Disclaimer: Goes without saying but I do not own Bruce Banner nor the Hulk nor any other Marvel character herein included. They're the properties of the original creators as dictated by official documents, whom you can find out more about in Wikipedia or something. Stan Lee, Marvel Comics, etc.
The Anolians and every related character/lore are invented by me, as is the overarching plot, but obviously, I don't own it. Still Marvel.
Rating: T for a bit of violence. I censor profanity like they would in a comic, if I ever use it.
PART 3: The Presidency
Captain Marvel left their ship, which was named Artibus, with an entourage of galactic superpowers.
And Geena Drake.
The planet was luscious with plant life, so much so that no animals were visible anywhere, and she knew they didn't exist. That was a society without any fauna, having evolved from, and subsisting on, nothing but plants.
The Anolians were sentient vines who looked oddly humanoid. Their eyes were opaque green, and while they could close them, squint them and the rest, it was impossible to tell where their sights were set on. From her intel, they had a very narrow field of vision, but they made up for it with a pheromone-based sense of tact. It sounded weird. It supported what tactile information they got from their humanoid tentacles. They had mouths, but Carol had yet to see any teeth or tongues, even though they could speak quite normally.
Carol hated supernatural pheromones. In fact, she had the suspicious feeling every woman would.
"Look at this place," Sunfire said, watching very judgingly. "In all my life, a more combustible environment, I have not seen."
"Okay, Yoda," Nova said, snickering, "all the more reason to do this peacefully, right? Don't wanna burn up the whole planet by mistake."
Sunfire scoffed, looking aside derisively. "Yes, I shall do my best not to sneeze."
Geena laughed at that, but Carol looked back with a straight face.
"Stop it. We're guests in their home, so behave yourselves."
"The presidency will see you now, Captain Marvel."
Carol turned to the Anolian, not really sure whether it was female or male, though that was besides the point. They could do the job of both, biologically speaking, switching up their sexes whenever they wanted. Just like many plants.
Nodding, Captain Marvel led her team through the gate which was, essentially, a gaping hole in the base of a massive tree trunk. The tree was as tall as a skyscraper and wider by many degrees of magnitude. Despite the lack of fauna and all the dangers associated with it, the plant life was gigantic. The trees, the flowers, it all made Captain Marvel feel like an ant in a garden.
The thrones were essentially shaped out of bark, but despite all the pure natural appearances, this was a species with as many technological advancements as humanity itself. The weapons that the guards held were humming with pulsing bio-energy, which was visible through tiny, carved out cracks that they possessed. The cracks shone with yellow light every other second.
In front of each throne, eight in total, were branches and, between them, holographic panels.
"You are the envoys of the Kree?" a male voice spoke, echoing around the room, "here to ascertain our volatility?"
Captain Marvel kept a straight face and grabbed fists behind her back, standing at attention. She knew that stance, while not customary, would still be perceived as respectful.
"We are envoys of Earth. Commissioned to act as third parties to assist in brokering a peace."
"What does that mean?" Asked one of the Anolians from one of the thrones, one in yellow.
"It means they're here to put a stop to those rebel maniacs!" explained another, and every member of the presidency grumbled in affirmation and self-justified righteousness.
Simon glanced over at Carol tensely, but she showed no reaction.
"Not necessarily. We are to understand that you have been at peace with one another for as long as you've had history. We're here to ascertain why that is no longer the case, and hopefully, to help rectify the situation. With that in mind, we would first like to know what is behind the hostilities."
"What happened?!" Yelled one of them, with a more high-pitch, female-sounding voice. "You say it right, yes! For as long as we have had history! For millennia! For that long, we have respected the gods and served them in defense of the universe! Chosen one after Chosen one, fighting the Unseen! But you know what they did?!"
"Tell them what they did," said another of the presidency.
"They surrendered the gods! Our Chosen surrendered them to unverified, unacceptable parties! And all but one has fled our system!" She finished, appalled. "The grossest dereliction of duties!"
"Rumors say they have given the gods up to individuals of other species," said yet another member of the presidency, with a slithering, insulted voice.
"What else to expect of the unChosen!" continued the woman. "Courage and sacrifice are rare in our people."
"Very rare," concurred another.
"And heroism? Perish the thought!" Said a fifth in agreement, and the first woman yelped, emoting support for the idea that that was almost non-existent.
"We of the presidency naturally represent those ideals. But it is us, and the Chosen, and those who would be either. Very few! Even those of us with such qualities are open to being influenced, believe you me. That is why we have laws!"
"For millennia," an old voice added.
"Yes, but now these wretches have ruined it! They corrupted our Chosen, gave up our gods, and now they are all missing! All of them!"
"Except for the one," said another woman, helpfully.
"No, fool, we have the original Chosen, but the god of repulsion is gone as well! Given up to another wretch who fled our system. This is unheard of. While we are perfectly accepting of weak-willed Anolians, heretical attitudes on such magnitude cannot be tolerated! The whole universe is at stake because of these traitorous wretches!"
"As such, we declared they would be united with the earth," continued another, and Carol was already beyond lost. "But even then, they fight back!"
"No regard for our society. Our community. Our customs!" Carol was trying to keep up with everyone who was speaking, wanting to look each in their eye as a sign that she was listening intently, but it was hard. They were switching fast, and their mouths hardly moved.
"If the presidency declares it is time to unite with the earth, then it is so. But they rebel! They fight back! This is a terrible situation," the woman Anolian said, beyond appalled.
"Tunhak is approaching, and if things continue as they are, we fear our soldiers and warriors might have to skip out on that time of great healing."
This statement made the whole room shiver with discontentment. Carol didn't know what Tunhak was, but apparently, it was something very important.
"Do you understand the situation?" Asked the woman. "It is great that you are here! You are very powerful. Surely, you can help unite the rebels with the earth, so that we might yet enjoy Tunhak!"
All the members of the presidency watched Carol with great interest and hope and she, while keeping a straight and stern face, tried to decipher what they had said.
"What in the hell are they saying?" Sunfire suddenly shouted, looking around at the team. "Does anyone know what they are talking about?!"
The presidency shuddered before the insolence, so Captain Marvel took immediate action, lashing out at him with both voice and gestures.
"Sunfire, be silent!" She used a loud voice, as well, to impact upon the Anolians that she was in control, and mindful of their susceptibilities. "I speak for the team."
Sunfire gave her a challenging look and crossed his arms, frowning. He gave no sign of wanting to go against her order, even as he was giving many signs he didn't appreciate being handled like that.
Carol looked ahead again, facing the members of the Anolian presidency. "I apologize. Not every member of my team is a practiced diplomat. Sunfire is more of a bodyguard."
He scoffed, silently insulted, but said nothing.
"So these rebels broke your rules," Carol recollected. "You tried to punish them, and they fought back. It seems odd to me that they could stand against all your people."
"Oh, they have convinced many of them just like they convinced the Chosen," said the woman, dismissing the inquiry. "Making good use of misinformation, they convince many that they did not corrupt the Chosen. That our rule is unfair, as are our customs."
"For millennia, you said," reminded the old one, "peace and pleasure provided by our rule and customs. And yet these sproutlings would judge us and fight us. Unheard of."
"Never even written before," confirmed another.
They went off into another group rant, which Carol and the team had to endure. Meanwhile, she kept trying to piece exactly what was going on from the spirited and disjointed complaints that those monarchs were giving as an explanation.
It drained her mental stamina quite rapidly.
Part End: Thank you for reading, please consider leaving a review if you have the time.
That was funny to write. Hope you've enjoyed the presidency and all their spiraling. Do you believe what they're saying? Check back next part when our team works it out and decides on what to do.
This story and Spider-man: Repulse are heavily connected by lore, even though they're not connected by plot. All my marvel stories are in the same universe, and following an overarching plot. Just in case you want to give that a read.