(Note to Readers: The Gray Goblin in this story is not the one pestering Spider-Man in 2004. This story occurs in 1990).
Chapter 7: "Goblin Market"
A black spit jets above Manhattan's cinereous pre-dawn streets. A gray-green grimace growls and grins grumbling goblin glider beneath her and eighty-feet of air beneath it. Eighty-feet below, the nightveiled 5th Avenue canyon stirs. Rictus ready, a wrathful witch flying flits bloodshot eyes over Avengers Mansion ten blocks south of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
"Something wicked this way comes" quotes Simon Savage supervising the site's re-construction. He quotes from a tragedy about a fallen hero and a hubristic heroine.
"How do you sense that, Savage?" foreman Scott Lang beside him queries. The two humble heroes—Cap. Savage and Ant-Man—work together since Falcon introduced them (see "A Plague of Villains," New York, New York I). New Avenger Sersi susurrates asleep, her slight ESP disturbed. The high shadow passes southward.
Upon Hellfire Mansion, the glider casts its cimmerian shadow. White Queen Emma Frost shivers beneath silk sheets as her senses telepathic startle. Black Queen Selene—Hecate—smirks and stares skyward within the mansion. Outside, overhead, "death and darkness are rushing forward." Phantasmal S'raphh scream from the glider's aft. They are Null's Stygian tail usurping Green Goblin's established white smoke and bright flame trail. Like Bellerophon upon purloined Pegasus, Gray Goblin handles Green Goblin's unnatural steed stolen from muse Osborn. Above her, Red Sonja's silvery sword erect. Below that, Gray Goblin's platinum tresses billowed. Below that, groaning leaden lips grown into gross goblin grin. Below that, distended chest strains purple tunic; plumped feet nie burst purple boots. Beneath Gray Goblin, in Grand Army Plaza, Jeff Willis walks to work while wraithy witch wafts over put-upon man.
At the International's Atlas statue, Gray Goblin pivots over St. Patrick's Cathedral. The spirit of darkness passes over the holyhouse, and the morning faithful within are undisturbed. Gargoyles and the Cross send it away. Sneering and snarling, the she-beast stops snaking. She snaps skyward, slopes sharply, and ascends southeast. Southeast in Tudor City, sleeping Brother Voodoo snaps awake and snickers over his revenge and machinations. A shrieking missile spears in maximum overdrive, the monster's lips rippling back like a mastiff charging, like Grendel toward Heorot.
Upon Four Freedoms Plaza's glass, a bugbear reflects from afar. She slows to sail over the Waldorf-Astoria and to pivot once more. She is down Lexington Avenue. Then, she is between the sleeping Belmont Plaza and Barclay hotels. Her sinister finger points upon Four Freedoms Plaza. Within, in two bedrooms, lie sister and brother Sue and Johnny Storm asleep fifty floors above Manhattan's canyons. The Fantastic Four has just escaped Nebula's dark clutches (see Fantastic Four #341). And, members distinctly need to repose and recuperate. Nearby, friend Ben Grimm relaxes and breakfasts in a kitchen. Guarding over all, Reed Richards dozes two floors above in his lab. He returned a mere two hours ago with everyone. He stated then "I'll turn in. I feel like I haven't slept in weeks." But, Reed is an insomniac workaholic. Groggily, he reviews the Nebula encounter in his roost. Ms. Marvel is somewhere around. Franklin is safe with Power Pack uptown. Perhaps, his psychic abilities could warn his family about Gray Goblin. But, he—thankfully—is elsewhere.
Outside, lost fantastic family scratches-at closed former home. As glider buzzes Four Freedoms, Sonja's steel squeaks and scrapes harmlessly upon impervious windows. Alarms sound not at all as passing obsidian shade reflects in woven carbon windows. But, the Living Darkness will not be denied. Goblin's sinister finger juts at Four Freedoms, and her purple glove shoots not the instrument's usual sparks—but rather something more destructive. Null's ugsome ichor issues forth, black as Venom's webbing.
A tenebrous tether attaches upon glass just outside slumbering Sue, and an incredible arm impossibly distends outward fibrous infrangible fenster. Violating venom eats and etches the impervious surface as Null's essence flows from truculent titan tugging to tenebrous tether to toxic tendrils transfixing transparent traverse. The superglass actually tears.
A klaxon sounds. The alarm resembles the intruder alert awakening the Fantastic Four before their last adventure (see Fantastic Four #337). Perhaps, the similar circumstance seems dreamlike to Johnny and Sue who only crack their eyes slightly. Overhead, groggy Reed rolls his eyes lazily forward. Their lassitude buys the hovering hobgoblin time. She sends eldritch lightning up her sword and gamma-infused rage to her arm. The blazing blade singes and splits woven diamond further. Stretched purple gloves on hulking limbs widen the fissure fiercely. So, four powers invade four powers: Red Sonja, Null, Green Goblin, and She-Hulk.
The alarm increases. Sue's eyes are open. Hurled, the fulgurous longsword bolts through the wall into her beloved brother's room. Sis gasps. The Green Goblin's pumpkin petard spins forth. It releases—not its usual white smoke—but a black blanket over the disoriented woman. Invisible Woman feels yet Morpheus's spell, and Nebula's too. Rolling from bed, she turns invisible in the obscuring smoke and drowsily begins a forcefield, usually an automatic counter-action. Through the haze come Green Goblin's argent bat-blades; they slice Richards's yellow gown and pink skin. Cackling Goblin crackles searing static throughout the smoke, and Sue screams startled and shocked. Stunned, she stumbles still sans shield. Swiftly approaching, Thing's footfalls thunder, heralding help.
"Sue! What's happening? Flame on!" come the words from next door.
"Stay, prey. I'll come get you" a vamp-ridden chrome chiropter crashes through aramid wall. A human gnat stands wobbly and weaving in her gaze. Human Torch is but half-dressed in pajama bottoms. After the Nebula encounter, Reed described Johnny as "listless and enervated" (see Fantastic Four #343), and such would seem the case. Sonja's steaming sword sticks from the wall behind him.
"Nebula, is that you?" he addresses the charcoal wraith before him, "I miss you my dark lady. But, you must stop visiting me and my mind." Johnny staggers unsteady.
The she-creature seizes shoulders. Human Torch flames on. Her hands blister, and her gloves burn. "Look into my eyes" sounds an abysmal voice. Null's malevolent legion gazes into Johnny's assailable soul and prepossessed psyche. Frenzied flames scorch huge, hulking hands. Yet, the she-beast releases not at all. From the void of her eyes, Null spits ecto-tar into Torch's orbs. The tar flows forward over them into his head; a fetid cataract of demonic goo covers each eyeball. Hellish cold penetrates Johnny's mind within, and his flame extinguishes without. She-Hulk releases. Charred skin and necrotic juice hang and drip from Gray Goblin's hands.
Null penetrates Johnny, and Johnny enters nothingness. Half-naked, Human Torch ejaculates, "Nooo! I'm losing control! It's consuming me! It's consuming me!" Before his blinded eyes, Torch's deepest fear comes alive (see Daredevil #261). Flames burst through his arms, split skin, consume meat, char bone. Human Torch screams. Fire blasts open his abdomen, embroils his chest, shoots from his jaws. Human inferno howls and groans. Before his eyes, his face bubbles and boils. Into his nose, frying flesh waifs. In the real world, Johnny Storm thrashes in utter agony. His psychogenic flickering flames threaten the furniture.
"You're a fire hazard," Gray Goblin's hands heal instantly by She-Hulk's healing factor and by Null, "I should stomp you out. Or, spit on you. Or, splatter you on an unbreakable window"
Abruptly, a transparent barrier smashes Gray Goblin in the face and off of her hovering horse. "Get away from him, you bitch!" Guardian sister Sue Richards wallops Gray Goblin through the wall. In the hallway, Sue suspends struggling She-Hulk in a mid-air sphere. Invisible Woman does not recognize the grinning gray gargantuan in the purple tunic. Mrs. Reed Richards examines, "Who are you? The weapons and abilities suggest Green Goblin or a demon. And, you look like Mephisto raped Norman Osborn in Hell. Are you some witch?"
"Some bitch, sumbitch!" she-monster expands the troubling bubble to breaking. Sue's defense drops away painfully. Before beast, she hits her knees and then her face.
"Oy vey, it's Jenny," arriving Thing does recognize She-Hulk, "Jen, I heard about your berserk battles with the Frightful Four and Ultron. Lately, you're acting more like your crazy cousin than your sane self. You're embarrassing yourself."
"I have been embarrassed this very morn. Now, you will be too."
An ashy, huge fist hooks toward Thing's head. A pugilist, he blocks and jabs expertly. His rocky fist crashes into her mug, "I know better than to reason right now. I've been in too many fights with rampaging hulks."
"I'll help," Invisible Woman crawls forth, "Then, we can help both Johnny and Jen."
"No, you won't. Suffer as your brother does!" Null's pawn repossesses the batglider. The glider flies at Sue. Staring death in the horned face, Invisible Woman erects an invisible barrier. Sue's peril distracts Ben momentarily, and Jen's jab decks Grimm savagely. Across green rug, an orange mass skids into the living room. She-Hulk strides to him. Then, the buxom brawler bawls—but not in victory.
Bloodily, two black tentacles burst from She-Hulk's sides. Gorily, another shoots from her back. Aghast, Thing beholds his mutilated friend. In that shocked moment, an intangible tentacle drives through Grimm's chest and wraps around the television behind him. The prehensile limb crashes the exploding, smoking device over his head, temporarily blinding him. Thing throws the console aside. Across the room, She-Hulk stands smiling savagely. She has gathered weapons. From her right, an awful offshoot swings a she-devil's steel sword. From her left, its partner thrusts a burning brass javelin, formerly a floorlamp. From her hind, her devilish tail drives a full oaken bookcase.
Thing's hard hand deflects the sword, "Dammit, Jen! That looks valuable. AAARGH! OOPH!" The white-hot poker arrives—right through Thing's thigh. Immediately post-impalement, the one-ton bookcase splinters upon Thing's chest. The man-monster loses some wind—and some blood.
"That's enough, ugly-anna. You don't hurt my beau Benjy," a red leaper tackles the back tentacle. Instantly, all three tentacles wrap the rear attacker; then, they flip her hard before Gray Goblin. Ms. Marvel handstands off the floor and faces her foe. Thing grits teeth as he pulls the lambent lamp inch-by-inch back out.
Sanguine eyes narrow in a gray face, "You're not She-Thing. You look like regular Sharon Ventura." Evil extensions withdraw into grisly ruptures, which heal instantly. Gray Goblin grows. Sinews and boots crack a bit.
"I'm better than plain ol' Sharon. I'm Ms. Marvel. And, you'll marvel at the beating I deliver," Ms. Marvel flying sidekicks directly toward her swelling foe.
Shockingly, Shary's boot bursts right through behemoth breast, and the heroine's leg is captured as if in a living tarbaby. Grinning maniacally, the ogress yanks and gathers Ventura's strawberry scalp. The savage brings the snack to big teeth and snaps ravenously into the heroine's shoulder. Thing limps to his screaming love's rescue. Null's hound drools tar into the wound. Demonic undeath infects Sharon Ventura's raw flesh.
Thing seizes the she-bitch's ruff from behind and plants his foot upon her back. The colossus pulls back mongrel's head, and teeth rip from Ms. Marvel's shoulderchuck.
Sticky, stanky scarlet blood and black Null trail from growling jaws to opened flesh. Like maggots, Null's tendrils burrow into Shary's skin and muscle. Agonizing, Ben can see them. Agonized, Ms. Marvel rips the roots from her flesh. Scarlet blood and pink muscle spray onto green carpet and white walls. Gasping, Ms. Marvel hits her knees. She collapses shocked.
Hair in hand, Thing spins around Gray Goblin, "Jen! This ends now. It's clobberin' time!"
"No, it's not. It's She-Hulk's time," She-Hulk palm-blocks Thing's powerful jab, "She-Hulk is the strongest one there is. And, goblin juices make her hands quicker."
"Yeah, yeah, Green Goblin had enhanced reflexes," expert grappler Grimm dips his legs. His off-balance opponent topples into his granite headbutt. She releases his hand.
"And, increased cunning," she gouges the eyes in the face now close to hers, "I'll drop you like my cousin Mr. Fixit did recently [see Incredible Hulk #350]. You were such a beaten dog that She-Thing and I, the women-folk, had to combat Dragon Man for you [see Fantastic Four #321]. You were home lickin' wounds. Well now, She-Hulk's gonna make you lick carpet." Her downward right cross bows Thing floorward. He grabs a nearby recliner and swings it. The former pro wrestler smashes Gray Goblin over the head with a chair. Vexed, the giantess brushes wood and cotton debris aside.
"You hit like a girl," Thing insults, "You wanna box? Let me show you."
"Shit, do you mean like Champion showed y—aaah [see Marvel Two-in-One Annual #7]," a ribcracking right hook abuses She-Hulk's still sore side. Immediately, a right uppercut snaps her head and neck.
"Mike Tyson," Ben Grimm names his combo's inspiration, "Jack Murdock." A vicious left cross rattles her fleer. "Jack Johnson." A gutpunch deflates the giantess. She turns green and loses mass. "Joe Louis." Measured jabs jolt and jiggle Jade Giantess.
"And, Champion," an unholy uppercut sends a green blur through the ceiling, "Yeah, he messed me up. But, no offense, Jenny. I hopefully just did the same to you. A hospital stay did me good [see Marvel Two-in-One #96]."
"Recuperation would serve most FF members well, Ben," Reed arrives stretching from the library adjacent the parlor.
"Took ya long enough, Stretcho," Thing comments.
"I had a ghosted machine to disrupt and three hurting comrades to stabilize. Sue and Johnny are in catatonic states again—after their Nebula encounter. Your wounded girlfriend is fine," Reed indicates a bloodtrail into the library, "I packed her hemorrhage with good manuscript paper."
"Let's finish this fight. Give me details later," Reed reads Ben's mind. Mr. Fantastic forms a slingshot behind Thing. He flings the rockman upward after She-Hulk. Then, he whips his elongated form after. Above, the fantastic two face the weird one.
But, what did happen just now?
Reed and Sue Richards will recount the pulsepounding tale eventually. The horned glider flies at Invisible Woman. Perhaps, she will not know what hit her. But instead, the steel ram does not know what hit it. An invisible forceshield crashes into the batwing. Ferocious ferrous falls fractured.
"Nicely done, dear. Very effective," Reed compliments arriving. He has rail-thin transport tubes throughout Four Freedoms. Snaking from the ceiling, he faces his shocked lifepartner and teammate.
"The glider is done. But, She-Hulk rampages in our parlor," combat-related crashing accompanies Sue's words on cue
"Jen? Astonishing," Reed seems curious, "How did she enter our impregnable upper stories? Did she hack the elevator electronically?"
"No, she hacked through the window somehow with a sword. She has the powers of Green Goblin, a demon, and her cousin. And, like Bruce, a rage seems to drive her." Sue notices that the glider seemingly quivers a bit.
"Really? Astonishing," Reed ponders, "I suspect mind and matter control at work. A few foes could do this. However, I suspect that She-Hulk could be generating much of this metamorphosis herself. I have a theory about her, you see."
Close-by Gray Goblin, Thing, and Ms. Marvel clamor. Sue in torn gown addresses Reed in uniform, "I'm getting to the living room. Examine what you will. In fact, check downed Johnny." Her slippered foot strides forward over the glider.
"Be careful near that downed glider, darling. I observe that it releases neither smoke nor flame. Normally, a junked jet would. So, what compels that object?"
Suddenly shooting up her straddle, giant stygian claws clap over the golden-robed woman. They envelop their prize. Sue's blood-chilling scream emanates from Null's black billow. Reed rushes forward. Suddenly, a re-assembled glider meets him. From demonic hands, it shoots into the hero's midsection. However, horned steel cannot gore Reed Richards as it once did Norman Osborn. Mister Fantastic's plastic midsection stretches with the impact, and it snaps the ram into the wall hard. The glider shatters again. Then, shockingly, it assembles once more. Flying blurry circles, the goblin-glider wraps Reed's waist and attempts dragging him airborne as it once did Peter Parker (see Amazing Spider-Man #39). But, again, the device cannot take its current foe as it has a past one. Mr. Fantastic twists and turns with it easily. Easily, he swings his hips wide with the jet circling. It beelines for the open window in the Richards bedroom. But, it cannot carry Reed outside. He stretches limbs across the corridor and anchors himself thereby. Again, Sue screams. Reed cannot reach her while still fighting the possessed batwing. Then, peripherally, he spots Green Goblin's bag dropped upon the floor. It opens on its own. It fires a pumpkinbomb at the hero.
Mr. Fantastic's eyes widen, "Perfect. That incendiary grenade can melt the damned glider instead of me." The genius superman's rubbery arm deflects the bomb at just the right angle. A fiery explosion blasts the glider into molten slag and ignites Reed and Sue's bedroom. Firefighting foam floods forth from Four Freedoms fixtures.
Mr. Fantastic contracts his waist. The tight cable falls. Sue screams. Reed gathers his wind. Goblin's bag tosses another bomb. A darkly-glowing globe splatters pitch upon Reed's visage. A tarry star covers his eyesight temporarily. He morphs from its facehug. However, startlingly, a cyclopean eye meets the hero's gaze as he pulls the star away. Beyond his battle, Reed sees Sue lying free but unconscious. Abruptly, the devil's eye blasts the head hero in the face. An eldritch bolt makes his psyche swim. Far away, combat clatters from the living room. Thing names great fighters and announces "It's clobberin' time." Already exhausted, the pained and blinded leader closes his lids and falls forward. Null speaks.
Null the Living Darkness speaks to Mr. Fantastic kneeling woozy before him,
"All will become nothing, for Null will become everything. Already, I hook mortals like meat: the beings Mayhem, Poison and her pup, Voodoo, Gray Goblin. Their names represent me. Their bodies, minds, and souls are mine. And, I shall spread my winter fingers over Mother Earth. And, I shall spread death and nothingness over Eternity, the Universe's living embodiment. Plastic man, you have an intellect superior to many mortals. But, even your mind cannot stretch so far as to comprehend me. I am the phantastic, not times four, but times forever." Reed winces. Then, Null withdraws into a whirling dimensional maelstrom suddenly summoned. The demon hides within somewhere or someone.
Reed must care for Sue and Johnny quickly, for he must fight She-Hulk sooner
rather than later. His rationale mind guides him. Calmly and quickly, he cares for fallen Invisible Woman, Human Torch, and, upon discovery, Ms. Marvel. Then, two heroes face the great gray gargantuan goblin. The three wound up upstairs.
Mr. Fantastic and Thing examine She-Hulk where she landed upstairs, in the communications center. Jen Walters looks much smaller and more vulnerable than her alter egos. Her pink body reposes at Thing's orange feet. Her brunette tresses partially conceal a dazed expression.
"This puppy could still bite," Thing pets her locks lightly, "She could vomit peasoup or fart hellfire. I have been in too many fights with the demonically-possessed and rampaging hulks."
Dr. Richards massages sore eyes, "Let us examine her."
"I had enough examining last night," Jen's voice lowers swiftly to a guttural growl. She is awake.
Naturally, Reed does not get the words' reference. But, he does get—in a blink—a huge gray fist sailing toward him. Ben's granite palm catches it loudly. Grimacing, Thing shakes his stinging hand.
Gray Goblin rises to her feet, "An imp sits yet upon my shoulder. Null sits yet within me. And, I deliver his oblivion to you." The hideous hulk rises farther. But, this time, she levitates. From distended maw falls fetid fuliginosity floorward to beneath nasty feet. The fumes are noxious and nauseate the two Fantastic men. Null's odor is the stench of a million S'raphhic deaths. The monster She-Hulk floats as trickster Aarkus did in her dream. The abomination walks upon fluid air. Entranced, she flails gray arms like charcoal tentacles. Her red eyes roll back piceous into her head.
"I am mayhem; I am poison; I am the imp, the beast, the she-devil; I am death; I am Null," speak many voices from but one mouth.
"You are Mayhem, the late vigilante," Mr. Fantastic deduces, "and Poison, the current one. Null dubbed himself 'mayhem' and 'poison' before. And, I observe that you display their powers. Besides late Mayhem, you seem to have deceased Green Goblin and Red Sonja and demonic Null within you as well. Perhaps, we need summon Brother Voodoo to remove your possession."
The hanging horror snickers, "Jericho Drumm. Yes, get him here." The sarcastic sibyl fires dark lightning behind her into Thing sneaking toward her ankles. Her bolt resembles Green Goblin's. Grimm grits with monstrous endurance. Like Mayhem, she slashes Mr. Fantastic as he stretches upward toward her. Even his durable skin yields to the witchy claw. And, in agony, he falls, his scratched chest burns and bubbles. His strong mind tries conquering his pain, but his body still throws his limbs about wildly flailing. Gray Goblin has the two heroes in her hellfire.
Null's priestess intones over captives, "I sacrifice you to the abyss. I sacrifice you to an elder god. Your physical world and science are but sound and madness. Null is the reality. Doubt and nonsense are the reality. Despair and death are the reality. All things are the Living Darkness. Abandonment is the reality. The Fantastic Four abandoned me to the Frightful Four and the four Russian apes. You could have helped my beleaguered being. Instead, you ignored. May Null drag you into the same personal hells as the Storms and I suffer."
From below, from whence demoniac came, krakenite tentacles wrap about Thing and Mr. Fantastic. Thing has strength like a mountain, but he cannot hold firmament as the limb drags him. His very feet crumble like sandstone and erode bit-by-bit before his shocked eyes. Before his shocked eyes, his legs shatter like porcelain after the strongman falls. Beneath him, he feels first degenerating torso-rock, then brutally peeling humanskin, then agonizingly ripping exposed-muscle. Mr. Fantastic suffers similar agony. Dragged backwards, he elongates his arms toward an anchor. But, startlingly, the arms lose all firmness. The distended members droop and dribble down; then, they drop and pour upon the ground like soaked clay. Before his shocked eyes, they entirely detach upon the floor.
Mr. Fantastic is not only malleable—but melting. His legs fall off. Within the demon's grip, the limbless torso disperses. Liquefied flesh flows off bone. Bone disintegrates. Entrails and organs trail over ground. Reed's eyes roll back into a dribbling, melting face. Mr. Fantastic and Thing are dragged to hell. Null whips them into the chasm. Two gory smears mark the communication room carpet.
Within Null's being, fallen heroes have no form. But, they can witness and listen amidst a tumult of fallen S'raphh in the turgid darkness. Null gloats once more, "I am Null the Living Darkness. And, you are but flies pestering a god of death. Light and life are limited and brief in the cosmos. Yet, nothingness and death are endless and eternal.
And, I shall rule this Earth as Null once ruled another. Its heroes Squadron Supreme could not conquer me. Neither their allies nor the Ghost Rider could vanquish Null. Neither supreme necromancer Brother Voodoo nor the swamp-god could halt the Living Darkness. Neither champions the Fantastic Four nor the She-Hulk can stand against Death manifest. She-Hulk has been but a dark bud upon my branch. But, I withdraw a
finger for now. For, a champion of champions arrives soon. Soon, the darkness gathered, my phalanges invade all beings at my whim. For now, deal with but the she-monster's inner demons."
Null departs. As he withdraws, pitch murk, demonwind, evil-death, corrupt calignosity blast from She-Hulk's pores, tresses, sockets, nostrils, mouth, fingertips, clothing. She howls. The two avengers find themselves re-assembled. But, both lie momentarily in shock upon the living room carpet. Mr. Fantastic cannot gather his wits. Thing cannot resiliently rise. She-Hulk rattles the floor upon which she lands. The ordeal is not over. Even bereft of Null, She-Hulk has her inner demons. She has the Incredible Hulk's burning, berserk eyes. She has Green Goblin's distorted, sadistic grin. Savage She-Hulk is Jen Walters's basest id incarnate.
"Grrrimm," gray gravel-throat growls, "Any Hulk can take you down. Because, we do something better than you, pumpkin."
"Oh, big mouth? What?" Thing wobbles to his feet.
"We leap better than anyone," the slate mass launches toward trembling Thing. Unbelievably, both shatter through the shatterproof window of the living room. Huge gray giantess rides huge orange ogre, and they plummet groundward. She smiles as they drop through empty air. He groans in her bearhug. She-Hulk has conquered the Fantastic Four. Her eyes gleam in the dawn as her mind imagines the horrid impact upon Thing. Perhaps, he will actually fragment after fifty stories. Then, he surprises her.
He mumbles through the whistling wind, "We Fantastic Four do something better than you gamma-girls. We outthink, outmaneuver, and outlast foolish foes."
The grappler grabs about the hulk's hips, outflanking her. He twists her beneath his great form. Abruptly, hard earth and water meet the falling titans. Gravel and spray erupt about the two. Both lie damaged and unconscious.
Two figures approach the ones in the fractured fountain at Four Freedoms's foot.
"So, Mr. Powers, what now? You have been residing near She-Hulk recently. You have been keeping an eye on her," an unshaven dark-haired man states.
Beside him, a mammoth man expounds, "I have a million names, and one is Budd Powers. He is the most recent one that I have assumed. He saved a village long ago [see USA Comics #5]. And, I wished to save a village recently [see Marvel Comics Presents #40]. However, upon advice of the Chorus, the psychics within my own psyche, I have returned to New York City to protect the world from a threat that they and I know too well. And, I have taken residence near She-Hulk to do so [see Sensational She-Hulk #4]. I have taken a ninety-nine year lease, a short period for an eternal. However, these two will not live long if we let them drown." Then, astoundingly, he drags five-hundred pound Thing easily to dry pavement.
"I shall rescue the green gal," the first man wades to her and cradles a sizable limp form, "She breaths."
"Please gently bring Ben and Jen inside," Mr. Fantastic is a parachute arriving from above, "I shall examine them. And, I would like to hear what you have to say."
In the medical bay, five heroes convalesce. Invisible Woman, Human Torch, and Thing sit dazed in chairs. Nearby lie conscious Ms. Marvel and unconscious She-Hulk. Mr. Fantastic converses with the group's two unexpected guests. Within Four Freedoms Plaza, Defenders Devil-Slayer and Overmind stand revealed.
Mr. Fantastic explicates, "I admit to knowing the Defenders only so well. Appropriately, your group addresses supernatural threats such as those encountered this morning. Awhile back, I aided Defenders Dr. Strange and Beast with such a threat [see Defenders #105]. The Fantastic Four and I encountered Devil-Slayer and the Defenders at Captain Mar-Vell's funeral. Reasonably, I trust Devil-Slayer well-enough.
However, you Overmind, have been a great threat to the Fantastic Four and to the world. You attempted once to overthrow Earth's governments. You mind-controlled me in your attempt [see Fantastic Four 116]. You take more faith to trust. And, I do not rely upon faith, but rather reason. So, present your claims, facts, and logic, Grom."
Grom the Overmind explains in calm baritone, "At our first encounter's end, cosmic power Stranger banished me to the Microverse where an Eyungian champion could do no harm supposedly. However, just as the Eyungians found me a vehicle for their conquests so did the evil entity Null. He had found Earth-S, home to Squadron Supreme [see Defenders #112-114] after Ghost Rider drove him from this Earth's plane [see Ghost Rider #71]."
"We Defenders had vanquished Null shortly before Ghost Rider did," interrupts Devil-Slayer (see Defenders #103).
Overmind continues, "On Earth-S, Null and I overtook the entire planet and its Squadron Supreme, save for Hyperion. Hyperion sought help on Earth-616. The Defenders and allies Vision and Scarlet Witch rescued Earth-S and placed the six Psychics, the Chorus, within my mind. Seemingly, the Psychics destroyed Null. They reached the suffering S'raphh souls within him, and the S'raphhs' lost inner goodness and light dissipated dark Null apparently forever. Thanks to the Chorus, I had a new life purpose to save the sentient everywhere. I joined the Defenders and helped build a better world. Then, I left the Defenders to distressed starchild Cloud against the Star Thief [see Defenders #150]. Afterward, the Psychics brought me to a New Hampshire village to salve the suffering of a populace sickened by toxins [see Marvel Comics Presents #40]. However, the Psychics continually sensed their foe Null active again.
The Chorus shared their telecognition with me. In Miami, Null visited Cuban refugee Cecilia Cardinale who was dying. She died. However, Null re-animated her. He dubbed his possessed puppet aptly Poison, for she wore a noxious effluvium of Null's being. In New York, Null visited desperate policewoman Brigid O'Rielly at her death. He re-animated her and dubbed her Mayhem. She too wore his noxious aura. And, when she died again, Null re-animated Mayhem again when Brother Voodoo arrogantly sought to resurrect her. Even a houngan supreme can fall before an arch-demon and his thousand damned souls. Null claimed both Mayhem and Brother Voodoo. Mercifully, Spider-Man has destroyed Mayhem's much-abused shell since. Recently, in Citrusville, Poison gave Null his most dangerous foothold yet. She sent an evil S'raphh, Ylandris, into the Nexus of Reality ["A Plague of Villains," New York, New York I]. The guardian of the Nexus Man-Thing may not have the power to conquer the Living Darkness."
"But, what brings you here today, Overmind?" Mr. Fantastic broaches, "How did Null contaminate She-Hulk?"
"Null violated She-Hulk's psyche but lately. I have probed her mind as seemed appropriate in this crisis. The recent mutation had two stages. Not long ago, She-Hulk fought Rhino in the Queens-Midtown Tunnel. During combat, an Osborn Industries tanker wrecked and bathed her in waste. Soon after, she manifested a new fiercer identity against the Frightful Four. Soon after that, she opposed Null's pawns Machine Man and Amb. Jericho Drumm, Brother Voodoo, at the UN. During this conflict, She-Hulk humiliated Drumm. And, he swore revenge. As revenge, he planted Null subconsciously into She-Hulk's vulnerable psyche while she slept. In turn, by Voodoo's designs, she encountered Red Ghost and his Super-Apes. And, they humiliated Jen further. Afterward, She-Hulk brought her anger upon the Fantastic Four."
"I remember the Midtown battle. She-Hulk and Rhino brawled as they had done at this Earth's Project: Pegasus [see Avengers #237] and at the Earth-57780 NYC courthouse [see Spidey Super-Stories #50]," Reed Richards ponders, "But, please know that I doubt that the tunnel accident caused these recent Goblin transformations."
Overmind raises an interjecting hand, "She created the Goblin persona psychosomatically. I know that Doc Samson and you discussed her transformations after her SHIELD adventure [see Marvel Graphic Novel #18]. At that time, she could apparently not return to her Jen Walters identity."
Reed raises his interjecting hand, "Or, she would not. I found nothing medically or chemically amiss. She should have been able to assume human form. However, Doc Samson suggested that She-Hulk could not change because 'deep down' she did not want to. Yet, both doctors acknowledged that external factors could [mess] She-Hulk's transformation. For example, Radioactive Man's radiation suppressed her green side once [see Avengers #228] I shall examine her thoroughly for chemical contamination."
"And, I for psychological demons," Overmind nods.
The scientist and psychic begin their work. First, Ms. Marvel and Invisible Woman strip the giantess and dress her in an exam gown. Later, at high noon, dazed She-Hulk awakens briefly. Her face and body ache horribly as her healing factor labors at injuries. She feels pain in her arm from which a line trails. She feels the cold down her exposed spine and upon her bare feet. It resembles the museum. She swoons.
"Unfortunately, I have had to sedate Jen for everyone's safety—including hers. Hopefully, we can detach intravenous medicines from her system soon," Mr. Fantastic updates Overmind and Devil-Slayer in a conference room during the afternoon.
"Have you found other drugs in her system?" Devil-Slayer queries. He remembers loved ones affected by substance abuse.
"No, as anticipated, She-Hulk's fluids contain no traces of mutagens beyond her gamma-altered blood," Reed Richards turns to Overmind, "I suspect that her troubles are psychological. We have mentioned that possibility today. And, before today, psychiatrist Leonard Samson and I have discussed mental issues that affect She-Hulk's transformations. Unfortunately, Doc Samson operates in South Carolina right now [see Incredible Hulk #369-370]. Otherwise, we could consult him. Leonard and I resolved that Jen must sort her psyche on her own with our gentle encouragement [see She-Hulk #11]. In the same vein, our present conversation will be initially private. She-Hulk receives select information later."
"Fair enough," states Overmind, "Please hear my findings provided via Eyungian powers and Chorus Psychics.
Null has left her completely. He could use her again for a gateway, potentially. Even after departure, Null has affinity with the possessed. For example, I sense him easily still. However, from this sense, I can confirm that Null has completely left Four Freedoms Plaza—for now."
"I confirm the same. And, trust me. I can sense the demonic," Devil-Slayer adds.
"Typical. Always, the villain will return," Mr. Fantastic acknowledges cannily.
"Null is everlasting evil," Grom nods grimly, "However, Gray Goblin is gone—for now. The Chorus probed Jen's sub-conscious. The Gray Hulk and Green Goblin identities are suppressed deeply."
Reed nods, "She-Hulk's psyche fabricated an identity; then, her mutable body made it manifest."
Overmind concurs with genius, "Exactly. The Osborn tanker merely suggested something to She-Hulk. It did not chemically contaminate her. Rather, it did so psychologically. The Chorus's Mindy Williams—a mental patient in life—diagnoses Jen Walters with an underlying inferiority complex."
"Samson and I found the same," Dr. Richards states, "Was her Gray Goblin form an attempt for greater, compensating power?"
"You are a true clinician," Overmind compliments, "Yes, she became another Goblin. But, by her own power. Not the Osborns'. Mindy postulates that Jen needs to prove herself to her father and to all men."
"She chatted often about that while a Fantastic Four member," Mr. Fantastic scratches his chin, "Her father is an LA lawman. Since West Coast days, She-Hulk has sought to prove herself to him."
"Feminine empowerment seems to guide the Jade Giantess. Allow me to present my findings and insights," Devil-Slayer presents Red Sonja's sword, "This blade is legendary. Its original wielder is legend. The indomitable wielder was the She-Devil with a Sword. She was Red Sonja. Red Sonja was the mightiest woman-warrior of the Hyborian Era, twelve thousand years ago. And, She-Hulk and Sonja share a slightly similar experience after last night. Grom found some images in memory during his mind probe.
Red Sonja gained her prowess after ravagement. She-Hulk experienced something similar last night. The goddess Scathach visited exposed, angry Sonja just as Sonja visited exposed, angry Jen."
Superman Reed Richards frowns.
Eric Payne continues, "This is not the only time Sonja's sword has transformed a woman in that very museum. Spider-Man and an unidentified lass fought Kulan Gath with Red Sonja's help once [see Marvel Team-Up #79]."
Mr. Fantastic recognizes, "I remember Kulan Gath. All of Manhattan does. His powers were substantial [see Uncanny X-Men 190-191]."
"In both cases, the swordbearer gained her own phallus after an assault and her own means to making men bleed. So note the Chorus," Overmind says matter-of-factly.
"Who needs Doc Samson?" former mental patient Devil-Slayer quips.
"We shall require many heroes before all is done," states staid Grom, "We Defenders shall pursue Null in New York and Florida where he has manifested himself. We shall visit Poison and Man-Thing and Brother Voodoo and all those whom the Living Darkness affects."
Devil-Slayer stands. He spreads the Shadow-Cloak, "Florida is our best first point-of-attack. Let us remove Null's limbs in Miami and Citrusville before destroying him here in Manhattan."
Overmind enters the cloak. Before teleporting, he departs Reed Richards, "I imagine that the Fantastic Four will inform She-Hulk and the other Fantastic Four what each need know. Godspeed."
Richards knits brows, "So, you know?" Two defenders of the good disappear.
Later, as dusk arrives, She-Hulk sits slightly sweaty before five teammates. She sits gowned on a table in the medical bay. Reed sits on a doctor's stool at her knee. He stretches to look her in the eye. Sue, Ben, and Sharon hold the virago in concerned gazes. Johnny's gaze seems off into space with his enchantress Nebula.
Jen looks Reed in the eye, "So, my powers are as usual? We have checked them here and in the gym. And, my system shows no chemical contamination?"
"Affirmative and affirmative," her friend assures her, "I can confirm a clean physical bill-of-health."
"However, the magical without or psychological within could be affecting me. Perhaps, I should speak with Doc Samson. Perhaps, this gray hulk manifests my Jungian darkside, my Freudian id," She-Hulk scratches her chin.
Knowingly, Mr. Fantastic nods, "You might want to consult him."
"You Banners and your ids," Thing shakes his head.
Sue touches Jen's arm lightly, "The telepath Overmind examined your mind as we've told you. He predicted no further troubles. So, rest assured. Still, despite Defender membership, Overmind has been an odd character. Sometimes, the hero. Sometimes, the villain. Consider having Agatha Harkness or Jean Grey explore your pysche."
Jen returns the gesture, "The Fantastic Four are great judges of character. Including that they give presently the benefit of the doubt to me. This girl shall redeem herself for recent awful actions"
"You're like family, Jenny," Ben pats her pate affectionately. Then, four colleagues give her space.
Mr. Fantastic looks into her eyes, "Brother Voodoo is a hypnotist. He could have influenced your recent actions."
She-Hulk deliberates, "I had troubles before encountering Voodoo at the UN. But, who knows how long the necromancer's machinations have occurred? Who knows how long Null has been active? For my sanity, I shall not overly worry about the recent past.
I do know two things. I do know that Gray Goblin sensed Drumm's evil spirit during the UN brawl. However, sometimes, my cousin senses spirits. I do know that Voodoo cursed me in a dream. Probably, he sought revenge for the earlier humiliation. He disguised himself as a Vision. He is quite the mentalist."
"We all shall watch-out for Voodoo and Null," Invisible Woman resolves, "Presently, the Defenders pursue them. Soon, the Fantastic Four and their allies will too."
"We'll need the right allies for the job. We're fighting magic, not science fiction, here," Thing explains plans, "Before we strike, Voodoo and Null should reveal themselves and their plans more. They should be rats out in the open. Plus, Drumm shouldn't be able to hide behind diplomatic immunity. We should just wait before clobberin' 'em."
"I am glad that we're family," She-Hulk rises to dress and depart.
Later, in the night, Mr. Fantastic sighs, "I am glad that She-Hulk departed. We are not exactly her family."
"I heard ya, bigbrain," Thing readies the timesled, "You think that this Earth ain't our own and that we've switched with Earth-616's Fantastic Four [see Fantastic Four #343]. I agree. She-Hulk mentioned a She-Thing today. That ain't right."
"We are Earth-9061 in the multiverse. At home, the Thing remains rocky, and Ms. Marvel remains human in appearance. Here, the opposite rings true," Reed states.
"We need to return to Earth-9061. Our Avengers are in serious trouble, and Stalin threatens our 1990. Here, thank goodness, Stalin is dead," Sue buckles-up in the sled, "You left complete notes as Reed-616 no doubt left for you [see Fantastic Four #344]. Let us depart."
On Earth-9061, one fantastic quartet arrives as Earth-616's departs. However, the departing Fantastic Four do not arrive home immediately. The Navy brings them home later after a Dinosaur Island adventure (see Fantastic Four #346). During their absence, certain notes burned on a table and disappear from a computer. Perhaps, a strand of black smoke lingers afterward. . . . Still, Overmind, Devil-Slayer, and She-Hulk know, somewhat, what has occurred.
Chagrined, She-Hulk returns to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to face the music. Director Phillip Bello meets with She-Hulk and DA Tower's representative Louise Mason to discuss security tapes recording robbery, destruction, and indecency. She-Hulk feels shame for what she did and embarrassment for what was done to her.
Weezi takes the hand of the Amazon seated beside her, "Jen is an Avenger and heroine. She does not deserve these tapes' release whether to media or to authorities who must release public records to media later. Please destroy these video documents."
"The tapes will be kept safe," Bello understands the situation honorably, "Let us catalog damaged artifacts and determine next best actions."
She-Hulk sighs, "You have again Green Goblin's costume and Red Sonja's sword. Tragically, the battle damaged Sir Steel's sword and armor, Silver Squire's flail and shield, Bernini's Bacchanal, a di Cosino painting, and two van Goghs. They are priceless, unique objects. Damage Control cannot simply repair them. Rather, they require supernatural repair. Therefore, I have contacted fellow Avenger Sersi, an Eternal. The Eternals are a godlike race capable of miraculous matter manipulation. In-turn, Sersi has contacted Phastos, the Eternal equivalent of Hephaustus. Perhaps, he can make everything right."
