Bruce Banner didn't particularly see himself as a avenger, a hero.
He was just a scientist who had gone too far, and was now suffering the consequences.
If anything the Hulk was the avenger.
Bruce watched the other avengers laughing, and he felt a small smile tug at his lips.
He may not have been an avenger, but he was somewhat glad that he had been accepted by them.
He could feel the Hulk in the back of his mind, grunt his agreement, though he felt himself smile awkwardly at the annoyed grunt the hulk gave when he eyed the Asgardian god.
The hulk held grudges apparently.
Infact, if you made it into the hulk's inner circle, and if you were a close friend of Bruce banner.
The hulk had no qualms about destroying a city for you.
Infact, the hulk was quite fond of Grace Tonya Stark, strangely enough.
So when he saw the young girl, running away, looking terrified.
He could feel the hulk growling in anger, demanding answers.
And the hulk wasn't exactly alone in that feeling…
Grace thanked the gods that Natasha had been training her. When He had gripped her arm, she had managed to twist his arm, removing his grip. She'd then sent a quick jab towards his nose, only for him to grab her fist.
"Well, look at that, The princess has some new party tricks" Zac sneered at tried to not cringe in pain as he tightened his grip on her fist, but she couldn't help the shiver of fear that ran through her as he leaned in closer towards her.
"I'm afraid you're coming with me princess" She narrowed her eyes.
"Go to hell" She snapped angrily. She bristled as he laughed.
"Ooh, someone's also grown a backbone" He'd pushed her against the restroom walls, his ice cold eyes staring at her, and she flinched when he lips brushed her ear as he whispered to her.
"We'll have to get rid of that, won't we?"
And then he leaned in, roughly pressing his lips against her own. Perhaps it was then, in her scared mind that something in her snapped.
She didn't see Zac in front of her.
She saw her Uncle.
And she wasn't 19.
She was that scared little 8 year old girl.
It was as if her mind went blank.
She bit his lips so hard that she drew blood, the metallic taste registered in her mind.
He pulled back cursing, and he had gone to hit to receive a punch to the jaw, followed by a jab to the stomach.
It was if her body had a mind of its own.
She couldn't tell you how many times she punched him, nor could she tell you how she managed to hit him with enough strength to make this larger man fall straight to the sink. His head smacking against the counter with a sickening crack.
All she knew, is that when her mind cleared. The man that had terrorised her, lay crumpled on the ground, bruised bleeding and beaten. Surrounded in Crimson, So much so that Natasha would have been impressed.
That is, if Grace knew how the hell she had done it. As whilst Natasha had trained her.
It hadn't been for very long, especially not long enough to get this sort of result.
She realised as she stared at him…
That the man that had been plaguing her was not breathing.
Staggering back, she realised she had to get out of there.
She hoped she was wrong, but these thoughts plagued her as she ran.
She had become exactly like the monsters she had always feared.
Because she feared, it was more than likely that she had killed a man in cold blood.
She didn't seem to even pay attention to the camera in the very corner of the wall that had seen the destruction she had caused… and it almost seemed to have zoomed in as she fled…
She didn't get in her mind, far enough away, as she found herself grabbed again.
Panicked, she faced her assailant breathing heavily, ready to defend herself once more.
Except this time.
It was Captain America who faced her.
Steve was known as a worrier amongst the avengers. It was not something he was ashamed of, nor was it something he planned on changing any time soon.
But he tried not to worry too much about the prolonged disappearance of his date, however he couldn't deny the relief he felt when he saw her figure. However he felt himself frown as he noticed her running out of the girls restroom.
And he certainly hadn't expected her to turn to face him looking as panic stricken as she did. Eyes filled with tears, red eyed and puffy, and her red lipstick now looking a darker shade as it mixed with the blood on her lip. Her brown curls were now ruffled and she was breathing quickly, fear clearly in those chocolate orbs of hers.
Upon realising who he was, Grace let out a whimper, tears freely flowing down her cheeks as she sobbed, before smothering herself against his chest as she cried.
Eyes wide, not really knowing what to do, he cooed softly to the younger stark, whilst directing her to a quiet corner, hoping to avoid the curious on lookers…
Once he was successfully there he pulled away slightly.
"Grace what's wrong? What happened"He asked softly as she shivered against him.
It broke his heart to see her like this, so afraid, and he had no way of helping her.
She sniffled.
"I-I t-think i-I killed him"She finally managed. "i-I d-didn't m-mean t-to! B-but h-he w-wouldn't l-l-et me g-go!" she sobbed, her shoulders shaking with the effort. Steve felt his blood run cold and he cupped his girl's cheek, trying to wipe away the tears.
"I need you to tell me what happened doll, okay? "She nodded weakly.
"I-i-t was Z-Zac "She spluttered "I-I think he's d-d-dead.H-he a-a-ttacked m-me i-in the r-restroom"Her breathing got heavier "H-he h-hit h-is h-head o-on t-the s-s-ink a-and i-I think h-hes d-dead. I-I killed him!" she cried out.
Though very surprised, at this information he had just heard, he stroked her head softly trying to get the emotional girl in his arms to calm down. It was during this that he realised he needed back up.
And that back up came in the form of a Dr Bruce Banner, who had been watching the pair with ever growing concern.
And a hell of a lot of anger.
"Steve what the hell happened? "He demanded, and much to Steve's horror, Bruce's eyes were looking slightly green, and his skin had a slightly green tint to it
Realising that this could get out of hand VERY quickly. He did something very reckless.
He placed a sobbing Grace in the Doctors direction, her hands latching onto the Doctors suit as she shook.
This seemed to stun the doctor/Hulk and instinctively he wrapped his arms around the girl.
"Get Tony, and stay with her Bruce "Both men knew that Steve meant more than just 'stay with her'.
He also meant stay as Bruce Banner, not as the Green creature that dwelled within him. So with a solemn nod in the captain's direction the doctor gently directed the girl in his arms towards the bar, Where Tony, Clint and Thor were.
Natasha had been chatting quite contently to Pepper, when a flustered Steve had rushed towards them.
Natasha would have made a smart remark if it hadn't been for the clear panic in his eyes.
He first looked at Pepper.
"Pepper I need you to get everyone out, Say there's a fire emergency, tell them something to get them out! I don't care, just get them out" Pepper looked clearly confused at this demand.
"Steve what's going on" Steve looked at Natasha this time.
"Zac attacked Grace" Immediately the assassins eyes narrowed. "And she thinks she killed him"
Well that wasn't what she had been expecting.
Grace had limited training, at best to keep herself safe enough, or to get away
Not to kill a man.
"Where?" Steve motioned for the assassin to follow him, and the two quickly made their way to the girl's restroom.
Thankfully, no one seemed to have gone in there. They knew this, simply by the fact that someone would have probably have been horrified by what they had seen, and alerted security, who would have been swarming in the rest room by now.
Crimson coated the floor, and the unmoving body of the man, lay there.
It was as if Thor had come in and smashed Zac with his hammer.
It was almost hard to believe that his sweet, shy Grace had been responsible for the carnage before them.
Natasha wordlessly checked for the man's pulse, and shook her head slowly at Steve.
Zac was dead, and they could only wonder how Grace had done it.
Clint was the first to notice the doctor holding a sobbing Grace.
He was Hawkeye, he saw better at a distance, so of course he would have seen her first.
His smile had quickly diminished upon the sight of the young girl.
Tony, who had been laughing at something Thor had said, was interrupted when Clint had nudged the billionaire
"What's up L-"He paused, when he noticed Bruce walking towards them.
Tony quickly took his daughter away from the concerned Doctor and frowned as she latched on him. Her trembling form, causing unexplainable anger to fill his being.
"Lady Grace, what has happened?" Thor asked gravely, as he hovered next to the two starks, not really sure how he could help
"I'm s-sorry! "She whimpered "I d-d-idn't m-mean t-to d-dad" Tony knew the signs of an upcoming panic attack, as they had been frequent occurrences for his daughter, though it had been a long time since she had one.
That he was aware of anyway.
"Grace I need you to take deep breaths okay?"She nodded and Tony found himself so thankful to have his science brother with him, as the pair both took deep breaths.
"Grace Can you tell us what happened?" Bruce finally asked calmly.
Clint however had been very quiet, his gaze taking in the younger stark.
He noticed her discoloured Knuckles, Swollen and Bruised, as well as the blood that had somewhat blended into her red dress, as well as the blood on her lip.
"Did you get into a fight kiddo?" Clint asked softly. Grace peered at him, before she nodded
Tony let out a spluttered sound, but Clint simply continued.
"With who sweetheart?" Clint hoped he was wrong.
"Z-Zac"
Damn it.
He'd been right.
"Where the fuck is he?" Tony snarled angrily "I'll kill the bastard" This seemed to upset the girl again, as her eyes began to water.
"I-I a-already did"
This startled the four men, and Tony pulled away from his daughter, hoping this was some kind of sick joke.
But just be looking in her eyes
He realised…
This was all too real…