AN: This chapter does get a bit darker towards the end. If you don't feel comfortable reading about blood and the like, please be careful or skip this chapter.

It'd been a couple of weeks now since that night and since then we'd spent nights together when we were ready to retire from our busy days. I sighed softly as I curled up against him, exhausted from the increasingly intense workouts Steve and I had been going through. We'd been trading close quarters techniques and developing various ways to combat the half Hulk's from my last encounter with Hydra.

We remained in a comfortable silence for a while as I absentmindedly brushed my fingertips across the soft fabric of his shirt and back in invisible, random patterns. He in turn was doing the same with his fingers starting in my hair and making their way down my neck and back. A tired noise of protest emanated from my throat as he began to move away from me.

"Rachel, sit up with me for a moment." He requested, laughing to himself as I gathered myself slowly. Gently, he guided me to sit in front of him, leading us to sit with our legs crossed as he leaned back against the headboard.

"I'm going to ask you to move next time you're a minute away from sleep." I grumbled with no real annoyance behind my voice.

"Well we can go back if you want?" I could hear the humor in his voice behind me, "I guess no massage for the sore shoulders you've been mentioning the last few days?"

I leaned back against him, turning my head so that I could see him from the corner of my eye, "I take it back. Yes, please."

Carefully he placed a hand on either shoulder and began to rub gently, occasionally asking which areas were the sorest and adjusting how much pressure was applied. I relaxed there with my eyes closed for a few minutes, humming to myself. He paused as his fingers skimmed across my collarbone and back, then again. He'd gone over the scar on my shoulder.

"You stopped?" His hands ceased moving completely. "I like that song, whatever it was."

I didn't answer immediately, focusing on the bedspread before looking at him again. It was stupid of me to be self-conscious about it and yet I was. After everything, I knew he didn't care about the scars, but they still bothered me. I'd given up on hiding them, but I did avoid thinking of them whenever I could. Dwelling on them only made me think of how they got there.

The realization washed over his face and his smile slipped away. He frowned, "I'm sorry."

I knew he didn't mean to bring up painful memories. His eyes held this somber look to them, letting me know he understood the feeling. Taking in a breath, I shrugged, shaking my head as if to dismiss it.

Silently he pulled me against his chest, tracing over the mark one last time before he leaned over me and placed a kiss to it. The gesture caught me slightly off guard, but it made me smile. Before he could sit up fully, I reached up and caught him with my hand placed along the back of his neck, turning to kiss him. I felt the tension in my muscles leave, much less concerned about the tank top revealing the scar. We drifted to sleep not long after, tangled in each other's arms.

The morning came by more quickly than either of us liked to acknowledge, but the progressively lightening sky told us we'd have to get up soon. We remained as we were for a few minutes after waking up. I stretched, rolling onto my stomach and burying my face into a pillow.

"Alright, well while you deal with your denial, I'm going to go shower." He rolled away, shuffling across the room and into the next.

"I'm allergic to mornings." I mumbled, not expecting him to understand me.

He chuckled, obviously being able to make out what I said before closing the door to the bathroom. Sighing, I lifted my head as I heard the water start running. Standing up and crossing over to the desk where I'd left my work out clothing, I began to change out of my night clothes and into the fresh ones I'd brought for the day.

I seated myself at the foot of the bed after fixing the sheets, laying back so only my legs hung over the edge as I closed my eyes. After a while the water shut off, the abrupt end stirring me and keeping me from falling asleep again. The door opened and I reflexively turned towards the noise. Bruce reentered the room, a small towel draped across his shoulders as he worked to button the ends of each sleeve. Studiously he ignored the water dripping down his face from the loose wet curls hanging across his forehead until he'd finished his task, finally picking up the towel and beginning to dry his hair.

He didn't seem too surprised to see me still there, waking myself up step by step. My efforts earned another quiet laugh from him as he stepped closer, "You got dressed and curled back up?"

"Got dressed and fixed the bed." I corrected.

"Only to end up back in it."

"…I fell."

"The rug under the bed can be slippery." He grinned, "You've got to watch out for-"

I bolted upright, grabbing his hand and pulling him forward so that he landed next to me. "Slippery indeed." I smiled.

He sat up, pausing as he regarded me. "What's wrong?"

I shook my head. I normally wasn't so persistent about staying in bed, but I wanted to hang onto the feeling his presence brought for just a bit longer today. "I'm just not ready for the day." I sighed, it was the best way to explain the feeling. We spent days getting ready for Hydra's next move in case they attacked before we found them. At least in the evenings and at night, we had to take a break from it all before we burned ourselves out.

Nodding he joined me so that we were side by side, "Alright." He stated simply, lacing his fingers in mine as we put off the inevitable, "A few more minutes then."

"Why did it have to be zombie Hulks?" Clint took aim at a projection.

"Would you prefer a bunch of super soldiers?" Natasha threw a few discs at a target, back to back with her partner.

"With our luck, it'd be both." He released the arrow and took aim at another projection without waiting to see if he'd hit his mark. He always did.

Steve and I were standing off to the side, taking a break and clearing the floor for the two assassins. I felt his hand come to rest on my shoulder, pulling my attention away from the window we'd been looking out of, "We'll be fine." The blonde assured.

"How do you know?" I frowned, Dr. Sterns' creations would be quite formidable.

He tilted his head, offering a half smile, "Because we have to be." He released my shoulder to cross his arms over his chest, "Some things just don't change with time."

We resumed taking in the view of the city, all seeming normal until the tire of a large truck was shot out and then another, causing it to swerve from its course. There was no telltale crackle to let us know where the shots came from. Alarmed, the people below began to scatter away from the scene as the truck slid into an office building.

"Time's up. I hope you're right." I let out a steadying breath, steeling myself for the incoming storm.

"Get ready. They're here." Steve announced, his voice clear and firm with no hint of hesitation. He was gone from my side before I looked up, being sure to grab his signature shield as he left the area.

Taking long, quick strides I headed towards the weapons cage. After arming myself with a few knives and guns I began to make my own exit, slipping on an earpiece and glancing out of the window one more time to see Hydra agents beginning to make their way towards the tower. I made my way towards the nearest staircase, taking leaps to each landing until I considered jumping over the railing once I was close enough to the ground level.

I heard my name and looked up, seeing Bruce coming down the stairs. Through the single wall lined with windows to allow sunlight in I watched the chaos on the streets unfold, anxiously shifting my weight to keep myself moving in some way. His touch was enough to bring me back to the moment as he stood in front of me, quickly leaning in to give a quick kiss, "Be careful." The look on his face told me he was just as worried as I was.

"You too." I tried to offer a weak smile as he nodded, assuring me that he would be.

He glanced out of the window as well, eyes flitting over the streets and up to the buildings, "They're on the roofs too."

I followed his line of sight. My vision was better than the average person, allowing me to see the person he was referring to in a little more detail. They were looking back at us…through a scope. Without thinking I grabbed him by the shirt, pulling us both as I slammed my back into the wall, the thud muffled by the shattering pane of glass. We were down the half set of stairs and back into the main part of the tower before another shot was fired.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, are you?" I watched him nod, looking for any sign of injury, "I guess we should take the elevator then."

Steve, Clint, and Natasha were already engaged in combat as we made it to the street. Iron Man was flying overhead, getting a quick synopsis of what we were up against. "I've got eyes on our mad scientist, making his way – Oh, come on!" Tony exclaimed over the headset as an overgrown mutant snatched him from the sky.

Some of the agents closing in began to grow into the large mutants, carelessly destroying anything in their path. The screams and sirens melded together, being drowned out by the incessant buzzing clouding my thoughts as the radiation given off by the agents became overwhelming. I closed my eyes in an attempt to regain my focus, trying hard to put it at the back of my mind.

"Rachel?" Bruce's voice seemed muffled amongst everything else going on, "Rachel, are you okay?" His hand was guiding me back towards the tower, but I rooted my boots into the ground to stop us. I could do this.

There were green flecks in his eyes as he tried to keep it together; raising his eyebrows as I finally opened my eyes. Just over his shoulder a small figure hunkered down on top of a parking garage, catching my eye. Immediately I knew who the target was before the shooter looked through the scope and my hands knotted in his Bruce's again, pushing him away this time. An intense heat cut through the cool air as I fell to the ground, twisting away from my center of gravity.

Cursing loudly, I reflexively raised my hand in an attempt to stanch the bleeding from my head. I'd only been grazed. I breathed, repeating the fact to myself as I willed myself to get past the burning sensation and sit up. The ground shook as two fists pounded and cracked the pavement, a deafening roar echoing off of the buildings as the Hulk stood before me. Using my sleeve, I wiped at the blood running down my forehead before it could get to my eye.

The Hulk was shielding me from the sniper with his body, leaning in close to see if I was okay. The radiation was coming off of him in waves worsening the throbbing in my head. He extended his hand forward, offering for me to take it, "I'm alright. It missed." I offered a smile, grimacing as I stood up to prove that the pain wasn't bad enough for me to need radiation to feel better.

"Banner!" Madman thundered, the large red form stomping forward.

Growling, the Hulk stepped forward, catching the red giant as he lunged and throwing him to the side, opposite of my direction. He glanced back in my direction, debating if he should follow up on the other giant or stay.

I nodded, "You be careful too, Hulk."

With an inclination of his head, he was off, charging towards his target. I looked to the garage; not seeing the rifle poised to shoot again and began to head in that direction. A mutated agent stomped into my path as I wove through the confusion and agents, quickly dispatching them in my rush. I stopped, clenching my fists as the mutant eyed me. Now was not the time.

I stared back defiantly, being the first one to make a move. My enhanced speed put me at an advantage as I sidestepped my way forward, sinking my weight into quick jabs to the diaphragm. Grunting, they stepped back, lifting a leg to kick me. Ducking under the leg, I got out of the way and rolled behind them, my hand coming to rest of the handle of a blade I'd tucked away.

A large powerful beam of light made contact with the mutant before I pulled the blade out. Checking the direction from which it came, I saw Tony in a much larger suit now. I'd heard him and Bruce debating over the name of it, but Tony on occasion continued to call it the Hulkbuster. "I've got this one; it's time to break in the new suit." Tony met the incoming fist from the mutant with one of his own, blocking the second with a forearm and then kneeing the giant. "You keep going."

I paused, seeing other mutants being drawn in by the suit. He had to have been alerted of their incoming, but still said nothing that indicated he'd changed his mind about taking them on. Sparing only one more moment, I left the scene before another mutant could stand in my way.

Eric was waiting for me at the top of the garage, casually seated along the cement edge with the rifle neatly packed away by his side. "You made it." He smirked.

"Screw you." I spat, unable to find the humor in the situation.

He shrugged, "It wasn't personal, you know."

"What would you call it?"

"I was just speeding things along. Sterns would try to recruit Banner, Banner would say no…" He rolled his hand to symbolize how repetitive it would be, "I figured, trigger him now, get that over with. I mean, if you didn't make it I'd have failed as your trainer."

"You think this is all one big exercise?"

He pushed off of the wall, "Exercise or a message, depends if you're coming back or not."

I scoffed, "You've made it pretty clear that I shouldn't."

"I was trying to help you." He frowned.

"You tried to kill me twice!" Angrily I gestured to my forehead in case he'd already forgotten.

"I did what I thought was best!" He countered, "Do you know what would have been waiting for you if you came back last time?"

I shook my head. It didn't matter. Nothing he could say would change how I felt about Hydra. "It was all part of the plan."

"I could use a partner, Dr. Sterns still wants Banner, and there'd be a spot for both of you."

"No." I glared as he began to advance.

"We'll see."

I met him halfway, blocking his fist with my forearm and returning the gesture. We exchanged fists in quick succession, seemingly equally matched for once. He was surprised not only by my improvement, but also by the offensive role I'd decided to take. Throwing in a few kicks, he tested my defense for weaknesses. Finally he found what he was looking for, jumping up to throw a high kick towards my head only to have his foot caught. I wasn't able to adjust my grip on his ankle fast enough to throw him and instead got caught in the chest by his other foot as he pushed off of me and sent me back a few feet.

It wasn't going to be that easy. I jumped to my feet, closing in to smash my fist into his forearms as he blocked his face, giving me an opening for me to punch him in the gut. Following up with two more to the area, I ensured that he would not be able to catch his breath before I grabbed his wrist. Forcing his arm to extend, I applied pressure to his elbow with my free hand while I continued to step around him until I had the space to swing my leg up to force his body towards the ground with my foot on his back.

There was a sickening pop as I held his arm in place until the joint at the shoulder slipped from its place. Finally, I released the injured arm as I heard him curse and fall to his knees. I wanted to be sure he wouldn't get back up for a while, so I crouched down behind him, catching him under the chin and preparing to bring his back into my knee. Suddenly he threw his good arm back, roughly grabbing the back of my shirt and leaning forward as he hoisted me over his head and onto the ground in front of him.

"That hurt like a bitch." Eric growled, pressing the visibly dislocated joint closer to his body as he stood.

I rolled away, keeping an eye on him as I got to my own feet. That wasn't the reaction I'd expected from him. He wasn't concerned at all beyond the initial pain. In fact, he was smiling.

He stopped next to a parked SUV and I cringed inwardly as he used it to help reset the joint, the discomfort barely registering across his features. "It's actually…kind of impressive how much you've improved in the last few weeks." The smile widened as he looked to me again, rubbing his shoulder and slowly stretching it.

He rushed forward, grinning as I stepped around him and cleared some space. I drew my gun, uncomfortable with how close to the edge of the garage I'd put myself. Tilting his head, he observed the gun and my expression.

"Well?" He looked to me expectantly, "Here's your chance." Spreading his arms out, he dared me to make an attempt on his life, nearing the gun with no hint of fear.

When I didn't take the shot immediately, he closed the gap quickly, not slowing when I lowered the sight and pulled the trigger. If I hadn't been the one behind the gun, I wouldn't have known that I'd tagged him in the side by the way he was moving. He'd crossed the space between us, guiding my hand offline as I pulled the trigger again, jabbing my side quickly before I blocked his next punch. I released the gun before he could damage my hand or wrist as he wrenched it from my grip. It clattered to the ground as I knocked it from his grip, following closely with a kick, trying to reach his injured shoulder. The look on his face told me I'd made a mistake as he used the opportunity to brace himself and lean into the kick, wrapping his arm around my middle and pushing my back over the edge of the garage.

Blindly reaching forward, I latched onto his arm, trying desperately to pull myself up or to take him with me. We both slipped over the edge with him unable to withdraw the injured arm in time. The momentum from his body twisting as he was pulled with me allowed me to be above him as we fell. My stomach lurched as I saw the floors of the garage speed by, the ground fast approaching. I closed my eyes and braced myself against him, digging my fingers in around the tender muscles of his shoulder and clamping my other hand around his neck to keep him from moving.

The amusement that'd been on his face finally shifted to an expression of resignation as he realized he was limited in what he could do at this point. I heard the air rush from his lungs as we slammed into the earth, knowing I'd made a similar sound as the wind was knocked out of me. I tried and failed at standing up, my vision fuzzy and my head swimming as I gasped, unable to take in a sufficient amount of air. I fell to the ground, sitting still as I waited to regain my bearings.

I glanced at Eric's still form next to me, then back up to where we'd fallen from. There were eight floors on that garage, he'd be out of it for a while considering I'd used him to break my fall. As my vision cleared, I stood up again, squinting towards the sky when it wasn't quite as bright as I remembered. There were heavy clouds beginning to roll in.

Making my way back towards the commotion, I looked around. It'd been quiet over the headset as everyone remained too engrossed in their own fights to give updates. Hulk and Madman were still in a heated battle with the Hulk consciously redirecting his foe when they got too close to the few remaining people on the scene, too frozen with fear to evacuate the area.

Natasha and Clint tag teamed mutants, targeting pressure points and utilizing Widow's electric currents and Hawkeye's trick arrows to neutralize targets so that they were incapacitated. Steve was on his own, possessing the strength and agility to take down agents and mutants alike. It was obvious the fight was beginning to wear on them, the assassins beginning to run low on supplies and Steve beginning to slow or take note of his injuries. With the Hulk and Tony taking on clusters of mutants at a time, I knew it was all they could do to stem the flow of oncoming threats.

Drawing my knife, I engaged a few of the mutants myself, quickly dodging their attacks and slicing through important muscles and ligaments to keep them from attacking further. I closed my eyes as the blood from a mutant splattered across my top, the throbbing in my head returning with a vengeance as the radioactive substance hit me. Sighing, I tried to focus, taking in a bit of energy from the surrounding electronics and mutants around me and using it to my advantage.

I'd just brought down another mutant, breathing heavily from the energy I'd exerted when a voice caught my attention. Eric was on his feet again, that smirk across his features as my eyes widened. As he neared, the mutant closest to him fell to its hands and knees, shrinking in size as it began to revert back into an agent.

"Overwhelming, isn't it? The buzzing." He looked to the unconscious agent nearby, "But if you tap into it, it's so rewarding. After you left, we needed someone else that could subdue the giants so I guess I should thank you for that."

I knew something had been off about him. He just kept coming back with a smile no matter how I'd tried to put him down for the fight. I'd dislocated his arm, shot him, and landed on him after falling off of a building and here he was laughing about it. At the very least, he should have been limping or something.

His brows furrowed and he gave me a look of question as if to ask if I'd really wanted to keep the knife as my weapon of choice. Tightening my grip on the handle, I narrowed my gaze as he drew his own blade with a shrug. We stepped towards each other, forearms meeting as we came together. I was careful to avoid his swipes, knowing that the curved blade would hook into my flesh before being pulled away. My opportunity came after a few moments where I caught his wrist, raising it over my head while I stepped in close and swiped my blade upwards over his chest. He kicked me away, clutching at the clean cut that extended from his chest up to his collarbone.

All humor left his face. Something in his expression or maybe the look in his eyes sent a shiver down my spine. With abnormal speed even for a superhuman, he was in front of me again. I had to scramble to move from his reach, wildly pulling from all sources of radiation around me to keep up with him. The boost of energy dulled the pain, allowing me to focus only on the fight at hand. I made sure to keep track of his blade even as he tossed it between his hands or into the air between strikes before swiping again.

My heart pounded against my ribs when I realized the trap I was playing into. I'd been so focused on the blade that I reacted too late to pull away when he caught my wrist. Instead of drawing me in like I'd done to him, he lifted my arm and pulled me a step forward as he turned away, bringing the blade around to stab at my side while he faced away. In quick, fluid motions, he withdrew the karambit and tossed me over his shoulder without breaking contact once I hit the pavement.

I gasped, barely able to throw my arm out in time to break my fall as he crouched down to press a knee into my chest, still gripping my arm tightly. All of the extra energy flooded from my body and I knew he'd used the shock of his attack to break my concentration and take from me whatever radiation I'd taken in. I clenched my teeth, suddenly affronted with the pain from everything and the burning from the wound in my side. Desperately trying to free myself, I drew the second knife I carried on my side with my free arm, but the fleeting hope was extinguished quickly as he secured both wrists above my head.

"You should have taken the shot." His cool gaze swept over the surrounding area before returning to me.

Glaring, I bit the inside of my lip as he ground my wrists into the cement in response to my struggle as he adjusted his grip to free a hand and retrieve his fallen karambit. "So what, you kill me now?"

"Considering the hell I had to pay after that failure in the mountains, I'd say that'd be too easy." He responded, a mock expression of thoughtfulness teasing me.

"Revenge?" I scoffed. Somehow I saw him going through so much trouble to get to one person as being a bit too ridiculous no matter what had gone on when he went back to Hydra.

"No." He dismissed the idea, "Contrary to what you believe, everything I've done was in your best interest. Just between us, you remind me of someone. It's sort of a weak spot really, but I can't help that."

I swallowed, eyeing the knife he kept in hand. "Eric—"

He brought the blade down and buried it into my shoulder as I turned my head away from the area. I paused as my nerves registered the burning sensation, sending frantic messages to my brain that I needed to escape somehow. Gritting my teeth, I exhaled through my nose and returned my attention, blinking away the wateriness in my eyes as he observed my expression.

"I'm actually a little proud."

"…Shut up." I growled, trying hard to control my breathing with his knee still on my chest.

"You did not handle being stabbed nearly as well the first time." His voice was deceptively light as if retelling a story over a cup of coffee.

I squeezed my eyes shut, unable to keep quiet as he applied pressure and twisted the blade. It was blinding, the pain was all I could think of or feel as he continued to shred the muscles in my shoulder. A dark fuzz began to creep in around the edges of my field of vision, offering to put me to sleep, but I forced my eyes to stay open.

He pulled back on the knife, hooking it around my collarbone before fully removing the blade and adjusting his grip on the handle so that he could use his fingertips to turn my head to face him. "Hey, none of this passing out business."

A set of tears had managed to escape my closed eyes, but I made sure they would be the only ones he'd see before I acknowledged him. "Why?" My voice was hoarse, weaker than I expected, but I knew he was listening.

I wasn't asking why he wanted to keep me awake. It wasn't even a question of why he'd chosen to stick around although he was wounded too. I wanted to know what the point of all of this was. Why was he so keen on trying to get me to go back to Hydra when he could just end it? Why was he with Hydra at all? What did he have to gain from it?

I'd asked him before and now he was giving me the same response. The look on his face changed to one of sadness for the briefest of moments before he shook his head and smiled, deciding that now was not the time to give me a straight answer. He dug the blade into my shoulder again next to the first gash he'd created, leaning in as he released the handle and left the blade protruding from my flesh as he directed my attention towards the giants fighting a few blocks over.

"You know what's great about how close you two are?" He began, keeping a firm grip on my jaw to keep me from turning away from the sight, "Even without your help, you're still a great distraction. How fast do you think he can get here if you call out for him?"

His hand left my face, and gripped the index finger of my dominant hand. I grit my teeth, only allowing a muffled noise to escape as he gave a sudden, forceful pull on the joint. He moved on to the middle finger, dislocating it from its place in an attempt to get a rise out of me.

"No? Nothing?" He clicked his tongue in a noise of disapproval, "Alright then."

My stomach dropped as he grabbed the handle of the knife again, slowly, deliberately adding force as he dragged it forward. He gave it a sharp turn, breaking my resolve as he hooked the blade behind my collarbone again and rocked the curved metal without letting up. I screamed, planting my feet on the ground as I tried to arch my back and get him off of me to no avail.

Satisfied, he stopped and directed my gaze towards the Hulk who'd heard me. The stunned look on the large green face showed a mix of concern and rage as he took in the sight. Immediately he released his hold in the grapple with Madman and leapt towards us. A wicked smirk crossed the red giant's face as he followed closely, rapidly growing in size just in time to catch the Hulk by the neck with his arm. In the time it took them to land, Madman placed his remaining arm across the Hulk's legs above the knees and brought his large frame down over his knee.

Another scream escaped me, laced with panic and grief instead of pain as I saw the Hulk's back bend in an unnatural way before he came to rest on the ground. No one ever said the Hulk couldn't be hurt, but I didn't think there were many, if any, foes strong enough to actually do so. Everything was drowned out as a loud clap of thunder reverberated off of the buildings and a blinding flash of lightning made contact with the ground with a deafening crack. A tall man in metal armor with a red cape and hammer was left in its wake, clearing Madman away from the Hulk with a single powerful swing.

Quickly, Eric withdrew the knife, looking down the street where the bolt of lightning stuck. "Guess we'll have to pick this up another time, huh?" He stood, clearing some space between us to avoid any sort of retaliation I might come up with.

I rolled onto my side, pushing myself off of the ground and taking unsteady steps towards the Hulk who had yet to get up. It wasn't long before my body began to protest, my legs giving out under me as the muscles weakened and the fuzz at the edges of my vision returned. My heart skipped a beat as the Hulk stirred, looking in my direction. I nodded to him, a relieved smile crossing my face. Seeing that I was okay for the time being, he gathered himself and reclaimed his place in the fight with Madman.

With Eric away from me, I could draw from the radiation around me. Although I knew he'd also be pulling from the same sources, I could see he was finally beginning to back down. The hydra agents were now in short supply with Iron Man and the Hulk finishing off what was left of the mutated agents. Eric was beginning to bleed heavily from the bullet wound on his side as whatever quick patch he'd put over it gave way.

If I was quick enough, I could draw my second gun or scoop up a knife to throw, but instead I applied pressure to the wound on my shoulder as he slipped away. I couldn't get a good grip to stop the bleeding, unable to place my palm properly in the dip behind the collarbone. The wound in my side from the first strike wasn't fairing well either, solidifying my decision not to pursue Eric. I looked around, Thor batting away at the Hydra agents that didn't retreat. The Hulk was chasing Madman as the giant was beginning to leave the scene, shifting to be the size of a human as one last mutant agent pounced on the large green form and drew his attention. With ease, the Hulk landed two hard punches to the half formed giant before taking it into his hands and slamming it to the ground without a second thought. He looked back to the street to find his original target, but was at a loss with Dr. Sterns having escaped.

The extra boost dulled the pain significantly as I removed myself from the street and leaned against the outside of a nearby shop, sinking down to sit up against the wall. I gripped the fabric of my sleeve, ripping it at the shoulder and using the long stretch of fabric to wrap around my waist and cover the wound on my side. Ripping the sleeve from the other side of my top, I placed one end of the cloth in my mouth and used my uninjured side to begin wrapping my shoulder.

It wouldn't be a good fix, but it would be enough to allow me to get back to the tower and patch it up. I closed my eyes for a moment and took a few deep breaths before getting to my feet again. Radiation was a big help, but I knew when the time came that I didn't draw from it, I'd feel absolutely everything. The stress I'd put on my muscles and the pain from the injuries would all come flooding back.

"Rachel? Are you okay?" Steve's voice focused my attention on the surroundings again. I looked and then realized that he'd been speaking over the earpieces to check in on everyone.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I replied, dragging my feet in the general direction of the group. Everything was a mess and the damage had yet to be logged, but I knew we couldn't stay in the city for long. I couldn't stay in the city knowing this is what could happen again. No one was safe, not even the Hulk.

AN: So this one was a good bit longer than the other chapters had been. I actually cut out some of it because I didn't like how much it would interrupt the flow of the chapters. Anyway, before I ramble. I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you for reading!