Marvel Imagines

Bruce Banner-Good

You ducked as Thor threw a Legion bot over his shoulder, clearly forgetting you and Natasha were behind him.

"I'll deal with Klaue's men, you stay up here with the others!" You shouted at Natasha before taking off to the lower level.

You shot and killed a few men as you made your way down the stairs, crouching to flip over another and come up behind him. Grabbing the sides of his head, you quickly snapped his neck and used his body as a shield from stray bullets.

Soon, most of them were dead and you creeped through the salvage yard, keeping your head down as the sounds of battle slowed. You didn't know who had the upper hand, but you were hoping the team would have no need for Code Green. Bruce was reluctant but determined to help and it hurt to see him in pain whenever Nat brought him back down. You had grown very close to him ever since you joined the Avengers after the New York Battle and you considered him to be a good friend. Of course, Natasha had her suspicions, but you quickly put those to rest.

"Y/N! Status?" Steve's voice crackled through the earpiece and you winced at the burst of static.

"I don't-" you trailed off as Steve's urgent cries faded away.

Red tendrils of energy surrounded your head and you straightened from your crouch as the yard warped into a familiar sight.

You were in the living room of your old home and you tensed up immediately. The moldy wallpaper that peeled away to reveal rotting wood beneath its skin was something you always hated looking at. The only bulb in the house that flickered weakly overhead, throwing little to no light at all over the worn down carpet and splintering wooden floor. The rickety stairs that creaked and groaned by itself.
Leading to where you knew the horror had begun.
Loud, thumping footsteps slowly walked across the upstairs floor.
"Dead...your fault...it's all your fault." The drunken voice of your father carried through the empty house and you froze as he made his way down the stairs.

His eyes were sunken and bloodshot, a half empty bottle of booze in one hand with a leather belt in the other. He looked horrible, terrifying.

Just as you remembered him.

You backed away slowly as he swayed towards you, the bottle dropping from his hand and shattering on the floor.
He was angry and you knew it. This is what you had run away from. Why was this happening again?
Your throat was dry. Your hands trembled and your heart pounded as he got closer and closer, lifting the belt in the air.
"It's all your fault!" He roared.
"NOO!"

You closed your eyes and braced for the pain that would come, but it didn't.

Your breath came out in ragged gasps as you realized that you had shielded yourself, your power finally coming into play and preventing the horror from continuing. You dropped to your knees as you trembled violently, feeling the many stripes of the belt that had been laid into your back. The puckered skin on your arms and waist burned as the memory of sharp steel being twisted into your body ran through your head.

You slowly calmed yourself by taking deep breaths and clearing your head of those sickening memories.

Dissolving the white glow of your shield, you shakily got to your feet and the realization of what had just happened dawned on you.
The little witch had manipulated your mind, forcing you back into your painful past to cripple you. Your shield hadn't been able to keep her out, but you were strong enough to overcome the nightmare. Tony had warned you and the others of her powers and she still caught you off guard.

But, if she targeted all of you...where were the others?

"Natasha, I could really use a lullaby." Tony said urgently through the earpiece.

"Well, that's not gonna happen. Not for a while. The whole team is down, you got no back up here." Clint answered.

Shit.

That could only mean one thing: she had gotten to Bruce.

"Tony, pick me up from the yard, I'm coming your way!" You ordered and began to sprint as fast as you could. As soon as you got to the top of the ship, you flung yourself off the side and was swooped into the air by Tony.

"Jeez, Y/N, suicide isn't the answer." He said mockingly and you whacked the side of his helmet.

"Got eyes on our guy?"
"The whole city does, Y/N. Hard to miss when he's like that."

Tony flew you into the city and you immediately caught sight of the Hulk, destroying everything in his path. He set you down as close as he could get you and you closed your eyes, summoning as much strength as you could. Your eyes glowed a vibrant white from the strain as you directed a large shield around the Hulk, shrinking it slowly and forcing him to change. It wasn't as effective as Nat's lullaby, but it was working as the green slowly disappeared and Bruce stumbled to his feet, looking around wildly.

"Y/N? What-what's going-what happened?" He asked breathlessly.
The glow in your eyes faded and you fell to your knees once again, your arms quivering with exhaustion.

Bruce was looking around at the massive destruction the Hulk had caused, the screaming people that ran away with pure fear in their eyes, some of them injured and bloody.

He gave you a pained look.

"Come on. Let's get you home."

————-

Bruce huddled against the wall of the Quinjet, pulling the cloak tighter around himself as he tried not to see the horrible images in his mind.

You sighed.

Ever since you had lugged him onto the aircraft, you wanted him to have some time alone, but you also wanted him to know you were there for him.

Coming to terms with yourself, you slowly walked over and sat beside him. After a few beats of silence, you took his hand in yours.

"My mom committed suicide when I was nine. My dad beat me every single day after that with anything he could get his hands on, blaming me for her death. I ran when I was twelve."

He looked at you blankly.

"I know you don't want to talk about it. She showed us all a piece of our messed up past. What I didn't understand was why she'd show me that. I have killed so much and with no remorse that it's become a hobby more than a job. I've killed even before I met you. Before I realized there was good in this world. And you," you squeezed his hand, "are one of the good left in this world. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

He nodded and you knew that was all the reaction you'd get out of him.

"You'll be okay."

He hoped you meant that.