EXIT WOUNDS.
004. | ❛ green fighting machine. ❜

IT WAS DIFFICULT TO ADJUST TO THE NEW ENVIRONMENT OF MEXICO, HOWEVER IF SHE COULD PREVENT ANY MORE INNOCENT LIVES FROM HER DEADLY POWERS THAN SHE'D PUT UP WITH THE WEATHER A WHILE MORE. The only thing that bothered her was the pesky sun that seemed to burn her sensitive pale skin every time she'd step outside. Suddenly, it felt like the world itself was against her and stopped her from going outside as a precautionary measure.

Being forced inside made Mila want to go crazy. Voices would appear and utter phrases to her, often ones that told her to use her powers for evil. She never knew if what she was hearing was simply her imagination or that she had truly gone crazy. The voices would sound distorted claiming that radioactive powers would end the problems going on in society. Or even claim that people close to her were in danger. Many times, Mila almost gave into the voice as if almost hypnotizing her and luring her towards it. Her mind always tugged her back to reality, the only thing that brought her back was a photo; the one of her parents.

The photo that had many smudges and torn at the edges, somehow maintained itself over the years.
It signified happier days or even days before she didn't have to worry about the world. She was a simple child, oblivious to the outside world and danger that terrorized the globe. In a time where her parents were still around and reassured her that no monsters were underneath the bed; or even when they calmed her down because she couldn't memorize the Stefan-Boltzmann Law.

Nostalgia came over and she soon found herself on the floor; her knees tugged to her chest almost in a fetal position. Her breath hitched and quickened every passing minute; she panicked as she didn't know how to control it. The last time she had one was when she was 6 with her parents still around, and they told her to think of 5 things that she could see going down until 1 with different senses with every other number.

It worked then but she was too out of it for it to work today. Somehow she tried her best to calm herself down; Mila thought that she could die her all alone and started to think it was the best for the world at this point. She couldn't pull herself together well enough to put up much of a fight. Through the heavy breaths exhaling from her mouth, she could hear whispers of a person. Slowly, the voice started to become more clearer to her ears. She couldn't budge to get herself off the floor and to the door. Helpless, she could feel and hear the despair in his voice as it banged on her door.

Suddenly, the banging ceased altogether. Her despaired self was faced with a blurry person in front of her. She felt his hands grabbed hers, and the soothing touch of another person's hand eased her breathing down. The tears that flooded her eyes disappeared as Albert brushed them away and his face came into full view.

She threw herself towards him as they engulfed into a hug. He rubbed her back, up and down, and she eased all the tension and pressure she had in her body.

"It's okay," Albert's calm voice whispered in her ear. "I'm here. You're alright."

His voice did its work as it always did when she would get angry or sad. The comfort that she felt from his presence was like heaven sent a sign that she wasn't ready to go. If there was anyone that she wished she could see it was Albert. Having her in his arms, he felt that sensation of relief after searching for so long after her. The two could feel that they finally felt safe.

After the two composed themselves off the floor, Mila made tea for the both of them. He sat adjacent to her as she poured the tea into his cup. Pushing her hair behind her ear, she sighed at the first human interaction she had with a person in a while.

"How'd you get into my house?" She asked him as she poured her sugar into her cup.

"You never change your hiding spot for your key, do you?" He said as he slid the duplicate key she made on the table.

She chuckled as she held the key in her hand and slid it into her pocket, before taking a sip of tea. The two remained in an area of silence as they sipped their tea, the two could feel the pain of being without the other. Mila for leaving her friends without any explanation, and leaving Albert with a short voicemail. And Albert for being sent on a journey to find her. Neither knew where to start in the year that they haven't seen each other. Albert made mental notes of Mila, how her eyes didn't sparkle as much and bags were now present underneath her eyes. His visualization of Mila wasn't the same one as he had expected; he knew that she was lost, but it strayed from the headstrong scientist that he met back then.

"I know that there's a lot we have to discuss, but I'm sorry." Mila said in a soft voice with her fingers fiddling with the teacup handle.
"I know that I left with no explanation whatsoever and that you were worried. But, I had to get away from everyone. The harm that I would cause people if I stayed there. I hurt someone with these powers and they all called me a threat. I couldn't imagine what would happen if, god forbid, I hurt Silvana, or Evie, or Zelda. Or you." She gulped and grabbed his hand giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"Nothing can make up for why I left, but I had to. I'm a threat and I needed to be stopped."

Albert's gaze was no longer on Mila but instead on the file he had on his lap, the research that he had done to bring her back with him. The journey that he had to find her and he wasn't going to come back empty handed. He knew that the contents of the file would give her the reassurance that she needed to come back to America.

With her hand still on top of his, he smiled before planting the file on the table. Mila's eyes raised as she observed the object, waiting for an explanation from him.

"You don't want to hurt people, and in no way are you to blame for what happened. People can view you as a threat but I don't. In the year of searching for you, many things have happened that I don't think you're aware of. A new group of people rose called the Avengers, and they are certainly a strong bunch. But one team member is someone called the Hulk. His real name is Dr. Bruce Banner and he's like you in a few ways."

"Does he shoot green radioactive waves at people?" Mila sarcastically asked.

"No, but he does turn green." Albert said before continuing, "He tried to recreate the serum that made Captain America a super soldier. And it backfired making him into the Hulk."

Mila took this time to grab the file and look inside, seeing the Hulk in pictures and flipping to Dr. Bruce Banner. She heard of his work before and was certainly impressed by it. Albert was right in the similarities of the two with their experiments turning against them.

"I'm sure that whatever powers you think are a burden, that he can help you with them. He's a scientist as brilliant as yourself and he even has a group of people that are more talented."

Mila looked back up to Albert, almost jumping with joy but she knew that having high hopes would always turn in her. She shut the file and sipped the remaining of her tea.

"So where do we find this green fighting machine?" She asked with Albert smiling with her response.

"New York City. More specifically a building called Stark Tower."