Chapter 24

As the day wore on, the pounding headache that had tormented Bruce off and on during the week dissipated and soon he felt like himself again. He found some old sweatpants in the cabin that, after washing them in a nearby creek and hanging them on a rock to dry, provided him with some covering. Ruby would have approved.

Wandering through the forest that surrounded the cabin, he felt at peace and dreaded going back to the campus. He wasn't sure who he was the most afraid of facing: Fury or Ruby. They would both have something to say about his behavior. But he wouldn't be able to stay up here for very long. The cabin, while warm and dry and stocked with a few provisions, didn't have anything by way of food. Hunger would eventually drive him off the mountain.

The sun was sinking low in the sky before he headed back to the cabin. One more night wouldn't hurt anything, and he could leave first thing in the morning. Approaching the cabin, he froze when he saw smoke coming from the chimney. He had left a few embers banked in it to make the fire easier to start later, but not enough to produce that much smoke. Circling the clearing to get a view of the front door, he saw that it stood ajar. He had shut and latched it when he left.

Clad in just a ragged pair of sweatpants, he was tempted to just run back down the mountain, but he needed to know who had come after him. Looking around, he spied a good-sized limb on the ground that would make a reasonable club. Branch firmly in hand, he crept up to the cabin, careful to stay in a blind spot where he couldn't be glimpsed from the door of the single window on the front wall. Reaching the cabin, he flattened himself against its front and edged towards the door.

Raising his makeshift club and taking a deep breath, he shoved the door open and rushed into the single room.

"Oh, good, you brough firewood. Stick it in the stove, would you? I've kinda got my hands full."

Barton stood calmly over the woodburning stove, turning a piece of sizzling meat in one of the cast iron skillets left in the cabin. He didn't look up at Bruce's abrupt entry.

Lowering the branch, he blew out his breath, "damnit, don't you know better than to sneak up on me?"

"I didn't sneak. I walked right up to the front door and knocked. You weren't home and I was hungry from climbing up this mountain after your ass, so I decided to make some dinner."

He turned and lifted an eyebrow, "wood," he nodded at the branch still in Bruce's hand, "stove," another nod at the stove.

Bruce did as he asked, having to use the rusted axe hanging on an even rustier nail on the wall to chop it in half so it would fit.

"How pissed is Fury?" he asked the archer.

"Well, you broke the pool," Barton answered carefully.

"And?"

Barton turned from the stove and appraised him, trying to gage his current mood. Satisfied that Bruce wasn't about to lose his temper again, he turned back to frying the meat.

"The trainee is in the hospital, but he'll live."

"And Ruby?"

"Broken arm. A few bruises. Bucky says she's tougher than she looks."

Coming from the super soldier, that said volumes.

"Is he out there?"

"Bucky?" Barton shook his head. "No, Fury just sent me."

Bruce sat down on the floor and leaned his head back against the wall.

"I fucked things up good this time."

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Not really."

Barton pulled two battered plates off the shelf by the stove and wiped them off on a pants leg, then divided the meat between the two and passed one to Bruce. He hadn't realized how hungry he was until the still sizzling meat was under his nose.

"Do I want to know what this is?" he asked as he held up a tiny leg.

"It's just rabbit."

Without saying anything else, Bruce took a tentative bite then quickly finished the rest, stopping just short of licking the plate. Barton ate his at a more leisurely pace.

Setting his empty plate on the floor beside him, he looked at the other man, "so, what's going on?"

Swallowing the bite he was chewing, Barton looked around the cabin, "can you make it by yourself up here for a couple days? Let everything down there settle down a bit?"

"There's no food up here and," he pulled the material of the sweats away from his leg and let it go, "this is all I have to wear."

The archer pointed with a rabbit bone to the corner by the door where a backpack was propped against the wall. Bruce hadn't noticed it.

"I brought you a spare set. There's a sleeping bag in there too."

"Thanks, but I can't eat a sleeping bag."

"There's a three MREs in there too."

Bruce nodded, "is this your plan or Fury's?"

"Does it matter?"

Bruce shrugged, "I just want to know what I'm going back to."

"Some pretty pissed off people, but you already know that. So just stay up here for a bit and let them all calm down. Maybe you won't end up on the raft."

"Sometimes I wonder if I don't belong there."

"Nah," Barton set his plate down. "There's a lot worse out there. Fury needs you now more than ever. We need you," he amended. "But give me something to tell Fury. What the hell happened?"

He ran a hand through his hair nervously, "I don't know. I was irritated for the last few days. Really irritated." Now that he thought about it, nothing that Ruby had done or said warranted how angry he had felt.

"Then I had this damn headache that just wouldn't go away," he continued.

At the word headache, Barton's head snapped up, "headache?"

"Yeah, this pounding in the back of my head that would send a spike of pain that felt like someone stabbing my brain with an icepick."

"Interesting," the other man nodded. "Go on."

"There's not much else to say. I just lost it when I say her by the pool, kissing that trainee."

Barton went over to the backpack and picked up his bow, "well, I've got to go back now, if I don't want to hike off this mountain in the dark. I'll tell Fury what you said and that you'll be back Tuesday."

Bruce pushed himself up, "thanks for that." He held out his hand.

Barton grasped it, "well, we've all fucked up at one time or another. We need to have each other's backs. Nobody else does."

As the other man stepped out the door, Bruce followed him, "hey, watch out for bears. I saw lots of signs of them around here."

Barton tested his bow and looked over his shoulder, grinning, "I've always wanted a bearskin rug."


Ruby paused to take a deep breath, then plastered a cheerful smile on her face and pushed the door open.

"Knock, knock? Are you decent?" she asked as she walked into the hospital room.

"Ruby!" Andy greeted her with a smile of his own, "you're the one person that I wish I wasn't decent for."

She blushed at the blatant flirt, "you behave yourself or I'll call the nurse and tell her you need the bedpan."

"You wouldn't dare!" he laughed, then sobered when he saw her arm in the sling. "Oh, shit, your arm."

"Language," she scolded half-heartedly. "Don't worry about me. You're the one in the hospital. How are you feeling?"

He smiled ruefully, "well, I know how Loki felt after the battle for New York."

She frowned, "what?"

"You never saw the footage from Stark tower?"

"No. Why?"

He grinned, "I'll show you when I get out. It'll be funnier that way and you'll understand exactly what I mean."

"I'll hold you to that. Any idea when that will be? Getting out, that is."

"They want to keep me one more night and make sure I don't have any swelling in my brain. I got a bump the size of a baseball." He grabbed her good hand, "here, feel."

He guided her hand to a lump at the back of his skull.

Her eyes widened, "holy cow! You weren't kidding. That sucker is huge."

She started to pull away, but he kept his grip on her hand. Confused, she looked down and met his eyes. Off balance with her arm in a sling, she couldn't resist him when he pulled her down for a kiss. She held still and let him kiss her, not wanting to cause a scene, but, once again it did nothing for her. Again, there was no tingle or zing to accompany the caress of his lips on hers. Sensing her unresponsiveness, Andy let her go. She straightened up and took a step back away from his bed.

He sighed, "this isn't going to happen, is it?"

Ruby shook her head slightly, "I'm sorry, Andy. I really like you. You're a great guy and fun to be around…," she trailed off.

"But you don't like me that way," he finished, not meeting her eyes.

"No, I don't," she said in a small voice. "But we can still be friends."

She flinched as soon as the words came out of her mouth. Of all the cliché things she could say, that had to be the worst. Dang it.

He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes, "yeah, that will be great."

Pulling the sheet up over his chest, he said, "if you don't mind, I'm still pretty beat."

"Oh, that's okay," she said awkwardly. "I just wanted to see you and make sure you were okay."

"Yeah, I'll live. I'll see you back at the campus," he told her without enthusiasm.

"Bye Andy. I hope you feel better soon."

"Bye, Ruby."

She backed out of the room and pulled the door shut, fighting tears. She was sure their friendship was at an end also. Why did it always have to be all or nothing with people? Feeling glum, she left the hospital and waved for the agent from SHIELD that had driven her.


On the other side of town, Izzy was fuming. Her handler had pressed her about the identity of the Hydra operative being held prisoner at the compound and, when she couldn't provide any additional information, had insinuated she wasn't trying hard enough. That she was letting her friendship with Ruby interfere with her duties and it was having a negative impact on Izzy's standing within Hydra. Then the woman had delivered her new orders: sabotage the servers at the compound and take Ruby out of the equation by any means necessary. She was highly 'encouraged' to just kill her friend quickly and be done with it so she could get on with her other assignment.

By the time the short meeting was over, Izzy wanted to take her handler out of the equation instead. Instead she tucked the electronic device provided for the sabotage into her purse and calmly walked away. Halfway back to her car, she realized that she forgot to get the ice cream.


Ruby spent Saturday morning in her room, recovering. Or at least that's what she told herself and Izzy. In reality, she was hiding. Between the stress of finding the solution of the TOE, the tension between her and Bruce, and the scene with the Hulk, she was the center of attention wherever she went on the campus. Coupled with her nagging headache, she had come close to losing it a couple times during dinner in the cafeteria last night. Now, she just wanted the peace and quiet of her room.

Izzy had checked in on her a couple time, but her friend was unusually subdued this morning, seemingly distracted. Ruby had waved her away after her second visit and she hadn't even made a half-hearted attempt to stay. Ruby felt guilty, after all Izzy was only there because of her; and she had all but abandoned the other woman to her own devices. She needed to do better. She resolved to have a heart to heart with Izzy once she felt better.

Around noon, Izzy popped back in.

"You hungry?"

"Not really," Ruby told her.

Izzy came over and sat beside her, "you need to eat, Ruby." She picked up Ruby's good arm, wrapping her hand about the wrist, "look at this, you're skin and bones. You shouldn't let this thing with Bruce ruin your health. You need to eat so you can heal and keep that amazing brain of yours performing at peak condition."

She was right. Ruby sighed with resignation, "I know." Standing up, she looked around her messy room, "I need to find something clean and not completely wrinkled."

Izzy smiled, "that's my girl."

When the two of them walked into the cafeteria twenty minutes later, conversation died as the twenty or so people seated turned to stare at them.

"Well, that's not uncomfortable," Izzy murmured, taking Ruby's arm, and pulling her towards the salad bar.

Though still not hungry, she loaded her plate with all her favorites from bar and followed Izzy to a table near the windows. She picked at her food while Izzy filled her in on the latest gossip around the campus, but even in her current state, she could tell something was off with her friend.

"Izzy," she interrupted a story about two trainees caught making out in a flight simulator, "what's going on with you? If you're tired of being here, you won't hurt my feelings if you go home."

Izzy frowned, "what on earth are you talking about? This place is way more fun than home. I ran into the Winter Soldier yesterday." She leaned forward and continued in a whisper, "I thought he'd be bigger."

That brought a smile to Ruby's face. "I know what you mean. The Avengers are so much larger than life, but when you actually meet them, you discover they're just people like you and me. Extraordinary people, but still just people. It's kinda disappointing but reassuring in a way."

"Well, I don't know about you, but I keep hoping Thor will make an appearance. No way is he just people like you and me."

"I'm sure he won't disappoint."

Together they giggled and it was almost like old times. Around them, conversation had returned to normal as the others returned to their own meals so when it died down again, Ruby and Izzy took note and looked up to find the new distraction.

A dark-haired woman in gray clothes had entered the cafeteria, escorted by two agents.

"That's her," Ruby whispered.

"Who?"

"The Hydra agent." Ruby sucked in her breath, "oh! I forgot to tell you! I met her in the infirmary Thursday."

Izzy's head whipped back towards her, "really?"

"Yeah," Ruby nodded. "Her name is Frankie."

"Frankie?" Izzy frowned.

"That's how she introduced herself to me. Apparently, she has a big beef with SHIELD and the Avengers."

"How so," Izzy tried to split her attention between Ruby and Frankie as the latter got a tray of food and found a table.

"Something about their inability to control collateral damage. Or at least that's what I got out of it."

Izzy's eyebrows shot up and she nodded at her friend's arm, "I can see her point."

Ruby flushed, "that was an accident."

"Exactly," Izzy turned her complete attention back to Ruby. "There seems to be a lot of 'accidents' whenever the Avengers are around. Look at the damage they cause whenever they're fighting."

"That's not fair," Ruby protested. "They can't help it if bad guys chose to attack them in the middle of populated area."

"Do you honestly believe that?" Izzy snorted. "What about the damage your darling Bruce caused when he lost control in the middle of Johannesburg?"

Ruby opened her mouth to argue, but no sound came out. Izzy was right. But she was also wrong, only Ruby couldn't articulate why.

"Uh-huh," Izzy nodded with satisfaction. "You're beginning to see what a lot of the world sees."

"But what's the answer?" Ruby asked. "Do we just disband the Avengers and leave Earth undefended? Who would hold Hydra in check without them and SHIELD?"

"Did you ever stop to think that maybe Hydra continues to exist because of them?"

That stopped Ruby's argument, "what do you mean?"

"Think about it. We're on the verge of joining a galactic community and who are the first people to make contact? The first people to represent our planet? A super-rich egomaniac, a genius that turns mean and green whenever he gets angry, an 80-year-old relic from WWII, a so-called god from another planet, and a Russian assassin. Are those the people you want representing our planet?"

"Well," Ruby said slowly, "when you put it that way…,"

"How else would you put it?" Izzy leaned forward. "They are not a representative cross-section of our world. Hell, one's not even from our world."

"Ok, so maybe you have a point. But what does that have to do with Hydra? They've been around since before WWII, maybe centuries. Long before SHIELD and the Avengers."

"Well, if you aren't overcome with joy and love for SHIELD and the Avengers, were can you turn to express your opposition? The government? Hell, it funds and supports SHIELD, and now SWORD. Don't even get me started about that," she rolled her eyes. "Where can you go to find others that feel the same and not be labeled as terrorists when you try to do something about it?"

"Whoa, wait a minute," Ruby shrank back in alarm. "You are saying you support Hydra?"

Panic flashed across Izzy's face but was replaced so quickly with a laugh that she might have imagined it. "Oh my God, no! You missed my point completely. What I'm saying is that with the Avengers everything is black or white. You're either for them or you're the enemy. It's the perfect environment for breeding groups like Hydra."

"Huh, I think I see what you're getting at, but I think it's a stretch to go from not being aboard the Avenger fan club train and joining a world domination organization."

Izzy shrugged, "You're entitled to your opinion, however wrong it is."

Ruby threw a cherry tomato at her companion, missing her by more than a foot even though she was just across the table.

"Now you're just wasting food," Issy grinned, stabbing another tomato off Ruby's plate and stuffing it into her mouth.