Bruce walked out the door with his hands balled into fists. I growled as I paced the length of the counter. Killian wanted destruction, not change. All the interns and soldiers were nothing more than play things. He must’ve used more torturous tactics to test each subject as many screams and explosions as he covered. “[i] You’ll be perfect when I finish with you, [/i]” Killian’s whisper echoed through my thoughts.

“I was good enough the way I was,” I hissed to the darkness. The metal mugs clanged against the floor as I shoved their cart. I reared back to slam my fist into one of the hundreds of suits lining half the warehouse just before their eyes shuttered. The harsh H.I.D. eyes lit the entire room almost blinding me.

“Regenerating Power,” a mechanical voice lulled through the room.

I checked the radio; it was off, not even an ounce of static flowed through the speakers. When I put my ear against one of the iron suits debunked my suspicions; the sound wasn’t coming from them. “What is going on here?”

“Power on; JARVIS program is now operational.”

“Hello!” I shouted, but I was alone in the room.

“JARVIS is online.”

“What the-“

“The calibrations of your voice register as female. There is no record of authorization for a female at this location. Where is Dr. Banner?” The new voice didn’t seem as mechanical as the first, but it was twice as harsh.

“Whoa!” I held out up my hands in peace. “Listen, Robocop! Bruce went for a walk after he heard this woman, Pepper, on the radio.”

“Identify yourself!”

“What?” I placed my hands on my hips, wishing I could see the idiot talking. I’d have an idea how to defend myself.

“Identify yourself immediately!”

“Or what?” I rolled my eyes.

“Or I will alert the authorities.”

“M-my name is Scarlett,” I stuttered as I scanned the ceiling. There didn’t appear to be any speakers.

“What is your relationship to Dr. Banner?”

“Relationship?” I laughed.

“Madame, I do not have time for, nor am I in the mood for your cadences. Answer my questions!”

“I guess we’re friends.” I shrugged. “He saved my life a few days ago, and I woke up here.” I crossed my arms and grit my teeth. “We just realized the Mandarin was my boss in 2004.”

“Security breech!” The lights flashed inside the building. “Vacate the premises at once!”

“Holy…“ I rushed toward the exit before I pulled open the door and ran. The last thing I needed was a police interrogation.

I pushed myself to run faster as the sound of sirens began to echo through the streets. What kind of house just kicks you out? The sirens grew closer. I took great care to stay hidden in the darkness as I ran.

Before long, I came to an old used car lot. A light was shining in the tall windows. I cringed, but I knew it was the only place to hide. What man would turn away a hot woman wearing nothing by a button down shirt?

***

Bruce bent over the hood of the sedan in the show room. He had to turn on the lights so he could see the engine better. The spark plugs were fried, it needed a new air filter, and three of the heating coils were burned out. He ripped the plugs out first.

“We can’t all be superheroes,” he said aloud. “But even superheroes can’t win.” Bruce found the plugs for the model he was working for and shoved them into place before jacking the car into the air. He undid the bolts for the air filter with ease before he ripped out one of the heating coils.

“Why do good people always suffer?” He brushed the filter clean and gave it a thorough rinsing.”

He left the filter on the table to air dry before going back to his hiding place. There was no better place to avoid the overwhelming feelings of sadness, fear, and anger that Scarlett's words brought than underneath the hood of a broke down car. His fear and sadness quickly turned his anger into a rage he had to concentrate to control. With great focus he pushed the rage away as he shoved each heating coil into place. The door in the back of the show room squeaked open before slamming shut. "We're closed!" He shouted while checking a bolt. "Come back in about 12 hours."

Footsteps patted the dirty cement floor until muddy toes wiggled beside him. The sound of fingers tapping impatiently a love him echoed through the engine. The toes stopped wiggling. "Don't you understand what closed means?" Bruce grumbled.

"Your house broke."

He cringed at both the sound of her voice and her words. She was alone for maybe an hour or two at most. Bruce sighed, figuring she wanted to be alone as much as he did at the moment. He put the last coil in place while he asked, "can you put the dryer on that filter so I can be finished with this car soon?"

"What is the Jarvis program?"

Bruce's wrench clattered to the floor as his hands shook. He rolled from beneath the engine as his breathing became ragged. Her question lingered as she turned the humming drying on.

You're green." Scarlett shrugged. "Does that mean you're upset?"

He glared while swallowing his emotions. "Jarvis can't be-" he stopped as be jumped up. "What did he say?"

"He said get the hell out!" She crossed her arms. "I'm not going back!"

"No, we have to go see-"

"He'll no! Not with cops around."

Bruce shrugged, pulled out his phone, and dialed. Scarlett sneered as she crossed her legs and tapped her fingers faster. Bruce placed his hand over hers.

"Hello?" Jarvis' voice answered.

"Call them off." Bruce stated.

"Excuse me, sir?"

"Call the police off, Jarvis!" Bruce crossed his arm over his chest. "I want to come home."

"But the mandarin-"

"I captured one if his experiments. That’s what she tried to tell you!"

"Wait a minute!" Scarlett barked. Bruce held a finger towards her.

"The report has been filed as a security test. Police will be gone in approximately 10 minutes."

"We need to talk about a lot of things, Jarvis."

"If you are inquiring about Mr. Stark, he is alive and very annoyed. His suit is charging now, so he is not available."

Bruce grinned, "Does he need backup?"

"No. Mr. Stark can handle it."

"Inform him about case number 72275388 when you get in touch with him.” Bruce nodded remembering each number that belonged to the letters of Scarlett’s name. “We'll talk specifics at home." He hung up the phone.

“By the time I get this car running the police should be gone. Sit over there.”

“You’re still green,” Scarlett sat on a stool beside the tools on the wall. She cringed at the hacksaw blade.

“Just like you’re pale,” Bruce shrugged before double checking the dryer.

“You never explained Jarvis?”

“I know.”

“Why?”

“Shut up, Scarlett.”

“Don’t you mean case number blah blah blah?”

Bruce rolled his eyes as he pretended to adjust another bolt. Scarlett picked up a spare wrench. Sirens blared past the garage. “Don’t get upset over the numbers. At least they spell your name.” Scarlett shrugged and sighed. She was about to respond when Bruce scoffed. “0672185493.”

“What’s that?”

“My case number.” He looked her in the eye. “It’s what the military calls me when they’re not saying ‘Project Hulk’.”

“You’ve got to quit feeling sorry for yourself, Banner.” Scarlett turned away. “What’s done is done, so let it go.”

“That’s a lot easier said than done,” he smirked while putting the filter back into place and tightening the bolt. “I saw that look you gave the saw. Which limb?”

“I-" she took a deep breath. “I don’t remember.”

“Liar.” His phone rang.

“Dr. Banner, the police have left the premises.”

“Thanks, Jarvis.”

Notes

Jarvis is back :) Yay!

I'm sorry for skipping a chapter! But I have the last three chapters situated on here now so I don't think that we'll have a problem with that anymore. Ch. 7 was actually my ch. 8 so go backwards and reread Ch. 7 if you haven't :)

Thanks for reading!