‹ Prequel: Can't See the Truth
Status: Currently on hiatus. If you wanna read more of my stuff, I'm working on this piece http://www.mibba.com/Stories/Read/556774/The-Pathfinders/
Can't Keep Suffering
Chapter 4
Pamplemousse was sitting at her desk, hastily drawing to help forget what had just happened down in the training area. A soft knock on the door made her jump and drag the dull pencil across the page.
“Son of a bitch,” she muttered, tossing the pencil aside. She sighed and leaned back in her chair. “Come in,” she called towards the door.
Bruce walked in, a cup of tea in each hand. “Hey, sweetie,” he said quietly.
She quickly straightened up and cleared her throat. “Hi, dad.”
“I brought you a mug of chamomile.” Bruce paused to set the red and blue mug next to her drawing. “What were you working on?” he asked, gesturing to the paper.
“Just a cartoon,” she replied with a shrug. “Nothing special.”
Bruce nodded. “Look, Pamplemousse,” he started. “I'm really sorry about how I reacted down in the arena today. I just lost my cool.”
Pamplemousse just nodded. “That's fine. It wasn't a big deal.”
“But it was a big deal, sweetheart,” Bruce insisted. “I hurt your feelings because I was scared.”
The thirteen year old cocked her head to the side, letting her brown hair spill down into a silky-smooth sheet. “What do you mean you were scared?”
Bruce sighed. “When you said you wanted to train with the others, I didn't think it was for self-defense. I was terrified that you wanted to join us fighting crime. I thought you wanted to try and fill someone's shoes.”
“Like Natasha's?”
Bruce felt a twinge in his chest as his heart froze. “Yeah,” he replied simply. “Like Natasha's.”
“Dad, you don't have to worry,” she reassured him. “I don't want to be an Avenger or anything like that. I'm just worried that CJ will come back for me. I'm scared that she's gonna push me down some dark alleyway and try to finish was she started almost ten years ago. I want to be ready.”
Her father nodded. “I know that now, honey,” he said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “And I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to let you start training with Steve and Hetalia first. It'll be good for you to start with some simple hand-to-hand stuff before getting into the nitty-gritty dirty kind of fighting.”
Pamplemousse smiled brightly. “You mean it?”
“Of course, sweetheart.”
The young girl threw her arms around her dad, pulling him into an unexpected hug. “Thank you so much! I can't explain how much this means to me! I love you, daddy.”
Bruce hugged her back, feeling so much better than before. With a relieved sigh, he placed a loving kiss on the top of his daughter's head. “I love you too, pumpkin.”
****
Bruce and Tony were in the lab together, doing some standard testing.
“So whens Pamplemousse gonna go to school?” Tony asked suddenly, pouring a chemical into another flask.
“I’m sorry, what did you say?” Bruce asked, taking out his earbuds.
“When are you going to send Pamplemousse to a real school?”
Bruce shrugged. “I thought the homeschooling she was getting here would be enough.”
“True,” Tony added, swirling the curious blue liquid around. “But keep in mind that we can only teach her so much. Plus she has college to worry about, right?”
Bruce nodded. “You think they won’t take homeschooling seriously?”
“Not necessarily,” Tony replied as he held out his hand, still studying the flask. “I’m just saying that a good school would be the icing on the cake for her. Not only would her education be more well-rounded, but she would also have friends. And no, Hetalia and Toni do not count, they’re both over the age of twenty.”
Bruce handed Tony a beaker containing a clear liquid, not taking his eyes off of Tony’s flask. “I suppose you’re right,” he admitted. “But where would we even send her?”
With a certain glimmer in his eye, Tony slowly tipped the beaker towards the flask. “The question, my friend, is not where we send her-”
As the clear liquid came in contact with the blue, the flask overfilled with a grey-ish foam which caused the flask to explode into a fiery ball of gas.
Bruce coughed and sputtered, fanning the smoke out of his face. “JARVIS, the fans?”
“Of course, Dr. Banner.”
The fans turned on and the smoke cleared the room. Tony’s face was curled up into a mischievous smile, a hint of a teenage burnout in chemistry class flickered across his features.
“The question,” Tony continued, smirking and looking at Bruce like he had meant to cause the explosion from the beginning. “Is where don’t we send her.”
“Son of a bitch,” she muttered, tossing the pencil aside. She sighed and leaned back in her chair. “Come in,” she called towards the door.
Bruce walked in, a cup of tea in each hand. “Hey, sweetie,” he said quietly.
She quickly straightened up and cleared her throat. “Hi, dad.”
“I brought you a mug of chamomile.” Bruce paused to set the red and blue mug next to her drawing. “What were you working on?” he asked, gesturing to the paper.
“Just a cartoon,” she replied with a shrug. “Nothing special.”
Bruce nodded. “Look, Pamplemousse,” he started. “I'm really sorry about how I reacted down in the arena today. I just lost my cool.”
Pamplemousse just nodded. “That's fine. It wasn't a big deal.”
“But it was a big deal, sweetheart,” Bruce insisted. “I hurt your feelings because I was scared.”
The thirteen year old cocked her head to the side, letting her brown hair spill down into a silky-smooth sheet. “What do you mean you were scared?”
Bruce sighed. “When you said you wanted to train with the others, I didn't think it was for self-defense. I was terrified that you wanted to join us fighting crime. I thought you wanted to try and fill someone's shoes.”
“Like Natasha's?”
Bruce felt a twinge in his chest as his heart froze. “Yeah,” he replied simply. “Like Natasha's.”
“Dad, you don't have to worry,” she reassured him. “I don't want to be an Avenger or anything like that. I'm just worried that CJ will come back for me. I'm scared that she's gonna push me down some dark alleyway and try to finish was she started almost ten years ago. I want to be ready.”
Her father nodded. “I know that now, honey,” he said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “And I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to let you start training with Steve and Hetalia first. It'll be good for you to start with some simple hand-to-hand stuff before getting into the nitty-gritty dirty kind of fighting.”
Pamplemousse smiled brightly. “You mean it?”
“Of course, sweetheart.”
The young girl threw her arms around her dad, pulling him into an unexpected hug. “Thank you so much! I can't explain how much this means to me! I love you, daddy.”
Bruce hugged her back, feeling so much better than before. With a relieved sigh, he placed a loving kiss on the top of his daughter's head. “I love you too, pumpkin.”
****
Bruce and Tony were in the lab together, doing some standard testing.
“So whens Pamplemousse gonna go to school?” Tony asked suddenly, pouring a chemical into another flask.
“I’m sorry, what did you say?” Bruce asked, taking out his earbuds.
“When are you going to send Pamplemousse to a real school?”
Bruce shrugged. “I thought the homeschooling she was getting here would be enough.”
“True,” Tony added, swirling the curious blue liquid around. “But keep in mind that we can only teach her so much. Plus she has college to worry about, right?”
Bruce nodded. “You think they won’t take homeschooling seriously?”
“Not necessarily,” Tony replied as he held out his hand, still studying the flask. “I’m just saying that a good school would be the icing on the cake for her. Not only would her education be more well-rounded, but she would also have friends. And no, Hetalia and Toni do not count, they’re both over the age of twenty.”
Bruce handed Tony a beaker containing a clear liquid, not taking his eyes off of Tony’s flask. “I suppose you’re right,” he admitted. “But where would we even send her?”
With a certain glimmer in his eye, Tony slowly tipped the beaker towards the flask. “The question, my friend, is not where we send her-”
As the clear liquid came in contact with the blue, the flask overfilled with a grey-ish foam which caused the flask to explode into a fiery ball of gas.
Bruce coughed and sputtered, fanning the smoke out of his face. “JARVIS, the fans?”
“Of course, Dr. Banner.”
The fans turned on and the smoke cleared the room. Tony’s face was curled up into a mischievous smile, a hint of a teenage burnout in chemistry class flickered across his features.
“The question,” Tony continued, smirking and looking at Bruce like he had meant to cause the explosion from the beginning. “Is where don’t we send her.”
♠ ♠ ♠
I am so sorry this update took so long! I've been so busy lately that I literally forgot that the fic even existed. This is why I miss going to school. Everything is on a "nine-to-five" schedule, so I always know when I have time, plus I can consult with my top operative. I just got a second job, so I don't think I can promise scheduled updates.But hey, it doesn't mean that I'm giving up or that every update is going to be a month long wait. I just don't know if I can go back to Thorsday updates. I will try, but no guarantees.
Anyways, I love you all and I really appreciate all of you sticking to it. I know that this has taken some awfully weird twists and turns (some for the worst...). Have a good rest of your week, in case I don't see you again on Thorsday!