Revamped!

[Okay, so, as of now, I have all the chapters for this summer done and I'm happy with where I decided to leave it off. Don't worry, it's still a long time for you guys].


Chapter 51: Symbiosis Part Four

PNG Quinjet - 9:54 AM

Daniel groans as he rolls onto his side and hunches into a ball to make his body feel as if it's one piece when it feels like exploding into many pieces. The quinjet ride is taking a while because not only are they coming from the Antarctic but a sudden snowstorm is blowing against them, slowing them down.

"I feel like vomiting but I don't want to throw up my heart," Daniel grumbles. "Someone tell me what the hell is in my body."

James, with Emily's help, goes through the scans Emily got in her suit about the experiment. Once they read through it, they freeze. Neither of them wants to tell Daniel what they just read and he doesn't have the energy to ask again.

"To be optimistic," James ironically says with a pessimistic tone, "your body won't burst open."

"What the hell?!" Merida exclaims from the pilot's seat. "You and I saw all those dead bodies with their organs ready to harvest."

"This experiment wasn't made for them. The virus that's in Daniel's body is searching for something and since it couldn't find it in those scientists' bodies, it just -" James makes an explosion gesture with his hands to show the tragic demise of all those scientists.

Daniel huffs. "It's looking for gamma, isn't it?"

James and Emily nod as Daniel groans and Merida accelerates the quinjet out of the storm.

"Why make something like this?" Emily asks, her voice shaking. "What's the point of this gamma-locating virus?"

"I don't know," James replies. "These papers only contain the procedure of how to make and administer it. There is no purpose or objective, it's just -!" More incomprehensible hand motions.

"I get it!" Daniel grunts sharply, holding his side. Everyone looks at him to explain. "Instead of my organs bursting out, this virus will find the gamma gene in my body and act as a catalyst to get the Hulk out. That's what my body feels like except a thousand times worse."

"So this is something like another round of MojoWorld?" Merida asks since Mojo's technology also had a gadget that let out the hulk from Daniel's body.

Daniel laughs a little but not because he finds it funny, but because this all makes sense to him now. Why does that make him laugh? He'll never know. The others are a bit alarmed at this psychotic reaction considering that he's on the floor in complete pain.

"Oh no," Daniel says with his laugh still present, "Mojo was being nice and all with his little painless darts so the Hulk could make a little appearance here and there when needed. That was great, just quality entertainment. This virus that's inside me now feels like it will kill me."

-o-

"Kind of busy to check now!" Merida yells back into her earpiece after hearing Xavier ask where she is. "Give me five."

Daniel grunts in a cramping pain, resisting his transformation. Although he knows that his organs won't burst out of his body, it severely feels like that. He tries rolling on his sides to see which is better but nothing works. It's at least better than sitting up because doing that makes him dizzy and nauseous. Emily and James, even with their combined intellect, have no idea what to do. Merida runs back to the quinjet's controls to see their current location.

"We're over the South Pacific Ocean!" Merida yells into her earpiece to Xavier. "Heading for SHIELD."

Xavier: Copy that. We'll catch up to you.

"Maybe we should knock him out with an icer," Emily suggests as she holds Daniel's arm.

"That'll make it worse," James replies.

Daniel screams again, trying his hardest not to cry and failing at that. Instead, he copes with the pain by swearing like a sailor at full volume which surprises everyone.

"Worse than this?" Emily yells. "I didn't think Daniel knew those words!"

James shrugs although Emily knows that he's right. Daniel already has a virus in him so mixing some knockout formula in his system won't make it better.

"Open the hangar and let me out," Daniel pants to Merida. "I can't hold the Hulk in any longer."

"No!" Emily exclaims. "Merida, don't you dare!"

"Stark, we're above the ocean," James tries to reason, "it's better than Daniel landing in the mountains."

"All of you are talking nonsense!" Emily yells. "Especially you, Daniel!"

Daniel groans and rolls his eyes at her. "Sorry, dear, kind of dying!"

Emily frowns at him. "I hate you right now!"

"I hate me too!"

Emily has nothing left to say but there is no way in hell Daniel's going to jump into the ocean to turn into his Hulk. It's a stupid and illogical plan. Daniel and James give each other a silent look, then Merida turns over from the pilot's seat and gives Daniel and James the same look. Emily straightens her shoulders, wondering what their sudden silence glances are about. It takes her longer than it should for her to realize that they're formulating how they'll do this without words.

In one motion, James leaps on top of Emily and pins her arms and legs down with his own off to the side. She tries to wrangle herself free as Merida opens the hangar door. Daniel forces himself onto his feet and feels the wind from outside blow against him which blocks out Emily's screams and relaxes him as he jumps out of the quinjet.

-o-

Merida: Angela! Xavier! Daniel just jumped out because he felt as if he would transform en route! How far are you?

Angela and Xavier look ahead and see their quinjet in the distance slowly becoming bigger the closer they get. They notice the hangar door open and someone come out of it.

"We see him!" Angela exclaims.

"Angela, throw me!" Xavier says.

Angela accelerates her speed to build up energy to increase the distance at which Xavier will be thrown so it would be as close to Daniel as possible. She adjusts her grip on Xavier's triceps as she winds him back and launches him, causing her to spin back as well. Angela stays in the air, watching it all take place as she flies toward the quinjet.

Xavier dives in the water and swims up to the surface. He swims for a little, calling Daniel's name and that's when he remembers that Merida said that Daniel jumped out because he felt like he would transform. Xavier treads water feeling uneasy about what would happen if he was alone in the ocean with a Hulk. He looks down at the water, wondering what is swimming up to him and he swims back, keeping his eyes on what is down there coming closer to him.

Daniel pops out, gasping for air and fixing the glasses that miraculously stayed on his face the whole time. He looks at Xavier and calms down a little.

"Aren't you supposed to be The Hulk?" Xavier asks.

Daniel looks at his hands and realizes that he's not big and green.

"That's what I thought…" Daniel mutters.

A roaring figure suddenly bursts out of the water, sending Xavier and Daniel drifting in a sudden wave. The two of them look and are face-to-face with Daniel's Hulk.