Bruce studied Scarlett as she scarfed her food. Her skin tinged pink as heat radiated from her pores and her face. . . She was trying hard to cover it up but he saw the fear, the nervousness. Her eyes widened while her fists clenched at the sight of the test tubes and beakers stored in the cabinets.

She held a tiny tube of blue liquid in front of her squinted brow and crinkled nose. "I thought this wasn't a lab, Big Guy?"

Bruce cringed at the name. TV personnel either used it or the other word...Hulk. Those words boosted the Other Guy's ego. "If you knew Tony Stark you'd understand." He took the test tube from her. "I wonder why he kept this though."

"What is it?" Her eyes nearly flamed with curiosity, but nerves snubbed out the fire. She reached for the tube, but he kept it away from her.

"It’s supposed to be my cure, but it barely slowed me down in Texas." He shrugged, "Thunderbolt likes to say it was a classified battle, but an innocent man lost his life trying to give my secret back to the military."

Scarlett closed her eyes for a moment as she processed the information. She took a deep breath before she looked at him again. She saw the pieces of a broken man trying their hardest to stick together. "At least they attempted a cure for you."

His eyes focused on the small waves in the blue liquid caused by his shaking hand. "There will never be a cure."

She wanted to take his hand, to soothe him; she reached out, but hesitated as her hand shook. Her brain screamed comfort him, but her heart saw the truth. "Why did you survive the radiation, Bruce?" She almost whispered the last word; the first time she spoke his name.

"I-" Bruce started, but lowered his head. He didn't want to tell her. There wasn’t a chance he would reveal the abuse and the experimentation his father inflicted after he killed Bruce's mother. He wouldn't admit that abuse probably saved his life in the long run by making his cells, tissue, and muscles strong enough to survive. "I don't know," he whispered.

"I survived," Scarlet pushed the tears from her voice, "because of a birth defect. My, um, mom..." She couldn't hold back a soft sob any longer. "My mom was... She wasn't able to carry a full term pregnancy. I'm supposed to be dead!"

There was nothing to be said or done. He finally looked at her as she wiped the tears from her eyes. There was no one he could relate to, not in the way he related to her. "Why?"

She sobbed into her hands, "why what?"

He gently grabbed her wrists pulling the away from her tear streaked face. "Why are you telling me this?"

His brown eyes filled her watery vision. "Because it's been too long since I was honest, and I think you're the same. There's a lot I need to say." She wriggled her hands free and wiped her eyes. "I don't want to talk anymore."

Bruce nodded as he scooped up her empty bowl before running water in the sink. "The acid wash station is our shower. There's a toilet behind the door back there, and you can have the mattress." He turned his back to her as he poured a bit of soap in the water.

"Thanks," she whispered as she walked towards the wash station. The emptiness in her heart grew as she thought about the things she'd said. She wanted nothing more than to take it all back. Laugh it off as a sick joke. She sighed as she pinned the rope.

"I'll be here, Scarlett," Bruce stated as he finished the dishes. "Whenever you want to talk, I'll be here."

She unbuttoned his shirt quickly before pulling the curtain around herself. "So will I," she whispered before letting the cool water flow over her burning skin.

Bruce turned on the old radio while the static sound of water filled the room. He tuned it to the first clear station, some off brand news station.

"Today, and every day since, Anthony Stark's death has been difficult for us all." Pepper stated. "I am afraid to reveal my location to anyone because the Mandarin may be coming after me. I will have whereabouts in Tony's body the moment Jarvis is back online."

"That was a message from Pepper Potts, Tony Stark's girlfriend and business partner. She talked with us yesterday. We still have no word of the location of Tony's body not has anyone heard from Ms. Potts. Things are taking a turn for the worst," a woman reported.

"Is he really..." Scarlett tailed off. Bruce turned to look at her with tears in his eyes. She pulled the towel tight around her body.

"All the explosions have the same problem, the same M/O. There is no trace of bomb parts, and there's no one to solve the problem now," a man informed.

"Oh, hell no!" Scarlett screeched.

"What?" He asked.

"That bastard," she cried, "he is the Mandarin!"

"Who is the Mandarin?"

"He’s the guy who experimented on me!" She glared at the radio. “The S.O.B. who did this to me is the Mandarin!”

Notes

Rewrite of Ch. 8

I hope you all go out and see the new Thor movie too! I think I might later.