Dr. Bryce Banner | H U L K

Although a transformation into the Hulk should essentially rebuild her body back to the way it was, actually transforming is still a physically and psychologically exhausting event. Not only does she not feel ready for dealing with that, but she's also going to need somewhere secluded, because she's not all that sure the Hulk is going to be willing to take directions on what it's okay to destroy and what isn't.

Unfortunately, that doesn't leave her with a whole lot of options if she wants to be mobile in the meantime. Tony takes one look at the wheelchair and informs her he's going to design something much better and stalks off, muttering about how he can streamline the design and make it easier to control and maybe throw in a smart interface for the hell of it. Which leaves her to stare at it, wondering if maybe she made the wrong choice, deciding to wait. She's still staring at it, feeling ridiculously resentful of it, when Steve comes back. "Hey."

For someone with a near-indestructible alter-ego, Bryce Banner is not as untouchable as some might think. She has a good protector, and she's hard to capture without massive amounts of collateral damage, but it's not impossible. It can even be done quietly, if planned right. The trick is to grab her when she's unconscious and somewhat vulnerable, such as after she's changed back from the Hulk. Of course, she's hardly ever alone for long then, but it's possible to create a distraction big enough that none of her team members will be able to reach her in time.

The trick is to sedate her when she's still unconscious. In the absence of physical harm, she won't know she's in danger. It's not easy to pull off, but when you're a general with a lot of pull who's taking back a stolen military project, you find the resources.

( long thing is long )

She supposes she should have been angry. Finding out that your allies (for lack of a better word) are developing a viral weapon that can be used against you should be the kind of thing that pisses you off (of course, things pissing her off are a different story entirely). Instead, she's... intrigued. The idea of something that could, theoretically, prevent the Hulk from coming out was an undeniably useful idea. Instead of feeling hurt or betrayed, she focuses her energies on obtaining a sample of the virus to experiment with on her own time.

Of course, she has her own lab (courtesy of Stark Industries), but it comes with an all-seeing artificial intelligence that likely won't let her experimentation go unnoticed. So rather than try to duck around security protocols, she packs up for a trip to an unknown destination, citing restlessness and a need to go out and do some good in the world as her reason.

(It's not a lie. Stopping the Hulk is doing good in the world.)

It takes a lot of experimentation to make it work. The virus has to be powerful enough to get past the Hulk's defenses but not so contagious that it's a danger to anyone else. Luckily, SHIELD has already thought of that; what really concerns her is sustainability. Eventually, her immune system will be able to defend itself. She'll have to figure out a way to prevent that in the long term, but for the moment, immuno-suppressants seem like the best idea.

It's not until several months later that she has a balance worked out well enough that she can risk going back to the Tower. Even now, it's still risky. Finding a strength that's enough to sap the strength she needs to turn into the Hulk but not make her a complete invalid. And while she's used to downplaying her own aches and pains, it's going to be hard to hide the unhealthy pallor her skin's taken on or the slight fever and dizziness that are almost constant on this particular strain.

She's not an idiot. No one's going to think this is a good idea. Which is why she purposefully schedules her flight in to arrive in the middle of the night, so she can wave off extended interaction until the morning and blame any off-ness on jet lag.