Calming The Beast

13.

Early 2004: Bruce pulls Logan closer letting her snuggle into his neck. A warm blanket wrapped around the two of them. She's wearing his shirt and a pair of shorts, nestled in his arms. She's practically living with him now, there every night, waking up in his arms every morning, he's made no move to push her out, instead encouraging her to stay more, to bring her things round, to effectively move in with him. She is living with him at this point, there is no sugar coating it. Her things are here. The photo of her and Sam on the top of the fireplace. Her mug in the cupboard. Her books on his shelf. Her earrings left lying on the coffee table. They are living together. Bruce reaches up for her hair.

"Do you know how much I love you?" he asks her twirling a strand of hair around his finger. She smirks and looks up at him.

"Hmmmm no" she lies, he chuckles and kisses her softly. She knows exactly how much he loves her, by the way he looks at her, the way he smiles at her, the way he touches her, the way he breaths her name when they make love. She knows exactly how much he loves her.

"I love you so much that I don't even want to think about what life would be like without you in it" he admits. "Every time you walk into the room, I am breathless...." he adds smiling warmly at her. "You" he pulls her closer and kisses her, she wraps her arms around his neck. "You are my treasure – the most precious and the most beautiful thing in my life" she wants to cry, not with sadness, how can she possibly be sad after that? But because of the sheer intensity of his admission, the power behind his words. No one has ever spoken about her that way. No one. She smiles and touches his cheek, he smiles back at her.

"Take me to bed" she whispers, he lifts her up into his arm as he stands walking with her to his, to their bedroom. He shuts the door with his foot as they disappear into the dark room.

............

Present:

Logan walks with Bruce down the ramp of the jet to join Steve, Clint and Natasha waiting at the bottom. Steve looks to Logan, to make sure she's okay, she waves off his concern.

"Ready?" Natasha asks, Bruce nods and glances to Logan, she glances back at him, brushes her fingers against his, he takes her hand, clutching to her. Anchoring himself. The team walks away from the wrecked jet.

....................

The five of them arrive in the middle of a four-way street. Suddenly, the city lurches to a stop. A deep, primal rage bellows out. With a roar, a shadow falls over them. From the portal, a chitauri leviathan flies out carrying hundred of chitauri soldiers. The leviathan flies over the five of them. They look up, out of their element. From both sides chitauri soldiers cling off and attach themselves to the sides of buildings. Some crash into the buildings and being firing from their energy rifles at innocent people.

"Stark, are you seeing this?" Steve asks through his comms unit.

"I'm seeing, still working on believing" Tony responds. Iron Man quietly flies behind and parallel with the chitauri.

.................

Thor holds down Loki's face straight ahead, forcing him to watch the city falling to ash.

"Look at this! Look around you! You think this madness will end with your rule?" Thor asks his brother. Loki tries to look away.

"It's too late. It's too late to stop it"

"No. We can. Together" Loki looks at his brother, showing a sign of hope. Then... Loki stabs Thor with a small knife. Thor keels over.

"Sentiment" Thor gets up, kicks Loki and lifts him into the air. Thor then slams him down, hard. Loki, bleeding, rolls over the edge. Thor looks down. Loki is not riding on a flying chariot. Dozens of chitauri follow him.

...................

Steve, Natasha and Clint lead the way past upside taxis. Behind them Logan and Bruce walk slower, cautious. Logan holds her gun at her side, her fingers tight on the handle. They all look up and see Loki taking his band down the street and fires at the street in a chain of explosions. Smashing cars and hurling people as it goes off in one final conflagration. Terrified people run away. Steve looks down the bridge and then turns back to the others.

"Those people need assistance down there" He points out, chitauri that have landed near them and begin firing at them. Logan keeps Bruce behind her as she uses her gun and returns fire. Natasha turns to Cap.

"We got this. It's good. Go!" Steve looks to Clint.

"You think you can hold them off?" he asks.

"Captain" Clint pulls a trigger on his bow; an arrow is mechanically chosen. "It would be my genuine pleasure" Clint shoots an arrow into the creature's head, gaining a few seconds for Steve as he falls down the bridge, followed by an explosion. Clint runs over a bus full of people. From the windows, small children are held by their parents for Clint to pull them out to safety. He runs over to the jammed door and jerkily opens it. People begin to run out. Natasha and Logan both empty out their clips. Clint fires arrows into the ranks of the chitauri, hitting his mark each time he shoots. Bruce keeps to cover, Logan making sure she keeps herself between him and the aliens. Natasha shares a look with Clint.

"Just like Budapest all over again!" She comments.

"You and I remember Budapest very differently" Clint argues.

..................

Clint trips a chitauri and rams an arrow down it's throat. Natasha gets her hand on an energy rifle and stickfights the hell out of then soldiers around her. Logan empties a clip and realises she's out, she sets the gun in the back of her trousers and lets her angel blade slide down her sleeve, she jams it into a chitauri. Steve joins back in and using his shield deflects oncoming chitauri. It's all too much on them until...Lightning strikes down from the sky, channelling the blast, firing the electricity out at the chitauri around them. They're blasted back in a massive shockwave. The chitauri convulse, drop dead to the ground. Thor touches down.

"What's the story upstairs?" Steve asks Thor.

"The powers surrounding the cube is impenetrable" Thor informs the group.

"Thor is right. We gotta deal with these guys" Tony tells them all over comms.

"How do we do this?" Natasha asks.

"As a team" Steve tells them.

"I have unfinished business with Loki" Thor points out.

"Yeah, get in line" Clint comments darkly.

"Dick tried to kill me and turn Bruce...." Logan growls slightly.

"Save it" Steve snaps. "Loki's gonna keep this fight focused on us and that's what we need. Without him these things could run wild. We got Stark up top, he's gonna need us..."

"I'm bringing the party to you" Tony interrupts. Iron Man comes out from behind a building. The leviathan follows, impatiently. The rest of the Avengers look up, getting ready and standing still.

"I... I don't see how that's a party..." Natasha argues.

"I do!" Logan adds with a smirk, the years of hunting bigger and badder monsters makes her seek out the bigger yet. Iron Man swoops down the street. The leviathan also swoops down, barreling down the street like a freight train that keeps building and building its intensity.

"Bruce" Logan states, he looks to her. "We need you to let go" she moves to Bruce. "Make him a hero" he searches her eyes and nods a little, still worried. "You can do this" she whispers. Bruce nods, firmer this time. He begins to walk towards the leviathan coming towards them. Steve shifts closer to Logan, Bruce looks to her and nods. Her eyes turn purple and she gives him a small smile, reassuring him. She lets her own anger, a lifetimes worth fill Bruce. Bruce's body starts to swell and stretch and harden. Green shoots through his body. The Hulk.