A/N: It's good to be back! I've been trying to write this for two weeks but we are finally here. Enjoy!
Tony stepped out of the elevator to see Bruce and Natasha locking lips. "Get a room. Like the ones I built for you six months ago." Tony complained as he inspected his crumbling lounge area.
Bruce pulled away from Natasha, his cheeks bright red, but Natasha kept a straight face. "Thank you for your concern, Tony. It's not like we were trapped or anything."
"Excuse me for taking cover from a hail of bullets, chasing our attacker through New York until he vanished into thin air, and not taking the time to check on you two love birds." Tony took a breath to release his frustration. "Besides, I left JARVIS in charge of clean-up, so take it up with him."
"I am staying out of this, sir." The A.I. announced.
"Honestly, you can't find good help these days." Tony shook his head, then focused on the couple in front of him.
"I'm glad you're okay." He confessed.
"Thanks, Tony." Bruce finally spoke.
At that moment, Steve rushed into the room from a side door with his hair a mess and his eyes worried. "Tony, we can't find Banner and-" He saw Bruce and Natasha standing there. "Never mind. Are you guys all right?"
"Other than the hole in my leg and the belt cutting off my circulation, I'm great." Natasha replied.
"God, Natasha! I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking about your leg. We just escaped from that hole and I was hulked out and-" Natasha silenced him with a kiss.
"Enough talking." Natasha smiled.
"Take care of your injuries, then meet in Tony's lab. We need to discuss what happened last night." Steve ordered, getting back into captain mode. He and Tony moved to the balcony and began a whispered conversation.
"I'm sorry, Natasha." Bruce said.
"Just help me to the medical center."
"As you wish." Bruce picked her up and started walking toward the elevator.
"Oh, Westley," sighed Natasha, continuing the joke.
"I am the Dread Pirate Roberts. You should be fearful of what I might do."
"Please," scoffed Natasha, "you are no more a pirate than I am an angel."
"But you are an angel." Bruce told her. Natasha gave him a skeptical look. "Too cheesy?"
"Just a bit." Natasha grinned. "I appreciate the compliment, but we both know I'm not a saint."
"We'll see." Bruce winked, then stepped into the elevator.
In the medical center, a few nurses were running around restoring supplies on the shelf and helping the lone doctor of the ward care for the few people who were injured last night. A nurse stopped in front of Bruce and Natasha.
"What is the injury?" She asked getting to the point.
"I was shot in the leg. It didn't hit anything vital and went completely through. I just need to be stitched up." Natasha supplied as Bruce set her on her feet.
"Come with me." The nurse walked toward a curtained off area. Bruce helped Natasha to the table and stood beside the table waiting to be asked to leave. The nurse put on gloves and gathered the necessary materials to care for Natasha's leg. "Okay, take off your jeans."
"Um, do I...do I need to leave?" Bruce stuttered.
"Unless you are scared of seeing a girl in her underwear, it won't bother me. It's up to her." The nurse supplied. Bruce looked at Natasha.
"You don't have to stay. I'm not in any danger by a needle and a thread. I will meet you in the lab." Natasha squeezed his hand ad gave him her best smile.
"Okay. I will see you later." Bruce smiled slightly then turned and left the medical center. He felt the weight of the night catching up with him. Staying up all night was something Bruce hadn't done since the days before the Avengers, when he was running from the government. In the luxury of the tower, Bruce had grown fond of sleeping, even only for a couple of hours.
Opening the door to his room, Bruce stepped in and locked the door behind him, heading straight for the shower. He stripped down as the water warmed up and stepped in when it was hot enough to sting his tan skin. The burning water crashed onto his face, reviving his tired eyes. He washed away the dirt and grime left over from their enclosure, and exited the shower twenty minutes after stepping in. With a towel wrapped around his waist, Bruce went to his closet and picked out a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved shirt. He dressed quickly and towel dried his hair until it was the dark-colored curly mess he had known. Satisfied with his look, Bruce left his room and made his way to Tony's lab. He wondered if Natasha was there already.
Arriving at the entrance to Tony's lab, Natasha studied the room as she had been trained to do. She noticed Steve was anxious as he always was when faced with a new threat. Tony was taking with his hands trying to get his point across. Thor was standing next to the table with his arms crossed, annoyed by Stark. Clint was sitting on top of a table spinning an arrow in his fingers. And Bruce...
Bruce wasn't in the room. She turned around to check his room, but ran into someone.
"I guess I can't sneak up on you." Bruce smiled.
"I was going to look for you, but apparently you found me first." Natasha kissed his cheek, then turned and limped into Tony's lab, with Bruce behind her making sure she wouldn't fall.
"The gang's all here." Tony announced as he watched Bruce and Natasha take a seat in the lab chairs near the back.
"Good. Let's get started." Steve turned toward Tony, who clicked a button on his remote. The room darkened and a projection began to play on the wall between Steve and Tony. "Last night, we were attacked by a masked man with some interesting tech."
"He was riding a hoverboard. I have full body suits that let me go under water as well as into space." Tony grumbled.
"It's okay, Tony. Marty McFly has nothing on you." Clint quipped from the back. Tony shot him a look then clicked to the next slide in the presentation.
"From JARVIS we have learned that the man who attacked us last night is most likely Qaseem Davar." Steve revealed.
Bruce stared at the picture in front of him. It couldn't be. Not his Qaseem. His brain hurt from thinking about it over and over. Natasha seemed to notice his strange behavior. "Bruce? What's wrong?"
"I know him." He thought he whispered his reply, but Steve turned to him.
"You know this man?" Steve asked.
"Yes." Bruce stared at the picture once again. The group waited for him to continue. "Back in Kolkata," Natasha tensed when he said the name, "I was trying to lay low. General Ross was searching for me and he had almost found me multiple times before, so keeping a low profile was my main plan to avoid him. That didn't last long because where I was living, I saw children dying from disease and I had to help. I started treating cases that were easy to help, then I eventually tried to help everyone I could." Bruce paused and downcast his eyes. "One day, Qaseem, who had been helping me get antibiotics and treat the people, brought his wife in to my makeshift clinic. She was very sick with Typhoid, and I knew I couldn't save her because of how bad the infection was. I tried to explain this to Qaseem, but he wouldn't listen. He yelled at me and punched me a few times before another man pushed him away from me. His wife died in my clinic a few hours later, and he cursed me to suffer as he would suffer."
"Bruce..." Natasha couldn't think of anything to say. Instead she grabbed his hand and held it between her own.
"Now that we know who we are dealing with, I suggest we hunt this man down and tear him limb from limb." Thor finally spoke from his spot in the corner. Everyone stared at the demigod. "What? Too much?"
"Just a bit. But I loved the enthusiasm." Tony joked.
"We should track Qaseem down and stop him before he attacks us or anyone else."
"Aye, aye, Captain." Tony patted Steve's shoulder. "Meeting adjourned." Tony was the first to leave with Steve right behind him. Bruce and Natasha were the last ones in the lab.
"We should go." Natasha stood and tried to pull Bruce to his feet. He rose slowly and put his arm around Natasha to support her injured leg as they left the lab. The information Bruce had just revealed weighed down the both of them, but Bruce was focused on the fact that his long-lost friend had just become his enemy
