The Universe's Mixer

Bruce knew what today was without even having to look at the calendar or the screen of his computer. He knew it because it came so rarely that not being aware...well, he had been there before too and it was never a good thing to be that surprised. Especially when someone asked about it.

For all of the people that came and went in the Tower, it seemed emptier than usual. The void was growing steadily, the air didn't seem right...Tony was no where to be found which didn't surprise Bruce. Effie was gone doing...god knew what. Bruce didn't even want to fathom an iota of what she might be up to..or into. It would only serve to just set him off and he didn't need that.

Today was his birthday. He turned another year older and somehow he felt ancient. As if he had lived forever on this planet. He certainly felt much older than his age considering what he had seen recently. But unlike last year there would be nobody to celebrate with. Maybe that's the way that Bruce wanted it, to be by himself. Being alone came naturally to him but that didn't mean he didn't miss the certain people in his life that were gone.

His usually eager spirit for work had also fizzled, leaving him reeling in a world caught between boredom and depression. This was no way to celebrate a birthday but it wasn't looking as if he had much of a choice. His life up to this point was drastically different than he had ever imagined. And for a few moments at a time he had felt it was perfect. He couldn't ask for perfection. He never did because it wasn't fair, but some people demanded it. How could you demand something that was impossible? He wasn't sure but it just didn't seem right to ask.

And now there he sat, alone in his lab on a dusty old couch. His heart was split. Work didn't seem to be what it used to and thus he couldn't do it. Nothing else seemed particularly right with the world either. Bruce sighed and closed his eyes, shifting more comfortably against the cushions of the worn in couch. Many nights of sleeping had caused the furniture to become easily maneuverable. At least the couch was willing to cooperate.

he caught himself humming and stopped abruptly. The birthday song. Another sigh and Bruce settled in to another morning of no work and quiet. This would be a fine birthday. He would make sure of it.

(Last post from us for a good while. I swears!)


( Regretful consequences... )

Effie was visibly enraged by the time her father appeared, her face almost as ready as her hair and she kept glaring at people like she wanted to paint the Tower with their intestines. She stalked over to the car, climbing in and huffing. "I need you to take me to Logan's," she stated, not looking at her father.

She instead stared out the window, tears still rolling silently down her cheek, even despite her pain. She was so...broken inside that she could barely breathed.

How could Bruce hurt her like this?! They were supposed to have a nice night and he...he...

She burst into tears, clinging her her knees, sobbing against the flesh, her tiny body trembling with her pain.

Bruce sighed softly.

He traced another line of curvature over a possible sketch he had created for Dinah's new armor. He would have to run it by both Dinah, and Fred, of course. But it was looking hopeful. When the tracing was complete, Bruce jotted down an equation or two, as well as a few notes on the sheet the sketch was on. He felt that it wasn't too bad for him, considering he really wasn't much of an inventor.

He had to have something to do, however, that distracted from the fact that he hadnt seen his wife the day or night before. It was now almost lunch time and there was still no word from her. If she wore her watch he could track her, and though it wasn't at their room in the tower Bruce had a feeling she had taken it off at that stupid apartment of hers and left it there. He hated that apartment.

But he would just have to wait until she came home to find out if she was alright. He couldn't remember any fighting between them. They had seemed fine at the Christmas Party that Beauty had thrown. Despite the attention to some of the more unsavory characters present by Effie, Bruce felt she wasn't out doing something she wasn't supposed to be doing.

Last time...well, it hadnt ended very well.

With a hum Bruce set aside the sketch for later and picked up another. It was a replica of a sketch he had discovered in Edward's desk at the warehouse. It held some kind of mechanism designed to administer hulk serum. Why Eddie was interested in hulk serum, Bruce wasn't sure. He was sure that he probably wouldn't like the reason if he did find out. There wasn't much about Edward that Bruce liked, now that he thought about it.

But what did this sketch mean? With a sigh, humming ceasing abruptly, the scientist shelved that sketch too. He had too. It would eat at him if he didn't.

Backdated to December 25 at 5:30 pm

They'd spent all day preparing for Christmas dinner. The cottage itself was decorated inside and out. A fire crackled and roared merrily in the hearth. A lovely silver and blue tree quietly twinkled in the corner closest to the door. A larger-than-usual table took up most of the great room, and it was set to perfection with bright and creamy china, sparkling goblets, silverware that gleamed, poinsettias and pinecones and ham and mashed potatoes, tarts of every kind, salad, green bean casserole -- and oh, every holiday food imaginable! The wine selection was top-notch (after all, Beauty was French!), and the hostesses themselves were grinning ear to ear with excitement.


Under the tree, tiny presents waited - hostess gifts designed to surprise and delight!

At 5:30, Beauty went to the door and stood, bouncing on her toes, and waiting for the very first knock.

The mall. Bruce hated the mall.

There were too many people rushing every which way to screw someone out of a deal. Stores were overflowing with both Christmas Cheer and multitudes of restless shoppers.

Not the ideal place for someone like Bruce.

But he had a wife to get something for, which as almost as difficult as mustering up the courage to actually come to a shopping mall.

Lucky for the scientist they had a frozen yogurt stand. He could tolerate yummy goodness while he waited for the crowds to level out. Mostly he was there for Sanrio, Hello Kitty was one of Effie'a favorites. And now he was going to eat this yogurt and be patient.

He had managed to get all the way from the kiosk to a vacant bench, one that wasn't occupied by the work down shoppers or snot-nosed brats, and realized quickly to his dismay...."There is no spoon...."

With a frown Bruce sighed heavily

He hated the mall.

Slowly the scientist rose and carried his treat back to the kiosk, grabbing a spoon out of the cup at the counter. Now maybe he could finally enjoy something about this day. And watch with amusement as everyone else scurried about in hopes of finding the best deal.

The line for children taking photographs with Santa was almost too much in its own right. And far too expensive. Was Timmy too old for Santa? Did he even care? Doubtful.

Effie was curled in her large bed, hugging the Hello Kitty plushie her father had given her. She never did return to Stark Tower, instead buying out an apartment building for herself and Marcus, the man insisting that she should go back and that she was a moron, but Effie ignored him.

She needed a space that was her own. The Opera House had been Erik’s, the Warehouse Enigma’s and later her father’s, Stark Tower...obviously belonged to Tony and Bruce.

Effie needed a place that was only hears, not tied to anyone else.

But the big empty building felt cold to her, the loss of Timmy, Bruce, their animals...everything was cold and hollow.

“I’m heading out,” Marcus said from the doorway, staring at his young charge. He was tempted to simply pick her up and drag her kicking and screaming back to the Tower, but for now, he would let things play out. Even if she was an utter fool.

Effie nodded, snuggling more with her plushie. “Good night, Marcus.”

“Good night, little moron,” he said, using his new nickname for her.

Effie snorted, throwing a stuffed koala at him, a smile playing over her lips before she sighed, her eyes closing, listening to the rain machine blocking out sound.

( Rainy Days )

Dinah had seen the news. Oh, she'd seen it all right. She wanted to go out and find something to pummel, but she knew that wouldn't bring anyone back. Unless she could find a way to make the City human again and pummel it.

"Is this what you think is acceptable?" she asked angrily as she headed down to her bike. "Do you really think that we're just going to sit idly by while you feed on whichever of us you feel like?"

She was angry but she also knew that just shouting at the City or finding a bad guy to beat up on wouldn't help. For now, she needed to keep moving forward and she needed to be productive. Currently, that meant trying to get her new costume worked out. She hadn't told Dean yet about the close call or the rescue from the Hulk. She would tell him, but she wanted to be able to tell him that she was already working on a solution.

She dropped by Fred's apartment and rang the buzzer, hoping that Fred was there. She supposed that she should have called first but she'd just needed to start driving. If Fred wasn't there, she would just head over to Stark tower and talk to Bruce. She just needed to be moving, needed to be doing something.

After weeks of watching a warehouse where criminal activity was suspected, Dinah finally got a break. Unfortunately, with obtaining visual evidence that there was mass production of illegal weapons going on, she also ended up drawing some gunfire. The Canary was many things as a superhero, but bulletproof was not one of them. This was one of those times when having backup would have gone a long way. She could manage on her own most of the time, but there were times when she missed working in a team.

She crouched behind the pillar of a building as bullets whizzed by on all sides. She was out of sight and shielded for now, but it wouldn't be long before they found her hiding spot. A canary cry might take out some of them but she'd be putting herself in the line of fire to even direct it. So for now, she thought of exactly the best way to call for help.

She was wearing the watch Bruce had given her and there was a chance that the scientist could get some help to her in some form or another. She certainly wouldn't have said no to a certain Ironman at the moment. She considered calling Dean on her comm, but she was worried that she'd just be drawing him into a situation where he'd end up risking her life.

So Bruce it was. She pushed the button on the watch and hoped for the best. She wasn't sure if it had a speaker or if it just sent up an alert so she put the watch up to her face. "Bruce, if you're there... help."

When things were going to settle down was a time Bruce could only hope for. Not that his life had really ever run smoothly, even since his childhood which had started off extremely rocky, until now with his marriage and life in the City. If asked about his life now, Bruce probably would've claimed that he wouldn't change the way it was which was true. He wouldn't. He liked the life he was leading. It was actually pretty fulfilling for what it was and had become. He just wished it had more peace in it.

If it wasn't one thing it was something else. He didn't have time to be out on the street either keeping an eye on what his family was up to, meaning the things Edward was getting into and keeping track of Effie.

But when the call had come this time from the City jail, all Bruce could do was sigh, listen to the charges and be both annoyed with and proud of Effie at the same time. He was glad she had the guts to turn herself in to the police for her crimes, but she was just starting to adjust to life...this new chance she had been given and now she wasn't going to be back home for who knew how long. Again.

It was frustrating to say the least but the scientist was determined.

Bruce had called Dinah Lance, a friend he knew that kept an eye on his beloved, and they had agreed to meet at the City Park. Not that they had to meet in public, but it was safer for both of them should his emotions spike. Annie was at the Tower and an outbreak there would be very bad.

So that was how Bruce found himself sitting on one of the vacant swings in the even emptier playground. Dusk was settling around the park, but Bruce didn't mind. The autumn chill tried to hold on to him but his coat deterred any breeze from getting to the sensitive skin. He breathed out a fog of air and hoped Effie would be home for Christmas. The Violetta murders were a pretty big ordeal to claim to have done. And Bruce wasn't seeing any end in sight save for her incarceration in Blackgate. Jail wasn't where Effie needed to be. She needed to be home, but he couldn't make her do what she didn't feel was right in her heart. He had to trust she had turned herself in for a good reason.

This was what it was like when one started to become morally grey. And Bruce hated it.

(Note: Takes place directly after the Halloween Gala and slight adult content warning)

Effie bit her lip as she lit the last candle in the bedroom, blowing out the match and setting it aside before nervously sliding her hands down her long night gown. She blushed as she played with her long red curls, nervous hands smoothing down the strands. Soft, classical music was laying, fresh, clean sheets on the bed, warmed by a heater. She had taken care in showering and dressing, wanting everything to be...perfect. Yes, this might not truly be her first time, and she had vague, drunken memories of the actual one...but this was close enough that she was scared, more Effie then Enigma.

She just hoped she was okay...

Taking a breath, she pressed the intercom down to Bruce’s lab, her bare feet rubbing over each other in their anxiety.

( Romanticon )

The City had been eager to volunteer the whereabouts of Bruce Banner, and Beauty had been just as eager to follow the instruction. She had, that is, until she found herself standing in front of the warehouse at the very address the City had given. There were bright green question marks emblazoned on the brick, question marks that were terribly familiar. She didn't place them immediately, but foreboding filled her heart to the brim and overflowed into her hesitant movements, her quiet footsteps.

She tried the door, and whether it'd been left unlocked or the City unlocked it for her, she couldn't be sure -- but it opened all the same. Again, she tried to keep her footsteps quiet, but it was difficult in a place that seemed built for echoes.

"Bruce?" she called softly, and winced when her voice filtered seemingly through every corner. "Bruce Banner?" she called again, softer.

Tony returned to the tower with a short temper and shorter nerves. His girlfriend, the only person that really meant anything to him here besides his scientific counterpart, was still in the hospital, waiting for him to liberate her. But he couldn't do much. Jarvis had told him the medical equipment was already in use.

Quite peterbed that his own tower's medical gear wasn't available for his own use, he'd returned quickly and assessed the situation, finding an extremely beaten man in the medical quad. No doubt Bruce's doing, though Tony couldn't think of why he'd help somebody who showed up in none of Jarvis' databanks.

He entered the medical area briskly, eyes fixed on the medical bed.

"You," he said, a bit sharper than even his not-so-friendly usual. "Who are ( you? )

Bruce sighed.

It was hard to sit idly by while Edward was recovering but Bruce promised Effie that he would.

Bruce knew that Effie spent every waking moment she could spare down here with her father, at his side like a puppy would its master and Bruce hated Edward all the more for it.

Effie deserved so much better than Edward. She needed love, support and devotion. All Edward gave her were lies and false hope.

Bruce couldn't remember a time in their lives that Effie had truly been happy with her father. Any happiness she had shown was short lived at best, and although Bruce tried his hardest he knew in his heart that he would never have the place in Effie's heart that Edward did.

Eddie would always be number one. And Bruce wasnt exactly sure why. He wasnt sure why she continued to fall for the same tricks, why she allowed herself to be so blind when it came to Eddie. But maybe you did those things because you loved someone. God knew he did it himself with her.

Bruce sighed and looked down at the sleeping man, the beep of the heart monitor the only sound in the room.

Edward was lucky he was tucked safely away in a place with Heros. And that Bruce wouldn't harm him as long as Effie was around to need him.

Bruce knew how easy it could be to let Edward die. To give him too much medication, an overdose wouldn't look suspicious. Or an infection. All normal things.

Instead Bruce checked Edward's vitals finding them stable. He was a fighter, that was for sure. A man who had nothing to live for, betrayed by the man he loved and with only a daughter to care for him.

Bruce didn't understand it really. Why Eddie was clinging to such a miserable life. How easy it would be to succumb to the darkness, to accept the death that was knocking on Edward's front door.

Bruce pushed a button on the IV and a few drops of morphine was allowed to swim into Eddie's system. Bruce frowned and turned away from the man on the bed.

This was his fate, picking up the pieces of Eddie's life because those shattered remnants meant so much to his wife.

Edward was a burden that none of them needed but couldn't be rid of completely. It was tiring and often boring, but Bruce would do it.

He would do it for her. But only for her.

“HELP ME!” Effie screamed, almost collapsing finally, her father growing heavier and heavier with each step, her back and side soaked in his blood. She was standing in the center of Stark Tower’s lobby, the employee’s staring at her in shock.

Two security guards rushed to grab Edward’s body as it started to slip, moving him over to one of the couches as Effie finally collapsed, exhausted from carrying the man following her own outburst. One of the receptionists called for Bruce, while the other one debated calling for paramedics. Yes, a man was bleeding to death, but some things were better handled in-house, and Stark employees were hired for their discretion.

( Apologetic Salvation )

As strange as it seemed, Wash still wasn't over whatever illness had attacked him a month or so back. He was still experiencing general stuffiness and the kind of mucus draining that inspired folks to stuff tissues up their noses while they slept.

But he had his voice back, no matter how hoarse it sounded. And his energy was up. He had meant to get back to Bruce about the extra glass that was stored on Serenity so he decided that this was the perfect day for it.

And the ship had never looked so pretty. Wash had been up-keeping her pretty well since he was here. It was a distraction that got his mind well off of all of his misgivings about the City and his existence in it. And it might well have been the cleanings of places that hadn't been cleaned since the Firefly's purchase that kicked up something into his nostrils that started this whole illness thing in the start.

Bruce was set to arrive any moment and within the small collection of trees sat the large ship, shiny as she had ever been. Wash took pride in that. He sat in the cargo hold with the door open on a chair with Kaylee's parasol. A stack of replacement windows for the shuttles were beside him.

He played "Angry Birds" on his phone while he waited.

Having Effie back at the Tower was a relief. It wasn't that Bruce hadn't been out looking for her, because he had been. His projects had taken a back seat for his wife when she had gone missing and now life seemed to finally be resuming it's natural state of occurrence. Well, except for a few things.

How Effie had been unable to rememeber was something Bruce didn't understand. Having the greatest mind in the world meant nothing without all of the facts, the variables to the situation that could predict the outcome.

Even as he tinkered in his lab, Bruce wasn't satisfied. He didn't like that Effie couldn't remember. That they would have to start from the beginning, and that they would have to mend everything between them that was shattered.

It wasn't that Bruce minded, but they'd already done this dance before. To a different tune, but still the same dance. She seemed more innocent now, more willing to please and satisfy, and though Bruce was happy with that he missed the way she had been before. Just a little.

Bruce had never really cared how she was when she wasn't around him. He knew how she could be when she was, and he loved her dearly for the person she had started to become. This new-found innocence seemed almost false, and though she looked the same on the outside Bruce knew that the part of her that he loved was still lurking around inside that shell someplace. He loved her no matter what, he just wanted to be sure that she was really, truly happy with her situation.

And her being so supportive and willing to please meant that trouble was bound to happen. Bruce hoped that her father wouldn't take advantage of her situation, though that was almost like asking God to move an entire mountain for the pleasure of it. Bruce couldn't keep Effie safe if she couldn't remember how dangerous the world could be. At least as a criminal she had the mind and wit to save herself, or at least die trying. Right now.....he was afraid she wouldn't be able to pull the trigger if it came to that, and that she would simply be caught in the cross-fire should anything occur.

With a sigh, Bruce set down his tool and put his face into his palm for a moment. He closed his eyes and prayed that nothing bad would happen to Effie while she was like this. That she would understand that the world wasn't made to protect her, and that her life depended on her ability to resist temptation.

And Bruce prayed that Edward would keep out of it, though Bruce was sure that his prayer would go unanswered on that front. Edward was into everything wether Bruce liked it or not.

For now, the scientist would have to learn to adapt, like the creatures in the wild to thrive in their surroundings. He could only hope it wouldn't end in blood like it always did.

He was done cleaning up after Edward at Effie's expense.

Effie hummed as she pulled the pie out of the oven, setting it aside to let it cool before putting in the roast chicken, her skirt swirling around her legs as she moved. She looked like a throwback to the ‘ideal’ of the forties, the perfect little house wife every man dreamt of, even then.

At least until she started cursing as she burnt her finger.

Sucking on the wound, she hip-checked the door closed, before turning back to her pie, inhaling the berry sent and turning her focus on the homemade whipped cream. Damon had left a few hours ago, and Effie set out to make her husband(!) a good dinner for when he finished in the lab, dancing around to the pop sounds coming over the radio.

--

Dear God. That smell.

It was enough to draw anyone with any measure of sense from whatever rock they were living beneath, which was exactly the effect it had on the scientist. Unable to deny his senses, Bruce almost knocked over his stool as he rose to follow his nose, heading out of the lab. Despite them being on different floors, that smell travelled.

Bruce wondered if Jarvis secretly captured it and was making it pour through the vents in order to get the petite scientist out of the lab. Anyway, Bruce was hooked.

After an inquiry as to where the heavenly scent was coming from, Bruce found himself standing in the kitchen area where his wife currently was.

"What is that smell?" Bruce inquired gently, trying to keep his salivating to a minimum as he approached her. "It's pretty terrific."

When he reached Effie, he stepped up behind her to peer over her shoulder at what she was doing, arms sliding around her gently. Being with her was Heaven in itself and Bruce couldn't have asked for anything better than that. He was lucky. Most couldn't say they had the fortune he had, even despite the drawbacks of her past and lifestyle. He wouldn't have traded any of it.

He loved her as much then as he did when he first saw her. Maybe it was a little mushy, but he couldn't help it. She was his dream wife, and no matter what she would always be perfect.

( Stepford Wife )

Effie leaned against Hulk's fingers as they moved, clinging tightly to him so that she didn't accidently fall. She watched everything with wide eyes, studying the path they took, everything they passed. As they came up into the Opera House, she stared around, shocked at how...normal everything was, despite having a hidden world beneath it.

She would never get used to things like that.

She shifted, leaning into Hulk as if to whisper as they passed into the lobby. "Anyway you can destroy it?" she asked softly, a streak of her hidden insanity peeking out in her need for vengeance and destruction. Anything that...man liked needed to be destroyed and he felt that the opera was something close to him. "Please."

It wasn't until they were out on the street that she spoke again, staring around her, confused. "Where...are we? This isn't Gotham or New York City..." At least, not in any way that she recognized, though she could see Blackgate and Arkham in the distance. Could the man have possibly been correct? But no, because then he migh be right about other things and he wasn't.

Right?

Nothing was adding up.

Enigma wasnt in her cell (according to Edward and Jonathan) and while Bruce didn't really like or trust either of that pairing Bruce was aware that if they had actually known what had happened to her, they wouldn't have been shy about letting the scientist know. It was almost as if Bruce's wife had vanished into thin air and people honestly didn't just do that. Something had happened in that cell, and Bruce could only speculate so far.

It didn't help that Enigma had an array of friends, probably more people in this City than Bruce was actually aware of, but it wasnt like Bruce was without his own share of friends. Maybe he wasnt the best at staying in touch with all of them, but when you had good intentions people seemed to be more willing to help or provide information they would've otherwise withheld.

And so, Bruce came to the conclusion that Enigma really had gone missing. He didn't want to consider the fact that something bad had happened to her. That was too hard to think about, the idea of losing her forever. He loved her, but he also knew how she could be. Bruce had a feeling that if one of her friends had helped her escape that she would've called Bruce by now. Or Timmy at least. He knew she couldn't stay away from them for as long as she'd been missing without some kind of contact.

It wouldn't do to bother Damon of Dinah, even though he'd told Edward and Jonathan that he would ask them. If they had seen Enigma, he felt she would be back safely at the Tower (and up to her antics) but she hadnt come home.

No. It was time to go look for her.

And that was how Bruce ended up in the park.

Perhaps he wasnt the greatest at communicating with his friends, and for that he was truly apologetic but things in his life kept him from venturing out to see those of the people in the city that had managed to touch his heart. Beauty was one of those people. Honour if you knew her by her true name. The kind woman from the cottage that had opened Bruce's eyes to the truth early on. She had been kind enough to give him knowledge that had benefited him a great deal.

And she had also run screaming from the Asylum during the fight Hulk had with Scarebeast. Why she had been there, Bruce wasnt sure. But he would ask her.

He could remember his way to her cottage, having never really forgotten it in the first place. His feet followed the familiar path and somehow it looked different. Maybe it was the fading light of the day. Or maybe it was the fact of the house being void an occupant for so long, unbeknownst to Bruce. Whatever it was, he hoped that it would look again as he'd remembered it looking the first time he'd laid eyes upon it. When he'd stumbled across it tracking building movements in the beginning.

He hoped his friend was home, and above all doing well. Perhaps this would give them a chance to catch up, especially if she knew anything about Enigma or her whereabouts. The fact that they ran in different circles would help. At least someone would know to keep an eye out. And Bruce certainly hoped Beauty would.

He finally reached the door to the cottage and paused, lifting a hand to the wooden door to knock gently upon it. He didn't know quite what to say to her, considering it had been so long, but he hoped she might know something. Anything. He was worried sick about his wife.