insurgents | OPEN POST.

[That would not make her feel any better! He's told her often enough that he's indestructible - when she worries, when she threatens him, when it comes up organically in other conversation - but that only means he can survive his scars, that he has to. She's terrified of a future where it comes down to the latter, wouldn't risk him like this if she could think of anything else.

He's moving around in the dark. He's somewhere by the ground, and at first she thinks he's trying to look under the crack beneath the door, but then she figures out that he's listening, divining.

When he gets back up, she takes his hand again.] Emergency stairs are around the side. [He knows. He always notices these things.] If they're still down there, I'll get out of your way.

[There's enough ambient light - bless light pollution and occasional glowing exit sign whose emergency mode had initiated after the pulse - to get to said stairs and down them, but the basement should be pitch black.]

[ His fingers wrap around her hand like a lifeline, and he lets her take the lead at first, steps cautious as they walk down the hallway. The yellow light doesn't seem to expand any farther than the conference room, and he feels a little surer as they reach those stairs, even if it gets so dark that even any ability to see better in the dark wouldn't help him right now. ]

Don't. If they're still down there, stay close to me. I'll— he'll keep you safe.

[ In the dark, where he can't see her, where the Hulk wouldn't know where she is, he needs her to be as close to him as she can manage without getting hurt on accident. He's too terrified of what they could do if they managed to get to her, grab her or drag her off somewhere (whomever 'they' are). In that scenario, he trusts the Hulk far more.

Slowly, he starts down the stairs, the low buzz becoming louder as they reach the basement, loud enough that even she should be able to hear it, the darkness gradually enveloping them the farther down they step. Unconsciously, he shifts closer to her as they walk, as if the mere proximity between them offers him courage and certainty. ]

It's not me they're interested in.

[More to remind or reassure him (although it isn't really reassuring); she'll do what he wants, or at least plans to. She always plans to.

There's a fire door at the bottom of the stair well, about where you would expect it to be, and it opens out into an alcove across from the service elevator. The noise is unavoidable now but there's nothing overlaid - no voices, no rustling. There must be other people at this conference but a lot of the staff will have gone home, small mercies, or will be suffering the effects of the blackout in the attached hotel-like space.

The building is partially embedded in the schist rock of the mountain the center is built on, so that the nominal first floor is one part entrance hall and open to the air and one part underground storage space. It's this space the stairs open up to, and it's not quite as dark as it ought to be; there's a paler version of the yellow glow leaking from the open area that would correspond with the assembly hall above, emitting from hastily insulated tubes and piping that disappear around multiple corners. By its light, they should be able to make out the silhouettes of miscellaneous items stacked and on shelves, and the disorganized dimensions of the room itself, like a simple labyrinth. There won't appear to be any people.

But there also isn't anything immediately on hand that shouts Evil Generator, either. That would have been way too easy.]

[ He doesn't answer that with what he's thinking. No, she's not the one they're interested in, but they could very easily use her to get him to do whatever they wanted. And the thing is, it would work.

Bruce doesn't care what might happen to him; he cares mainly about keeping her safe right now. To him, that's a concern even more immediate than the people trapped in that room.

Bruce is quiet for a long while, almost not daring to breathe just so he can focus on listening. There's the constant buzz, the patterns in the energy pulse, start and stop and pick back up in a constant, then there's his footsteps, his breathing, his heartbeat, and there's Betty's feet too, her breaths. He subtracts each part and turns his attention to each at a time, making sure there are no other sounds in this space right now. No other sounds mean no other people, at least he hopes so.

He takes a deeper breath, daring to relax just a hint. Whoever did this clearly didn't want to be too close— now he's thinking about it, it actually makes sense that they're not even in the building to begin with. Wanting to avoid getting caught red-handed possibly, or just not wanting to be near a rampaging Hulk, in case the energy field wasn't enough to hold him. (It probably wouldn't be; he remembers talking to Tony about that possibility.)

A brief look around the room, he steps a little closer to the glow, turning slightly so he's talking to where he knows Betty is. ]

I could always turn now and kick my way through to where the generator is...

[ He's kind of throwing that idea into the air, unsure if it'd work all that well. A little too much violence and he could actually make the ceiling above them collapse, bringing down the hundreds of people in the room right upstairs. That would be just as bad as having the beast trapped in there. ]

[Then one good thing about being Betty Ross is that if they're remotely military-affiliated or sanctioned, they'll still, even now, at least try and leave her out of it. Unfortunately the signs don't look really good for that in this scenario. She doesn't speak until he does, and she'd trust him to know if they were alone. He'd always had a sixth sense for these things (...bad choice of phrasing) and as far as she could tell, it had only gotten sharper.]

You found it? Oh no, it's in one of the rooms?

[She's a little impressed he could tell, since she knows his senses are heightened but she really wasn't getting anything out of the place except 'like a setting out of a police procedural show or low budget horror movie' and 'where is it?']

We could try and find the right passage and door... [She trails off, unhopeful. The place would have been hard enough to navigate during the day and everything is likely really enforced down here. She shakes her head in the dark. So no, probably not if they want to make any kind of time. Kicking his way through didn't sound good, but it's not like there were a lot of options.]

Or no. Okay. Let's try and get closer, but I think you can do it. [She pats around until she find his shoulders in the dark and squeezes them like she can impart her confidence by touch.] It'll be faster this way. Could he- I can help point out to him which sections are load-bearing if he doesn't remember. [Based on what she remembers of upstairs, mostly. It's not perfect, but nothing else comes to mind. At least they're not likely to be directly beneath everyone.]

[ He would know if there were someone else here, he thinks. But both reason and his senses tell him that they're on their own, and if that's not true then whoever's here is already hiding somewhere, keeping purposefully quiet and fully prepared for them to show up out of nowhere. So it's not as if being silent will make much of a difference to them, and at least the silence and the buzzing of the generator aren't quite as eerie. ]

Not yet, no. But it's got to be down here somewhere, and I doubt they bothered locking it away all that well.

[ Besides, the Hulk would make quicker work of finding it, which they really need right now. Whoever did this likely has already realized that things didn't go according to their plan, and he wouldn't be surprised if they were already working on an alternative. ]

He can. He's not— he's not completely clueless. And you calm him down. You could probably guide him, besides I'll still be in control. We just need to keep him reined in enough that he won't bring the whole place down.

[ It's still a risk, but then all transformations are. He still believes it's better than doing nothing at all, or leaving for that matter. ]

Let's... try that?

Okay. [Again, a little firmer.] Okay. I'll stay close.

[Just to show she remembers. It would be a little strange to say she'll miss him, so she doesn't say it. But she will. The Hulk probably wouldn't have recognized a repelling energy field and won't be able to strategize with her if something new comes up. But Bruce will be safer as the Hulk - everyone, including her, will be safer with the Hulk and this... this is what he does now. She does think it's worth it.

More to cover her nervousness and very much to herself,] I was hoping when you got naked tonight, the lighting would be better. Less evil.

[They've been moving further into the space as they spoke, and when Bruce stops, she gives him back his hand and suddenly loses her primary reference point for him, for the room, for each heartbeat that marks time, although she can tell he's moving nearby.]

[ He knows she'll stay close, he knows that. She always has, and she's never been afraid of the monster, not like other people are. He also knows that the Hulk cares about her in some way, likely a transference of his own deep feelings for her, and while during an unwilling transformation he still wouldn't want her anywhere near him, this time he's confident that it'll be alright.

There's a soft chuckle at her last remark, quiet and lost to the dark of the basement. ]

I'm sorry. [ Genuinely so, even if it might not be his fault. Not directly, anyway. ] I'll make it up to you, I promise.

[ Even in the dark, she can likely catch a faint glimpse of what happens next. Even if not, she can definitely hear it, hear the tearing of fabric as Bruce's figure grows taller and larger, and in a matter of seconds, the breaths that come from him are deeper, heavier, a grave hum leaving the monster's mouth as he takes half a step, looks around as if he's processing the information Bruce is trying to filter through to him from the inside.

His head turns, and his eyes find Betty, trying to figure out if she can see him at all. ]

Bruce?

[There's barely enough light to tell anything so it's just unreal shapes and noises in the dark, and as unafraid as she is of the Hulk specifically, that still taps into something primal. She has to remind herself it's Bruce and not to step... closer. Or back. At least his transformations don't leave him screaming in agony anymore.

It's not really practical to hold his hand now, but she reaches out through the dark searching at least for contact, a little concerned that she'll lose him at this point, or that in spite of Bruce's assurances, he's just as lost as she is. It's a creepy place to wake up in and she wouldn't be happy about it.]

[ The Hulk grunts at the name. Even with Bruce in control, he never likes hearing people talking to the puny man through him. But then he knows, at least to a degree, that Betty's different in that aspect. That she's talking to him as much as she is the man trapped inside, and he lowers his shoulders just so, eyes fixed on her figure in the dark.

She can barely see him, but he can see her. When she reaches out, a soft touch grazing the back of a huge hand, he turns it around just so, slim fingers tracing across his palm instead.

But they're not here for sweet gestures, it's just a waste of time. Bruce allows the moment for just a few seconds, enough for Betty to feel a little surer and safer, then he sets the Hulk into action, getting him to turn around and start walking down the area, eyes and ears peeled for anything unusual, or for word from Betty telling him where to go. ]

[It's a rush, following the Hulk through the dark and trying to map their progress against an incomplete mental map. Time faces quickly and slowly. This piece of his life isn't hers except when circumstance dictates, but she doesn't feel lost or superfluous so much as... angry. Every scrap of fear is an adrenaline kick. She can't help looking left and right at the undefined shapes looming on either side, but he's moves forward with such purpose that there can't be anything there.

The open space narrows like a corridor that she can picture even less, but she has barely said anything before they reach without incident an expanse of wall that vibrates strongly enough that even she can feel-here the frequency as a grind of delicate ear bones.

By her estimation, they're barely beneath a corner of the auditorium, if they are still beneath at all. Maybe under the backwings of the stage, she reports out loud, more to interrupt the buzzing with her own voice than any other purpose. When she feels along the wall for a doorway, she finds nothing,] but there's definitely still space there.

[ For what it's worth, the Hulk is as aware of her presence as he is of the soft buzzing that seems to vibrate through the walls and floor. The thrumming of her heart is a pace for him to keep up with, a ticking clock marking the time, and more than anything else right now, he finds it soothing, calming. Which is a good thing, because a particularly angered Hulk wouldn't help with anything.

Not that it makes much of a difference when the area narrows and the vibrations increase, and he feels the persistent buzzing drilling into his head in a way that makes him want to crush things. He grits his teeth, though, and holds back; she speaks and he tries to catch what she's saying, grunting at the end just so she knows he heard her.

Doors, though, who needs those? Was she really planning on using a door? Because even if she did, the Hulk would still smash his way through the wall to see what's on the other side. Which is what he does right now, all too quickly especially when he's starting to feel encroached in the narrower corridor.

The buzzing doesn't stop, and yellow light bleeds out from the gaping hole in the wall, but at least the area's more open, and he doesn't feel so trapped anymore. He steps inside, looks around to make sure it's safe, then turns around and waits for her to follow him inside. ]

[It's not like the Hulk could have fit through a door but it would have saved... yep, okay, right, okay. That was clearly a superfluous wall anyway, no one is going to miss it. When she follows after him, she sees the generator for the first time.

Branching veins of shielded yellow, like deadly neon lights welded to the ceiling, form a complicated system moving away from the center of the room where all the electricity they haven't been getting back is being visibly fed into an incongruously basic inertial confinement fusion device, which Betty mostly recognizes from their work decades ago.

Like someone who is not very good at self-preservation, she goes around the Hulk and right up to the apparatus, trying to make sense of the design. She could really use her expert partner on this one, but he's a little busy being the reason they made it here in the first place, and also the only reason she's not flipping out.]

Hold on, don't- Don't smash it yet.

[The sound they've been hearing is very audible and probably coming from the reactor chamber as a laser ionizes the gaseous fuel. The whole thing is smaller than you'd expect for something meant to cover a space the size of the assembly room, but the twists and turns in makeshift piping leading away artificially extend the field's range by physically guiding ionized gas to multiple points along a guiding energy mesh. One story above them, the additional energy fully transitions the raw materials into the plasma state of the repelling energy field. Not that Betty can do more than guess at that part - they only have the ICF portion in the room.

The generator itself is safe enough if no one tries to taze the chamber or something, although you probably don't want to hang around it too long anyway. The thing in the room is one solid dose of energy short of a bomb, purely as a side effect of generating the energy field upstairs. Whoever set this up was a moron and a genius and probably took over a month just sneaking in tubing.]

Give me a minute, okay?

[Maybe they can just... unplug it? Turn off the gas source? It's a beautiful machine, and also there is the very small chance it could explode.]

[ It's probably a good thing that Betty speaks up, because it's an additional voice stopping the Hulk from just crushing the whole thing. Bruce's already trying to do that, reining in the urge the Hulk feels to to destroy the generator, but it's difficult to manage when the persistent sound is even louder now, and makes his head throb painfully.

Not that the Hulk often feels pain, if ever— but this comes close enough to it.

He stops, gritting his teeth as he looks at her, then grunts in a mix of frustration and resignation. His head drops in what's almost a nod, and his eyes narrow on the generator again. He might not know the first thing about how it works, but the light beams it gives off, the energy pulse emanating from it, that pretty much gives away that it's likely a dangerous thing. That, of course, means it's more dangerous for her than it is for him, so he pays special attention not to let Betty step too near it. She would, if she thought that would help turn it off, and she'd likely ignore the danger she'd be putting herself in. So he'll stop her if he must. ]

[He may need to physically stop her from climbing all over the generator at some point, but she'll just take the interference for granted; she expects him or Bruce to watch her back and she's a little preoccupied trying to dismantle the set-up in her mind. Bruce would have worked everything out already; the way the lines fold back on themselves is as impossible for her to follow as the pathways of a circuitboard would be for an ant. Still, she's pretty sure Bruce could have done these energy balances in his head.

They could cut off the gas before it has a chance to ionize, but flooding the building with pressurized gas that could be anything isn't an option. There's also an opportunity to cut off the plasma before it reaches the auditorium. Like prescribed burning can be used to contain a forest fire, if forest fires could be directed by magnetic fields, they could split off the continuous plasma supply before it could encounter the (theoretical) energy mesh, and reasonably predict that it would flow... down through the gaping wound. So they would need to find...

Betty starts walking away from the generator, picking over rubble and following some of the thicker glowing tubing overhead which would have disappeared into darkness right away if the wall to the generator room wasn't an ex-wall. She points up at what would have been nondescript parts of the ceiling or even past the ceiling into what would be the next room over.]

There. I think. And there, and... there. [They're several meters apart.] At the same time. And then we need to go up... that way - away from the people.

[The space under the auditorium wasn't that close anymore but it was still unsupported to risk disturbing. That didn't leave many other options. They would need to get away immediately, maybe back up to the ground floor the direct way to avoid what was essentially the field, liquefied, flooding downwards. There wasn't any empirical evidence on how the Hulk could handle a rain of plasma (no data released on the weapons seen in Manhattan) and Betty certainly couldn't. But this far back in the building, a lot of the building was embedded right into the bedrock. It would be a risk no matter what. This way, there was no chance of a larger explosion.]

[ Even in control, Bruce's mind is too far back to pay attention to the generator, or follow her train of thought in any way. Not that it would've made much of a difference anyway, because the Hulk's vocabulary's already limited as it is, it would take painfully long to get him to voice any of his thoughts or conclusions, let alone in time for them to make any sort of difference. So, as much as Bruce would have liked to be useful in this situation, Betty will have to figure it out on her own.

Which... she does, apparently. Sort of. The Hulk certainly isn't smart enough to say whether or not she's right, as it is he already has a hard enough time following her instructions. ]

Smash? [ Said in tone of question because he really wants to be sure before he starts tearing down walls and ceilings. Bruce somehow manages to understand what she's trying to do, and he implants a whole other concern in the Hulk's mind— one he voices promptly. ] Betty... safe?

[It's fine, they wouldn't have even gotten this far if he hadn't transformed, and she figured it out in the end. Maybe. There's actually no good way to predict exactly how the system will fall apart without a map of upstairs, but it will definitely do that. Everyone upstairs will be okay as long as they haven't tried any heroics of their own.

She's touched by his concern, and guilty, especially since she's essentially ordering him to do something really dangerous she couldn't do herself. She answers with more confidence than she really feels (but even if he can tell, what can they do?)] Safe. I'll be there. [She points back into the generator room. She's going to stay back and out of the way and and reroute the gas as soon as he's hopefully knocked out the shielding.]

Come get me afterwards. And then up. [She starts to say 'be careful' and then decides that's not really the advice he needs, right now. What they really need to be is committed. Instead, she reaches up to touch his shoulder once before leaving picking her way over the short distance back to the room.]

[ He can't predict anything, but he's trusting her to do that. Or to at least have something of a plan in mind, something better than what he was planning on doing at first. Well, there's some tearing down to do now too, but it seems more precise, more calculated. Definitely not what the Hulk would have done, but something he can do.

He nods with a grunt, not entirely pleased with the answer, but it's as she's thinking right now: they have no other options.

Once she's out of the way, or as out of the way as she can manage, he turns to the spots she pointed out on the ceiling above them. At the same time— that's a complicated feat to manage, but taking a few steps forward, he leaps up high, fists aimed upwards and plunging through the ceiling some good meters apart, then with a roar and a forceful tug, he gets it all to come crashing down with a loud, deafening noise. ]

[Even when she's expecting it, the violent shaking through the remaining walls and the accompanying burst of sound is terrifying, and Betty instinctively ducks at nothing. She won't have time to see if the lines were really broken as she'd hoped, but the drop in pressure that allows her to manipulate the flow controllers is a good sign. So is the brightness outside.

Well, not a good sign, exactly, but the predicted one. Without the energy mesh and whatever other technology was involved on the user end, the activated portion of the plasma will diffuse, making the dark and cool basement both very bright and very hot. The plasma will be pumping out of the burst tubing, both the recently ionized input, and what made up the former body of the repelling force field. Upstairs, field will be weakening and falling apart. Down here, they're going to need to get out before breathing, blindness, or boiling becomes a problem.]

Done! Time to go!

[She shouts as much from adrenaline as to be heard over the hiss of vaporizing water. A little more distantly, there's an unaccounted for second crash overhead. Aside from that, there isn't any way good to know this, but cooled plasma along auxiliary lines builds up in the unoccupied classrooms and sealed off spaces overhead. Not much about this is super great, but it would get much much worse if they try to pass through one.]

[ The Hulk has little notion of what she's doing, but he keeps an eye on her at all times anyway, as if he expects something to blow up or the ceiling to come crashing down on her. He's there to stop her from getting hurt too, in fact now that they've managed to (hopefully) break the barrier, it's the only objective he has.

Keep her safe.

When she shouts out, he rushes over and picks her up with little ceremony, immediately making his way out— or trying, anyway. It doesn't take a genius to see that whatever's leaking out the burst tubes isn't safe, and as he tries to step around it, he keeps finding the path blocked by the plasma. He roars as if that stops it from happening, as if that stops the place from getting hotter or the air more and more suffocating.

There's nowhere to run, no way to get out through where they came. So he does the only thing that can possibly save them (her) right now: he turns around and runs the opposite direction, using his arm and hand to keep her close to him and shielded from any debris as he smashes his way through walls and delves deeper into the mountain. ]

[Getting scooped up isn't something she's going to get used to any time soon, but it's really the last thing on her mind as the Hulk navigates them through hallways and levels of dizzying brightness and heat. He roars and she might be screaming too, but she keeps her head enough not to breathe too deeply and focuses on hanging on and not goddamn fainting this goddamn time.

She clings to him tightly enough that he wouldn't even need to be holding her at all if it weren't for the showers of sparks and steam, stone and cement, that seem to be coming from everywhere at once. At this point, there's no way for her to tell where they are or where they're going, she can only hope he knows what to do.

Lightheaded on the fumes, she doesn't understand, at first, what he's doing when the walls fall away and raw stone after them, but as their surroundings shudder she realizes that he's punching straight through bedrock instead of out into open air. She almost panics then, disoriented, but it's still Bruce and he, they - she has to trust him. That he's doing this for a reason, and that, as impossible as it is to believe, he can.

Let's escape directly through the mountain, why not. (!!)

The pitch of fracturing rock changes and the surrounding air is suddenly cooler just as they reach the surface and the other end of the Hulk's cave-turned-tunnel, not that she's in any frame of mind to notice in the moment.]

[ Yes they are definitely escaping through the mountain. That's what's happening here, that's the kind of thing one should expect when they're dating a Hulk. Deal with it.

The fumes and chemicals burn the Hulk's eyes, but once he starts digging into the mountain and builds them a tunnel that takes them farther and farther away from the school, it eases up. Though the air is still stiff and too warm, too still, a kind of dampness that mingles with the dust, dirt and debris falling around them as he pretty much punches his way through rock and dirt.

The lack of fresh air won't kill him, but he knows it's a different story for Betty. So he keeps a fast rhythm, almost frantic, trying to get them to the other side as fast as he can. When he breaks through the other end of the mountain, it's with a roar as loud as the rocks punched into a great distance, crumbling from the mountainside and rolling off across the ground. He puts a fist to the ground for leverage, lowering his other arm until he can lay her down on the ground carefully. ]

Betty?

I'm fine, I'm okay, you did it. You did it. Oh my god.

[They are actually on some totally undeveloped slope of mountain because he broke a new path with his bare hands. It's unbelievable. And she's not unconscious this time! An improvement! Although her reassurance was automatic, she really is fine or will be. Her voice is rough from coughing, but everything's under control.]

Let's not do that again. I can't believe... Are you...?

[As soon as she's worked out which way the planet's tilted, which is actually a much more complicated task than it really needs to be, she's sitting up until she can see his concerned face looming over her, squinting while she checks him over and feeling along his arm the way she would with Bruce.

There's almost too much grit and dust to make out the burns, but even before her eyes, they're healing.]

[ The Hulk watches her, seemingly satisfied with her reassurance, despite the fact she's still recovering from the whole mess. She's not passed out at least, and she's not injured that he can tell, so he limits himself to letting her get some air, all the while more or less hovering over her.

It only lasts until she reaches out, though. Her touch is relaxing at first, but then her fingers move too close to his injuries, and Bruce has enough presence of mind in there to get the beast to pull away from her.

He steps back, turning just so, grunting as he draws his arm closer to his chest and hunches as if to keep the injuries and any possible blood there from her. After all, it may be difficult to make the Hulk bleed, but it's not impossible— and he doesn't want her touching that. ]

Sorry, sorry.

[She misreads his gesture entirely and assumes she's hurt him somewhere she can't see, quickly withdrawing her hand too, although that only lasts a moment. Before too long, she's crossing the meter or so it takes to face him again, crawling stiffly because getting to her feet is a little much right now but so is the way he's retreated.

There's something so wrong about seeing the Hulk curled in on himself.

She's cautious not to touch him this time, but she settles in close and tries to catch his eye.] You saved me again. And hopefully everyone in there. Thank you. [Until she sees the remains of the building she won't understand the full extent of the danger they were in, but she doesn't need to for the the statement to stand.]

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asdfjkl; i'm so sorry this system actually makes no sense

it's ok not like he can tell the difference. also i'm sorry for the delay!!!

this is... clearly not a problem orz

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