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God, I'm hungry. I really hope he feeds me soon. And I don't mean any of that nutrient supplement he's been pumping into me; I need real food. Bruce gave a weak smile. Figures that the one time I actually want to go out and gorge on about a thousand dollars' worth of food with Tony is the one time he's not here.

Bruce had found out the hard way that multiple shock treatments and pain tolerance tests, besides being excruciatingly painful, did a damn good job of working up an appetite. He supposed this was part of the universe getting revenge for all the lives he'd taken as the Hulk. Because, of course, being alienated from all of your family and friends, being feared and reviled by half the planet, and now being some insane scientist's plaything wasn't enough.

He sighed. Karma's a bitch.

At that moment, Phoenix reentered the lab. At first glance, he seemed ever the cocky, arrogant, mentally unstable lunatic he'd always been. But then, as he approached Bruce to check his vitals, Bruce noticed something. Phoenix's eyes had just the slightest tint of red around them. Most people wouldn't have noticed, but being a doctor, Bruce had been trained to spot minor details like that.

"Hey," Bruce started. His voice was dry and weak, cracking ever so slightly with each word. "Are you okay? Your eyes look a little red."

Phoenix looked up, confusion in his eyes. Then, as realization dawned upon his face, he wiped his eyes not-so-slyly.

"I am fine, Dr. Banner. And believe me when I say that I am not the person you should be concerned about."

Bruce scrutinized him for a moment before it hit him what had happened.

"You were…crying, weren't you?"

Phoenix's eyes flashed dangerously. "I said I was fine."

"No, you're not. What is it?"

"Why do you care?" Phoenix snapped. "I am torturing you for my experiments; what concern have you for my well-being?"

"I… I don't really know. Heh, I suppose it is a little odd for me to care, considering the circumstances. I really shouldn't give a damn. I should hate you and curse you and swear bloody revenge on you. Or at least, I would if bloody revenge was my thing. But somehow, I do care. So what is it?"

"…It is nothing of import." Phoenix continued to check Bruce's pulse and blood pressure. "What is of import are the levels I'm getting on your vitals. You're growing weak, Dr. Banner, and I need you strong."

Bruce mustered up enough energy to roll his eyes. "Ever consider that maybe actually feeding me or maybe giving me a break from this table might do me some good?" Phoenix offered no sign of acknowledgement. Undeterred, Bruce continued. "You know, my mom used to always say-"

"Please be quiet. You're throwing off my concentration." Phoenix muttered under his breath. He looked as though he'd just been reminded of some painful memory. Then, the gears began to turn in Bruce's head.

"So that's it, huh? Your mom?" Phoenix froze. "You seemed a little sensitive about the subject last time we talked, too. Is that what you were crying about?"

Phoenix looked up at Bruce, his eyes steely. He appeared unaffected on the outside, but it was clear that he was doing his best to hold back his emotions. "When I tell you to shut up, you do it."

"Is that what your mother used to tell you?"

CRACK!

The echo of the Phoenix's slap resounded throughout the lab for what felt like years. His hand had imprinted upon Bruce's face, the outline a bright, angry red. When Bruce turned back to look at his captor, he saw nothing but pure, unlimited rage, and for the first time since he was taken, Bruce was genuinely afraid of the man before him.

Phoenix leaned over the table, putting his mouth right next to Bruce's ear, his hot breath sending chills down Bruce's spine.

"Don't you ever talk about my mother like that. And don't you ever presume to know me." He took a step back and folded his arms tightly. "I loved her more than anything. Unfortunately, I wasn't lucky enough to spend most of my childhood with her, unlike you, you ungrateful swine. "

With that, Phoenix turned on his heel and strode toward the door. Just before he exited, he stopped and turned his head to the side.

"You are luckier than you know, Doctor. Consider that."

As the doors whooshed shut on the other side of the room, Bruce began to think. Something seemed familiar about Phoenix. Something Bruce couldn't put his finger on. He thought and thought, but he simply couldn't figure it out.

Perhaps some part of me just identifies with him on the level of crappy childhoods. He pondered that for a minute. No, no that's not it. What is it about him…?

He sighed. Either way, I need to get out of here before he loses it and does something serious, something irreversible. God, Tony. I need you. Can you hear me?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Miles away in Stark Towers, Tony sat across from a computer, dozing off in the middle of research. His face contorted as nightmares played through his mind. He saw images of Bruce beaten, bloody, battered, and limp on a table. He groaned. "No…no…"

He saw himself in front of a gravestone with a bouquet of white roses. Then, from the back of his mind he heard a voice. Bruce's voice.

"Tony…Tony… I need you…. I need you…"

"TONY!"

"No!" Tony sat up straight, his eyes wide open in fear.

"Tony, are you all right?" Steve grabbed the billionaire's shoulder and squeezed it tight. Taking a breath, Tony collected himself again. He looked up slowly at the Captain, pain on his face so obvious it could have been written in Sharpie.

"Cap… we gotta find him."

The supersoldier nodded his head sharply. He sat down and joined Tony at the computer desk as they continued to do research into Bruce's past, SHIELD's affiliates, and everything inbetween.