Alrightie, I wrote so much last night that I have up to chapter 12 done you lucky punks. So, I'll post a new chapter each night for the next three days. You're welcome ;D I hope you've enjoyed what you've read so far! I'm super excited to have caught up to my original plot. So please enjoy and don't forget to leave a comment with any advice or criticisms. Thanks!
Disclaimer: Everything Marvel is not mine. Only El is mine, who else would create that vicious spazz?
Chapter 9: I Can Explain
In a blink of an eye, the sharp scent of gun metal filled the air around them, and Fury was aiming the small, black handgun at Bruce, "Doctor Banner…" he threatened gravely, "You need to calm down."
El just about lost it when she saw Fury aim that gun directly at Bruce, and she leapt up in a moment's notice to stand protectively in front of him; placing herself between the gun and Bruce. She wasn't highly fond of the way Fury had jumped to conclusions so quickly; obviously he wasn't hulking out…well, okay, perhaps the new green hint to his skin was rather off-putting to the director, but seriously, Bruce hated guns and El wasn't a fan of 'em either.
Bruce was startled by Fury's actions and he couldn't help but let a low growl slip though his barred teeth. He blinked in surprise; it was still rather strange to be reacting like that automatically and it puzzled him to realize that his anger was growing slightly, but he was completely at ease and had control over it. However, he still had a good reason to be angry and he glared at Fury with his green-brown strange that was rapidly turning a bright green.
El lowered her gaze from Fury's handgun for a moment and glanced down at Bruce; his eyes were completely green and the green hue of his skin was darkening into a deeper, emerald shade. She slipped her small, long fingered hand into his and squeezed it gently. He looked up at her when she did this, and she gave a small comforting smile.
He saw her lips twitch and heard her whisper a few barely audible words, "Bruce, put a lid on it…you're freaking them out, and they don't quite understand what's going on just yet." He glared into her eyes and held her stubborn gaze, but realized that she was probably right; the team looked absolutely petrified…especially Natasha.
Bruce's eyes slowly faded and he smirked smugly at Fury; he was well aware that their looks of fear had given him a slight pleasure, but he figured El understood his strange, new thoughts seeing that she had rolled her eyes at him.
Bruce cleared his throat and saw the entire room stiffen and Fury's finger tighten on the trigger slightly. He glanced at El with wide brown-green eyes and she nodded in encouragement. He began to wring his wrists and mumbled roughly, "Um…Director, I'm not hulking out…it's kinda hard to explain," he chuckled weakly and smiled sheepishly, "but uh…would you mind putting that away…it's not exactly putting me...or El, in a pleasant mood."
Fury's eye narrowed suspiciously at the doctor and he lowered his weapon ever so slowly, but didn't let it leave its mark. He just stared at Banner and muttered hotly, "Whatever the hell is going on here, Banner, you better have a fucking good answer…"
Tony peaked his head around from behind Fury and stared at Bruce with a wide-eyed, interested expression that reminded Bruce of a puzzled child, but it slowly turned into an intense glower as he moved his bright, brown-eyed gaze from Banner over to El. "Wild-eyes, what the hell did you do to him?"
El rolled her eyes dramatically at Stark, wearing a feral smile and hissed sharply, "I didn't do anything but give Bruce a little help with his little beastie problems…"
The rest of the team was still standing near the door way, looking confused, fearful, and curious all at the same time. Natasha had gripped Clint's hand so tightly, that she had dug her nails into his palm. Clint flinched as he felt hot blood dripped down his fingers and he shot a look at Tasha. She let go and gave a small frown of apology, and Clint closed his palm tightly to try to stop the trickle of blood from splattering the ground; there was no way he was leaving this room until he knew exactly what was going on because whatever was going on was as crazy as fuck…and he was all about crazy.
El's nostrils flared and she tensed up slightly, her eyes burned into Clint and he figured she could smell the blood from far away…damn, did Tasha dig her nails in deep…
Bruce noticed El tense up and he looked at her concerned, but then the scent hit him…the metallic, rusty scent of blood. Bruce looked up with concern at his team and stood up abruptly, "Hey is everyone okay, I can smell…"
It had appeared that everyone had leapt about ten feet in the air when Bruce had moved so quickly, and Fury's gun was aimed once again at Bruce. Not to mention Natasha had a long knife grasped firmly in her hand, and even Tony had taken a few steps back.
Bruce raised his hands slowly as if he was surrendering himself to them and he said in a resigned tone, "Take it easy you guys, I just smelt blood and it kinda freaked me out a little," he smiled nervously and lowered his hands slightly, "I was worried that one of you might be hurt or something…" Bruce noticed Clint shift his weight the slightest bit, and he saw a thin trickle of scarlet blood running down his right hand. So, someone was hurt, Clint was clearly bleeding. He could see it…Holy shit he could smell it! All the way from where he was standing!
El's lips twitched, she hated this sort of tension. It usually meant that something bad was about to happen, but she chewed worriedly on the inside of her cheek, telling herself it was no big deal. They wouldn't try to hurt Bruce unless he actually hulked out. El exhaled quietly through her nose, and licked her dry lips; she knew that that was definitely not gonna happen, but none the less, she was absolutely terrified of just about any weapon…unless it was in her own hands.
Bruce frowned in concern at Clint and motioned ever so slowly to his hand, "Hey…you okay there, Clint?" Bruce could cut the team's tension with a knife, but he wasn't gonna explain anything until he took care of his friend's injury; not to mention the rusty smell in his nose was rather distracting and he could barely think straight to begin with. This was a lot to process right now. Especially now that his team was there and on the brink of shooting him.
Fury shot Clint an dismayed look as he shrugged and slipped his hand under his other arm, "Ah…it's nothing really…Bruce?" he said his name as if he was unsure it was the hulk or Bruce…Bruce dropped his gaze to his hands and stared at the strange green hue he used to associate with the other guy, but he smiled softly….that guy was him now…
Bruce looked up at Clint and met his blue eyes with his glowing green and brown gaze, "Yeah, it's me guys, just…try to believe me, okay?" He looked at Clint and waved a hand at him, motioning for him to come to his side, "Come here so I can take a look at your hand."
Clint was met by Fury's steely gaze that was practically daring him to even leave the team's side. He had no clue why Bruce looked and acted so differently, but overall he seemed like the same shy, helpful doctor he had come to know. So Clint returned a glare to Fury, and approached Banner slowly. He passed El, and he heard her hiss quietly at him as he passed…he trusted Bruce, but definitely not her, he had read her background files in the S.H.E.I.L.D database and, lone behold, knew her a long time before that….and he didn't trust her one bit after all that damage she'd caused.
Clint was directly in front of Bruce now and he could see him much clearer in the still semi-dark room. Why hadn't anyone turned on the lights already? Who knew, but anyways, he smiled meekly at Bruce and held up his hand. Four deep nail marks marred the soft flesh of his palm; they didn't look all that deep, but for some reason they were bleeding rather profusely. Bruce's brows creased in concern and he began digging through the desk he was next to until he found a large metal first-aid kit, and set to work silently on Clint's hand.
Clint tried his best not to stare at Bruce, but he couldn't help himself. Banner's usually tanned skin was now tinted a faint green color, as if he was on the verge of hulking out, but he was still himself somehow. His eyes were probably the most distracting…they were the same warm, dark brown eyes he had come to know, but now a glowing ring of green surrounded his irises and seemed to be pulsing. Clint came to the conclusion that the ring would expand whenever Bruce felt any intense emotions since they had completely encompassed the brown when they had first came rushing in on…well whatever had been occurring, but he looked pretty freaked out and kinda pissed too.
Bruce noticed him starring and chuckled, "Freaky right? I'm still kinda creeped out myself…" He looked up at Clint and gave him a small, worried look, "…are you okay, Clint? Your blood seems to be running a bit much for such small cuts…it's like your blood is really light or something." His eyes narrowed and he readjusted his glasses, "Mind if I take a blood sample some time? You know, just to make sure nothing's wrong, just in case."
Clint stiffened and said briefly, "No need, it's normal for me."
Bruce raised an eyebrow, but decided not to pry further and finished wrapping his hand in gauze, "Alright, you should be set now…just make sure Natasha isn't holding a knife or something in her hand when she decides to maul your hand next time." He grinned jokingly, and Clint snickered in response. Whatever had happened to Bruce hadn't changed him one bit, he was still his same old self and Clint was determined to calm the team down, especially Fury…he'd probably try to put Bruce in that insane cage again.
Clint nodded his thanks and then turned to look at Fury with his arms crossed, he eyed the Natasha, Steve, and Tony with a mischievous smirk and then stated flatly, "Director Fury, I'd suggest putting the gun away, Bruce seems perfectly fine to me…"
Tony nodded slowly in agreement and strode forward happily to Bruce's side, "He definitely is fine, Fury, and if you don't believe him or Clint then…" Tony threw a hard punch into Bruce's stomach and he doubled over onto the ground and glared up at Tony, eye's glowing green and his face formed in an angry snarl, "What the hell was that for Tony!?" His voice was surprisingly low and sounded like a strange mix of Bruce's voice and the Hulk's voice. His skin was turning a deeper green and suddenly he tackled Tony to the ground; pinning him down hard with his arms and knees. His teeth were barred, revealing that his canines were now slightly pointed, not nearly as much as El's, but still sharp enough to be unnatural….and Tony was stunned to see that.
Bruce's snarl ended abruptly and he pushed himself up and already his eyes were beginning to face back to their semi brown state. He picked up his glasses and repositioned them on the bridge of his nose, still glaring at Tony, "You're lucky I've got a hold on my temper now you idiot…" he growled quietly, his voice becoming softer again.
Tony seemed mostly satisfied now and so did Clint; although that outburst was freaky, Bruce had backed off quite easily and started acting normally very quickly. The two stared at the remaining two team members in the room and Fury…he didn't exactly count as part of the team in Tony's book.
Clint gave Tasha a sympathetic look and their eyes met for a moment in a silent conversation. Natasha looked at Bruce and then back at Clint and shook her head, "I'm sorry, I just can't…" With that she turned and left the room silently, the door shutting heavily behind her.
Bruce shuffled his feet nervously, and suddenly he regretted his little outburst at Tony; it hadn't done anything to help Natasha trust him in his strange new form. It had taken months to finally get her to trust him before, and now he would have to start all over again.
Fury's eyebrows furrowed as his one-eyed stare burned into his team and he stated a question directly at Banner rather harshly, "How do you expect me to believe that one of the most troublesome persons I know just showed up and taught you how to control your rage in one sitting? How am I supposed to know whether or not you might just hulk out at any moment now, and rip the place to shreds, putting my agents' lives on the line?"
Bruce cringed at Fury's words and starred at his feet. He was wringing his hands and after a while he ran a single hand through his dark curls and muttered softly, "I…I don't know…I just know that I won't…" Bruce looked at El with pleading eyes and her heart practically broke at the sight. She wanted to claw Fury's other eye out for that low blow at Bruce.
She stalked right up to Fury and hissed in his face angrily, "Why can't you just listen to what he has to say instead of making him feel like a monster! He already knows that and doesn't need to be reminded so harshly…you never want to make us monsters angry," she hissed as she flashed her razor sharp teeth in a feral snarl, "because sometimes we can purposely let our temper slip…" She let her green eyes burn into Fury and left her threat hanging silently in the air. She turned and walked back to Bruce's side and slipped a clawed hand outwards to hold Bruce's trembling fingers.
Steve watched Bruce with his ice blue eyes, and saw him look up at El thankfully; they were full of affection and respect for the strange girl. Steve couldn't help but smile softly at this sight; the way he looked at her was the way he had looked at Peggy…He had come to like Banner in the past couple months living with him and the team in the Avengers tower, and he could tell that he still meant no harm. In fact, he seemed to have much better control now, even though he did lash out when threatened; sorta like an animal would. It was rather strange to have seen him acting like that at the time, but he was sure he could grow used to it. After all, Bruce was his friend.
Steve looked at Fury apologetically, and walked towards the lab table to stand by Tony's side and flashed Bruce a quick smile before he looked back at his commander and chief, "Sorry, Fury, but I'm siding with them; Bruce seems to be in control perfectly and if something does happen to go wrong, then I want the right people to be by his side to help him," he frowned and continued, "I'd hate to see your agents try to throw him into another cage."
Fury stared hard at the team and gave a long sigh of annoyance, "Fine, I'll leave him be, but I want to know exactly what happened to Banner and how he got into his current…situation, in the nest twenty four hours from at least one of you." He muttered something quietly to himself that sounded like a string of curses and he left the group to themselves.
As soon as the metal door clicked shut, Bruce relaxed a bit more and released a pent up sigh of relief. That confrontation had really freaked him out; he hadn't even begun to think of how his team would react to his strange new form. It was comforting to know that most of his friends had still stuck by his side, even after he displayed a couple short instances of rage…but he couldn't help it, it was practically a reflex now.
Tony turned to Bruce and asked seriously, "Alright then, it's time to spill the beans! Tell us exactly what happened that caused all this craziness to happen," he gestured to Bruce as he spoke. He scowled rather unhappily when he noticed that Bruce's shirt was completely unbuttoned; showing his strange green hued chest. In any other circumstance, he would have been proud of Bruce for finally making a move like that, but this was El…and he was still mad at her.
Tony did a quick wolf whistle and snapped harshly, "Please do tell because something tells me, that we walked in on something rather good didn't we?"
Bruce's eyes widened in surprise and his cheeks flushed a dark shade of green, which Tony made no haste to point out as El had done earlier...before they had barged in.
Before Bruce could reply El yawned loudly and grabbed Bruce's wrist firmly with her soft hands, "Speaking of which, interrupting me was rather rude so if you don't mind, I'll just be taking him now," she pulled him towards the door and she looked back at the three stunned men around the lab table, she smiled seductively and purred, "after all I wasn't finished with him when you all came barging in…"
The two left the lab and El pulled Bruce along at a brisk pace towards her room, but it seemed that Bruce had other plans. He scooped El up in his arms, causing her to give a small hiss of surprise and walked in the opposite direction. She looked up with a small look annoyance and saw Bruce smiling down at her; his mischievous eyes glowing neon green. He carried her into his own room, which El noticed was much bigger and homier than his…thanks for nothing Fury she thought nastily to herself…
He kicked the door shut behind them, and he nestled his nose into her pine scented hair, kissing the top of her head gently; he smiled happily and crooned into her ear softly, "What was that about you not being through with me?" El released a throaty purr, and the two fell eagerly next to each other on Bruce's bed.
Bruce had his arms wrapped around El's waist and he was lightly kissing her neck, he paused and bit his bottom lip to see something, sure enough he felt his own sharpened canines piercing his skin and he shuddered; he hadn't recalled the hulk having sharp teeth ever and it worried him that they were there now. Did it have something to do with that burning sensation he had had when El had bitten them when they kissed the first time when he changed?
El gazed up at him with her tired golden eyes and looked curiously at Bruce's worried expression, "What's wrong? You look like something's on your mind."
Bruce decided to ask El what was on his mind and mumbled, "El, when we were kissing during the time I changed, you bit my lip kinda hard and it sent a burning sensation through me, and now…" he smiled for her to reveal his sharpened canines, "now my canines are a lot sharper than I recalled them to be…a lot sharper." His worried brown eyes looked down at her and she looked thoughtfully at the ceiling, she then returned her gaze to Bruce and chuckled, "Whoops…"
Bruce propped himself up and his eyes flared green with worry, "Whoops? What do you mean whoops?" he groaned.
El rolled her eyes and stated coyly, "My bite is poisonous, and it's usually strong enough to kill a man, but apparently it just kinda mixed in a little bit with the gamma in your blood to accommodate with your self-healing process."
Bruce shot El an annoyed glare and he bickered, "So, you're saying that the venom is making my canines grow longer…because that sounds like a bunch of BS."
El grinned and planted a kiss on Bruce's check and she began to run her fingers through his hair. "No, I'm saying that your self-healing process is trying to find a way to get rid of the venom, but it can't, so your body it putting it to use instead," she smirked playfully and purred ,"Looks like I'm not the only one with a dangerous bite around here.
Bruce sighed and ran his fingers through his hair stressfully, "How much more could possibly happen to me in this state," he looked at El and said sarcastically, "Your claws aren't tainted with poison either, are they?"
El smiled ruefully and whispered sassily, "Nope."
Bruce gave a small sigh of relief and then El murmured, "Well…actually I don't really know we'll just have to wait and see I suppose! Good night!"
As if almost on command, El was out cold and left Bruce awake, staring wide-eyed at his finger nails, half expecting them to grow into long, black claws.
