Chapter Six
José and his posse crept behind Carly. Low white structures squatted in a wide valley. Heavy clouds dripped rain on them, pattering against Carly's leaves. Part of the compound was fenced off with barbed wire. Behind the fence moped a number of soaked locals.
"The hostages?"
José nodded. He put a scope to his eyes. "Sí."
They had hidden vehicles some distance back. They'd have to get the hostages across the open fields, not to mention the boxes of supplies for the clinic. A couple rebels against a fortified compound wasn't great odds. Carly wondered if it wouldn't just be easier to call in a drop at this point.
"Sure Dad, send me supplies, I'll just do whatever the next shitty mission is," she said in English. "No thanks."
"What?"
"Nada."
A commotion erupted behind them. "Hey! Hey!"
A woman in a business suit stood there, hands up.
"Jennifer Walters?"
The woman nodded. "I heard what you were planning. I felt that I should do what I can to avert complete disaster."
"And then take me into S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
Jennifer walked up to Carly, hands still up. "I've been known to make certain … arrangements. S.H.I.E.L.D. is full of agents with checkered pasts. There might be a place for you. We can help you learn to control your power. But there has to be a certain level of trust. I need to know why you're really here. And it's not to help my cousin's clinic."
Carly's mouth went dry. She closed her eyes. "I left my organization, it would have to be on my own terms. And the last thing I would do is betray them. What kind of agent would I be if I betray my kind every time a better offer comes along?"
Jennifer eyed her. "That's very admirable. However, I can't help you if you don't play ball. You have to give me something."
"Come on, Abrogada," said José. "Can't you see Chica Verde is a confused young woman? Beset by powers she can barely control, called upon by evil forces to do their bidding?"
Jennifer stepped to José. "Why are you farting around in this jungle, José? You've got a good head on you."
"Whoa. I thought this was about her, not me."
Jennifer nodded. "I'll talk with you later." She turned back to Carly. "What's it going to be?"
"I'll respectfully decline. I'm in too deep. But, if it's possible, I'd love to change the organization from the inside."
"Have you ever bitten into a tomato that looked fine on the outside but was rotten on the inside?"
Carly lifted a hand and produced a succulent tomato. "Mine are always perfect." She handed it to José who took a bite, agreeing.
"What I'm saying is that you can't put a good face on Hydra. Its core is rotten. Any good you do will be tainted. Besides, to rise in its ranks, you're going to have to do evil things. You're not going to be able to pick and choose. Every day you're in there, you just get deeper. I'm giving you an opportunity to get out now. We'll help you master your powers. We'll help you grow. S.H.I.E.L.D. could be your new home. We could be your new family."
Carly turned away. Jennifer was saying everything Carly wanted to hear. Was begging to hear. Was dying to hear. Her leaves rustled in the breeze. Distant thunder echoed. She was about to answer when a sound tickled her ear, a high whining. A jet was approaching, low to the ground. It zoomed overhead, and a single figure jumped out. A green figure.
Carly whipped around. Jennifer Walters was gone. She-Hulk stood in her place, outfit in tatters.
"Come on," said She-Hulk. "Are we going to let my cousin have all the fun?" She stepped up to Carly. "What? You thought that I was some simple monster? I'm still me. Only my cousin has that dual-personality issue. I'm just big and green."
Carly couldn't speak.
"Fine," said Jennifer, her monster eyes rolling. "She-Hulk ask, what is plan?"
Carly's mouth opened. "José and I rescue the hostages. The rest go for the supplies. You go with them, you know what you need. We rendezvous a klik back that way. But what about the Big Guy?"
"Hulk smash! Now let's go."
They ran to the buildings. Gunfire sounded, followed by bodies flying through the air. José led her over to the fences. "We must free them."
"Leave it to me." Carly closed her eyes. Her powers went out to the grasses around the fences, got them to grow, up through the fences, over the barbed wire, then turned thick, snapping the wires, pulling the fences up above the ground, leaving gaps down below. José waved the hostages out. Gunfire shot at them, and Carly raised a hedge to block it, creating a relatively safe passage for the escapees.
One was struggling, stumbling, an old man. Carly ran to help him, but a blur of green jumped past. The Hulk picked up the man like he was a frog. Carly stopped before the monster. As big as a house, fingers the size of her arms, arms the size of small cars. He eyed her, hate roiling his eyes. She hoped the rain hid that she might have peed herself a little bit.
Hulk smiled. "Little plant girl make Hulk laugh." He picked her up in his massive hand as big as a couch. "No roots. Funny."
Gunfire slammed him in the back, making him crouch. "Oh no, soldiers did not." He set them down, tapped Carly on the head with one giant baseball-bat finger that nearly brained her. "Ha ha. Plant girl." He then bounded away, flying through the sky to smash the next thing.
"My name's Wild Flower," she yelled at the retreating back. "Dammit." She caught the old man's hand and guided him back to safety while green monsters fought the enemy forces and José's men covered their retreat.
They got the escapees loaded onto buses and José drove them away, leaving Carly alone. She was about to head back into the fight when She-Hulk arrived and started to direct supplies onto trucks. All loaded. "Carly, you ride with my cousin."
A smallish man walked up to Carly, wearing a long jacket over stretchy undershorts. "Hi," he said, extending a hand. "I'm Bruce Banner."
