Chapter 9. Intentions
"Shhh, shhh" Ellie chanted to a quivering Bruce Banner whose back was being hugged to her chest, both on the floor, as she rocked them back and forth. His skin still had a green tent to it, veins bulging out but at least he stopped groaning. She ran her hand through his sweat soaked hair soothingly, whispering comforts in his ear when one of his limbs constricted under contorting muscle and bone mass. His shirt was ripped in multiple seems, a tear down his pant leg, and a table embedded into the adjacent wall, nothing drastic but could escalade if things weren't taken care of.
"After this we'll go out somewhere nice and quiet, no fights-guaranteed, I promise" she whispered, rubbing as the stubble on his chin, bending her body further over his own to shield from prying eyes as stray agents were picking up the mess they all made, keeping a wide birth between them and the rocking couple. Tony had gone to the clinic to check his arm, Steve had been escorted to a different room by Thor, and Clint, Natasha- the redhead, she learned- and her father had left with Fury to his office. Ellie sighed as she remember her Father's argument about dragging her with him-
"Ellie now" Bruce seethed, edging closer to the birth the quivering, contorting, green man had created with his outburst, where his daughter sat holding onto him, putting her life in danger, "I want you to get up and come with me, do I need to drag-"
"NO!" nearly everyone screamed as the doctor howled, even stray agents joined in the disagreement. Bruce snarled at all of them, and Tony, the one that started this whole mess, spoke up, "That wouldn't be wise, she's saving our asses right now-especially 'Caps, but that wouldn't-"
"We don't stress the doctor out" Clint spoke up, wiping his nose, "I'd hoped you all would have remembered that" he then looked at the dark billionaire, "our conversation earlier?"
"Not when my daughter is in the line of fire" Bruce stated, glaring at everyone. The once shy doctor had thrown the long table into a wall all across the room, landing a blind punch on Thor who had crashed into Clint, and started transforming. Why couldn't they understand he wanted her away from that when she herself wouldn't remove herself- she took a hit for Tony, it was lucky the soldier hadn't broken her jaw!
"Believe me" Tony muttered, rolling his shoulder, "she's safer on his side"
"A little trip to the library, maybe?" she offered, her hair free of its tight braid and curtaining them in lazy curls. She caught his brown eyes, going back to stroking his hair when she found pain and fear. "Hey, it's alright, everyone's fine" she whispered kissing his temple, "you're fine, I'm fine, it's all fine"
Knotting her fingers in his hair she closed her eyes to let her mind pull to his, shuddering at the conflicting tides she found, never before trying her inheritance on conscious beings. She pushed to find the Hulk, the presence that stabled her into Bruce's mentality, and then she repeated her actions to him, reassuring and comforting him. Soon she only felt calm and let herself back to reality, her fingers rubbing his scalp and bruised face resting on his shoulder.
"Bruce?" she asked softly, leaning to the side to get a look at his face only to find he had calmed down so much he fell asleep. Smiling slightly she leaned back against the wall and hefted his body a bit higher so that she could rest her head against the back of his shoulder and stay warm around the cold atmosphere of the carrier. They weren't going anywhere with agents milling around and offering no help- help that the others even declined offering, and it made Ellie a bit mad. They were his teammates, they should trust him, not fear him, and if it wasn't for Tony leaving a pile of neatly piled clothes for Bruce next to them and a water bottle for her, she would have given them all a mouth full and let Hulk throw them around.
~BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBRE AKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK~
Everyone was split. Clint and Natasha stuck with Fury, Steve and Thor by the watch tower, and Tony and Bruce in the lab. Ellie was headed towards Bruce, as her Father had locked himself in her room after a long talk with her, her laptop having all the information he needed to stay there for a couple hours. She had avoided confronting Steve; at least until her bruising went down, she didn't feel like making him feel worse than he already was.
"Ms. Wayne?"
Ellie hesitated in her steady steps, debating whether to respond or keep moving- all her time here and no one bothered to remember her name? Okay, granted she didn't wear her uniform with a nametag, but that was beside the point. No one talked to her but birdbrains, the occasional Agent Hill and Furry talk here and there. Sighing she turned around and glared at the stray agent, "its Pennyworth, to you"
He blinked, a bit stumped, but continued, "Director Fury wants you escorted to the clinic as soon as possible"
"I'm already headed to the doctor" Ellie informed turning back to her destination.
"It's the other way!" She ignored the shout, turning a corner and walking the length of the hallway to the lab, peering in before she entered. They were hunkered over a computer screen, talking- with Tony chewing on those disgusting dried blueberries that the kitchen provided.
She knocked, waving when they both glanced up at her. She stepped in when they waved back, brushing away her freshly braided hair and she stuffed her hands in the familiar red and yellow sweater, "wasn't interrupting anything, I hope"
Bruce blushed, casually off-lining the screen in front of them as Tony grinned, his sleeve pulled up to reveal his whole left arm bandaged.
"We were just talking about you, sweet cheeks" Tony greeted throwing her the left over blueberry bag, "hey, you were at that fancy, special, institute right? Before the pirate sailed away with you"
"Yeah" she answered stealing his chair and swinging it on the other side of Bruce, sitting down with a spin, "hope I didn't embarrass you too bad" she spoke to the doctor who was in his new clothes and quickly turning a shade of red.
"No, ah.." he cleared his throat, pointedly ignoring Tony's smirk, "thank you for that, sorry if I made you uncomfortable"
"Pish Posh" Ellie grinned, nudging his shoulder as she handed him the untouched bag of dried fruit, "Like I said, I want to be your friend- friends don't ditch friends"
His eyes widened, realization dawning, as well as relief, "you really… you really were there, I'm not… crazy"
"That's debatable" Tony squished the moment, "as I was saying, the institute?"
"Yes" she rolled her shoulders, "they found me, took me in… wasn't too fond of S.H.I.E.L.D crashing in"
"How'd they find you?"
Her face twisted, "I still ask myself that sometimes, no one can really get into my head so psychics out of the question… maybe someone caught wind of me the first few days? I was out of it when I found out I was lost, sped through every town, looking and looking…" she shook her head, "I wanted peace and quiet, went to a museum and Petre found me, offered a safe place… and-" she waved her hand in the air for emphasis.
"Anything off about the bunch?" Tony pressed.
"Besides being fellow mutants? No" Ellie was confused, S.H.I.E.L.D generally stayed out of the institute's problems, though she called once in a while to the few that knew of her- a handful really, "if you need information, go to Fury"
"Just curious, chill" he assured rubbing his cheek thoughtfully, snatching back his snack, "you want my feedback?"
"Sure" she looked at Bruce, curious where this was going, but he shrugged, as lost as her.
"Just tell me one thing, no details, just a blunt answer is good" when she nodded he asked, "How much did they know about your situation after, say, two days?"
"Why?" Ellie was tempted to smirk at his twitch of eye as she continued.
"First day, they comfort you, no question, let you settle" he stated, "second day, they introduce you to others maybe a tour with off handed questions – how much did they know those two days that you didn't say?"
Ellie stilled, hands freezing from their motions and her eyes went distant. Bruce glanced up at Tony, who just offered him more blueberries. They waited, Bruce taking off his glasses to fiddle with and Tony popping more dried berries in his mouth, staring at the building tension around Ellie's form.
"Phone" Bruce jumped at Ellie's voice, fumbling with his pockets only to forget he never had any use for them and generally stayed in the Stark Tower, Jarvis answering calls if they were for him. Tony tossed her his, a slick piece of glass that Ellie stared at with a pause before testing out some functions before getting the hang of it and dialing a number. Pressing it to her ear she was about to jump out of her seat but Bruce placed a hand on her shoulder and went to the freezer in the corner, using some clean cylinders to place ice cubes in. As the ringing continued, Ellie quickly redialed before she could even hear the answering machine and flinched when Bruce prodded her bruised cheek and jawline, glad when he pressed the ice filled tube to the area.
Redialing one more time, she waited for eternity, getting fidgety in her seat.
"Hello?" A thick accented voice mumbled into the phone, followed by a yawn, "this better not be you Bobby, it's not funny anymore"
"Give the phone to Hank, Petre, it's urgent" she placed the phone on the counter and put it on speaker to hold the cold glass to her face, sparing Tony a glance when he grinned gleefully being able to listen in.
"Ellie?" his voice cleared up significantly and she heard something fall as clothes were shuffled, "haven't heard from you in a while, are you okay? Hang on, long night, heading to Dr. McCoy right now" a door clicked across the line as emphasis.
"I'm fine, Pete" Ellie said off handedly, squishing the cylinder against her now throbbing cheek to numb it quicker, "I hope they're not giving you a hard time on the team"
"I pull through, some nights are better than others" he continued, pausing as a crowd of voices blared through, probably the students getting let out of class, Petre's name being called out in greeting once or twice, "a world without violence is what I strive for"
"Tell that to Logan"
"Right" he chuckled, noises leveling down as another door closed, "next time, call for a chat? Wilson's been making appearances lately and has mentioned you. Talk to you"
"Same" Ellie breathed, huffing when Bruce made her take off some pressure from her cheek, "take care, Petre"
There was a shuffle and a deep, gruff voice answered, "I see we haven't been forgotten, Miss Pennyworth"
"Why did you do tests on me?" Tony's demeanor changed in an instant, face going stone cold, "don't give me shit about trying to get me back home – I was confused, you took advantage of that, why would you do all those things just for that? What didn't you tell me?"
"Ellie, we were taking precautions-" Hank sighed on the other end, "one of our students, just a young boy, acted up the same time you arrived, he lead us straight to you – he's been in a coma on and off-"
"So I was your lab experiment? You didn't take me out of the good of your heart, like all the others over there? You spied on me! How long, hu? The day I arrived? Because some things seemed a bit too convenient, now that I look at it, was it Kurt?" her voice rose with each sentence, jumping out of her seat and pacing, "at least Fury kept his hands off of me, admitted he couldn't get me home, and I didn't like him nearly as much as I liked all of you!"
"Maybe you should come down, the Professor could surely-"
"Don't bother" Ellie snapped, biting her thumb nail angrily, "I hope the boy got something out of my discomfort"
"End call" Tony commanded of his phone, the monotone voice of Jarvis informing him the action was dealt out. He put down his packet of finished berries, looking over the tense woman and spoke, "Fury know about this?"
"How do you think he got me to leave?" Ellie mumbled rubbing her eyes, plucking the cold cylinder back to her cheek, "he promised he only wanted to help, Clint offered to look after me, I could leave whenever I wanted to"
"You believed him?"
"He's kept his promise" Ellie stated, letting Bruce lead her back to her seat, rubbing her shoulder, "…how did you know about this?" she looked up at Tony who still looked out of place.
"The institute information was edited a couple days ago" Tony stated, popping the screen online, Bruce quickly standing in Ellie's view so she couldn't see it. If she hadn't been upset she would've zipped over to Tony's other side to see what was up with that screen, but she just stared up at him, suddenly tired from the day's events. He hesitated, looked back before murmuring that he'd be right back. "I think Fury was on to baldy's interference from the beginning and is just now bringing it all in together"
When he swung the screen around for her to see, Ellie leaned forward to read the information. A little boy was mentioned, though not much was said about it other than being on house arrest and medical attention was needed time to time. Pushing the guilt aside, she read on, noting energy interests and agent reports. Dates caught her attention, one being the day she dropped here, another being around the time she got sick, a mission that had Clint missing for two weeks, the day Clark arrived, and today's date had two times- when they left in the morning to when they came back soon after- and they were from Hank's database. They knew all this and didn't bother telling her? After everything she was willing to give to them for supposedly helping her?
They thought they can keep this from her when she was part of the equation?
Tears welled up out of nowhere, maybe she should've stayed when she had the chance, they seemed to have all they needed here without stretching her thin.
"Woh, woh, woh!" Tony busted out patting her cheek repeatedly, "no water works here, you were doing just fine on your own without them, okay, all these superhero agencies are dick-wods, it just comes with the name, no need to give them the benefit of getting to you, you hear?"
Her lips trembled, twitching downwards as her throat constricted.
"I don't do this, really" Tony continued, normally girls cried because of him or for him and it was quickly remedied by buying them something expensive, not this. Swinging his head around when he heard the door open, he was never more relived to see the doctor than he was now, "Brucie! Thank Thor's daddy, do something, she's about to explode!"
"Ellie?" Bruce quickened his pace to her side, placing warm hands on her shoulders to get her to look at him, her bruise making her look even more vulnerable, "hey, it's going to be alright, you know that" he threw the blanket he had left to get around her shoulders, tucking it in snuggly. "Want to get some tea with me? Hot chocolate, it'll make you feel better – to step back from the problem". A moment's of hesitation provided a shaky nod in which he slipped an arm around her waist and led her past Tony.
He watched them leave with a small smirk, but once they were out of sight it dropped and a stony look took over. He looked back at the computer screen, eyes narrowing.
~BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBRE AKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK~
"I've never gotten it" Ellie murmured, stirring her tea around her cup aimlessly, "The people we see as being so good, can do the worst of things"
"Some of the worst things imaginable have been done with the best intentions" Bruce recited, plucking the spoon from her fingers and guiding her hands to rest around the mug, "maybe you should hear them out"
"They had all the time to talk" Ellie sniffed, bringing the cup up to sip from it, "they should have just told me, this could have been avoided… I could already been home"
"Hey" he smiled softly, nudging her with his elbow, "then we wouldn't have met". She smiled a bit, leaning against him in a sort of apology, though didn't move afterwards actually resting her head on his shoulder. His heart stuttered a bit, the familiar presence in the back of his head stirring. Taking a breath, he rubbed at the stray strands that escaped from her braid, "maybe they were going to tell you but didn't know what they were dealing with enough to try to give out conclusions to their actions"
"That would be the sensible answer" she muttered, pushing the cup away, "but right now I don't want to be that, I want to stomp my feet and blame them for everything"
"Pride is a strange thing" he told, letting his hand still and rest on her head, "go and talk to them, it might clear some things up so you can work together"
Ellie stayed quiet, letting the words soak in.
"I still don't want to talk to them" she let out, "but… we don't always get what we want. You're right"
"I would hope so. Didn't get my title for nothing" Bruce chuckled, taking her cup of tea and drinking the rest of it for himself, "you think you could convince Fury?"
"Doesn't need to" Tony's voice came at them from behind and before they could jump apart from their cozy position he put his arms around both of them, squishing them even more together, "ready to ditch Tweety Bird?"
"Just don't get him in trouble" Ellie mumbled edging away from his strong breath, "and how're you gonna get this passed Fury?"
"Already taken care of, now come on" Tony yanked both of them up and spanked them, making them both shout, jerking away.
"Tonight? Why not in the morning when we're all awake?" Ellie asked, rubbing her butt, making Bruce avert his eyes as his face heated up.
"They're not going to be sleeping, right?" he rebutted with a grin.
"Guess not" she shrugged, "but do you really think it's smart barging in on them, they don't always play fair"
"I don't play fair" he grabbed an apple and took a bite, chomping happily, "you have friends that… per say, like you more than them that aren't on this love boat?"
Scratching her chin, scrunching up her face before crossing herself, "doesn't mean I like him as much"
"Call him up"
"Hand me the phone" she wiggled her fingers in emphasis.
~BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBRE AKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKB REAKBREAKBREAK~
"You've grown soooo much!" Wade giggled cradling Ellie's body to his suit covered one, "oh, what have they done to your hair, bunny? Want me to dice them up for you? Into nice pretty hearts?" his hand started to stray to her butt.
"BAD!" Ellie smacked him upside his covered head, "Bad Wilson, bad, bad, bad!"
"The mercenary?" Tony asked in disbelief, "how'd you meet him?"
"He's the only one faster than me" Ellie grumbled as she was hugged again, "we'd have…. Fun together, competitions, yadda yadda"
"Roughed it up in the bed, like animals!" he howled in laughter as he was tripped backwards, Ellie crossing her arms and stepping to Doctor Banner's side who was furiously wringing his hands. He rolled around like a child, his weapons clanking together, "fucked like bunnies! Oh-oh, that's a good one- oh yeah, that's good too- no not that one" he giggled.
"I've read him up, very interesting fellow" Tony remarked, looking up at the tall gates that were above them, "are the cams down?"
"Wilson took care of that before we arrived" Ellie stated, begrudgingly offering her hand to the downed mercenary, granting when he dragged her down with him. She elbowed him in the face, blurring as she jolted up with blinding speed only to be kicked down by a flash of black and red, revealing a Deadpool with his hands on his hips, jumping on his feet.
"Too slow!" he mocked, waving his finger at her before turning to the two men behind him, "now, down to business mi amigos, pilfering the village is what we aim for!" He marched forward, swaying his hips to a private tune.
"Are you sure he was a good idea?" Bruce edged, carefully helping Ellie up and blocking the pounding of his head and heart. He checked her bruise quickly, blushing when Tony pushed him through the gate. He snagged Ellie's arm to get her to walk by him, not thinking just wanted her close in case something went wrong.
"He's the best" Ellie murmured, scowling when Wade shot back a thumbs up at them, rounding up the drive way to a huge manor, most of the lights out. She started walking backwards after she got in front of Bruce, "if you guys don't wanna be here, you can leave, I'm sure Wilson would let me crash with him after this shenanigans is over with"
The Other Guy smashed at his walls, making him twitch on the outside, "It's fine, I'd feel better with you with us than with him"
"I'd feel better too" Ellie whispered, glancing back at the Merc to see him waiting at the doorstep impatiently, "what's your plan of action, Wilson?"
"Blow it all up" he cackled in a dark voice, his hand half covering his mouth. When none of them joined in, he slouched down, "no fun at all. Geez, sarcasm – we're just gonna go through the front door, duh"
"Actually, me and you are" Tony stepped in, "talk to baldy, maybe blow some things up in his face, some yelling, kick here and there, whay do yeah say, 'Spots?"
"Ooh, I like, like very much" Wade clapped, "I'm with you, Richy Rich – will we really be able to blow stuff up?"
"Yeah" Tony smirked and turned to the remaining two members, "you two, find something else to do why the big boys talk to the adults"
"Uh, hello" Ellie snorted, ignoring Wilson shaking his head, "I'm the reason we're here, this is what I'm mad about to begin with, people leaving me out of things"
"I'm recording everything, sweet cheeks" Tony assured her, patting his pocket that held his phone, "and that's why you need to dilly dally somewhere else, emotionally compromised woman… well compromise meetings, so you'll still know everything but not cause as much ruckus, good? Good"
Ellie's shoulders slouched as she agreed, looking up at Bruce to nod her head to the side of the mansion, "there's a back entrance, I can get it open and we can eat some decent food why we wait for these lunatics to finish"
"I resent that!" Wilson shouted as Tony hurriedly snagged his arm and drug him through the door.
"Are they okay… together?" Bruce asked as they strolled across the ground, like they weren't trespassing on private property. He deduced 'Wilson' disabled all the trip wires and cams inside the grounds, seeing as Ellie wasn't worried about getting caught.
"Probably not, but they'll get something done, Wade has the mouth and actions to back him up and Tony… is Tony" Ellie pointed out, looking about as memories pushed at her at the familiar sights, "you know, the last time I was here I almost was fried to death by one of the teachers"
"Run into him?" Bruce chuckled.
"I was just giving my… opinion on his love interest to a friend and he happened to walk out at the wrong point of the conversation" Ellie said, letting out air in a short whistle, "he didn't even let me explain, it's not like I was battering her name, I was talking to the person who had a thing for her too, for crying out loud"
"I wouldn't call that a smart move" Bruce edged as they rounded the corner to the side of the building that held a small garden that was blooming with flowers. It was a nice change of scenery to the helicarriers steel walls, it must have been hard for Ellie to transit from such an open setting to a confined one, Bruce thought.
"I was asked my honest opinion on a matter" she said pursing her lips, "and it happened to involve her, so came the bashing from professor visor"
Bruce hesitated a bit, thinking before swallowing his pride, "can I have your honest opinion?"
"Sure, 'bout what?" Ellie agreed, her hands pulling at each other. They had reached the next corner, finally making it to the back of the building where it faced the forest, a huge fountain creating soft sounds of rippling water. When Bruce didn't respond after seconds passed without a word, Ellie stopped and looked to him, eyebrows flying upward at his suddenly red face, "hey, uh, if it's about my boobs, it's okay, they are a bit-"
"NO!" Bruce quieted himself quickly, trying to maintain his quickly escalading heart beat with trouble, "no, not… that.. but…"
Suddenly worried, Ellie reached for him mentally, faltering when she felt anxiety and embarrassment, and was about to open her mouth to ask him something when she suddenly found it cover by soft, warm lips. Blinking rapidly she slowed her surroundings down to a slow frame, Bruce's eyes screwed shut and his hands lightly grasping her shoulders. His face seemed to redden even further if that was possible, his pulse visible behind his jaw and perspiration collected at his temples. She felt the motion of his lips moving against hers, a question.
She did like him. He was attractive, intelligent and sympathetic – reclusive being another trait that she was comfortable with, seeing as she spent most of her life thriving on it. And all of this inter-alter universe crap be damned, she liked him a lot.
So throwing out any concerns that would come in the future, she grasped his shirt and tugged him forward, tilting her head to the side. Seconds passed as the kiss progressed but before it could get any more heated Bruce slid his face down to rest it against her neck to calm himself, the Hulk just beneath the surface.
"Well…" Ellie cleared her throat from all its grogginess, face pink, "glad we were both honest"
Bruce breathlessly laughed, his hands sliding down to shackle her wrists, massaging them when he felt the thin muscle underneath twitching. His own muscles jerked in response to her heat, the Other Guy yearning to experience his desire. "That was you being honest?" he asked, wanting to make sure his advance wasn't returned out of pity or uncertainty.
"Oh, completely honest" she murmured brushing the top of his head with her lips, breathing in his natural scent, without the aroma of cologne to fog it over.
"Remy like, Remy like very much, may Remy join?"
"Mother of God" Ellie shouted, jumping back with a start with her fists raising in a defensive position while Bruce flushed a dangerous tint of mint green, his heart pounding and bones aching. Looking around, she caught sight of Gambit crouching on the edge of the roof, grinning goofily with his red eyes shining with mischief. "Damn Cajun" she fumed under her breath relaxing her stance enough to cross her arms over her chest.
"Just enjoyin' the show, Cher" he replied nonchalantly, dunking his head lightly into his trench coat, "Remy was looking for Logan, found this instead, more interestin' than grumpy ole' Lo', so Remy decided to stay"
Fighting her heated face she faced Bruce, immediately dropping her arms and stepped closer to his person when she saw him hunched over with his hands to his temples. A hand dropping over his gave her the skin contact she needed to reach the Hulk, letting him understand through her that everything was alright, under control.
"Does he explode? Remy is sorry" Gambit pursed his lips at the aspect of the man being a ticking time bomb of a mutant, not wanting to face the blame if he did actually explode and ruin the property.
Ellie spared him a glance, mumbling, "something like that" before rubbing Bruce's back, waiting till he straightened himself out and collected himself before looking back up, "what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be gambling others' money away, or something?"
"You don't know?" Gambit asked as his eyes flashed a deep scarlet and he leaped down to their level, his staff strapped securely on his back, "Remy's been called in to gather resources"
"Only you?" she edged, stepping closer to Bruce's side, Gambit frowning at the action.
"Well, no" he replied tilting his head, eyebrows raising, "people been poppin' up, Remy go lookin' for 'em"
There was a long silence, Ellie staring at the former thief blankly before her eyes flashed, and her small mouth gave a loud shout.
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"
~BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBRE AKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK~
"I don't want anything to do with them, you hear me, you red-eyed chimp?!" Ellie screamed pushing herself uselessly against her living restraints, throwing her body against the rough digits and the occasional blind punch, but nothing budged, "all you bunch are sour grapes, selfish pricks only out for your own cause- when were you gonna let me know I wasn't the only one that popped into existence – HU!?"
What she didn't know was that Gambit was getting his due punishment and Hulk wasn't just holding her back – he was sitting on the Cajun, just right so his face, which was quickly turning purple, was visible under the green mass of muscle.
"Ellie, o-kay" Hulk rumbled, bringing his clasped hands closer to his face to peek into the cracks his fingers created only to jerk back, much to the displeasure of the man under him, to avoid a stray limb being thrown about. Hulk huffed, glaring at the man as he sputtered out nonsense, before putting his hands near his ear to try to hear what his friend was yelling about.
"-Dyin', Remy's dyin', off, ge' off!" Gambit struggled, not liking the way his muscles were burning and the numbing of his limbs. He didn't want to go to using his mutation, once again wanting to dodge that bullet since he got a mouthful plenty of times for it, but it was getting harder as the giant beast ignored him – dear Lord, if he farted, might as well light a spark to finish off the show!
Hulk only glanced up when a door opened and a group started walking forward, but once he saw Tony he went back to listening to Ellie ramble and spit out sentences, interested in her angry temper and a part of him was expecting her to go green and smash something- or someone. He ignored the loud remarks that the others made, most presumably seeing the head that now matched the man's head gear, and grunted in warning when someone started to step too close to him, not sparing them his attention.
Tony barked out laughter, holding his sides at the sight they walked out onto, his sour and pissed off mood long gone as he looked on to the oblivious green giant. Logan next to him didn't seem amused at all, Tony didn't appreciate the stick up his ass but elbowed him anyway, getting the man even more uptight and displeasured by him.
"Get that-that green hulk off of our team member!" Scott snapped, regaining his composure and walking forward as if to do it himself but faltered by a noise coming out of the giants throat at his advance, as well as a telepathic voice telling him to stand down. "Professor, he's being crushed!"
Xavier tilted his head in acknowledgement, eyes tightening when he was met with pure emotion and no thoughts from the beast, the stronger emotions building a wall that prevented him to communicate properly, "I presume this one is your company, Mr. Stark?"
"He's my BFF!" Tony sang sauntering forward without any care for his health as he closed in on the green hulk, grinning when he was spared a look and allowed to continue forward, "right, Big Guy?"
Hulk looked back down at him, his cupped hands still near his ear, frowning as his fragmented thought process took in his words, quickly getting frustrated and just replied the one thing he knew Tony to be to him and Bruce, "Tony friend" and went back to listening to Ellie as she slowly worked herself away in energy, her blurring speed slowing down to stuttering flashes of movement.
"See?" Tony smirked, looking down at the man currently being used as a human bench, 'tsking' under his breath, "what'd you do? Knock him over the head, take away his glasses? Never mess with the glasses"
"Ge' him off o' Remy!" He shouted, his eyes flashing red when Hulk growled down at him.
"Professor?" Storm asked, edgy at the unpredictability of the situation and their unwelcomed guests.
"Mr. Stark, please" Xavier sighed, already strained from the argument that started his too small office an hour ago.
"Hey, he probably got what was coming at him," Tony defended his friend, crossing his arms to stare down at the parked man, then up at Logan who stood there stiffly and looking ready to kill him, "what, you wanna add something, Mr. Dark and Moody?"
Burning a glare into the man that he was glad he never ran into on the carrier, he called to the whole subject of the matter, "Ellie!" almost snarling as Tony flung his arms in the air in exasperation. The other reactions though, they went stiff and the tension rose, if it was even possible from it being already rung so tight since the beginning.
Hulk turned to the new man, vaguely getting a recognition from his alter ego but not personally familiar with him enough to hand his friend to him. He looked at Tony, who rolled his eyes and pointed to Remy, making an up motion. Grumbling he obliged, toeing the man to move out of his proximity, eyeing him as he stumbled to the larger group around them, gasping before falling on the ground again.
"Come on, Big Guy" Tony urged, gesturing to his closed hands, making the muscled giant groan in protest, not wanting to release his distraught friend yet, bringing his hands closer to his shoulder protectively. "Uh-uh, you heard the fella', Grumpy's orders" when he was just stared at blankly, he continued, "she's safe – I won't let anything happen to her, you won't, so on you go!"
With one last grunt, he lowered his hands and opened them, shifting anxiously when he saw her disheveled appearance and trembling limbs, sitting down, huffing to regain breath – that didn't stop her gaze from zeroing in on the group of mutants, mutants that betrayed her, their own kind. With one motion, she tried pulling herself over to them to show them just how understanding she was now, but couldn't find any energy left from her outburst. Shifting her attention, realizing she couldn't act on impulse anymore, he eyes found Pete and her lip trembled as new emotions emerged.
Too much. Too many thoughts. Accusations. Emotions. So many outcomes. Reactions. They all battered at her at the sight of the people she put her friendship and security in since the very beginning, finding out it was all just in their agenda, another to-do-list that they checked off and threw away. Moving on to the next victim.
"Ellie" her weary brown eyes turned to Xavier, making her huddle back against the green palm holding her up. He gazed passionately up at her, his face sincere, "you must understand, we always had your best intentions in hand when we found you, we care about you, you've made your home with us, confided in us and we do not take that lightly – we stick together. None of those exercises or tests were meant to cover up secrets, we were researching, to better lives, the little boy's life, your life. To get you home, to get everyone that is as lost as you home"
"You lied to me" she spat, twitching nervously, eyes skittish and looking to Tony for comfort, "research entails the full consent of a patient – to what they are told they are putting themselves through for – I gave you all the truth I had, my very essence while I only received empty promises and lies from you. That is not how research is done with the best intentions"
"Some of the worst things imaginable have been done with the best intentions" passed through her mind of her conversation with Bruce earlier that day. That's what he told her, that she should listen to what they had to say, that maybe they were just as confused as she was.
Sucking up her pride and initial hurt, she asked, "did you know what was going on when you… sent for me"
The Professor's face relaxed a bit, on edge since he never could get a reading on her, her mind just as complex as his own, "no, I assure you, we were going on what little we had – that being a little boy's mutation waking up, we had no clue just what its potential was, or even how it worked and what its functions were, he just awakened and knew where you were, obsessed over it until we found you, then fell back asleep… we were blind to what we were looking for, we couldn't have even tried to explain if we didn't know how to"
"Were…" she breathed, grateful for the green digit placed in front of her to hug to her body, "were you even thinking of getting me back home in the beginning?"
"No" he admitted as truthfully and softly as possible, "we weren't aware of the full repercussions of his mutation until after Hank got your blood results… all we knew is that you were a product of it, that was all the lead we had at the point"
"Were you ever going to tell me?" her eyes stung, burned as she gazed at the man she once trusted with keeping her safe, "you've apparently got a lead" she sniffed, looking at the recovering Cajun before continuing, "and I've heard nothing from you"
"This is our problem, we have to resolve this, you must understand" he sighed, looking at his students that flanked his side, "if you'd had stayed, you would be as up to date, but we do not want SHIELD apart of this, we feared getting in contact with any information to you, they'd try to put this to their best interests, not ours"
"A boy's life is at stake, Ellie" Petre urged, eyes wide, "they'd have taken our chance away to help him, we needed this to stay on our side of the field and come up with a solution before involving them"
"Well, we're involved" Tony stated blandly, cocking an eyebrow at the bunch, Hulk next to him grumbling and pushing Ellie closer to his chest as she continued to shake, "looks pretty bad when we find the information from a computer then from you, lies pile up pretty quickly around here"
"Wanna go a few rounds, Suit?" Logan growled, his bio-knives itching to come free and bite into flesh.
"Have you been talking to the Cap' lately?" Tony rebutted smoothly, flashing his pearly whites at the feral mutant, "of course, all of you wear ungodly suites and are of none of my concern, wouldn't be a surprise if you two played war heroes together"
Logan was about to carry out his threat when the Professor shook his head at him.
"Like a good soldier, too, I see" Tony remarked, snorting, "anything more before we rag you out to the pirate?"
"We'd appreciate it if you'd give us more time to investigate this" Xavier urged, leaning forward in his chair, "a month and we'll gather as much and then your organization may proceed, but until then, please, keep this between us, the boy-"
"You don't think they'd help?" Tony mumbled, then shook his head, "right, yeah, they don't have much compassion do they? Just saving the world and its inhabitants out of their non-existent hearts, right?"
"They'd see it as one life that can be sacrificed for the better cause" Scott snapped, "and you damn well know it"
"Ellie was one life" Tony stated.
"You think they took her in for her best interests?" Scott asked bitterly, "you think they're just going to let her go once they've solved this problem? That they aren't playing her as another bargaining chip, a playing card?"
"Oh, and you had her best interests at hand" Tony snapped, "practice what you preach, one-eyed wonder"
"Mr. Stark, please" Xavier pushed, glancing at Scott as warning, "a month is all we ask, then you do whatever you seem fit"
"You're so busy taking it into your hands that you're missing a part of the equation" Tony informed him, "just because SHIELD doesn't know what you know, doesn't mean they haven't progressed as far as you" he spared the shaken speedster a meaningful look, "Daddy's not gonna be happy, and when this Daddy ain't happy, better be sleeping with one eye open, your alarms aren't even going to slow him down"
"The energy spikes…" Hank breathed as his eyes widened as he looked at Ellie and remembered her file, her family,"how did you open it?"
"You scratch my back I'll scratch yours" Tony suggested, "until then, we are not sharing squat"
"Ho-ome?" Hulk spoke up making everyone jolt at his deep voice coming out of nowhere, he was looking down at Tony, feeling that it was time to go somewhere safe.
"Yeah, Big Guy, we're going home" Tony assured him, patting his elbow, looking in his hands, his voice softening, "sound good to you, champ?"
Bringing herself out of her thoughts, Ellie tried to pull herself together, wiping at her face uselessly. With a hiccup she nodded, not looking at her previous friends as her gaze sought Tony's, her hands grasping desperately at the warm hand around her.
"I'm sure I have Tea for you and Brucie somewhere, maybe a movie" Tony offered, already picking his phone up, ignoring their audience, "I'll have Pep' get something together for a movie night, sure she'd enjoy the company"
Not wanting to bring attention to herself, she whispered to the billionaire, "where's Wade?"
"Spots? Oh, he got dismantled, he'll be fine, I'm sure" Tony waved it off, "his fault, really, now hopefully that car's still in the front… ah, what the hell, was wanting to use that new helicopter anyway, why not?" he started mumbling to himself.
Knowing what this meant, she looked up to a green face, reluctantly admitting to him, "we're gonna need Bruce back, Buddy" when his face immediately fell she hastily amended her words, "not now, just when Tony's ride comes"
"Ellie o-kay" he repeated, perking up and rubbing his finger down her side.
"I-I will be" she got out, turning more towards him so she wouldn't have to look at the tense faces behind her.
Maybe shorten this later when I get some sleep. Supposed to be shorter with less.. fluff, but when the mood calls for it, the writing lengthens. Questions, question away.