Chapter Five

Tony thought Bruce was getting over being shy when he suddenly without warning stopped talking. Tony couldn't figure out what had cause this sudden silent and Pepper didn't know as well. Bruce had a trouble look in his eyes but because he wouldn't speck to anyone they didn't know how to help him or what was wrong.

"What do you know about his childhood?" asked Pepper three days in to the silent. Pepper was also feeling lost about what to do.

Tony paused for a moment "Not a lot – he doesn't talk about it…he lived in Ohio then New Mexico... I think, won scholarships to get into the top schools…. No brothers or sisters…."

"And his parents?" pressed Pepper

"He has never mention them…" said Tony then he paused for a moment thinking if Bruce ever said anything about them "The only family member he's ever mention was a cousin….the one that's a lawyer or something..."

"Don't you think you should find something out?" asked Pepper "It may explain why he's not talking."

"Maybe we are just over thinking this," said Tony "Maybe it's just stress - his way for dealing with all this..."

"His six years old, he barely makes a noise – even when he's playing…" said Pepper slowly "He follows the rules– he hasn't try to push the limits….something doesn't seem right to me…"

"His parents may just be very strict, ex-military or just used old fashion parenting style….."

Pepper looked at Tony "Do you really think that, Tony?" Tony didn't want to answer that question.

…...

Steve come into the apartment knowing the new issues with Bruce. "Thank," said Tony getting ready to go back to the Avengers headquarters. Tony was trying harder than ever to work out how to get Bruce back to normal and the reports from Natasha and Clint made it seem like an attack at headquarters looked more and more likely.

"Have you try getting him outside?" asked Steve thinking the fresh air might be helpful.

"I've tried and even try to get him on a bike ride…." Said Tony looking a little lost "But he is upset for some reason…."

"Do you think it's a childhood memories?"

"It could be," said Tony "Or he could just be just homesick, I mean it been it's been almost a week now…. any child would be homesick... this is not exactly a holiday is it?"

Tony went to say goodbye to Bruce before leaving. Bruce was busy building with some Lego again Steve watch him from a distance and saw the same look in Bruce's eyes he had seen at the orphanage when he was younger. A look of a kid who had seen too much. Was Bruce remembering his past or his future?

Steve sat down next to Bruce and picked up one of the Lego piece "I like Lego," he said "You can make anything you want with it. I heard someone made a Lego house before…" Steve paused for a moment "It must be hard – he find yourself here – stuck in the future in a new city…..the world has change a lot – that's scary…" Steve paused for an moment "It's not all bad and it's not all scary.." Steve looked at the small boy "Do you like living with Tony and Pepper…" Bruce nodded his head. "It can't be much fun being stuck with adults all day long…." With that his phone began to ring. Steve didn't recognized the number. "I have to take this," he stood up and walked out of the room "Hello?"

"Rogers," come the voice of Nick Fury

"I'm not even going to guess how you got this number," said Steve "What do you want?"

"Are you with Banner right now?" asked Fury

"Yes Sir,"

"You need to stay with him," said Fury "I have had an unpleased chat with General Ross – he's just find out about Banner and wants to take him in."

"General Ross?" question Steve that name rang a bell but they can't think why.

"General Ross spend over five years trying to hunt down the Hulk," said Fury.

Fury didn't need to say no more. Steve realised where he heard the name before. He remember a convention between Tony and Bruce a while ago about Ross. While Tony had some dealing with him – mostly on a professional level, Bruce had a more complex history with the man. If he remember his fact correctly Bruce was romantic involved with Ross's daughter and was working with Ross when he had his gamma accident. "What will he do if he take him in?"

"That's something I rather not think about – just make sure Ross doesn't get close to the kid." With that Fury handed up. Steve walked back to where he last saw Bruce to find he wasn't there

…

"Bruce Banner leave the building on his own…" informed Jarvis

"Are you sure?" asked Steve finding hard to believe a kid who followed the rules and seem afraid to break them would go off on his own in an unknown city with no money when he wasn't specking to no one.

"Positive Sir,"

Steve ran out into the streets to try to find the boy. Not only had he had the recent convention with Fury on his mind, he also didn't want to explain to Tony he had lose Bruce. Steve though for a moment of all the places Bruce would know where to go. He knew the way to the closest shop but he had no money, He knew the way to the museum but again he had no money. He might have gone to the park to find some over kids – after all Steve last words to him was about being stuck with adults all the time.

Steve made his way to the park and couldn't see any kids that look like Bruce. It was hard to know were a six year old would go – six was rather young to run away from home. – Unless he hadn't ran away. If the kid was homesick he might be trying to run to home. His childhood home somewhere that was more familiar to him, with people that were more familiar to him. Steve rushed towards to the coach station to find to his relive the small boy sitting on a beach, he walk over ready to tell Bruce off going off on his own but he saw the Bruce eyes filled with tears and he couldn't yell at the kid who look so devastated.

"You shouldn't go off on your own, I didn't know were you were," said Steve sitting down next to Bruce "I thought someone took you – I though you could have been hurt…." Bruce looked down at the floor "You need to tell me why you left Bruce. You got to tell me…"

"I want to find my mom," whisper Bruce in a small voice "I want to make sure she okay….."

"You want to find your mom" repeated Steve

Bruce nodded his head "I want to make sure she okay"

"Why, is she unwell?" Bruce shook his head "Is she in some kind of trouble…"

"I don't know, that why I need to check…."

Steve frowned at that statement - it wasn't the sort of statement that he expected from a six year old. "Well, how where you going to find her without money?" asked Steve. Bruce didn't answer. "It's a long journey and she could have moved remember this is the future…."

Bruce was trying not to cry. He looked at Steve "Can you find her….make sure she's okay…."

Steve nodded his head because he didn't think he could say no "I'll find out for you…"

"If she not okay – can you safe her? You won't leave her in a bad place will you?" asked Bruce at once almost begging Steve, "You're a superhero – you have to help her….Please Mr Captain American….sir"

Steve knew then someone was hurting Bruce's mother. He had a suspense that it might be Bruce's father or maybe his mother boyfriend or something. "If she in a bad place, I will take her away from it…that's a promise," said Steve, "Come on let's get back…."

"Will you tell Tony I broke the rules?" asked Bruce

"I will explain to him why you broke the rules," said Steve "I don't think you will get into much trouble this time…."

"But I broke the rules."

"We break rules sometimes," said Steve "Don't worry... come on I think we had enough adventure of one day."

…

"You manage to lose a six year old," said Tony in a low voice later in the evening. It was clear Tony wasn't impressed when Steve explained what had happen that day. Steve knew he would be cross, since he was over protective with little Bruce.

"He mange to escape your high tech home," said Steve "He seems really worried about his mother – do you know anything about her?"

Tony looked at Pepper – this was the second time someone asked him about Bruce's parents "No, nothing much anyway –I think she died years ago…. And Bruce don't talk about his parents or his childhood."

"Well – he'll going to run again," said Steve "Something was going on when he was a child…something serious….and he probably picking up the pieces of whatever happening..."

"Maybe you should get Fury to open up his field up and see what they got on his background" said Pepper specking outload "It might be the insight you need…. and we need to know... we can't change him back just yet.

…

It was later that night when Clint and Natasha arrived with the information from Fury that Tony requested. Tony, Pepper and Steve had waited for them to come, Clint had a grim look on his face. "Is he sleeping?" asked Clint

"Yeh, it's been a long day." Said Pepper. Bruce had been highly upset all evening and they all worried that he might Hulk out if it carried on. Luckily instead of getting more and more angry he just got tried.

"You don't look happy," noticed Tony looking at Clint

"His six at the moment right?" asked Clint and Tony nodded his head

Did you find out about his parents?" asked Steve

"Yes, and no one is going to like it…." Said Clint "Basically his father was an asshole, had a long history of aggregation, alcohol abuse, domestic violets…." Clint trailed off

"Domestic violets….." said Pepper shaking her head.

"And it get worst…." Said Clint

"He abused Bruce too…." Guessed Tony.

"Yes, but it gets worst….." said Clint "One day his mother had enough and was in the process of packing the car to leave when he caught them…. "Clint closed his eyes for a moment. As a father he couldn't understand why any father would do these things to their own family. "….His dad, killed his wife…the only witness was Bruce….who wouldn't tell anyone what had happen at the time…."

"How old was Bruce?" asked Natasha

"I think he was about nine or ten," said Clint

Tony moved his hands over his head "Shit," he said "What do we tell him? We can't tell him the truth…." Tony thought about the Hulk and all that repressed anger - no wonder Bruce was always angry.

"We tell him his parents got divorce and his mother lives aboard…. In London…." Said Natasha at once. Making up a story on the spot.

"What happen to Bruce after that?" asked Steve – even if he knew Bruce as an adult he wanted to know that after witnessing a traumatic event as a child he was somewhere safe

"He lived with one of his aunt," said Clint "From what I can tell it was the best place for him, his aunt pushed his education in a big way, send him to theory and all that…."

Tony suddenly swore loudly and everyone turn to him "I think I know what make him stop specking in the first place," he said he looked at Pepper "We had a drink….only one beer….but if his father was a violet alcoholic…." Tony trailed off "Man… that must have remained him of his jackass father….scared him..."

Natasha spoke up "You weren't to know about this past….you couldn't of known..."

"Is that…pathetic excused of a man still alive?" asked Tony with an anger in his voice

Clint shook his head "I checked, died about ten years ago alone."

…

That night Pepper and Tony got ready for bed "What's on your mind?" asked Pepper realising how quite Tony had become.

Tony paused for a moment "I thought my father was bad…." He said - he had his own issues with his father but sometimes he didn't realised the his father wasn't all bad. "As lest my never beat me, or my mother…." Tony closed his eyes "Well that explain the Hulk a little more….." Tony looked at Pepper "All thing considering he did aright for himself, got himself a few PHD's. More than a normal person…."

"Maybe he needed to get them to fulfil a hole," said Pepper "Like with you and your robots…"

"Did you know children who been abused are more likely no to as well in school," said Tony "If Bruce had a decent father – who knows what he would of done. Win a Nobel prize or something like that."

Pepper paused for a moment "What's really on your mind?"

"When we find a way to get Bruce back to normal – how am we going to explain to him that we know about his messed up father?" asked Tony "If I was Bruce I won't want anyone to know. And his not exactly the calmest of people is he, he might hulk out…"

"He might not," said Pepper "And you all know S.H.E.I.D has complete files on all of you. All about your backgrounds and families. The information as always been there – Bruce knew that. And it not that hard to find out about his father. A few rights words on google and there it is…." Pepper paused for a moment "What do you think about that plan to lie to him?"

"Bruce is good at knowing when someone is lying to him. He might have that skilled at six years old - if he thinks we are lying he might leg it. Might try to seek on an airplane to England and imagine the paperwork…." Tony paused for a moment "But how do you tell a six year old his father killed his mother? We want to avoid a mini Hulk at all coast….he can't fight child."

"How close are you to reversing all this?"

"We're not getting anywhere fast," said Tony "Are you alright with him staying here for the see able future. I thought it would be temporarily thing… but it's been a week….I mean….. Maybe taking him to the country would be better..."

"I know you want him here," said Pepper "And he staying right here in the tower."

"He might be here for a long time if they work this all out,"

"He is staying," said Pepper

"And if he hulks out? Will he been full-size or a small version…. What if it more out of control than normal?"

"He hasn't got the memories of his mother death. He might be angry but at the moment he is more scared." Said Pepper. "And any way if it dose happen... I want to redecorate…."

Tony hugged Pepper "I love you so much, did you know that….."