"Hnngh," Bruce made an odd mixture of a grunt and a groan as he rolled over. He realised quickly that he was no longer in the spare, half-rotted cot that inhabited the nurse's office - it was too unsteady for a patient but his still sleeping frame had adjusted to it slowly. Instead, he had slept at an odd angle, his back and limbs wet from the dew in the grass. Bruce realised quickly that he was naked aside from the very ripped, stretched trousers and a few tatters of fabric.

He looked down at his body, expecting to find a green, hulking mass - but thankfully all that remained was his regular body, if a little tired and bruised. He rubbed his now-normal hands over his now-normal face - he hoped to god that he hadn't hurt anybody. From the memories, it had looked like he'd turned into a whirlwind of destruction.

A whole wall had been ripped out of the castle, leaving a cringe-worthy hulk-shaped hole. That's what Bruce had subconsciously nicknamed "the other guy" - and he could still feel that other person, formed of rage and anger, sitting and lurking in the back of his mind.

Bruce wrapped the sheet closer around his skinny hips and started walking, finding a small but worn path. He was enjoying the scenery when-

The ground fell from beneath his feet and sour, cold water filled his mouth, nose and ears. Everything went black in seconds.

"Steve!" Bucky shouted. "Can I borrow your strength?"

It had become commonplace for Steve to do most heavy lifting around the house, as he was the strongest and had some pretty steady hands. He jogged over, dropping the hammer and nail he'd been patching a corner with.

"What's wrong, Buck?" He asked, following his gaze to the riverbank. A guy, presumably, about Tony's height, scrawny and shirtless, lay drenched and coated with a fine layer of sand. Steve instantly leapt down and started helping lift him.

"Geez, this guy is a lot heavier than he looks," Steve grunted, heaving his damp form over his shoulder.

Bucky sighed, helping Steve keep his balance. "We may as well set up a hotel with the amount of people that keep turning up around here. Steve laughed.

Tony came hobbling over, still not completely good on his feet. When he'd fallen, he'd badly bruised his ankle, and Clint, who was full of weird medical knowledge, had set it so that he could walk.

"Hey, is that Bruce?" Tony gasped, eyes like saucepans. "Why is he shirtless and covered in river water?"

"You know this guy?" Steve said, setting him down on dry grass. "Oh right, you're friends, aren't you?"

"Yeah," Tony muttered absentmindedly, shaking Bruce's head slightly. "Brucey, you in there?"

Bruce groaned and tried to roll over, before coughing up a mouthful of river water, wincing at the taste.

"Can I please stay awake and human for more than two hours today?" He groaned, bringing confused expressions from the others.

"Human?" Bucky asked in surprise.

Bruce nodded and sat back, resting his head on the grass and letting his arms flop to his sides. "It's a long story. God, what I wouldn't give to lie here for a while right now."

"Bruce, you okay?" Tony asked, helping him sit up. "Why the fuck where you in the river?"

"Language," Steve muttered, smiling. It had become an affectionate joke between Steve and Tony over the last day. Tony, as he was in constant pain, was usually being watched by Steve in case anything happened. Nobody was particularly well trained in medicine, so the best course of action was just to keep Tony under surveillance until he was able to run again.

"I was -" Bruce grabbed his forehead with one hand as he stood, the others holding his stretched trousers around his waist. "Oh god, Reed's-"

Tony slipped an arm under his friend's shoulder, and with the help of Steve, carried Bruce up to the room Tony had spent the last day in. Inside, Tony threw in some loose-fitting clothes for Bruce to change into.

"So what exactly is happening down in the town?" Steve asked Tony as Bruce changed.

Tony sighed, folding his arms. "Last I was there, Bruce and Helen were acting doctors and everyone was helping set up a base for the kids at the school, as the town's been blocked off by the other school's kids. I came up here looking for insulin, as I was expendable - but god knows things must be dire for Bruce to hightail it."

Bruce exited the room, awkwardly rubbing his hands together. Tony didn't even let him close the door before he started questioning. "Bruce, what happened at Xavier's?"

Bruce swallowed and knotted his fingers together. "Reed's taken over, and violently. He struck up some deal with a leader in the town and he's taken everything and everyone who agrees with him. Anyone else was left for dead. I got mad, and... "

Tony and Steve made identical gestures for him to continue. If it had been any other situation, Bruce would have found it amusing.

"I kind of - I don't know, mutated when I got mad. Went all green and big. If you want proof, go to the nearest hill and take a good long look at the school - there's a big hole in the west hall. Anyway, Reed and his followers are long gone. I was angry and ran, didn't really care where. Woke up and started wandering this morning, but I only fell into a river."

"So that's three mutants in the last few days?" Natasha called from over by the fridge. Sam and Clint, or as everyone called them, the DIY duo, had set up a hydroelectric water wheel-style generator in the nearby river. It didn't make a lot of power; just enough to run a few lightbulbs and a low-powered fridge. Wifi, heating and the electric oven were far from working.

"I don't follow," Bruce spoke up. "What do you mean by mutant?"