I was blasted off my feet, freefalling briefly before crashing onto hard, cold metal.

I picked my head up to see I'd fallen out of the laboratory into some other area of the Helicarrier. I wasn't alone, either. When the chaos began, Natasha and Banner were brought down with me.

How come none of us saw this coming? Just because Loki was in our care didn't mean he still couldn't strike back, even if he wasn't a part of the assault. His minions—whether they were controlled or not—wanted their leader back.

Currently, Natasha was trying to pull her leg out of some debris. If I was able to see a bit straighter, I would have helped her. Though I was able to endure more than humans, the impact did sting.

Looking dazedly to my left, I noticed Banner acting strange. He was hunched; unusual, frightening noises were coming from him. My eyes widened. If I didn't know any better, I'd say Banner was fighting a battle with "the other guy" as he liked to call his alter ego, and he looked to be losing.

"Hill!" Fury's voice thundered in my ear. I'd forgotten I'd put the earpiece in.

"External detonation," Agent Hill confirmed. I remembered her voice vaguely. "Number three engine is down. Somebody's got to get outside and patch the engine."

"Stark, you copy that?"

"I'm on it," Stark confirmed.

"Coulson, initiate defensive lockdown in the detention section then get to the armory. Romanoff?"

"We're okay," she panted. "We're okay, right?"

Kiara, are you alright? Thor asked.

I hissed, feeling my forehead pulse. Uh-huh. My vision isn't great, but I'm still breathing. You?

Where are you?

I don't know.

What is going on?

You know this is a prison break, Thor.

Tell me where you are, I will find you.

What did I just say? I don't know where I am!

Is anyone else with you?

Agent Romanoff and Banner are. Banner doesn't look like he's doing too well, Thor.
I will find you. Give me time. Be careful, Kiara.

You too.

"Doctor?" Natasha's voice brought me back to the current situation. "Bruce? You got to fight it. This is just what Loki wants. We're going to be okay."

It didn't look like Natasha's reassurance was helping Banner. I could see a bit of green coloring on his skin. I knew my eyes weren't tricking me despite the poor lighting.

"Listen to me," Natasha continued. "We're going to be okay. All right? I swear on my life, I will get you out of this. You will walk away and never ever—"

"YOUR LIFE?" Banner thundered.

Chills ran through my blood.

The green was continuing to consume Banner's skin. He seemed to be growing in size; his shirt was starting to tear in places. I was too frozen to attempt to help anyone. I'd seen a video or two of what the Hulk looked like, I'd never wanted to meet him in person.

I shrunk away as Banner moved away, his inhuman growls echoing around us. Natasha grunted as she continued to try and get herself free. I watched in terror as Banner's shirt ripped into pieces and he sprouted. I let my fear show as Banner gave in to the Hulk.

I whimpered, seeing the Hulk's head turn towards Natasha and me. His eyes were still recognizable, Bruce's eyes.

"Bruce?" Natasha whispered.

The doctor was gone, consumed by his green alter ego. The Hulk bellowed, surprisingly pulling me out of my frozen state. I spun around to help Natasha get her leg free. We jumped to our feet, watching the beast. At least he was wearing pants. But how come those didn't rip? It was one of life's mysteries.

The moment the Hulk laid his eyes on us, Natasha and I decided it was time to start running. We made our moves, heading for the stairs that happened to be nearby. With a challenging roar, the Hulk's heavy feet pounded after us.

"Jump!" Natasha barked. She leapt nimbly up, attaching herself to a bar. I jumped after her, but too late. The stairs were ripped out from under me, and I lost my air. I landed on the cold ground, spinning around only to be backhanded by the green giant. I rocketed in the air, knocking into a few things. I couldn't deny that the big guy had a mean swing.

I staggered to my feet, realizing that this was the weakest I'd ever felt. He's got the strength of an Asgardian if I'm like this. I heard more damage being dealt as the Hulk pursued Natasha. I saw a flash of her red hair, and I followed after her. She landed in a roll in front of me before getting to her feet.

I resisted the urge to cry out as the Hulk bellowed yet again. He certainly liked to be vocal. I hissed, feeling my ribs hurt. Gods. How much can he really do if I get caught by him?

With Natasha taking the lead, we evaded the Hulk. She brought me down to my knees, panting heavily. Everything fell taciturn, even the Hulk stopped roaring. Natasha and I held our breaths. I could take a lot more punishment than she could; I now felt a duty to protect her from the green monster. True, I could very well be murdered by Banner's "friend", but I had a better chance of surviving his blows compared to Natasha.

While we waited with bated breath in the darkness, my mind went to the other problems the Helicarrier was facing. Loki had his men on this flying boat right now. How were the people at the bridge faring? Were there casualties? We had to still be up in the air, so Stark had to be working on engine three.

Natasha nudged me, gesturing me to follow her again. This time, she was armed with a gun. If Banner tried to commit suicide but couldn't, what made her think that a bullet would have any effect on him now? Maybe she feels safer with it, more in power. Natasha did look determined, but I could see she was afraid. It was totally acceptable even for her to be afraid in this situation; they probably didn't cover this in training to become a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.

The ground below our feet quivered slightly. The Hulk was on the hunt. I kept myself collected even though fear wanted to get the better of me. I stuck by Natasha, knowing that she would give me hell if I abandoned her.

The bone-chilling roar of the monster alerted us to the fact that we'd been spotted. Natasha shot a pipe above the Hulk's head, unleashing a bit of steam over him. Not the best move.

Natasha and I bolted. She made a sharp left, I nearly lost her. We ran through a narrow way, and we were heavily pursued. Glass shattered behind us as though it was nothing. I swore a few pieces bounced off my back. Whatever the Hulk was destroying caused sparks, lighting our area up. I ducked my head, Natasha did something similar.

I was on my feet one second, and the next I was airborne, catapulting into Natasha. We hit a wall; Natasha was the middle of the sandwich. I rolled off her to see the Hulk breathing heavily.

I stood in front of Natasha, calling fire to my hands. I had no idea where this courage was coming from, but I delved in it.

"Bring it on, big guy," I challenged, waving a flaming hand his way.

I saw one mighty, green arm poised to strike. I put my arms together in front of my face. Maybe I could stop his blow. I didn't turn away when I saw the arm come my way.

It was so close to hitting my face, but it never reached. One minute the Hulk was about ready to backhand me, and the next he was taken out by a blur. I cringed, seeing the huge hole that led into the next room. Without even asking Natasha how she was, I jumped through the hole.

Thor was getting to his feet as those in the area scattered from the battle to be. Judging by all the planes in the area, I figured it was some sort of interior hangar.

The Hulk did a circle, roaring a challenge to Thor. The Hulk took the first swing and missed. Thor took his shot and got a hit. I actually saw the monster's head snap to the side.

I was on the outer edges of the fight, waiting on my chance to strike. I flinched as the Hulk tried to bring a massive arm down on Thor. Thor held his ground, keeping the green arm from crushing him.

"We are not your enemies, Banner," Thor said in a strained tone. "Try to think!"

My jaw locked as the Hulk tossed Thor away. I whistled shrilly, catching his attention. This time, I made the first move. I charged, leaping, striking the monster's face with a fiery hand. The Hulk wasn't happy, he reeled back.

I ducked under his punches and launched myself at him again when the chance came. I only made it halfway to his face, a massive hand enclosed around my body. I struggled, only to be released a second later, thrown in the same direction Thor had gone. I rolled on the ground, tenderly touching my ribs. Gods, it hurt.

"Nice of you to join the fun," I told Thor, getting myself up slowly.

"I told you I would find you."

"It took you long enough. What's our plan?"

"You leave, and I will stay here and fight."

"Ah, the King of Recklessness is back." I laughed bitterly. "I guess in this case it's good for him to be here. Still, I'm not going to let you fight the Hulk alone. You see what he can do."

"You do not need to be here, Kiara. Your help is needed elsewhere."

"Like where?"

"Anywhere other than here. Go while you still can. Once he sees you, you will lose the chance."

"Thor—"

"Go, Kiara, before I make it a command."

"Last I checked you are the Prince of Asgard, not the King. But, if you are so stubborn, I will leave. Be careful, my friend."

I knew Thor could hold his own once I saw Mjolnir fly into his hand. I ran off before the Hulk could catch me.