Steve washed his face and hair, trying not to get a stinging mess on his eyes. He thought carefully about what he was going to say. he wanted to know why Tony seemed like two people, his unusual scars, or why Tony treated him like a piece of meat. As he scrubbed his three-day-old stubble, he blurted out the first thing he thought of. "What are you?" Bruce laughed sadly, running his wet fingers through his hair. "In the simplest terms? A monster." Steve was upset by Bruce's choice of words. "But you're human now. I don't mean you're a-" Steve made a raised fist gesture. "A big green guy. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be a jerk. I've just never seen anyone like you before." » Steve asked and started rinsing his face. He took water from the hot spring and poured it over his head. He used the soapy water to wash his arms and suddenly stopped. "You were shot! Right before you... changed... How bad was it?" Steve's stomach was rolling freely now, still sickened from leaving an injured man behind. Bruce leaned against the edge of the pool. "It's okay, I accepted it. I had an accident a few years ago and that was the result. I found a way to control it over the years, but every now and then Hulk must make an appearance. I'm sorry if I scared you." Bruce gave a small smile and rolled up his sleeve. exposing the fading round scar. "An advantage of the Hulk, I heal very quickly. See? No harm done?" Steve reached out and hesitated before touching Bruce's arm. He saw the line where the bullet passed through his arm and followed it until it stopped. “It’s actually something I can relate to.” Steve whispered and pointed to small scars along his chest and arms. Steve leaned on the edge and blushed as he hit... middle of paper... the door, something flinched behind his back. He held his back still and began moving in small increments to try and locate the spot. Steve rolled his shoulders and panted softly when he felt a tug between his shoulder blades. Steve carefully took off his shirt and craned his neck against the piece of mirror nailed to the wall. Sure enough, Steve noticed that one of his old scars on his spine was inflamed and he touched it carefully. Something thin and hard had attached itself to his spine, under his skin. As Steve probed the mark to determine its size, a numbing electric shock coursed through his body and he crashed to the dirt floor. Steve's body tensed against his will and he cried out through gritted teeth. His body slumped uselessly as the pulse stopped and he rolled onto his side. Gasping, Steve crawled onto his bed and collapsed into unconsciousness...