Chapter Text
Bruce tugged under the bindings placed on his hands, feet and neck. He was tied to a medical chair, which, by the looks of it, was definitely not built for doctor appointments. To his side was a silver polished bench holding an array of needles, each possessing alarmingly coloured liquids.
Hulk, he frowned, desperately trying to reach the beast. Where are you? The silence that greeted him was terrifying. Usually, the presence in the corner of Bruce's mind was irritating. A constant reminder that he wasn't normal. But now, his absence only brought dread and a deafening silence he hadn't heard in years.
He struggled again, this time trying to squeeze his hand through the metal bonds.
"That's useless Doctor." At the voice, Bruce whipped his head around, finding The Leader in the corner, observing him. Mentally, he cursed himself (and The Hulk) because who else was going to leave him tied to a lab chair if not this man?
Bruce swallowed. "You have ten seconds before I go green." Maybe he should've given himself more time because that absolutely was not going to happen.
The Leader tittered in reply. "Lying is not a good colour on you doctor. I injected a serum that keeps The Hulk at bay, so do stop with the theatrics." He frowned. "Temporary I'm afraid, but that's why I made multiple doses."
That explained it then. Bruce grit his teeth and held his chin a little bit higher, trying to muster a confident smile. "It's not working."
"I think you need to leave the bravado to Stark." Was the stupid giant forehead's only reply.
Mental note: Get lessons from Tony - even if that meant adjusting to his odd nocturnal tendencies. He grimaced internally.
The Leader sat down in a chair opposite him and gestured to the bench. "As you can see, I need some tests done," And that, of course was the worst sentence to ever come out of a man who's strapped you to a chair against your will. Bruce continued thrashing. "What's the matter Doctor? Afraid of needles?" His vein began to bulge and the first needle (filled with a sickly yellow liquid) began to turn. Bruce watched the long bevel inch closer to his neck, hearing a snotty laugh escape the man(?) next to him. "Don't worry. It'll only hurt a lot."
A second before the needle punctured the skin, it shattered, a loud hiss coming from The Leader in response. A dagger instead lodged into the wall behind the broken remains. "Am I interrupting something?" A familiar voice - well, interrupted.
Bruce felt like dying. Either The Leader would continue his experimentations on him, or Loki would do something worse. And let's just say his expectation for the former wasn't high.
Said mutant seemed to be fumbling with his words, gross beads of sweat forming from his oversized forehead. Finally, he managed to string together a sentence. "I was just in the middle of something with Dr Banner, I can assure you his screams will be delightful. You're welcome to stay and hear if you'd like?" Bruce almost snorted at the slight tremble in his voice.
"As tempting as that would be," His tone indicated that he'd rather be doing a number of other things, yet Loki walked forward placing a manicured hand under Bruce's chin. "I have business of my own with Dr Banner. I'm sure it wouldn't be too much of an inconvenience to find him again, no?"
"O-of course not." The Leader cleared his throat and with another bulge from his head, the bindings opened, allowing Bruce the freedom to stand. And he did, detangling himself from Loki's arm with the singular thought to run.
Unfortunately, before Bruce could even attempt the tactic, Loki had stepped in front of him again, signature smirk gracing his face. "Hello Bruce."
And then the scenery changed before him, becoming one of an alleyway. When Bruce finally adjusted to his bearings, he stared at Loki who, he saw, had already turned around, making coordinated steps away from him and into the bustling city. Bruce blinked for a second before yelling after him.
The god turned, eyebrow raised. "Yes?"
"You're just going to walk off? Let me go?" And maybe that was a stupid thing to say but he wasn't usually the one in the field and, okay, it had been a really long day and the adrenaline was blocking his usually really smart thoughts.
"Do you want me to let you go?" The god asked, eyes holding dark amusement.
Bruce straightened, "Well, yes."
Loki smirked and continued walking. This time, Bruce did the second most stupid thing of the day and jogged after him (I mean, he was a scientist, he didn't get seven PhD's by ignoring his curiosity.) "Loki! Wait." The god in turn sighed dramatically and stopped, head cocked to the side in question. "Why help me?"
Loki faced Bruce head on, studying the scientist for several seconds before the amusement returned. "Because if that big headed buffoon had finished his experiments, you most likely would never have recovered. That in turn would hardly give me a challenge when next we meet."
And with that, the god turned and disappeared.
---
"You're telling us," Clint said, "That Loki- Loki, saved you?"
Bruce had called a meeting as soon as he'd gotten back to the tower. Turns out Loki had dropped him off only three streets away. Now, everyone was staring at Bruce with varying stages of disbelief. He took another glass of water, kind of regretting denying Tony's offer for something stronger. "It was definitely him."
Thor looked like an energetic puppy. "My brother has changed! He must have!"
Tony cringed, setting his glass of whisky on the counter, "Let's not get too ahead of ourselves okay bud?"
Natasha nodded from where she sat next to Clint, "This could be an ulterior motive."
"Maybe." Bruce shrugged, feeling The Hulk's moping presence in the corner of his mind, and, okay, maybe he was a little relieved to have him back. "But there was something in his eyes when I asked him why." Everyone was silent for a minute, absorbing the information.
Steve looked around the room before he spoke. "If it happens again to any of us, we do what Bruce did and alert the whole team."
No one shook their heads.