bruce banner, LIFELINE

the end.

After everything, the almost dying and then surviving, the bruises and an almost twisted ankle Parker really wanted a break. She needed her wheelie chair in Calcutta, she wanted to spin around on it endlessly and try to beat Bruce for the place in front of the fan. She wanted it so badly.

But she couldn't, because the one piece of that puzzle crucially missing was Bruce. He was on the streets of New York, probably in a crater the more she thought about it. She hadn't stood still before and she wasn't going to start when she was only a couple of blocks away from Dr Banner.

Peter had left her after she insisted - multiple times - that the whole population of New York needed him more than his older sister. His webs were still an odd sight she would never become used to.

That left her and Loki. But he was unconscious and Parker really did not want to wake him. She kicked him with her good foot just to check, she did it slightly harder than she anticipated. Nothing. Thank God. She wasn't waiting around for him to remember how he never actually killed her.

She touched her neck and cheek, it wasn't bleeding at all now. But it was still a horrific sight, Peter made that clear before he left. She staggered to the kitchen and cleaned the dried blood until there was no more to come off. It was a long cut, it would scar probably but nothing serious.

Just like her ankle, it wasn't as bad as her adrenaline made her think. In fact it was nothing compared to the throbbing all down her right side. The building hurt, her fear of heights was rationale after all but somehow she believe she had conquered it now. If she didn't, well she never would.

Then she looked down the stairs, saw the distant bottom and almost threw up. She fell backwards onto the wall and slid down it. You can't conquer all your demons in one day.

"Next time." She told herself.

She hopped to the elevator, she prayed Tony Stark is one of those men who are prepared for anything.

He wasn't. The button did nothing.

Parker was forced to walk down the stairs. It felt petty, she guessed now she wasn't scared of a big green monster her mind still had to make her scared of something.

So she refused to look anywhere near the middle and tried to run down as many flights as she could. Which was three before she had to stop. Goodness. She had ran enough in the last week to fill her yearly quota. She hobbled down the rest of them until she reached the lobby although bomb site seemed to fit her surroundings better.

The outside world seemed to explode into the building and covered every inch of the room in dust, debris and god knows what else but Parker was used to this. Once you had seen Indian junkyards even this seemed tidy.

Outside debris filled the street with the occasional break and then she could see the burn marks which would remain on the road for years to come.

"Okay," She had to mentally prepare herself, "You can do this."

Her best bet was the surrounding streets so that is where she started. Bruce would have had a systematic approach, like when they hunted for specific medicine in warehouses. Parker would get lost until she heard Bruce's voice on the com system telling her to meet him in the aspirin isle. But protocol was out of the window today.

She ended up walking the streets alone with no destination in mind ,she wasn't lost this time though, a New Yorker couldn't forget the streets they grew up on.