Vital Communication Chapter 30
Disclaimer: Not mine, just playing in the sandbox.
Wow, another milestone. This is one of those odd bridge/transition chapters, where stuff has to happen, but there's not a lot of action. Please bear with me, okay?
Trigger warnings: Onset of PTSD episode throughout, so if you are having one of those days, please, please, don't read this one.
Tony and Bruce spent a few more days at the house, attempting to work on the armor and overseeing the last of the contract work. Tony had other plans for the house, but they would keep until the team had more time to sit and discuss them.
On the third day, Bruce was up well before Tony and he decided to take his time over breakfast, wanting a private moment to consider if he was ready to go back into the city.
He went out into the backyard that sported new lawn furniture and the shell of a large unfinished gazebo. Choosing a seat amongst the dark gray and pale blue of the plastic and metal furniture, Bruce put his back to the rising sun, closed his eyes, and dropped into a meditative state.
In the mindscape, he found the Hulk waiting at the cold firepit and sitting on the oversized tree stump he used for their talks. The barn like house that Bruce assumed Hulk stayed in was in better repair, but still showed signs of the previous attack on their persons.
"Banner not ready for city," Hulk began with no preamble, as usual. The large green man sat sideways on his stump, emerald eyes watching Bruce's every move.
"No, I'm not." Bruce sighed, sitting on the smaller stump. His gaze fell on the cool black pit in front of them, though he was not focusing on the sight before him.
"Be with Tin Man, he protect when Hulk can't," Hulk suggested.
"Oh I'm sure Tony would love to have to babysit me," Bruce grumped. But he thought about it. Would they do anything different than now? Perhaps coordinate their off site schedules more, but he couldn't think of anything else they would need to change.
"Tin Man help. He likes us," Hulk grinned at that idea.
"We're an interesting puzzle for him," Bruce dismissed.
Hulk snorted, "No, like Betty."
"Oh really?" Bruce replied, disbelief plain to see.
"Who else as smart? Take care of us?" Hulk insisted, fists clenching.
"All right, we'll stay with Tony. But you have to promise me that you'll only respond to situations that really need you."
"If Tony there, Hulk promise," Hulk swore, grinning again. They needed each other, made each other happy. These two would get together. Hulk would see to it.
Bruce didn't catch the switch to Tony's proper name. "I guess that will do," Bruce agreed. "Is there anything you want before I go?"
"Tin Man is up. Remind him of pool," Hulk said, standing to go back into the little house. Bruce nodded, not even curious about the house after all this time. Their understanding came more from cooperation than Bruce's will to maintain control. It was a relative peace they'd managed to attain.
Bruce slowly came out of the meditation. His eyes blinked open as he breathed deeply a few times, oxygenating his blood in preparation to stand. He could smell Tony's aftershave, stronger on his right, coupled with the scent of black coffee.
"Morning," he said quietly, in case Tony was distracted.
"Hey, back with me?" Tony's answer was prompt, causing Bruce to turn his head to see Tony curled up in another chair, hands clasped around one bent knee as he looked at Bruce.
"Yeah, everything's good," Bruce said, looking carefully over his friend's face. Tony was tired, but at ease, telling Bruce he hadn't woken from a nightmare. "How long have you been up?"
"Not long. Thanks for starting coffee." A steaming mug was on the low table next to Tony's chair.
"No problem. So," Bruce stood and stretched, "Back to the Tower today?" He leaned over his hips, arms outstretched, aware of Tony's dark gaze following his every move. He couldn't swear to it, but there might have been a slightly sharp inhale whenever Bruce bent down to his toes and then arched back. It bore investigation. Bruce didn't want to be a rebound.
Tony watched, barely hiding his growing desire. So intent was he, that he nearly missed the question Bruce posed.
"The Tower? Yeah, we can go back today. Kids are restless being away from the lab. This one needs more work to be livable," Tony unclasped his left hand in order to reach for the coffee mug and have a drink.
Bruce made a non committal noise and sat back down to wait for Tony. He leaned on one side, right elbow resting on the chair arm.
"So I was wondering," Tony began, cradling the mug between his hands.
"About?" Bruce prompted, chin resting on the palm of his right hand, as he watched Tony try not to fidget. It was endearing and amusing, this super genius who had never had learned the value of stillness. His fingers had started tapping out a nonsense rhythm on the side of the mug, though a few times, Bruce thought he was hearing random strings of Morse code. The bits never amounted to more than a few letters randomly strung together, so Bruce dismissed the action as unimportant.
"Well," Tony finally spoke, dark brown eyes focusing once more on Bruce. "I've got all these upgrades to the suit now. Could use some help getting it done."
"Yeah?" Bruce queried, this seemed perfect for what he needed, "Just so happens my schedule is remarkably free these days." Bruce's mouth twitched up in one corner, the only outward sign of his inner amusement at Tony's roundabout way of asking for help.
Tony unfolded his body from his seat and reached out his free hand to Bruce. "Good, let's get packed up."
Bruce looked up at Tony, seeing the soft openness in the other man's face, and gave him a gentle smile in return, "All right, but breakfast first." He took the proffered hand and stood, leading the way back to the house.
Hours later, they were unloading the bots from the van, and Tony sent them up the loading elevator with a stern command to go straight to the lab, no wandering. The two men finished clearing out the van, grabbed their duffel bags and went up Tony's private elevator that would take them to the Avengers' living quarters.
Bruce made to get off at his old floor, Tony just managing to stop him with a hand on his elbow.
"Moved you up a few floors, remember?" Tony's voice was quiet, and reserved, as if the man himself was somehow unsure about his original invitation.
Bruce's eyes widened slightly. He had forgotten Tony had insisted on the change a mere month ago, after that horrible nightmare. He stopped just inside the elevator and looked back at Tony. "Oh, okay. Wasn't sure that had happened," was all he could say.
Tony tugged him back into the elevator, and said, "JARVIS, all the way up please."
Tony showed Bruce his new floor, right under his own, emphasizing the security features he'd installed while in town for the deposition. Bruce was overwhelmed with the gift before him. He quietly padded through the place, looking at everything.
Not five minutes into the exploration, JARVIS called upon Tony.
"Sir? There's an Agent Sitwell requesting to speak with the team about the Incident. Shall I grant him access?" the AI's synthesized voice did not echo in the space so sparsely furnished. A few key pieces were in place, a couch, a few arm chairs, but otherwise it was blank, awaiting Bruce's input.
Tony looked at Bruce, to estimate whether he was up for this. Bruce did not meet Tony's gaze, instead he stared at one of the armchairs. It was a dove gray in color, and looked like leather from where he stood. He hadn't noticed his hands slowly opening and closing at his sides, betraying his nervousness.
"Bruce, do you want to talk to Sitwell? Or let us handle it?" Tony gently asked.
"Um, you'll be there, right?" Bruce asked, still staring at the chair.
"Right next to you, if that's what you want," Tony assured his friend.
Bruce thought about it for a moment, then nodded once, sharply.
"All right JARVIS, send him up and call the others. We'll be along in a moment," Tony informed the AI. He looked at Bruce, taking in the tension along his shoulders, the repetitive action with his hands.
"What do you need, Bruce?" he asked, moving a little so he stood in Bruce's line of sight.
"I...I don't know Tony. I'm cold though. Maybe, tea?"
"All right. We'll make sure there's tea for you. How about a sweater, or jacket?"
JARVIS took the hint in Tony's words, and sent a request to the others to set up beverages in the conference room.
Bruce simply nodded again, and stared off into the distance.
"Stay there then, I'll go get one. Or do you want to get a few selections from your tea collection?"
Bruce blinked, and gave Tony a half smile before going into the kitchen to find where his tea had been stored in this new place.
Someone had had the forethought to place the entire collection of bagged and loose teas in a cabinet close to the stove, along with several new teapots. His favorite, and most used, sat in a place of honor on a bronze trivet to the right of the stove, next to the kettle that graced a burner of the stove itself. Bruce thought perhaps Pepper had some influence on the issue, as he gathered a few bagged options into a little carry box and fetched down a mug from the next cabinet over. He strode out of the kitchen and went to the armchair he'd studied, to sit on the edge and wait for Tony.
Tony watched him shuffle into the kitchen and start rummaging for supplies before he quickly strode to the far side of the room to a door painted a light sand color. He touched the faux wood paneling of the jamb and the door slid soundlessly aside. He walked into the bedroom, ignoring the accoutrement and going straight to the closet.
On a built in set of wooden shelves, he found several sweaters, mostly in neutral colors. He grabbed a cardigan, cashmere and in a pale mint green. He briefly considered the green a bad choice, but shrugged it off, hoping Bruce would understand it was about supporting BOTH sides of him.
"JARVIS?" he called the AI while standing in the closet.
"Yes, sir?"
"I want you to monitor Bruce's vitals during this meeting. Let me know if he gets stressed," Tony ordered.
"Of course, sir."
Tony nodded and left the bedroom to find Bruce sitting uneasily on the edge of one of the armchairs in the middle of the room.
"Hey Bruce," he called, just as the door glided shut behind him. Bruce startled a little, nearly dropping the mug and tea canister. "Whoa easy Big Guy. I'm sorry. Maybe we ought to rip out the carpet? That might be better. You can hear people coming and going." Tony kept up chattering as he got closer. "Wonder what Cueball has for us." Tony threw the sweater over his shoulder and started chivying Bruce up and out the door.
They rode the elevator down to the meeting floor, and found everyone waiting, already seated around the conference table.
"Well, hello doom and gloom," Tony started, taking in their expressions while draping the sweater along the back of one chair before dropping into the one next to it. The leather chair bobbled a bit, but steadied easily when Tony slouched. "What's shaking, Kojak?" he threw in Sitwell's direction.
Bruce went to the sideboard and put his tea implements down to fix his first cup. A thermal carafe was already there, full of hot water. He dropped a bag in the mug, and pumped water in on top. Once the bag was steeping, he came back to the table, and sat beside Tony. Tony then reached up and dragged the sweater down to give to Bruce.
Bruce shot him a grateful look, holding tightly to his mug.
"Put the sweater on, Bruce," Tony told him quietly.
"Oh, right," Bruce was definitely not fully present. Natasha, Clint, and Steve shot concerned looks down the length of the table as Bruce let go of the mug to pull the sweater on. Bruce didn't comment on the color.
"All right, and is Thor on Earth?" Jasper asked the team.
"Not that we're aware of, Agent Sitwell," Steve replied. They hadn't heard from Thor in some time, and they couldn't be sure when he'd be back on Earth.
"Then we'll move on. As you know, we've been working with Dr. Elizabeth Ross, and her associates since their kidnapping of Dr. Banner," Jasper began. He had brought along and plugged a laptop into an available dock and had called up a few files. These were broadcast on a screen behind him so that the others could read over the information as he revealed it.
Bruce flinched at the mention of Betty's name, and clutched his mug a little harder. Tony watched him out of the corner of his eye, assessing his stability.
Jasper put up pictures of Ross and her accomplices. All five were in some disarray, as though they had given up on their hygiene while being held by SHIELD.
Bruce glanced quickly at the faces of his captors, his face going white when his eyes landed on Betty. With a muffled groan, he pulled his gaze off the display and stared into the depths of his mug.
"We believe Dr. Ross is under the influence of an unknown class of psychotropic drugs, leaving her incredibly susceptible to particular people. At this moment, a team of medical professionals and scientists are attempting to decode the drug, as well as deprogram her mind. It is slow going. The others, especially Mr. Leeds, have turned over evidence of their exact dealings with Dr. Ross, " Jasper explained.
Bruce shuddered. He had known something was off about her, but the idea that someone had forced this on the woman bothered him. He remembered a comment she'd made about her father. Bruce sipped from his mug, dispelling the memory as a false one.
Tony kept an eye on Bruce as Sitwell spoke. The man was clearly uncomfortable as the agent described what SHIELD was doing to the group responsible for hurting Bruce. He glanced at the rest of the team, noting the scowl on Rogers' face, and the contemplative looks from the Spy Twins. Natasha's expression was oddly open for her, given what Tony knew of her personality. He pulled out his phone, and tapped a query to JARVIS to send him her file. He also checked on the record his AI was keeping on Bruce's vitals, and found the pulse and heart rate elevated, but still within safe, "non-Hulk" parameters. He half listened as Jasper rambled on about SHIELD's plans for the group.
Natasha realized early on in Sitwell's report just what SHIELD would end up doing to Elizabeth Ross. SHIELD's ability to deprogram an individual was rumored to be unparalleled. She'd heard, in the years since she herself had gone through the crucible of getting her head picked over, that other agencies used SHIELD for bringing back brainwashed assets. At least, those that were deemed worthy.
Clint had gone through a shortened version of only a few of the evaluations right after the invasion. As he'd not been under Loki's control for long, the decision had been made to not subject him to the entire gamut of testing.
Both agents were only too aware of what Dr. Ross was going through.
Steve was out of his depth. He wasn't sure what 'deprogramming' would do to this woman, but just by watching the faces of his teammates, he knew it wasn't necessarily good or easy to deal with. His gaze fell on Bruce as Sitwell described the next moves. The man was clearly uncomfortable, and Steve could see that he flinched at each mention of Dr. Ross' name. His eyes next moved to Tony, who alternated his attention between his phone, and Bruce.
Sitwell remained largely unconcerned about the emotional state of the room as he went over the information he'd brought with him. He explained the deprogramming, thought not in any detail. Each time SHIELD was called upon to deprogram an agent, the techniques were always the same, but often shuffled around for better results. Jasper wasn't unaware of the prior relationship between Dr. Banner and Dr. Ross, though the current situation had colored his association of the knowledge. He easily wrapped up his portion of the meeting, and then opened the floor to discussion from the team.
Bruce was the first to break the silence after Jasper stopped speaking, "This mental recalibration, what are the long term effects?" He never looked at Sitwell directly, keeping his head bowed as he nervously twirled the mug between his hands.
Tony frowned from beside him. It was like the last couple of months were nothing, as Bruce appeared to retreat into the shell hardened after so many years on the run. Tony hated the idea, but could do nothing here. He did pry the now cold mug from Bruce and replaced it with a bottle of water while fresh hot water was retrieved.
Natasha chose to answer, her voice smooth and noninflected. "With luck, she'll be back to her normal state of mind or base personality. I doubt she's been under the influence of these drugs for long..." she trailed off, looking for confirmation from Sitwell.
"As we don't know more than the chemical composition of this drug, it's hard to say. We are unsure how long she's been taking the drug, nor of the overall cumulative effect its had on her mind and personality. Dr. Banner, what do you want us to do?" Jasper explained calmly.
Bruce flinched again, the water bottle now in his hands being squeezed like a stress toy.
Tony stepped in at that moment, "I think helping Dr. Ross recover should be the priority. The others involved are sound of mind and in otherwise perfect health?" If anyone had cared at that moment, they'd notice the appearance of the shrewd business man persona that Tony rarely used.
Jasper squinted at Tony, but agreed they were indeed in good health.
"Good. They can be charged with kidnapping and aggravated assault," Tony sat forward in his chair, leaning his elbows on the table.
"SHIELD is not prepared for such an undertaking," Jasper began.
"Oh, that's fine, Elmer, just turn those six over to the NYPD, and we'll take it from there," Tony's smile was unpleasant.
The water bottle in Bruce's hands finally had enough of the abuse, and exploded. The small wave of water flooded across the table and dripped off the near side. Tony managed to avoid a soaking by pushing away from the table. His hands came off the wood damp.
Bruce muttered a soft apology as he too pushed away from the table. Except he stood and walked out of the meeting. Steve rose to go after him but Tony stopped him.
"I'll do this, Cap. Sitwell, get those goons transferred to the nearest precinct," Tony said coldly as he left his seat to follow his friend.