/ chapter four /

In the subway system sits a man on a bench. He has his head down with his hoodie thrown over his face, darkening it so it remains unseen. Next to him is a woman with long brown hair sitting up straight, looking out ahead with a blank look. Unless you were to stare straight at her looking for pins you could never tell it is a fine wig. She isn't focusing on anything. Not that there are too many people here this late at night.

The woman checks her watch and says, "It's three on the dot, sir. He should be here any moment now."

Guaem doesn't look up at her. "We've got to catch a train soon to a different station. Can't stay still in one place for too long."

"No one has recognized us yet."

"No one is going to notice a plain woman and man. And I know we lost S.H.I.E.L.D a couple days ago. Bunch of idiots with high tech toys they have no idea how to use properly is what they are," he sneers. "Buuut just to be on the safe side I like to keep them guessing while hanging low for a while."

Silence falls on them once more. But they aren't entirely alone for long. A man wearing a suit and carrying a case comes down the station. He stops in front of them saying, "I don't know about you two but trains bug me."

"How so?" asks Guaem as he takes the case. He doesn't open it though, now is not the time.

"It'd be too easy to throw myself in front of one."

"I'd be down one more valuable man then, Craig. Can't afford to lose any more of you."

"I'm not too keen on getting caught is all I mean," he answers, tipping his hat towards Xandria politely. "I'll see you at some point then, yeah?"

"At some point."

He keeps walking and the two sit there until another train arrives. Time to keep moving on and out of sight.

/

"Steve! Lunch!"

"But Han Solo is gonna get put in carbonite, Mr. Stark! How is he getting outta it?"

Tony rolls his eyes and takes the controller to pause the movie until farther notice. "It's called a pause button kid, you'll be fine."

He didn't really think Steve would be much of a Star Wars fan, he had only put the movie in to distract him while the others had a meeting. Grown up Steve never really paid much attention to the TV unless it was news. He much preferred radio. But when Tony came back he was enthralled with the movie. Little Steve said it's because he likes Luke and Han Solo a lot. Tony teased him by saying its because of Princess Leia. He then became suddenly quiet with quickly spreading blush.

"Mr. Stark do you think I can go with you guys in your lab today?"

"What, with Bruce and me? But we're boring old guys. Wouldn't you rather watch Clint shoot an apple from five hundred feet away?"

As they join Thor and Natasha at the table, Steve says, "I wanna see what you guys did with my blood."

"I think Bruce used it all."

"All of it? There was a big tube of it." Steve sounds legitimately confused. He looks down at his lunch of an apple, grilled cheese & tomato soup. "Are you going to say prayers with me Ms. Romanoff?"

Natasha has gotten into the habit of saying prayers with him. She can tell it's helping him adjust to this new world and as long as she can help she will.

They eat their separate meals. Thor has a lot of meat stacked on his plate. By Steve's standards its a lot of food for one person to eat.

"Do you wish for a bite of meat?" Thor inquires, holding out a meaty leg of chicken.

The six year old gazes at the large pile of food. "You eat a lot."

"A warrior must keep up his strength. I require much protein. Fish fulfills this need quite well."

"I don't see any fish . . . "

"I believe it is beneath the two steaks."

Natasha snickers into her sandwich at Steve's expression.

Although on the surface things seem to be calm, underneath all this banter and smiles the Avengers are stewing in their own panic. There has been no word from Fury about Guaem's whereabouts. There's been no word from Guaem himself. The doctor seems to pride himself on evading capture and playing mind games. They've gone out themselves in doubles searching for him but he doesn't want to be found. There's one thing keeping them from losing it and it's that Steve's condition isn't getting worse. He isn't reducing in age (which Bruce thought could be a possibility) and he isn't growing grey. Steve is blissfully unaware of all these ongoings as he should be. He's no longer their courageous leader, instead he's a child who re-acts like a child. Albeit an odd one.

After lunch Tony leads the tiniest Avenger to his and Bruce's lab. Bruce is a little surprised to see Steve trailing behind him but says nothing of it.

Tony shrugs at his friend. "The kid is interested in science."

"Just be sure not to touch anything, Steve," Bruce addresses him. "There are a lot of chemicals in tubes which could hurt you if they break onto your skin."

"Don't they hurt you?"

Bruce holds up his gloved hands. "I wear gloves. Never handle chemicals without them."

Steve sits on a chair and is very patient watching them puts around. Tony isn't doing much of anything beside bothering Bruce. He's come to the conclusion this is how they always interact. Tony seems to like annoying everyone from time to time.

"You're not leaving soon right?"

"No. I'm technically working there from here. I'm getting reports on how the medicine is working. I only need to improve a few-"

"Boring." Tony gives an over dramatic yawn.

Bruce doesn't appreciate this reaction. "I don't think the lives of the villagers are boring, Tony."

"Boring because I know you'll save them," he responds nonchalantly. He doesn't pay attention to Bruce chewing his bottom lip, a nervous habit. He's never had someone have so much faith in him before.

Their discussion is interrupted when Steve asks from behind them, "Mr. Banner? What's your superpower?"

Tony quirks an eyebrow at the youngster. "God, Steve, you can't go around asking people what their super power is. Someone might get angry."

The scientist throws him a weary glance and takes off his glasses. He taps them against his thigh as he weighs how to answer this. Or if he should.

The boy looks worried. Apparently he hasn't picked up on Tony's brand of sarcasm yet and thinks Bruce is frustrated with him.

"Sorry Mr. Banner if I was rude. I just, well, Mr. Stark has his suit. Ms. Romanoff is a spy. Mr. Barton is an archer. And Mr. Thor is . . . odd. I know you're real smart but do you fight?"

"It's not something I'd do on purpose all the time," Bruce answers carefully. "But if someone very important or the Earth needs saving, well, The Other Guy comes out and fights. He's very large and green. This is very important though Steve: if you see him don't-"

"Don't try and play a game of cards with him. He cheats."

"Tony this isn't funny."

Tony fiddles with a pen in his hands. "Didn't say it was funny. Cheating is baaad. Never cheat, kiddo."

"Whos The Other Guy?"

"Someone you should avoid. But hopefully you'll never see him."

Steve can tell from the tone in the man's voice he sounds tense and sad. But mostly sad.

"I don't have to avoid you though right?"

"No," immediately says Tony, having a feeling Bruce would give a more depressing answer. "Dr. Banner wouldn't hurt a fly unless it was for scientific purposes. And even then he'd feel guilty about it. He likes feeling guilt he's some kind of masochist I don't know."

Bruce coughs loudly as a signal to his friend to keep his mouth shut.

"You should get that checked out by a doctor, doctor."

The boy can tell Bruce is trying not to smile. It's times like these, watching these two be friends, where he misses Bucky the most. He hasn't really made any friends his age here. He hasn't even gone to school. J.A.R.V.I.S has taught him some things but a robot isn't the same as human interaction. Steve doesn't say anything about this though. He's watched them leave in pairs, never saying where they're going, but he has a nagging feeling this has all to do with him.

/

At a different subway sits the pair again. It's four in the morning so they can have their conversation more openly then during the day, although their voices remain hushed. Other than a change of clothes their appearance is not so different.

"They're not going to let him out of there, sir. Craig's team has being surveying and no child has left or entered the building."

"We'll lure them all out with destruction of the city. Whoever does stay behind with Steve isn't going to get a pretty sight." Guaem's hands are clenched together, veins popping out as his anger grows. "I have to get my hands on him. From the information you gathered I can only do guesswork until I have him on a table."

"How do you plan to do your destruction? I thought a lot of your team has been locked up."

"There are others which can be convinced. Monsters who will do mayhem for me."

"I hope you have your suit readied in time." Xandria looks blankly at him. "What do you wish for me to do?"

"I think when the battle starts you're of no use to me any more. A liability really you're not trained to fight. And when my subjects outlive their usefulness they're exterminated," Guaem informs her bluntly. He knows it won't faze her. Atleast, not outwardly. A bit of her mind may have remained intact after all of this time but she won't be able to resist. Her mind is too weakened by the activation of his device.

"Should we catch to Manhattan now, sir?"

Guaem gives her a toothy grin. "Time to set things in motion."

/

Bruce isn't sure why the kid has taken such an interest in him today but it's unnerving him. It isn't that he's concerned he'll Hulk Out. Far from that. But why after their conversation does he still sit in the chair, following him around the lab with bright interest, even after Tony takes his leave? Adult Steve never paid too much attention to science and spent as little time in the lab as possible. Probably because it brought back too many memories of his change.

It's almost eight o' clock at night, and Steve is showing signs of being sleepy. His eyes are droopy and Bruce isn't hearing tiny bare feet hitting the tiles behind him.

"You need to go to bed Steve. You're tired," Bruce finally says.

He rubs at his eyes. "I dunno. I don't feel like sleepin'."

Bruce chuckles as he finishes jotting down a few notes. "All I've been doing is working. I'm not surprised you are falling asleep."

"I like watching you work. You gotta be real smart to do this stuff." There's a pause and a yawn. "My mother is a real hard worker too but it's usually making food."

"I'm certainly no cook."

"You missed lunch and dinner Mr. Banner. Mr. Thor said a warrior's gotta keep his strength up."

To tell the truth Bruce doesn't really pay much attention to his eating schedule. He really should considering the body can't run on fumes alone but he often loses track of time. Besides, when being in a series of small villages and towns is your life, where at times food is scarce you learn to go without a few meals.

"I'm not really a warrior," Bruce remarks.

"The Other Guy's gotta eat though, right?"

"He's fine. Believe me."

Steve doesn't wish to be rude but he's curious about this "Other Guy". He's heard about Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde but he never thought it could happen in real life. And he's not about to compare a real human being to a monster. In his eyes Mr. Banner is far from a monster. He's one of the nicest people Steve's ever met.

"I'll walk you to your room."

"Have you seen Mr. Stark's room? It's huge."

"Tony does like to take up a lot of space."

Bruce ends up being the one saying prayers with Steve tonight. On the way to his room they ran into Tony who said she's out with Clint. They don't say what for but Steve is pretty sure its that thing again they're not telling him about.

As he's being tucked into bed Steve asks, "Mr. Banner, why are you guys taking care of me?"

Bruce spreads the blanket out on top of him so it isn't all crumpled up before he answers. He doesn't often get to be around children but when he is, the parental side which never got to be comes out. He sits on the edge of the bed.

"You're our friend."

"I don't remember you guys before I woke up in that . . . room."

"You see us as friends, right?" He sounds slightly concerned as though Steve will say no.

"Well yeah! I'm really thankful too."

Bruce smiles. "I bet you are. So are you ready to go to sleep or do you want to hear a bed time story first?"

"What kinda story?"

"It's a bed time story from Malaysia called 'Story of Mouse Deer and Crocodile'. Buaya means crocodile in their language."

Before Bruce can even finish the story, Steve has drifted off to sleep.