Here ya have it! The next chapter, and so begins the extra fun stuff! I'll post the next chapter tomorrow at some point...hope you don't mind a suspenseful cliffhanger. I know I totally do (not). So, enjoy reading about this new asshole. I hope you hate him too! Don't forget to leave a comment please because I know you people are reading this. I have eyes everywhere...just kidding, I only have Clint with a nerf gun.
Disclaimer: annnnnnnd still doesn't own Marvel. Shocker! I only own El and Jack
Chapter 10: Flashbacks and Old Faces
Run. Keep running. Whatever you do, don't stop!
El was breathing heavily and sprinting through the thick brush. The sharp branches snatched at her hair and scratched her nearly naked body; it burned like hell, but all that mattered was running. She had to get away. Away from them…they were getting closer to her! She could hear the sounds of dirt bikes close behind her, tearing through the brush like wildfire, close on her tail. She heard gun shots ring out around her and felt the shards of splintering trees rip into her skin.
She wouldn't dare look back, not yet, she wasn't far enough yet…She burst through the bushes and nearly ran into the electric fencing. The tips of her hair just barely touched it and they began to burn, the scent of burnt hair filling the air around her nose, which was only inches from the fencing. She spun around and crouched down, poising herself for a fight. She refused to be taken without one… Her pursuers tore through the bush she had come through, mere seconds ago, and held their guns pointed directly at her; the one with the dark wavy hair and dull blue eyes bore into her intensely and he aimed his gun at her head, saying in a quiet, shaky voice, "Please Brielle, don't make me do this…just come back, I won't let them hurt you again I swear!"
El's honey brown eyes watered and a single tear ran down her olive skinned cheek. How could she trust the man who said he loved her and then turned her into some sort of lab rat? How could she believe that she wouldn't be hurt again, that's all they ever did to her. Pain was the only feeling she ever felt for every second, of every day she had spent trapped there.
He had told her that it would only be a few, painless tests. He had told her that studying her strange gift would be beneficial to the world…He told her that he loved her…He never said that they'd be plunging scalpels deep into her skin. Or inserting various poisons and syringes to see how her body would react to it. He never said any of that…everything he ever told me was a lie…wasn't it!
She felt the rage building up inside her as she stared longer at her lover, her thoughts raging around in her mind, and her voice came out harshly as she hissed in a hushed whisper, "Lies…you lied to me, Jack…" tears streamed down her cheeks now and she choked out sadly, "you told me you loved me…"
The young man's eyes began to water and he murmured, "I do, El…please…" he took a step towards her and smiled softly, "I love you."
Her eyes flared into a glowing, molten gold and she roared viciously, "YOU LIAR!"
Massive jets of flame leapt up around the girl, causing the men to fall backwards off of their bikes, and sending Jack flying backwards into a tall oak tree. The flames slowly died away, leaving El crouching amidst the glowing embers of the fallen leaves under her feet, wisps of smoke rising about her. She flashed a malicious grin at Jack; her lips pulled back a furious snarl, revealing her razor sharp teeth.
Her dark blue skin was covered in smooth plates of scales that covered her and gave the appearance of some sort of strange armor on her body. The tips of her pointed ears peeked out of her unruly, dark waves and her golden eyes burned like fire. Short spikes framed her hair line and her elbows ended in short black spikes as well. Her long, black talons dug into the burning, cracked earth and she was breathing heavily. With each breath she took in, the glowing diamond indent in the center of her chest glowed brighter, like a throbbing ember.
Jack stood up slowly, and whipped the small trickle of scarlet blood trickling from his mouth. He glared darkly at El and ordered coldly, "Kill her."
El woke up in a start, tears streaming down her face, and breathing frantically. She whipped her head around, taking in her dark surroundings. Her heart rate was increasing rapidly and she couldn't remember where she was, but she definitely wasn't in her cave. What is going on, she thought instantly, where the hell am I!?
Bruce sat up abruptly and looked at the panicking El worriedly, she'd obviously had had a nightmare and he knew he had to calm her down. "El, it's okay, it was just a nightmare…" he murmured quietly and reached out to stroke her cheek, but El lashed out with her claws, and scratched him; leaving a long slanting cut from his cheekbone to his jawline. He gave a small yelp of pain and reached up to grip his cheek. It was long, but shallow, and surprisingly, already healing itself. He could feel warmth flood the right side of his face as gamma raced through, closing the wound in mere seconds.
El stared wide eyed at Bruce, her hand covering her mouth in complete shock that she had hurt him, and she shook her head, "I'm so sorry Bruce…I didn't mean to…" she whimpered sadly, and a new wave of tears welled up in her eyes. Bruce's eyebrows creased in concern and he put his arms around the curled up girl. He whispered in a hushed tone, "it's okay, it's no big deal…everything's okay now; it was just a nightmare." She buried her head in his chest and wrapped her arms around him, crying quietly. Bruce ran his fingers through her hair, stroking her tousled locks softly, watching her with concern in his warm brown-green gaze.
He had never seen her in this state before; she always seemed to portray a strong, fearless image. Hell, she was frightening to most normal people on the helicarrier, and she always seemed to take pleasure in the fear she caused people. Bruce couldn't help but wonder what she had dreamt that had driven her to tears and left her in this state; he sighed, "What was the dream about?"
El looked up at him, resting her chin on his chest, and narrowed her eyes at him, hissing snappily, "I don't believe that that's any of your business, Doctor." She pushed herself away from Bruce and leapt out of the bed, her dark, wild hair just passing her shoulder blades, still revealing the small of her back. Bruce grinned and watched her get dressed as she slipped her black leggings on and slipped her arms into her leather jacket. She turned and raised an eyebrow and huffed sarcastically, "Enjoying the show, Banner?"
Bruce chuckled and quipped wittily, "Always am," and reached for his glasses on his bedside table, "so how about that dream? Care to share why you ripped my cheek to shreds this morning?"
El just glared at him, a low growl rumbling in her throat and she crossed her arms stubbornly. She didn't want to deal with this right now. She really liked Bruce…a lot, but now that she thought about it, she didn't want to have to tell him all about her past. It was a very long one, and she didn't want to see how he'd react if he heard it. She stalked up to him slowly and smirked, planting a long soft, kiss on his lips, and then she leaned into him and whispered in his ear, "Still, none of your business, Bruce."
She stood up straight and headed towards the door, she turned sharply and flashed a pointed grin, "I would suggest getting up, sleepy head, I've got a date with the café and you have a story to tell," she sniggered quietly, "whether you like to or not." Bruce watched her leave the room, and frowned. Why would she hide anything from me, doesn't she like me the way I like her too? He shook his head, and pushed the thoughts aside; he really did have to get up. He had to go tell Tony how he came to be in his current form at some point or he-of Fury-would strangle him.
Bruce groaned stressfully, and ran his fingers through his hair. He truly had no desire to share that night, word for word, with Tony, of all people. However, Fury probably wouldn't trust him until he knew what was going on. Bruce got dressed quickly, in his own clothes thankfully, and exited his room. He released a pent up sigh and began his short trip to the lab.
"Jarvis? Bring up the footage from yesterday, starting from as soon as El gets into the lab until we come in." Tony had lost patience waiting for his lab partner to show up, so he decided to investigate on his own. Besides, what could Bruce possibly not want him to see? Ha! That's funny! Tony was positive that something went down between those two and he wasn't in the mood to ask for Bruce's or Wildeye's permission.
Jarvis pulled the footage up on the floating blue screen in front of Tony as he leaned in his chair lazily, with his feet propped up on the lab table. He watched it with little attention, as he played around with the equipment that was still locating portal potential spaces on earth, but he glanced at the other screen every so often.
On his fourth glance at the screen, Tony did a double take and he accidently tumbled out of his chair, hitting the floor hard. His head popped up over the edge of the desk and he was all eyes on the footage, grinning smugly…this was such better blackmail than those pictures he took.
Just then the door opened, and Bruce approached him warily, probably nervous to talk to him about…his apparently fun afternoon. Bruce suddenly noticed him watching the screen intently and he chuckled, "What is it you are so interested in watching right now, Tony?"
Tony's bright eyes shot a suspicious look at Bruce as he reached for the screen and slowly dragged it with him behind the desk and he said with a smirk on his face, "Nooooothiiing…."
Bruce rolled his eyes and strode over to Tony's side and attempted to look over his shoulder, but he moved in front of the screen and said coyly, "Uh, yeah, this is classified information that you're not permitted to see, so, yeah, you can't see it."
Bruce grew rather annoyed and he smugly decided to freak out Tony, just for a little pay back…
Bruce let the green in his eyes expand and glow and he said in a low growl, "What was that you said, Stark?" Tony fidgeted and he laughed nervously, "So…you and El, eh?" Tony watched it dawn on Bruce that he was watching the security footage and he lunged for the screen, which Tony abruptly turned off, smiling knowingly at his fuming friend.
Bruce crossed his arms firmly and snarled angrily, "You had no right to look at that, Tony! Not to mention that is really, really creepy…" Tony shrugged and stood up, leaning against the cold, metal lab table, and teased "So, when you two decide to have kids, are we gonna have little fire breathing hulks running around everywhere?"
The green from Bruce's eyes faded, but as they faded, his cheeks flushed green, and he staggered embarrassedly, "It…It wasn't like that Tony…"
His friend rolled his eyes and tapped his fingers on the table, "Oh, but it was getting pretty damn close to being like that, wasn't it?" Bruce shot him a glare and then looked down at his feet; Tony always knew exactly how to push his buttons, and he never knew how to respond to that, at least not well.
The silence between the two was getting awkward, so Tony broke the silence and apologized.
"I was just kidding, Bruce, geez, you need to learn to take a joke…" he watched his friend until he looked up at him, and he gave him a reassuring smile, "So, tell me about this half-way point she mentioned...is that right?"
Bruce sighed and nodded, "Uh, yeah…I didn't even know that it was possible because I was trying so hard to resist it constantly." Tony's eyebrows bunched up as he sat in thought, and he crossed his arms, "Uh-huh," he huffed breathlessly, "I think I get it, but could you explain the teeth, saber tooth?" He used his fingers to make mock fangs in front of his mouth and Bruce grinned.
"Uh, that was kinda El's fault, but from what she said, It'll probably go away eventually if I get rid of the venom soon enough." Tony's eyebrows raised and he scoffed, "And how exactly do you do that?" Bruce shrugged and flashed his newly pointed teeth at Tony, "I'm not really sure, but I'm almost positive it's by biting people and then the poison would eventually kill them…or at least paralyze them."
Tony clapped his hands together excitedly and he scoffed some more, "Are you serious? That's epic! How'd she manage to do that to you?"
A bell-like laugh rang out from the door, and the two turned to see El, smiling a bloodstained grin. She licked her bloodied lips and stated flatly, "I bit his lip a tad too hard while we were making out…"
Bruce blushed and he shuffled his feet nervously as Tony began to snicker, "I don't see why you're so shy about all this; Wild-eyes doesn't seem to mind sharing."
El cart wheeled randomly towards an empty table and flipped onto it, landing in her usual crouched position. She licked her bloody talons, absently and caught Bruce staring at her. She shot him a seductive leer, and watched a shiver run through him. Tony had unfortunately caught the exchange, raised an eyebrow and turned to look at Bruce, "Apparently, you seem to be more open about all this shenanigans when she's around."
Bruce snapped out of it and he looked over at Tony lazily and murmured, "Hmm?" This earned a snigger from Tony and the three set to work on their task.
El sat cross legged on her table, watching the two work; Fury had told her to help them the other day, but she wasn't planning on working anytime soon. She had things on her mind after all.
Her eyes wandered out the large window of the lab, and she silently observed Fury running about giving orders in the main hall. Her eyes narrowed as she observed the scene; people were typing away franticly at their stations and Agent Hill looked furious as she shouted out repeated orders from Fury. Something wasn't right…
Clint burst through the door, causing El to give a sharp hiss of surprise and Bruce to growl lowly, while Tony simply put his hands on his hips and he shot Clint an unconcerned glare, "What Clint? We're working here…" He hardly got the chance to finish his snarky response as Clint blurted out rapidly, "There's been a breech on the ship; I'm here to protect you from being captured, Doctor…"
Bruce looked puzzled and muttered slowly, "But Clint…Ross isn't after me, not since you guys threatened him a couple months ago…"
Clint shook his head and flicked his wrist sharply, snapping his bow open, and retorted sharply, "With all due respect, Bruce, I wasn't talking to you ," he pointed his hand at El and said coldly," I was talking to Doctor Collins."
Bruce and Tony turned abruptly to stare at El, both equally confused and looking for answers. El raised her head slowly and glared at Clint, her eyes glimmered with hatred and she spat viciously, "Doctor Collins died a long time ago; they aren't after her…" her eyes flitted to her clenched fist and she snarled in a hushed tone, "They want the monster who killed her."
Something outside ship began to emit a loud whistling noise and El's ears twitched; her eyes grew wide and she shouted wildly, "Watch out!"
It was too late…the missile broadsided the ship's side, blowing the stainless steel wall clear off the lab, and sending the four flying against the back wall. There was a sickening crack and three pairs of eyes looked over to see El lying under a sheet of metal, her spine had snapped from the impact. Bruce's eyes lit up bright green and he cried out her name.
There was a small black jet floating outside the blown up lab, and the main hatch opened to reveal a tall man, with dark wavy hair and a burn mark over his right eye; he was smiling maliciously and held a long black bladed katana in his hand. His dull blue gaze, wandered over the fallen men, and rested on the girl, lighting up at the sight of her.
Bruce pushed himself up and wiped the blood trickling from his mouth, he saw El's body twitch and suddenly, flames erupted all around her. The massive sheet of metal was flung at the jet, which it just barely hit. Clint, Tony, and Bruce watched with horrified eyes as a blue scaled woman stood up and released a ferocious roar at the man on the jet.
The corners of Jack's lips turned upwards and he murmured darkly, "Hello again, Brielle…"