Body and Soul: The Endgame Fix

Part 11: Big Love

Summary: We're back in the present on Monday, October 30, 2023, and in the bedroom at Bruce's house. While Natasha naps, Bruce finds out there's a lot of paperwork in her near future, but Natasha has other things on her mind when she wakes. She's pretty persuasive. Yes, this is a "mature" chapter.

~o~

Bruce watched her eyelids flutter as Natasha presumably went into the REM stage of sleep. That was probably good because she needed the deep rest. He hoped Carol and Nick wouldn't destroy and contaminate everything before he could find out what happened to Nat while she was in stasis. Then, more lab reports had pinged in on his phone with surprisingly good levels for the early toxicology results though a few hormones were running a bit high. He was really more concerned about what she'd been exposed to for so long that might not be immediately evident.

He quietly slipped out of the bed and stretched out his shoulders and loosed up his spine before putting a pair of fresh underwear on and sitting down at his desk in the far corner of the room. He emailed one of the Personnel Officers he still knew at S.H.I.E.L.D. to let her know what had happened and see what Natasha would need to do to get her various accounts and files back opened and her bureaucratic life back. The reply came back very quickly. There were plenty of other people in similar situations, so there were now websites for government services and "identity recovery" offices being set up. Luckily, his contact could help former Agent Romanoff get the process rolling, but she'd have to be the one initiating any action. Swell.

Bruce then checked the government page for the official Decimation Death List. The only good news was she hadn't been added, so her social security number was probably still active. She'd have to decide if she wanted to report the kidnapping as identity fraud. Obviously, the paperwork was going to take some time to navigate.

He thought about all the confusion just in Bridgewater and wondered if it would be easier to set up new accounts than resurrect the old ones for her. He'd kept Robert Bruce Banner's identity intact though it wasn't strictly accurate anymore. Physically, his fingerprints, retinas, voice, skin tone, weight, height, and sizes had all changed. When Banner and Hulk came together into Bruce, they had all changed inside as well, but that wasn't reflected in his official records. Bureaucratically, his life would have changed more if he'd been trans or just decided to change his name, so he wasn't about to complain. Luckily, the local DMV had taken it all in stride when he had his driver's license renewed the first time. He'd quickly learned a smile and friendly enthusiasm smoothed over a lot of potential road bumps.

Bruce picked through his wallet for the information on one of his small local accounts and added Natasha's name onto it via the local branch bank online, so she'd have that resource to draw on till hers were set up. Then it hit him, Nat might not want him doing this, so he stopped after he'd set up the basics for the account. Natasha would have to confirm it with her social security number and other information in person anyway. She might want to do her own email and phone service for the burner Clint had given her, too. He wanted to do more, but he made himself stop.

Over the last few years, Bruce had noticed this type of compulsiveness on his part was something he had to be careful about since the merger. He'd double dipped on an obsessive streak for guarding and caregiving from both personalities, and that triggered some anal-retentive tendencies to try and fix everything possible. The savior and the martyr roles were also deeply ingrained in him. Banner and Hulk had never been that far apart in those respects. They had embraced and accepted their shadows. Now, he was all of them, and he'd found balance and peace of mind. He hoped now he'd finally lucked into happiness with Nat again.

Bruce thought about the school projects and individuals he'd work with over the last few years. He had to be careful and let others do their own problem solving sometimes and work toward sustainability so programs would last after he'd helped get them going with some well-placed resources or a little media promotion or networking to get them connected to others. Tony had called him an old hen more than once, but he had a solid track record as a mentor and benefactor, especially on the education projects. Bruce was really proud of the local people who'd completed training programs or gone to college and now graduate school in a couple of cases. Yah, Stark was one to talk, considering all the support he'd given to STEM graduate projects alone.