#bruce banner imagines
Bruce Banner x Original Female Character | Avengers AU
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“That would be that genius Dr. Banner you were talking about.”
Oh no. Laussa felt all of her blood rush to her face immediately, she must have looked as red as a tomato as she looked down to the ground in embarrassment for a second, before looking up at Dr. Banner again, not being able to contain her curiosity. This was THE Dr. Banner? How could she not have guessed?
She knew the answer to that; she had expected a much older man, one, that looked like someone who didn’t quite take care of themselves because they considered their scientific research more important than anything else, one that was a workaholic to the bone, spending more time in the lab than anywhere else. But now that she knew, now that she was looking, she saw it all in his eyes. The exhaustion, the anguish and the pain.
Laussa quickly shook it off to get back to herself and took his hand again, almost instinctively.
“You are Dr. Banner? I had no idea, I’m a huge fan of your work, I’ve been following your research for years, especially your writings in the field of biochemistry, I am so honoured to meet you, doctor!” She spurted out, shaking his hand vigorously, suddenly feeling all the attention on her like she had said something wrong, but noticed the people around them smiling at her.
“That is very nice of you to say, thank you,” he murmured shyly, and she let go of his hand again.
His gaze was directed at the floor, his fluffy curls brushing over his eyebrows and she could clearly see him blushing before Thor spoke up, almost laughing this time.
"I’m not surprised you don’t recognise her, Banner, but you have met before, a couple of years back.”
Laussa cringed at his words, the topic being something she had hoped he would not bring up, not being something she wanted to talk about at all, let alone in front of all of these strangers.
“Wha-What do you mean?” Banner’s expression changed back to utter confusion, his eyes roaming over her once more, visibly convinced he’d never seen her before in his life, only changing for the worse when Thor continued talking.
“Well, my sister here - ”
A resounding sound of confusion went around the group, Tony being the first one to say coherent words.
"Wait a minute, she’s your sister?!“ The confusion on his face proved to her, that they had had absolutely no idea, Clint’s words only confirming her suspicion.
"What, you never mentioned she was your sister, man! I thought she was your girlfriend or something.”
Thor now stumbled over his words, his face also bewildered.
“What, of course, I did, I must have… Well, maybe I didn’t specifically say it but it was most definitely implied.” Laussa took a step closer to her brother, laying a hand on his shoulder, effectively silencing him, so she could speak.
“I understand my brother here has most inappropriately forgotten to mention who I am: My name is Laussa Odinsdottir, I am the daughter of Odin and Frigga, as is he, although I don’t necessarily want to associate myself with Odin, so I’d appreciate it if you would just call me Laussa.’
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"So, why am I here?’ Laussa asked when they had sat down on the velvet sofas, now also joined by Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff, who had also seemed very eager to meet her, also reacting equally confused to finding out she was Thor’s sister and disgusted at the thought of being romantically involved with him.
Dr. Banner, who was nervously walking back and forth behind the sofa that Tony, Thor and Wanda were sitting on, was throwing occasional glances at her that she couldn’t quite interpret, but she had the feeling he didn’t really like her, and that she made him uncomfortable. She let her eyes drift back to her brother as he stood up.
"Well, let me explain. When Asgard was destroyed by Surtur, he also destroyed the Bifrost, and any chance to access the other realms safely. As you know, father was the king of Asgard before he died, but he also controlled the peace between the nine realms, keeping them controlled and non-violent. Now, however, Heimdall has recently observed that there are great uproars happening in at least two of the realms, Muspelheim and Jotunheim.”
Laussa looked away at the mentioning of those two, images flashing up in her head of the icy cold storms in the realms of the frost giants, contrasted by the fiery destruction in Muspelheim.
“They both demand new leaders, respectively, after the deaths of Surtur, Laufey and… his son.” Thor paused, looking at her with worry, waiting for a reaction, and continued when she nodded at him encouragingly. “They are seeking new leaders, and once they’ve found them, there will be nothing holding them back from fighting each other, and then the other realms. You know we have to keep them at bay, and you know… You know that you’re the rightful heir to the throne of Muspelheim.”
Laussa now had her eyes completely glued to the ground, once again trying to control her breathing, trying to understand what her brother was insinuating.
"What, why is that? I thought you were Odin’s daughter?“ asked Clint in a confused manner, leaning forward and propping up his elbows on his knees. Laussa took another deep breath, closed her eyes for a second, and began explaining.
"Well, I was born to Odin and Frigga, but I was conceived during a journey our parents took through the space between realms, to which father had previously banished Surtur, the king of Muspelheim, effectively making him my third parent. I got all of my powers from him. Being his only child, I was the heir to the throne of Muspelheim, but father could never allow it. He wanted me on the Asgardian throne, especially after both of my sisters died and Loki…” She swallowed, feeling the sting of tears in her eyes at the first time saying his name out loud in a while.
“After both of our sisters and mother were dead, Thor didn’t want the throne and Loki was… gone, father insisted on me being the new queen of Asgard.”
“I detested my father after everything he had done to both my sisters and brothers and I hated being in his presence more every day, so I left again. I didn’t take the throne of Asgard nor did I take the throne of Muspelheim, I left. I came down to earth again, hid myself away, fled into science and research. I’ve stayed here ever since, down in Australia, helping people, animals, studying, researching. I didn’t want anything to do with Asgard, even after father…” Laussa looked around, her eyes almost automatically seeking out the doctor, who was also fixated on her, now standing completely still. She couldn’t get herself to look him in the eye, her legs almost moving instinctively as she rose from the satin sofa, stepping away from them towards the comforting warmth of the roaring fireplace. Her eyes drifted downwards, fascinated by the intricate moving shadows the fire cast on the white carpet around her, as she finally got back her courage to speak.
"I couldn’t go back, even after, maybe even especially after father died, I just couldn’t… And then Ragnarok happened and Asgard was destroyed, but after Loki died for me - us - in the battle, it never even occurred to me once to come back and I would never have done so, had you not needed my help, brother.“
Laussa turned around, away from the flames, back at the group of people watching her intently, focussing on Thor.
"So, how can I help?”
Bruce Banner x Original Female Character | Avengers AU
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"That’s it, thank you very much.“ Laussa took off her gloves while she was entering the waiting room, immediately making eye contact with the two elderly women that had been waiting for hours, as she spoke.
"The arm isn’t as badly fractured as the X-Ray had made us believe, I’ve set everything back in its proper place, my colleagues here are putting his arm in a cast until it’s all healed off.” The lady with the long grey hair and the flowy blue dress jumped up with more hope and enthusiasm than anyone in the room had expected, and grabbed her hand in a firm handshake. “We’ve also checked for any internal bleeding since we can’t be sure what happened during the accident when his arm was broken, but thankfully there is nothing, so as soon as his arm is healed he should be back to normal.”
The woman pushed a stand of her grey hair behind her ear as her eyes welled up with tears.
“Thank you so much, Doctor, you know we really appreciate it, we would be lost without you.”
The doctor looked back through the open door behind her into the recovery room, seeing the young boy very slowly waking up, trying to move his right arm that was now entirely enclosed in a thick cast, then looked back at the old woman.
“Thank you for giving me the chance to help them. I couldn’t imagine anything more gratifying. But, of course, you can go see him now if you want to.”
When Laussa entered the laboratory a few hours later, she wasn’t feeling much of that gratitude anymore, all of it being overshadowed by the big headache that had started to overcome her about an hour ago. It was the same almost every time she had had a long work day, and she pinched the bridge of her nose before stepping down a couple of steps into her laboratory, hoping for any type of relief.
She quickly washed her hands in the metal sink and pulled her long lab coat over her green shirt, her gaze falling down onto the silver locket on her chest. The pendant hung from a thin, silver chain, and was embossed with delicate details, that she gently let her thumb run over, before carefully opening the silver heart. Her eyes slowly filled with tears as she looked upon the little painting of the two boys that was inside, gripping onto the pendant tighter, the tips of her fingernails turning white from the pressure.
There was a little blonde boy, holding up a sword much too big for him confidently as if his life depended on it, and a dark-haired boy next to him, younger, his straight black hair falling in his face that had a content smile plastered on it. She remembered the day as if it had been yesterday…
"So you’re a doctor now?“ The deep voice echoing through her lab made her jump and knock over a glass on the table next to her, her hands hectically trying to grab it before it slid off the countertop and shattered on the tiled floor with a loud crash. "I would have expected a lot from you, but a doctor on Midgard was never something I thought of.” His powerful steps made the delicate glasses and flasks in her cupboards and on her tables tremble and make tiny clinking noises with every step he took.
“I help the people no one else will help.” Laussa muttered to herself, not turning around. She didn’t need to to know who was there. Instead, she quickly snapped the locket closed and swerved to the table closest to her, grabbing gloves and paper towels to wipe up the substance she had spilled over the counter.
"You know, a simple hello would have been nice. I missed you too, by the way.“ She murmured, throwing the towels in the trash before turning around to the man while taking off the white gloves. The blonde demi-god towered over her, looking so way out of place in her silver, delicate laboratory filled with plants, the world she had built for herself and only ever herself over the past couple of years.
When she finally looked up at his face, he looked exhausted, more so than she’d ever seen him before. His blond hair was flat and greasy, his eyepatch cutting into the dull and grey skin of his face, his puffy eye looking more drained than ever. She knew the moment she looked into his eyes that he needed her help, and that she was going to help him, whatever he was to ask of her.
"Why are you here, Thor?” Laussa inquired with a resigned expression on her face, watching every movement of his as he stepped another step closer to her, now standing right in front of her. He sighed loudly, before starting to talk.
“I did miss you, terribly so, Laussa. But you chose to go back to this place, as you always did.” He said softly, gesturing around the lab, then taking her hands into his, brushing his big thumbs over her knuckles. “But I need your help, I wouldn’t have come if it wasn’t important, I know you left for a reason.”
Laussa sighed too, looking down to the ground, clearly enjoying the familiarity of being close to him again after such a long time, and she had already made up her mind.
"What do you need me to do?“
