A police officer appeared on the screen. "May I ask who I am talking to?" Tony asked the officer, who looked like a cousin of Steve Rogers. He had short blond hair, a young looking face, blue eyes, and a happy smile.

Tony thought 'Oh God, there are more of the Cap 'n Crunch.'

"My name is Sergeant Mitch Adams, with the Pennsylvania State Police. I was contacted by a representative of your staff. This is highly unusual - to be talking to the Avengers at three in the morning," the officer said.

'Unusual? Really? Dude, you should try to walk a day in my shoes, but then again you might be committed by the end of the day,' Tony thought before saying out loud. "Hello, sir, my name is Tony Stark. Thank you for your time. I would like to ask you about the case of a horrible accident that happened over two years ago," he said.

"Yes, your rep gave me a heads up on that so I was able to pull the file. This is one of those events that happened that you don't ever forget. Yes, I responded to the scene of the accident. It was a two car accident with two fatalities. The red car had Agent Hall and his family in it and the black car was driven by one person, as you can see by the photos in the email I sent you," said the officer. "The red car was going east, the black car was going west. As you see, the black car crashed into the red car at a high rate of speed, killing Robert's wife and stepson instantly. Now Hall did admit to falling asleep at the wheel, but I did not charge him because he was in his lane. We also determined that even if he was awake, there was no way he could avoid the accident. It also would have killed him."

"Sir, I must inform you that Nick Fury has entered the building, and he is quite mad," said Jarvis

As if on cue, the theater doors opened. A familiar tone to all them that they were use too. "STARK! WHY AM I GETTING PHONE CALLS AT TWO IN THE MORNING?" yelled Fury. As he got closer, he yelled, "And which one of you is doing the hacking of the computers in Pennsylvania! Who the hell are you talking to at three in the morning?

Tony looked at Fury and asked. "Do you seriously wear that outfit all the time? And if you do, how does it not smell? I mean, unless you spray it with Febreeze?" Stark said. "This is the officer that responded to Robert's accident. We are trying to help him."

Fury lifted his hands and ran them down his face slowly, as if trying to wipe the urge to choke Tony, before he said, "I already know what happened. I read the reports. Yes, it is sad, but it is a closed case. There were three deaths. So end this call now and stop wasting everyone's time."

Everyone turned to at looked at Fury, including the police officer. After a few seconds of silence, Fury spoke again, "What the fuck? Did you all forget how to understand the English language?"

Thor stood up and said, "With all due respect, sir, you should get your vision looked at. The officer just told us that only two people died at the accident."

Tony, Clint, and Loki just looked at Thor. "Yes, yes, that is awesome, Point Break. You just made your first perfect sarcasm remark. That was beautiful," Tony said.

Fury looked at Thor in disbelief before he turned to look at Natasha and Clint, and they nodded their heads in agreement. "Officer, I am Director Nick Fury of SHIELD. Please identify yourself. Also did you tell these agents that there were only two deaths and why?"

"Sir, I am Sergeant Mitch Adams, of Pennsylvania State Police; yes, I did tell them there were only two deaths because that is what happened. The driver from the black car was arrested and received a DUI. I arrested him myself though he claimed he could not be arrested because he was a FBI agent. When we got back to the station, about thirty minutes later, he walked out the door, with Supervisory Special Agent Stones. I had made a protest to my Commander, but he said there was nothing we could do."

The room suddenly got twenty degrees cooler, and everybody's got that sick, disgusting feeling in their guts, now everything was starting to make sense. Even Nick Fury, had a look of shock on his face, "Officer, I am going to ask you to verify that because the official report that I have says there were three deaths and nothing mentioned about an arrest or FBI agents," he said.

"Well, I sent Mr. Stark a copy of the report that I have here. Granted, I had to make some changes, but those were in there," said the officer as the sound of a phone going off in the background was heard.

Stark without even being told pulled up the file on the screen next to the officer and everyone in the room read the report. Fury knew this was going to be bad. The report he had was very different. This was a cover-up that would perfectly explain Robert's transfer to SHIELD. "Officer, I am sorry to tell you this, but the report I have is very different and not the same as you sent Stark," Fury said reluctantly. He always hated it when he had to admit to Stark that he was right.

"Well, I hope this can be cleared up. I just got a message from my superior that he wants to see me now. They're very few people that can change a report without me knowing, and judging by your facial responses, I think I have uncovered something that was not meant to be," Adams said as his phone went off again and a look of concern appeared on his face when he read the message.

"Officer Adams, I am sorry for this mess, and I hope everything works out. I like your style. If you get into trouble, I will give you my number and will get you a job with SHIELD," Fury said because he knew the officer was going to be fired very shortly.

Tony had the same feeling. He felt bad for the officer as he got pulled into something that wasn't his fault. The man was just doing his job. "And if you don't get a job there, you left me know, I will make a position for you if I have to, officer, but before you go, can I ask you one more question?" Tony asked the officer.

Adams looked at his phone one more time before he replied, "Thank you both. I have a feeling I will be using your offers. I think I know the question you are going to ask, the driver of the black car? His name is Agent Devon Michaels. Have a good night, gentlemen and ma'am."

'Yup, he has to be related to Spangles somehow,' went through Tony's brain as the officer disappeared from the screen and the lights came back on. "Well, that was quite the unexpected answer. What do you mortals always say? Something about opening Pandora's Box?" said Loki as he sat down while tapping his fingers together slowly in a rhythm.
Tony, Fury, and Clint looked at him. They wanted to slug him, but they all had to admit, he was right. What the hell were they going to do now?

"Well, Mr. All- Knowing Director. What do we do now?" asked Tony as he shook his head side to side as they all started to walk out of the theater, trying to think of the next step.

"Why don't we ask Rogers? He has sometimes great wisdom in areas of morals," suggested
Thor as he walked out the door.

"I guess, we probably could ask Banner too. We might as well get everyone's input," said Clint.
"So who is going to tell the captain the problem of the day?" said Natasha.

"Who is going to tell me why everyone is up and, Director, why are you here?" asked a very confused looking Captain America. Steve came out of the elevator and saw his teammates talking, mentioning his name.

---

~Robert~

Robert was still out of it. He had the dreams of the crash, over and over. But, each time it happened, it got louder, more real, and more things changed. At one point, his wife and stepson, who were dead, got up and looked at him and said, "Why didn't you save us?" He was tossing and turning, sweating, mumbling and then, finally, his eyes opened. He saw a bright light. He saw them. They were coming back for him. Robert started to cry. "I am sorry: I didn't know I would fall asleep. Please forgive me!" But then, he heard their voices. "Come join us. We forgive you. Join us." Robert's heart ached. He loved them so much. He saw the angels pointing to a bottle on the table next to him. He started to reach for it, wanting to join his loved ones and be free of his pain.

---

~Avengers~

Just as the group was halfway finished updating Steve on everything they had discovered. Jarvis interrupted, "Sir, Agent Hall is awake and is moving. Shall I alert Dr. Banner?"
"Well, finally some good news to hear to say the least. Yes, Jarvis, let Banner know please," said Tony.

"Sir, Agent Hall seems to in a dream state. He is talking to people that are not there. He seems to be under great distress, saying things like, 'I am sorry, forgive me, and yes I will join you.' He is right now reaching for a bottle of pills that are next to him," Jarvis said as everyone turned to look at each other in shock.

Natasha recovered first and took off running towards the medical wing.

"Oh fuck, those are the sedatives I gave to Banner. If he eats them, he will die quickly. We need to go now!" Natasha shouted back at the rest of the group as they started to run.

"Jarvis, wake everyone in the tower now!, Do anything you can to get him to stop! Send someone down there, right now!" Tony shouted, running with the rest of them.

As they were running, some took the stairs, some took the elevator. Natasha knew that if Robert took more than one pill it would dissolve in three minutes and he would be dead because there no way to stop the drug's effect.

---

~Bruce~

Finally having fallen into a deep sleep, Bruce was resting peacefully for once. Then all of sudden, he was almost thrown out of bed by rock music. He sat bolt-upright, moaning and holding his ears. "Jarvis, what the hell?! Why would you do that to me? I swear, if this is Tony's idea of a prank-".

"I am sorry, Dr. Banner, Agent Hall is awake, and he seems to be under great distress. He may be attempting suicide with the sedatives left by his bed-side," said Jarvis.

Bruce felt horror seize him as he heard the words. How could he have been so stupid as to leave the pills next to him? He asked, "Where are the others?" as he got out of the bed and put on a shirt.

"They are in process of running to him, but I fear they will not make it in time. Agent Hall's room is two floors directly below you. You are the closest," said Jarvis.

Banner was cursing himself as he tried to run. He tripped over a rug, hitting his head and twisting his ankle. He screamed in pain, but he kept dragging himself along. He had to get to Robert! This was his entire fault, how could he be so stupid?! Robert was going to die! This was his fault! What will the others think, he hadn't— STOP! PUNY BANNER, LET HULK OUT!' Hulk screamed in his head.

It only took a few seconds for Bruce to turn into the Hulk. Jarvis spoke up, knowing that it was a risk, but it was the only way, "Hulk, Agent Hall is directly under your room, two floors down."

The Hulk just roared and punched the wall where he thought the annoying electronic voice was coming from. "HULK HEARS VOICE! WHY HULK SHOULD LISTEN TO VOICE?" said Hulk.

"Hulk, please, Robert almost has the bottle open. If you go straight down, you will make it in time," said Jarvis

Hulk said, "HALL, NICE MAN! HULK SAVE NICE MAN," and with that, the Hulk jumped up and started to smash through the floors.

---

The Avengers As they were almost there, there was a giant rumbling that shook everything and everyone off their feet. Natasha, Steve, Clint, and Loki were running down the stairs. They lost their balance, slammed into the wall, and then fell on each other.

Tony, Thor, and Fury were in the elevator. It lost power just for a second and they lost their footing and fell on top of each other.

"Get your stupid asses off me!" shouted Fury.

"Jarvis, what the HELL was that?!" yelled Tony as he tried to pry Thor off of him.

"That was Dr. Banner turning into the Hulk and going through two floors to get to Agent Hall," said Jarvis.

"Oh, great, can't wait to see that repair bill," said Tony, thinking about how much it will cost.

---

~Pepper~

Pepper was in her room, sleeping peacefully. Well, she was sleeping peaceful when the vibrations and sounds reached her. She woke up, frightened. Was it an attack, an earthquake? "Jarvis, what is going on?"

"I am sorry, Miss Potts, but Agent Hall woke up and is under some type of distress. He is trying to open a bottle of strong sedatives that Dr. Banner gave him earlier. Everyone is trying to get to him. Banner was the closest, but he tripped and twisted his ankle. He transformed into the Hulk and then proceeded to the medical wing by going straight down," said Jarvis.

Pepper thought, 'Oh my god, I need to get there now.' She flew out of bed, put on a robe, and basically hauled ass to get to Robert's room.

---

~Robert~

As he squinted at the bottle, trying to read the instructions on the cap after failing to open the child-proof latch in his dazed sleepy state, Robert, pressed the lid down hard and turned it, finally popping open the bottle.

'Yes, the bottle, the pills.' He poured himself a handful with a shaky smile. He can be with his loved ones, he will rejoin them in heaven, and they will be together. The pain will stop. Oh, he missed them so much. He suddenly felt a giant rumbling, and as he looked at the ceiling, there was a pause and then a sudden Boom!

There was dust and plaster everywhere, and as the dust cleared, he saw the Hulk. Robert gasped and tried to get the pills to his mouth; the giant green hand grabbed his wrist incredibly gently and pried them away.

He looked up and stared the Hulk in the eyes; face twisting bitterly as he realized that he'd been too late. "No, let me have them. I need to join my family, you bastard. They're waiting for me! I have to go!"

---

~Hulk~

Hulk looked at the man. He hadn't known this man long, but he was nice to Hulk, nice to team, and now he could see pain and tears come from man's face. He heard pesky Banner in his head, saying 'Save him Hulk, he is friend, he is in pain, like all of us, don't hurt him.'

"NO," the Hulk rumbled, coming closer, getting in his face. "ROBERT STAY."


Robert did not care. He wanted to die, "No, give me the bottle, I want my family." He tried spitting in the Hulk's face, unable to wrench his hand from its tremendous grip. The Hulk growled, but didn't grow angry. "Kill me, you ass! I hate you! I don't want your charity!" He tried to punch the Hulk. He wanted to die. If he couldn't have those pills, then he had to get the Hulk to kill him.

Hulk looked back at the man. "NO FIGHT," The Hulk went to hold him and picked him up ever so gently, staying patient even as Robert kicked and struggled. Hulk looked in Robert's eyes. "Hulk hurt too," he said lowly, voice rumbling in his chest like thunder as he pointed towards his heart.

Robert stopped and looked back in the Hulk's eyes. "I want them back. Why did I kill them? I loved them! God, why couldn't I have just kept my eyes open for a little longer?!" he screamed over and over, punching the Hulk in the chest, losing momentum as the memory of his family waiting for him started to become less vivid.

Breaking down, he started to sob uncontrollably, and the Hulk just sat down, holding him gently and close, patting his back very carefully.

They all met up outside of the elevator, and when they finally got to the ward, it was a sight to see. Tony, Clint, Fury, Natasha, Steve, Thor, and Loki: all them running down the hallway with one common look of fear and unknown. What would the hulk do to Robert?

As they ran into the room, they all stopped dead, seeing the big guy cradling Robert. The Hulk's head was down, and when he didn't seem hostile, Tony and Steve approached the Hulk ever so slowly. The Hulk raised his head when he saw all the Avengers looking at him

"Hey there, Jolly Green is he okay?" asked Tony.

Hulk looked at the man. "WE OKAY." he said, before looking back down to Robert.

"Hulk, did he take the pills?" asked Steve, causing Hulk to look down again and then back at Tony, the Hulk opened his one hand that was closed and there was the pill bottle, with the contents spilled across the room.

"WE OKAY," Hulk repeated. "HULK DO GOOD?"

Everyone just smiled, Thor and Loki catching their breath and watching the Hulk closely still for signs of violence. Clint and Natasha looked immensely relieved.

"Yes, Hulk, you did good, very good," Jarvis said, letting out a shaky breath. Steve and Tony smiled, wiping their eyes with the heel of their hands. Fury mumbled about having people scare the shit out of him. It was a very somber scene, and as Pepper and Jane finally got there, they saw the whole picture.

Notes