Chemical Love

Code Green

It was about a month in before the first "threat" hit. Bruce and I were trying to find a safe way to harness the power that the tesseract had when a shock wave hit through the lab sending us flying backwards. I hit my head slightly on the trays that held some equipment and when my vision finally became clear again I saw Bruce turning green and then back to his normal skin. It was like he was trying to hold the "threat" inwards. 

I walked over to him and placed my hand on his shoulder. This surprised him and he lost his concentration. The Hulk came out to play knocking me over again. He looked down at me and said "Hulk sorry pretty girl," before lifting me onto my feet and running out of the lab. I ran over to the wall and pressed a button that Tony had installed in case of any Hulk outbreak. 

I felt awful pressing the button because I knew how Bruce felt about it. On the second week we were working together Tony installed the button, Bruce got so mad at him that Tony ran as fast as he could out the room. Begrudgingly, Bruce told me everything, about the other guy, the anger he feels, and how he believes that the only reason as to why the Avengers keep him around is for this strong guy that smashes everything in sight. No matter how many times I tried to reassure Bruce that the Avengers kept him because he was smart and not for the other guy, he would not believe me and said that "if you saw him, you would understand." This broke my heart because Bruce is such a nice guy and a caring individual with a massive IQ and the qualifications to back this up. He should not be defined by the other guy. 

Eventually we found him. I managed to hold onto Hulk's hand and he calmed down. Slowly but surely Bruce began to morph back into himself. He was too distracted by the fact that I was holding his hand tightly to realise he was near naked. I let go of his hand, took off my blazer and gave it to him so he could cover up in front of everyone else, and before Tony could embarrass him even more than he already was. 

Tony lectured him, heavily but I could see how much it was hurting him inside. He could not control this - it takes a lot for him to try and hold this Other Guy back but anything can make him snap and lose the concentration in trying to control him. I caught Bruce's eye and saw a flash of green in them. Reaching out, I grabbed his hand gently and whispered "it's okay, do not let him get to you." Only to be met with returning sympathetic eyes from him, before he ran away yet again leaving us all stood in a wide, green empty field. 

By the time we all returned to the Avengers tower it was about 6pm. No one said a word as we all retreated to our separate rooms but I wanted food. This led me into the kitchen where I found Bruce asleep on the table. I did not want to wake him - he'd been through enough already today and deserved some sleep. I grabbed my food and went straight to the lab to work on a new task set by myself. How to create a sensor that detects a 'Code Green' without alerting and upsetting Bruce. This would be difficult but it was doable. 

Around midnight I was greeted by a sleepy Bruce. He stumbled into the lab, "Heyyy Erin". Intoxicated. "What are you doing little green bean?" He asked. "Getting you back to your room before you break anything Brucie - how much have you drunk so far?" 

"About 3 bottles, 5 shots and a water... I think it was a water anywa...." He said before passing out. 

I dragged his body to his room and placed him onto his bed. I then grabbed a water and was about to leave when I heard a murmur of my name on his lips. It made me smile to think that he was thinking about me.

Anyway, back to the little task I had set.