I sighed as I found myself in yet another sterile room as Natasha poked and prodded at my wounds. Everyone had sustained some injury or another, but Eric had gone out of his way to carve into my flesh for an extended period of time, leaving the muscle in my shoulder shredded and almost useless for the time being.
The redhead heaved a sigh of her own as she frowned, "Well it won't be pretty, but I can stitch up your side while we wait for Dr. Cho to come in." She shook her head as she pressed a wad of gauze into my hand, "Your shoulder, however, isn't something I can fix."
"Yeah, it's not exactly a clean cut, huh?" I laughed dryly and held the gauze to my shoulder to keep the bleeding under control.
"At least he didn't go for your neck." Gesturing for me to lay down, she quickly sanitized the area before sticking me with a local anesthetic.
I scoffed, "That'd be too easy apparently."
"He's got it out for you then?"
"I guess so. He was toying with me the whole time." I shrugged, stilling as she paused with the needle over my skin, "He's usually pretty cut and dry, it's not his style to do something like this without trying to get a point across."
"Whatever his point, he needs to be neutralized. He's a serious threat."
"I suppose…" I let the conversation end there. I'd had him in my sights, he'd been unconscious at my feet, but he was still alive and out there because I hadn't taken him out for good. He'd had the chance to kill me, but didn't take it. At what point would one of us end the cycle? I knew if he truly wanted to he could take my life, but I couldn't say the same for myself.
My side was stitched and bandaged in a matter of minutes. Natasha was no stranger to patching up wounds and it was abundantly clear as she worked quickly without hesitation. I thanked her and sat up, pausing as the room continued to move after I'd stopped.
"You should probably stay seated until your shoulder is fixed." She held another wad of gauze for me to replace the stained one in my hand.
"I'll rest in a bit. I need to go downstairs." I got to my feet and straightened my top.
Stepping aside, she nodded, understanding the urgency in my tone. We'd all been concerned when the Hulk continued to be present after everything had begun to calm down. Tony guessed it might be due to the injury to his back needing more time to heal completely, but we were all waiting to make certain that was the reason for it.
There was a large, open room a few stories below ground where the Hulk had retreated to in order to avoid the media attention that was sure to crowd the streets after the dust settled. I found the large green figure seated and leaning against a wall when I exited the spacious service elevator. Waves of radiation were rolling off of him, but they weren't nearly as intense as they'd been earlier. They were steady, fluctuating with his resting heart rate.
His large green eyes followed me until I was next to him. Without a word, he lifted a hand from his lap and used his index finger to in make a silent inquiry about my shoulder. It hurt like hell and I didn't dare to move it, but I lifted my good shoulder in a half shrug to indicate that I'd be fine once I finished getting patched up.
"Your back?" I seated myself next to him and leaned against the wall. He mirrored my previous actions and shrugged, earning a small smile from me. "Yeah, a waiting game for both of us."
He looked away, seemingly consumed with his own thoughts as we sat. I frowned as a slight crease formed between his brows. He looked concerned for a moment before dismissing the idea with a huff, mumbling to himself in a voice that mimicked rolling thunder, "Hulk stronger."
"Madman?" I asked.
With a nod he confirmed my suspicions, "And nurse."
Nurse? He must have meant Eric since he was initially a nurse when we met him. "He can feed off of radiation now." I warned.
With a dismissive shrug, the giant didn't seem too worried about that fact, "Hurts friends. Hurts you…Not again."
"Don't." The green man looked to me, eyebrows raised, "I'll take care of him." Now he was frowning and the crease between his brows returned. I understood his concern. After all, I could have been dead after that fight and wasn't even sure if I had it in me to put a stop to Eric. "It's hard to explain, but I need to be the one to end it."
He didn't respond verbally, but his eyebrows softened and he let out a heavy sigh. We lapsed into an easy silence and I closed my eyes as the exhaustion began to creep up on me. It wasn't until a firm hand was placed over mine that I realized I'd begun to drift off. I jumped, eyes snapping open to see Tony crouched down in front of me, applying pressure to my shoulder.
Tightening my grip over the gauze, I continued to slow the bleeding as Tony removed his hand. "Dr. Cho will be here in a few minutes. We need to get that looked at."
"What happened?" Bruce's voice pulled my attention to the side. He'd just barely draped a new shirt over his shoulders and looped his arms through the sleeves before he was crouched down, eyebrows knit together in concern as his eyes stopped at the wound in question.
"I'm fine." That was the best I could do at the moment. I didn't know where to start so I figured it'd have to wait for later. For now, maybe if I gave him a normal response he would worry a little less.
"Glad to have you back, Big Guy." Tony glanced at Bruce, "We need to get upstairs though, questions later."
Bruce's fingertips found my wrist as he felt for my pulse, frowning before lacing his arm under my uninjured one and helping me to my feet. He released my arm so that I could continue to apply pressure, but his arm wrapped firmly around my waist to help me keep my balance as the three of us made our way to the elevator. After I was leaning against the wall of the elevator he took his hands away to quickly button his shirt before his hands were back and we were on the correct floor.
Tony lead the way to one of the sterile medical rooms where Steve and Thor were just setting down a cushioned metal table with a thin mobile metal scanner of sorts around it. I had no idea what I was looking at, something technologically advanced for certain, but nothing I could wrap my mind around without a little explanation. A woman with dark hair tied behind her head looked between the three of us as I was lead to sit on the table.
"Questions later?" She repeated Tony's words as though she'd heard them a few times too many.
The billionaire simply shrugged, "You got it." He and Bruce lingered in the room as Steve and Thor excused themselves.
She leaned in as I removed the gauze, "I'm Dr. Cho, sorry we couldn't meet in a more pleasant way." Her gloved hand gingerly moved my shoulder forward and held it still as she assessed what needed to be done.
"Well to be fair, I am happy to see you." I smiled, hiding the grimace that almost crossed my face as she moved my shoulder one last time.
Smiling softly, she tried to mask her concern as she observed my present state, gently guiding me so that I was flat on the table. She used a set of scissors to cut away at the fabric around the wound before removing her gloves and tapping the small screen on the device. "This is the regeneration cradle. I've designed it to aid in the healing process by replacing lost tissue."
"A much more advanced version of a skin graft? I can't say I speak a lot of science." I smiled sheepishly, attempting to save her time in case she was prepared to go into just how this device worked.
She nodded, "Well, perhaps another time would be better anyway given the circumstances."
Nodding gratefully, I closed my eyes as my head swam. The lightheadedness was making it hard to focus on too much. Flashes of the events from earlier swirled through my mind and I opened my eyes to ground myself in the present. I could feel my heart beating faster than usual, but didn't know if it was from the anxiety or blood loss.
The beam of light from the metal structure was barely visible as it fixed over my shoulder and collected data before starting up. It was almost a relief to feel the gentle tingling sensation, but as soon as it started so did the itching as the remaining flesh and the machine worked to mend the gouge in my arm. I took a deep breath and tried to think of something else as I remained still.
Off to the side of the room Bruce and Tony still remained whispering amongst themselves though Tony seemed to be doing most of it. Bruce's jaw was clenched and I could see his chest rise and fall with deep breaths as Tony continued to talk to him, occasionally placing a hand on his friend's shoulder in an attempt to reassure him. I knew then that he must have been bringing him up to speed on what'd happened earlier after the Hulk had made an appearance.
Dr. Cho captured my attention as she began to speak again, "Some of the tissue in your shoulder can be repaired, some of it needs to be replaced. I promise, you won't even know the difference. It'll have full function and feeling after we're done." Her eyes went from the small screen to me and back as she explained.
I sighed. Synthetic tissue? I suppose it would be better than waiting for some deadened scar tissue to cover the area, but it was definitely something unheard of to me. Full function wasn't something I could pout about in the slightest. It was something I'd thought I would lose, at least for a while, after all was said and done, but she was assuring me that wasn't the case.
"I don't know how to thank you." I breathed, relieved as I repeated the thought to myself.
She smiled, "Just help put a stop to all of this crazyness."
"That's the plan." I couldn't return the smile quite as genuinely.
It wasn't long before my shoulder was mended and I could sit up. Gently, I touched the area, surprised that the nerves responded just as they had before. I lifted my arm and rotated the joint, making full circles in either direction before concluding that I did indeed have full function again. Grinning , I stood up only to sit right back as the room spun.
"You did lose a lot of blood." Dr. Cho helped me to my feet and held me steady as Bruce joined us and slowly lead me towards the door. "You need to rest." She advised as she hung back, looking to Tony as she began to decide which question to ask first.
"I didn't get a chance to eat today." I mumbled as Bruce and I shuffled along, taking a step in the direction of the kitchen area. Having something on my stomach would help with my current state.
Bruce paused and I wobbled, "Don't worry about it just yet. I'll bring you something after you're resting, alright?"
"Okay." I agreed, having no desire to clumsily search the pantries.
We made it to my room and I was seated before he left in the direction of the kitchen. I looked down at myself and sighed. My shirt was torn and stained with dried blood from myself and a few mutated Hydra agents, I was covered in dirt and dust, and my hands were caked with dried blood from the gauze I'd been holding. Very carefully, I stood and used the furniture and walls to brace myself as I entered the bathroom and turned the faucet of the sink.
My reflection was just as underwhelming as I'd expected, bearing more dirt and dried blood on my forehead from where the bullet had grazed. Along my jaw and across my face were two bloody hand prints from when Eric had directed my gaze with my own blood on his fingers. Frowning, I got to work as I leaned against the sink and began to scrub at my hands and face. When my face and hands were clean I grabbed the nearest hand towel and wet one end of it before turning the water off and draping it over the edge of the sink.
Without another thought I slipped out of the tattered and stained shirt and used the towel to begin cleaning the dried blood from my shoulder. After I was satisfied I began to peel the bandage off of my side where Natasha had stitched me up, gently probing the area with my fingertips to see how tender and inflamed the area had become. I jumped, dropping the towel into the sink when I heard the door of the main room open.
Bruce set down the plate he was carrying on the nearest available surface and made quick strides to meet me. He immediately reached to place his arm around me but stopped when he caught sight of the area I'd been getting ready to clean. "Another one?"
"It's not as bad as my shoulder was."
The slight crease between his brows remained as we reentered the main room and I sat at the foot of the bed. I watched him grab a clean washcloth and wet it in the sink before returning and pulling up the chair from the desk so that he could sit in front of me. He placed a hand at the small of my back and began to dab at the area with the other, leaning in slightly as he focused on the task.
I watched him for a moment, picking up on the fleeting hints that crossed his face as he tried to keep his composure. "We'll make it through this." He probably heard it from Tony, but it seemed like hearing it again couldn't hurt. I wasn't sure how it would happen, but it had to. I couldn't stand seeing him worry, especially over me. It wouldn't happen again.
He didn't respond immediately, finishing up and folding the stained side of the cloth in on itself before looking at me. "We will." His tone was laced with worry and reflected the same amount of forced determination. Standing up, he crossed over to the dresser and looked back to me, "Do you have a loosely fitting shirt? It'd be best to have something that doesn't agitate the stitches too much."
"Second drawer on the right." I chewed the inside of my lip, now very much aware of the reasoning behind his sudden change of topic. There was nothing wrong with the sports bra I wore, but considering that I usually at least wore a tank top around him I could see why he made the next order of business rummaging around in the drawers. Whether it was for his comfort or mine, however, had yet to be known.
Rejoining me at the foot of the bed, he wrapped his arms around me as soon as I had a fresh shirt on my shoulders. I mirrored him and closed my eyes as we held each other tightly. There weren't words to convey the muddled emotions that had yet to settle, but we were okay for the time being and that was enough.