Faux Pas
A "faux pas" is a socially improper act or remark. For example, stopping a semi-truck and Hulking out in the middle of New York traffic. A faux pas. Now, due to super-sized blunders, Banner and Smith are sent off the radar to recover and train at Charles Xavier's Institue for Gifted Youngsters. Historically? Not awesome.
Chapter One
She stepped in tune to her ipod, swaying with the beat as her headphones covered her ears. Her glasses were in place as she minded her own business on her way to work. She was just your average New York citizen on her way to her place of employment Nothing suspicious about her average height, average hair cut that was now nearing her shoulders, average glasses, average freckles, and average good attitude. Trademarkingly russet hair was pushed back by the wind and she shoved her bangs away from her eyes and off to the side, their length increasing as well. Her hands slipped into the front pockets of her jeans and she looked like just any other New Yorker.
Bridgette Smith was most certainly not your everyday, plain Jane.
Despite her normal appearance, it were her inner workings that were far more complicated and interesting. With her natural skills amplified, such as running, strength, and endurance, she was most renown for her armor-like skin. Skin that wouldn't cut or bruise, that could deflect bullets, and withstand severe trauma. A super-soldier serum, one designed to duplicate the Captain America success, was administered to her body prematurely. The dosage wasn't quite finished and it was most certainly not meant for her young body. Originally, it was meant for her older brother, Marcus. The German terrorist group known as Hydra, interrupted the process and took the young girl as their experiment. Since then, Bridgette learned to control her power, broke free of Hydra, won favor with the mercenary named Deadpool, and evaded SHIELD. That is, until a four months ago.
When SHIELD called her in for the Avengers Initiative.
When Earth was under immediate threat with the mischief god of Asgard, Loki, leading the alien Chitaurian army to ruin Earth for the Tesseract, a blue cube that had the ability to sustain their planet for energy for decades to come. By being involved with the Avengers Initiative, Bridgette met an odd assortment of people. A living legend. A billionaire, playboy genius. A demi-god. A man with breath taking anger issues. Along with a couple of master assassins. While the team was full of clashing personalities, threats to their immediate well being, trust issues, great dislike to working with others, they did manage to gain their traction. Once they found where they all fit, it was impossible to stop them, even when Loki wielded the ultimate power source and an alien army.
The Avengers still won, against all the odds. She had her place on the team, code name Ricochet, a play off her natural resistance to force. She had her role beside the massive powerhouse known as the Hulk, the "other guy" to Dr. Bruce Banner, a mild, well mannered scientist. With her biologically twisted upgrade, she could withstand the Hulk's force. When she wasn't trying to fend off his fists, she was able to talk with him. In fact, she had the best record in communicating with him while he was angry, to the point where he would calm down enough for Bruce to return. Tony Stark teasingly called her the "Hulk Whisperer" and the others had their pokes of fun as well, but she didn't mind. It was nice to have a purpose.
She loved being with Bruce Banner, as well as his intimidating other half. Not that she had the courage to say the words yet herself anyway. Not quite. She would take a few more rounds of sparring with the other guy before admitting. Rather, she didn't feel obligated to vocally express herself as she and Bruce simply understood each other. They didn't need the overly flowery words to show their feelings. They just knew. That was exactly how she liked it.
The time clock buzzed as she entered her time card and she shrugged off her jean jacket before entering the kitchen of the shop. A blonde hair girl gave her a smile and wave, which Bridgette easily returned. Beth, a fellow waitress who developed a crush on her Avenger team mate Steve Rogers, a.k.a Captain America. Steve was a regular at their shop as he was trying to adjust to the new lifestyle of their modern timeline. Beth was a sweet girl and Bridgette perhaps hinted that the Captain should take her to lunch sometime. Hinted. Gently nudged. Blatantly suggested the idea. Who knows.
It wasn't a particularly busy day at the shop. It was nice, steady with a few slow periods in between, the kind of day the German girl enjoyed the most. The low maintenance gave her days to be chatty and charming with the patrons and her coworkers, especially Beth who was simply smittened by Steve. She was informed that he was just the perfect gentleman, didn't take things too fast, was charming, handsome, and adorably shy at some points. Bridgette couldn't help but feel happy for her two friends because Steve often spoke about the girl in a similar fashion. Although Bridgette had to coax him a bit before he gave such details. To him, Beth was beautiful, smart, sometimes timid, and always had a lovely smile for him. Bridgette was only mildly aware that the Captain had a previous love interest from his own time and that it still hurt from time to time, which was another reason why he and Beth were good together. They were taking things very slow, very careful, but so sincere every step of the way.
Beth and Bridgette were chatting as they cleaned up a few of the empty tables when the bell chimed again, alerting them to a new customer. A woman and a young boy stood in the doorway, each blonde haired and judging by Beth's smile, the Avenger would guess that they were family. Beth gave a wave, saying that she would be back in a moment. Bridgette gave a sort of smile once she noticed that the young boy was openly staring at her. He shyed behind his mother once their eyes met and she quirked a brow in interest.
"Family?" guessed Bridgette as the two returned the dirty dishes to the kitchen sink area. Beth nodded.
"It's my mom and my little brother Tommy," she answered with a smile. "It's a nice surprise, I didn't know they were stopping by today!" A thought struck her and she looked to the blonde.
"Hey, any chance you and your family was out helping with the whole New York clean-up?" she asked. "Your brother seems kind of familiar..."
Though there was a brief instant where a young boy pulled on her pant leg, requesting her ear. So, she bent down and he whispered to her,
"Are you a superhero?" Stunned that he could identify her while in her usual disguise it took her an extra moment to gather her wits and smile at the boy, a sneaky grin.
"Don't tell anyone, okay?" His eyes rounded as he gaped up at her. So, she gave a wave and returned to helping out Steve with a ruined building.
Beth gave a nod. "Yes, we were out helping. Did you meet him or something?" Debating a second, Bridgette nodded.
"Yeah. I'm pretty sure he asked me if I was a superhero. Weird, huh?" she laughed. Beth laughed and shook her head as they headed back out into the dining room.
"My gosh, he's been on such a superhero kick since "The Avengers" incident. I swear, that's all he does is look up the footage, and run about the kitchen with a lid pretending to be Captain America. He's silly," she explained. Bridgette shrugged.
"Not a bad role model, that Captain America."
Blue eyes glance ahead when the bell chimed again, allowing the figures of Steve Rogers and Bruce Banner to enter the shop. Steve was still tall with his neatly parted blonde hair and rather stoic expression, the super soldier. Bruce stepped inside after him, still quiet and mild manner as always. Bridgette grinned at the two, happy that they stopped in for a visit. Bruce was slowly testing out the waters with the public. They had gone to a few movies and he always traveled with someone, not trusting himself enough to be alone. He was getting better, in her opinion. Sure there were a couple of maybe worrisome instances, but they worked out all right. Her hand nearly had the feeling crushed out of it, but everything turned out okay. They learned that going to see a scary movie was not quite their hottest idea.
"Aw, now we have trouble," teased Bridgette. The two returned the smile and Steve's attention became distracted by Beth, who excitedly introduced him to her mom and brother. Bruce stood in the doorway awkwardly, running a hand through his curly brown hair. Grinning, Bridgette walked right up to him.
"Hello, sir, how may I help you today?" she asked, taking out her pad and pen from behind her ear. "In case you're curious, we have some delicious specials today. Quite the bargain too." He gave short laugh, deciding to play along with her game.
"Well miss, I'm afraid what I'm interested isn't on your menu," he played. Bridgette nodded sagely, pretending to jot down notes.
"Well sir, looks like you'll have to wait until five o'clock like everyone else." She broke out of character by laughing and tucked her pen away again. She noticed an elderly couple eating outside that needed refills. "Go ahead and choose a seat, I'll be right back with you, doc."
"Of course. Take your time." She gave a salute as she turned heel, picking up a water pitcher on her way.
"Roger that!"
While Bridgette stepped outside, propping the door open as she did so, Bruce took an open table and settled into his chair. He could see her chat with the couple, smiling and engaging in polite conversation. A smile pulled at his mouth as he observed her cheerful demeanor, content. Her easy-going personality and nonchalance was such a relief to the stress that came from being the incredible Hulk. Positive attitude and reinforcement simply did wonders for him, far more satisfying than quiet meditation. He still kept with his other calming practices, accepting the anger of being the way he was, and the constant adjustments. It was better now, at least, it wasn't as suffocating as it always had been.
He could hear the tone change over at the Captain's table. The soldier was standing beside his girlfriend, Beth, and it looked as if the younger boy was arguing with his mother about something. The mother tried to shush him and he saw the boy look out the window to Bridgette who was still chatting and pouring drinks.
"But mom, she is!" he protested. "She told me so, that day at the clean up! Ask Beth's boyfriend, he was there-"
"Thomas Wheatley, you stop this nonsense right now!" she chided, pointing an authoritative finger. "I don't want to hear one more word!" The blonde boy looked absolutely crushed that his own mother wasn't believing him. His face scrunched up as tears dared to fall and he yanked his hand free from his mom's and pushed past Beth and Steve. His legs took him out of the shop, the door open so nothing to stand in his way. Bruce felt his heart still in shock of the realization. That boy was still running toward the busy New York traffic, not paying attention to where he was going.
There was the clatter of chairs as everyone scrambled to move at once. The Captain called out, and the deed was done.
"Bridgette!"
Ricochet saw it all in slow motion. She had just been topping off the couple's drinks when her peripheral vision caught sight of Tommy sprinting out of the shop. Her body reacted immediately, turning to run, the pitcher crashing to the ground. The traffic was busy as always, hazardous on a good day to someone paying attention. The yellow taxi would miss him, the timing working out with enough notice for the man to slam on the brakes. The Captain's voice echoed in her ears as she dashed after him. Tommy seemed to be startled out of his daze due to the variety of horns blaring at him, and he stumbled to a halt. An oversized load semi-truck was barreling along, the light green, and the driver seemed to be checking a sheet of paper, not properly watching the road.
"I got you."
She easily placed herself in front of the boy and lowered herself into a good defensive stance. The front of the truck smashed into her hands painfully, the metal hot from working all day in the sun, and the force substantial. Gritting her teeth, she held her ground, heels digging into the road, high heeled shoes snapping under the pressure. The tires squealed against her defense and the driver was startled out of his studying stupor, truck hissing as he hit the brakes himself, the trailer swaying out of line. Convinced that it would no longer move forward, Bridgette turned to the pale faced boy who looked up at her with a frightened expression. She gave a breathy laugh and a half grin.
"And this is exactly why you should check twice before crossing the street. Okay?" she lectured. He nodded vigorously, too stunned to say anything else. She held out her hand and he took it with no hesitation whatsoever.
The surrounding New York traffic wailed with horns and most was still moving forward. Gasping, Bridgette scooped Tommy up into her arms as the rest of the cars propelled themselves toward the pair. Her original instinct was to jump onto the front end of the semi and at least get out of reach. To say it didn't go according to her plan would be something of an understatement.
There was an earsplitting roar and something of a minor earthquake as the giant form of the Hulk landed before them, allowing the car to run into his shin. His green skin covered his overexpanded, hyperly muscular body as he continued to roar at the cars that were piling up now, running into the car before them.
"Oh no-dangit-Bruce-you shouldn't've-aw man!" she groaned, unable to string words together. She kept her grip firm on Tommy as she hurried over to the sidewalk where everyone was waiting. She exchanged a worried glance with the Captain and passed the boy to his mother, simultaneously tugging her apron off and she handed it to Beth's arms, who was still staring at her, dumbstruck.
"Well, uh, consider this my two weeks notice?" she supplied with a shrug. "Gotta go!" She turned to run when she saw Hulk picking up a taxi and examining it at eye level, growling at the device as if it posed a threat since it ran into him. The girl groaned, running back into the fray.
"Hulk!" she called, hands at the sides of her mouth to amplify her volume. "Big guy, we've got to go!" Sirens were becoming louder as the mess grew, cars upon cars were stopped as the typical rush hour was drawing near. As Hulk wasn't taking immediate action, Bridgette groaned and ran up to his side, giving his leg a noticeable pat.
"C'mon, we gotta go!" she repeated. He looked down and she motioned for him to follow her, the police's sirens approaching fast. People scream and dove out of their way as the pair made their way through the traffic and onto the sidewalk. Bridgette was running while the Hulk kept up with an even jog, footsteps like thunder. She took off her glasses and sent them to the ground, no point in them now. It was impossible to run to Stark tower, they didn't want the attention and media to follow them there and in the process reveal Bruce's name to the public. They couldn't just duck and hide in an alley, Hulk's size tossed that option out the window. There was a warehouse up ahead that didn't exactly look like it was in business and Bridgette took off towards it, the street becoming less crowded with people.
Skidding to a halt before the large truck entrance she slipped her hands beneath the grip and heaved it up with some assistance from the Hulk, the door didn't stand a chance. She waved him inside quickly, one hand still holding onto the door. The Hulk bent low to avoid hitting his head and Bridgette quickly closed the giant door behind him. Breathing hard, she leaned against the door, mind working in overdrive.
The had revealed themselves to the public. Not that she had much of a costume to begin with, just her thick framed glasses, but now the cat was out of the bag. Not to mention Bruce had Hulked out in the middle of the street during New York rush hour, plenty of people had seen them. What were they going to do? She obviously couldn't go back to work. Was Director Fury going to have to arrange something? She hoped not, she liked living in the city.
"Man..." she muttered. She could hear the shifting of the Hulk's form behind her as he moved his large hand near her, unsure if he could touch her or not. She gave a half smile, directing his hand to her shoulder, allowing the contact.
"Hulk and Bridgette...in trouble?" he guessed, unsure of how to word his question. She gave a hard sigh and nodded, flipping open her cellphone.
"Yeah, big guy...I think we're in trouble..." She brought the phone to her ear as it started to ring, taking another breath.
"Hey Tony, listen..."
REVIEW! Tadaaaa! I couldn't resist, Bridgette and Bruce were practically begging for another story! And I wasn't in the mood to make little oneshots (because I would get carried away and it would turn into a story anyway lol) So! I hope you readers enjoy this! I may be changing it to a cross-over (my first!) because it will be involving the X-Men cast, so, yeah. Plus! I made banners for the first two stories and when our internet isn't being stupid, I'll see what I can do about those!
Your thoughts would be lovely and I hope you enjoy as much as I do!