The House of Banner - Chapter 1

Chapter 1- Banner's new house
Note: Please read the Prologue!!! Italic means either someone's thoughts or another language.
Also, we still don't own the Avengers.

One month later.

"Um, Dr. Banner, there's someone here to see you, they said it was important." said Anya, the young nurse who had been working with Banner, she appeared to be quite shaken.

"I see, did they say their name?" he asked, looking up from his computer.

"No...no they didn't, they were dressed very unusually too. Should I send them away?"

"No, I'll see them, if I'm right, they won't leave me alone if I don't. Where are they?"

"They're in the lobby...you're going to leave, aren't you?"

"Maybe not, but probably.  Don't look so worried, you'll do fine on your own! You were before I got here, and you will when I leave."

"But I-"

"I'll be back in a while."

Bruce made his way down to the lobby, he had figured that S.H.E.I.L.D. would find him but he had hoped to avoid them for a bit more time than this. After his brief and unbearably awkward stay with Tony, he had trekked off to a small town in the northeast part of Russia. There he had met Anya and her brother, Ivan, who had provided him with a room in their family's Inn and work at the local clinic.

When he got downstairs, a young woman in a black dress was waiting.

"Hello, Dr. Banner, I'm here on behalf S.H.E.I.L.D., we have a...proposition for you."

"Look, I'm sure you know, Ms..."

"Hadley, Cynthia Hadley.

"Ms. Hadley, I have a bit of a...condition. It would be in everyone's best interests if what you said next didn't anger me."

"Of course, doctor, I had no intention of angering you. Lately, we've been worried about your...living situation. With your condition, it's not safe to have you living far away. We'd also like you closer in case of emergencies."

"I see, I think S.H.E.I.L.D. is well aware of my position on living in highly populated areas, it's just not a good idea."

"Yet you're happy living up in the frozen north? The elements could cause you to...well... It's not safe for you in many places, doctor, we just want to create a better environment for you."

"I'm sorry, but I can't accept your offer, I've been perfectly fine on my own and-"

"Mister Banner! The screwdriver you ordered is here!" yelled Ivan, Anya's excitable younger brother who had been practicing his english a lot more since Bruce's arrival.

"Screwdriver...?" asked Agent Hadley.

"Yes! Mister Banner has been vaiting for it for two veeks now, he said it vas 'sonic'. By the vay, you are very pretty-"

"Ivan-" said Bruce, trying to intervene.

"My name is Cynthia. Ivan, right? What did you say it was?"

"A sonic screwdriver."

"Ivan, stop." repeated Bruce, with a little more force this time.

"Oh, from Doctor Who? I had no idea Dr. Banner was a fan."

"No, really, I'm not-"

"Doctor, what if S.H.E.I.L.D. were to build a T.A.R.D.I.S. into your new house?"

"I-...you can do that? No, it's too dangerous, I couldn't bear it if someone got hurt."

Agent Hadley smiled, she didn't have Natashas coercion skills but it appeared that she had a healthy dose of luck today.

"Yes, we can. As for your concern about highly populated areas, you'll be in a small town in Oregon. Very peaceful. It'll be stress-free, we promise."

Bruce sighed and considered the offer. He knew that they had their minds in the right place and it certainly didn't seem like they wanted him for a lab experiment.

"Fine...I'll move into the stupid house. How long until I have to leave?"

"It'll be done in five months, you can stay wherever you want until them."

"Gee, thanks, I'm so glad I have your permission..." he mumbled to himself.

"Goodbye, doctor, I'll be seeing you soon."

"Mister Banner, vhere do you know her from? Can I see her again?"

"I'm not really supposed to say and as for you seeing her again, I don't know. You might if she comes to get me."

"I hope so, though I am not very happy that you are leaving. Oh, you vould like your screwdriver, da?"

"Don't worry about it and thanks, you really didn't have to get it for me..."

"No no, it vas fine. I vanted to talk to Katerina, she just got a job at the post office."

"You know, I'm kinda worried about you, you can't just hit on every girl you ever meet, one of them is bound to get mad at you."

"I'll uh, vats the vord? Risk it. This town is not very big, I need to have many options."

"Man, I'm gonna miss you guys..."

"Ve vill miss you too, Mister Banner, you have been very kind to us. But do not talk of leaving now, you have many months left!"

"I guess, I'll just go put this in my room and talk to your sister, she'll probably want to know what's going on."

Bruce went up stairs, he found Anya in her room, going over a patients file.

"Dr. Banner, what happened? Is everything alright? Are-are you leaving?"

"No, not for another five months...don't look at me like that, it's bad if I stay in one place for too long."

"I know, you said when you first arrived but...you won't tell me why."

Bruce smiled and awkwardly patted Anyas head. He could never explain it to her, if he did, she would either become mortally afraid of him of treat him like some poor lost puppy, neither of which he wanted.

"Just...don't worry about it, okay? I'm not gone yet."

"I won't, it's just that...never mind. It's getting late, I'll go make some supper. Do you have any requests?"

Bruce frowned, Anya was very good at making Russian food. Only Russian food. She had once tried to make pasta, neither he or Ivan were able to get the taste out their mouths for a week.

"Some borscht would be nice. We haven't had anything other than cabbage soup lately."

"Alright, also, could you tell my brother that Yalena called for him?"

"Sure, no problem."

The next five months passed quickly for Bruce, at times, he completely forgot about his imminent move back to America, it wasn't until a week before Agent Hadley was due to return that the concept hit him full force.

On the day of his move, both Anya and Ivan became more withdrawn. It hurt him to leave them, they were the ones he had stayed with the longest after the incident and the two of them had become some of the best friends he had.

Anya entered Bruces room. It was now or never, she figured, she wouldn't be able to live with herself if he left before she told him.

"A-are you packed?" she asked, approaching his bed.

"Oh, yeah, just a few more things and I'll be good to go. Look, I wanted to thank you, you and  your brother have been so kind to me these past few months and I really don't think I could have got by without you."

"I-it was no problem, I just really wanted to tell you that-"

"Dr. Banner, it's time to go." said Agent Hadley, knocking on the door frame as she entered the room.

"Alright, I'll just be a minute. Sorry, Anya, what were you saying?"

"I wanted to say that...I...you've been a great help and...it's been an honour working with you." said Anya, while mentally cursing herself for her cowardliness.

Bruce looked at her and smiled, "Likewise. Goodbye, Anya."

Anya sniffed and shook his hand, she supposed it would be too awkward to tell him right as he left. She watched as he gave her brother a strong handshake and left the inn.

"Don't go forgetting us, and be sure to visit sometime!" she called out the window while he got into the van. He waved back at her and the vehicle pulled away.

"Aw, come on sister, don't cry, he's not gone forever!" said Ivan.

She smiled, "I'm not going to cry, but I may come to regret this day."

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An hour later, at the airport in Magadan, Bruce and agent Hadley, or Cynthia, as she was called in public areas, were waiting for their plane to take off.

"So, Dr. Banner, how are you feeling? You've got a very busy day ahead of you."

"I'm uh...fine? This is all very strange so you'll have to excuse me if I'm not overly excited. I'm curious though, no free lift from S.H.E.I.L.D.? I'm surprised they trust me on an aircraft full of civilians."

"I'm afraid that it is looked down upon to land agency aircrafts in normal airports, they draw a fair bit of attention."

"Ah, I see...so what's this house like? Concrete walls and no windows?"

"You'll see when we get there, doctor. I should warn you, however, that there will be a bit of a welcoming party. You have a couple...fanboys."

"Um, what?"

"Two of our agents, Edwards and Holmes, are... how should I say this... Well, if you had trading cards, they'd buy them."

"That's, uh, nice."

"Just, be prepared." They settled into an awkward silence for the rest of the flight, Cynthia remaining bright and alert while Bruce dozed off. She found it slightly amusing when he started to talk in his sleep, trying to state that 'Hot dog is not the answer to question 17'.

"Attention passengers, we are beginning our descent. Please return to your seats and keep your seatbelts fastened until the captain turns off the 'fasten seatbelts' sign. Thank you."

"Doctor. Dr. Banner, wake up." said Cynthia, tapping Bruce's shoulder.

"Mnnn...five more minutes..."

"Banner..."

"Go away..."

"Bruce!"

"I'm awake! I'm awake, what is it?" he said, sitting up abruptly in his seat.

"You need to fasten your seatbelt."

"...That's it?"

"Yes, we're almost in Portland."

"Oh wow, that was fast."

"Really? We've been on the plane for eleven hours. Tell me, what was the answer to question 17?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh nothing, you said something about question 17 and hot dogs earlier."

"I did? I don't remember saying that..."

"You were sleeping."

"Oh no, I was sleep talking? Did I um...say anything else?"

"No, why? Embarrassing dreams?"

"Yeah, wait-No! No I-"

"Too late doctor, I'm not about to forget that."

Agents Holmes and Edwards were waiting in the airport lobby, both sprung forward rather eagerly to take Bruce's bag, nudging each other out of the way as they went. Bruce was rather bewildered by the sudden attention. Agent Hadley just stood back and smiled as Bruce tried to answer their questions.

"Come on boys, we've got a bit of a drive ahead of us."

"Are you going to tell me where we're going yet? The suspense is killing me."

"We're going to a small town near the coast called Weston, population of 1,357. I think you'll like it, it's very beautiful."

"Sounds...nice, I guess. Can you give me any details about the house yet? Is there a lab? Probably not..."

"You'll see Dr. Banner, it's a surprise, the house is quite an amazing feat, really, it was built in just under 6 months.

"Well I'm really curious now, can't you tell me anything?"

"I'm afraid not, you'll just have to sit tight."

"Um, Doctor, if I might say, your paper on gamma radiation was just amazing. It was informative and engaging and it was just a-a prime example of your work." said Agent Holmes, who was very eager to chat with Bruce about his studies. There wasn't much time for learning while working with S.H.E.I.L.D.

"Is that so? You know, I actually rushed that one, I finished it half an hour before it was due."

"R-really? Well I never would have guessed, you know I'm actually doing my own research right now and-"

"Oh please, Drew, no one wants to hear about your study on grass species." interjected Edwards.

"Well at least it's better than complaining about coffee machines, I doubt anyone alive wants to hear your whining."

"Hey! That is a perfectly valid complaint, it takes fifteen minutes to make a cup and when you get it, it's cold and tastes like bitter cardboard."

"Enough you two! You're embarrassing yourselves and you sound like a couple of children!" yelled agent Hadley.

"Sorry..." said the two agents in unison, hanging their heads in shame.

"I'm terribly sorry Dr. Banner, I should have picked adults for this job." she said, turning towards Bruce.

"Oh, it's fine, I'm uh...used to it, I suppose you could say." said Bruce, thinking back to the three days at Stark Tower, man was Tony ever childish.

The next couple hours passed in almost complete silece, Bruce dozed off for awhile and the three agents sat upright in their chairs, going over various files.

"Ah, would you look at that, we're nearly there."

Bruce lifted his head and looked outside, before him was a small village which had an air of calm about it. Fall had given the town a very cozy feel, it was almost like it could be home and Bruce had unusual mental images of being snuggled under a blanket by a fire with a mug of hot chocolate. The townspeople looked curiously at the large black SUV as it rolled through Weston, lately there had been much speculation about the large new house at the top of Sentry Hill.

A/N: I'm ending this chapter here because this was getting way too long. Like...waaaaay too long. I hope it's okay so far and I'm starting to work on the...next next chapter so, hopefully it won't take too long. The rest of the Avengers will be here soon, I swear.