Revamped!


Chapter 14: MojoWorld Part Five

MojoWorld - Time Unknown

"Welcome back to MojoWorld!" The voice exclaims, pumping up the crowd. "Round two: The Incredible Hulk and his sidekick versus the all-powerful Kongo!"

Merida loads her bow as the Hulk slams its fists together. Sidekick is a step up from assistant. Kongo stretches its arms from across the arena.

"Fight!"

As the hulk charges towards Kongo, Merida stands still. This time, she doesn't stand in fear but observance. She watches how Kongo moves. It's primarily with force but the teleportation is what throws her off a bit. As the cyborg disappears and reappears, she can't help but notice something consistent about that.

"It's a pattern…" she mutters to herself.

She counts three moves before Kongo disappears and reappears about 180 degrees away to continue fighting. She begins to walk over, bow ready to shoot.

"One … two … three…" she counts, watching Kongo reappear and disappear on the other side of the Hulk.

This happens for a while and she smirks when it's finally her turn. She counts again and on the third number, she turns around and screams as she stabs Kongo with an explosive arrow. As Kongo processes this attack, Merida turns to run to avoid the explosion.

She feels herself get grabbed by the Hulk who holds her close as the bomb blows. When all is quiet, Merida slowly peeks over the Hulk's arm that's wrapped around her. She expected to see cyborg debris around but it's all empty. Not one screw or sign of an explosion.

"What happens now?" Merida asks, looking up at the Hulk.

-o-

"No, no, no!" The voice exclaims to himself, slamming on his controls. "This wasn't supposed to happen! I am Mojo and this is my world!"

From his screens, he sees Merida and the Hulk, looking around as they wonder what to do next. The crowd grows restless, craving action that they're not getting.

The being behind the voice begins tapping on his encircling keyboards, creating codes as to what should happen next. Before it could be commanded, a thumping noise causes the ground of his room to shake.

"I told you I could copy the signal! And you two doubted me…"

"We didn't say anything!"

The being turns around and sees three SHIELD agents standing in its console room. Once the three of them are aware of its presence, they hold up their weapons, two being guns and one being an electrified fist.

"Ah!" James screams at what is set before him. "What the hell is that?! Did I get us to space! My unfinished Ph.D. got us to outer space!"

The being behind all this was an alien himself. A grotesque being with endless layers of rolls, strapped to the machines controlling all this. Two beady eyes stare at them as antennae-like fingers tap on the maggots that seem to inhabit its body. If activated yeast was a giant cybernetic blob, this was it.

"I think I'm going to hurl," James adds.

"You are incredibly rude," Mojo says, pointing a slinky finger at James that makes him gag. "Just think it's okay to barge in and insult me. I swear you humans have no work ethic these days."

"I'm assuming that you're the mastermind behind all this," Xavier guesses, keeping his opinion on the alien's appearance to himself. He takes a glance and reads a little label on top of the console. "MojoWorld?"

"Mojo," the alien corrects. "MojoWorld is my show."

"One move and we fire…" Angela threatens the alien.

The being doesn't move one bit. Its cooperation surprises the agents. Xavier and James look at the screens and see Merida and the hulk in the Romanesque wrestling arena.

"So, you're an intergalactic fight promoter who is here for mere entertainment," Xavier says as James examines all the advanced technology he barely taught himself to get them up here. "I'd hate to tell you this but we'll need your main attractions back."

"That will not happen any time soon," Mojo replies.

"Excuse me?" Angela asks.

Mojo taps his microphone. "Time for a challenge! Survival of the fittest! The rules are simple, last one standing gets to survive."

James shrinks as Angela and Xavier begin firing their weapons. Every bullet that hits Mojo oozes out a yellow, watery substance. James holds back his vomit to save for the ride home. Either way, no damage is being done. In response, Mojo grimaces as he shoots robotic wires at them.

-o-

That announcement made Merida's head start to spin. The Hulk, on the other hand, got a thrive out of it which scared her.

Merida slowly looks up at the Hulk and sees that it's staring down at her as if she's a meal. The crowd is chanting, pumping up its energy. Merida only breathes, pleading the Hulk not to do anything. Her hand has a tight grip on her bow which is the last move she wants to do. What surprises her is that the Hulk isn't moving…

The Hulk only stares at the redhead, panting heavily as if the only thought it has in its head is to crush her. Suddenly, time slows down the longer the Hulk looks at Merida.

-o-

In the slowed-down version of the moment happening only for him, the Hulk sees someone walk out and take a stand right beside Merida. The Hulk recognizes this man as he looks down at the shaking fear being masked by frail bravery - it's Daniel. The human form of him when he's not around, the voice in his head when he's out but this time, right before his eyes. It's just a trick of the mind.

"You're resisting…" The Hulk mutters surprised a little. "This is new."

"I won't let you fight her," Daniel replies, putting himself between the Hulk and Merida.

The Hulk scoffs a little as it opens an arm out towards the roaring crowds for Daniel to see. "They need a victor and no puny human will take that title."

Daniel shakes his head. "No, that's where you're wrong. These aliens don't need a victor. They need a show, they need views! They need a beast which you provided! They don't care what happens next! Are you going to let them control you?"

The Hulk growls because Daniel has a point. Nobody controls him.

-o-

Merida, not knowing what that growl means, steps back with her hand that holds the bow shaking. The Hulk slams a fist on the ground and she falls back, causing her bow to drop and arrows to fall out of her quiver.

"Daniel, please…" Merida mutters, scooting back and putting her hands up in surrender. "I'm not going to fight you…"

Merida keeps her eyes on the hulk and to her surprise, his scowl softens. The Hulk stands up straight and shrinks back to Daniel. Merida immediately gets up and holds her stumbling friend in her arms. Daniel pants, struggling to catch his breath. He looks around him and gets so overwhelmed by all the aliens, noise, and flashing lights. He sees his human face on the JumboTron and sees how exposed and vulnerable he is that causes him to pass out.

Merida gently places him on the ground and gets her bow and dropped arrows. She looks up at her face on the JumboTron, knowing that the one behind all this is watching. Did she win this round?

"You see?!" Merida yells at the boss. "We're not going to fight each other! You said it yourself, asshole, I'm his sidekick!"

There's no response. Merida looms down at Daniel, hoping that he'll shoot awake any time soon.

"You forfeit?" The voice questions menacingly. "How convenient because I've decided to cancel you."

"What?!" Merida replies.

The voice is replaced with static.

Merida edges closer to Daniel and tries to shake him awake. He's out cold. She feels for a pulse which is, thankfully, still there.

"Merida!" She hears from the PA system the voice was using earlier. Except this time, it isn't that voice but one she knows. "It's James! Load your bow with the right arrow and grab Daniel. We'll meet you back on Earth!"

She doesn't even question how James got here but she's sure happy that he is. Maybe he's the voice of the afterlife which means she's definitely in hell. Merida knows that James has a plan and she won't like it one bit. She rummages through her quiver, struggling to find the right arrow in the short amount of time and load of pressure.

"James, you -"

Merida gets cut off when her and Daniel get shot with a ray and vanish.