"Nat?"

"Natasha?"

"Oh, god," you sighed, running your hands frantically over her body, desperate to stop any source of bleeding that you could find. "Nat, please, you can't do this. Please. I messed up. I'm so sorry, just please wake up."

Steve had heard you through his comm, bursting into the room with a loud crash of the door from its hinges. "What the hell happened...Jesus..." he gasped, reaching down to scoop Natasha's limp body from the floor. "Stark, we need to be off the ground in two minutes!" He glanced back at you briefly, the fire in his eyes igniting a fear in you that you had never felt before. "We'll discuss this once I know that she's stable. Follow fast or I'm leaving you here."

~~~

"I told you that this was a bad idea," you mumbled, resting your head on the lab table. "But you didn't listen and now Nat's hurt and it's my fault."

"It's not your fault, (Y/N)," Bruce replied softly, removing his glasses and taking a seat next to you. "And I wasn't wrong. You're just being hard on yourself."

"Wouldn't you be, Bruce? If you were in my position, having to watch your best friend bleeding out in front of you because you lost control?" Pushing your chair back with a firm scrape along the floor, you stepped away, pacing back and forth next to him. "Steve warned you too, if you remember. I'm too young...hell, I'm not even technically an adult yet, and I'm untested with this power, Bruce. He's gonna vote to kick me out, I just know it."

"He would never...wait, what do you mean vote you out?" Bruce stood now, looking at you with a confused expression.

"The inquiry is about to start. Didn't you know that?"

"Inquiry? No, no one told me anything about that," he replied urgently, putting his glasses on and rushing around the workstation to his computer, searching for information on the mission you were to be questioned on.

With a small nod of acceptance, you dropped back onto the chair and returning to rest your head on the table over your folded arms. "Well then I'm out for sure."

~~~

Bruce stood outside the small room that held you, Nick and the rest of the team. Because of his close relationship with you, it was suggested that he sit out of the meeting, believing that he would be unable to make a fair recommendation about your future. Being a friend of your parents, he took you in when your powers of negation developed, and had cared for you for years. He was why you joined SHIELD at such a young age. When the handle of the door finally began to move, he jumped to attention and held his breath as he waited for you to appear.

The door flew open and you stepped out, meeting his eyes for just a moment as you paused, Steve moving to stand behind you with his arms crossed over his chest while he waited. "I wish I had never met you," you spat at him, storming past the doctor without another word.

Bruce wanted to chase after you but held back, deciding that if the roles were reversed, he would want to be left alone too. Steve waited and let you go, leaning against the wall next to the doctor, his hands deep in his pockets and his posture just a little defeated.

"Steve-"

"I'm not gonna bend on this, doctor. The decision is made."

"So she's out? Just like that?" Bruce pushed, feeling himself growing angry, wringing his hands together and beginning to pace in front of the Captain. "One mistake, and she's out? If her power got out of control, that's on me. I'm responsible for her training."

Steve pushed himself up and away from the wall, now crossing his arms again at the insinuation that he had made the wrong decision. "Okay, if that's the case, do we need to bring you in there too? Ask you a few questions? Find out why you think you've screwed this up so badly?"

"I don't like your tone, Steve."

"And I don't like that you're questioning me on this."

This wasn't good; Bruce began to see a slight haze of green over his field of vision and began to slow his breathing, closing his eyes to take his mind anywhere else. He had let you down. He had promised you so many things on this team, a future where you'd be safe and away from judgment, and now you wanted nothing to do with him because of Steve.

"The group was concerned that she was a safety risk, so I made the final decision. That's my job, Banner."

"I don't think you made a fair assessment," Bruce said quietly, trying to keep control. A small growl developed beneath his voice and with each breath, making Steve take a step back. "I think you made a bad decision." On his last word, his fist raised and hit the wall next to Steve, strong enough to leave a crack in the wall.

"Banner, don't."

"You just tell everyone what to do now, Rogers? Is that it?" He turned, his body heaving with his uneven breaths, the veins in his neck bulging with the familiar green. "Steve says 'jump' and we all ask 'how high'? Sir, yes sir?"

Steve crossed the hall to get a few feet of distance, though he knew it really wouldn't matter if the transformation completed and the Hulk were to attack. "FRIDAY, I need backup."

"Bruce, stop!" You ran up behind him and grabbed his arm, shuddering at the force of power being shifted from him and into you. Knowing what you were trying to do, to drain his energy to stop his change, he swung his arm to try to get you to release him, but you managed to hold on, though the massive energy shift was making your heart race and you began to feel dizzy. "Bruce...you have to stop..."

Steve stood with wide eyes as he watched Bruce's body react, seeing him relax and the color of his skin returning to normal. Once you felt it safe, you released him and dropped to the floor, waiting for the surge of energy to subside and to feel like you had caught your breath.

"(Y/N), are you okay?" Steve asked in a panic, sitting next to you and taking your arms to help keep you upright. "(Y/N)?"

"I'm okay," you panted, waving him off, starting to feel yourself returning to normal other than the usual wave of fatigue that came after using your power to negate another's. "I'm okay. Bruce?"

"That was incredibly stupid, (Y/N). You could have been seriously hurt."

"Great, so you hate me now too?"

"What? No, I could never...." The doctor glanced at Steve but didn't maintain attention towards him, "sorry, Cap. I...I may have...overreacted." He sat on the floor next to you and watched, waiting for you to recover before his questions began. "Are you sure you're okay? That was a lot of energy to absorb all at once."

"Yeah, I'm good." Remembering why you had come back in the first place, your eyes widened and you pushed yourself up, reaching down a hand to each man to help them stand with you. "I almost forgot! I came down here to tell you that Nat's awake!"

~~~

"Steve Rogers, you are a complete idiot. You've really outdone yourself this time."

"What did I do?" he asked, looking at Natasha with both confusion and a hint of annoyance at her tone. "You've been knocked out for a day and a half! How would you know anything that I've done?"

"You removed (Y/N) from the team? Over this?" She groaned and tried to sit up, but you were quick to push her back down to the gurney. "This was my fault, dumbass."

Bruce and Steve looked at each other and then to you, not understanding. You had told them what happened, and during the inquiry with the team, you had taken responsibility for Nat's injuries. "I don't get it," Steve said, "what exactly am I missing here?"

"(Y/N) was holding on to one of the Inhumans, trying to take their power just as I had ordered her to do, when I got hit. She grabbed me to break my fall and drained my energy because I got in her way. She didn't mess up. I did."

You didn't want to get your hopes up, but you smiled to yourself at her words, looking over to see Bruce feeling the same. He leaned against one of the tables and crossed his arms, waiting for Steve to make amends and reverse his decision about your membership on the team. He cleared his throat quietly, urging the Captain on. "Steve?"

"Well, in light of this new information," Steve began, rubbing his chin and looking from Nat to you, "I think I owe you an apology, (Y/N)." He took a few steps towards you, standing over you with his impressive height but with a softened expression. "And a thanks. If you hadn't shown up when you did, there'd be a Steve Rogers shaped hole in that wall."