Chapter 22

My Own Worst Enemy

No, he had just gotten them back and now they were gone. Why didn't Steve and Tony understand? They were gone. Taken right from them like that. He wasn't going to take his time to find them. Sure he felt bad for running off but he was frustrated. After everything they had been through, finally thinking maybe he could forgive them, forget the past and just be around them again and it was just falling apart. This guy already took Rick away from him; he wasn't going to get Natasha and Clint too. If Steve and Tony kept up and understood, this wouldn't be a problem. Clint had been rescued just to be tossed back in and nothing was making sense. All he wanted to do was let Hulk out. Smash the entire base until he found them. The small piece of him that was still holding on though kept reminding him that if he let Hulk out he'd have to dig Clint and Natasha out of the rubble. Chances were they wouldn't survive it. So here he was, Bruce Banner, running through the long dark never ending hallways trying to find the two people he wanted to call friends again. It was like chasing them down again on that day when things went bad only he wasn't the one in danger.

His legs started to give out just in time for the hallway to end and enter into a large, dimly lit room. He reluctantly slowed down to catch his breath, bending over with his hands on his knees, he wanted to cry out. He looked around the room and frowned at what he saw, it was like entering a fun house. There were mirrors everywhere facing him, creating a maze throughout the room. He looked at his reflection noticing the green in his eyes, oh how he wanted to let go. Images of Hulk smashing through the mirrors flashed in his mind, destroying them all. It seemed so tempting yet that small bit of him holding on kept putting Natasha and Clint into the images and how if they were in here and unable to make a noise, letting Hulk smash the mirrors like that would kill them from the broken shards.

He took a deep breath and put his right hand on the nearest mirror. He let it trail lightly along the mirrors; as long as he kept his right hand on them he'd find his way through this maze. He turned the corner and kept going though, things started to change as he walked.

"Why are you doing this?" It was barely a voice and he couldn't place it. It was male and soft, barely a whisper. It reminded him of wind blowing softly past his ear. Maybe he hadn't heard anything; perhaps it was some weird voice in his head. He continued walking.

"It doesn't make sense. You're the third-wheel Banner; they wouldn't do this for you so easily. They do it because it's what's expected of them. But why are you doing it?" It felt almost as if the voice was getting louder, yet still only to a whisper. It was like something perched on his shoulder and just whispered into his ear.

Perhaps there were speakers he couldn't see and someone was trying to trick him, trying to mess with him. He kept walking the mirrors reflecting each step he took as he moved about the maze, the green eyes staring back at him as he moved forward.

"Do you really think they're your friends? That they need you? They needed you before but now? I bet they're happy you're gone. No monster to threaten them. No self-loathing ignorant child to bother them. Face it, everyone would be happier if you left, or better yet if you didn't exist. Your parents would have been so much happier if you hadn't come along, you ruined their lives. All you know how to do is smash things; it's the only thing you're good for." The voice was louder now and clearly there. No longer a whisper it was like someone actually in the room talking to him only a few feet away.

"Alright that's enough, who's there? Show yourself!" Bruce yelled and the answer he got was a laugh that seemed to come from everywhere.

"You're alone Banner. Clint and Natasha will be fine; they always get themselves out of these situations. You left Steve and Tony behind but you know that they will make it out. You though, you're alone. You have no one to help you. No one is coming for you. No one is looking for you. Because they're afraid you'll just hurt them again and again. They left all those years ago and you know history repeats itself around you. They come when they need Hulk's strength then they toss you aside like you're nothing. Really though, you are nothing."

Bruce was running again now. His legs protested with each step but he had to find out where this was coming from. "You don't know me! Come here and say it to my face you coward!" He rounded the corner again and found himself staring right at his reflection, just another mirror. He was growing more frustrated then he noticed that something was off. His reflection seemed to be more relaxed with a smirk on its face. Its hands in its pocket as it watched him. Bruce moved closer and reached out, touching the mirror, it was there but this denied all laws of physics. There he was looking at what should have been his normal reflection only it was acting on its own. It smirked and watched him still, and then he noticed the oddest part. The eyes weren't his brown eyes nor were they Hulk's green eyes. Bruce found himself staring at red snake eyes.

"This is impossible, you're me. No this is a trick, it has to be," Bruce muttered, there had to be a trick to this. There had to be something, an optical illusion using an LMD to just throw him off.

"Oh, I'm as real as you or the other monster is. Fact is I'm still you, at least a better part. See, there's a little devil inside of all of us." It continued to watch as if studying Bruce, the smirk judging him and Bruce could tell this thing wasn't just a normal trick. "My darling boy, you're starting to figure it out aren't you? Did you really believe a raging child was all you had inside you? No you have the potential for so much more. All of that rage, all of that guilt inside of you. More than you ever considered before. The guilt over how you drove your father to madness and killed him and the guilt over how you killed your mother too, they both burn inside of you."

"I didn't kill her!" Bruce shouted glaring at his other self.

"You never lifted a finger to save her. You just stood there and watched as she turned the ground red. It was all because of you though. You weren't fast enough, you weren't able to get away. You drove your father to what everyone claimed was insanity but you knew the truth. You knew he was the only sane one left, because he knew exactly what you are. A monster." Bruce started to move again, wanting to get away from that. He couldn't listen he had to find Natasha and Clint. For a bit it seemed the voice was gone yet it came back.

"You're really going to go after them still? Think about this my darling boy. No one tells you the truth, they think you're too sensitive to handle it. You've calculated the average times a day a person lies and you know that everyone you consider a friend is far above average. They are in the business of lies. You then lie to yourself about them, trying to make them better. Fact is they'll always lie to you; they'll hide things from you just as you've hidden things from them. They don't care about you, you always knew that. Their smiles are just fake and you've always been able to see past them, you just try not to no matter what you know is true."

The voice was soft but this time like a comfortable whisper. Trying to seem like a friend, whispering softly words that needed to be said. No, these ones didn't need to be said because they weren't true. Bruce shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts then kept walking. He had to get out of here, he had to find them. Everything would be fine if he just finds them. He began to deeply regret leaving Steve and Tony behind. Tony had always been his friend after all. Wasn't he? He had to be.

"Your loyalty astounds me. Is it because of the guilt inside you? The rage? The pain? Everything inside that is slowly pulling you apart piece by piece. You think helping them would atone for that pain? Would make It all worthwhile? Do you believe they would return the same loyalty to you?"

"They're looking for me just as I'm looking for them," Bruce growled. He turned a corner coming face to face with his reflection, red snake like eyes staring at his normally brown ones. There was a T.V. right beside it kept in the wall.

"Is that so?" His reflection spoke and smirked. "You fool yourself into believing some remarkable things my dear boy."

The T.V. clicked on suddenly. It looked like a surveillance feed of another room. He could see Natasha and Clint standing in it, facing each other. The sound on, he could hear Natasha's voice, "It's okay, the others are fine. Nothing is wrong, just stay focused on me. I'm here for you, I always am."

Bruce became tense as he watched Natasha lean forward and kiss Clint. For the first second it seemed Clint was off guard but soon enough he was returning and the two were lost in their moment.

"Looking for you huh? You have an interesting way of defining that. It looks like they're enjoying their alone time. Not looking for you at all. They're not worried about you. They're sure you're just fine, just as they assumed all those years ago. Just as they always assume. Great friends you've chosen my darling boy."

"It… It can't be," Bruce started to break. He shut his eyes tightly, his hands clenched into fists tightly. "They wouldn't."

"I'm not lying to you my dear boy; I'm the only one telling you the truth. I'm also the one with the best solution"

"I… why would they?" Bruce looked at his reflection.

"Because you are a means to an end. You are a weapon and a monster, a tool for them to manipulate and use. You always have been. The moment something better comes along you'll be gone. No one is going to remember the scrawny little Bruce Banner inside the monster. No one is going to remember you at all. They'll let those you fear take you far, far away. Lock you up for experiments and their own personal use."

Bruce shook his head looking at the screen again, he almost felt like he'd cry at the sight. Clint and Natasha were still together in each other's arms. They seemed to be taking their time and enjoying the slow, passionate kiss. "They wouldn't."

"Look at them, they would. They have and will again. This isn't a fairy-tale my darling boy. No one loves the beast, no one could ever love the beast. They won't stay for you, they will not love you. They won't care. You've always done well on your own and you will again but not as long as they can find you. Not as long as they can betray you."

"What about Tony? He's my friend, he's not them. He didn't leave me…"

"Is that what you tell yourself? Think of all that pain you endured. All of that blood they harvested with your screams of pain. Tony never came. With all of his tech, all of his resources, all of his brainpower he didn't come any faster than the others. When you left he never went after you, he didn't really do much. He's always been concerned about the good Captain though, hasn't he? In the end what are you to him? He's the man who goes to parties and everyone loves. You're the guy who sits in a corner hoping to disappear. You two aren't the same and never will be. He's not there for you when you need him."

"NO!" Bruce let out a yell as he closed his eyes and covered his ears, the voice starting to overwhelm him. He swore he was going to completely break apart at any moment. He tried to tell himself the voice was wrong, that he could trust the others but somehow he couldn't convince himself of it anymore. "Make it stop… I want out."

"There is one way out."

"And what is that?" Bruce opened his eyes and his gaze went to the reflection that was staring back at him as it smirked.

"Me. Let me take care of this. Guilt does not slow me down like it does you. I feel no guilt, no remorse, nothing. I can deal with this problem in ways you are unable to. I can take the world that has chosen to hurt us over and over again, chosen to toss you aside. Let me out, and I can deal with all of this and they won't be able to lie or hurt you anymore. Just let me out my dear boy and it'll stop, you'll be free from them, you won't be alone again, it'll all be over. Just trust me and let me deal with this."

Bruce's eyes went to the screen one last time.