Work Text:
The mission went south quickly. The terrorists had been warned of SHIELD’s approach and had planned an ambush. The agents walked right into it. More specifically, they were currently locked up in separate cells in a very deep cave. The SHIELD agents themselves knew how to handle the upcoming torture but they had brought along an expert in the radiation that they were investigating so Dr. Banner was captured as well.
It turns out that AIM had been working on a new power source that would allow their missiles to land anywhere in the world with little to no warning. Natasha and Clint had managed to find that much out just from the bragging being done by the lead guy in the yellow lab suit.
They rolled with the punches and gritted their teeth at the knife play but overall managed to be perfect little agents. Natasha didn’t say a thing worth writing down but managed to get AIM to tell a lot of their secrets while Clint gave a lot of false leads and conflicting stories that didn’t mean anything.
Then they decided to take the agents back to their cell. While they are being walked back they are able to look into the cell that is holding Dr. Banner. AIM had managed to recreate the collar that the army had used on him for years. It monitors his heartrate and injects him with beta blockers to calm down his heart whenever he even came close to Hulking out.
They look at Bruce and saw his calm demeanor. They also saw his brown eyes outlined by a very bright shade of green. Natasha and Clint both smiled at him and warned the men that they are going to die soon. The men laughed as they pushed the two agents into separate cells. They then got Dr. Banner and dragged him into the interrogation room. They tied him to a chair at an angle that he could see the torture tools hanging on the wall.
“Good evening, Doctor,” one of the men said. His yellow suit hiding his face.
“Oh, I’m not a doctor,” the collared man replied with a small smile.
“Are you not the great Dr. Banner? The leading expert on gamma radiation?” another man in a yellow suit asked.
“Oh, that would be the other guy. No, call me Robert.” The eyes of the man barely blinked. The green ring intensified.
“If you are not the doctor, then who exactly are you, Robert?” the man sneered.
“I’m the one that the Hulk is afraid of,” he answers. “Did you know that you can actually live a long time without your stomach? It's not that hard to take out either.”
The men halted their pacing around Robert for a few seconds. Then the one that talked first punched their prisoner in the gut. Robert didn’t even huff. If anything, the man had to shake the pain out of his hand.
“I wouldn’t do that if I was you. Just because I am smaller than the Hulk doesn’t mean that I don’t have his mass. You should see how much water I displace.”
The second man to have spoken leaned down and Robert could see his curiosity through the helmet. “How many of you are there? I knew that Dr. Banner and the Hulk were two different personalities but I never figured him to actually suffer from MPD.”
Robert smiled but refused to give out any information. The first interrogator pulled out a knife. The smile got wider. The knife was shoved into Roberts arm and a deep cut was made from the elbow to the wrist. He cut quickly but by the time the knife moved an inch the inch behind it was healed. The man actually dropped his knife in shock.
“Jones, this is starting to really freak me out,” the first interrogator said.
“Calm down. He’s fascinating,” Jones said as he started to poke Robert. The first man decided that he wasn’t needed and left the room quickly. He was replaced by three others who also continued to poke, cut and prod. One took tissue samples, another took blood and one even pulled out a few hairs.
“Is this going to get interesting or you just going to keep tickling me?” Robert asked. This made the scientists pause for a second but one actually giggled a bit before they went back to their notes.
Roberts sighed. He was really getting tired of this. He decided that their play time was over and that it was his turn. He pulled his arms up and the ropes broke easily. He kicked out his legs and they were free as well. Two of the scientists/interrogators froze while the other two had the sense to run towards the door. The runners didn’t make it.
Robert was quicker than anything they had seen before. He didn’t have the bulk of the Hulk but he still seemed to have the strength. He didn’t kill anyone but he did incapacitate them with a blow to the head or a twist to their spines.
He leaned over one of the men that was still conscious and continued to smile. “You guys are fun.” He then ripped open the guys suit and started feeling around his belly. He had grabbed the knife that was used on him earlier. The blade slid easily into the man’s side as Robert carved out his spleen. “Huh, always wondered what one of these looked like up close. My view is usually a bit further away.” He then threw it over his shoulder and went to the next man.
This man was unconscious, or dead. Robert didn’t really care. He decided to test his finesse and put the knife in the band of his pants along his back. He reached down and used his nails to break the skin from the man’s neck to his belly button. He then pulled the skin aside and took a good look at the ribs. He placed a well calculated punch to either side, breaking the ribs and pulling the front rib cage off. “Huh, the heart is still beating. Fascinating.”
He then looked over at the other men on the floor. One was awake and staring at Robert with utter fear. “Oh, don't worry little canary,” Robert said. “I’ll leave you for last.”
As Robert spoke, the door was thrown open and a group of men started to enter. Their guns firing at Robert as soon as they had a clear shot. “I thought I told you guys to stop tickling me?” The bullets continued to go through the man’s body but by the time they exited his back, everything on the front was healed. “You guys are fun!”
Roberts eyes shone as he set himself upon the men. He kicked high and snapped a man’s head almost completely off his neck. He punched a man and his fist went halfway through his chest. Robert went from man to man punching and kicking so that there was nothing left but a mass of tissue and bone at his feat. He decided to see if there was anyone else to play with in the other rooms. He entered the facility and went room to room but the scientists had either fled or were already bleeding out. Robert sighed and resigned himself that his fun was over.
He went back to the basement and went through the cells. He walked up to the first one. He had never met the agent inside it before but was pleased to see the lack of fear in the man's eyes. They must have heard the screaming and bullet fire. Robert smiled as the man left the cell to help open the others. “You may not want to trust me so much. You would look good hanging on my wall.” This made the man shiver a moment but he was a professional and stayed near Robert to help.
After Robert had twisted the fancy lock off of every cell door he sat down. Clint and Natasha were the only two brave enough to come close to him at that point. Clint was limping a bit but it could have been from an old injury the torture inflamed.
“So, Robert. Can we call you a friend since you freed us or do we look pretty enough to hang on your wall as well?” Clint smiled down at the man.
“Naw, you wouldn’t be worth the damage to Bruce's psyche. It's bad enough that the first thing he is going to ask is if he hurt anyone and the answer is 67 people.” Robert leaned back against the stone wall and sighed. “Poor guy. Never did get a chance at a normal life. I honestly think the Tower is only the second place he’s ever felt safe in his entire life.”
Natasha crouched down next to him and asked softly. “What was the other place?”
“Betty’s arms,” Robert smiled as he drifted off to sleep.
Clint and Natasha shared a look. What sort of life did Bruce go through if he never felt safe, even as a child?
Dr. Banner jerked up suddenly. “Did I hurt anyone?” He asked as he took off his glasses to clean them only to notice the blood that covered his hands and clothes. He forced himself to control his breathing as he looked at his hands a bit wildly.
“Bruce... Bruce, it's okay,” Natasha said as she put her hands on his arms. She didn’t restrain him, just let him know she was present. “You stopped the bad guys from killing us.”
“But what is there to stop me?” He looked back at his friend with fear in his eyes.
This time it was Clint that answered. “It turns out that you are. He said he wouldn’t hurt anyone that you care about.”
Bruce snorted and shook his head. “That’s a very short list of people.”
“Not really,” Natasha said. “Robert put some fear into the other agents but refused to touch them. I think he cares about what you think more than anyone realizes.”
“Then why am I covered in blood?” Bruce held up his hands.
“Because it was them or us. He made the choice to free us and did what was needed,” Clint said. He omitted the happy smile the man wore the entire time.
Bruce reached up and rubbed his collar. “Mind if I keep this on for a bit? I know Tony won’t allow it in the Tower but it’s nice to know I won’t bring out the other guy. Even if it doesn’t stop Robert.”
Bruce looked around calmly as they walked past the cells but closed his eyes when Natasha told him to so that they could walk through the interrogation room to exit the building.
One of the AIM scientists was still alive. The SHIELD agent who found him called the paramedic to come to his aid. The man had a broken back and would never walk again. He started screaming as Bruce was taken through the room. He was surrounded by blood and body parts but it was the image of the doctor that terrified him. Bruce allowed himself to be led through without opening his eyes. The scream was enough to add to his nightmares for months.
On the helicarrier the medical personal did all they could to help the man heal and promised to give him enough therapy to continue a decent existence if he promised to cooperate with SHIELD. At first he refused. He knew that if he could escape and get back to AIM they may have a way to cure him. They kept him cuffed to the bed until he cooperated. Then he heard a noise from the vent a little bit after midnight.
“Wow, I am too big for this. I wonder how Hawkeye does it so easily.” The vent fell and a man in a rumpled shirt and jeans crawled out. His brown eyes had a green glowing ring that lit up the darkness a bit. “I told you I would return little canary. I heard that you aren’t being very cooperative. I suggest you change that.”
The AIM scientist started pressing his nurse call button but was too scared to breathe let alone scream for help. Robert came around his bed and sat on his left side. He ran his hands over the man's arms and stomach. “Such soft skin. I wonder how many bones I could remove before you bled out. I wonder how many I could remove and keep you alive.”
The man looked at his tormentor and tears fell down his face. “Now look,” said Robert. “You've gone and soiled yourself. Now the poor nurse will have extra work to do. I suggest you don’t do that again. I suggest you help SHIELD with their investigation. Remember, I protect those who work for SHIELD. I kill those who work for AIM.”
Robert then got up and left through the door. The guards on the other side were surprised to see that someone had gotten past them. Robert chuckled, “You know, with Hawkeye around, I would have thought you had cameras in the vents by now. Pity. I didn’t think SHIELD was that stupid. Now let the poor nurse in before the guy gets a rash.”
The guards just looked dumbfounded as Robert made his way back to his temporary quarters on base. When Bruce woke up the next morning he had no idea that his other personality had taken control the night before and no one was stupid enough to tell him.
XXX
Fury looked over the surveillance tapes of both the AIM interrogation room and the medical facility. “Do we have any way of stopping this Robert when he gets out?”
Natasha shrugged. “He can’t be killed and I doubt there is much that would stop him. He has the Hulk’s strength, Bruce’s intelligence and the mind of a psychopath. I suggest we do everything possible to keep Bruce happy. I have a feeling that as long as Bruce feels safe around us Robert will be on our side.”
“And if he feel threatened?” Fury raised the eyebrow over his good eye.
“Well then, I wouldn’t want to be between you and him.”