The Girl Who Can't Be Moved

Chapter Eight

Bruce stirred with a groan. The rubble beneath him shifted as he tried to sit up. His body was battered and sore, not to mention that the crater was full of jagged concrete which wasn't all that pleasant to be sitting on. Especially with his lack of clothes and overabundance in physical exposure. Gingerly he lifted his hand to his head, trying to remember what had happened. What had made him Hulk out again?

There was arguing from everyone, the lab was echoing with their raised voices. Then the computer was sounding out an alert, finally locating a perimeter for the Tesseract. He remembered typing on the keyboard, trying to pinpoint the location. That was when it happened. The explosion. Crashing onto the floor below, body throbbing and he was already irritated from the previous arguing with Fury about his nuclear weapons and how he was using them. His body had started the spasms, the Hulk inside wide awake and ready to fight and defend himself. His mental restraints were snapping as his muscles bulged in size, height increasing and skin turning green. The last thing he could clearly recall was opening his mouth to release a deafening roar...

"So you're awake now?"

Bruce slowly looked over his shoulder to see an older gentleman standing at the edge of his crater. He was dressed in an old janitorial uniform, watching him curiously. Bruce ran a hand through his curly hair with a heavy sigh.

"Was anyone hurt?" he asked. Ouch, his jaw really hurt too. Must have taken quite the hit. The old man gave a short laugh, leaning against his broom.

"No one around to get hurt," he answered. "You scared the shit out of some pigeons though."

Relief flooded his system, shoulders slacking. Thank goodness, he hadn't hurt anyone this time. "Lucky..." he muttered. The man gave a shrug.

"You were awake when you fell. So I reckon it's a bit more than luck," he added. "Didn't think these would fit you, then you shrunk down to a regular sized fella." There was a ruffle of material and he tossed a pair of pants down to the doctor, belt already looped through the hooks.

"You some kind of alien?" he asked. Banner glanced back up at the man as he pulled on the pants that he could tell were already too loose on him.

"Alien?" he gave a small, humorless laugh. Just a human experiment gone horribly awry. "No, not me."

"Well, son," he said with a fatherly type of tone. "You have a condition." Bruce smirked, tightening the belt around his waist. Condition, that was one way to put it.

"What about the other one? Is she some type of alien?" the man asked, wishing for his theory to be true. Banner stilled before quickly turning around to fully face the man.

"The other one?" he repeated, brow furrowing. "What other one?" Someone else fell? The Hulk brought someone down with him? His stomach started to feel unsettled, like the sickness following an intense rollercoaster ride.

"Yeah. A girl was with you when you were all big and green," he explained. His chest started to tightened, breathing becoming difficult. Oh god, he did hurt someone, most likely killed. Not again.

"Hey! I found a shirt!"

There was the shifting of rocks as Bridgette Smith made her way to the top of the wreckage mountain. She was dirty and disheveled, jean jacket torn in plenty of spots as she waved the shirt in victory. She looked from the janitor down to the doctor and she smiled brightly, relief written plainly across her features.

"Bruce!" she cheered. Brown eyes widened as she raced down into the crater, the acceleration allowing her to plow into him, arms wrapped around him in a hug so hard that he nearly fell over again.

"Bridgette?" he asked, stunned. She took a step back, still smiling up at him as she gave a faux salute.

"At your service, sir," she laughed. He gaped at her like a fish out of water and she quirked a brow in good humor.

"Y-you? How're you-I mean, it's great that you are, but how-I don't understand?" he stammered ungracefully. She gave her trademark grin.

"Like I said, doc. Durable," she stated, pointing to herself. "I had a bit of help from you though."

"From me?" he repeated. She nodded, assisting him with pulling the button up shirt onto his body, tugging an arm through a sleeve. He followed her lead, only vaguely aware that she was practically dressing him. He was still flabbergasted over the fact that she was alive and it was due to him, or rather, the other guy.

"Well, yeah. You saved me from most of the landing, remember?" she recapped. Sighing, she finished tugging the shirt up and over his shoulders. She was very much aware of how close she was to the doctor but she continued with her little job, fastening the buttons now. She was aware of his tanned skin and the dark hair across his chest, doing her best to remain focused on the task at hand.

"I-I did?" he stammered, pausing to shake his head. "You mean the other guy, the other guy saved you?" She nodded.

"Mhm, now hold still, you're fidgety," she chided. Finishing the last button she gave his chest an encouraging pat, bringing him back down to earth. "You ready?"

His brow knitted in confusion this time. "Ready?"

"To go?"

"Go where?" he asked.

"To Stark Tower."

"And why would we go there?" She gave a laugh, like it was the simplest thing in the world.

"Well the best way to get back to the others would be to go to the tower with Tony's name pasted on it. Seems like the fastest route in my opinion," she reasoned. "My earpiece is still jammed from falling, so if you have a better idea that's great."

"Oh no," he disagreed, shaking his head. The janitor had left them alone they noticed as Bruce moved past the girl and started to climb out of the crater. "I can't go back there."

"What? Why not?" she asked, following the doctor. He looked back at her, appalled, like the answer was as plain as day.

"Why not?" he repeated. They both reached the peak of the rubble, standing face to face. He held out his arms, gesturing to himself.

"Look at me, Bridgette!" he was raising his voice. "I'm not fit for human interaction! I shouldn't be in places with crowds of people, no matter how small. And I absolutely should not be personally involved with anything! All I do is hurt people because there's no telling what this other guy will do-"

"You saved my life!" she shouted back, defending, taking a step toward him. "I'd be dead without you!"

He waved a hand dismissively, while the other ran through his hair. "That was a fluke-"

Bridgette wasn't having it as she stepped forward and grabbed the doctor by the collar of his shirt with both of her hands. A fire was burning inside of her and she wasn't about to try and snuff it out. Irritation and disbelief were clashing with determination and respect, boiling over rapidly. The shorter girl had him focus on her, blue eyes blazing.

"You knew my name, you spoke to me, you remembered me!" she shouted, to make sure she was heard clearly. "You protected me when you could have let me fall to my death! You allowed me to talk reason to you while you were in a moment of absolute rage! There is so much more to you than you're giving yourself credit for, and I just don't understand why you can't see that!"

His hands grabbed the material of her jacket, tugging her upward with his grip, forcing her to her toes. He was becoming aggravated too but his eyes had yet to flash green. "And what is it I'm suppose to see? I'm nothing more than a monster who only hurts those closest to me! You have no idea what I've endured throughout these years-who I have lost because of the Hulk! I've tried everything and I can never be free of him-he's apart of who I am!"

They were silent for a moment, both lightly shaking from their yelling and they couldn't figure out how to unlock their fingers from the other's clothing material. Bruce could have sworn he saw her eyes glaze over with unshed tears but they never fell, giving them a glassy look. Her jaw was clenched tightly as she stared back at him.

"Bruce Banner, you are one of the strongest people I have ever known," she stated. "And I know that you are not about to let millions of people get hurt under Loki's reign if he succeeds, which he will if we don't do anything."

The hard breathing was beginning to soften for both of them, grips finally managing to uncramp. Heart rates calming and shaking subsiding, they both took a step back from each other to dissipate the previous tension. Bridgette ran both of her hands through her hair, messing up her bangs while Banner ran one hand through his own dark curly hair, the other resting at his waist. He glanced over at her, pulse stabilizing once more.

"So...how do we get there?" he asked after a pregnant pause. The girl gave a short laugh, hands finding her hips.

"Well, I took the liberty of securing us a vehicle while you napped." She started down the rubble, signaling for him to follow her. Pausing to pinch the bridge of his nose, he obliged, the bottoms of his feet scratched from the wreckage.

She made a grand gesture to the battered motorbike, clearly pleased with her work.

"Tadaa! Our chariot!" Bruce raised his eyebrows, giving a short laugh. It was barely standing and he'd be astounded if it could carry their collective weight.

"And, um, how exactly did you come by this vehicle?" he asked. Bridgette had the decency to look slightly embarrassed, ruffling her hair again.

"I, uh, commandeered it," she answered with a nod. Her blush increased under his look of general disapproval. "Hey now, don't give me that look, doc. I had to do something while you were out!" Her hands settled at her hips again and she smirked at a memory. Blue eyes gave the doctor a full study and she approached the bike with a skip.

"You know, if you keep this up I'm going to have to start paying you."

"Paying me?" he asked, confused as he walked toward the bike as well. "For what?"

She glanced over her shoulder, sneaky grin apparent. "Well that's the second time I've seen you."

Bruce paled. "S-seen me...?" The girl leaned against the old vehicle that creaked, fishing out her last granola bar that miraculously stayed in her inner pocket and survived the fall. Tearing the wrapper open with her teeth, she offered half the bar to Banner, which he oddly accepted, albiet slowly and with much encouraging from the short haired girl. Bridgette always carried some type of travel friendly food with her. She was the type of person who nibbled on food throughout the day, never really having a full meal. Full bellies made a person sluggish and running difficult, and being hungry was like a physical echo she didn't particularly care to relive, so she always carried something with her.

"What do you mean...exactly?" he asked, taking a bite of the snack. Her triumphant smirk returned. Blue eyes locked with brown and the unspoken message was received due to his vibrant blush that appeared a moment later.

"Y-you don't mean-!"

"Oh I do, doc. I do," she told him with a nod. There was a pause as she allowed his face to turn beet red, mouth opening and closing soundlessly as he tried to find the words to say...well, anything.

Finally unable to keep a straight face any longer, Bridgette erupted into a fit of laughter, holding her stomach as her body throbbed in leftover pain from the fall, but she didn't care, his face was priceless. Banner could only fold his arms and look away, struggling to swallow the embarrassment of being caught naked twice by the same girl. Twice!

After reigning in her laughing, having to settle for giggling as she gave him a good pat on the shoulder. He still avoided her gaze and she gave a playful kind of shove, encouraging him to look over at her, if a bit disarmed by her forward behavior.

"Ready to go save the world?" she asked. Bruce looked at the girl for a good moment. This girl who was dirtied, bruised, battered and yet still grinning at him with her eyes that gave a gleam that clearly said that they were going to win. How she knew, he would never understand. He let loose a heavy breath he was previously holding.

"All right. Let's go."

He swung his leg over the motorbike and Bridgette followed suit, hands grazing his sides. Ignoring his nerves that lit up like Christmas lights at the contact, he focused on starting the ancient engine, surprised that it even came to life. It moved at a snail's pace but it moved nonetheless, taking the unlikely pair toward Stark Tower, her arms wrapping around his form to remain steady. His pulse fluttered.

Maybe they could win.

REVIEW! I know this chapter is definitely short, but I wanted to give Bruce and Bridgette some time to themselves before they become distracted with fighting badguys and whatnot, lol. A variety of emotions in this chapter, eh?

Thanks so much for your reviews like always and I hope you enjoyed!