29 – We're not in Kansas anymore
During the quick trip on the Quinjet, Penny started feeling worse and had no choice but to drugged herself if she was meant to put up a fight with the Army. It was only a matter of time before General Ross would barge in and she'd need all her strength to fight him off, with any means necessary. She was also worried about Steve, not about the night before and where they were standing right now but his health. He wasn't a fool and they both knew he wasn't doing okay. His body wasn't reacting well to the serum, maybe it was rejecting it? Maybe the cryogenic process broke the serum in some way? She needed to figure out a way to fix this. She had to. If she was able to stabilize Phil enough to get the small shread of Teressact off of him, she was gonna find a way to keep her guy safe.
Steve's eyes moved from the panel towards the blonde next to him every other minute. He was circling down the location where the GPS was heading to. Bruce must've turned again, he was going way too fast for a human. And then he stopped. Both Brandon and Stanny were tapping and messing up Army signals to throw them off and give Penny and him enough time to retrieve Bruce safely. Hopefully they'll make it. Hopefully he won't falter again. Hopefully Penny won't pass out on them. "You still have a fever you know, I should've come here with- ugh, someone else"
"There's no one else. Romanoff is still grounded, Mark's back is not okay, Hoban is not really active... You got no one in the near area. No one you can trust anyway", she spoke softly resting on the co-pilot seat. "I hate planes, have I ever told you that? I really hate planes" she ventured out, holding herself from the seat as he set the plane to the ground, "I could've called your protegé you know, technically this isn't an official mission so..."
"Let's keep Peter away from SHIELD, okay?" She wasn't even arguing the fact that Peter was Spiderman anymore. Not to Steve, he had seemed to figure out each and every thing she had been up to in the last year... most of them anyway. "Brandon? What's Ross' ETA?", she asked as Rogers grabbed her from her waist and grounded her. Smiling widely, she pecked his lips, "That was unnecessary, I have enough drugs on my system to be awake until the next century or so", she teased. "15 minutes, 20 if Mr. Stan can jam their systems longer", "I resent the lack of confidence Brandon", a muffled voice came through.
Reaching for his gun, Steve lead the way towards the small house where the signal was coming from. There were no signs of Hulk, at least not of the massive Hulk they were used to. Soon enough, Bruce's voice reached them, though it sounded louder than usual. Running to the house, they went through the back door.
The house was a mess, furniture was barely there anymore, broken shreds and small stains of blood all over. An old man seemingly unconcerned was 6 feet away from Bruce, looking raggedy, terrified and incredibly mad at the same time. Holding a gun with his left hand, he made them a sign to stop with his right, without even looking at them. "I have to do this, don't take another step".
Steve took a deep breath and placed himself between the two men and Penny, and for once she didn't push back. "Bruce, whatever this is, we can help".
No you can't.
Hulk's voice was final, and Steve was puzzled as not to see him turning right that minute. "I told you so", Penny whispered to the blonde, and decided to take a go at it, holding from Steve's arm, "so who's your friend Bruce?" she sounded out, eyes locked with that of the older man. He did look familiar, but she couldn't place him. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends boy? Haven't I taught you manners?" the man taunted.
Shut up. Shut up. Shut up.
"I'm Brian Banner, pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss?", he teased taking a step closer to Penny and only causing Bruce to hold him with his free hand and tossed him on the armchair. Penny took a couple of steps closer to him and before Steve could do anything she was reaching distance from the old Banner. She was not on top of her game.
"Penny don't!" Bruce snapped one minute too late. In a swift move, far too quick for a man Brian's age, he had gotten a hold of her and was using her as a shield, holding her own gun to her back. "I would not make any stupid moves if I were you right now", Steve warned him taking a step closer to him. "So boy what are you gonna do? You came here to kill me, then do it already. But I'm taking yer friend with me"
Before anyone could know what was happening, Penny was on the floor, wrestling the guy for the gun, Steve was trying to cut in or aim but didn't want to risk shooting Penny. Bruce was frozen for a second that lasted an eternity and then Brian had somehow gotten the upper hand and used the gun to knock Penny down. Steve heard a shot.
Penny was down, bleeding from the head. And then the older man was bleeding from the chest falling to the wall behind him, slowly gliding down and finally falling to the floor. In a swift move, Steve took the gun from Bruce's hand and kneel next to Penny to check if she was okay. "Bruce, Bruce, snap out of it. Is she going to be okay? BRUCE SNAP OUT OF IT"
Leaning next to his friend, his eyes kept moving back to the man he once called father, the stained wall taking him back to when he had killed his mother in front of him. "He- he killed her. He killed her", he whispered out as he reach for Penny's wrist. Steve was panicking, brushing Penny's face when she drowsily opened her eyes, "Are those tears Rogers? Don't you get all softy on me now", she teased, her back still on the floor.
She smiled to both of them and tried getting up but the whole room kept turning around her. Steve helped her up and brought her closer to him, "Don't you EVER do anything that stupid again, you hear me?"
"Can't promise that Cap, but I'll try", she said, resting her head on his chest and reaching for Bruce's arm. "We need to go. We need a clean up team. Ross is on his way, we need to get you out of here", Steve suddenly snapped out of it himself, realizing the gruesome scene. He killed our mother. Now we killed him. Hulk's voice was sad, as if this wasn't at all what he expected.
Setting Penny on the armchair for a minute, Steve talked, "No you didn't", he said as he shot the dead man himself with the gun he had taken from Bruce. "I shot him. You turned and he attacked Penny so I shot him Bruce. I shot him. Not you. I shot him Bruce,self-defense. Okay?" his tone was decisive and left no room for retort. Bruce nodded and grabbed his backpack with one hand, and they both helped Penny moved towards the backdoor. "Brandon, get us Fury. Send a team".
A loud thud on the front door made them stood on cold. "That won't be necessary", General Ross' voice came from behind them. As they turned, they saw Fury next to him, gesturing them to come out with them.
"I'm sorry guys, it's too late", Stanny's tone through their intercom had nothing but defeat. Turning off her own, Penny tried walking on her own, cleaning up the blood from her face but sure of Steve's arm around her waist holding her up.
"You activated her again? You must be desperate Fury", Ross sniggered out, broad smile on his lips. It was a good day for him. No matter how cunning and charming Fury thought he was, he had outwitted him. He had finally gotten a hold of Banner and he was keeping him on a leash, once and for all. Back off. Bruce spoke getting between Ross and his friends.
Steve's common protective gesture had caught up with him after all. "What's the status Rogers?" Fury asked, ignoring Ross and Bruce's comments and keeping everyone real. Clearing his throat, Steve blatantly lied. "When we entered the house Bruce was no longer the Hulk and Mr. Banner was attacking him. Agent Morse engaged Mr. Banner and got knocked over, the man reached for the gun and I had to shoot him down since he was going to execute her".
"You're trying to tell me that two active agents, one being a super soldier could not subdue a man in his early sixties? C'mon soldier, the truth now", Penny could've sworn she saw the General roll his eyes, "It is the truth, Rogers doesn't lie. Take tissue samples, that man wasn't in his sixties, he had something".
"Something?" Ross' furrowed his eyebrows trying to figure what the next lie was gonna be, and Penny replied once more "Either serum or radiation. Or something else. He was far stronger than what he should've been. We need tissue samples".
"So Banner attacked agent Morse and you decided to shoot him", Fury said finally. "Nothing else to see then. Back to the Quinjet agents. You need to get that patched and I want a full report. You too Banner".
But before Fury could get away with it, Ross chuckled, "Not so fast. Dr. Banner is Army's property. He's coming with us".
"He's part of the Avengers initiative".
"Your superhero squad is doomed. We're taking him in".
"And replicating him? So you can have a whole army of Bruce's? Cos that worked so well the last time you tried..." Penny snapped out, her arm around Bruce's now. Ross handed over a paper to Fury and stress flickered in his eyes for a minute. Seeing his expression, Bruce held Penny's hand for a minute and kissed her in the cheek before she could say anything else. He nodded to Steve and took a step forward, offering his wrists for the handcuffs.
As he was being dragged away, Penny couldn't put up with Ross' self-serving smile and took a step closer to him, muttering a threat "You as much as lay a finger on that man and I swear to the Gods I'll find a way to turn you into what you hate the most. You can count on it".
Ross chuckled in disbelief and eyed Rogers and Fury before turning around, "You'll need a leash for this one. Or a gag. Later Fury. Rogers, good to see you" and putting on his sunglasses, he turned away, taking Banner with him.
Steve took a step closer to Penny and held her, speaking respectfully towards Fury, "Sir, surely there's something we c"-
"Get a team to clean up the mess. Debrief in 2 hours. My office".
