Archive of Our Own ^beta

In the strictest definition of the term, Bruce Banner was a runaway.

The Rebirth accident had been just that: an accident. And while the mature part of his mind knew that he wasn't completely to blame for all that had happened... the truth of the matter was that the angry and feral and terrified part of him didn't realize that truth. All that the Other Guy seemed to understand was that something bad had happened and that Ross was laying the blame at their feet, so he took them and ran.

And they had never really stopped running.

That was why they were Calcutta, keeping a low profile and simply offering medical aid to those who requested help from the doctor. The Other Guy was content to keep hidden away in Bruce's mind, but still ready to step in if necessary to keep the two of them safe.

The first indication that they might need to run again was the boy.

Loki had only ever wanted to be Thor's equal.

He had his doubts that anyone really believed that, but it was hardy his fault that they bought into the epithets they themselves had bestowed upon him. He still wasn't certain when mischief had become lies, and had little doubt that it would somehow twist to evil after he was gone from Asgard.

But the fact remained that he'd only ever tried his best. He'd only ever tried to be as good as Thor, as beloved as Thor, as brave and strong and worthy as Thor, and had fallen short every time for whatever reason.

So now, when he had tried one final time to maybe be good enough, all he got for his troubles was another denial.

No, Loki.

So letting go was no real decision.

The only choice he'd made as he fell was whether to try another path, to start all over again from the beginning, to see if maybe this time he could be good enough for somebody out there.

His magic and that of the universe decided, basically, oh well, why the hell not as he fell into the void.

It was for this reason that, when he came out on the other side, Loki's memories of what had passed before were a bit on the fuzzy side and he was a bit on the ten-year-old side.

All he understood, as he walked through the marketplace of a town in a place unlike anything he could remember clearly, was that there was something that he needed to do, and that he couldn't do it if his family knew how to find him. So Loki instinctively clouded himself from Heimdall's gaze and tried to find somewhere to sleep for the night.

The Other Guy had actually noticed the boy first.

Bruce had been shopping for some necessities - food, medicinal herbs, clean water, and cloth to use for bandages - when the Other Guy began to poke at him. Worried that Ross' goon squad had managed to track him down once again, he stepped forward a few steps so that he would be hidden by one of the stalls before lifting his head to see what had his feral half's attention.

He had expected to spot someone military who was trying - and failing miserably - to hide that fact. What he saw was a dark haired child making his way through the various tourists' wallets like they were his own personal bank and trust.

What is it, Big Guy? Bruce asked, frowning slightly to himself even as the boy slipped a wallet from a purse. He watched silently as the boy pulled out a couple of small bills before making a show of stopping the woman whom he'd just pickpocketed and returning the 'dropped' wallet to her. Not surprisingly, she thanked him by giving him another small bill before heading on her way.

Not right, the Other Guy answered. He sounded highly displeased for reasons Bruce wasn't entirely sure of. Puny child. No parents. Not right.

Bruce couldn't help but agree. There was something very off in a child of that age - he estimated somewhere around ten, maybe eleven, but definitely no older than that - quite obviously of Caucasoid descent, roaming the streets of Calcutta with no sign of any parental figure or even a handler in sight. The Other Guy wouldn't have nudged him if it was just another poor street rat like the dozens they'd seen so often since their arrival nearly a year ago.

And given that the child didn't seem to be worried about anything, Bruce decided that it might be a good idea to keep an eye on him. Covertly, of course; the last thing anyone wanted right now was for something to happen that caused the Other Guy to feel the need to come out and say 'hi.'

Loki wasn't sure when the man started watching him, and that worried him a little.

He'd been in this strange city for nearly three days now, using what little magic he had in order to borrow the money he needed in order to buy food, and so far things were working out quite well for him. He had a place to sleep, even if it was a room in an abandoned house just a few blocks from the marketplace. He was able to buy food, and the people he borrowed money from didn't seem to be too upset over the loss.

A part of him wondered if they pitied him, which caused a brief flare of anger that vanished almost immediately.

Ultimately, the important thing was that he remember just what he was supposed to do so he could go back home again.

On the fourth day, he realized that the man was watching him.

Loki first noticed him at the edge of the marketplace, buying strips of cloth that couldn't serve much of a purpose. The man wasn't nearly as tall as Father or Heimdall or even Sif, but he wasn't what one would call short either. And there was something about the man that set Loki's nerves on alert; something that put the child into mind of the stories his friends would tell about monsters and giants that preyed on Asgardian children.

In the back of his mind, something sneered that he wasn't an Asgardian child, so he might actually be safest with the monsters. He pushed it away, mostly because it was part of those things he only barely remembered and partially because he worried that he was one of the monsters.

He decided to ignore the man, but quickly placed a magic tag on him in order to know if he was close by.

It only took another two days to realize that the man was following him from a distance. It was another half-day before he realized that the man meant him no harm.

It took that same half-day to realize that he was safe with the monster after all.

It had been a week since the Other Guy had spotted the boy, and Bruce had made it a habit to keep the little guy in sight at all times once they'd both entered the marketplace. While he was an adult and therefore generally safe from the seedier elements of the city, a young boy wandering around on his own could be a tempting target for those who preyed on the innocent.

There was, after all, a thriving sex industry in this country, even if it was underground. A kid as young and adorable as the one he and the Other Guy were keeping watch over would bring in a hefty profit.

So Bruce wasn't really all that surprised when he noticed a couple of shady characters paying far too much attention to his charge. Frustrated and very close to letting the Other Guy come out to play, yes, but not surprised.

The Other Guy growled softly in the back of his mind as they carefully watched the two men talk quietly amongst themselves, moving slowly to a position where Bruce would be able to grab the kid and move him to safety if the kidnappers made any wrong moves. The boy was distracted, going through the wallets he'd lifted earlier in the day to see how much he'd managed to gather, and thus didn't realize he was in any danger.

And then one of the shady men made a move.

Bruce couldn't understand what the man was saying, but it seemed like he was trying to convince the boy to go with him; perhaps he was making promises of a hot meal or a safe place to sleep for the night. The boy frowned and shook his head, either indicating that he didn't understand the words or that he had no intention of going anywhere with a stranger.

This was followed by more apparent cajoling, which was met with continued refusals, until the second man finally grew tired of waiting and, with a snarled word to his comrade, stalked forward to grab the child by the wrist. The boy let out a pained yelp.

Hulk smash bad men!

Bruce agreed whole-heartedly, and only asked that the Other Guy moved the kid to a safe place before relinquishing control.

Hulk roared, smashing through the wall and punching the man who'd grabbed the boy; as the man dropped his grip on the boy, Hulk scooped the child up and moved him to his back. Apparently realizing that he was probably in the safest place he could be at the moment, the boy wrapped his arms around Hulk's neck.

Waiting only long enough to make sure his charge was secure - Banner would be cross if their boy was harmed, and he felt bad when Banner was cross - Hulk turned his attention onto the other man... who was a coward because he was already running away. He didn't even seem to be concerned over his companion, and that both amused and annoyed Hulk. Amused because it showed the true character of the monsters that did bad things to small children, annoyed because it meant Hulk couldn't smash him too.

Hulk snorted and turned to head back to where he and Banner were currently staying, reaching up with one hand to make sure that the boy was still safe. A small, cool hand touched his own - in the back of his mind Banner had a brief moment of worry over how cold the child's hand felt, and resolved to examine their charge when he switched places with Hulk again - and the beast smiled slightly. The boy was safe, he had made sure of that, and he could tell that Banner was pleased with the outcome.

They were going to have to run again, but that was okay. Hulk only needed Banner, and now they had the boy to think about as well. Everything would be fine, Hulk was positive of that.

When the alien being calling herself Enchantress came calling, wreaking havoc and forcing Fury to activate the Avengers Initiative, Natasha Romanoff was sent to track down the Big Guy. SHIELD had been tracking him successfully for well over a year, so it wasn't difficult to track him to Paris.

What was a surprise was the eleven year old whom the doctor said was his adopted son, Loki, and whom he had no intention of leaving behind while he was dragged off to wherever SHIELD wanted him to be. Natasha didn't even bother calling it in; they needed the Hulk, and if the price of that was babysitting a preteen then that's exactly what she was going to do.

Which was a ton of fun when Thor finally dropped back in on Earth, but that's a story for another day.