A/N: Whoops, I'm running a tiny bit late today, guys, sorry! This chapter isn't very long, and not a lot happens, but guess what? We're over halfway through the story! I know, I can't believe it either :) Anyway, enjoy!

Chapter Fourteen

While Alice was grateful that Clint had no intention of making good on his threat to test her immediately, she was still left with the awkward responsibility of explaining why she couldn't start her lessons again on Monday morning.

"I like to be there," she said, "When Bruce changes."

Clint took the news of Klara's involvement in these experiments surprisingly well. He remained neutral through Alice's stuttered explanation, only nodding and making noncommittal noises in response. Then he rescheduled their flights for Tuesday, without so much as a blink. Sure, he didn't seem exactly thrilled about it, but there was no outright hostility either. Alice thought that showed a shocking amount of progress.

He even showed up at Friday's movie night, apparently of his own free will. Nat had come in at least five minutes before, and Alice had already braced herself for the disappointment when he came striding in, hands in his pockets and actually smiling.

"Sorry I'm late," he said as he flopped down on the couch next to Nat, "Did I miss the pull already?"

"JARVIS was just about to announce the lucky winner!" Darcy said, sitting scrunched up with Thor, Jane, and Klara, who had stiffened at the archer's entrance, "I still can't believe you guys have a movie night, whoever came up with this is a genius!"

"Alice did, actually," Bruce said, smiling.

"Dude, you're even cooler than I thought!" Darcy exclaimed, "And you're dating the Hulk, so I already thought you were pretty badass."

Alice rolled her eyes, feeling her face heat up and trying to ignore it.

"JARVIS, save me please," she pleaded.

"Dr. Jane Foster," he announced in prompt response.

"Aw, no fair!" Darcy said, flinging herself back onto the couch and pouting.

Alice held out the box to Jane who smiled and took one of the folded papers in her delicate fingers.

"The Empire Strikes Back?" she said, confused, "Who puts the sequel in a movie night box?"

"We already saw the first one," Steve said, looking very pleased, "I've been waiting to see what happens next."

They settled in, Alice squeezing in between Pepper and Bruce, and making sure the popcorn was within easy reach of everyone, including Tony. Thor seemed to get a real kick out of Yoda, Natasha made sure to make whooping noises anytime Leia told Han off, and the reveal at the end elicited a stunned, 'Aw, no way!' from Steve which made everyone else cheer in enthusiastic good humor. When it was over, Steve immediately turned to Tony, a stunned expression still on his face.

"Really? His dad?"

Which began a rousing conversation that involved a lot of references to 'You'll have to watch the prequels.' Followed by 'There are prequels?' Clint vaulted over the couches and settled in next to Steve to join in, and that prompted Alice to look around for Klara. She was still here, but she was sitting very still and looking very pale.

"Klara?" Thor asked, "Are you alright?"

The girl swallowed and tried to smile, but it was the worst attempt Alice had ever seen.

"I'm...forgive me, I...don't feel very well."

She got up from the couch and Darcy immediately followed her example with an exaggerated stretch.

"Yeah, you know what, I'm beat. I'll go with you."

As the two left the room together, Alice got up and settled in the spot beside Thor that had recently been vacated.

"Was it the movie?" she asked in an undertone.

Thor shook his head, looking as puzzled as she felt. "Truly, I do not know. Family is a difficult subject for Klara. She never knew her mother and father, and I get the impression that there was some kind of falling out between her and her guardian before we departed Asgard. Elli is a harsh woman, but for many years, she was all that Klara had."

Alice felt a lump in her throat. She had known her parents, and they had been taken from her. She couldn't imagine what it must be like to not have known your parents, ever.

"Will she be alright, do you think?"

"Darcy will stay with her," Jane said, with complete confidence, "They're close. Or at least, as close as you can be to Klara. She's a hard person to get to know. But Darcy seems to get her, as weird as that sounds."

It did sound pretty weird, actually. From what little Alice had seen, the two girls couldn't have been more different. But maybe that was the point. They said opposites attract after all. She rubbed at the gold rings on her wrist and hoped that Klara would be alright.

Klara's uneasiness following the film on Friday was relatively short-lived, much to her own personal relief. When pressed by Darcy, she found that she couldn't even quite articulate what it was that had upset her. Perhaps the sudden realization that Luke's father was, in fact, a creature of darkness, something that she herself had experienced when her own past had been revealed? But she couldn't very well tell that to Darcy (she couldn't speak that to anyone, not without the fear that Lord Thor might discover it), and besides, it didn't quite ring true. She was not some mythical savior, no hero of light as Luke Skywalker was. She was not even the rebellious princess that Leia represented, though apparently, royal blood coursed in her veins. She was only Klara, a maidservant, and now barely that.

Perhaps it had been the betrayal by Lando Calrissian, who had been like a brother to Han Solo and yet sold his friends into the hands of their enemies, only to repent his unfaithfulness and work to correct it through his final actions, which spoke so strongly of Loki that even now, days later, it still brought a tightness to her throat. If only Loki's story could have ended so. If only...

But it did not matter. Whatever it had been, it passed, thanks in large part to the efforts of Darcy Lewis. Darcy did not allow her to stay sequestered in her room brooding as she might have liked, and by Monday, Klara felt ready to face whatever waited for her below in the Dungeon. She was accompanied by Lord Thor, as usual, but also by Dr. Foster for scientific purposes, and by Darcy Lewis whose only excuse appeared to be an exclamation of 'Because it's the Hulk!'

Thus did Klara arrive with her entourage, right on schedule, and discovered that she was to have an even larger audience than she'd expected. Tony Stark was fiddling with his buttons, and Alice Ripley smiled at her from his side. Natasha Romanov and Steve Rogers were there, looking anxious. And Clint Barton had also decided to join them, leaning against a far wall and saying nothing, but Klara could feel his eyes fixed on her as Miss Romanov fitted her panic button and Captain Rogers double checked that it was working.

"Jesus, what are you, the captain of perfectionism?" Stark snapped as the captain pressed the button for the third time, "It works already!"

Klara did not take offense to this, and neither, it seemed, did Captain Rogers. Mr. Stark had been moodier than usual since Miss Potts had left the Tower to return to the LA office and it appeared that ignoring his bursts of temper was the universally accepted method of dealing with them.

"Can we please get this over with?" Stark sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "I have a headache."

"We can do this another time, Tony," Alice offered, looking as if she wanted to touch his shoulder, but then thought better of it, "It's not a big deal."

"No, we're already down here, I'm not wasting a whole damn day," he muttered, fiddling with a knob before resetting it to the exact same position it had been in before, "I just want to finish, short test run, get our feet wet again. You hear that, Big Guy?" he asked, switching on the speaker, "Short and sweet, think you can handle that?"

"Do my best," came the mumbled reply from within the familiar white room. Dr. Banner had his eyes closed, a hand folded over his fist and resting at his chest, a look of serene concentration on his face.

The explosion was muffled, the roar muted, and it seemed that the Hulk did not mind his box as much as he had before. Klara watched as he went through the steps of testing the walls, the corners, the glass, and then stood back, nostrils flaring, pacing back and forth in tiny circuits. She turned to Alice, but her question must have been clear on her face because Alice was already answering before she could give it voice.

"We've been working out a backup system since you've been gone," she said, nodding to Miss Romanov, "It's not as effective, but we figured it would be good to keep him in practice. We think he's getting used to it."

"You're up anti-Hulk," Stark said, not sharply, but with no warmth either, distracted.

Klara approached the door and put her hands behind her back, shutting her eyes and preparing for what was ahead. The last time she had stepped beyond this door...the roar, the rush, the blinding pain as she struck the wall... She took a sharp breath through her nose and then released it, letting go of that memory. Her shoulders relaxed and her back straightened. She opened her eyes. She could do this. It was her duty.

"Ready?" Alice asked.

Klara nodded. The door hissed open and without looking back, she stepped inside.

Alice flipped on the speakers again as Klara stepped inside and the door shut behind her. There were a few moments of tense silence.

"Hello again, my friend."

The Hulk's reaction was surprised and immediate. He jerked back and roared, taking two steps forward...and then he retreated, hunkered down, eying Klara with caution but making no further move toward her.

"Woah," Tony muttered, checking his readouts, "I think he's showing anxiety."

That was...different. Alice allowed her eyes to wander to the screens as Klara's soothing voice carried through the speakers.

"It's been some time. And I fear we did not leave things in a good place. May we try again?"

"Damn." Alice jumped. She had not realized that Clint had walked up behind her, peering through the window. "She's really trying to talk to him, isn't she?"

"Not just trying," Steve said, with a hint of defensiveness, "Succeeding."

"You think he understands what she's saying?" Clint asked as they all watched Klara approach the Hulk with soft, deliberate steps.

"He might not have a complete grasp of the actual words," Tony said, in a clinical voice, "But there is compelling evidence to suggest that something in the way she talks to him has an impact on his metabolic processes and brain activity. Whatever's getting through that thick green skull, it's having an effect."

Clint frowned but didn't reply. They watched as Klara approached the Hulk, reaching out for him.

"No more be grieved at that which thou hast done..."

Hulk shied away from her hand, dropped his head and turned his shoulder as if to shield her from himself. Alice felt her heart lurch, a sharp pang of sympathy. Klara moved forward another step, her hand still outstretched, palm up, coaxing but not insistent.

"Roses have thorns, and silver fountains mud,

Clouds and eclipses stain both moon and sun,

And loathsome canker lives in sweetest bud."

He snorted and peeked back over his shoulder at the girl, who moved forward another step, now almost within arm's reach of his skin. But still she made no move to touch him, instead lowering herself to a crouch, one hand touching the floor, the other still held out to him.

"All men make faults, and even I in this,

Authorizing thy trespass with compare."

His forehead wrinkled, but Klara remained perfectly still. Finally, he reached out with one large hand and allowed the back of his knuckles to come to rest in Klara's open palm. Her smile widened as his skin rippled at her touch.

"Myself corrupting, salving thy amiss,

Excusing thy sins more than thy sins are."

The transformation seemed almost easy, and Bruce was already sitting up, running a hand through his mussed hair by the time the door had opened and everyone filed into the room.

"That was freaking badass!" Darcy exclaimed, making a beeline for Klara standing off to one side, out of the way of Tony and his equipment, "You are the bomb, Klara!"

"I have to admit, that was fascinating to witness," Jane agreed, watching over Tony's shoulder as he worked, "And you say it has to do with electrical impulses?"

"Yeah, there's a disruption in the natural wavelength, you can see it right here," Tony said, lifting his pad and pointing at the data.

"You alright?" Steve asked, giving Klara a thorough once over with his eyes.

Klara blinked at him, then replied a bit hesitantly, "Yes. Fine."

"I'm starving," Bruce said, "Do we have any more of that takeout left? I would give just about anything for some orange chicken."

"You can have an entire orange chicken," Alice said, helping him to his feet and letting him lean on her when he swayed, "I'll order once we get back to the room."

"This is why I love you," he said, smiling lazily down at her and making her heart do acrobatics in her chest.

"I hope that's not the only reason," she huffed.

"Innumerable," he mumbled, almost incoherently, "Infinite."

"Yeah, yeah," she said, waving her free hand at the assembled group, "We're out of here!"

Tony waved back absently, Jane still hovering at his elbow, the others all talking together. Except Clint. They passed him on their way out the door, leaning on the steel frame and watching it all take place with a carefully controlled expression.

"We still on for tomorrow?" Alice asked, and he nodded, but the gesture was almost absent.

"Tomorrow?" Bruce asked, his brow furrowed and his words starting to slur (she hoped they would be able to make it to the room before he passed out), "You have a date with Bird-Boy?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, dear. A hot date, prepping for a flight test. Real steamy stuff."

"Steam is bad," Bruce mused as the elevator took them up, "Fog up the windows, can't see..."

She managed to get him in bed before he went completely limp, but it was a near thing. She flopped down next to him on her back, staring at the ceiling. No point in ordering the takeout for a few hours now. Instead, she continued to fret about Clint and the strangely noncommittal expression he was wearing these days. At least it wasn't anger. At least he was still here.