Ok, everybody give a BIG thanks to tbk9.2011 for their for kind and concerned note. My dear, you're the reason this chapter is finished. I was about two-thirds done, and I'd just been totally swamped that I'd put it off far longer than I intended, and then I saw your review, and I honestly sat down immediately to finish out the chapter.

SO, THIS CHAPTER IS DEDICATED TO TBK9.2011

Sorry for the wait!

Pain. Zap! More pain. Zap!

He was no longer a person, he could no longer remember his name. He didn't remember what he looked like, who he loved or if he even loved anyone in the first place. He couldn't remember where he was, and his blurred vision and ringing ears made it impossible for him to tell.

All he knew at this point was the pain. He felt he'd lived his whole life swimming in this pain. Nothing before, and definitely nothing to come after.

A voice in the background, someone was talking about… he couldn't even muddle out the meaning of the words. His brain probably looked more like apple sauce at this point.

And then the pain stopped. In one blissful moment, the world was numb and cold and peaceful.

And the world went black.

Eyes flashed open; Bruce gasped.

Breathing heavily, he sat up on his cot, his whole body aching and screaming at him to quit moving.

The room he was in was reinforced with thick steel, though bent to extremes in many places. That led Bruce to assume that the Other Guy had been present before he came to consciousness.

How did they contain him though…? Bruce's gaze fell on the ventilation shaft above his head, noticing the almost invisible mist raining down from the chute. Ah, sedative. Constant sedative.

Bruce sighed, that was for the best. He still had a green flush to his cheeks and hands, and deep in his gut, he felt a boiling anger telling him how rowdy the Other Guy was going to be for a while, especially with the recent development of his son being kidnapped. He'd been so enraged, so scared and disgusted with his lack of ability to do anything, that he'd let the Other Guy take over completely, blacking him out into the blissful silence of his mind.

But for how long? A day? A week? Had they found Peter yet?

Bruce got up, slowly, as his muscles groaned in absolute protest at the movement. He felt more like he'd been comatose since his black out, rather than having let a monster control his body while he dealt with his emotional upheaval. That would've explained why his muscles feel like they hadn't been used in years.

That thought shot a chill through Bruce's limbs. In reality, he knew that he couldn't have been unconscious for a year, but the thought brought images of what could have happened to his son while he was wallowing. His brain began to conjure horrific scenarios, fit for horror films.

Bruce shook his head, dropping into his hands; he needed to stop this. If such things had happened- the thought had him shuddering- than it was on him. It was his fault for letting his emotions get the best of him when his son needed him. His fault.

Bruce looked up at the sound of a metal clinking against metal. A door opened seamlessly from the far wall, and Natasha stepped in.

"Bruce?" she asked, watching him carefully. He still looked green, the color fluctuating in his cheeks.

Bruce smiled as best he could, "Hey, Nat."

"How are you feeling?" the wary look quickly disappeared, replaced with a small, relieved smile.

Bruce sighed, "Ready to get out of here."

Natasha nodded, "The doctors wanted to keep you a bit longer, to check on the residual effects of being in your mutated form for a prolonged period of time-"

"-I'm sure they do, but we don't have time for that," Bruce screwed his eyes shot, a headache beginning as the Other Guy began to fight, wanting to get out and look for Peter.

Natasha watched Bruce closely. She'd never seen him go so long in his greener form. The Hulk had been their only company in place of the quiet doctor for most of a week before having to be sedated. In that week, he had nearly toppled a few buildings downtown- which, unexpectedly exposed a HYDRA front in one of the nearly toppled buildings. The rest of the damage to the city, SHIELD was still trying to deal and rebuild. After being sedated, the Hulk had still remained, and Bruce had only faded back into existence a few hours ago. They'd been waiting for the sedatives to wear off before waking him.

Bruce huffed, sensing Natasha's gaze, "He'll behave, alright? As long as I'm allowed to help look for Peter. He's just upset that I haven't already begun looking is all."

Natasha sighed, "I'm not afraid him, you know. And as much as you won't believe it, the Hulk did help… a little. He spent 5 days rampaging through downtown, and somehow ended up uncovering a HYDRA front corporation working out of one of the more damaged buildings, something called Wai-Go. Whether he actually meant to do that, or whether it was complete accident, the Big Guy helped take down a rather annoying pest… and having him around hasn't been too terrible," Natasha walked over sitting comfortably beside Bruce with a gentle, teasing smile.

Bruce shook his head, his fist clenching, "How many buildings did he destroy in the meantime? How many people were injured, or worse, expelled?" Bruce frowned at his slip of tongue- expelled?- before huffing, "Face it, Nat, if I hadn't lost control, Peter might already be safe and secure in his bed back at the tower, and all the damage the Hulk has done wouldn't have happened. I'm just a mess, and I can't do anything to fix it. I can't get rid of the monster without getting rid of me, and believe me, I've tried to do both."

Natasha shook her head at the ominous tone in the man's voice, "Bruce look at me," when the man didn't move, she put her hand under his chin, but he pulled away, standing quickly.

"Nat, I can't wait here any longer. If I wallow, that's just more time wasted in which we could be searching for Peter. We'll talk after… after we find him, alright?"

Natasha sighed, "Alright, then. They need us upstairs anyway," she walked over to the door, which had closed quietly after her entrance, and it smoothly slid back open.

Bruce quickly followed after her when she beckoned him to. The two set off at a relatively fast pace, walking to the elevator, and then to Bruce's rooms.

When Bruce had protested the detour, Natasha had pointed out that he was practically flashing every agent they passed, and the man grumbled his consent, disappearing for a minute before reappearing in comfy worn bullboxers, slightly rumpled khakis and a button-up that needed an ironing.

They set off once more for bridge and situation room where Natasha said everyone was currently gathered, and were met with a rather haggard sight. Most of the team was there- Tony, Steve, Clint, and Thor- and an argument had erupted between Steve and Tony over something, deteriorating into a petty match of name-calling and yelling.

Bruce clutched at the door frame as his headache worsened- the metal frame gave out a terrible shrrirrk! sound, which silenced the rest of the room's occupants as everyone was made aware of their presence.

Bruce felt everyone's eyes on him, but stubbornly kept his turned to the ground, focusing on his breathing.

Tony was seemingly the first to recover, "Thank goodness somebody with a brain has finally shown up! Bruce, tell them I could totally take down Doctor Doom on my own! I'm more than capable, and I have a suit that-"

Bruce shook his head, smiling lightly, as Steve whapped Tony upside the head lightly. He needed this, some lighthearted antics to lift his mood a bit, "Really, Tony? This is what you guys are fighting about?"

The other man looked bewildered, "Wuh- yeah! Steve was suggesting some stupid plan, and I said it was stupid, and then he said I couldn't think straight right now-"

"-You can't," Steve interjected.

"-So I said-"

"-Tony," Bruce took a breath, and his friend soon quieted.

They fell into silence for just a second, before Steve quietly spoke, that sass that he was slowly getting the hang of prominent in his tone, "How about we tell Bruce- 'the only other person here with a brain'- about the plan, and see what he has to say."

Tony grumbled, but a quick pinch from Natasha shut him up finally.

Steve sighed, "Well, while you were-" Steve frowned slightly, giving Bruce an apologetic look, "While you were out of commission, we began tracing what we could find at the scene of the kidnapping, and it looks as though… HYDRA has him."

They waited for Bruce to explode once more, but the man merely gestured for the Captain to continue. Natasha had already said something about that.

Steve nodded, "We've enlisted the help of Professor Xavier and his team, as well as our friends, the Guardians, the Fantastic Four, and a few others. SHIELD is currently dealing with a crisis in Sokovia that they're having to deal with, along with, erh, cleanup, but they're using all their additional resources to help in the search."

Bruce nodded, "So, what's this plan then?"

Tony began to grumble once again, but let out a yelp, and gave Natasha a dirty look before shutting up.

"Well, we have leads that point to a number of HYDRA bases all across the world. Five different locations, and every SHIELD agents sent to scout them turns up with either nothing, or go MIA. If we divide and send a member of the team to each location- Clint and Natasha will go together to Bavaria to infiltrate Fussen, the HYDRA fort, and Tony we're sending to Mount Charteris in Colorado. That mountain has been used by a number of groups over the years, and locals have recently reported some new activity. Could be that HYDRA has moved Peter there for testing. I'll be heading to New Zealand to Gehenna; SHIELD thought the base was abandoned some decades ago, but new reports are showing recent activity. Thor we're sending to something called HYDRA Island. It's in the Pacific Ocean, and seems to stay almost completely radio silent for the better part of the year. Agents sent an agent in their a few days ago, and they were able to completely cut off any communication devices for a while. Because Thor's methods are a little… less than subtle, we're just going to have him destroy the base rather than scout it."

"Yes, indeed, Captain of Sickles! I shall throw myself into battle with a mighty swing of Mjölnir and strike fear into mine enemies!" Thor's booming voice was a rather abrupt contrast to the soundless meeting room and Steve's firm tone.

Bruce shook his head, "And what about me? I know I've been out of the game for a week or two, but I was really hoping you'd have something for me to do. The… well, the Other Guy, he's gettin' kind of antsy," Bruce rubbed at the back of his neck, ashamed of himself. Every issue he was having to deal with right now- not having his son, not having an assignment, the destruction of a good portion of downtown from the sounds of it- all of that was his fault.

"Because we weren't really sure when you'd wake up, we left the least plausible lead for you, a small lab in Peru where a group of HYDRA scientists have been hiding out. It's secluded and way far into the forests, but there isn't a lot of security so we don't think they're hiding much," Steve grimaced, "Sorry, Banner, but we weren't sure when you'd wake up, much less be ready for a mission. We're still a little worried about how personal this is for you. Obviously, it's personal for the whole team- we're a family just as much as we're allies- but this…" Steve trailed off, glancing at the green pallor that still hadn't left Bruce's hands since he'd crushed the door frame, before catching Bruce's eye with a sympathetic grimace.

Bruce sighed, nodding. He understood Steve's hesitation; being emotionally compromised on the battlefield could do just as much harm as help. You could endanger your team, and Steve always drew the line when it came to that.

"I understand your qualms about letting me out into the field, Steve, but at this point," he paused, sitting back in his chair, feeling the heavy weight of trying to hold in the Hulk settle on his shoulders, "if I don't do something, the Other Guy will."

Bruce gave his friend a meaningful look, trying to lighten the nearly threatening statement enough for Steve to understand that this was out of his control at this point.

Steve nodded, letting Bruce know he understood. At the end of the day, they all understood each other, more than anyone else in the world ever would, or could, and that's why they were a team, and a family.

"Alright," Steve's tone was firm, "You have your assignments. Keep in mind-"

"Hold on," Bruce stopped him, "Why was Tony so against this plan in the first place though? It seems solid enough."

Tony blew out a breath before Steve could answer, "Because, if any of us end up finding Peter, we can't get him out until backup's arrived. We have to wait, even if they're torturing him-"

"-Tony!" Natasha and Steve both stopped the genius as Bruce started to turn a pale green, both from his stomach dropping at the thought and the Other Guy's stirring rage.

Natasha was by Bruce's side in a moment, "Bruce, are you alright?"

Bruce took a second to breathe before nodding, his head down between his legs. He didn't feel like removing it any time soon.

A whap! noise sounded across the room, and Tony groaned out, "Why'd you do that?!"

Bruce could hear Natasha scoff at the man's obtuseness.

"Bruce," Steve continued, "Let me be clear. We're making an exception for you and Thor. Thor, because there's no way for him to be subtle, and you because I don't think any force in the entire world could stop you if you found your son. So, if you do find Peter in Peru, you do what you have to take protect your child, we're not going to stop you. The rest of us, on the other hand," he could tell Steve was giving Tony a pointed look, "are to be using purely surveillance tactics. No contact with the enemy until authorized to do so, and definitely not until more back up has arrived."

Bruce nodded, and heard Tony grumble out his assent.

The team was soon dismissed, and Bruce headed back to his quarters to get some rest before leaving on his flight to Peru. The pressure in his head told him that the Hulk wasn't too happy about this waste of precious time, but Bruce knew that sleeping on the plane would do nothing to rest him, and the drug-induced sleep of the past few hours was just as useless.

Ok, first off, I start college Wednesday- I'M OFF TO COLLEGE! GUYS, ISN'T THIS SO EXCITING?! IF YOU'VE BEEN WITH ME SINCE THE VERY BEGINNING, THEN WE'VE GONE THROUGH 3 YEARS OF HIGH SCHOOL AND NOW WE'RE OFF TO COLLEGE TOGETHER. ISN'T THAT FREAKING EXCITING?! THANK YOU SO MUCH, MY BABES! I LOVES YOU SO MUCH!- but that's going to cause a little trouble with the updating. I couldn't have picked a worse time to start college than right when things are heating up, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see how things pan out.

Anyhoo, basically no updates for at least a week. Sorry! I know, I'm sorry, but this weekend is buying stuff for the dorm- the family that procrastinates together stays together!- and then it'll be... what is it called? Orientation Week? at the college, so I don't know how much writing I'll be doing. This is kind of my only link to sanity, so hopefully it won't be too long before I'm on my nice, cushy dorm mattress- with extra padding because that last bit was sarcasm, and bed-bug protection because EWWW!- typing away once more! Cross your fingers!

Ok, and second off, DEADPOOL NEXT CHAPTER. Just thought you'd like to know, because OF COURSE he's going to get involved.

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HOMEWORK: I know you guys love this shit.

1) How many of you knew Deadpool would totally get involved and go out looking for Petey? Because that's happening next chapter. *SPOILERS*

B) What characters, settings, canon events, etc. from the Marvel Universe would you like me to include in this story? Just one, please! (and I reserve the writ- 'scuse me- right to veto your choice, but I will do everything in my power to work it into the story!)