Chapter 36

Bruce threw open the door of Fury's office, ready to give the director a piece of his mind. When the computer had informed him of the summons, his first instinct was to ignore it. For months now, he had barely spoken to Fury and the man had left him alone. He hadn't even been sent out on any missions and somedays he wondered why he was still here at the compound. Of course, he was here so Fury could keep an eye on him and hopefully contain the big guy if Bruce lost his temper.

If he lost his temper? Bruce was well aware that his track record wasn't the greatest when it came to control, yet he doubted that anything that Fury had available to throw at him would do anything other than enrage his alter-ego even more. Take the so-called hulk buster suit that Stark had built as an example.

"What is so damned important that you had to drag me over…," he stopped when he saw the other occupant of the room.

"Dr. Banner," Carrol Danvers stood and greeted him, holding out her hand, "it's been a while."

Bruce stood corrected. If anyone had a chance of containing him, Captain Marvel was certainly that person.

"Hi," he took her hand and shook it. "Still busy saving the rest of the galaxy?"

"You could say that," she smiled and took her seat once more.

"Is that what this is about?" he asked Fury, glancing between the two.

"I was hoping to kill two birds with one stone," Fury answered. "We are almost ready to move on the Hydra cell that tried to kill you and Ruby this summer, and Carrol is asking for our help with a matter out there." Fury pointed up in case Bruce didn't understand where 'out there' was. "Together, you two can finally cut the head off the monster here, then you can go with her and help her with her problem."

"You seriously want to put me on a spaceship?" He asked incredulously. "Do you remember the last two times I wasn't on land? Let me remind you. The first time, I almost destroyed your hover-carrier. Hell, the only reason I didn't was because I went after that jet. Then there was the time I went into space and wound up on a crazy gladiator planet, stuck as the Big Guy. No, no, no," he shook his head. "I have no business in space."

"Ms. Beaumont will be there," Fury said looking him straight in the eye.

Bruce felt his fury rising, even as his heart throbbed painfully at the mention of her name.

"You mean the woman you drugged and interrogated? The woman you used as a pawn in your Hydra sting operation? The same woman that thinks I was involved, and rightfully so, and hates my guts? That woman?" He gripped the back of the chair, fighting the urge to hurl it at the smug son of a bitch on the other side of the desk.

If Fury knew how close he was to losing control, he didn't show it. Calmly, he replied, "we just intercepted a communique ordering her death and that of her father."

The world dropped out from under Bruce's feet. Ruby was in danger.

"Then why the hell are we sitting here talking about it and not on our way to Houston?" he growled, his voice getting a rough edge to it.

"Because she's not in Houston and neither is her father. They're in Berkeley."

The back of the chair snapped in his hands. Beside him, Danvers rose to her feet.

"That's why you're here. I need you and Danvers to go to Berkeley."

Bruce ground his teeth, "you could have started with that."

"I'll take it under consideration for next time."

Bruce spun and opened the door, turning back to look at Fury he growled, "there won't be a next time."

After he stormed out, Danvers turned back to the director, "you did that on purpose."

Fury nodded, "he surprised me. He's getting better at controlling his temper."

"And if he failed? If he had changed?"

"That is what I have you here for."

Danvers stood, "and I needed to see what I was dealing with out there?"

"Exactly."

"I don't plan to push his buttons like you do."

"I hope not, but that doesn't mean others won't."

"Point taken. I'll keep you updated," she said stepping through the door. Like Bruce, she paused and looked back at Fury, "if you ever pull any crap like that on me, I will not be as controlled in my response as Dr. Banner."

"You'll have to find out about it first."

"Oh, I will. Don't doubt that."

Without another word to Fury, she shut the door.


Before the door clicked shut, the side door opened, and Bucky stepped in.

"That went well," Fury said, picking up a file on his desk.

"Remind me to stay on your good side," Bucky told him as he took the chair Danvers had vacated, giving the broken chair a rueful look.

"I have no good side," Fury told him and held out the file.

Taking it, Bucky opened it and flipped through the first few pages, "what is this?"

"One of my geniuses is dead, another is a high school student whose voice still cracks when he talks to a girl, and I'm sending the other two to the other side of the galaxy." Fury leaned back in his chair and sighed. "Our command team is decimated. We need to start filling seats before someone decides we need to be merged with SWORD."

Bucky looked up from the file, "and this?"

"Read the file and tell me. IQ off the charts. Disciplined. Already vetted by SWORD, so they can't raise any objections. She should be perfect."

Bucky frowned down at the file, "she hasn't been seen in public for almost a decade. She's a recluse. And she's working for SWORD already. Do you really think she's going to jump ship? And that they'll let her?"

"As for the first question, have you ever met a genius that wasn't a little off?"

"You mean certifiable?"

"Eccentric," Fury corrected him. "As for the second, that's why I'm sending you; to convince her that we are a much better bet than SWORD."

"And if she still says no?"

"Again," Fury smiled widely, "that's why I'm sending you."

Bucky sighed, realizing he had no choice. "What are you going to be doing while I try to convince a shut-in to come play with us?"

"Oh, I'm on my way to Alaska to hunt down a candidate for the Avengers."

"I hope you handle him better than you did Bruce."

"Her," Fury corrected him again. "And I plan to turn on the charm."

Bucky stared at him, wondering if he was kidding.

"What?" Fury asked. "I can be one charming motherfucker."

Bucky stood, "I almost wish I could be there to watch."


Bruce was haphazardly shoving clothes into a travel bag when Danvers stopped at his open door. They were going to be a mass of wrinkles by the time he got to Berkeley, but at the moment, he had other things on him mind; such not turning green and shaking Fury like a baby rattle. Once again, Ruby was in danger due to the director's machinations and it was pushing him to the edge of his precarious control.

Ruby. Despite his best efforts, she still dominated his thoughts, both waking and dreaming. After her passionate outburst in the conference room eight months ago, Ruby had refused to see him and wouldn't return any of his calls. She had left the campus to return to Houston the next day without saying goodbye. In a way, her anger was well placed. Though he wasn't aware of Fury's actions at the time, he had found out about them later and hadn't told her. To make matters worse, he had reluctantly agreed to the plan for flushing out the Hydra agents, telling himself that he could protect her. Not only had he failed to protect her, but he also broke her trust. She had good reason to hate him.

"They're fueling a Quinn jet for us," Danvers told him. "It'll be ready in ten."

Bruce stopped his packing, "they keep those fully fueled." He straightened to face her, "are you stalling?"

She lifted a shoulder, "maybe."

He ran a hand through his hair and took a calming breath. "Look, I understand your reluctance to be in a jet with me…," he started.

"Oh, I'm not worried about you losing control and turning green and angry," she broke in. "What I'm worried about is you rushing into this without your head on straight. I don't need you calm to keep you from turning into the Hulk, I need you calm so you can use that brain of yours. Right now, you're running on pure emotion. That doesn't do us any good. It sure doesn't do Ruby any good, and she deserves better."

Bruce blinked, then sat down on the bed. "You're right."

"Of course, I am," Danvers replied smugly. "Now finish packing and meet me at the pad in," she looked at her watch, "eight minutes."

Without waiting for his response, she turned and left him alone with his thoughts.


Her father wouldn't hear of her quitting her job and coming back to Houston. Even though she was still adamant about not taking over the business, she still felt she should help him face Hydra. He had a solid plan to get out from under their thumb. After Ruby was abducted along with Bruce, he had started quietly selling off chunks of his various holdings. He started small to test whether Hydra would detect what he was doing, and as the months passed with no retaliation, he had started divesting larger pieces. His business was only sixty percent of what it had been before.

There were two large shipping conglomerates he needed to get out of next, and then he would have nothing left that Hydra could use. It would leave him with only thirty percent of what he had started with, but he was confident he could rebuild once the danger had passed.

Ruby didn't share his confidence. She doubted Hydra would let him go without a fight even if he was no longer an asset; he still had all his political connections.

Her father was also elated by her invitation to the Kree home world. That would take her far away from any danger Hydra might pose. Once again, she didn't share his enthusiasm. There was no way she was running to another planet and leaving him here to face the repercussions of his actions alone.

Their argument reached the yelling stage, but Ruby was not backing down this time. She was not going to let him run her off again.


"So, I take it you and your father are working things out?" Rob asked.

Ruby handed him a tomato, "can you cut this up for the salad?" She gave the sauce for the pasta a stir and checked for seasoning. It needed more salt. "More or less. We still disagree more than we agree, but at least we're talking."

"It's a start," he agreed. "Is he still pressuring you into taking over the business?"

"Watch out," she warned, bringing the pasta pot to the sink to strain out the water. "No. He would love to see me take over once he's done overhauling it, but he understands it's not my thing."

Two people preparing a meal in Ruby's small kitchen required careful choreography but her and Rob's easy camaraderie made it easy for them to work together. Tonight was no exception. They were making dinner for the two of them plus Ruby's father. It would be the first time the three of them would be together and Ruby wanted it to go off without a hitch.

"Hey," he paused his dicing and leaned over to grab a quick kiss. "It's going to be okay. Remember, I have brownie points for setting up that meeting between the two of you guys."

Ruby leaned in and gave him a quick peck before turning to return the hot pot to the stovetop. "I know, but you know me."

That was the best answer she could give him. In reality, she didn't know why she was so nervous about the two of them meeting. Rob was successful and driven; everything her father could ever want in one of her boyfriends. Maybe she was worried he would ask questions about their relationship and future which she wasn't ready to answer. Every time she stopped to pick at her lukewarm feelings for Rob, she started to uncover thoughts that she wasn't willing to acknowledge, so she quit looking deeply at them. Her relationship with Rob was stable and comfortable, exactly what she needed right now.

"You said he's overhauling the business. What's that about?"

She shrugged, "just doing some down-sizing. Liquidating assets, selling off pieces. Just streamlining it."

"Huh, down-sizing," he scraped the diced tomatoes into the salad and gave it a toss. "Is that because you aren't going to take over?"

"Not really," she answered. She realized her slip too late. "It's the latest business model: lean and mean," she said, hoping her wouldn't continue to ask. She couldn't tell him that her father was trying to make his business less attractive to Hydra.

"Makes sense," he said. "Anything else I can do?"

"Can you shave some parm into the salad?"

Happy he let the topic go, she checked on the garlic load in the oven. Now she just needed to get through the evening.


From her car across the street from Ruby's apartment building, Izzy watched her John Beaumont exit his Uber and enter the building. She checked her watch: 6:15. She would wait ten minutes before following him in. Her gun was already concealed in her purse.

Ruby's father was the one person she wouldn't have any qualms about killing. All her life, Ruby had lived under his disapproving shadow, been made to feel like she wasn't good enough despite all her accomplishments. Sure, it looked like the two were reconciling, but how long before he fell back into his old habits and started heaping scorn upon his daughter again?

Ruby was a beautiful soul that deserved to be free from her father. Izzy was determined that she would make that happen.

She settled back to wait. Soon, she told herself.


"Bruce," Danvers' smooth voice broke into his thoughts, "go easy on the door. We'll be there soon."

Looking down, he realized he had been digging his fingers into the padding on the arm rest on the door of their SUV.

"Sorry," he said a little sheepishly. "I can't help it."

"I know," she shot him a quick smile before returning her attention to the road. She knew they needed to hurry, and she was already going ten miles an hour over the posted speed limit, weaving in and out of traffic. The closer she got to their destination, the more congested the roads became. Soon, she would have to slow down or risk an accident.

All SHIELD's intel indicated something was planned for this evening and it was already 6:15. Time was running out. It would be quicker if she ditched the SUV and just flew, but Banner would probably lose his shit, and they couldn't have the Hulk loose in the middle of San Francisco. Too many civilians and too much bad publicity at a time when SHIELD and the Avengers were struggling with their image.

Seeing a gap in the traffic ahead, she punched the accelerator. All this would be for nothing if they arrived too late.