Chapter Six

Bruce glanced at the bed where Adam lay unconscious and frowned. Corea was on his way to deal with the fit. It was past time they worked out how to stop them, he thought as he scrolled down the screen of data, trying to make sense of it.

"If it's any help," Steve said quietly from the doorway. "Tony and I have found the man SHIELD sent us after. We're going out after him." Bruce winced again, looking up.

"Do you need me?" he asked. "I should probably stay-" Adam had gone quiet suddenly at breakfast and the thud was the first sign that something was wrong. Together Steve and Bruce had managed to carry him to the infirmary, still twitching oddly. The normal epilepsy routine hadn't worked, it being caused by Adam's enhancements rather than anything else.

"No, you stay here and make sure he's okay. We've got two agents ready to take the gang members away, it's just the weapons they need us for." Steve's expression made it seem routine, even if it was their first low key job. "Call us if he gets worse." Bruce nodded but he wasn't sure what Steve and Tony could do to help. Adam needed doctors, not soldiers.

Bruce sat down at the desk, looking through the accounts Adam had given SHIELD when he was brought in after Miami and what they had gathered before Project Greyhound was shut down. He had some ideas, none of which were particularly good ones.

"Banner?" Corea asked from the doorway, going over to Adam at once. In the time it took Bruce to turn around the tall doctor had checked Adam over and gave a satisfied nod.

"I've found the reason behind the fits," Bruce told him, moving the screen so that he could see. "The genes used to give Adam the, qualities of a greyhound, also included the genes for that dog's epilepsy. The greyhound genes are activated, the epilepsy ones follow."

"So the fits come after any time he's used his abilities." Bruce nodded. "Gene therapy could correct the mistake, if we could isolate it." Corea moved the images around on the screen as he leaned over Bruce's shoulder.

"The genes affect his muscles, sensory organs and brain, that's not isolated," Bruce pointed out.

"There are genetics experts back at SHIELD, and ways we can interact with other doctors without letting anything slip. I know the basics of gene therapy but I'm no expert."

"You'll stay at least until he wakes up, in case there are complications?" Corea nodded, looking down at the screen again. That made Bruce feel better, he had limited experience with epilepsy.

They looked through what they could about gene therapy and other options, Corea began to contact his colleagues at various SHIELD medical bases to look into Adam's condition. Those doctors were used to the hypothetical questions asked within SHIELD and the answers they weren't allowed to have. Corea was the surgeon who had saved Phil's life, one of all of three medics who had access to the Avengers. The other two were on standby in case they were all taken out at once.

"You should look into taking a medical degree," Corea said after a while of them working. "Actually train to become a doctor, a real one not a physicist."

"Who'd want to have me in a classroom every day?" Bruce asked with a laugh. "I don't think any university would take me on again." He wanted to, not having to rely on Corea or one of the others when his team got injured, to be more than just a paramedic.

"Of course, I should have remembered that." Bruce looked at him in surprise. How could someone forget what he was? "You just seem like a regular guy when we're talking, sorry."

"It's- fine," Bruce said quietly. Natasha couldn't forget, Tony didn't let it drop, Steve still had the reserved air about him. His teammates though at seen the worst he could do, Corea hadn't. Bruce supposed it was easy to forget a monster you had never actually seen.

Adam began to stir and wake up, staying so still at first that Bruce thought he had passed out again. It was only when he saw Adam's eyes flickering around that he realised the man was trying to work out where he was without making a noise.

"Do you recognise us?" Corea asked Adam gently, getting a nod in return. Bruce relaxed as Adam did, and finally Greyhound moved.

"Sorry, momentary paralysis," Adam said as he pushed himself up. "That's the worst bit, waking up and not being able to run."

"It may be the running that causes the fits. The foreign genes inserted into your cells are giving you epilepsy, the more you activate them the more often the fits come," Corea said as he took Adam's vitals.

"I figured that. Is there anything you can do to stop it?" Adam swung his legs down but both doctors stopped him from actually getting up.

"We're working on it," answered Bruce. Adam was now his priority, above himself. As he had said, Steve needed Greyhound more than a normal Bruce.

"Did I miss anything interesting? End of the world, that sort of thing?"

"Steve and Tony are still out after the arms dealer." Bruce glanced at his watch and wondered if they were alright. Sure, they had faced worse on their own, but it was in his nature to worry about them now. "No end of the world, sorry."

"Not your fault. Anything from the spies? I don't think they're too keen on me." Adam had bitten Juliette, it was a bit of an understatement.

"They'll warm up. The last I heard they were all out hunting things." There had been no word from any of the agents since, although Bruce hadn't really expected any. Maybe a line from Clint, but they had been silent. He couldn't have told Adam where they were either.

"Should we be hoping they catch something or not?"

"I'd say not," Corea answered.