"Sorry, it’s nothing," Robbie mumbled. "Just, you know. Stuff."

Ever since he'd gotten himself corrupted and attacked the Avengers, Robbie had been struggling. He'd never have hurt them on purpose. Never. Then again, he'd never have hurt Gabe on purpose, either, yet when Eli had taken over his body, his uncle had deliberately acted out, mistreating the boy, leaving him without his chair, without food, and had nearly ruined the brothers' relationship.

Sure, the Avengers had forgiven him. And Gabe, bless his heart, still saw Robbie as a hero. But right now, he didn't feel like much of a hero. He felt like a menace, a time bomb slowly ticking down. His old agreement with Eli to only hurt evil people wasn't cutting it anymore. That had been when Robbie operated locally. Now he was with a team. A big team of big people doing big things. And next to them, and the world-changing events they got themselves involved in, Robbie felt so, so small.

How long before he hurt someone else? Before this relationship was in jeopardy too? Before he did something he couldn't take back to someone he couldn't afford to lose? He would never be able to live with himself. Maybe it was safer to just nip this in the bud. He didn't want to. God, he didn't want to. It wasn't like him, leaving people behind like this. But his head was swirling with what-ifs, filled with thoughts of worst-case scenarios he would never be able to forgive himself for.

"Look, I think...you should just stop hanging out with me," he said finally, racking his brain for an excuse, his gaze distant. "I mean, it's not like I'm around much anymore anyway, and I've been pretty bad company, you know? So..."