Loki woke with a start.
Has it worked? He scrambled to his feet.
Excellent! A stealthy trip around the helicarrier told him that his brother and his puny Avenger friends had received the full effects of the anti-aging spell. Some of them were a
little older than he would of liked, but with him holding the title of the only adult among them they would
have to bow to his superiority, correct? A smile played on his lips. For once, everything had gone according to plan. Now his brother was a child again, no-one could cause his plans to go awry.
As Loki climbed the steps to the main control panel he began to realise something had gone wrong.
These stairs have never been this hard to climb. His clothing felt baggy, as though he was wearing the robes of a man much larger than him.
Or older. Loki fumbled with his helmet as he removed it from his head and peered into the shining metal. Sure enough, his reflection was that of a child's.
"Oh, Bilchsteim!" Loki cursed as he sprinted from the main control room. He knew there was a mirror in the bathing room. That is, there would be if he could reach it. Standing on the edge of the tub the humans washed themselves in, he could just see his whole body in the mirror. Loki's suspicions were correct; he had become a child too.
---
Bruce woke up naked and alone. He was somewhere in the lower storeys of the SHIELD helicarrier. Something was wrong. He'd clearly "hulked out"; there was no other logical explanation for his current situation. But there was something else. The area surrounding him wasn't nearly as wrecked as it would have been if the Hulk had been there. He felt different, too. He normally felt far groggier after a transformation. Maybe he was just adapting? Pushing the thoughts aside, he made his way upstairs.
Bruce managed to make it to his room without spotting a single member of SHIELD staff. Worry started to cloud his mind.
Where is everyone? He hurried to his chest of drawers and pulled out a shirt and some trousers. Not paying attention, he pulled the clothes on, oblivious to their size. It wasn't until he took a step that he realised the severity of his situation.
Why are these so big? Bruce picked himself up off the ground and shuffled to the mirror in the corner of the room. Staring back at him was a boy no older than 15.
"What on Earth..." Bruce muttered. It wasn't his most shocking transformation - he did have the green guy, after all - but it was an unexpected one. Surely this couldn't be a side-effect of the Hulk? No, this was something else. A thought crossed his mind.
What about the others?After rolling up his sleeves and trousers, he rushed over to Tony's lab. Something told him this was where everyone else would go too. Besides, if anyone had been awake when he'd transformed, he highly doubted they'd come running to him. He was greeted by a sight he'd been hoping not to see: Tony and Clint, both teenagers again. At one of the lab benches an unaffected SHIELD agent sat taking photos of Anna, who looked to be roughly nine years old. Bruce stood in the doorway, suddenly unsure of what to do.
"So I guess it isn't just me then?"