It was cold, when he awoke, but not as bitter as he'd feared. There were people around him, he realized, talking quietly, huddled close for warmth. Images flashed behind his eyelids as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes; scenes in slow motion and vivid color. Pictures of Hulk and of crowds of people screaming, the dark Elves encroaching on the faltering light produced by the Hospital's overworked generator. Bruce' heart shuttered and he jerked up, afraid; he couldn't remember what had happened.

A hand settled onto his shoulder. “It's okay, Mister Banner. We're all okay.”

Bruce squinted at the man, willing his eyes to focus in the dim morning light and allowed himself to be pushed back down to the cot, into a seated position. He was dressed in a set of scrubs and Bruce looked from himself to the man, asking silently what had occurred.

“Yes, I – well, it's cold. I didn't think you'd really mind.” The man smiled a little awkwardly and Bruce shrugged as he pulled a wool blanket closer around his shoulders. “It's alright.” Always better than the alternative, of course. “So what -” Bruce's voice cracked and he cleared his throat, it was scratchy and dry as though he'd been yelling. Jack poured some water from a plastic jug that he'd brought with him and handed it to Bruce. “Sorry, um. What happened...?” Bruce gestured around the rubble of what used to be the receiving section of the hospital's emergency department. He had a pretty good idea already, of course- Hulk is a destructive force.

“You saved us.”

Bruce stared at the man and then at the crumbling emergency department. “I'm serious. You or what you became, kept those creatures away from us, from me and my crew, so we could keep the power running through the night. Now that the sun has come up, they retreated back to ... where ever."

The sun was high in the sky, trying to burn through the thick winter veil that was still blanketing the city with snow.

"They'll be back, -" Bruce paused, realizing he didn't know this man's name.

"Jack. We met last night, briefly, before .. " He gestured around and Bruce nodded.

"Jack." They shook hands and Jack seemed amused. "It's kind of like Deja vu. You said you might not remember me and I didn't understand at the time."

"It's only because I don't really know you." Bruce said quietly and changed the subject; he didn't really like to share just how much his mind and body was relinquished to Hulk when he changed. "Is - no one was taken were they?"

"No, actually. We did a head count this morning and everyone is still here." Jack shifted, uncomfortable suddenly. "They- those things, tried to take one of the children. You, um, that's what really set them up for a fight, I think. You caught wind of that and man, I swear I never seen anyone get so angry so quickly."

Bruce's face heated a little and he closed his eyes against the groan of slight embarrassment that was trying to force its way out.

"- you-He took off like a rocket and those guys didn't know what hit 'em. They recovered though and tried to use some of the people here as human shields, but he lured them away from everyone. I mean, sure, we took some injuries but nothing serious. Everyone is accounted for and we have you to thank for it."

Bruce had no idea how to reply, except to weakly shake Jack's hand when it was thrust towards him, again.

Heimdall alerts her to Thor’s impending return, and Frigga discards her spinning wheel immediately. She is a mess – her hair falls unbound down her back, her gown is simple and plain, and she wears no other adornments but earrings that were a gift from Odin two centuries ago. As she hurries through the halls, her heart bursting with anticipating, her stomach twisting in knots, she earns more than a few stares. It is rare that Asgard’s queen is so obvious and free with her feelings and actions, but she will not walk for this. She will not measure her steps and put on a placid, pleasant mask.

She is overjoyed. She is exhilarated. And if that is weakness, so be it: she will be weak.

Overwhelmed with nervous energy, she paces the length of Heimdall’s observatory until, in a quiet, gentle voice, the guardian suggests she stills. Even then, she laces and unlaces her fingers, combing them through her wild and curling hair. Her son is coming home.

"David?"

Bruce shifted to look at Rick, who was sitting near the fire pit they had built a few hours ago. "Rick?" He answered from his position, reclined against a tree. It had taking some coaxing, but the kid had finally dropped the 'mister' when he addressed Bruce; it didn't seem right, given the situation.

Rick averted his eyes and didn't say anything for a minute, focusing instead on twisting a stick through one of the loops of his shoelaces. "..my parents are gonna be really mad at me, aren't they?" Rick was so quiet when he asked, Bruce had to take a moment to process.

"Oh, Rick- no they won't. I promise you that they won't be anything but relieved to see you." But if they see him with with their child, they would be horrified. Bruce sat up and leaned forward to show Rick that he was sincere, but Rick still wasn't looking at him. He was still focused on his feet, on the dirt, and on not letting Bruce see that he was crying.

"Hey, no, it's okay Rick-" Bruce cursed that he should be so awkward and unsure about how to comfort people and remained frozen, scared to upset Rick any further.

Kids could have severe emotional whiplash but, in this case, he could understand it. Rick had wandered away from his parents and now he was scared that he was going to catch hell for getting lost. The reality was that his parents were probably at least a hundred times more scared that he had died or was kidnapped or any number of terrible things.

Fortunately for Bruce, Rick was less concerned with 'situation appropriate behavior', and found comfort crying into Bruce's shirt, again. Bruce had nothing but sympathy and held him tightly as he shifted to lean back against the tree. Once Rick had cried himself into an exhausted sleep, Bruce set him down on his old sleeping bag, away from the fire. This might be the only time he had to catch any food for them, and though he hated the idea of leaving Rick unattended, it was necessary.

No one has told her much of anything. What little she knows of Thor and Loki has been gleaned from other conversations, and to say she is annoyed would be far too mild. But Frigga has no intention of confronting either of her sons on the matter. The situation is delicate enough without adding angry words to the mix. Instead, she dresses in a fitted tunic and trousers, binds her hair in braids about her head, and sweeps from her rooms with her sword in hand.

No one bars her path to the warriors’ training grounds, and she proceeds there swiftly, unhindered by offers of casual conversation. She is sure of the expression on her face: fierce, furious, and thoroughly annoyed. All of Asgard bows and backs away when she passes, and their silence is the mildest of balms on her upset.

If you really, REALLY want to know the players behind the characters you can look behind the cut here and see. But come on now, that kind of ruins the fun!

But if you insist:

Avengers: IRON MAN (Tony Stark) // notiron THOR // number1odinson CAPTAIN AMERICA (Steve Rogers) // callmecap THE HULK (Bruce Banner) // gammapulsed

Heroes: NAMOR (Namor McKenzie) // seagreatest SPIDER-MAN (Peter Parker) // gowebgo

S.H.I.E.L.D. AGENT COULSON (Phil Coulson) // last-best-hope DIRECTOR NICK FURY // shield-director-fury BLACK WIDOW (Natasha Romanoff) // redhairedred HAWKEYE (Clint Barton) // duckduckhawk AGENT BARNES (James “Bucky” Barnes) // dontcallmebucky TORO (Thomas Raymond) // hotheadedhero

Asgardians: LOKI // frostblooded LADY FRIGGA // ladyfrigga

HYDRA: RED SKULL (Johann Schmidt) // alreadyburned