Bruce ran his hands through his rapidly thinning hair. He'd hoped that it would stay thick for more of his life, but the longer he spent working with Tony the more he came to accept the fact that bad hair days were his new reality.
His cup of coffee sat untouched in front of him and he leaned his elbows on the island and put his face in his hands, gently massaging his temples. Unlike Tony, he knew when he needed to eat and sleep, but like the billionaire, he tended to struggle doing so when predicaments like Peter Parker were dropped in his lap like this.
Bruce remembered the first time this had happened. He and Thor had barely returned to the Tower before an AI who called herself Friday started directing him to the med bay, alerting him that somebody needed his help. He hadn't expected Cap to run in minutes later with a broken boy in his arms, but Bruce knew better than to ask questions until he was sure everyone was okay. Hours later, after intensive surgery, he'd come out of the room and almost run straight into Tony, who had clearly been waiting for him. Thor was there as well, but unlike Tony he did not rush into the room to check on the comatose boy.
"I must go back to my people. I doubt I will see you again until after we have settled New Asgard," Thor had said in a quieter voice than was his usual, placing a hand on Bruce's shoulder.
"Wait, you're leaving?"
Thor was already walking away, a wide smile on his face, but Bruce could tell something was bothering the god. "I will see you soon, Banner!"
Thor hadn't come back. It had been months, and there was no word from the "Revengers", nothing to indicate they remembered him or cared to let him know they were alright. As the time continued to pass, Bruce learned to maintain his slowly dwindling patience by breaking everything down into more Hulk-like pieces--little facts and observances that even the big guy could understand.
Apparently a huge fight had gone down between the Avengers, and they were just barely back on speaking terms. Weird.
Natasha no longer seemed to be very interested in him. Not as weird, considering he had practically abandoned her.
Tony was married and had two adopted kids now. Weird.
Hydra was still causing chaos with every chance they got, which included experimenting on teenaged superheroes. Not weird. Not good, either.
Peter Parker, one of the two Tony had adopted, was now in a coma with miniscule robots controlling his brain. Bruce frowned. That sentence felt weird just thinking about it.
How was it possible for technology to override the human mind like that without killing the host? How was he supposed to pull Peter out of his coma? How would he tell Tony that he wasn't really sure he could get Peter back?
"Bruce? What are you doing?"
Bruce jerked to life, almost spilling his coffee as he spun around to see Natasha standing in the hallway. "What?"
She raised an eyebrow at him. "Why are you having coffee in the destroyed kitchen?"
Bruce did a double take, realizing that he was in fact sitting at the kitchen island, surrounded by mutilated furniture, a chilly breeze rushing through the shattered windows and tickling the back of his neck.
"You need to get some rest, I think," Nat said, a small smile on her face as he stood up and picked his way towards her.
"I... I can't."
"Why not?"
Bruce sighed. "I did some scans on Peter. Physically, he's in good shape. He's not malnourished like Morgan was, and there's no sign of recent physical abuse, but..." Natasha didn't interrupt him, just waited patiently for him to string his thoughts together. "But his brain has been completely overtaken by nanotechnology. I've never seen anything like it, Nat."
"What does that mean?" she asked. Despite years of training to hide her emotions, Bruce could tell she was worried.
"It's like mind control, but tech based. And I have no idea how to snap him out of it."
They stood in silence together for a short while, deep in thought, until Bruce sighed and pressed the palms of his hands into his eyes.
"Come on," Nat said gently, grabbing his elbow and guiding him towards the elevator. "You've done everything you can for the day. You need to sleep, and then you can start again tomorrow."
~~~
It was a new experience to not be the only one waiting by the side of a hospital bed.
Tony, of course, was in the chair next to Peter's bed. Pepper was sitting in the one next to his, her head leaned on his shoulder as she slept softly. Bruce had given Morgan permission to lay in bed with her brother so long as she didn't disturb his oxygen or IV, so she was quick to curl up next to Peter and fall asleep.
Who knew tears could feel so good. All three Starks had shed plenty over the last few hours, Morgan most of all. Tony had seen it eating away at her ever since she'd been found--she tried to hide it, but deep down she'd clearly worried she would never see her brother again. Now that he was here, unconscious but alive, there was no keeping her from Peter's side.
Tony was finally starting to let his eyes close, grateful that the much-needed sleep seemed to have finally decided to catch up with him, when the door suddenly opened. Bruce came in the room quietly, quickly checking on Peter's vitals and making sure that the various monitors were still connected and functioning properly. When he was done, he glanced up and met Tony's eyes, tilting his head towards the door before leaving the room again.
With a sigh, Tony gently woke Pepper, and then sleepily they followed Bruce out the room.
"Is he going to be okay?" Tony asked once the door was shut behind them.
Bruce sighed heavily, his eyes downcast. "I... I don't know, Tony. I'd be lying if I said I knew what to do."
Pepper squeezed Tony's arm reassuringly as he rubbed his face with his free hand. "Is there anyone who could help us with this?"
"Unless you know the person behind the nanites, I doubt it." Bruce twisted his hands together nervously, not meeting their eyes.
"Bruce, what else do you need to tell us?" Pepper asked.
The doctor stood a little straighter. "Fury's here. Apparently when Sam and Rhodey went MIA, they caught the guy they think might be behind all this. We need Morgan to tell us if it really is him, though."
"I'll go get her up, then," Pepper said, heading quietly back inside the room.
"Bruce," Tony finally said after a long moment of awkward silence, "I... I never thanked you."
"For what?"
Tony scoffed. "For what? Banner, you're the reason my kids are still alive. I could have at least gotten you one of those cheesy dollar store thank you cards."
Bruce chuckled. "You've already given me a place to live, Tony. I'm the one who should be thanking you."
"We'll argue about this later," Tony said as Pepper and a very sleepy looking Morgan came out of the med bay. "Now, where's Fury?"
~~~
Morgan's heart was practically pounding right out of her chest as they followed Fury to another room in the Tower, where he was temporarily holding the man until she could identify if it really was him. The only thing preventing her from letting panic take over was Tony's hand on her shoulder, keeping her grounded and letting her know that nothing was going to happen to her as long as he was there.
They rounded a corner and were met by Sam and Rhodey, who appeared to be guarding one of the only doors in the hallway. They halted their conversation and nodded at Fury, Rhodey stepping away for a moment to hug Tony and exchange a quick, "I'm glad you're okay."
"You ready?" Sam asked Morgan, placing his hand on the door handle. He waited for her to nod before opening the door and letting the group in.
The man was sitting handcuffed to the only table in the room, his expression unreadable as everyone filed in until his eyes landed on Morgan. She shuddered as, upon meeting his gaze, a small smirk appeared on his face.
"Quentin Beck. Former Stark Industries employee, and, judging by the ridiculous get-up, a current Hydra lackey," Fury read off the tablet in his hands, raising an unimpressed eyebrow at the man before turning to Morgan. "This the man you told us about?"
"Yes," Morgan said, surprising herself with how steady her voice was, especially as Beck's eyes did not leave her own. "Yes he is."
"Morgan Stark," Beck drawled, leaning back in his chair. Morgan could feel Tony tense up beside her. "Last I saw, you were near dead. It's a shame how that worked out, really."
"Huh. Didn't know you could see, what with your eye not being Stark-proof. It's a shame how that worked out really," she shot back without missing a beat. The man gritted his teeth in anger, but his smug look quickly returned as he turned his gaze to Tony and took in the bruises on the billionaire's neck.
"It would seem your father isn't Stark-proof, either," Beck said with a grin, his smile only widening as Pepper grabbed Tony's arm to hold him back. "What's the matter? Your son not quite acting like himself?"
"I think that's quite enough, Mr. Beck," Fury interrupted, stepping between the Starks and the man. "You've already lost. Don't make this harder than it has to be."
"If you think I'm going to talk, you're wrong," Beck spat.
Fury only shrugged, nodding at Sam to start guiding everyone back out of the room. "We'll see about that."
"You say you've won, but this is Hydra's victory!" Beck shouted after them, yanking violently at his handcuffs in a fit of rage. Morgan glanced back at him, fear worming its way into her heart again as the deranged look on his face only grew wilder as he met her gaze once more. "The Asset is still ours! You will never get him back! Nev--"
The door was slammed shut by Sam, cutting Beck off mid-sentence. Pepper crouched down in front of Morgan, asking if she was okay. It was a few moments before Morgan realized Pepper was talking to her, and then a few more after that to notice that she'd stopped breathing.
"Yeah," she said, her voice shaking. It seemed her nerves had finally caught up to her. "I'm okay."
"When you said you scratched up his face, you weren't kidding," Sam said in awe as the group started to make their way back down the hallway. Morgan couldn't help but giggle as Fury turned towards her with a look of disbelief on his face.
"You did that?"
"Yeah."
Fury swore, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards into an amused smile. "Remind me not to get on your bad side, kid. I can't afford to lose another eye."
~~~
"Boss, there are unscheduled visitors on the helipad now."
Tony jerked awake, accidentally startling Pepper. They were back at Peter's side, trying to get every moment of sleep that they could, but it seemed that the universe just couldn't afford to let them rest.
Morgan blearily lifted her head, blinking back sleep. "What time is it?"
"It's been about two hours since we went to see Fury," Tony said, frowning at his watch. He'd barely fallen asleep twenty minutes ago, what with that maniac's words running through his mind like a broken record.
The Asset is still ours! You will never get him back!
Suppressing a shudder, Tony sat up a little straighter. "What visitors, Fri?"
"Thor Odinson and Loki of Asgard arrived one minute ago."
Tony felt his heart skip a beat as his wide eyes met Pepper's.
"Don't leave this room," he said, his voice dangerously low. "I'll go deal with this."
He practically sprinted the whole way to the elevator, activating his suit as he moved and trying not to grind his teeth so hard they cracked. What was Thor doing bringing Loki here? The elevator dinged softly as it reached the helipad, Tony's thoughts still running circles in his mind. Maybe it was a Hydra trick? Maybe Friday was having a glitch?
He stepped out of the elevator, grateful that his visor kept him from having to squint in the morning sunlight as he held his repulsor steady, aimed at two very familiar figures.
"Stark!" Thor called, jogging towards Tony. "We need to talk!"
"Give me one reason why I shouldn't blast your brother back into 2012 right now," Tony snapped, his eyes never leaving the God of Mischief.
"This is bigger than me and you, Stark," Loki said, rolling his eyes, although he was smart enough not to come any closer.
Thor stepped forward so that he was between the two of them, holding his hands out to Tony in an attempt to deescalate the situation. "Tony, please."
Tony paused, letting his hand drop slightly as his repulsor powered down. He'd never seen Thor like this before.
Something was clearly very wrong.
"What's going on," Tony demanded.
Thor stepped forward, a grave look on his face as he grabbed Tony's shoulders and held on to them as though they were his only lifeline.
"Thanos is coming."