Driven Mad (Book 1 in the MAD Series)(An Avengers Fan Fiction)

Bruce Banner

Bruce walked briskly through the halls of StarkTower, scouring the halls in pursuit of Betty. As soon as the wedding had ended and the reception had begun, she’d disappeared, leaving Bruce worried and confused. As soon as he noticed that she wasn’t there, he began to search for her, but so far there was no sign of her. Bruce didn’t know why she ran off but he knew that he needed to find her quickly. He noticed that he’d already developed a serious unease when he couldn’t be with her because of what had happened with the Mad Thinker. He didn’t want to sound so clingy, but he felt like the only time he could keep her safe was when he could see her.

Of course, Bruce knew that Betty was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. She was strong, tougher than nails, but Bruce still desperately wanted to protect her from danger. He didn’t know what he would do without her, and if he couldn’t protect her… He couldn’t live. But then again, he couldn’t die. So finding her was top priority in that moment.

Bruce had awoken a few hours earlier when the other Avengers had unbound him from his chains. The chains had knocked him out but once they were removed the two Hulks had been fine. Bruce felt like he was an idiot for missing out on everything, the torture, everything. He’d missed all of it and he couldn’t help but feel stupid because of it. But he supposed it didn’t matter.

Ever since Bruce had woken up, he had felt this strange sense, like there was something that he could feel in the back of his head, a memory that he couldn’t remember. It was this odd sense, something that he couldn’t understand. He figured that it had something to do with this last Hulk Out, that something was different about it. He had felt the same sense when he’d woken up after New York, but this just felt a bit more… Strange.

Bruce wondered what had happened during this battle. Whatever had happened, Bruce knew that it probably wasn’t good. He couldn’t remember after the Red Hulk had forced him to Hulk Out, but he felt like something that happened afterward was still in there, just tormenting him in the back of his mind. He desperately wanted to know what he couldn’t remember, but he was incapable of unlocking it. Bruce sighed in frustration, knowing that he needed to focus on finding Betty before he even thought about that. He forced it back into the corner of his mind where it belonged and continued his search.

As he searched, Bruce’s mind couldn’t help but wander back to what he had been told. He had been told things, horrific things, things that had happened during the war that he’d missed. Toni, his only chance of getting his friend back, had gotten frustrated with the Avengers or something and she’d joined the Mad Thinker. Bruce knew that, no matter what else had happened during that war, that would always be the most painful thing to have happened.

Bruce had loved Billie like a younger sibling or even maybe a daughter. In the incredibly short time they’d known each other, they had developed an undeniable bond and Bruce loved her dearly. When she’d died, that had been the most painful thing he’d had to endure since he’d had to leave Betty. He had endured loneliness, hatred, anger, fury, rage, pain… But he endured no sadness like that, not since losing Betty. He hadn’t felt that emotion in so long that it stung more than ever when it returned. He missed Billie and he’d wondered if he could get her back by using Toni, who he barely knew.

But was that why she joined the Thinker?

Being only wanted because of someone you once were would be painful, Bruce was sure. She hadn’t been accepted as Toni Banner, but she had been pressured to be Billie Tyler, who she obviously couldn’t remember. It must have been awful for her, so Bruce couldn’t entirely blame her for joining the Mad Thinker. He knew that he had offered her acceptance and love for who she was when the Avengers had not. They’d not given her that, only wanting Billie Tyler back. He knew that he couldn’t blame her and, if he’d just lost everything and had to start all over and nobody would truly take him in, he probably would’ve done the exact same.