Rachel sat still, drawing in deep breaths as she tried to focus on the task at hand. Tony had set three batteries of varying size around the lab that was alight with energy and asked if she could single them out in any way. Attached to her forehead were electrodes to monitor brain activity while her vitals were being displayed on another screen.
After a long pause, Tony leaned forward, "Any luck yet?" He asked curiously. Jarvis was usually quick to update him on the status of things that went on, so waiting for a response from another was relatively new to him.
Exhaling, she opened a single eye before squeezing it shut. "Well, everything is so loud." She shook her head, eyebrows furrowed. All of the electronics were vying for her attention, jumbling together into a cluster of energy. It'd been hard enough to focus on the room itself, finding a battery would be like a needle in a haystack.
"Sorry." Tony lowered his voice, sitting back to give her space.
Just over the quiet hum of computers processing and the steady beep of the heart monitor, the door to the lab could be heard sliding open and closed as someone entered. Touching his index finger to his mouth, Tony signified for Bruce to be quiet, but it was too late. Rachel turned as the door closed.
"Oh, uh, I would have brought an extra cup if I'd known you'd be up here today." Bruce shuffled forward, placing the two travel cups he held next to each of them before making his way across the lab. "Good morning." He offered a sheepish smile, quickly looking away and trying to immerse himself in work by pulling up the files he needed.
"Morning." Rachel managed, catching a whiff of the tea he'd left for her, "Thank you, you really don't have to." She averted her own gaze as he looked up, shifting and consciously trying to keep her breaths even as she thought of the monitor beside her.
"It's no problem, really." He nodded, letting it drop as she looked away shyly.
"Adorable." Tony grinned as he took a sip of his drink, raising his free hand defensively as the two shot him a quick look.
Sighing, Rachel closed her eyes again. After a few minutes, she was able to focus on the static of the room. Again, there was another source, fluctuating with a pulse. Shaking her head and taking in another breath she tried to overlook it, trying to ignore her thoughts of Bruce for the time being.
A few paces away, Bruce busied himself with his research. Every so often, he'd find himself glancing in Rachel's direction, observing the progress that was being made. He caught himself after a few moments too long, noticing that Tony's eyes had shifted to him. A smirk was enough to wipe the small smile off of his face. Blinking he furrowed his brows, unaware he'd even begun to smile before quickly recovering and dismissing Tony's silent teasing with a roll of the eyes.
The room was for the most part quiet, even the monitor beside Rachel was silenced. Every now and then she would sigh and shake her head, squeezing her eyes tightly before reminding herself that she needed to focus.
"It's all just one loud mess…" She grumbled in frustration, leaning forward and beginning to rub her temples before remembering the electrodes attached to her. The electronics nearby began to stutter, some dimming or losing power momentarily before springing back.
"Woah, try not to fry everything. They're just a few batteries." Tony looked to the readings that were being taken from the electronics and her vitals.
"Sorry." She sighed, "I thought that if I pulled a little from everything the batteries would stop first…"
Bruce paused, feeling weak for a split second before shaking it off and crossing back towards Rachel. After a quick shared look, Tony nodded and the two switched places with Bruce sitting in the previously occupied seat and Tony standing. Leaning forward, Bruce picked up the travel cup he'd placed beside her and waited.
"Try a sip." Bruce instructed. His voice was gentle, but with an edge of certainty to it. His actions were deliberate, free of any hints on anxiety.
Rachel opened her eyes; taking in Bruce's focused expression. She noticed how perfectly at ease he was, sitting still as his pupils dilated slightly and fixed on her. His expression was set, but there was a touch of softness remaining around the eyes as he took his place in the seat across from her. Wordlessly she reached forward and relieved him of the travel cup, taking a sip and sighing again as the tension began to leave her.
A faint smile touched his face as he watched her, reaching out with both hands and taking hers as she set the cup down, "Close your eyes, take a deep breath, hold it, and then let it go."
She closed her eyes, deciding to concentrate on the warmth from the tea…from his hands. The light tickle of air passing by after a moment let her know he was doing the same. Without further direction, they continued that way for a few more breaths before he spoke again.
"Think of something calming, just a single thing." He breathed, "Then after you're completely relaxed, take another look at the static you keep feeling. Pick it apart slowly, separate the loudest pieces from everything first."
Rachel nodded, and although Bruce couldn't see it he knew she must have since she didn't vocalize any concerns.
"If you feel like you're slipping and everything is getting too loud, stop and start over from wherever's most comfortable." He left it at that, taking the light squeeze from her hands as confirmation.
After a while, she uttered the location of the first battery and caught both scientists' attention as she explained how. The crease that had formed between her brows as they knit together in concentration smoothed as she relaxed, keeping her eyes closed as she tried to remain for the most part relaxed, "It was like it all came apart in layers and in the middle was what I was looking for." She opened her eyes as Tony retrieved the first battery that was no longer giving off a signature white glow, "I had to divide the lab into sections and then go from there."
She looked to Bruce as he gave her hands a final squeeze before sitting back. He looked to her as she gave him a questioning glance. Somehow it felt like she'd learned something new, something more personal about him. With a single inclination of his head, he acknowledged her silent question. He had chosen to share a bit more about the relationship between himself and the Hulk by explaining a method he often used when he needed to.
"There's one on the far side of the lab and another under that chair." She indicated an idle chair towards the heart of the lab.
"Huh…I'll bet this is just the tip of the iceberg. Who knows what else you can do with a little fine tuning." Tony stopped by Bruce's side, giving him a clap on the shoulder as he held the batteries out for them to see.
Exhaling, Rachel stopped pulling energy from the small sources as they were held out in the open. Immediately, they began to glow brightly once more. She smiled, feeling accomplished and relieved that she'd made progress that morning. "So, what's next?" The excitement pushed her to continue trying to learn what she could and couldn't do.
"Well, if you're up to it, I'd like to see how your abilities change before and after taking in a little radiation. We can head down to the training area and see how it all compares with a few physical tests?" Tony shrugged, setting the batteries aside.
Bruce nodded in agreement, curiosity clearly beginning to flood the minds of the two science partners. "Strength, speed, reaction times….it'd be interesting to have actual measurements to go off of. We'd have to be careful though. If there's a limit, it'd be terrible for you to take in too much radiation." He frowned suddenly, his expression rapidly shifting to one of concern.
Rachel placed a hand on either of Bruce's shoulders, "I'll be careful, don't worry." She nodded solemnly before standing up.
The next test was limited, but conclusive. I was able to pull additional energy from a handful of old arc reactors Tony was sure he didn't need. Consciously pulling energy from specific sources and using it to my benefit was a new concept, but after a few attempts I was able to get comfortable and really get into the exercises. Bruce's prediction was right, I was stronger, faster, and had a better reaction time. The only thing was that I had yet to discover a limit to how much radiation was too much.
After the two returned to the lab, I decided to stick around in the training area. It wasn't long before Steve found his way to the room, beginning his warm up and greeting me with a friendly smile, "Good morning."
"Morning." I nodded, taking a sip of water and casually making my way over.
"Everything alright?" He raised a brow as he continued with his stretches.
"At the moment, but I did want to ask you something." I admitted, scrapping my plan to wait before bringing up the topic.
"Shoot."
"Well, with everything that's happened lately I find it hard to just stand around waiting, you know?"
"I know the feeling." He agreed.
"So I was planning to spend a lot of time training. If you're up to it, I was hoping we could train together." I finished the thought.
"Sounds good to me." He grinned.