"What do you mean he's been sick?" Natasha demanded through gritted teeth.

Fury's eye remained shut as his agent sat before him. "Happened three days ago. Had a guard find him collapsed in his cell."

"So you hospitalized him? Why didn't I get a call?"

"I don't want you involved." Nick's eye slowly opened. "Thaddeus Ross isn't your case."

Natasha sat back in her seat with an icy stare. "You were worried I'd tell Bruce."

"Not necessarily," the Director honestly answered. "He's bound to find out. I just don't want him on edge."

"Because Ross is now out of our custody," Natasha assumed.

"But I doubt he's scheming from his hospital bed," Nick noted.

"So what happened?"

"Stress, most likely."

Natasha snorted as she crossed her arms.

"He may be the villain, Agent, but the man suffered the loss of his only child on top of everything else going on."

"Do you expect me to feel remorse for him?" Natasha arched a brow.

"I don't," Nick replied. "But understand that he's suffering. Who knows, this might even be the last we hear of him. Old age can be a bitch."

Natasha curiously eyed her boss. "You want me to pull the plug on him?"

"I'm only thinking about the possible outcomes…"

"He's that sick?" Bruce wondered, his voice carrying a genuine concern.

"I didn't feel like paying a visit, but Fury said he was found unconscious. He's awake now, but he's got a pretty high fever, some weakness in the limbs, no appetite…"

Bruce pretended to focus on a set of blueprints before him.

"I have his location and room number," Natasha offered.

Bruce shook his head. "I don't want to see him."

Natasha reached across Bruce's worktable for his hand. "It's gonna be okay, Bruce. The second Ross is discharged from that bed, he's back in our custody."

"I wasn't concerned about him," he callously replied. "Is that bad to say?"

"The man's a monster, Bruce."

He recalled the moment when Betty was desperate enough to shield him before a number of her father's armed men. Ross called them off in a split second. The man was no monster, not entirely, at least.

"Wanna step out?" Natasha offered. "Take a walk?"

Bruce managed a smile and nodded. "I've been in here all morning." He saved his current project before calling it quits for the afternoon.

"AKA, you really needed a break," Natasha smirked.

Bruce smiled as she escorted him away from the lab. Once outside, he was regretting stepping out into the afternoon sun in pants and a dress shirt. He tightly rolled his sleeves up at the elbows while trailing behind Natasha.

"We can stop for coffee," she suggested. "Maybe swing by the park?"

"The park sounds nice," Bruce agreed. "Given I make it that far," he chuckled.

"I'm in pants, too, Doc, and I'm not complaining."

"You're used to getting out," he playfully reminded her.

Natasha drew close to his side as they walked into a crowd. "Thinking about doing any new test runs with Stark?"

"We should," he nodded. "Preferably after I become more comfortable with yoga. I'd like to try helping the other guy keep his cool."

"Doesn't that kinda contradict what he's all about?"

"If we work with one another, I think we can accomplish something," Bruce pointed out. "He can take out all his anger on the bad guys so long as he doesn't bite Tony's hand off."

"Like New York," Natasha noted. "You were really in control that day."

Bruce pulled his fumbling hands against his chest. "I remember that change being the least stressful," he recalled. "When it was all over, I wondered if maybe the anger that I felt scared the other guy into submission…I really felt like I mastered control that day."

Natasha didn't say another word. She already knew why that day was the only time he had control. Bruce took a rough blow. A wound that still needed more healing. "You'll get back to that place," she softly commented.

Bruce smiled as he watched her out of the corner of his eye. "I think I will."

He and Natasha found a vacant park bench beneath a tree that provided ample shade. They sat, watching a small group of kids running around screaming with an RC plane. "This place feels the same." Bruce hunched forward, admiring the freshly cut grass and bright blue sky.

Natasha looked to her left and right, only spotting one construction truck working on a building across the street. "It does." She assumed the park was one of the easiest places to fix up. Fill in some dirt, add grass, throw in new benches, and done.

"Natasha?" he hummed.

"Yeah?"

"I think I'd like to go visit Ross. Alone."

She watched the back of his head as he continued to lean forward. "Okay."

He finally straightened his back and shifted into a natural seated position. "What was the address?"

Bruce slipped into his jacket upon arriving to the hospital. He took his time trudging down the seventh floor hall, smiling weakly to the nurses he passed by. The receptionist warned him that Thaddeus was possibly sleeping, but Bruce still wished to drop in. With his luck, the General would be as alert as ever, ready to condemn him for setting foot in his presence. Bruce softly knocked on the room's door. A stranger's voice summoned him inside and Bruce allowed himself in to find a doctor tending to Ross' vitals. The doctor turned to Bruce and acknowledged the visitor sticker on his chest. "How is he?" Bruce kept his voice low. He couldn't see Ross' face to know if he was even awake.

"He has a high fever, high blood pressure. Complained of a migraine earlier." The doctor strayed from his patient's side to allow Bruce a look.

"You're not sure what it is?" Bruce wondered.

"Stress, most likely. I'm sorry, Dr. Banner, but he's still sleeping."

"That's alright," Bruce promised. "May I stay for a moment?" The doctor seemed a bit hesitant about leaving his patient alone with the Hulk-Bruce knew it had to be the reason. The suspicious look in the man's eyes spoke volumes.

"I'll have a nurse stop by in a few minutes," the doctor agreed before stepping out.

Bruce never heard the door click shut, but that didn't bother him. He didn't plan to say or do anything that would raise concern. Bruce took a few steps closer to Ross' hospital bed, keeping a safe six feet away. As per Bruce's good nature, he felt remorse for the man with sickly white skin and dark circles around his eyes.
He looked as if he had aged another decade from last they spoke. Bruce wondered if Betty's loss had aged him in any visible way. "I didn't come here to mock you, sir." Bruce held the belief that the unconscious could hear those around them. It also felt easier than speaking to an awake General with cold, judging eyes glaring him down. "I'm sorry this happened." Teachings of kindness and forgiveness picked up during his Sunday school classes, more importantly, his mother's gentle nature, morphed Bruce into the good-natured man he was now. Cruelty wasn't in his blood-that was purely Brian Banner, and Bruce vowed to never become that monster. "I came to let you know that…" He knew once Ross was awake, his visit would be mentioned, to which Ross would call him a coward for not speaking directly to his face. Bruce didn't care. The less stressful his visit, the better. "You don't deserve this much suffering. But I sincerely hope you come around and leave me alone. I don't want to hurt anyone, and I'm working hard to not remain the monster you think I am."

He stood quietly for a moment, searching for any sign of movement from the General. The steady beeping from a heart rate monitor was the only thing telling Bruce that the man was alive. Vitals seemed normal, heart rate a bit elevated… Bruce stepped closer as his medical doctor side got the best of him. Studying Ross' pale face led Bruce to notice the throbbing veins running down his neck. He straightened his glasses before closing the distance between he and Ross. The pronounced veins weren't his imagination, nor was their dark red colour.

"Dr. Banner."

The doctor's voice made him flinch, but his own curiosity was stronger than his fear of being caught. "Have you noticed this, Doctor?" Bruce asked, eyes flickering from Ross' neck to the doctor.

"We're linking it to a heart condition," the man informed. "If you're done here, Doctor, I would like to run some more tests."

Bruce quickly stepped back and nodded. "Of course." Part of him was tempted to stay and help, but he knew he was in no position to do so.

"I'll let him know you visited."

"That's alright," Bruce promised with a tired laugh. "Have a good day." He stole one last glance at Ross before leaving the hospital. For once, the General wasn't clouding his mind for a Hulk-related incident. As he walked away, he wondered if that was the last he would see of the General. Bruce didn't wish death upon him, but at least the man would be reunited with his daughter. He had to force himself to stop thinking about the General and whatever was ailing him. None of it was Bruce's concern.

"You went outside?" Tony curiously asked as Bruce wandered into the shared lab.

Bruce rolled his eyes as he neared his work station. "It's not a big deal, Tony."

"You never go outside," the inventor continued.

"I needed a break."

"Romanoff again?"

Bruce smiled. "It started out that way. Then I went off on my own to visit Thaddeus Ross in the hospital." He turned to Tony to find his partner giving him a wary stare. "He was hospitalized."

"Didn't know." Tony brought his attention to his own computer screen. "Jail life that rough on him?"

The General's pale face, wrinkled face crept into Bruce's mind. "It appears so…"

"We continuing on that regenerating armor?" Tony wondered.

Bruce pulled up several video files on the Hulk. "I was just about to run some data to focus on strengthening your suit."

"Good deal," Tony agreed.

Bruce started replaying the most recent face-off only to pause when the Hulk earned a close-up. He stopped to stare at the green of his alter ego's eyes, the lighter green of his skin, the darker green of the veins bulging in his arms… Bruce immediately recalled Ross' condition only after remembering the stolen blood sample. He felt lightheaded, and he wasn't sure if he made some kind of cry, but Tony was at his side before he could blink.

"You're not gonna lose it," Tony swore.

Tony's rushed words sent Bruce into a panic. He found himself staring down at his hands and arms, frantically searching for any green."

"Deep breaths, buddy," Tony instructed. "There's no green on you."

Bruce searched for his chair and took a step away from Tony so he could sit. His stomach was in knots as it threatened to force his breakfast up his throat.

Tony gave his partner some room to breathe. He noticed the way Bruce's fingers trembled as they twisted in his hair. Tony knew he wasn't ill-Bruce had looked perfectly fine up until a few seconds ago. As Bruce forced his breathing to steady, Tony's brain was jumping to the worst case scenario. "Jarv, check for…heart attack?"

Bruce groaned and shook his head. "I'm fine. Tony, I'm fine…" He straightened in his seat and regretted having to look into Tony's panicked eyes. "Sorry…"

Tony's eyes narrowed. "What just happened?"

Bruce hunched forward and folded his hands in his lap. "Something…" He wondered if he was leaping to a bizarre conclusion-he had to be…

"Bruce."

The doctor's fingers tightened around one another. "Something about Ross seemed off."

"'Off,'" Tony parroted.

"Maybe I'm imagining things…" Bruce's voice began to trail off. Veins weren't meant to be dark red, or swollen, for that matter.

"Bruce…" Tony's voice was low as his features hardened.

"Tony…" He wondered if the sample of blood Natasha swiped from Ross' home was really the only one. "I think he's used my blood. On himself."

Tony noticed Bruce's face pale a second time. "Jarvis, get Fury on the line."

Bruce grabbed fistfuls of his hair as he lurched forward in his seat. Why Ross would poison himself was beyond him. Thaddeus knew what the Hulk was. He saw firsthand how Bruce suffered through his transformations.

And yet he chose to damn himself.

Maybe the man had completely lost the will to live.

Or maybe he wanted to try condemning Bruce Banner one last time…