"No way." Natasha shakes her head vehemently. "It's a trap."

"You weren't there," Steve reasons. "The skrull seems sincere enough."

"Wanda?" I whisper, as she and Vision enter the room. She comes to stand beside me, and gives my hand a quick squeeze. "I thought you'd already left," I say.

"We had a few things to tie up here first," she replies, voice hushed as the others continue to debate the best course of action.

"We stick to our original plan," Stark decides. "We had back up the coast, secure the stones, then migrate to space."

I clear my throat, shedding any lingering nerves that come with speaking up in such a large group.

"Apolla?" Steve asks.

He meets my eyes for the first time since his argument with Stark. Despite the new information regarding Sharon, I can't help but trust him… feel safe with him. Though I know we'll need to talk, in this moment, his acknowledgement fills me with courage.

"We have to give his plan a try," I say. Tony puts his head in his hands. "The fight was always going to take us off planet," I continue. "What do we have to lose? If it is a fight, bring it on. Let's take Thanos down now, before he gets any more of the stones."

"There is a small problem with that course of action," Vision speaks up, holding his chin in a pondering gesture. "With all our numbers focused off-planet, who will remain to defend earth? We can't risk facing Thanos without every one of us, and we can't risk leaving earth unprotected."

Wanda takes his hand in her own. A flash of understanding crosses Vision's face, and he relaxes once more.

"We'll stay," Wanda says. "We'll go to Wakanda, as planned. With T'Challa and the Wakandans, we'll have more than enough man power to at least hold down the defence until you guys get back."

Stark sighs. "So, let me get this straight. We're entrusting the fate of the entire universe, to the green guy in the basement who claims Loki has a plan?"

"Why don't we try a sort-of bridging exercise?" Bruce suggests. "Let him out of the cell for a night or two. See what he does. If he wants to hurt us, we'll find out quick enough."

"He wouldn't be stupid enough to take us on so directly," Natasha says, her tone icy. I wonder if something happened between them. "That's why it'll be a trap. Up in the stars, on a spaceship with only enough room for two of us. Mark my words."

I can't meet her gaze, not knowing the private information Talos divulged to me. Does Nat have a point? If I listen to Talos, will I be leading us all into a trap? I consider speaking again, telling them what Talos told me. I wonder if it will sway their opinions at all. But I can't. I'm too ashamed. If I have to face the creature who made me this way, I need to do it alone. I try to look innocent, waiting for a consensus to be reached.

Steve nods at Bruce. "Let's give him a night out of the cell and see what happens. We'll all sleep on it, and decide tomorrow."

"Okay, but I'm sleeping with a knife," Nat mutters before leaving.

I make a mental note to check in with her later. Before I can go, I notice Bruce inching towards me, hands clasped together. For a moment I think he wants to talk about Nat, too.

"Hey Apolla, have you got a minute?" he asks.

His gaze flickers to Steve and back. I can feel Steve's gaze on my skin, can sense he was hoping to talk alone. But I'm not ready for that talk with Steve. Not yet. Not in the light of day, with the rest of this crap going on.

I give Bruce a small smile. "Sure. What's up?"

"Could.. could we actually head down to the lab? There's something I want to show you."

I follow Bruce through the compound, where he leads me to a wing I'm unfamiliar with. He swipes a card and takes us through two sets of glass doors, into a lab with a mix of medical and technological equipment. It's like a chemistry class on steroids — with beakers and vials everywhere, screens flashing information, rows and rows of shelves of stored samples. I let out a low breath.

"Impressive," I say.

He shrugs on a doctor's coat. "Look, I hope you don't mind. I should have asked permission, but I was curious, and I know you've had a lot on your plate."

I frown. "What's up?"

"I've been analysing samples," he confesses. "Of the fire you create."

I blink. "How is that even possible?"

"Well, Stark had me bottle some of the flames after what you did in the clearing here. I've only just finished with the results."

"Why didn't you say anything?" I ask. "On the island?"

"We were a little occupied," he explains.

I nod. "Well I don't mind, if that's what you're asking. At least, I don't think I do."

But I chew on my lip in worry, in fear of what he might say next. If I am a monster, Bruce will know.

"The fire isn't natural," he says, grabbing and swiping through a tablet, eyes scanning the report results. "It's not the same as the elemental fire we have here on earth."

"Is that a surprise?" I ask.

"Yes, and no. It makes logical sense. But it also shouldn't exist." His forehead creases. "I don't want to get too deep into the mystical and religious. But in layman's terms, we would call it… hellfire."

"Hellfire," I repeat.

"It's just a label," he reassures me.

"How do you know?" I ask.

"Well, after we eliminated elemental fire, it was a process of cross-referencing the properties of what you can do against other types. It didn't come from the tesseract, or any other infinity stone. No electro-magnetic properties. And what really caught my eye, is the way it doesn't affect you at all."

"That's not true," I say quickly. "I feel the pain. I feel the burning, I just…"

His serious eyes meet my own. "But you don't suffer the physical effects, right?"

"Yes," I whisper.

Bruce nods, suddenly more animated than I've seen him. "We don't know enough about hellfire yet. But from what we do know, we believe there are two components to it. The physical flame, and the, let's call it, energetic flame. Flame that causes pain in your energy fields, but not your physical body. So, you feel the energetic effects of your powers, but not the physical."

"Is there a way to turn it off?" I ask. "So I don't need to feel it?"

"Apolla, I can't make any promises, but… my next hypothesis is even better." He gulps. "You might be able to turn the physical flame off. So your enemies will feel the fire, just as you do, but walk away completely unharmed once you are finished."

I stare at Bruce in disbelief. "You mean… I won't need to hurt anyone anymore?"

"It's just a theory," he cautions. "In its very early stages. I'll need to run a lot more tests, and it depends on your triggering mechanism. If it is even possible, it'll take practice. Maybe years of it."

I nod quickly. "I'll do it. I don't care how long it takes."

"Good." Bruce writes down a few notes. "If you're happy to go ahead with the research, I'll just take a blood sample today. And a few picture/videos of your palms igniting."

I offer my arm, rolling my sleeve up past my elbow. Bruce smiles apologetically as he wipes a sterile cloth across my skin, the cool antiseptic liquid numbing my elbow.

"Can I ask something?"

"Sure. What's up?"

I fight to keep my breathing even. It's pathetic, that for somebody who has melted human flesh past the bone, needles still freak me out. I know I'll be okay if I talk through it to keep my mind distracted.

"What's up with you and Nat?" I ask.

Bruce sighs a little. "It's obvious, huh?"

"She just seemed a little… on edge."

"Nat's got a lot on her plate. This all means a lot to her, maybe even more than the rest of us. We're the only family she's ever known. She never knew she was even capable of caring about others to this extent."

"I know that feeling," I murmur.

"She puts a lot of pressure on herself. And I think she misses you," he adds, braving eye contact as he adds a new vial to the needle in my arm. "You've been good company for her. And now things are a little crazy, she worries about losing your friendship."

I feel guilt so strong it's almost painful. How could I have even considered pushing her away, assuming she was out to get me? That any of these guys were? For a horrible, stomach-aching second I wonder if Talos meant to do this. To manipulate me into distrusting my friends. But, even worse, is the realisation that I did it all myself. I was more than happy to leap upon the first excuse to bear a grudge.

"It's sort of a defence mechanism," I confess quietly. "I care about Nat a lot. I… I'm scared of losing her, too."

"And so you think it'll be easier if you push her away now, on your own terms, rather than risk the heartache." Bruce smiles sadly. "That's my problem, too."

"You guys are meant to be together," I say. "Can't you work it out?"

"I'm sure we will. But we've got to save the universe, first."

Finally, Bruce is done with my arm, and I have only a small plaster to show for it. I call fire to my hands a couple of times while he records it on camera, and then we're finally done.

"Thanks, Bruce," I tell him sincerely. "You've given me the first bit of hope I've felt. Ever, I think, when it comes to my… you know. What I can do."

"Don't mention it," he smiles. "And hey… Apolla?"

I notice the way he stands awkwardly, card in hand, ready to let me out.

"The others are pretty distracted. But I can see you're hiding something." I panic, about to deny it, but he holds up a hand. "You don't have to tell me what it is, I trust you. I just want you to know that no one here could think badly of you. We leave our past behind when we enter these doors. But whatever it is, be sure to tell someone. Nat, or Steve, or even me, if you're comfortable at some point. Don't isolate yourself, because that's when things can get really murky. Believe me," he adds darkly. "I know."

I realise in that moment just how much I like Bruce. He's surprisingly gentle, considering his alter-ego. There's something fatherly about him. Impulsively, I launch myself towards him, head hitting his chest as I wrap my arms around him in a platonic hug. He chuckles awkwardly, a little taken aback, but pats me on the back.

"Thank you, Bruce. It'll be okay."

"One thing you can count on, Apolla. It always is."