Fandom(s): Animorphs and The Avengers
Rating: T (as according to ffnet)
Characters In Chapter: Tobias, Pepper Potts, and Tony Stark
Relationships: Tobias/Rachel Berenson (talked about, not shown)
I ripped into my rabbit that I had caught and brought back to Avengers Tower. It had been a good catch and I hadn’t minded flying it all the way back to the tower. Hunting had become a couple hours of relaxation each day. A couple of hours where I didn’t need to worry about getting back home or seeing Rachel.
All I had to worry about while hunting was hunting and not getting attacked by another bird.
“Don’t you usually eat that on the roof?” The person at the
table asked me.
His voice was slightly disturbed but had much more a feeling
of caring in it. His name was Bruce Banner. I was eating breakfast with the
Hulk! It was cool to eat with the Avengers. Hell, when I got back home I’d
probably bring it up now and again.
Would Rachel be impressed?
You mean where Tony
just happens to have to go all the time? I asked Bruce and swallowed some
more rabbit.
Bruce smiled softly and nodded. He ate his eggs while
shaking his head. Tony was like Marco: good, but only in small doses.
Tony cared about me but he…well, he wasn’t the kind of
person I’d want to hang around all the time. And, right now, I wanted a morning
or two without Tony coming in and joking around. Better I spend my mornings in
the company of someone who was completely different.
“You could live somewhere else.” Bruce said. “You don’t have
to live in the tower.”
I shook my head. I had to remind myself that not everyone
would understand what living like a hawk really meant. It wasn’t just looking
neat, it was a life and death matter all the time. There could be times when
you’d be in competition with another predator and sometimes food could get
really scarce.
Hunting now and again
is fine. I told Bruce. But living
somewhere else would mean claiming a territory and then defending it. I don’t
expect to be here for too long so I don’t want to put in the effort. Better to
deal with Tony than dealing with finding a temporary territory.
“That bad?”
Yeah.
Bruce let out a soft chuckle. It was strange to think that
this man could, at any moment, change form to an unstoppable creature fueled on
anger. I couldn’t see it and when I looked at Bruce I saw myself. There were
just…similarities between me being trapped in hawk form and his gamma ray
accident.
“But at least he tries.” Bruce said. “That’s why I help him
when I can.”
Bruce and Tony had been helping me try to get back home.
Both men were scientists and could put their mind to very complicated tasks
when they wanted to. I admit that Bruce seemed like the one that was smarter,
but Tony proved himself as he was also trying to get me back home.
I could never figure out what the terms they used meant,
they spoke too fast, but both had a good vocabulary. They were also able to
work out some things that seemed to help whatever they were doing to get me
back home.
I guess, I
replied. Just…you seem to have a lot
better hold of yourself than him.
Bruce ate and there was an awkward silence for a few
minutes. I could see the pain that went over his face. Was he thinking about
the Hulk and how that side of him could come out at any time? Was he feeling
guilty about something he had done as the Hulk?
“How did you get trapped?” Bruce asked.
It was an accident,
really. I began.
No, it hadn’t been an accident. It had been deliberate. In
the confusion that was my first battle in the Yeerk pool, I had found my
moment. While I had told the others that I just couldn’t find time to escape
before two hours, I had left the Yeerk pool shortly after the others had.
There had been so much confusion that none of the others had
noticed. So I had flown around to waste time before going to one of my friends
to start the lie. I had gone to Jake as I couldn’t bear thinking about lying to
Rachel then. Her tears would’ve been enough for me to admit the truth then.
I went to Jake and
told him. I lived in his attic until I grew used to life as a hawk. I
continued. I tried committing suicide
when I made my first kill.
“I understand the suicide part.” Bruce said softly. “What I
am now is…I couldn’t stand it. I tried to kill myself but the Other Guy spit
the bullet out.”
If it wasn’t for Marco
I would’ve died by crashing into a mall skylight. When I first got trapped,
when I finally escaped the Yeerk pool I went to Jake. I…I don’t know why I
chose to go to him instead of Rachel. But I chose to go to him and he helped me
those first few hours. I wouldn’t have made it without my friends.
Bruce looked at me and I saw doubt on his face. Or maybe it
was confusion. He couldn’t know if I was lying or not, he had just met me. He
wouldn’t know me. Or did…when he looked at me I felt a connection there. We had
gone through the same pain, two minds in one body, and we both felt useless
compared to our other teammates. We could be great friends if I was staying. We
could help each other.
“How long were yo-“ Bruce asked and then we turned as one to
see Tony walk into the room.
“So that’s where you are!” Tony said. “You know, I’ve been
looking for this pigeon everywhere.”
I puffed out and held back a stern retort to Tony’s comment.
He knew I loathed being referred to as a pigeon as those things and crows were
some of the worst animals in existence.
Bruce and I sighed.
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