Hey again! I hope I haven't kept you all waiting too long; it's been quite a hectic couple of weeks. Anyways, thank you all so much for reading and especially those who review and favorite! I swear, nothing brightens up my day more than looking at my email and finding that even more people care enough about my stories to review or follow. Anyways, here is more Bruce and Tony angst! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I still do not own the Avengers or any of their characters.

At that same moment, Bruce opened his eyes and looked around him at the empty science lab. Feeling more alone than he had in a long time, he shed a single tear.

Tony, where are you?

"Is someone getting homesick, already?" With a smirk, Phoenix folded his arms across his chest and approached the table trapping Bruce. "I'm afraid you'll have to get used to your new home. You're going to be here for quite a while."

Bruce turned his head to look at Phoenix. "Mind telling me what I'm in for? I mean, it's the least you could do."

Phoenix simply shook his head as he opened a closet and pulled out a fresh syringe. "All will come in time, Dr. Banner. Or may I call you Bruce?"

"Dr. Banner is fine." Bruce retorted coldly. The only person who was allowed to call him Bruce was Tony. This lunatic hadn't earned the right.

"All right, then, Dr. Banner it is." He began to sanitize the crook of Bruce's right arm, humming softly as he went. The tune seemed achingly familiar to Bruce, but try as he might, he couldn't place it. But the tune was oddly compelling and warm. Bruce even found himself relaxing to its melody.

"What is that song you're humming? It sounds familiar." he asked softly.

Phoenix's eyes darted up from his work and looked at Bruce strangely. Bruce didn't know what to make of it. It was almost… affectionate? And yet, there was sadness behind it, and touches of anger. No, not anger, Bruce knew anger. This was fury. Blinding, passionate fury.

Then Phoenix blinked, and the look was gone. His glare resumed its usual cold and calm appearance. The look was so fleeting, Bruce wondered if he had just imagined it. Phoenix resumed his work and replied, "I believe the name was 'Sweet Violets'. Quite an old tune."

He picked up the needle and felt for Bruce's vein with his thumb, deciding where to enter the arm. "Now don't be alarmed, Doctor, but you will feel a small pinch in your arm as I draw the blood."

Bruce gave a weak smile. "Phoenix? You do realize I've had blood drawn before, right?"

"Proper bedside manner. I wouldn't want to make a bad impression."

As his blood was drawn, Bruce's mind wandered. He began following a small crack in the ceiling. "So, Phoenix, I gather you've done your research on me and my past. So why don't you fill me in on some of yours?"

Phoenix scoffed. "Why would I do that? I prefer having the advantage."

"Don't you think it might be a bit more exciting than the awkward silence that would otherwise fill the time where you're doing science and I'm, well, lying here?"

Phoenix appeared to think it over. With a roll of his eyes, Bruce insisted. "Look, I'm not stupid. You have no intention of letting me go after this. Either you'll do something to my memory so you won't get caught or, far more likely, you'll kill me. What have you got to lose?"

Phoenix turned to him with a guarded look. "What kind of things would you like to know?"

Bruce smiled. "Well, let's start with the easy stuff. You seem to be very intelligent and, as you put it, 'multi-talented'. So where did you go to school? What's your education?"

Turning back to his analysis of Bruce's blood, Phoenix began to speak. "I went to elementary school here in the United States, but moved to England for high school and college. I attended Oxford for biological studies and then began to pursue other subjects on my own. I found actual teachers… unnecessary. And life was so much easier without having to deal with the twits I was supposed to acknowledge as peers. "

Bruce was intrigued. "Well, that explains the accent. When did you move back here?"

"Fairly recently. I've only been in the States for about six months."

"Why'd you come back?"

Phoenix smiled. "For you, of course. I needed to start moving towards actual experimentation, and I couldn't do that without you."

Bruce scrunched his eyebrows together. "So I've always been your angle? All your planning has centered around me?"

Phoenix shook his head. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. I told you that my plans are off limits. I prefer my patients in the dark."

"Fair enough," Bruce conceded. "Then what about your family?"

Phoenix noticeably stiffened. "I don't have a family."

Bruce's gaze softened. "I'm sorry. What happened?"

"None of your business."

"Well, I understand what it's like to lose the people you love. You know about my mother, and-"

"Stop talking!" Phoenix snapped.

Bruce quieted down, seeing the sore spot he was poking at. Still, what did he have to lose? He pushed forward. "Did something happen to your mother, Phoenix?"

Phoenix turned around, fury raging through his eyes. "What did I say about talking!" He shrieked. Then he took a breath and composed himself. "No matter. It's time for another experiment. He began hooking Bruce up to a strange machine that didn't bode well for his well-being.

Phoenix turned with a sneer. "Let's see how your pain tolerance is."

Just as Phoenix flipped a switch, Bruce had only one thing to say. "Oh shi-"

His screams rippled through the lab until his voice broke and everything faded to black.