Wherever he looked, he only saw destruction. Natasha had tried to convince him that he had no reason to go there, but they both knew that wasn't true. Even if she had tried to convince him that it wasn't his fault, he felt responsible for Tony's actions. How he let things reach that point? On the way, she tried to prepare him for what he would see, but nothing could have prepared him for that.

The Helicarrier crashed while flying over the ocean, but it was close enough to the coast that a landing on the mainland could be risked. Still, only part of the aircraft came to shore. Two days had passed, but several agents were still lost in the ocean and the searches weren't finished. Some parts of the fuselage were still on fire due to power the fuel. Agents ran from one side to the other, all obviously tired, but none willing to stop helping for even a moment before all their colleagues were found, dead or alive.

Bruce saw agent Coulson approaching, but not knowing what to say, he stayed quiet. Coulson ignored him, obviously in pain and with resentment stamped in his voice when he addressed Natasha.

- The Captain hasn't yet been found. The crew is still calculating the likely trajectory, but the ocean currents are affecting the result. The next batch of search boats will be out in an hour. – He didn't wait for an answer before leaving, he had a lot to do and didn't want to end up blaming Bruce for something that wasn't really his fault.

Bruce was biting his lower lip to try to stop himself from crying. He couldn't believe that Tony, his Tony, had done it all. Of course he knew very well the effects of alcohol abuse, but this was ridiculous! Tony could have an arrogant pose, but he was a hero who wouldn't hesitate to give his own life in exchange for those of others, as he had already proven several times. The Tony he knew wouldn't be able to attack his own friends and risk the lives of so many people. But was that so? After all, he had admitted to himself that he didn't know the man who Tony became when under the effect of abusive quantities of alcohol.

- Tasha, what happened to the Captain? – he asked, his voice beginning to fail.

- He tried to stop Tony when he began to destroy everything he saw ahead of him. Then Tony shot him with full power. He was driven out of the Helicarrier and has yet to been found.

He was about to respond when he saw Clint running toward him. When he realized what was happening, he was being lifted off the ground by a pair of menacing fists. He wasn't scared or angry, so everyone was safe. A part of him wanted Clint punch him until he lost consciousness, he felt the need to pay for all the pain he was seeing.

- Your boyfriend almost killed us! - Clint shouted with anger and contempt.

Somehow, Bruce's knew Clint's anger wasn't motivated by what happened to him, but by the risk that his friends had suffered. Clint pretended to be distant very often, but he did care much for his friends, especially Coulson and Natasha. Bruce didn't answer because he didn't have an answer. After all, it was true, Tony had done everything.

- Clint, enough. - said Natasha forcing him to drop the scientist.

Bruce let himself fall kneeling on the floor, he no longer had the strength to stand. The weight of the guilt was too much to bear. He needed to do something, he couldn't let Tony get lost, not when he was responsible for returning meaning to his life. Tony rescued him from himself, it seemed only appropriate to do the same for him. If only he had a way to find him... He needed to find him before the SHIELD did.

He felt the tears coming, and this time did nothing to stop them. He needed to find a solution. He refused to believe that Tony was beyond salvation. It was late, of course, he had left too much time pass. But it was not yet too late, the situation wasn't yet irreversible, Tony could still become the person who he wanted him to be.

The darkest part of his mind, the one that made him try to eat a bullet so many years ago, did everything to kill his hope. It was it who forced him to think that he was the cause of everything, that Tony's drinking was his fault, and that if he hadn't spent so many days in the hospital nothing would have happened. It was his fault for failing with Tony and worrying him so much. It was his fault for being so careless and eating a nuclear bomb powerful enough to at least hurt the Other Guy. It was he who should be blamed, not Tony. He did his best to quell those thoughts, but he couldn't remove them completely. Blaming himself for everything was a trait of his personality, and his relationship with Tony had only worsened the situation.

How could the same person who has improved his life so much be responsible for creating this nightmare for which he had just woken up? It was time for an ultimatum, he wouldn't allow things to continue as they were. Tony would have to decide between him and the drink, and he would make such that he did the right choice.