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 9: Tricked
"You are dooming us all! You are dooming the universe!" Yelled the president.
"Shut up!" Carol yelled down, swinging him like she was about to drop him. "You did this! All of you, you selfish bastards.
"What is done's been done! You are making nothing better! Support the presidency before it is too late, and we will bring this world under control, and we will have peace! Nothing that the Kree will have a problem with."
Carol shook him again, making him yell.
"You idiot! Peace is not why they leave you alone, it's the pacifism. The fact you spend your lives having holidays and show no ambition whatsoever. Living lives anyone would envy. You're a perfect talking point for their politics since they can use your example to claim they're not the mad conquerors other people think they are. But that's your only use."
The president scowled down at the ground.
"Bah! So we are supposed to stay pathetic and never seek to accomplish anything? That's not fair!"
Carol felt for him there. She was a pretty ambitious person, herself, and she would probably have wanted to fight the Kree. At the same time, enjoying some responsibility-free vacation was a concept that sounded great pretty much all of the time. How long had it been since she had indulged in something like that? Had it ever happened?
Well, it didn't matter. "What you're trying to accomplish is tyranny," she said. "You're not rising up against the Kree, but against your own people."
"Idiot out-worlder! I don't even know where you're from," the president protested, beyond insulted. "If we had the gods, we could stand against the Kree. That is the point of it all! The Chosen are strictly picked according to their desire to have a life-long Tunhak. They are the last of us who should have the power of the gods! These rules were made a long time ago when there was no Kree threat looming on the horizon! The law needs changing!"
Carol rolled her eyes. Her mind stirred, and her heart wobbled before the dilemma, but she was on a set course. It made it easier for her to deal with the argument.
"Then you should have convinced your people, or your Chosen. Instead, you engaged in war and subterfuge, and assassinations. I'm not a fan of the Kree, but right now, I'm very much not a fan of you, either. For all I know, you're completely lying to me. There's a lot I don't know about these gods of yours, and the Unseen. You might have a plan to control this universe-ending power."
That would figure.
"I have no reason to lie!" the president assured in righteous complaint. "Ignorant out-worlder! You admit your ignorance, and still you interfere!"
Carol shrugged. "That's just what a liar would say," she said, "and I'm not setting a course for your planet. Every Anolian will know the truth of what you've done, and the rebels. Once that's done, we'll leave, and your fate as a people will be your own. Whether the presidency is respected, or the rebels accepted, or whether you continue the war and the Kree end up stepping in. That will be up to all Anolians."
Carol looked around the city of large trees and saw flares of Sunfire's flames. She hoped he was using his powers reasonably. She also saw the streak being left behind by Nova's flight. He mostly just cut at the air around him, leaving a tear in the atmosphere.
"Where?!" She asked, shaking the president, and he pointed at a building nearby. She corrected her flight to head towards it, and Nova corrected his to join her.
The president yelled in terror as his soldiers down in the streets opened fire on Carol and Simon, and Geena shot back, blasting their arms away, and the weapons with them. Much like with Groot, that didn't seem to cause lasting damage, but they still yelled and fell to the ground, visibly pained. She shoved the president to the ground next to one of his downed soldiers, and then spurred him to walk on his own.
"Walk ahead of me!" She demanded.
"Hey guys!" Greeted Nova.
Nova landed next to Carol, setting the Chosen down, all while the purple hue of Wonder Man's ionic energy field enveloped them. Yellow beams splashed against it ineffectually.
The Chosen had his eyes wide open in fear. His vines were shiny green, looking healthy and clean, but his eyes were opaque orange, and they glanced over at the president, and then back to Carol to look her up and down.
"You are the captain?" he asked, glancing around at the chaos developing around them. A lot of Anolians were in the street, running every which way, and about thirty soldiers were surrounding them, and yet, they were marching into the building without a moment's pause or any real hesitation.
"You are making a mistake! Stop this!" the president demanded, but Carol outright ignored him, focusing instead on the Chosen.
"Don't worry about him, sir. I'm Captain Marvel, and we intend to use your people's broadcasting system, the same that was used when you were Chosen, and relay to them the truth of what you've gone through. May I ask your name?"
She had not gotten the name of any of the presidents, or of the rebel leader. That felt right. It felt just.
"Rahnh," he said, overwhelmed. "Is this a good idea? The Anolians…we have never been without leadership…that we can trust. We don't-we won't know what to do."
"Yes! Precisely! The presidency are the only ones-" Carol blasted at the president's feet, charring a small hole into the wooden floor. That silenced him.
"Once upon a time, you figured it out, didn't you?" Carol asked, unrelenting. "You made your rules, your laws, your customs, and selected your first presidency. Your first Chosen."
Rahnh nodded thoughtfully. "Sounds like a lot of work-ahh!" He reacted to a particularly powerful explosion that made Wonder Man's shield shimmer.
"Captain, this is a bit too much," Wonder Man said, apologetically, and Carol nodded.
"Nova, keep them clear from the building. We can't let it get damaged. Geena, watch the president."
"Roger dodger!" Nova said, giving her a heartfelt yet terrible salute. "Over!" He blasted off the ground, leaving it charred, and immediately flew in an arc, slamming into half of the soldiers to knock them out of the fight.
Carol mumbled "you don't need to say over in person…"
Geena poked the president with her rifle, and they walked on. As they were crossing the doors, War-Machine got in contact.
"I wish I was there helping you guys, but it was a good call to get me back here. There's a bunch of Anolian soldiers trying to blast the ship with some kind of plasma explosives. I'll keep them clear. Over."
"I'm helping!" Mr. Immortal added. "I really am! Using the guns system!"
"Weapons System," War-Machine corrected.
"Yes that!" Mr. Immortal agreed, enthusiastic
"He's helping," War-Machine concurred, holding back a chuckle, "over and out."
Captain Marvel was feeling on top of it all. When it came to combat, she was battle-tested and ready. That War-Machine would vocalize how well she was doing was a major plus to the situation.
They were marching fast, and soon, they would pass on the Chosen's testimony, and she would clean her hands of the entire debacle.
There were two sides to the conflict that was the problem. The mission. And both sides were bad and filled with lies, so the mission was now to bring those lies out and into the light. Captain Marvel would give Anolians the truth.
They arrived at the top of the massive tree, entering a room that was pretty large. It had a small sub-room that was closed off from the rest. The floor formed a spiral of vines, and so did the ceiling, and they were completely parallel to each other , while also not touching. There was plenty of enough space for someone to stand in-between them.
"I stand over there," the Chosen said, hesitantly. Carol nodded, guessing that they should take the sub-room. It did, expectedly, have a bunch of panels with buttons and dials. It was so weird how technology was built into the trees and flowers like that.
"How do you use this. Hey," she grabbed the Anolian president and pulled him. "You know how to use this?"
"No!"
Geena put a rifle to his head. "You sure?!"
"Argh, fine, please, don't unite me! Don't unite me!" He took control of the panels, and the Chosen stood at the center of the spirals, looking up.
Carol smiled. The Anolian leadership was really squeamish and easy to strong-arm. It made things simple. Still, she was surprised that he knew how to use that thing. Maybe he had worked in that place before becoming a president. Fate really was on her side at that point.
The room lit up with yellow light, pulsing. It streamed on the floors and ceiling, trailing the spirals. Once it reached the center, it connected, shooting through Rahnh. It made him shiver and spasm, and his body arched back, hovering into suspension. It looked painful.
"That better be normal," Carol threatened, and the president nodded frightfully.
"Of course! It connects through the plant life to-"
Suddenly, a two-dimensional virtual screen popped up out of the ground in front of Carol. And Geena, and Simon, and the president. It showed Rahnh's face.
"Ano-Anolians. My people, you should remember me, Chosen Rahnh? I have…something you must know," he began.
Carol felt a moment of complete and utter success. They had accomplished it. It had been a hard task, but once they had set their minds to purpose, all the soldiers in the world couldn't stop them. Her team was amazing. Thanks to her, an entire world was about to be saved.
And then she noticed the president was grinning victoriously at the image of the Chosen. Her face fell as he glanced the opaque eyes at her, only they were no longer opaque. They were something else, a lot more recognizable. And they blinked.
"We knew you were coming, earthling."
Part End: Thank you for reading, please consider leaving a review if you have the time.
Oh boy, what's this now. He said he didn't know where they were from, and yet he calls him earthling? And his eyes changed?! Be here next part when the entire plot is revealed!
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.