TW: TIH
FORT JOHNSON - EVERGLADES
"Wait a second, that ain't right." John sat forward with a frown. "Fort Johnson is not in Florida."
The emphatic statement from the Green Lantern drew puzzled stares from every one around him, though J'onn was the first to speak, "You are certain of this, John? It is not impossible that-"
"I'm not gonna forget the base where I recorded my only infraction during my service years," The dark skinned man rejoined. "And I'm definitely not gonna forget where that base was so I am very damned sure that Fort Johnson is not in Everglades."
"Big man's right," Raquel stated, looking up from her phone, "Fort Johnson is in New York, almost a thousand five hundred miles from the Glades."
"There you go," The Lantern relaxed into his seat. "Looks like their crew messed that little detail up."
Dick shook his head. "Not necessarily. If we take the fact that these movies came from an alternate universe as a fact-"
"Which we agree is the most likely possibility," Conner interjected.
"Agreed," The young detective nodded. "Now, if we take that as a fact then it stands to reason that… let's call them divergences… like these are inevitable."
"Wanna dumb that down for us, Bird boy?"
"He's saying that an alternate universe would be slightly different from ours," Wally explained. "According to Dr Skarsgard's Omniversal Theory, there are an infinite number of universes in a giant cauldron. Each universe contains a reality created -or altered- by a single possibility."
"You're saying there's a universe where… say Artemis isn't 'bow and arrow wielding' Artemis?" M'gann asked.
Wally shook his head. "Yes but that's not the full scope; I'm saying there's a universe where Artemis is a queen bee, trust-fund princess-"
"Do you want me to break my bow across your back?!"
"You love me too much to do that," Wally smirked before diving in for a superspeed peck on her cheek. "Okay, let's take… let's take Supergirl: there's a universe where she's a punk rocker and another where she's a Goth, another where she never came to Earth… there's a reality for every possible version of of every single one of us." He paused to look around, seeing the wide-eyed expressions on most of his friends' -and quite a few adults'- faces. Only Raquel, Dick, J'onn and John retained their composure. "Now, according to Skarsgard's theory, these realities are arranged in a hierarchy of probabilities: the more likely a possibility is, the closer it is to our current universe."
Zatanna scrunched up her nose as she tried to wrap her mind around the whole concept. "So… trust-fund princess Artemis is further away from us than a non-heroic Artemis?"
"See what you've done?" The young archer glared at her boyfriend. "You made them think there's a snowball's chance in hell of me being… that!"
Surprised by the vitriol in the blond's tone, Raquel had to ask, "Whatchu got against them anyway?"
"It's a school thing," Dick answered quietly. Though the blonde would never admit it, he knew she had been heavily ostracized since her admission into Gotham Academy. The prestigious institution's 'inclusiveness policy' only ever held true if your parents had a certain level of… economic prestige. "The point is, whatever universe these movies came from likely shares a similar history to ours with just a few differences, like the location of this military camp."
"Interesting…" Diana muttered. "I would like to learn more of this… Omniversal Theory?"
"Yeah, by Doctor Hector Skarsgard." Wally nodded. "It's a pretty good read, even without the technical-"
"Can we please get on with the movie now?" An exasperated Conner asked. "Not like I don't find the idea of a world without a rambling Wally funny but this has gone on way too long."
"I was honestly about to ask if you guys always go on these winding tangents all the time," Kara confessed.
"Not all the time, no," Oliver chuckled as Dick searched for the remote. "But when we do go on, well, you've had a taste of it."
"Found it!" Dick cried, having pried the controller out from the corner of the sofa. "Alright, let's go!"
13:27 – 14:06
"SOCOM? Royal Marines?" A clueless M'gann asked.
"SOCOM -the United States Special Operations Command- is sort of like an oversight body in charge of the special operations divisions of the major military arms." Kara supplied. Then, to the surprised Oliver and Diana -and the impressed John: "Alex -my sister- served as a Marine for a bit; she told me just about everything I know about the US of A's military structure."
"Well she's done a good job with you." John nodded. "SOCOM just about matches that description. However, they also have a special unit of their own, comprised of the absolute best soldiers from each of the military divisions."
"Which is where they pulled Mister Hotshot from." Raquel stated.
"Exactly. The Royal Marines, on the other hand are some of the best damned infantry forces on the planet," The Green Lantern continued. "They're the UK's amphibious troops; highly specialized and adaptable, they'll go up against anything, anywhere on Earth."
"Well damn…" Conner murmured. "Sounds like the General's not playing around with this."
"Caught that too, huh?" Artemis grimaced. "He didn't just get Stark weapons, he's pulled some of the best soldiers around to handle those weapons."
"It's not the weapon that matters, it's the one that wields it," Oliver muttered. "Yao Fei hammered that one into my skull every chance he had."
"In this case, they've got top notch weapons and a top quality squad." Diana summarized. "Banner might be in for quite a fight."
14:11 – 14:17
"Well somebody's being subtle," Conner snorted as he rolled his eyes. "He might as well have shouted 'Take him down!' from the rooftops."
"Sounded more like a 'don't muck this up' to me," Dick rejoined. "Something tells me Smokestack's under quite a bit of pressure to get results."
"Question," Zatanna frowned. "Anybody else think it's a bit odd how this 'Joe' guy has no problems gathering what is basically a kill squad for a hit on a civilian?"
"About as odd as it is for the General to have requisitioned -and actually received Stark grade weapons for the same civilian." Kaldur replied. "Remember, Zee: Banner is not a mere civilian, not after the incident at the laboratory."
14:19 – 14:57
"Looks like they're leaving the flash on this one." Oliver commented. "A quick in-out deal."
"They have no choice," Diana shrugged. "They are about to pull a snatch-and-grab on foreign soil. That's shaky grounds even without the headache of dead locals."
John winced at the simple assessment while J'onn nodded. "If so much as a hair on a Brazilian citizen's head is touched with evidence of the American government's presence…"
"You know, for some reason, I don't think those orders are for the locals' benefit,"
John frowned, turned to Kara. "Why'd you think that?"
"Well, Banner spent all that time learning to control his temper right? And he kept cautioning those guys to not get him angry-"
"Hungry," Conner corrected with a grin that the blonde Kryptonian flashed back to him.
"Agreed. Anyhow, I'm guessing Banner's anger's directly connected to the 'Green Sasquatch' or whatever they're calling him. So the dart clips-"
"High end sedatives." Dick snapped his fingers and sat forward. "If they can knock him out before he gets angry they should be able to take him in."
"Which just points out how prepared the General is this time." Wally noted.
14:37 – 15:00
"Okay, first off Banner didn't steal nothin'." Raquel stated hotly, her forehead creased with a deep frown. "And y'all can't tell me different 'less you consider his body to be 'military secrets' and escaping ol' Smokestack's clutches as 'stealing.'"
No one argued with her on either point.
"Second, none o' that bullshit answers the real question."
"Well, Banner was learning jiujitsu." Artemis argued weakly only to watch her argument blown away by a disparaging snort.
"Girl please; I could knock his skinny ass into a ditch with my eyes closed! 'Sides, he was learning all those throws and grapples to learn to subdue normal people, like that street thug at the factory; he'd last all of two seconds against Mister Ace -and only 'cause Ace's gotta stretch first."
"Sharp commentary aside, I agree with Raquel's assessment," J'onn stated. "The General's duplicity might very well cost him his squad."
"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," Diana muttered. "Though even it doesn't seem likely. As my mother often said, 'Great soldiers are nothing without a great commander.'
15:01 – 15:08
"The filmmakers certainly did their research here," Diana snorted goodnaturedly. "The tropical heat will almost certainly leave anyone in that very position."
"You been to Brazil too?" M'gann stared, her surprise mirrored by nearly every other member of the Team.
"Chile." The Amazon confirmed before pausing. "Well, what is now Chile, I suppose; myself and a few of my sisters explored the Amazon a few decades ago - closer to two centuries now that I think about it. We mingled with the locals for a few days before continuing our journey." She paused when she realized that the Team were all goggling at her now -even the typically stoic Kaldur was clearly stunned. "Did I say something wrong?"
"I think they're trying to wrap their heads around the fact that you're casually older than the US of A," Oliver replied, sounding almost cheerful. "Your ridiculously good looks don't exactly scream 'aged crone.'"
"Would you prefer that I showed my million wrinkles?" She shot back sarcastically. She knew she was making a mistake even as the last word left her mouth so she wasn't particularly annoyed by Oliver's instant rejoinder:
"No need, otherwise you'll ruin your poor make-up artistes."
"You kinda walked into that one," Kara snickered as the adults in the room burst into laughter at the Amazon's expense.
"Oh play the movie already," Diana faux-scowled at Dick.
15:09 – 15:32
"He looks almost… afraid to ask that," Zatanna noted with narrowed eyes. "It's like…"
"He's afraid to hope," Artemis finished, her tone harsh. Yet, for the members of the Team -and Oliver- the sadness at the core of that harshness was all too obvious. "Like he's afraid to dream because he knows that waking up returns him to an old nightmare."
"Considering what he went through with the flower serum…" Kara shook her head. "I can't blame him for not jumping for joy just yet."
15:33
"It would appear his journey will be coming to an end soon," J'onn commented with a smile only to be cut off by Artemis' disparaging snort.
"First the encouragement, then the myriad 'buts.'"
15:33 – 15:40
Artemis didn't even bother to talk or gesture triumphantly: her point had been made and in this case, it was enough.
15:41
"Oh come on!" Wally groused. "If you need more data then you can't reply with any degree of confidence about the cure man!"
15:42 – 15:46
"Dude you need all that and you're talking about a cure for what is basically hyper-aggresive cancer mutation as if it's a done deal?!" An irate Dick shouted. "What kind of idiot is this guy?!"
15:47 – 15:51
"That is not good," Kaldur muttered as his mind quickly drew up a conclusion. "That is not good at all."
"What isn't?" Raquel asked, not quite getting the point. Judging by the questioning looks on just about everyone present, she wasn't alone.
"Raquel, yourself, Dick and Wally all have a far better scientific standing than I do," The Atlantean started, "Could Mister Banner possibly gather that kind of information outside of a well equipped laboratory?"
"No." Wally stated instantly. After a moment of thought, both Raquel and Dick nodded their agreement.
"To be fair, you could technically get the cell saturation count on your own-"
"If you know what you're doing," Raquel snorted. "Even then, it'd be a preliminary thing; you'd need some decent equipment to get anything accurate. As for the Exposure levels and Gamma Concentration levels-"
"A well equipped lab." Wally reiterated firmly. "Preferably one that's equipped specifically for radioactive res- oh." The speedster's eyes grew wide as realization dawned. "Oh hell!"
Kaldur nodded grimly. "You realize it now: the most likely place to have all that information -both pre-Incident and post-Incident results- is the one place he almost certainly should never return to."
The Atlantean turned back to the TV. "Culver University."
15:53 – 16:08
"Oh…" Conner's eyes grew wide. "The General would have turned it into a fortress!"
"Not necessarily," John shook his head. "You need to remember that Culver's not a military installation: there are very few things that would permit a civilian institution -an educational one at that- to be 'turned into a fortress' and while Banner's return could maybe qualify, you have to remember that Banner's been on the run for months. As far as we know -between his current location and those newspaper clippings we saw- he has never tried to return there which means whatever 'fortifications' the General put in have probably been taken down."
"Oh," Conner nodded slowly. "So he can go back?"
"He probably shouldn't," Oliver grimaced. "The fact is, while the General would be hard pressed to turn the University grounds to a replica Camp David, he doesn't really have to. In fact, he'd be wiser to leave the front door open with a tiny bit of string tied across it."
"… I don't get it," M'gann admitted.
"He's talking about laying a quiet notification system around the University," Kara explained. "A few people in the right places will do a decent job of telling the General whether or not Banner's on the grounds without tipping Banner off. If the General plays his cards right, he could trap Banner in pretty easily."
"Exactly."
16:11 – 16:23
"Three guesses who's in the van," Artemis smirked at Dick who just rolled his eyes.
"You're asking that after we've run through all the reasons Smokestack would want to keep a low profile?" The young hero snorted. "If that's not a mobile command center I'll eat a batarang."
16:25 – 16:37
"That is pretty accurate," Kara nodded as they watched Banner's eyes snap open, jolted from his sleep by the sudden tension of his dog. "Grandpa Danvers always told stories of how he was usually able to get ahead of the occasional cattle rustler thanks to his dogs."
"Dogs' senses are so much better than humans' that it isn't even funny," Wally agreed. "If he got the dog intentionally then Banner's really good at thinking ahead."
"Or just lucky," Artemis opined. "I mean, the dog could easily have been a lazy ass canine Garfield."
The mention of the infamous 'happy, fat, lazy cat' sent a ripple of laughter through the room.
16:39 – 16:55
"They're good," Oliver remarked with an approving nod. "And not just the stealthing either; their timing is spot on."
"What do you mean?"
Though Conner's question was directed at Oliver, it was Diana that replied: "They went for a nighttime operation to maximize the chances that their target would be home, probably even sleeping."
"They couldn't have been sure about that though," Zatanna objected. "I mean, what if Banner decided-"
"To do what? Go on a date?" Dick shifted closer to her. "No, the guy's on the run: hitting the club scene would be a high profile action as would any significant socialization. He's trying to be a ghost here which means his options after the day job at the factory are pretty thin."
"If the dog hadn't woken him up, this would likely have been a point in favor of the General," Kaldur concluded.
16:55 – 17:04
"…you know, I can't tell if the dog was just hungry or did that to mess with the soldiers." Wally commented as they watched the dog crunch the wire-cam.
"Little bit of both?" M'gann suggested with a giggle that was immediately cut off with the General's next words:
17:05
Raquel's "Jesus! Someone's cranky!" perfectly summed up how they all felt about that order.
17:07 – 17:29
"I expected that," Kaldur nodded admiringly. "It would have made no sense to wait for them to find him."
17:29 – 17:34
"No!" M'gann screamed, her grief at the dog's unexpected death so shockingly potent that she inadvertently let out a sharp mental cry along with her physical shout.
J'onn was by her side in an instant, swiftly delving into her mind to help her calm down. "Calm down, M'gann! Remember, the guns are loaded with tranquilizer rounds. The dog is unharmed."
It took a few more moments for him to get her to calm down but between his mental reassurances and Conner's physical contact, she was able to pull herself together quickly.
"I'm okay," She sniffed quietly. "Thank you."
"No problem," Conner smiled as he pulled her in closer to plant a kiss on her forehead.
"As our friends would say, what are uncles for?"
17:36 – 17:39
"Now that's gotta be the mother of all coincidences," Raquel stated wryly as most of the guys slammed their eyes shut while the adults in the room just chuckled. "You guys can open up now; she wasn't showing anything and the scene's gone by anyway."
17:41 – 17:50
"Banner got lucky," Dick frowned. "If that coworker lady hadn't agreed to remain silent, they'd almost certainly have him trapped."
"It's still a bit touch and go now, honestly," Artemis added. "Though, to be fair, Banner's got the homeground advantage: he probably knows this area like the back of his hand and it's a densely populated area. Once he get's to the thoroughfares, he could be out of here in a matter of minutes."
"You are not considering the nature of his hunters, Artemis." Diana shook her head. "He may have both those advantages that you mentioned but the soldiers likely have the area under electronic surveillance; it's almost certainly true considering how the General has been staring at whatever screens are on the inside of that command center. In addition, Blonsky seems to have an almost preternatural skill at this. I would not be surprised if they end up trapping him."
17:50 – 18:12
"Wait, why's he stop- oh crap!" Zatanna's question trailed off when the camera cut across the intersection to show the ever-cool Blonsky as he almost lazily gazed around until he locked eyes with Banner.
18:12 – 18:15
"Won't work." John stated with a little shake of his head. "Even if he had pulled off the casual civilian attempt perfectly -which he didn't, not with all that fidgeting- Blonsky's an ace: at that level, he'd be able to memorize a target's features with a glance. Banner needs to move. Now."
18:16 – 19:09
"Okay, that ratty thing has got to carry some major sentimental weight if he's willing to stop and consider going back for it." Kara remarked.
19:09 – 19:14
"Oh!" Oliver grimaced at the sight of the motionless soldier, recalling how close he had gotten to ending up like that during one of his earliest rooftop chases as 'The Hood.' "And that, kids, is why you don't charge aimlessly into foreign territory -especially if you can't see well."
"Much as I agree with you, Oliver, there is also a positive lesson to be learned here," Diana said, before directing her attention on the Team. "Some of you may already know this-" She nodded at Artemis, Kaldur and Dick here, then continued, "but for the sake of everyone, I will say it again: the depth of your knowledge of your surroundings can be one of the greatest advantages you can ask for in a hostile situation. From knowing what route to take to escape a stronger opponent to knowing how to trap your target in an alley to simply knowing where a tree is so you can smack your enemy out of the air-" A ripple of laughter ran through the room at that colorful image. "-knowing precisely where you are in relation to your general location can be all that separates you from life or death."
"She's right," John agreed as he willed away a portion of his Lantern uniform to reveal a nasty looking scar running along the length of his right arm. "I got this in Afghanistan; we were searching an abandoned outpost to be sure there were no insurgents hiding away in the corners. A squadmate and I were looking through some of the bedrooms and I remember thinking how the goddamned heat was made worse with such tiny windows. Then a Bouncing Betty jumped into the air." He grimaced then, as if he could see the mine hanging midair all over again. "Last thing I remember was diving out of that 'tiny' window just ahead of the explosion; apparently a shard of glass ripped through my arm as I went through."
It was a gory tale, they knew: that tiny window was the only reason he was alive and it drove the point home in a painfully poignant manner.
19:15 – 19:40
"I was beginning to wonder when that would go off," Artemis commented as Blonsky stalked through the streets, calmly searching every corner for his target. "And look, the Big Shot's back too."
"I'm actually not surprised the monitor hadn't gone off yet," Raquel remarked as Banner glanced at the heart rate monitor. "173?! Jesus that's high!"
"You were saying something about not being surprised," J'onn reminded her, clearly interested in the younger girl's thoughts on the matter.
"Oh yeah." She took a moment to recall that line of thought as Dick hit the pause button. "Well, considering how obvious it is that Banner's thought his escape route through, it's really not much of a surprise: he knows where he's going, how he plans to get there and how to lose his hunters… sure he'll be a bit high-strung but that sense of confidence about his travel path will stay with him."
"Until he got shot at," Kaldur nodded, cottoning on to what she meant.
"Exactly: until then, it was a simple chase where he thought that he'd be captured if he got caught." Raquel explained. "Now that he's been shot at, though, there's a real sense of danger. Sure, they're using those tranq darts but Banner doesn't know that; to him the shots are real so he's thinking ol' Smokestack's ready to just straight up kill him and get the silliness over."
"That's a solid theory," John admitted before shaking his head: "You're not considering something, though: Banner and the General have crossed paths a couple of times before, it's the only way Banner could have learned to almost predict what the old man could do."
"And?"
"Well, if that's the case then this can't be the first time he's been shot at." The Lantern replied easily. "And I'm not saying getting shot at isn't terrifying but the simple truth is, after some time that fear can be… maybe not eliminated but it can be controlled."
The response was logical -as logical as hers had been, in fact- and Raquel knew she couldn't argue against it.
So, in the manner of all teenagers the world over, she turned it back on him: "So what do you think?"
"Outside of typical movie melodrama? I have no clue." John shrugged. "Just wanted you to know that even the most logical theories are still theories precisely because no one's sure of the answer. Dick?"
19:54 – 20:05
"Looks like the funky breathing lessons paid off- oh come on! Again?!" Raquel commented just as Blonsky lifted his rifle to take aim.
"And that's the biggest issue with ops like these," Oliver commented as the continually moving mass of civilians prevented Blonsky from taking the shot. "Can't get a clear shot with people moving about like that."
20:13 – 20:24
"Talk about the cat that ate the damned flock," Wally muttered as Banner turned tail and fled. "Yet somehow, I can't see a possibility where Banner makes it out before they corner him."
"I too have come to this conclusion." J'onn sighed. "It would seem the General's current attempt has taken into consideration everything they have learned since this manhunt first began."
20:26 – 20:46
"Oh for God's sake!" Zatanna groaned as they watched Banner run right into the worst people possible: his thug-like co-workers.
"Banner needs to get out of there right now." Kara said, her tone conveying how worried she was. "A random person might shake a fist at him, maybe even toss a rock at his head; these guys will do their damn best to seriously hurt him."
20:47 – 20:52
"Woo! Sensei Weird Abs for the win!" Dick cheered. He might consider the man's control over his abdominal muscles a tad strange but he was all in support of anyone who could teach people to perform such efficient takedowns.
21:00 – 21:24
"This is bad," Artemis frowned as they watched Banner grind to a halt, the exhaustion setting in even as the beeping of his heart rate monitor sped up. "He's not only trapped in here, he now has to deal with two groups that want his head."
"Come on, Arty, you're not seriously putting the wanna-be thugs in the same kind of 'danger category' as the commandos, are you?" Zatanna snorted disparagingly. "Besides, he knows this area cold and it's got lots of places to hide!"
"The commandos are trained soldiers, Zatanna; urban warfare tactics are their bread and butter," Kaldur rejoined. "In addition, while the… 'thug squad' as you named them are no real threat compared to the commandos, they likely know this area about as well as Banner does, probably even better than he does. Worse, because they aren't trained, the commandos simply need to follow the thugs and use them to flush Banner out without doing much of anything."
"Oh…"
21:33 – 21:48
"Those plodding footsteps are a dead giveaway," Oliver grimaced as they watched the man jog tiredly through the factory, trying his best to stay ahead of his pursuers. "He might as well tie a bell around his next and wave neon lights."
22:05 – 22:13
"Animals!" Diana spat disgustedly. She could feel her anger simmering at the shameless display of baser instincts but -recalling her conversation with J'onn earlier- she fought those feeling down.
22:25 – 22:27
"Oh boy…" Wally muttered. "The beeping's getting faster…"
22:28 – 22:56
"His desperation must be critical for him to have completely foregone all attempts at reasoning with them in their own tongue," Diana muttered, the faintest hint of trepidation coloring her statement as a commando dropped one of the delinquents. "Just what is he trying to hold back?"
22:57 -23:02
"Oh… God…" Kara breathed, stunned amazement battling with sickening horror as they watched the man's body convulse violently even as his leg suddenly bulged to a point where every part of his pants below the knee simply burst into tatters.
22:07 – 23:18
"What the hell…" Conner's question trailed off into stupefied silence as he tried to wrap his mind around… whatever the hell had just happened.
"He knows what's about to happen," Oliver muttered darkly, noting the unsurprised look on the General's face. "He knows what he's unleashed and he knows damned well that he's lost."
23:19 – 23:24
"By the Depths!"
"Mother of God!"
"Great Hera!"
Those were just some of the many shocked exclamations that rang out in the room.
It was not that they were shocked at the violence they had just witnessed: nearly three quarters of the people present in the room at that moment were capable of replicating that act and a full half of them could do it under their own strength.
No, it wasn't the violence that caught them off guard as much as the victim of that violence.
The thug, for all his obnoxious behaviour, was a normal human: nothing he had done had warranted such a vicious -a fatal!- reprisal.
For them to see such an act committed by a man who they had come to admire…
23:26 – 23:45
Staring at the screen as a section of the creature stalked by, Diana was struck by a sudden sense of deja vu.
'It is seems like a larger, more powerful Minotaur,' She thought, recalling the many legends surrounding the ancient beast. 'It lacks the horns, though.'
23:46 – 24:26
"Jesus, it just walked the bullets off!" Artemis gaped. "Like the bullets were even less of a bother than the goddamned tranq darts!"
"Blonsky needs to get his men out of there, NOW!" John ground out through clenched teeth. "This is a massacre in the making."
"These guys are an elite commando squad, John," Oliver replied bleakly. "There's no way they'll agree to just let things go, not yet."
24:27 – 25:07
"Wait… did it just-"
"It spoke!" An astonished Kara stated, answering Conner's unfinished question. "it wants to be left alone!"
"Yeah well killing innocent soldiers and obnoxious thugs is not the way to self-isolate," Wally snapped harshly.
"You're talking like it's a regular, reasoning human!" Kara shot back. "It clearly-"
"It spoke!" The redhead almost shouted. "It has a brain-"
"We cannot make any informed decisions about this until we know more," Kaldur cut in brusquely. "So let us watch."
25:09
"Ah shit." Dick muttered as the tense situation unraveled. "They really should have dropped the guns."
Unlike Diana -whose thoughts were on the myths of the Labyrinth's occupant- Dick's thoughts ran to a much more familiar figure, one that he had fought against quite a number of times.
Solomon Grundy.
25:10 – 25:20
"What the- is he trying to get himself killed?!" Zatanna screeched at the 'Ace' as he continued to hound the creature as it headed for the exit. "The damned bullets don't work!"
"Professional pride," Oliver spat. "He's not going to have a black mark on his record, not even if it kills him."
25:21 – 26:00
"He's dead," M'gann whispered in despair. "He can't make it out of there."
26:05 – 26:10
"Looks like the hotshot Ace survived." Zatanna's already weak attempt at making a glib statement was completely ruined by the way her voice shook with each word.
"He got lucky."
"No, the creature didn't want to kill him," Kara corrected, staring pointedly at Wally. "It may seem destructive-"
Wally sneered at the Kryptonian, ignoring the General's furious shouts onscreen. "Seem? Really? Because that tattered factory sure seems like it got hit by an earthquake and it definitely doesn't seem like simple tranq darts and bullets could have-"
"It was provoked!" Kara rejoined, putting extra emphasis on the last word and staring at him like she couldn't believe they were even having that conversation. "It specifically warned them to leave it alone-"
"Yeah, after killing at least two civilians-!"
"Who -again!- provoked it!"
"You're not going to stop them?" Raquel turned to Kaldur. "They're getting really heated up here."
"I am… divided on this matter, Raquel." The Atlantean admitted. "The creature did kill quite a few people in that factory -on that, Wally's anger is not unjustified. However…"
"However, like Kara's pointed out, it was provoked into lashing out," Dick said to Zatanna, unknowingly mirroring Kaldur's hushed conversation with Raquel. "Even when it specifically asked to be left alone."
"Wally, you are not considering something, here," Artemis sighed, finally leaning into the conversation that -for the most part- she had stayed out of. "That creature, no matter how grotesque or savage or whatever it was… it's still Banner." The reminder brought a pall of silence onto the cave, hushing every side conversation.
Not a single one of them had remembered that most precious fact: swept up in the wake of the creature's rampage, they had forgotten that, before the hulking monster came to be, there was the simple, shy man.
TW: TIH
*- Google tells me there's a whopping 1,458mi distance between Fort Johnson and Everglades IRL In the Marvel Universe, they seem to be one and the same -more or less, anyway- and I have no idea if that holds true to the DC universe so: fic!canon.
*- My reason for having Wally stand firmly on the anti-hulk side (though, you will notice, he hasn't said much about whether he is pro-Ross or not) has everything to do with his depiction in YJ. In the first season, Wally is prone to making instant decisions without considering all the underlying possibilities and then staying stubbornly firm to his beliefs until something pretty big comes around to shake him up (his initial thoughts on Artemis and the Perdita Mission are just two of such cases). Plus, I always got the sense that he's a more 'classic' good guy, a fact that was seemingly promoted in the second season.
So, this chapter is a tad shorter than our regular 12k chapters but I felt it would work better to leave things off at the end of the factory fight.
Hope you enjoyed it!
As always, a huge 'thank you' to Katana of the Blade and Vein Bloodborne for their work on this transcript as well as to Mr War, my sound-board, advisor, editor and everything in-between.
The next chapter will be available by the 15th of July. See you then!
Mr War & The Ethereal Lord
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