It had been the walk-in closet of the master bedroom that Bruce was headed to, so he could replace the clothes he had accidentally shredded during transformation. Tony hung out by the closet door, giving the physicist privacy but still keeping within earshot. "It's too bad none of my clothes are still hanging around," he commented off-handedly, "I would've let you borrow some. I had more than I could ever wear myself anyway. At least, that's what I seem to remember…" he trailed off; it was annoying how he could recall bits and pieces from his former existence, but nothing more solid than his first name and the fact he once owned beachfront property and well, a lot of clothes now apparently.

Bruce emerged in a pair of dark khakis, an unadorned baseball cap, and a red pullover hoodie. Tony lifted an eyebrow at the choice of dress, the guy had never worn something so casual- he'd always stuck to slacks and button-up shirts from what he'd seen. But then his gaze lowered, catching on what Bruce was carrying with him from the closet- it was a suitcase.

"What is this?" Tony threw his hands out in exasperation. The doctor walked right past him, on the way to the bed, where he set the luggage on top of the mattress. "Oh come on. Don't," he took a stern voice, but Bruce ignored him, opening it up and turning to go back to the closet for the rest of his belongings. Tony kept right on his heels. "This isn't funny. What do you think you're doing?" he demanded.

"Packing," Banner said simply, draping his shirts over an arm.

"Uh, yeah, I can see that," Tony rolled his eyes. "What do you think I am, stupid? I mean, don't you think you're being just a little hasty here? Do you even have any idea where you're going?" he asked.

Dr. Banner looked at him. "Yeah. Wherever the soonest international flight is going."

Tony would've thought that answer was a bluff if it weren't for the dozens of stickers that decorated the outside of Bruce's old worn suitcase- exotic places, like India and Brazil and Malaysia. It stunned Tony to realize in that moment how well-travelled Dr. Banner was. Immediately he began to question why, what it was that made him move from place to place. Was it because of his ability to transform? To become the Hulk? The man continued to stack his clothes into the suitcase.

"You're really going leave, just like that?" Tony posed snidely. "What about your research? You're going to just up and abandon it?"

Bruce didn't seem to be listening to his line of reasoning, focused exclusively on packing. "You should be happy," he commented as he laid his folded slacks into the baggage, "this is what you wanted to begin with."

Tony felt his stomach clench; he quickly affixed his gaze elsewhere. He'd changed his mind since then. He'd been wrong. And stupid. Mostly the latter. But he didn't know how to go about admitting that. Without Bruce around, his lab would be empty… dead. He'd be all alone. A ghost haunting an abandoned laboratory for who knew how many years to come. Sure, someone else might end up renting the place, but what if the new tenant couldn't see him? Where would he be then? Mentally Tony began to panic.

Bruce was the only shot he had.

"Besides, Agent Coulson said I should let you stay," the physicist went on as he added a few pairs of shoes to the bag. He straightened and looked the engineer in the eyes. "That's exactly what I'm doing."

"He never said you should go," Tony attempted to point out, feeling his throat tighten. He grasped at straws, anything to talk him out of going.

"He also never said I shouldn't," came the matter-of-fact reply.

The innovator huffed and shook his head at the display of complete stubborness and unwillingness to listen- not that he was one to talk on that note normally. He held back and watched a while longer as Dr. Banner gathered his toothbrush and a few scant toiletries from the bathroom. There didn't seem to be any hesitation in Bruce's movements- the way he glided swiftly around the room, exhibiting none of the 'Now what am I forgetting…?' ailment Tony himself often experienced when packing for a trip. No, Bruce had done this before, perhaps many times before. It was rehearsed, practiced. Somehow that made Tony feel even worse. He couldn't let him go. He wouldn't. For either of their sakes. He spoke up again. "But I think that's what Coulson meant. That we should both stay," he explained. He began to gesture with his hands, "Like maybe you and I, we could somehow help each other."

Bruce paused, and Tony wondered if he'd finally gotten through to the other guy. Slowly he turned around to regard him. "That's nice. That's a nice sentiment," he said softly, bobbing his head before giving him a steely stare. "How?"

That put him on the spot. As much as he believed his theory with his whole being, he couldn't explain it. The engineer bit at his lower lip, glancing off to the side. "I don't know…" he was forced to admit.

The physicist gave a confirming 'hm' and clicked his suitcase shut. He picked it up from the bed and started to walk from the room, pulling the brim of his hat lower over his eyes.

"This isn't gonna help, you know," Tony raised his voice as he rushed after him, through the living room and out the front door.

"Yeah, how do you figure?" the physicist asked deadpan. "Have you ever run from anything in your life?" Bruce's brown eyes bore down on him, challenging him… daring him for an answer.

He would have answered if he could. He wished he could remember. He… felt like he had, but he couldn't be sure. Not with his memory all screwed around like this. Tony let his head droop, severing eye-contact. Bruce used the silence to lock the house and he picked up his bag to place it in the trunk of his old clunker of a car sitting out in the driveway.

Finally Banner spoke again. "I can't stay, Tony. I'm not asking you to understand, I'm just asking you to accept it."

Tony felt his lips purse hard. "Fine. But I'm at least going with you to the airport," he said, coming around to the passenger's side of the vehicle. It was a lie, a bold-faced lie, because goddamn it if he couldn't convince Bruce to stay, he'd damn well follow him to the edges of the globe. He had nothing to lose. Except Bruce.

"I wish you wouldn't," the physicist said, a weariness in his voice.

"Too bad," Tony replied succinctly, using his gaseousness to slip through the locked car door and right into the seat. "And yeah, I'm calling shotgun, deal with it," he added.

Tony was a little surprised when Dr. Banner took the freeway junction towards the San Gabriel Mountains rather than Los Angles. He sat up in his seat somewhat, watching the green and white sign go by. "I thought you were headed to the airport?" he inquired.

Bruce pinched his tongue between his lips unforthcomingly, keeping both his hands firmly on the wheel at 10 and 2. "I just have some matters to put in order first."

The engineer hummed at the answer, folding his arms and leaning back again to prop his feet on the dashboard. They wound along the mountain roads back and forth, climbing in altitude. A few minutes later a large security gate came into view, and Bruce brought the car to a stop and manually rolled down the window to show the person manning the station booth his identification. They nodded and brought the gate up, waving him through (little did they know Dr. Banner had an unauthorized 'invisible' guest with him, Tony thought to himself). The innovator lifted an eyebrow as he eyed the designation beside the entrance: Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division. "Wait, you work for S.H.I.E.L.D.?" he asked, confused. Hadn't Bruce just chewed out Coulson for being part of the agency?

"Work isn't quite the right word," Bruce mumbled as he found a parking spot. He killed the ignition and threw his baseball cap up on the dash. "I suppose it would be too much to ask that you wait in the car?"

"You know me too well already," Tony stuck out his tongue. The physicist merely nodded and got out, heading for the facility entrance. There were several more checkpoints they had to pass through once on the inside before they finally got to what appeared to be the front desk. Sure kept a tight lock and key on everything, the innovator noticed, and everyone was so stern and regimented it made him want to barf a little. Dr. Banner cautiously walked up to the woman working behind the desk. "Excuse me, I was wondering if Agent Romanoff was available; she's my contact."

The secretary quickly accessed some things on the computer in front of her. "Ah yes, she is currently on-site; I'll page her. if you proceed to Room 47A, she will be with you at her earliest convienence." There was a fleeting, mandatory smile and then it was back to business.

"Thank you," Bruce said, ducking his head and removing himself from the front desk area.

"Romanoff… now where do I know that…?" Tony mumbled under his breath, following the physicist down the hall. He was still mulling it over when they got to the room; Bruce even held the door for him with no one else around to see. It was a fairly bland meeting room, furnished to provide relaxation with a few plastic potted plants, a water dispenser, and a sofa. He threw himself into the corner of the piece of furniture, lounging an arm over the rest. Bruce, meanwhile, paced the room, seeming on-edge, despite the attempts of the decor. Tony watched him go back and forth several times. "Are you gonna sit down?" the engineer asked him.

Dr. Banner wet his lips. "I'm comfortable standing."

"Doesn't really look like you are," Tony started to contest, but that was when the door opened from the hall. He turned to look over the back of the couch and saw a curvaceous woman in a skin-tight leather uniform, bearing the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo on the shoulder. Her hair was a vibrant, unmistakable color of blood red, bobbed short to her jawline with matching lipstick. Tony gawked. Not just because she was good to look at either. Another familiar face. How did he know so many of the people Bruce knew and yet not? There was something different about her hair though... Maybe the length? She'd probably cut it, Tony concluded.

She looked surprised to see the man before her. "Dr. Banner…" she started to say as she shut the door behind her.

Bruce stepped forward. "Miss Romanoff, I need to terminate my contract." He was to-the-point.

The woman looked stunned, but she quickly masked the emotion. "May I ask why?"

He looked away. "Extenuating circumstances," he responded elusively.

"Oh, so now I'm an 'extenuating circumstance', that's nice," Tony grumbled, slouching lower into the couch, feeling put out.

"That's not what I meant…" Bruce frowned at him apologetically.

Natasha's brow drew down, her red eyebrows furrowing in the middle. "Then what did you mean, doctor?"

The physicist coughed into his fist, having accidentally put himself in an awkward position. "I, uh… I had an incident," he explained, wringing his hands.

"An 'incident'?" Tony questioned, "is that what you call it? Well that sure makes it sound like a bad thing."

"It is a bad thing," Bruce growled at him.

The Russian woman now looked even more concerned, folding her arms across her chest as she took a solid stance. "Bruce… have your hallucinations been continuing to persist? How much sleep have you been able to get on a regular basis?"

The man visibily seized up. "Six hours," he answered stiffly.

Tony snorted, rolling his eyes at the blantant lie as he shifted on the couch. "Try three."

"Five, minimum," Bruce corrected, giving him a glare. He hurriedly regarded Natasha once more. "Listen, the contract I signed said I could terminate at any time, for any reason. I'd rather just get this done and be on my way."

The agent sighed. "I wish it hadn't come to this, doctor, but I suppose there's nothing I can do to persuade you to stay," she sounded geniunely regretful. The woman pulled up a computer console, beginning to enter in validation codes to get the process under way. Bruce came over to supervise, putting on his glasses so he could look over the screen. "I'll just need you to add your digital signature to these documents." She paused, looking at him seriously. "Please understand, however, that once termination is complete, S.H.I.E.L.D. will no longer be able to operate in the interests of protecting you from interested parties as we have in the past."

Tony's ears perked up, gut churning. No, no, this all seemed way too familiar. His eyes snapped from Natasha to Bruce and back to Natasha. Tony had been involved with S.H.I.E.L.D. before, been consulted. Coulson. By Coulson! Coulson had asked him to be a patsy… he'd met with an army General. The Super Soldier Serum. Blonsky. Things were starting to come back to him! He snapped his fingers. Bruce Banner. The gamma radiation accident. Of course! He remembered hearing about it on the news. Tony stared at the physicist standing beside Miss Romanoff as if seeing him through new eyes. He'd never met the guy before, but he'd read his file before agreeing to go along with the patsy scheme. If it hadn't been for S.H.I.E.L.D.'s decision to intervene, who knew how things would have gone down… if Bruce would even be standing here today or if he'd be locked up and being experimented upon. Banner had still been blamed for the accident in Harlem, but after that he'd just vanished into the woodwork and allowed to live in relative peace under minimal S.H.I.E.L.D. supervision. If he were to no longer have that, he'd be in potentially grave danger.

"I understand," Bruce confirmed.

Tony stood bolt upright from his seat. "Bruce, you can't go."

The interruption caused the physicist to falter a split second. "I've made up my mind." He shook his head and turned back to the computer to enter his signature.

"Don't," Tony said firmly, taking a step forward. "I'm not saying it again: this is your last chance." He lifted a finger warningly.

"And just what are you going to do to stop me?" the physicist motioned at him with a sardonic laugh. At this point Natasha looked just plain disturbed by what was transpiring. Bruce placed his fingers upon the keyboard.

Tony didn't think; he instinctually leapt. Right into Dr. Banner- not through him, but into him, such that the younger scientist's body and his own spirit form became temporarily one. Tony yanked Bruce's fingers away from the keyboard, now in control of them, and with a laugh of success, he picked the keyboard up and threw it to the floor with a crash.

Miss Romanoff leapt backward. "Bruce, what are you-?"

"Oh God, I'm so sorry!" Dr. Banner yelped, but Tony didn't give him control of his body back yet. He grabbed the monitor and threw it at the ground as well, resulting in flying sparks and shards of glass. Good luck signing that termination document now!

Natasha had nabbed a radio transmitter off her belt and was speaking into the crackling device. "I'm requesting back-up in Room 47A… I have a man who needs to be removed from the premise immediately…"

"No no no! Please, this isn't- it's not what you think!" Bruce attempted to change her mind, but Tony made sure she wouldn't be by using the physicist's body to hurtle one of the potted plants across the room at the wall. He attacked the couch next, skattering the cushions and pillows willy-nilly.

The door opened once more, and two large, burly men surged forward, grabbing the Bruce/Tony amalgamation by either arm. Dr. Banner gave a few helpless kicks as they drug him from the room, blithering at Natasha until she disappeared from view. His head sagged in defeat, going slack and letting the security agents take him beyond the checkpoints and out to his vehicle. "We'll be escorting you out now. Follow us please," the larger one said, unceremoniously tossing Bruce into his car. The jolt caused Tony to fall out of the other man's body and tumble into the next seat over.

"Well, that wasn't so bad," Tony said, flattening out his disarranged hair.

"Goddamn it, Tony! Why the Hell did you do that?" Bruce demanded. His eyes were ringed with green, but the color gradually faded away. The two security agents got on their motorbikes and positioned themselves to the fore and aft of the vehicle, turning on their red and blue flashing lights.

"Hey! You're gonna thank me for that one day," Tony said, folding his arms across his chest and trying not to look too smug that he'd saved Dr. Banner's bacon.

The younger scientist started the engine begrudgingly and began to follow the motorcycle in front of him. "For what? Damaging my reputation with S.H.I.E.L.D.?" he grimaced.

The innovator rolled his eyes. "Oh please. These guys deal with eighteen different kinds of crazy in any given day. I doubt your little 'hissy-fit' is going to result in anything more than a temporary suspension and you'll be back in their good graces like nothing ever happened in a week."

Bruce took a deep breath, calming somewhat at the words. They drove in silence. The two cyclists peeled off to return to the facility once he'd passed back through the gate, which was locked behind them. The physicist kept his eyes on the windy road; the weather had gotten significantly more overcast while they were inside and the sun was starting to set behind the hills. "Why are you still here?" he asked solemnly.

Tony stared out the passenger window, chin rested in his hand that was propped on the armrest contemplatively. "That's kind of a scary question. I have no idea…" he admitted honestly. He motioned with his other hand absently. "You're still the only one who's been able to see me, out of everyone there at the site."

"Yeah," Bruce uttered.

The engineer nibbled at his lower lip. "All I know is when I'm not with you, it's like I don't… exist…" he said sadly, glancing down into his lap. He shut his eyes. "Maybe Coulson was wrong. Maybe I am dead." He brought his hand up to touch the empty socket in his chest- where he knew his reactor ought to be, keeping him alive, but it wasn't there… and goddamn it, now that he'd allowed himself to think about it again, he was scared. Terrified.

"I'm sorry, Tony, I don't know…" Bruce softly. The physicist hesitated a moment, then reached over to place his hand reassuringly over his thigh- which only half-worked, being a ghost and all, but the gesture was kind all the same.

He choked up. "If I could just remember more about who I am. …Or was… Then I'd know for sure." He shook his head, gesturing his hands out in front of him in frustration. "I keep getting these little bits and pieces… but it's not enough."

Dr. Banner wet his upper lip carefully. "You want me to help you?" he asked, looking away from the road to glance at him.

Tony shrugged. "Well, it's either that or you finally accept that you're an insane person, driving around So Cal talking to himself." His mouth betrayed a teasing smile.

Bruce shook his head, the smile infectious and catching on his own lips. "Ah… I'm not really big on that one." He returned his attention out the windshield. "Tomorrow morning, we'll see what we can find out, sound alright to you?"

His chest swelled with appreciation. The engineer grinned happily, eyes crinkling. "Sounds great, Big Guy."

Banner's forehead scrunched at the spontaneous nickname. "Big Guy?"

"Yeah, I think it fits," Tony said. "But I don't have to use it, if it bothers you," he quickly amended.

"No, it's fine. …It's kind of funny actually," Bruce smiled, just a little.