THE PLOT TWIST, THERE WILL BE SERIOUS ANGST! Hey 'yall! Ok, so there might be some controversy on the happenings of this chapter, BUT the whole Betty/Abomination thing actually happened in the comic books, but since I don't know the whole details, I'm gonna do my version. BUT IT DID HAPPEN, I SWEAR! If you didn't really like it, please no flame. BUT THERE WILL BE FEELS, ALL THE FEELS.!

Disclaimer- Roses are red, violets are blue, I don't own the Avengers, but I act like I do.

Chapter 11- You Know That We're Worth It

The ride in the Quinjet seemed as if it couldn't go any slower. Natasha had her hand on her gun holster as she looked around. All of the Avengers were there; however, Fury said Bruce would probably be the only one needed. For once, the mission was in Rochester, rather than Manhattan. Bruce, however, looked nervous, yet determined. Hulk had already fought this villain, and was successful.

The mission was supposed to be straightforward, but not easy. The Abomination was loose in Rochester, and needed to be stopped. There was one catch- only Bruce could really fight because they both had radiation in their blood. If the blood of either Hulk or Abomination got on any of the team members, they would most likely die from radiation poisoning. Not good.

Clint, who was driving the Quinjet, projected his voice over the intercom. "Hey, we'll be there soon. Get ready."

Natasha ran a hand through her hair, made sure her gun was loaded, and stood up. Tony had the suit on; Steve was all American-ed out with his shield; Thor was, well, Thor and ready, she knew Clint was ready, and she sure was. Bruce was wearing his signature purple pants, which were working quite well.

She felt her stomach lurch slightly as the jet descended, and Bruce looked slightly pale. As she walked by, she patted his shoulder, hopefully reassuring him. When she stepped out of the jet, she heard a fierce roar. In the distance, she saw one of the ugliest things she had ever witnessed in her life.

The Abomination had transparent brown skin. Natasha could see all of his green veins nearly pulsing, and his spine was sticking out of his skin, each bone stretching out the taught skin. Small green eyes were bulging out of his eye sockets, and a certain reptilian tinge was added to his hands and feet. As soon as Bruce stepped out of the jet, the roaring monster swung his head toward the scientist. Something sparked in Bruce's eyes, and soon, the Hulk took his place.

The Hulk charged at the Abomination, grabbed his head, and the battle begun. It was hard to tell what was what as limbs crashed with limbs, roars with snarls. The two were nearly tied as far as who was the victor, but it looked as if Abomination had the top hand. Something told Natasha that the battle would last a while. She looked around, noticing how there were large fist shaped dents in many buildings, not to mention how some were collapsing. Then it struck her- she should be helping people out of buildings rather than standing there looking like a deer in headlights. She looked to the others, who were just as mesmerized in the battle. She pressed a hand to her earpiece, talking to the others.

"Guys, we gotta go help people out of those buildings! Lord knows where this battle will go, and some of those places are already collapsing."

The others glanced back at her, showing her they understood before running to many of the buildings. Steve went with Thor, while Natasha followed to where Clint was. She was on his heels when he ducted through rubble; however, she noticed that there were more people inside than she had thought. Thankfully, there were not many children; that always made it easier to evacuate people.

She walked over to a woman with two children next to her. One looked about eight, while the other was younger, maybe five or six. The mother looked like she was around her mid- thirties. Natasha pointed to Clint, who was helping someone else.

"Here, since you have children, follow him; he'll help you out." The mother grasped the two children's hands, then led them over to Clint.

After a while, everyone was cleared out of the building. Natasha and Clint raced outside to find the others. The city was covered with destruction, large dents and craters filling the street. Roars filled the air, and the Hulk and Abomination could be seen in the distance, wrestling fiercely. Both had visible marks on their bodies, symbols of the brutal fight.

Suddenly, tanks rolled into sight, and Natasha recognized them immediately. It was Ross. Long guns emitted from the tanks, and started shooting at the bundle of limbs. The Abomination looked up, let go of Hulk, and grabbed the tank, throwing it. He ripped off the top, and pulled a young lady out. There was a thin cut on her forehead, no doubt from being inside of a tank that was practically thrown about. He grabbed a size of metal that was a little smaller than his hand, and rubbed it against a cut that he had that was bleeding. Soon, blood coated the metal; however, he wasn't done. The woman still in his hand, he ran over and put his foot on Hulk's stomach. He grabbed the bloody metal in his hand, and plunged it into Hulk's upper chest. Hulk let out a feral snarl as Abomination pulled it out, two bloods coating the steel.

Natasha wasn't sure if it was from the radiation addition, but the Hulk rapidly shrunk back to Bruce, but large cut could be seen on Bruce's chest, blood quickly pouring out of the open wound. At this rate, he would die. After a couple of seconds, Bruce sat up, dizzy.

Bruce used all of his strength to sit up, noticing the warm, sticky blood pouring from his chest. Not a good sign. But that wasn't even the worst part.

All of the Avengers watched as the Abomination thrust the blood- coated metal into the young woman's chest, and then ran off as fast as possible. The woman let out one piercing scream before she fell silent.

Only one person recognized the woman as she convulsed on the cement. Only one person realized that she was dying from the blood on the metal. Only one person realized that the only person he had ever loved was gone.

Bruce Banner watched Elizabeth/ Betty Ross die that day.

It didn't even seem real. Time disappeared as Bruce ran to where Betty laid. He collapsed next to her, looking at her blank eyes. Only one word filled his head as he felt his heart collapse.

Gone.

Gone.

Gone.

It was the saddest thing the others had ever seen. Bruce simply sat there, frozen, as he stared at the bloody body. Tony stared for a while confused, until it clicked. Tony muttered to the others,

"Elizabeth Ross. They were married, but Bruce left for her safety. He was always afraid that Hulk would hurt her."

All of them felt something inside of them stir; they all thought about someone they couldn't live without. And that terrible thing had not happened to them, but to their friend that had already endured too much pain in his life for one man to bear.

Bruce grazed his fingers over her gaping gash, unable to talk or think. Images, sounds, and sights filled his senses.

His mother lying on the pavement, head pounded and bloody.

Betty's soft smile.

The amazing feeling he felt while holding her. Or when she would lightly stroke his hair after he had a nightmare, whispering comforting things to him.

That one time in his life he felt happy, loved, or safe.

Gone.

Bruce wasn't sure of anything now. For once, his scientific brain froze; he couldn't even remember his name. So he did the one thing in life he knew how to do, the one thing he could do well.

He ran.

He ran as fast as he possibly could, not daring to look back.

All of those years from running had served him well as he sprinted away, each footstep pounding on the cement. He could almost hear the people behind him calling him back, but he didn't care. All he could concentrate on was his heavy breathing as he sprinted past buildings, taking each shortcut, twist, and turn he could. He didn't want anyone following or finding him. He ducted under a windowsills, turning at every other house. He finally stopped behind a building, in an alley, leaning against a brick wall. He had a stitch in his side, and blood was running down his stomach, onto the ground. Someone could track him that way.

He quickly ripped off a piece of his pants, clutching it on the wound. He panted as he tried to catch his breath, noticing his heart monitor beeping loudly, almost a screeching in his ears. Bruce tried breathing techniques, simply begging his heart to slow down. He watched as his chest slowly stopped bleeding, due to the Hulk's regenerative abilities. But his pulse stayed beating fast, each thump pounding in his ears. 198.

His vision was clouded with black blotches, and he could hear someone shouting his name. His head felt heavy, and he was suddenly aware of how each muscle ached beyond comprehension. But it was nothing compared to the way his heart felt, knowing she was dead, and would never come back. Maybe it was all a bad dream. Or maybe it was real.

He slid down the brick wall, exhausted, feeling his heart rate slowly crawl back down. He felt a sturdy pair of arms wrap around him, and Bruce's mind faintly murmured the name Natasha.

Natasha had her arms wrapped around the frail man. "Oh God help him," she muttered as the others ran forward to help her.