"I swear, Pepper, they burned my steak." Tony was saying as he and Pepper walked up the path to the house.

"Well, maybe if you were a little nicer to the wait staff, they wouldn't burn your food." She replied, rolling her eyes.

"Hey, I was perfectly nice, I just... Hey there, Lennon!" He called to the girl as she came almost running out of the front door. He was about to call to her again, but, then, he saw her face, he realized something was wrong. Very wrong. He immediately ran to her side. "Hey, hey, hey, what's wrong? What happened?" He demanded, startled when he saw that she was crying. "What's wrong? Where's Bruce?" He signaled to Pepper to go inside then gripped Lennon's arms tightly, making her look at him. "Lennon, what happened?"

She pushed him away with a gentle shove, then walked past him toward her motorcycle, which was parked by the large garage. "Thanks for letting me stay." She said bitterly as she kicked the bike to life, not even bothering with a helmet.

Tony stood there in shock, a million scenarios through his head as he tried to piece together what had just happened.

"Tony!" He heard Pepper scream for him from the house.

His heart jumped and he immediately ran inside, finding Pepper kneeling on the floor in front of the sofa where Bruce was sitting, his head against the back cushion, staring up at the ceiling with red-rimmed eyes.

Pepper gave her boyfriend a heartfelt look, and got to her feet to stand in front of him. "Something bad happened with Lennon, he won't tell me, but look at his hands." She whispered anxiously to him.

Tony looked over, his stomach dropping as he noticed the all-too-familiar green tint that was fading, but quite present on his knuckles. He nodded, not once taking his eyes off of Bruce. "Alright, go down to the lab, and don't come out until I say so. I've got him."

With a reluctant sigh, Pepper walked away, leaving the two men alone.

Tony joined the doctor on the sofa, looking him up and down with caution. "Bruce, talk to me, what happened with Lennon?"

Bruce didn't look over at him, but, a tear began to roll down his cheek, and he hung his head. "I fucked up, Tony. I really fucked up." He told him, his voice grave.

"How did you fuck up?"

"I mentioned her suicide attempt back in 2002, which she didn't know I knew about and when she realized I read through her file, she got angry and left. I yelled at her and said horrible things, and now she's gone hell knows where, and it's my fault."

Tony's heart dropped to his stomach. "Bruce... Listen, you know Lennon. She won't leave forever, she'll come back, I promise. Hey, look at me, big guy." He said, making the doctor turn to him. "You know that she'll come back. Where the hell is she going to go? She won't go back to her father's house. She'll go somewhere for the night, maybe two, and then she'll be back. I promise you." He told his friend encouragingly, although he wasn't 100% sure himself.

Bruce shook his head. "She can't trust me, Tony, not after what I did. Why would she come back?" He whispered.

"Well, she's a woman, Bruce. When they get mad, sometimes it's best to let them be. She'll be back by morning." A few second later, Tony held a glass of scotch out to him, which he greatly accepted.

oOoOo

You stupid girl. Lennon thought angrily to herself as she stalked through the pouring rain. How could you do that to him?

The girl had ditched her motorcycle in a parking garage a few blocks back, and was now walking through the city. She had decided that she just needed to relax and cool off before going back home. She was angrier at herself for the way she treated Bruce. She couldn't hate the man for reading her file, although it angered her. It was rude, but she was more upset about the thing he said. Everything she tried so hard to forget he brought up and threw in her face. But... At the same time, she was still in love with the good doctor. There was no changing that. Fighting is healthy. A voice whispered in her mind.

Lennon made her way down to the pier and leaned up against the railing of the dock. The night had been ruined. Her dress was soaked, her hair was sopping wet, her makeup was smeared from the crying... I look like a goddamn mess. She thought bitterly. She would definitely have to change before she went back. Or, at least, she would have to change before she saw Bruce.

Once the rain finally subsided, and she decided to watch the boats on the water. She knew she had to go back. She had to apologize to Bruce, even if he didn't want to hear an apology. He probably wouldn't want to be with her, but she had to try.

Lennon soon became aware of another person's presence on the dock, and she wrapped her arms around her chest, hoping it wasn't one of the Avengers coming to retrieve her. She didn't want to see anybody yet.

"Out here alone?" Came the voice. It was a male voice, very scratchy and low pitched.

Lennon swore under her breath, annoyed that she had been seen. "Yeah."

The man, whoever he was, walked up beside her, the only light around him was the faint orange glow of the cigarette in his right hand. His hood was up, preventing Lennon from seeing his face. He was easily over six feet tall, which intimidated Lennon, but she tried to ignore it. "Do you mind if I smoke?" He asked politely.

Lennon shook her head. "Be my guest."

"Do you smoke?" He held out a cigarette to her.

"Yes, I do." She lied. Lennon had actually quit smoking a few years ago. But, considering the circumstances, she figured one couldn't hurt. Bruce wouldn't be happy, but at the moment, she didn't care. She took it and the man lit it for her. The smoke filled her lungs as she took a hit, and she smiled. She had forgotten how much calming cigarettes were sometimes. It helped with the hole in her chest. She thought it tasted a bit off, but it was a menthol after all.

"So," The man said. "What are you doing out here all by yourself?"

Lennon sighed, looking out over the water. "Thinking."

He nodded. "Ah. I see. Aren't you afraid?"

She looked up at him with an eyebrow raised. "No, why would I be?" She asked, almost insulted.

"Oh, you know how some people are. Young, pretty girl by herself late at night... Some people might try to take advantage of that." He replied, his voice a bit sketchy.

Lennon immediately felt uncomfortable. "Uh... Yeah, well I'm a black belt, so I'm defended." She said, beginning to feel ill. Her head started swimming, her hands were starting to shake. She quickly tried to hide them, as she didn't want him to see. "I should probably get back home. My… boyfriend is probably worried about me." She pushed away from the railing, and started to stumble away from him, the entire world spinning around her.

"Oh, really? Leaving so soon? I thought we were talking." The man said, walking after her.

"No, I need to go home." Lennon began to panic as she felt her body began to shut down. Her vision began blacking in and out, making it hard to see where she was going. Just get to the road, just get to the road…

She felt the man's hand take hold of her arm. "Come on now, honey, don't be rude." He growled in her ear.

"No!" She gasped, ripping away from him and falling to the ground with a hard thud. She knew she would have bruises the next day, but that didn't matter at the moment. "Stop this…What... What did you... What did you do to me?" She gasped as she tried to crawl away from him.

The man stood over her and chucked. "You should never accept cigarettes from strangers, kitten."

Kitten? No, no it couldn't be! She thought through the haze. "Please... Leave me alone..." Suddenly, he felt a searing pain on the back of her head as a glass bottle collided with her skull, and she collapsed, fighting desperately to catch her breath. She gazed up at the man with spotty, blurred vision. "Please..."

He laughed and slid his arms under her. "Sleep, kitten. It'll be over soon." He muttered evilly.

"Bruce…" She tried to whisper, though it came out as a choked whisper. Then, suddenly, the world went dark.