Disclaimer: I do not own anything belonging to Marvel Comics or anything associated with it. I have written this story solely because I enjoy writing.
Chapter 9: The War Continues
As Nicolas Trask sat within the secure confines of his office, his eyes were effectively glued to his computer screen. Taking in every single detail of the internet newsfeed Jonny had alerted him to. A newsfeed that looked like an all-out war from a sci-fi movie he had once watched as a little kid.
All over the city of Los Angles, war was being waged between the Avengers and the Hulkbusters, both outside the various businesses owned by Stark Enterprises, and within the Mobile Command Center of the Hulkbusters. Through the eyes of many different cameras, Trask witnessed the superhuman might of the Avengers coming crashing down upon the US Military like the raw forces of nature. A metaphor that seemed especially apt as he witnessed the mighty Thor whirling his hammer about, conjuring up winds and jags of lightning that sent dozens of Hulbusters and their vehicles flying out of control. And while Trask could not hear the anguished cries of the instantly defeated soldiers, he could very easily imagine them.
And as he continued to watch this almost laughable mismatch that consisted of normal humans being unceremoniously crushed beneath the powers of gods, giants, titans, and monsters, Trask found himself considering the implications of such a confrontation. And seeing for the first time that day a glimmer of hope for the survival of both himself and his organization.
SHIELD wants something from the Avengers, Trask realized as he continuously analyzed the information at hand, with this being the only conclusion he could reach, over and over again. Ross said it himself; he had been given full authority by SHIELD to do whatever he had to in order to bring down the Hulk and Walters. And even if SHIELD wasn't expecting him to go this crazy, it's clear they must want something out of the Avengers really bad if they were willing to give Ross this much freedom...
And the more Trask considered the situation, the more he saw whatever power struggle that was going down between the Avengers and SHIELD working out in his favor.
I don't care how superhuman the Avengers are. When this mess is over, the first thing they're gonna wanna do is take a break to lick their wounds, Trask thought, his eyes narrowed dangerously. And with this kind of mess, SHIELD's going to be in a major bind, trying to keep from looking like complete idiots. Then the corner of his lip curled up dangerously as he added, But even so, I'd be willing to bet anything that whoever's running the show at SHIELD isn't going to take this mess lying down. They're gonna want payback.
Which meant that the myriad battles Trask was witnessing, brutal and dramatic as it was, were actually only the opening volleys in what could very easily become a very messy war. A war that may well prove invaluable in distracting the Avengers in general and the Hulk in particular from seeking reprisal for what happened to the Hulk's cousin Jennifer.
And since my backer hasn't called me back yet...this might be the only break I'm gonna get! Trask thought as he reached for the nearby telephone and dialed a number he had recently called earlier that very day.
Placing the receiver to his ear, Trask waited impatiently as the phone rang on the other end. Even as he was considering telling the phone to pick itself up, the sound of a reciever being lifted sounded, followed by a familiar voice saying, "Uh, Dr. Kurtz speaking..."
"Doctor," Trask began, giving the fact that it was him speaking a few moments to sink before continuing. "How goes the preparations on the Silver Serpent?"
"The, uh...preparations?" Dr. Kurtz nervously replied. "Well, the, uh - the reactor startup is proceeding - well, smoothly enough. But as I already warned you, this is the first time it will have been activated, and -"
"I already know that, Doctor," Trask retorted with an edge of impatience. "What I want to know is what happens after the reactor's up and running. How long it will it take to find out if everything's fully functional?"
A beat passed as the doctor began muttering beneath his breath. "Well...as I said, ideally I would like at least a week to check out all of the systems. Which I realize we don't have," Dr. Kurtz quickly added before Trask could remind him of this. "However...please understand that this is all highly advanced technology, and I still am not as familiar with it as I would like. So there's no way of being certain of how everything would work if we...were to take it into combat situations."
Despite the fact that he was not happy about this, Trask didn't dispute the doctor's words. He had too much of a healthy, fearful respect for the gangster for him to try and lie about something like this. And while he was as nervous as the proverbial long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs, he was definitely all there when it came to his work. Trask wouldn't have bothered with his services if he were not. "What if we were to take Silver Serpent on a...shakedown run?"
"A...shakedown run?" Dr. Kurtz nervously replied.
"That's right. Put it through its paces, test out all of the...acquisitions we've installed. See how everything is working," Trask explained in a terse manner. "Would that be enough to iron out whatever bugs might be in the system?"
There was a pregnant silence on the other end of the line, one that was interrupted only by tiny mutterings of thought from Dr. Kurtz. "Uh...yes...yes, it would...probably," he finally, hesitantly admitted. "Please understand, sir, that what you're proposing is no substitute for a proper and thorough series of diagnostic evaluations. I would not be able to guarantee that we would be successfully find and address every single problem the Silver Serpent's systems might have." A beat passed as the doctor gave a weary sigh before admitting, "However...given that you've made it clear that...time is now our enemy...I suppose such a thing would be...better than nothing."
"Then as soon as you have the reactor up and running, prepare the Silver Serpent and its crew for a shakedown," Trask instructed the scientist, his tone making it clear just how much he meant business. For while he had no doubt that, while the mess with SHIELD and the Hulkbusters would buy him some time, he was nowhere near deluded enough to think that it would keep the Avengers off of his back forever. "We may have gotten a break, and we better make use of it...before everything goes right to hell."
"Get the hell off of my property!" Iron Man furiously demanded as he shot though the office complex that was one of the many smaller businesses owned by Stark Industries. An office complex that had been infested with trigger-happy Hulkbusters carrying guns that had been made using his own technology, and had recently been put to use...on some of his own employees.
At that very moment, two of the Hulkbusters were writhing helplessly, struggling in vain to dislodge Iron Man's steely grip about their armored necks as he flew towards a cluster of their fellows. Letting loose a cry of outrage, the armored Avengers sent the two goons flying into the crowd of Hulkbusters, sending them sprawling down the hallway.
Not satisfied with the pained groans and grunts the Hulkbusters gave voice to, Iron Man charged up his repulsors. "Didn't you hear me?!" he demanded, holding out his palms to the people that had invaded this place and had gone so far to bring so much misery to the people there. "I said get out!"
A familiar whine was heard an instant before twin beams of destruction leapt forth from Iron Man's palms, smashing into the crumpled Hulkbusters without mercy, sending several of them flying into the wall at the end of the hall...and then right through it.
Hearing the cries of pain and fear from the Hulkbusters and knowing that their armor would absorb the worst of both the repulsor blasts and the fall, Iron Man turned his attention from the freshly made hole in the wall to the armored goons that remained on the floor. "Alright, you have a choice," he muttered ominously, holding up his palms and giving them a good look at the glow that was coming from his repulsors. "You either jump, or you get to go another round against me. So what's it gonna be?"
A couple of the Hulkbusters, clearly having had enough, made the wise decision to get up, run for the hole their fellows had made with Iron Man's assistance, and leapt out of the building. But the rest of them, obviously the dumber ones, simply picked themselves and their weapons back up and took aim at the billionaire superhero.
Bad choice, Iron Man thought irately, long since past being angered by the Hulkbusters. Without so much as a thought, he delivering a series of well-placed repulsor blasts to each of the remaining Hulkbusters in rapid succession even as their own feeble blasts bounced off his shields without effect.
Feeling no satisfaction as the last Hulkbuster crumpled over in a heap, Iron Man glared at his armored foes, and more importantly, at their weapons and the readouts JARVIS was providing in regards to them. Readouts that clearly displayed that each and every one of the energy-based rifles being employed in this invasion of Los Angeles and this attack upon his team and his employees were all derived from Stark Industries technology.
Once more, Tony Stark felt a rush of cold, deadly fury at the knowledge that the fruits of his own labors were being employed in the destruction of lives and the furthering of selfish greed. That the weapons and technology he had witnessed not long ago being used against innocent civilians were based upon his work. That it was essentially his technology that had been used to blast several of his own employees, very nearly killing two of them before his very eyes.
Mine...blast it all! How many more times is this gonna happen?! fumed the man beneath the Iron Man armor. For while this was not the first time he had been in this position, and he was unfortunately certain that it was far from the last, this was quite likely the closest to home the reality that his inventions were so often the cause of pain and misery had come.
For a long time, Tony Stark had been every bit the devil-may-care playboy genius the press made him out to be. He had been aware that he was at times referred to as the merchant of death and hadn't cared in the slightest. After all, weapons didn't kill people, people killed people. Any idiot knew that much. And he had only sold his weapons to people like SHIELD, the US military, organizations that anyone with a brain in their head would recognize as being 'the good guys'. And in the haze of naiveté, he had been perfectly content to continuously invent even bigger and more dangerous instruments of destruction, had felt no shame in bringing in his pacifistic fellow scientist Hank Pym or trying to get his hands on Vibranium to further his works, and generally had been happily living off the millions upon millions of dollars people were so willing to pay for the latest weapon to be produced by the hardworking men and women of Stark Industries.
An ill-fated trip to Afghanistan to demonstrate the latest of his missiles had been when Tony had finally grown up and realized just how much damage his uncaring ways had done to the world. And it had taken a horde of shrapnel from one of his own Rocket-Propelled Grenades getting lodged in his chest to make him realize that weapons didn't always hit the right people. And it had only been when he had seen terrorists sitting on veritable mountains of the weapons he had built and had been so confident that were keeping the world safe when he had realized the terrible truth. That while weapons themselves did not kill people, they still only had that one purpose; to enable people to kill other people that much more easily. And while the weapons themselves might not care about who handled them or who they killed, as the person whose hand had brought so many weapons into this world, he had to care. Simply because so many other people did not.
I was so blind... Tony Stark couldn't help but think as he recalled the aftermath of that disastrous trip, of the sacrifice made by Yinsen that allowed him to escape. Of his subsequent decision to stop building weapons and the massive protests lodged by the board of directors in general and Obadiah Stane in particular. Of the absolute horror he had felt when he had learned that Obadiah had been happily dealing under the table, selling Starks weapons to terrorists and whoever else would meet his price. And how the rest of the board continued to grumble and complain about how much less money they made these days as a result of his decision to stop fueling the engines of war. Just like the rest of them...all I ever saw was dollar signs floating down around me, when it was really raining blood...
The board of directors, they didn't care. They had their own agenda, and that agenda was more money. The same thing with the US military, SHIELD, AIM, Hydra, and all of the rest of them. They all had their agendas, and in some cases, those agendas could be all well and good on paper. But all it took was being irresponsible with the power being granted by those weapons, and the result was tragedy.
As a certain kid in red and blue tights once told me, 'with great power comes great responsibility', Iron Man thought to himself with a sour frown. And if SHIELD and the rest of them aren't going to use what I make responsibly...then I can't let them have it.
Pausing to think of how Alfred Nobel must have felt when the dynamite he had invented had become a plaything of the military, or Albert Einstein and what must have been going through his mind when his equations had paved the way for the atomic bomb, Iron Man then returned to the moment and asked, "Talk to me, JARVIS. Have I gotten all the Hulkbusters in here?"
"You've neutralized the Hulkbusters inside the complex, sir," JARVIS quickly assured him. "However, there are still several more outside, surrounding the building."
Furrowing his brows, Iron Man growled, "Fine. They want more, they've got -!"
"Wait, sir!" JARVIS hurriedly declared, prompting the armored Avenger to pause for a moment. "Captain America has succeeded in patching his Avengers ID Card into the Hulkbuster communications system."
His eyes widening at this, Iron Man considered this information for a moment before a tiny smile curled his lips. "Does Director Hill know about this?"
"Indeed. I just informed her," JARVIS assured his inventor.
"Then please, patch me in on her little announcement, JARVIS," Iron Man requested, wanting to see this for himself. "I've always wanted to watch Hill eating crow."
"Very good, sir," JARVIS replied. A moment later, a communications window appeared on Iron Man's HUD, revealing Maria Hill's very unhappy face.
"Attention all Hulkbuster units," Maria slowly began, clearly struggling to avoid choking on her own words. While Iron Man was trying very hard not to break out in a case of the giggles at the look on her face, the vindictive woman went on to say, "This is Director Maria Hill of SHIELD with a Priority Ten Declaration. I am hereby overriding General Ross's command, and am ordering all Hulkbuster forces to stand down immediately! I repeat, you are ordered to stand down."
Wow, it must've really hurt for you to have to say that, Iron Man thought, smirking evilly at Maria's image as she went on to mention the severe consequences that would befall any and all Hulkbusters that didn't fall in line with her orders. Still, I better make sure that the 'Busters actually bother listening to you before I start celebrating...
With this in mind, Iron Man made his way past the pummeled Hulkbusters that were lying strewn across the floor, resisting the urge to kick any of them in the sides as he did so, and went up to the hole in the wall he had blasted several of their number through. Looking down at the ground below, he saw several Hulkbusters and their vehicles which he had trashed on the way in, as well as even more Hulkbusters sitting on the ground, receiving treatment from their fellows. But no matter where he looked, Iron Man saw no more raised weapons, heard no more energy blasts, detected no evidence of further conflict.
"You are hereby ordered to retreat from Los Angles immediately," Iron Man heard Hill continuing, sounding more and more angered by having to give such orders by the moment. "You will receive further orders once you are clear of the city."
As Hill's image disappeared from his HUD, Iron Man frowned slightly. "JARVIS, patch me into Hill, will you?"
"As you wish, sir," JARVIS returned. "Opening channel to SHIELD helicarrier now."
Several seconds passed as Iron Man stood there, watching the Hulkbusters pick themselves up, pack up their marbles, and get ready to take themselves anyplace but Los Angeles, imagining the look of aggravation Hill was sure to be wearing as soon as she learned that he was calling. And it was an image that didn't even come close to the expression being worn by the real Maria Hill when her face appeared on Iron Man's HUD. "Stark," she spat like it was something poisonous. "So, are you calling to gloat?"
"Why, Director Hill, I'm wounded that you think I would do anything of the sort!" Stark snarked with the kind of gusto that it seemed only he was capable of mustering in these situations. "I'm just calling to thank you for being so prompt in getting Ross and his goons off of my property and away from anyone else." A beat passed before he dropped the smirk and the snark and scowled. "I also wanted to mention that I have a bunch of innocent civilians injured here and probably at a lot of other places I happen to own. And while I'm already arranging for them to get to the nearest hospital, I want to make sure that the Hulkbusters don't forget to pick up the garbage that I and the rest of the gang have just been reminding of their right to remain unconscious."
Though it seemed impossible, Hill's expression soured several times over. "You don't have to worry about that, Stark," she muttered in a deadly tone. She proceeded to glare pure poison at him for a time before declaring, "This isn't over, you know. As far as I'm concerned, all you Avengers have done is prove why it is vital that you be put under SHIELD's control...or locked in a cage."
Whatever traces of amusement he had felt dropped away as Iron Man matched Hill's scowl with his own. "You're welcome to try...Director," he informed her. "But for now...I have to get to work on cleaning up your mess. Iron Man out."
Cutting the signal to the helicarrier, Stark heaved a deep breath. She's just as blind as I used to be, he couldn't help but think, recalling the complete fool that had once lavished in the wealth his tools of death had sent flowing into his coffers. Utterly blind to the way his actions and inactions alike had caused so much misery around him. And it's obvious that it's gonna take more than a chest full of shrapnel to make her wake up and smell what she's shoveling out.
Which meant that Iron Man would have to be even more blind than Hill was to believe for a second that she was done causing trouble. Fortunately enough...he and the others had already planned for that.
"JARVIS, contact Panther," Iron Man instructed his faithful AI. "It's time to proceed with the next stage of what I'm sure Hill would call our evil master plan."
"Very good, sir," JARVIS returned even as Stark managed a smile once more. Already envisioning the look on Hill's face when she saw what the Avengers were about to spring on her...
"You have the right to remain smashed," Wasp taunted several unconscious Hulkbusters as their fellows carried, dragged, and otherwise removed their mangy butts from the factory that they had so merrily shot to blazes. "Anything you say...probably won't be much."
"Very funny, Jan," Ant-Man muttered as he surveyed the situation with the air of someone who wanted to be anywhere but where he was now. Though given his pacifistic nature, Wasp supposed she couldn't be surprised.
To call the factory and the surrounding area a mess would be unfairly generous to say the very least. The Hulkbusters had done a great deal of damage on the way in, ripping open the factory and trampling enough vehicles and so on that it was obvious that a lot of people would be walking to work for the foreseeable future. A situation that had been made that much worse by the subsequent battle between the Avengers and the Hulkbusters. Bits and pieces of military vehicles lay strewn all over the place, the surrounding buildings had taken their share of damage in the heat of the battle, and the shattered wrecks of Hulkbuster helicopters and standing tanks lay burning everywhere the eye could see.
It's like right out of a warzone, Wasp couldn't help but think. And in a very real way, that's exactly what this was; a warzone in a cold war between the Avengers and SHIELD that was suddenly heating up. And as she thought this, the winsome superheroine glanced over towards the badly damaged factory, where the children that had come here as part of a school field trip, looking forward to being able to do something other than sitting around in a classroom, listening to their teacher drone on and on about whatever boring subject. And now had looks of fearful horror and awe marking their tiny faces. Each and every one of them doubtlessly realizing just how close they had come to utter and complete disaster.
It's times like this why I understand why Hank wants to avoid fighting so much, Wasp decided, glancing over at the pacifistic scientist for whom she had such strong feelings for, the man she wanted so badly to put down his microscope for a little while to notice her. But even as she thought this, she frowned, for while this was a tragedy, there had been no real way of avoiding it. Only by giving into the demands of the tyrants that Ross and Hill were could they have prevented this from happening entirely, and that was clearly not an option. Ross was plainly a lunatic for doing what he had done, and after seeing how far Hill was willing to go to put the Avengers under her thumb, focusing SHIELD's efforts on forcing them to join that organization when Hydra and AIM were tearing New York apart, she knew that letting someone like that have their way was not an option.
Besides, we tried talking to Hill, and she wouldn't listen! All she cared about was getting what she wanted! Wasp thought with a scowl. Talking doesn't always work! I tried it with Kang when I found out about Princess Ravonna dying, and he refused to back down from his trying to conquer this time! And when the bad guys decide they don't want to talk, then you got no choice but to fight back! And as bad as that might be, it's better than letting them do whatever they want!
Even as Wasp was thinking this, a familiar beeping sounded in her ear. Starting at this, she then reached into her left glove and retrieved her Avengers ID Card from it, flashing blue arrows scrolling across it as it continued to beep. Accepting the incoming call, Wasp was greeted with Iron Man's armored visage. "Listen up, everyone," he began in a serious manner. "Cap managed to break into the Hulkbuster communications, and Hill has ordered the Hulkbusters to stand down."
"Yeah. We kinda figured that out ourselves when they stopped shooting at us and told us that they'd gotten new orders," Wasp returned with a wry smirk, glancing the green-clad soldiers as they continued to remove their insensate fellows from the former battlefield.
"Oh, good. I wasn't sure that they'd all decided to stop being idiots," Iron Man replied with a sense of clear relief. "What about you, Thor? How are things on your end?"
"My situation is similar. These Hulkbusters are presently withdrawing and retrieving their wounded," Thor's voice was heard responding. A beat passed before he added, "Though in all honesty, I would have liked to have had more time to show them what I think of their dishonorable ways."
"You and me both," Hulk muttered from where he stood, scowling disdainfully as another Hulkbuster was carried out of the factory.
"What about the others?" Ant-Man wondered, looking down at his ID Card in concern. "Cap? Hawkeye?"
"The situation is under control here," came Captain America's voice from Hank's ID Card. "However, we have a soldier here who was shot by Ross. The bullet passed through cleanly, and we were able to stop the bleeding, but he requires proper medical attention."
"Right. JARVIS, have an ambulance sent to Cap's location ASAP," Iron Man instructed.
"I'm fine, too, if anybody cares," Hawkeye remarked in his typical snarky manner. "The Hulkbusters are taking a powder, but we're...kinda missing a few doors here now. As for Jennifer...well, she's slipping in and out of unconsciousness, but the doctor says she's okay. Or as okay as can be, all things considered."
"And she's going to stay that way," Hulk growled beneath his breath, putting away his card even as he started forward. "I'm heading back to the factory. Make sure that nobody tries anything."
"Hulk, no! I need you to stay there!" Iron Man protested over Wasp's ID Card. The green goliath paused in mid-step, shooting a look so poisonous that the winsome Avenger half-expected the tiny piece of technology to melt into a puddle of gore. "Look, Cap and Hawkeye have the mission covered. And besides, I need you ready for the next part of the plan!"
His eyes narrowing dangerously, Hulk shot back with, "The next part of the plan doesn't mean I have to stand around, waiting for you to get your shiny metal butt here! Besides, Jennifer, she -!"
"Hawkeye just said that she's fine, and with the Hulkbusters withdrawing, she'll be safe for the time being," Iron Man broke in before the jade giant could get going. "But we still need to make sure that Hill can't pull a fast one and pin this mess on us. And for that to happen, I need you ready and waiting for me to pick you up."
Hulk didn't say anything to this. He just stood there, looking like he wanted to smash something so badly he could taste it, low growls escaping his clenched teeth. And in all honesty, Wasp couldn't blame him for being outraged, not after everything that had been happening, and especially not with someone who he clearly cared for so deeply so gravely injured and whose future hung in the balance. But at the same time, she knew that Iron Man was right; they had to proceed with the next stage of the plan as soon as possible. She had seen enough action with the Avengers and dealt with more jerks in trying to get grants for Hank and more to know that people would not be happy about what happened in Los Angeles. And while she couldn't blame anyone for being upset about Ross and the Hulkbusters trampling everything in sight and very nearly killing a bunch of people, she knew that people would want someone to hold accountable for starting this mess. They would want someone they could put the blame on.
And we just know that Hill is gonna try and put said blame on us for not 'cooperating' with her and SHIELD! Wasp grimaced, thinking of just how easily someone with a silver tongue could spin doctor this mess into being the Avengers' fault. And we need Hulk to be ready to help us counter that! But even as she reminded herself of this reality, she looked somberly at the green goliath. And reminded herself that for all his incredible strength and power, he was completely and utterly helpless to do anything to help Jennifer directly. He was angry, as usual, but he was also frustrated, and most likely more than a little fearful for her safety. And so he wanted to do whatever he could for her.
He wanted to be at his cousin's side.
Recalling the time that Hank had been gravely injured, partly as a result of her jealousy and frustration over his apparent unwillingness to do anything that didn't involve science, Wasp frowned sadly. "Hulk..." she began, taking it slowly. Making sure to pick her words carefully, lest she give voice to the wrong words, something she knew she had a penchant for doing. "I've already asked JARVIS to keep me updated on Jennifer's condition. And...and as soon as the Hulkbusters have cleared out of here, I promise I'll go right back to the mission and keep an eye on her for you, okay?"
Hulk's eyes flickered towards Wasp, myriad shades of rage and other emotions flowing mercurially behind them. His body quaked with unspent anger, and it looked like he was about to give expression to that rage. But instead of doing so, he looked off to the side, seeming to be gazing into mid-air. And as he did so, she realized that the aspect of the green goliath that was Bruce Banner was most likely speaking to him. Advising him.
Wondering not for the first time what it must be like, two minds in the same body, to be a being so fractured and tormented, Wasp was about to speak again when the Hulk finally snorted loudly. "Fine..." he growled beneath his breath before he sat himself down on the ground, an expression that was too angry to be called a pout marking his face.
Not sure what to say and soon deciding that perhaps now was not the best time for words, Wasp simply nodded. She was considering what to do next, only to start when she felt something tugging at her arm. Letting out a noise of surprise, the winged adventuress looked down, and saw a couple of the children from the field trip standing next to her, with a boy clinging to her forearm. "Excuse me, Miss Wasp," the boy began, an expression of concern on his face as he glanced between her and the scowling gamma mutant, "but...is something wrong with Mr. Hulk? He looks mad about something."
"Well, of course he looks mad about something!" declared a nearby girl, her hands on her hips in an authoritative manner. "He's the Hulk, dummy! As in the big, dumb, rage monster that's always smashing stuff!"
Stung by this thoughtless remark, Wasp was about to protest when another boy countered, "No way! Hulk saved us from those creeps! He's a hero!"
"That so-called hero is a wanted fugitive from the U.S. Military! He's the reason the Hulkbusters were here in the first place!" the snooty girl declared in an officious manner. "What does that tell you?"
Glancing up at the Hulk, wondering if he could hear what the children were saying, Wasp looked about for any sign of the teach who was supposed to be shepherding these children. When she didn't see any non-costumed or armored adult, she was about to speak when another girl said, "But the Hulkbusters almost shot Ms. Everhart! That makes them the bad guys, right?"
"It sure does!" the second boy emphatically declared.
"Hmph!" the snooty girl snorted. "It still doesn't change the fact that that monster is the -!"
"Alright, that's enough!" Wasp broke in. This had already been an incredibly bad day for everyone involved, and she knew that there was a lot more work to be done before this mess would be settled. And while a lot had been going their way despite everything, a lot had also gone wrong, a lot of destruction that could have been prevented had taken place. And after all the reading she had done into the tragic history of both the Hulk and Bruce Banner, after seeing the suffering they had gone through in both their faces and hearing it in their words, the last thing she was in the mood for was another uptight idiot like Hill who though she knew better than everyone badmouthing a good friend and a true hero. "First of all, little girl, you are going to stop calling the Hulk a monster! Like your friend here said, he's a hero!"
"He's not my friend!" the snooty girl immediately protested. "And that big green fre-!"
"Just helped save your ungrateful little butt!" Wasp broke in before the little brat could get out that last derogatory word. "And you want to know why Hulk's so upset?! Huh? Do you?!"
"Uh, Jan?" Ant-Man broke in, prompting her to look up and see a look of concern marking his features. "I'm not so sure that we should be discussing -"
"They're bound to find out about it, sooner or later!" Wasp immediately countered.
"Find out about what?" one of the boys wondered, looking at the winsome Wasp with eyes of undisguised curiosity. "Did something happen to the Hulk?"
Pausing for a moment, reminding herself that what had happened with Jennifer had already been on the news and that the kids would be finding out about it soon enough, and looking once more at the snooty little brat that had so eagerly condemned her friend and teammate, displaying an attitude all too reminiscent of Hill's, Wasp felt her determination to defend the Hulk and wipe that smug look off of that brat's face double. "Some very bad people hurt Hulk's cousin, so he had to give her a transfusion to save her life," she informed them in a low voice. "So the Hulkbusters decided so show up and try and take her away and -"
"Jan!" Ant-Man broke in again, punctuating his declaration by placing his hand upon her shoulder. "I really don't think you should be talking about this sort of thing. Not here and now."
Looking at the man with whom her relationship was rocky even under the best of circumstances, Wasp felt torn. On the one hand, she understood his reasoning. She was arguing with a little kid who she couldn't even say had the brain capacity of a gnat without insulting gnats, and was discussing sensitive information in front of her tormented teammate. And she knew that, if she were in his place, she would not exactly be overly thrilled by such a discussion. But at the same time, she had seen all too easily it was for some people to dismiss the Hulk as a monster. She had seen the absolute terror so many people experienced just from seeing him do something as innocuous as walking down the street. And having to deal with yet another small-minded bigot who was so perfectly content to condemn him in that way...
"I know, Hank," Wasp admitted, caught between guilt for speaking of such manners and the need to protect her friend and teammate. "But I can't just -!"
"And where are you dummies going?!" demanded the painfully familiar voice of the snooty girl. Looking about, Wasp saw that she was looking away, and that the other girl and the two boys that had been there moments ago had suddenly disappeared. Following the gaze of the snooty girl, the winged Avenger's eyes widened somewhat when she saw the three other children making their way over towards where the Hulk sat.
"Uh-oh..." Ant-Man groaned heavily. Without another word, he wrapped his arms around the snooty girl, who let out a quick noise of surprised annoyance, before saying, "I'll go find their teacher. You, uh...Jan, you're on Hulk duty, okay?"
Before Wasp could say anything in response, Ant-Man started away from her. Returning her focus to the three children making their way over towards over half a ton of gamma-powered muscle with breathtaking anger management issues, she frowned, unsure of what to do. On the one hand, she didn't believe for a second that the Hulk would intentionally hurt any of the kids, even if they were as obnoxiously bratty as the one that had been. But at the same time, she knew the Hulk was under a lot of pressure with everything that was happening, and a lot angrier as a result. If pushed too far, that anger could come out in an unexpected form. Even if he didn't mean to hurt the kids, all it would take was him driving his fist into the ground or some other expression of rage to either scare them out of their minds or hurt them by knocking them down or something on that order.
And the last thing the big green needs is even more bad press! Wasp thought, gingerly making her way closer to the Hulk and the children. Ready to intervene if things started to look bad.
"Excuse me...Mr. Hulk?" started the boy who had first spoken to Wasp.
As the massive gamma mutant glanced towards the children, he seemed to consider them for a moment before replying, "Uh...don't call me 'mister'. Just Hulk."
"Oh," the boy replied, seeming to be a bit surprised. "Um...okay...Hulk." An awkward moment fell upon them, a moment that seemed to stretch out into an eternity as the three children glanced about at each other, as if silently asking each other what they should do, before the boy again looked at the green goliath and said, "Listen, uh...Ms. Wasp told us about...your cousin, and...we just...wanted to say that...we're sorry about what happened."
A beat paused as the Hulk again considered them, glancing off to the side. Again, Wasp felt as if she could almost see the aspect of him that was Banner advising him on what to say and do, just before the jade giant replied, "You...don't...it's not like you had anything to do with it..."
"But...we're still sorry that...you know...it happened," the second boy explained even as the other two children nodded emphatically.
Again, the Hulk paused, his extreme difficulty in dealing with people showing as he considered his next words. But before he could say anything, the girl of the trio doffed her backpack and began rummaging about inside of it. "Uh..." Hulk frowned, clearly uncertain as to what the girl was up to. "Whatcha looking for?"
"Hmm...here it is!" the girl declared at last, fishing something out of her backpack. As both Hulk and Wasp looked on, the girl opened her hand to the gamma mutant, revealing what looked like a candy shaped like a flower wrapped in gold- and crimson-colored foil. "Whenever I have a bad day or I'm feeling scared about something, my mommy always gives me one of these." As the Hulk looked down at the little girl and her tiny offering, her kindly smile faltered somewhat. "I mean...I know you're big and everything, and...well, I just...I thought that...you could..."
As the little girl's words slowly fell flat in her mouth, her eyes began to fall as well. But even as she slowly lowered both her face and her offering, something happened that took Wasp by surprise. The Hulk, moving slowly and gingerly to avoid startling anyone, raised his hand and extended one of his massive fingers towards the girl.
As for Wasp, she ultimately just stood there, watching nervously as Hulk began to gently stroke the little girl's hair. The tiniest, tiniest of smiles playing upon the green goliath's face as he did so.
Several seconds passed, slowly dissolving the tension as Wasp and everyone else looked on in astonishment as the little girl the Hulk was affectionately stroking smiled and giggled, leading to the winged adventuress heaving a sigh and giving herself a mental slap in the face. What am I so worried about? she queried herself even as she continued to watch this heartwarming scene transpire. Yeah, the Hulk's got a lot on his plate, but he's still a hero at heart! Mad or not, he wouldn't lose it when there a bunch of little kids around!
Giving herself a few more mental slaps for good measure, Wasp continued to look on, smiling at this touching scene. Right up until one of the boys looked at the rest of the children and called out, "Look, everyone! He's friendly!"
As these words sounded, the children began looking amongst themselves, then back at Hulk. Leaving Wasp to groan inwardly, already knowing what was about to happen. Oh...crud... she thought, a drop of sweat rolling down the side of her face.
"...and while the battle between the Avengers and the Hulkbusters may have concluded, this reporter can't help but wonder if this is the end of the conflict, or just a prelude of worse things to come," Sally spoke into her cell phone, her heart pounding in her chest even as she did her best to sound calm and composed as a field reporter should as her words were spread across the nation. "This is Sally Floyd for WKNN Action News. Now, back to the studio."
A beat passed before Gary's voice sounded. "Annnnd...we're clear!" It was only at these words that Sally allowed herself to heave a sigh of relief just before mopping her brow, shedding the tension as her coworker and cohort went on to say, "Great work, babe! You should see the numbers we're getting here!"
Sally could almost see those numbers even in that van. And she was determined to make the ratings they were seeing now look like nothing in very short order. "You can show 'em to me later, Gary! I'm heading back to the studio now!" she instructed him, glancing back at the other person present. "Because I've got some exclusive interviews to get ready for!"
"I heard that!" Gary replied, conveying a huge grin through his voice. "I'll have the makeup team ready and waiting for you, babe! Just get back here as soon as you can!"
"Gladly! Seeya!" Sally grinned even as she snapped her phone shut.
But even as she put away her phone, Sally became aware of a low, dignified voice speaking. "...excellent. As long as you can keep her distracted, that will give us the time needed." Turning about, the reporter raised an eyebrow at the sight of the Black Panther, seated in the lotus position, speaking calmly over a cell phone. "Thank you, my friend. As is said in this country, I owe you one." Though his mask betrayed no expression or movement of the eyes, the Wakandan hero seemed to glance in Sally's direction. "I must attend to the situation at hand, but I will speak to you later. Thank you."
Raising an eyebrow even as Black Panther folded up his cell phone and put it away, Sally asked, "And just who were you talking to?"
"A friend and ally whom I needed to speak with," Black Panther returned in his typically vague manner. Once again scowling at yet another of his non-answers, Sally was tempted to call him on it when he said, "I see that you have fulfilled your end of our bargain thus far."
A beat passed as Sally considered this attempt to change topics before deciding that it wasn't worth discussing who Panther had been on the phone with, and instead focused on the prize that she had earned. "Just as we agreed," she nodded, folding her arms across her chest. "So now it's time for you to live up to other part of your end of the deal! Those exclusive interviews your promised me with members of the Avengers! I want them, and I want them today!"
"And you shall have them," Black Panther assured her with a sleight nod. "And the Avengers you will be interviewing will be myself, Captain America, Iron Man...and the Hulk."
A beat passed as Sally considered this matter, right before she felt herself pale to a degree. "The Hulk...?" she repeated, her mind immediately painting an image of herself in close proximity with the gamma-spawned rage monster that she knew beyond any doubt that she wouldn't like when he was angry. "You want to bring the Hulk to the studio...?"
"Indeed. An interview with him would be most...productive for the both of us." A beat passed as the Black Panther seemed to smile beneath his mask. "I assure you, he will be on his best behavior."
But this assurance fell flat in the face of the prospect of becoming a stain on the Hulk's oversized fists. At the same time, however, Sally was considering the situation, and in a way, she had to admit that the Black Panther had a point about an interview with him being productive for both of them. For it was obvious that the Avengers were basically playing a game of power politics with SHIELD, doing their best to make the Hulk look like a hero and to make SHIELD and the Hulkbusters look bad for tormenting him all these years. And this was an attempt that would fail abysmally if the Hulk lost his temper and started smashing stuff on national television.
Besides, just think about what will happen when people hear that we'll be having the Hulk on live television! Sally thought, for one of the lessons she had learned as a reporter was that people couldn't resist violence. The same way people on the freeway will stop to gawk at a traffic accident, looking for signs of blood and gore, the audiences of America would gleefully tune in to her broadcast if it meant a chance to watch the Incredible Hulk go on a rampage, with blood and guts and smashing in digital color. There's only one way to perk up that image a bit more...
"Alright. I can work with that," Sally slowly admitted, doing her best to sound like a tempted buyer who would only take the bait if the person doing the selling sweetened the deal just a bit more. "However...if it were possible to get the Wasp as well, I'm sure that would make for an even better interview."
Black Panther seemed to frown slightly beneath his mask as he considered the matter. "I would have to contact Iron Man to see if this was feasible," he finally admitted, sounding as if he found Sally's request suspicious, but was unable to think of any practical reason to decline it. "But if I may ask, why do you specifically want to interview Wasp?"
"I don't. Not particularly," Sally lied, for while she wasn't an expert on the Avengers, she had learned enough about Janet Van Dyne to recognize her as being a party girl with a big mouth. Just the kind of ditz whose lips could sink ships if pushed in just the right way. And even if that failed, there was a great deal of truth in the old adage that sex sells. And a beautiful woman clad in a skintight outfit that showed plenty of cleavage was just the thing to lure more drooling losers into watching the interview, thus padding her numbers that much more. "However, I've done my homework on you Avengers.. And having someone like her that can break the tension during an interview can keep things from getting too grim, and the audience likes that sort of thing. And Wasp is a founding member of the Avengers, and the more of them, the better, I'd say."
Again, Black Panther seemed to frown beneath his mask, but ultimately did no more than narrow his eyes and state, "Very well, then. I'll inform Iron Man as to your request, and your reasons for wishing for Wasp's presence."
"Fine. You do that," Sally replied, doing her best to keep the triumph from her voice. Then she looked up at the front of the van, where the driver sat waiting. "Hey, Vernon, let's get rolling! There's an interview to get ready for!"
"On it, Sally," replied the driver with a nod.
A beat passed as the engine revved, and Sally felt her heart practically skipping a beat as she thought of the way this story kept snowballing into something even more spectacular. Even as she buckling up and making herself comfortable for the trip back to the studio, however, her cell phone rang once more. Scowling at this distraction, Sally quickly retrieved it and checked the Caller ID before flipping the phone open. "Gary? What is it? I told you I'm on my way now!"
"I know that, babe. But...well, I figured I'd better warn you before you got back," Gary intoned in a voice that promised bad news. "Ned's decided to send out teams scope out the damage, get some interviews, that sort of thing."
Frowning slightly as she considered this logical move, Sally then asked, "So?"
"So he's sent Irene to that Stark factory where that field trip was," Gary explained in an unhappy manner. "And the Avengers that were there...are still there."
Grimacing at this, Sally paused to curse her luck. Irene was essentially the bane of her existence, always doing her best to horn in on the hottest stories and had ruined more than one opportunity for Sally to reignite her stagnated career. A self-serving bottom-feeder of the lowest kind who was more than happy to use her body to advance her own agendas, which was more than likely the reason Ned had assigned her to tackle the part of the city where there were Avengers, ripe and ready to be interviewed and so on.
But still, I'm the one who got us this exclusive footage! I'm the one who got us the exclusive interviews! Sally reminded herself. Not even Ned could forget something like that! And if Irene's out in the field, picking up a few scraps for herself, than she can't be at the studio, messing things up for me!
With that in mind, Sally sat back. Watching as Black Panther made of his Avengers ID Card to facilitate the next stage of their deal...and the rebirth of her career.
If there was one thing that Maria Hill had learned as an agent of SHIELD, it was that winning or losing a single battle did not determine the course of an entire war. And while she had been forced to concede that the Avengers had won a serious victory in this recent fiasco with the Hulkbusters, she absolute refused to allow them to come out ahead in this conflict.
"Quartermain," Hill spoke, scowling as she continued to survey the various forms of intelligence pouring into the screens before her, as well as the newsfeed they had been monitoring that remained on the main screen. "ETA for SHIELD teams in Los Angeles?"
Looking up from his own workstation, the blonde agent replied, "The first units should be arriving within fifteen minutes, sir."
That was twenty minutes too slow in Hill's opinion, but given the situation, she knew she wasn't in a position to complain. "As soon as they arrive, have them secure all areas that were attacked," she ordered in a terse manner. "And contact the Hulkbusters! Make sure that they have Ross secured and under close watch!"
"Understood," Quartermain nodded before returning to his duties.
Satisfied that Quartermain would do his job to the best of his ability, Hill continued to study the catastrophic mess the Avengers made for her to try and deal with. The first thing to do is perform damage control, she thought, planning out her next move. As soon as all the other costumed vigilantes hear about what happened, they'll take it as a sign that they can do whatever they want, regardless of the law. And thanks to those idiots in the news, we're going to be the ones looking bad until we set the record straight, and - huh?
The image on the main screen showing the WKNN Action News channel shifted, going from the studio to an exterior shot. At the center of the screen was a blonde woman wearing too much makeup, smiling easily for the camera. "...Irene Wilkerson, and I'm coming to you live from one of several Stark Industries complexes to have suffered as a result of the Hulkbusters..."
The only reason Stark's factory suffered is because he wouldn't cooperate with us! Hill couldn't help but think, utterly furious because she knew that the public loved an underdog, and thanks to all of the government foul-ups and corruption that the news just loved to plaster over every channel, SHIELD would automatically be portrayed as the Bad Guy in this confrontation. We were trying to prevent a potential crisis and deal with rogue vigilantes! If he just played by the rules, then -!
"...as you can see just from this limited view, the damage caused in this brief span of violence is nothing short of catastrophic," Irene went on even as the camera panned to show what looked like a warzone in the background. Buildings shattered, walls blown apart, craters blown in the concrete, and numerous vehicles, military and civilian alike, left as little more than burning wrecks. "Leaving everyone to wonder why SHIELD is pushing so hard for the capture of the Hulk and his cousin, and why the Avengers are willing to go so far and put so many lives at risk, all to protect this notorious man-monster and - ow!"
Starting at the fact that someone had thrown a pencil at Irene's face, Hill had just enough time to wonder where the unlikely projectile had come from when a tiny voice cried out, "Hey! Hulk's not a monster!"
"Yeah!" seconded another tiny voice. "Hulk's a hero!"
Scowling at the use of the words 'Hulk' and 'hero' in the same sentence, Hill watched as Irene recovered, massaging the spot on her face where the pencil had hit home, while a familiar voice scolded, "Hey, you can't throw things at people like that! You could hurt someone!"
While one of the voices protested from offscreen, Irene sighed and recovered. "However, it would appear that Hulk's status as a monster is somewhat in doubt." Then gestured offscreen with her head before saying, "As you can see for yourself."
With that, the camera shifted off to the side, and revealed a scene that instantly made Hill sick to her stomach. The Hulk was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the shattered parking lot, one arm in his lap and his head resting in the palm of his other hand, a deep scowl of what almost looked like embarrassment on his face. And it didn't take long for Hill to realize why that was; several children were currently climbing all over the green goliath, and with even more touching, poking, and fooling around him even as Wasp struggled to dissuade their antics.
"Hey! C'mon, already!" Wasp spoke in clear exasperation as she pulled one of the kids off of Hulk's back. "Didn't your parents teach you not to go climbing on other people! Seriously! Learn some manners!"
"Wow. You really are hard, you know that?" noted a little girl, who was presently gently pounding on Hulk's leg with an inquisitive expression. "Your legs feel harder than rocks!"
"You know, you really should dress better," a little boy noted as he surveyed Hulk's shredded trousers. "Mom and Dad would be really mad at me if I ran around barefoot in ripped up pants."
Giving the boy in question a look and seeming to wonder what he could have done to deserve this, Hulk rumbled back, "Yeah, well, your folks don't have to find clothes in my size, so..."
"Can't you get something tailored?" wondered another girl. "Iron Man's really rich and all. Can't he get you something?"
Again, Hulk looked to be at a loss as to how to handle this, but before he could say anything, a thoughtful expression appeared on Wasp's face. "You know, they have a point there," she decided, massaging her chin to the tune of a metaphorical light bulb appearing over her head. "Those ripped up trousers don't exactly say, 'Friendly Neighborhood Hulk', now do they?"
Shooting Wasp a poisonous look, Hulk pointed at her and grumbled, "Now don't you start with me...!"
"I'm just saying that maybe it's time for an image makeover," Wasp continued, not at all intimidated as she held up her thumbs and forefingers so as to frame the Hulk. "A costume wouldn't work, but...you know, maybe something simple. A tank-top shirt, some non-shredded pants...and some killer boots for stomping bad guys!" As Hulk issued a heavy groan at this, the winsome Avenger went on to say, "Hey, take it from a girl who knows fashion, Big Green! With a little makeover...!"
I can't believe I'm seeing this! Hill thought, wishing for a moment that she were in the privacy of her quarters where she could give vent to her outrage without having to worry about others witnessing her loss of control. They're acting like that gamma-mutated freak is like something at a petting zoo!
For a long time, Hill stared hatefully at the image of Wasp playfully suggesting different fashion choices for a Hulk trying to blend in with polite society, her clenched fists shaking with hatred. But slowly and with considerable effort, the current Director of SHIELD reigned in her outrage. No...I can't let myself get distracted, she frowned, returning her attention to the situation at hand. I've got enough troubles to deal without making more problems for myself.
And as she did so, Hill considered some of the problems she already had. There was no doubt that she would have to deal with the World Security Council and the consequences of Ross's roaring rampage, a rampage that she had made possible. But she didn't dare let the Avengers get away with this without doing something to at least salvage something from this debacle. Not unless she basically wanted to tell every costumed vigilante in the world that they were free to do whatever they pleased and there was nothing the law could do to touch them.
With this thought in mind, Hill spoke, "Quartermain, contact the SHIELD PR Department. I want our best teams to get to work on dealing with this mess!"
"Yes, sir," Quartermain replied, though his voice betrayed his complete lack of enthusiasm in this respect.
But Hill didn't care if Quartermain or anyone else was unenthusiastic about his or her orders, as long as those orders were carried out. We have to play up the fact that the Avengers were tampering with Hulk's blood, she thought, already planning out her next move in their cold war with the vigilante team. Everyone remembers what happened when Leader tried to mutate the planet. If we play that up and make it clear that we were trying to get the Avengers to turn Walters and the Hulk over as a preventive measure, then -
"Director Hill, sir?" came another voice, snapping her from her thoughts as she looked to see Agent Woo standing nearby, looking at her. "There's a call coming in. For you, sir."
"Whoever it is, it can wait," Hill shot back, unwilling to be distracted at a time like this.
"But, sir!" Woo persisted, and before Hill could get him to be silent, he added, "It's the President of the United States, sir."
At these words, Hill just stared at Woo for a time before growling irritably in her throat. So, it's already starting... she fumed inwardly. I suppose I should be glad that it's just the president and not the council...not yet, anyway...
With this in mind, Hill turned her glare towards Quartermain. "Continue monitoring the situation in Los Angeles. If anything important happens - anything at all - I expect you to contact me immediately!"
"Understood," Quartermain nodded in an obedient manner.
Satisfied with this, Hill heaved a deep breath before making her way off the bridge. Bristling with anger and more determined than ever to keep control of the situation, and find some way to turn it to her advantage.
"So she wants Wasp for the interview as well?" Iron Man muttered, raising an eyebrow at this. "Sheesh, talk about greedy! Some people would be thrilled just to get an interview with just me!"
"Perhaps...but not all people are women entranced with wealth and technological power," Panther shot back, his masked visage shown on Iron Man's HUD as he flew towards the factory, intent on rendezvousing with Hulk and Wasp. "And as for Ms. Floyd's request...she made it sound that Wasp's presence was not essential. Merely something that would add to the air of this interview." Then the eyepieces of his mask narrowed as he added, "However, I suspect that she was not entirely forthcoming about her desires..."
Yeah, I'll bet... Iron Man thought, rolling his eyes disdainfully. He had had plenty of experience with reporters, and in the case of reporters of the attractive female persuasion, some of that experience had been fun. But at the same time, he had learned to recognize the tricks of the trade employed by some of the scummier of that bread. And Sally Floyd was certainly hitting all of those buttons.
"I think she's hoping for some fan service to boost her ratings, and an airhead she can catch off-guard and make look like an idiot. And figures Janet for both," Iron Man muttered aloud in a tone of patent disgust in that someone like that would actually profit from their plan. Reminding himself that they had needed someone that greedy for a story in order to make their plans work and that they hadn't had time to be choosy, he went on to say, "Still, I guess it couldn't hurt to have her along. If only to help keep an eye on Hulk for us."
"Very well, then," Black Panther returned. A beat passed before he added, "Though I will admit to looking forward to being done with this mission. Being in this woman's presence makes me feel...dirty."
"Hmph. Been there, done that," Iron Man replied. "I'll be with you at the studio as soon as I pick up the others. Iron Man out."
As Black Panther's image disappeared from his HUD, Iron Man sighed wearily. On the one hand, he really did hate having to deal with the self-serving, opportunistic bimbo that had landed them in this mess in the first place, and under normal circumstances, he would have gladly given her a full salvo from Stark Industries' best legal teams. But at the same time, he had to admit that having Wasp along might not be such a bad idea.
Janet and Hulk do get along, Iron Man thought, recalling things such as the time when the Avengers had confronted Captain Mar-Vell of the Kree, and how the winsome Wasp had encouraged their green goliath to smash him. And it can't hurt to have another person on Hulk duty while we're dealing with the idiot reporter who blabbed about everything without so much as a thought as to what would happen next...
Making a mental note to do something to pay Sally Floyd back for her irresponsible reporting when this was all over, Iron Man then shifted his focus to the next part of the mission. "JARVIS, contact Wasp."
"Very good, sir," JARVIS obediently returned.
Several seconds passed as an electronic warbling was heard, and was soon followed by Wasp's face appearing on the HUD. "Janet, listen up! There's been a change of plans, and -!" Iron Man started...only to pause when he something that his mind could not comprehend at first. "Uh...what the...?"
"Huh? What is - oh, I see!" Wasp returned, turning a bashful glance over her shoulder at Hulk, who presently had a couple kids climbing over him like he was an oversized critter at the petting zoo. "Uh, yeah...we were, uh...working on Big Green's public image, and..."
Despite everything else that had been going wrong as of late, Iron Man couldn't help but chortle at the image of the Incredible Hulk, the strongest and quite possibly most feared person on the entire planet, being swarmed by a bunch of giggling children. "Oh, this I've got to see with my own eyes...and then record it for posting later!"
"I heard that...!" Hulk growled, turning his eyes to shoot a baleful emerald glare that would have sent most people running for the cover of the undersides of their beds.
But Iron Man had been around the Hulk to know that his bark was worse than his bite, at least in the case of people that didn't require smashing. And even moreso, he needed to laugh. He needed to relax and let go of some of the tension that had been mounding up uncontrollably since this whole sordid mess had started. He needed to laugh and enjoy himself, because he knew that, with all the many difficulties he knew still lay ahead, it would likely be a while before he had a similar chance to unwind.
"Ha...anyway, Wasp?" Iron Man tried again, speaking around a range of giggles and chortles. "As I said, there's...there's been a change of plans." When the fun-loving heroine frowned her perplexity, the armored Avenger added, "We're ready to go ahead with setting up the interviews, but Floyd's decided that she wants one more Avenger to be able to subject to her mouth."
Making a face at this, Wasp scowled in a way that was almost cute. "Another Avenger?! She's already gonna have half the team there! Just how far backwards are we gonna bend over for this -?!" Then her eyes widened as she put two and two together, and realized where Iron Man was going with this. "Wait a second - you mean me?! Are you kidding?!"
"Afraid not," Iron Man admitted. "And to answer your question, we're bending over just far enough to get out of this mess without putting our heads and Hulk's cousin's heads on SHIELD's chopping blocks."
"But - what about Jennifer?!" Wasp protested. "I told Hulk I'd go back to the factory and keep an eye on her for him!"
"Hawkeye's already there, and I'm gonna call Thor and tell him to head back as well to keep an eye on things. Just in case Hill or the Hulkbusters decide to pull a fast one on us," Iron Man immediately explained. "Jan, I know you don't like this. But for now, it's either play ball with this reporter to get what we want, or give Hill the time she needs to frame us for this mess. And you know what will happen if we go for Option 2."
A beat passed as Janet looked off towards Hulk, who looked back in kind. Frowning slightly, he then gave a slight nod of his head, to which Wasp made a noise of patent disgust in her throat. "Great. Just perfect," she muttered irritably. "This is why I prefer dealing with super-villains. At least we can just beat them all up and be done with it!"
"Hmph. Tell me about it," Hulk muttered as another kid climbed on his back.
"Anyway, I'll be there soon. So tell Hank about what's happening, and tell him to head on back to the mission as soon as the kids and everything else is taken care of there," Iron Man instructed Wasp.
"Okay, fine," Wasp grumbled with all of the enthusiasm of someone on their way to have root canal.
"Iron Man out," Stark concluded just before Wasp's visage disappeared from his HUD. "Okay, JARVIS, contact Thor," the billionaire hero instructed, still snickering at the image of Hulk covered in kids.
"Very good, sir," JARVIS replied, and a few seconds later, the Asgardian prince's image appeared on Iron Man's HUD.
"Thor! How're things on your end?" Iron Man wondered. "Have the Hulkbusters finished clearing out yet?"
"Aye," Thor nodded in confirmation. "Also, the police and several medical conveyances have arrived, and the wounded are now being tended to."
"Okay, so I guess we can say that area is secure, then," Iron Man decided. "In which case, I think it's time for you to head to the mission. I get the feeling that all of us, including the Hulk, would feel more comfortable if you were keeping an eye on Jennifer for us. Make sure nothing happens."
"Very well, then," Thor replied, his eyes narrowing somewhat. "And you need fear not, Iron Man; no further harm shall befall Hulk's kin. So swears the son of Odin."
Satisfied with this, Iron Man replied, "I don't doubt it. Iron Man out."
Satisfied that the current situation was under control or at least well on the way towards being that way, Iron Man continued towards the factory where Hulk and Wasp were waiting for him. He knew he could have sent them on ahead to the studio, but at the same time, he also knew how people in general tended to react to the green goliath's presence. Even something as innocent as him strolling down the streets was enough to send most folks running away in sheer terror. Furthermore, people were already bound to be on edge after everything that had happened without Hulk leaping around, potentially smashing things by accident.
Besides, there is no way on Earth that I would miss out on Hulk playing babysitter for a bunch of kids! Iron Man thought, smirking at the image of the big green guy with kids crawling all over him. And speaking of which...!
Even as this thought ran its course, Iron Man came within view of the factory in question, and to his considerable satisfaction, Hulk still had a bunch of children climbing around him and on top of him. "JARVIS, you are recording this, right?"
"Certainly," JARVIS promptly confirmed. "As per Avengers protocol for the mission reports."
Nodding to this, Iron Man thought to that rare moment of good advice from Nicky Fury in which he had suggested going over Avengers' mission recordings, to evaluate and improve upon their performance. Something that had come in handy in isolating mistakes made in the field, and helping to prevent them from reoccurring in the future. And now, he thought as he began his descent towards his fellow Avengers, it's perfect for a proverbial Kodak moment!
"Hey, gang! Sorry to take so long in getting here!" Iron Man announced, his palms angled to direct blasts from his repulsors to slow his descent. As he landed, he took notice of Wasp and Ant-Man standing nearby, with the winged wonder struggling to reign in the children that were still using Hulk as their personal jungle gym. "Well, I'm glad to see you're all alright, and -!"
"Hey, look!" cried out one of the little girls that was standing next to Hulk. "It's Iron Man!"
"What, you just noticed me? I'm hurt!" Iron Man snarked, taking note of the way the kids seemed to freeze in awe of him. "So, Hulk, you never told me you had your own fan club!"
A low growl sounding in Hulk's throat, the gamma-powered behemoth glowered at him before declaring, "I'm not in the mood for this, Stark...!"
"Aw, isn't this just so adorable?" Iron Man went on, clasping his hands together as he spoke in a cutesy-wootsie manner. "The big green ogre's got himself a collection of munchkin mice!"
"Stark...!" Hulk grated with increased heat, his eyes flashing in warning.
But this warning only served to stoke the fire of Iron Man's snark. "And what's this? It looks like I'm not the only one who thinks this is just too, too precious!" he went on, knowing that Hulk couldn't see what was on his HUD. "Oh, the YouTube comments! They're rolling in like you can't believe!"
His eyes widening in astonished horror, Hulk then glowered and growled, "You're posting this online?!"
Not yet, I haven't! But I'll get around to it later! Iron Man thought, unable to believe just how much he was enjoying this. What he said aloud was, "'Ooh, look at the big, green doormat! He's letting a bunch of kids walk all over him!' 'It's the Incredibly Adorable Hulk!' 'What is that -'" The sound of something pinging off of his armor stopped his teasing in mid-sentence, prompting Iron Man to stop and frown. "Uh, what the -?!"
"I believe one of the children threw a pencil at you, sir," JARVIS pointed out, even as Iron Man glanced down and spotted the pencil on the ground.
"Hey!" one of the boys cried out, pointing an accusing finger at the armored Avenger. "Iron Man's making fun of Hulk! You can't do that!"
"Huh?" Iron Man got out, looking at a bunch of little kids who suddenly were looking quite annoyed. "Now, wait just a minute...I was just teasing him a little! It was no big -!"
"You're a big bully!" declared another little boy. "Get him!"
"Yeah! Smash him!" chimed in a girl as the children began dismounting the Hulk and swarming towards Stark. "Smash Iron Man!"
"Oh, now wait just a -!" Iron Man protested, holding out his hands and waving in surrender even as he stepped backwards...only to catch his feet on something. "Wait - wha -?!"
Before he even realized what was happening, Iron Man had come crashing down, falling flat on his back. Acting on instinct, he looked up, only for his mouth to fall open in surprise when he saw two children slipping out from beneath his legs, laughing giddily at having been the cause of his downfall. But before the armored Avenger could wonder how they had managed to position themselves thusly or scold them for doing something like this, the rest of the children began swarming all over him, crying out things along the lines of, "Get him! Smash Iron Man!"
While Iron Man was wondering what he could have possibly done to deserve this, a deep chortle was heard, almost drowning out a more discrete snickering. But even as Hulk and Ant-Man were laughing at his expense, Wasp was rubbing further salt in his wounds. "Hmm...I wonder what kind of YouTube comments this will bring in?" she wondered as she held out her Avengers ID Card, recording every detail of Iron Man's disgrace. "Not so funny when you're on the receiving end, huh, Tony?"
"Okay, okay! I give! I surrender already!" Iron Man cried out in protest, holding up his hands in surrender as the children continue to jump around and bash him with lunch boxes and backpacks and whatever was handy. "Now call off the Lollipop Guild before they scratch my paintjob!"
A thoughtful expression appeared on Hulk's face, one that made it clear that he was enjoying Iron Man's discomfort every bit as much as Iron Man had when the shoe had been on the other foot. But before the green goliath could say anything, JARVIS announced, "Excuse me, Mr. Stark, everyone. But I'm afraid that we have another problem."
Iron Man was sorely tempted to made a snide remark at this, but Ant-Man spoke before he could do so. "What kind of problem, JARVIS?"
"The armor's sensors have just detected traces of gamma energy," JARVIS reported. "They're minimal now, but they appear to be rising."
That got everybody's attention, including that of the horde of angry ankle biters that were still swarming Iron Man. "Gamma?" a girl asked. "Isn't that what makes Hulk big and green?"
"Yeah, but it can also be highly dangerous," Ant-Man declared before any of the kids could get the idea that gamma energy was a good thing. "Where's it coming from, JARVIS? The Hulk?"
"No, sir. It's the wrong gamma frequency, and unlike Hulk's, it is potentially harmful," JARVIS promptly reported. "As for where it is coming from, it appears to be coming from one of the Hulkbuster tanks."
This immediately got Iron Man's attention. "Whoa, wait a second!" he cried out, all business as he started to right himself, the children obediently clearing off of him as he looked towards one of the shattered Hulkbuster tanks. "JARVIS, perform a full scan of all the Hulkbuster vehicles! Let's see what we're dealing with!"
A beat passed as the full sensory capabilities of the Iron Man armor went to work, analyzing and disassembling the ruined tank in virtual reality, taking it apart bolt by digital bolt until JARVIS found the source of the problem. "Alert. The Hulkbuster vehicles have been fitted with miniaturized gamma power cells that are integrated with their weapons systems."
"Wait, what?!" Wasp cried out in dismay. "You mean those creeps have been shooting gamma rays at us?! And we're just finding out about it right now?!"
Iron Man was just as annoyed as Wasp in this. "JARVIS, tell me you didn't notice gamma energy when the Hulkbusters were shooting us."
"Armor sensors did register a slight gamma variance to the blasts, sir. However, it was not significant enough to be of any threat," JARVIS immediately reported.
"What about the gamma cores you detected?" Ant-Man wondered. "Are they dangerous?"
"Apparently, three of the gamma cores are damaged, and are leaking gamma energy," JARVIS reported. "The levels are presently minimal, but unless they are repaired -"
"Wait a minute!" Hulk cried out in realization, horror and rage creasing his features as he rose up to his feet. "What about Jennifer?!"
Wasp and Ant-Man gaped in astonished shock as they realized what Hulk meant, and Iron Man was certain that he was wearing a similar expression beneath his faceplates. "JARVIS, what about the mission?! Are there any damaged gamma cores near there?!"
"I'm afraid there's no way of telling from here," JARVIS sheepishly reported. "We would have to return to the mission, and -"
"Then that's precisely what we're going to do!" Iron Man declared, rising to his feet and taking control of the situation. "Hank, alert everyone here and get them clear of the area! Tell them what's happening!"
"Right!" Ant-Man nodded in agreement before getting to work. "C'mon, kids! We need to get going! It's not safe here!"
Satisfied that Hank was on the job and would get things taken care of, Iron Man looked at his compatriots. "Hulk, Wasp, let's get back to the mission! If those gamma cores leak enough radiation and it gets to Jennifer -!"
"I know what'll happen, Shellhead!" Hulk roared right in Iron Man's face, giving him a clear view of emerald irises filled with unspent rage just before he coiled his legs beneath him and launched himself into the air.
"Right behind you, big guy!" Wasp cried out as she shrank down, wings sprouting from her back as she launched herself after the Hulk, with Iron Man close behind them both.
"JARVIS, put in a call to Damage Control! Tell 'em what's going on and that we're gonna need cleanup teams out here as soon as possible!" Iron Man instructed the AI in a terse, furious voice. "And then contact SHIELD!"
"Damage Control has been contacted. I am informing them of the situation even as we speak, sir," JARVIS reported an even manner. "Opening a channel to SHIELD now."
Good! Because this sick game of Hill's has gone too far! Iron Man thought, thinking of all the work they had done to make certain that Jennifer was protected from Hulk's mutant DNA, of the efforts they had made to extract every last shred of gamma energy from his blood to prevent his altered genetics from bonding to her own cellular structure and transforming them in a similar manner. Efforts that could have been left totally futile as a result of Hill's obsessive need to control everything under the name of advancing SHIELD's own interests. One way or another, this has to stop! Before anyone else gets hurt!
Author's Notes: Well, it took longer to update this story than I had intended, but I do hope that all of you enjoyed, nonetheless. So please, read and review! And maybe check out my other stories?
First of all, I really do appreciate your heartfelt condolences regarding my mother's passing. Thank you, all of you.
Some of you might object to those scenes I did with the Hulk with the children, and I will admit that the last scene with them going after Iron Man was more for comedy than anything else. But I did feel it would make for a nice change of pace to have people not being afraid of the Hulk, and to show him trying to cope with a situation like that. All too often, Hulk's role in shows, movies, etc. is pretty much limited to 'big, green jerk who growls, eats like a pig, and smashes'. So I thought it would be nice to take him out of that role, and having him deal with a situation like that with the children.
As for the gamma cores suddenly showing up in the Hulkbuster vehicles, that came as a result of two things. One is that I had a plan in mind for Jennifer's first transformation, but as I went further into this story, the more I realized that that original plan would take too long to get to, and might not work as well as I had first thought. So I arranged for something to expedite the process. Also, it occurred to me that we've seen gamma-based weaponry being more effective on Hulk than regular weaponry. So I put the two together, and there you go.
craggey, I'm glad that you're enjoying this story. Thanks for the high approval rating.
Daniel6, well, in the battles with the Hulkbusters, there was this pilot who bore enough of a resemblance to G.I. Joe's Wild Bill that people on YouTube pointed it out, so I decided to use it. And unfortunately, Ross isn't heading for a padded cell anytime soon.
overallobsessiveness, thank you. And indeed, She-Hulk catches a lot of flak and is treated more as a sex symbol than as the character she has the potential to be. I mean, she's a lawyer, she's trained under Captain America, she has martial arts and weapons skill...I swear, with the right writer, there's no limit to what can be done with her. Anyway, I am trying to get more done, and I'm sorry I'm not succeeding nearly as well as I would like. And I do have plans for self-publishing my own, original works.
Akuma Kawashima, well, Jen should be hulking out sometime within the next few chapters.
Star Saber21, considering the sheer amount of misery Ross has brought to...well, pretty much everyone, he certainly had this coming. And you can expect Hill to be getting some serious chewing out, but for her to remain oblivious to the lessons she should be learning for a good while.
PhinalPhantasy, well, things have yet to improve. Still, here's hoping.
adlerj, I honestly think that's the best way to handle things. Every character should get at least one scene, if you get my meaning. And I agree about Hank. The problem is that, as long as villains choose to remain villains, there's nothing you can do to change them. All you can do is fight or let them win. I do have plans for situations in which Wasp and Hank talk (and sometimes argue) about their respective views. Well, considering who assembled the Hulkbusters, I suppose it's no surprise they're pretty extreme. And Hill reined in Ross. The problem is, who's gonna rein in Hill?
GreenScar1990, thank you. Ross will be eating some serious crow soon, but sadly, he will be spared from the worst of the consequences for his actions. Hill and SHIELD will persist to pains for the Avengers for a good while. As for Hulk and Wasp hooking up...originally, my plan was to try and blend this story into the series, but the more I look at it, the more obvious it is to me that that won't be possible. And as I make more changes...well, let's just say I will consider pairing those two up. As you said, those two have great chemistry.
Rassilon001, Black Panther is presently dealing with Sally Floyd, and trust me when I say he is not enjoying it. At all.
DJ Rodriguez, as you saw this chapter, the Hulkbusters are paying for their evil ways in pain. The problem with Ross and Hill is that they are both so fixated on getting what they want that they are completely ignoring the damage they do to others in the process.
general zargon, yeah, I was looking forward to writing Ross getting owned by Cap. The problem is that Hill doesn't see anything wrong with that she's doing, and ultimately does more harm than good.
Quathis, Hill is going to be called out for her actions in the coming chapters. Don't expect her to listen to a word said, though.
