Dr. Bryce Banner | H U L K

Although she has, technically, been in Stark Tower for a few weeks now, Bryce hasn't ventured outside a certain set of places: her room, the labs, and the path between them. Tony's basically given her carte blanche to research whatever she wants - when she asked if she was supposed to be working for him, he got JARVIS to put her on a call with the CEO of his company, Pepper Potts, who explained that, while Stark Industries would be thrilled to have her, no one felt it would be reasonable to force her to sign an employment contract right then, and she should consider Tony's offer as a kind of personal invitation.

Just a couple days ago, the military finally released their hold on the rest of the belongings she'd managed to amass while in their custody - mostly the notebooks she'd used for writing in. There's actual boxes of them now, scattered around her apartment of the Tower, and she's started going over them herself, tearing out the pages with worthwhile musings on them and tossing out the rest. There had been a habit she'd gotten into while she was in military custody of filling up the books with about 1/3 logical thought and research and 2/3 nonsense, so anyone looking at it would either find it indecipherable entirely or assume she'd been starting to lose her ability to focus.

She has a large section of the floor in her living room filled up with the pages she's painstakingly putting back into some semblance of order when JARVIS interrupts her. "Dr. Banner, Captain Rogers is requesting entry to your quarters."

Automatically, she starts gathering up pages, trying to figure out how to tuck them all out of sight before Steve makes it inside. "Thank you for warning me, JARVIS."

"Dr. Banner - " There's the slightest pause in his speech, like a person might get when trying to decide how to say something. Of course, because JARVIS is an AI who would likely be able to run through the best ways to approach a topic in a fraction of a fraction of a second, she assumes this is a trait he puts on to make the humans under his care more comfortable. The way she thinks his voice might soften a little is also probably either put on by him or something she imagines. "My privacy protocols are such that no one is allowed in your personal quarters without your express permission, with the exception of emergencies. If you would prefer, I will inform Captain Rogers that you would rather not be disturbed at this time."

She sits back, suddenly, a weird lump in her throat at the idea that she, that she has a say in who enters her room. "I don't - I mean, just ask him to wait a couple minutes, please?"

"Of course, Dr. Banner."

A few minutes later, she's managed to stack up the papers in such a way that they're more out of the way but she hasn't lost any of the work she's done in organizing them, and she feels... well, a little more suited for company. "Okay, JARVIS, let him in."

It's not that she hasn't woken up on her own before. But she hasn't for a while; even when she's recovering from the Hulk, Steve is more often than not at least nearby. It's... a little concerning, waking up in the Avengers Tower without him, especially when the last thing she remembers is going to bed with him at their home.

"Good morning, Dr. Banner. It is 8:23 AM, and the current temperature is 65 degrees with a projected high of 72. I've taken the liberty of starting the coffee, which should be available in four minutes."

Dr. Banner. Not Dr. Rogers. She frowns; it's not like JARVIS to slip like that. "JARVIS, where's Steve?"

A pause. "Captain Rogers is not in the building. I am not privy to his current location, but I can place a call for you, should you wish to speak to him."

"Please." She pulls herself out of bed and stretches. There's no tell-tale ache to indicate she'd recently come back down from the Hulk. It doesn't take long for JARVIS to get her on the line, and then she has to figure out what to say. "Steve? Did we... have a fight?"

SHIELD actually calls on her for her talents in radiation much more than she would have expected, given that she's also a near-indestructible force of fury. Which is more or less how she finds herself shuttled off to another continent to have a look at some identified piece of something that's leaking gamma radiation at an alarming rate. Of course, it's not until she reaches the site (or, more accurately, a semi-safe distance away from the site) that she's informed that it's also, coincidentally, too dangerous for anyone who can't handle being exposed to generally-lethal doses of radiation to work with.

So they do need the freak, after all. Bryce lets out a resigned sigh at the SHIELD agent - of course they tell her after she gets off the plane, not before or during the flight. "You realize exposure to that much radiation might trigger an involuntary change."

The agent clears her throat uncomfortably. "Director Fury has assigned someone to... accompany you in your work."

Of course. Someone to put her down if she gets out of control. "And who does he think can stop... it?"