It seemed that his Uncle William had had the foresight to copy the phone number of the Marauder's Den that Bruce had left for Jennifer. He'd used that number to leave a message for him with Gwen, who had promptly rung the Tower and let Pepper know.
Something had apparently happened to his cousin, leaving parts of the hospital wrecked, people injured and Jennifer missing. Even with knowing only those few details, Bruce could take a very educated guess at what had happened, something that he'd fervently prayed would not happen to her. It was bad enough that it happened to him. And knowing what he did, how could he not come? It was more than likely that he was the only one who could … well, not exactly put things right, but at least contain the situation.
Thus, when Pepper had insisted that he use one of Stark's private jets to quickly get back across the country, he'd only put up a token protest.
"Bruce?" William asked after opening the door.
"Hi, Uncle William," Bruce replied.
"I didn't expect you to get back here so quick," William stated. "Well, don't just stand on the doorstep, get in here."
With a small smile, Bruce entered and turned back as William closed the door.
"Any word on Jennifer?" he asked.
William shook his head, a frown on his face. "No. Nothing yet. It's like she'd dropped off the face of the Earth. I hope she's alright."
"I'm sure she is," Bruce replied, reaching out to lay a comforting hand on his uncle's shoulder.
"I must say, your timing is impeccable," William stated. "I only just received a package with the security footage from the hospital. Pulled a few strings and called in a couple of favours. I was just about to take a look at it. I can wait until you're settled, if you'd like to see it, too?"
"No," Bruce stated flatly. "I'll unpack later. Let's go look at that footage now."
A pleased look appeared on William's face and his hand landed on Bruce's shoulder, giving it a quick squeeze as he strode past.
"This way," he said.
Bruce followed William from the small entryway into the loungeroom. An unwrapped box lay on the coffee table, its brown paper wrappings crumpled underneath the box. At his uncle's gesture, Bruce took a seat on one of the chairs facing the TV, albeit, sitting on the very edge.
Having ripped open the box, William pulled out a usb and quickly inserted it into the appropriate slot in the side of the TV. A few clicks of the remote turned the device on and brought up the menu on the drive. One last selection and William backed away slightly, staring intently at the screen.
The picture was grainy and monotone in colour. Still, it was good enough for the two men to easily see a corridor. Numerous doors lined each side of the corridor, except on the left at the front of the screen where a small reception desk was located.
"That one," William near whispered, reaching out to lightly tap one door on the screen with his finger, three down on the right.
Bruce simply nodded in agreement, having already picked it out from his memory of when he visited.
Two men appeared on the bottom of the screen, their backs to the camera making identifying them impossible. Even when they stopped outside of Jennifer's room, they seemed to take extra care insuring that their faces at no time faced the camera.
After checking both ways down the corridor, the men eased open the door and slipped inside, immediately shutting the door behind them.
"Does this thing have sound?" Bruce asked.
"Unfortunately, not," William replied with a shake of his head.
They waited for what seemed an eternity before, suddenly, a male nurse rushed onto the screen sliding just before reaching Jennifer's door before bursting in. Seconds later, they could see the nurse backing up, his back against the now opened door, his hands gripping the edge of the door behind him. In the light, the man's face was just able to be seen, a face that showed pure, utter terror.
And then something burst through the door, pieces of wood from the doorframe scattering where they'd been torn from the wall. Before either man could blink, whatever it was that had just left Jennifer's room came towards the screen and promptly disappeared.
Judging by the fact that the … person who'd emerged had to slightly duck their head, they were easily at least seven feet tall. Other than that, the person hadn't been on the screen long enough to make out any other details.
Without Bruce even having to ask, William backed up the recording and played it again. And then a third time, this time in slow motion.
Bruce's eyes widened at what he was seeing.
The figure was clearly female, judging by her … assets which were barely covered by the torn and shredded clothing. She also had long dark hair.
The fourth time that William played it, he paused the playback so that it showed the female on the screen.
"What … what is that?" William breathed.
Bruce could only stare for the longest time. He knew. He knew that using his blood was a bad idea, but it was the only viable solution to save Jennifer's life. And here was the results, exactly as he'd feared.
"Not a what, Uncle Willian, a who," Bruce managed to croak. "That's Jennifer."
"Jennifer?" William repeated, disbelief clear in his voice. "What's happened to her?"
"Me," Bruce admitted. "But don't worry. I'm going to find her and help her. You have my word."
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