wondering if he wanted to explain. He did. "Starkanium is an element that I created for my arc reactor. It used to run on palladium, but I found that it was too toxic. I created Starkanium to act the same way palladium does in my reactor, but better and without the negative effects. As I was looking at it's structure, Bruce and I found that it would probably be a suitable substance to knock out the Hulk."

"So then where can we get some?" Ross asked, getting impatient. At this question, Bruce winced.

Tony continued. "We hadn't had time to synthesize any more of it, so all the Starkanium in existence currently resides right here in yours truly," he said as he tapped his finger against the arc reactor, lifting his chin as if daring Ross to try and take it from him.

Ross turned on his radio with Ellings. "Ellings, how long will it take you to make up those formulas before you need the last piece?" Muffled speaking came through. "Got it. The last bit is Starkanium. We'll have it for you by then."

Ross turned to Tony. "Sounds like Ellings will be needing that in a few hours. One of us will come and retrieve it when he's ready." He nodded to Vincent, who pushed his way out of the room while Ross hit the garage-door button, and the Avengers were plunged back into solitude.


Clint was stressed. They had their plan, but it was a long shot, and based off of too many "ifs." If Thor can find a weak spot on the roof. If Clint can locate an air vent. If the Quinjet gets back there on time. There was too much uncertainty for Clint's liking, but it was all they had, and Clint was determined to get his friends back or go down trying.

The plan was relatively simple. Since Ross probably had plenty of sensors around the area, it would be too risky to send the Quinjet right away. So Clint was going to hitch a ride with Thor and his hammer (thank god Tony wouldn't see him do this), and Thor would drop him on the roof to search for an air vent. Meanwhile, Thor would find a weak spot, hit it with lightning, and jump down to cause some chaos while Clint entered through the air vent and crawled around until he found the team. From there, they'd just have to explore the building to find their way out, because Thor couldn't carry all of them at once, and no one wanted to leave any of them down in the hole. He brought a few spare guns and knives for Natasha and anyone else who wanted one, but he couldn't find Tony's suit-tracker bracelets. He just prayed Tony could get out without needing his suit. Once they had made it in, however, the Quinjet would arrive and wait for them outside, offering back up if they needed it. Unfortunately, it was highly unlikely the back up would be useful, because none of them could jump down a huge hole like Thor could without hurting or killing themselves, and going through the vents like Clint would take too long. Really, they were useless, but they needed a way to get out of the area, plus it made Fury feel better to offer his help.

Sliding the guns and knives into their slots and grabbing his bow, he jumped onto Thor's back (he was never going to live this down). "All right, Lightning, let's get going.


Yay, Clint and Thor to the rescue! So, the story is getting close to the end (don't worry, there are still at least three or four chapters left), and I'm so excited!

Leave me a review to let me know what you think, please!