Gabby Bensaro NCIS-SVU-Fan, sleeplessinbudapest, MESPX13, gottalovere70743, Bastet Goddess, charlotte, Purple Pixie5, guest : Thanks for the review guys!

7 : UNCOVER

Pepper put Tony in his car. Natasha put Clint in Jane's car along with Bruce. The three of them needed immediate medical care. Steve had beaten them up brutally. Their faces were covered with blood and bruises.

Tony told Pepper that she mustn't let the medical staff tell the police about this. He gave her his stack of money necessary in bribing everyone.

Doctors checked up their wounds. Tony and Bruce had been ordered to stay in the hospital for the rest of the week and would be let out by next Monday. Clint had been released immediately but had to come back for a checkup the next day.

Natasha took everyone back to their dorm whilst Pepper decided stay at the hospital to take care of Bruce and Tony. Natasha said she would stop by the next day to bring them some fresh clothes and food.

"Why are you doing this? You don't need to protect him." Pepper said as she sat down next to his bed. "Someone like him should be arrested and locked up behind bars. He's even more dangerous than ever." The two geniuses had been put in the same room. Bruce was already asleep.

"I knew him, Pep. I knew the Steve Rogers before this."

"He cannot control his rage, his anger, Tony. He should be sent to a therapist or to rehab."

"Just trust me on this, Pepper."

"What happened exactly? What was the process of saving his life?"

"You don't want to know…"

"Tony, if it is to the point that you and Bruce get beat up like this, I think I need to know." Tony inhaled deeply and sighed,

"Fine."

Tony began from the start. Bruce noticed that Steve was sick and getting weaker every day. He told Tony about this and Tony told his dad. Howard consulted with Bruce's dad and Dr. Erskine. They told him the only way to save Steve's life was to get through this painful process.

"It was so painful that they knew he might not be able to take it. His parents did everything in their power to save their only son, they put Steve through the process because they knew that if they didn't do anything, Steve would die anyway."

"How painful was the process?"

"The worst you can imagine, Pep. They injected him with a lot of serum and not to mention some strange chemical treatment that most adults didn't survive. At some point Steve asked—no, he begged them to stop and let him die."

"And they didn't stop…"

"No… they didn't. They continued and Steve knew the only way to make it all stop was to survive or die. He fought to the end of the process and he survived. He had to recover for three months and after the doctors released him, he began changing and built up his muscle."

"And he transformed into this a-hole." Tony nodded. "Why didn't they tell him the truth about the whole thing?"

"I asked my father not to tell him that Bruce and I were the ones who noticed that he was ill. He didn't want to be treated as a helpless person. He always thought that he was capable of doing anything and everything by himself."

"But that doesn't explain why he turned into a bully, Tony. Did you ever wonder why?"

"A little but he won't tell anyone anything." Tony said, "Maybe he was still angry that they put him through all those painful procedures and didn't let him die. Bruce's the only one he could get his hands on without any fear."

"That's really complicated."

"He tried really hard to forget who he once was and build up his new persona. I think he just wanted to maintain his power. You saw his friends. They're all thugs and your friends reflex who you are." Tony said "But that's just my wild guess."

"I know." Pepper replied "And it's time for you to get some rest, Tony." Tony gave her a sleepy smile. Pepper lightly patted his head.

"Goodnight, Tony."

"Night night…"

Steve was driving his car up the state. His mind was wandering and he was glad that he arrived at the destination safely because he had hardly paid attention on what was going on on the road.

Something that Stark said bothered him deeply. Why did they need to hide the truth from him? Especially, why did his mom and dad feel the need to hide everything from him?

He was now in front of the luxury beach mansion in Hampton. It was his family estate. His great grandparents purchased the estate and built a very beautiful and spacious mansion on it.

"Mom?" Steve called as he walked into the house.

"In the kitchen!" A woman shouted back.

The man walked into the kitchen and found his mom was preparing her dinner. Sarah Rogers was a tall, blonde woman with beautiful, deep blue eyes like her son. Steve resembled his mother in many ways.

"You didn't tell you were coming here this weekend." Sarah noted, "Nor mention that you were going to join me for dinner."

"Sorry, mom. I forgot to tell you."

"Luckily, I make your favorite lamb, and there's an apple pie in the fridge."

"You're the best." Steve said and smiled lightly.

Steve helped his mother set the table before the two enjoyed a delicious meal. Sarah could notice that her son was quieter than usual. He always has something new to tell her every time he dropped by for a little visit.

"What's bothering you?" Sarah asked after Steve put dishes in the sink.

"It's just— can you tell me about everything that happened when I was sick?"

"Steve, I don't think you want to know..."

"Mom, please tell me the truth, I need to know the truth."

"Steve…"

"Mom, I think I just misunderstood my whole life. I might have mistaken the guys who saved my life."

So Sarah told Steve everything. The same story that Tony Stark told him earlier but his mother told him every detail about the process of saving his life. How the procedure had never been tested with anyone and Steve was the first. Howard, Dr. Banner and Dr. Erskine told his parents that he might not survive the process.

But then again, Steve would have died even if he didn't go through with the procedure.

"It's an illegal procedure, Steve. Everyone had to keep this a secret. Howard, Brian and Rebecca Banner, Dr. Erskine. Everyone put their career on the line to save your life."

"Why don't you just let me die, ma?"

"Oh darling." Sarah cried and hugged her son. "We couldn't do that, Steve. You are our only son, our heart…"

"I'm sorry, mom." He said, gently rubbed her back. "I'm sorry."

"You are our heart and we couldn't watch you die before your time had came."

Steve spent his weekend with his mom and tried to cope with the newly uncovered truth. The truth that shook his whole universe. The truth that would have made his life much easier than this. He might not have to bother changing himself at all. But he had already changed and it was too hard to revert back to who he once was…

"Safe drive, son. And call me when you arrive at the university."

Steve hugged and kissed Sarah on the cheek before getting in his car and driving off. He arrived at the university in the evening. Everything was still the same, everyone in the campus still liked him and feared him. He assumed that everyone already know that he brutally beat the crap out of Bruce Banner.

But the only one person that hurt him the most was girl who dared to slap him across his face.

'You are the worst person I ever met, Rogers! You are exactly what other people say about you!'

Her words still rang in his ears. And before he knew, he had stopped in front of her room and unconsciously knocked but no one answered.

He knocked a little harder but still no answer.

"Natasha! Open up, damn it!"

"Would you mind stepping away from my door?" A cold voice came from behind him.

Steve knew that voice and sharply turned. Natasha Romanoff was standing right behind him. Her face was stone cold same as her eyes.

"Natasha…" It was hard to find a word when her piercing eyes stared straight into his soul like that.

"I don't want to hear anything. I don't want to do anything with you. I don't want to be friend. Just leave me the hell alone." She said and tried to push herself through him but he grabbed her by her arms.

"Can you at least give me a chance to actually have a conversation with you?" He never ever had to ask—beg anyone like this before.

"No." She replied and tried to wriggle away from his grip.

"Why do you hate me so much?"

"You're a terrible person, Rogers. A bully. You beat him up for no good reason and you're still walking around like no fucking thing happened. How could you possibly do anything like that? He's a human being too, not some punching bag. God, you've got a serious issue, you know that?"

"Can I at least have a chance to say I'm sorry?"

"I'm not the one you should apologize too."

Steve snorted, the guilty look in his eyes was gone, "You're telling me I should apologize to them?!"

"Yes."

"That's not gonna happen."

"Then I will take a great pleasure from not talking to you ever again."

"Wait, Natasha!"

"Just leave me the fuck alone!"

Natasha slammed the door in his face.

Steve was thinking about what Natasha said to him, about the awful thing he did to Banner and Stark. Natasha might not know the whole thing but she was right at some points. It was his fault he beat up Banner and Stark like that and also Barton too.

He knew it would badly hurt his pride but that it was the right thing to do.

He had to admit this. He was only going to apologize to them because he felt guilty about all the misunderstanding and he only wanted to be on Natasha's good side. And he had to be on her good side if he still wanted to carry out his master plan.

For a long time, all I wanted to do was the right thing.

Another thought came through his mind. The sentence he had once said to the special someone of his life before the transformation, before she left him.

The memory was still fresh and raw, liked it had just happened yesterday.

'Did you have something against running away?' She asked while she helped patch him up after one brutal fight with the bullies in his school.

'You start running they'll never let you stop. You stand up, push back. Can't say no forever, right?'

'You're going to get yourself killed, Steve.'

'It's the right thing to do, to protect someone from those bullies.'

She never once agreed with him for but she couldn't do anything about it. Now she had gone off to find a better man than him.

How long ago did he forget what the right thing to do was?

Steve got up from his bed and headed to the rooftop to clear his mind. He took a deep breath as he sat down on the edge of the rooftop.

"You're not thinking about jumping, are you?" A teasing voice came from behind but it didn't startle the quarterback.

"No, everyone risked going to prison to save my life so I'm not gonna jump." Steve replied. "Beside, my life is perfect so why should I jump?" But the man behind him noticed the bitterness in his voice.

"You're a broken man, Rogers." The man said. "Your life's completely empty, shallow, no one to share the moment with."

"This comes from a man who prefers solitude?"

"I prefer to be alone but I have few best friends I could find." Clint Barton popped down beside Steve, not afraid that Steve might be moody again. "What about you? Do you truly have a friend except from Odinson to share your glory with?"

Steve didn't reply because he was thinking about what Barton had just said to him. Steve always said that his football friends were his family but he still had doubts about it. Because there was nothing like the bond that he had with Bucky or the girl.

"I'm sorry, Barton." Steve finally said.

"It's okay, I landed some punches on you and gave you a nice black eye too. So it's a draw for me."

"You pack a mean swing." Steve concurred. "You could be on a boxing team."

"Nah, not my style. I see better from a distance."

"You're not mad at me?"

"A little but it felt kind of nice to get to punch you in the face." Clint replied with a big smirk on his face. "I wanted to do it for a very long time."

"Don't get cocky." Steve warned before got up from his seat. "You were lucky I didn't kill you."

"I would like to see you try, Rogers."

Steve headed to the staircase before he turned to Clint on more time.

"See your around, Barton."

"Where are you going?"

"I got something I gotta to do." And with that the quarterback left the loner alone on the rooftop. Clint whipped out his phone and dialed the number,

"Nat, you're not gonna believe what just happened!"

A shadow loomed in Bruce and Tony's recovery room and it startled them awake. Tony turned on the light to see Steve Rogers sitting on the only armchair in the room, with flowers in his hands?

"I wondered whether you guys were gonna even wake up, it would've made me feel guiltier than I already do." Steve spoke up, his eyes didn't give away any emotion. "But Stark men are not so easily to get rid."

"We have no time for your sarcasm, Rogers." Tony replied. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Just dropped by to check on you guys." Steve shot back vexingly. "But mainly came here to see Banner." Bruce was shocked and Steve noticed a hint of fear in his eyes.

"Don't worry," Steve reassured. "I'm not here to do anything." But Bruce didn't believe him for a second. Steve got up and placed the flower next to his bed. "I'm sorry, Banner for doing this to you. It's your father's fault, not yours."

That's took both of them by surprise because seriously, nobody had ever heard Steve Rogers apologize to anyone before.

"I hate your dad," Steve continued. "I hate him for putting me through that hell of a pain, for not stopping when I begged him to. You weren't in my place so you wouldn't know how I felt at those moments. My body was burning, it felt like thousands of knifes cutting through my body. I was screaming for him to stop until I had no voice left."

"I'm sorry, Steve. On behalf of my dad."

"It's alright. I'm sorry too, man. You shouldn't suffer from my anger towards your dad but don't worry about it anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"You saved my life and I will protect you in return. That's the least I can do. I may be a douche but I do know how to repay someone's debt."

"Apology accepted." Bruce said. That made Steve wonder how Bruce Banner could so easily forgive him like that.

"And you too, Stark. I'm sorry."

"Nah, I just paid the price for my dads little secret." The three of them waited in an awkward silence until the door swung open.

"What are you doing here, Rogers?!" Pepper asked as she walked into the room. The three was startled. Bruce was about to tell the truth but Steve spoke up first.

"Nothing, Pepper. Just checking that they're not dead yet." Steve said, putting on his bored face. "I'm gonna go now." Steve walked out the door and never looked back. Pepper was still confused at what had just gone on.

"What just happened?" She asked but the two geniuses didn't tell her anything.

AN:

- Thanks to my beta readers, Gabby Bensaro NCIS-SVU-Fan & keepcalmandwrite.

- Please kindly leave a review :)