Chapter 24: Afterwords.
Hell's Pass Hospital, Crossover Town, Colorado, October 12th, 11:00 AM.
The first thing Mabel heard when she regained consciousness was beeping, she groggily stirred awake as she began to take stock of her new surroundings again, Everything seemed… white this time.
"Am I… Dead?" She asked.
"No, You're very much alive." Said a voice.
Mabel turned her head and found Uncle Harold sitting by a bedside with Aunt Valorie.
"Uncle Harold! Aunt Valerie.." Mabel said weekly.
"Yes, We're here." Said Aunt Valorie. "And you're lucky to be in one piece."
"What happened?" Mabel asked. "Last thing I remembered was…" She shot up with a gasp. "Wait a Minute, What happened to Bruce- The Hulk!? Did he-!"
"Mabel!"
Mabel turned to see Wendy, Nick, Megan, Brian and Stewie quickly enter the room. "God Bless, you're awake!" Cheered Megan.
"Wendy and your friends have hardly left your side." Said Harold. "You were passed out when you landed, possibly from shock so the Doctors say."
"The last thing I remember… was that I was trying to save Hulk and he…" A horrified look crossed Mabel's face. "No… Oh No he… He saved me, he…"
"Actually." Stewie interrupted. "You probably won't believe this…"
Flashback.
Everyone watched as the Hulkbuster Compound went up in smoke, leaving nothing behind but a Massive smoking crater, Above, Mabel came careening down to Earth, Knocked out, Luckily before she hit the ground, she was swiftly caught by Tigger, Who bounced up and grabbed her limp form, Harold and Valorie came rushing over in an instant.
"Oh Mabel!" Valorie cried.
"She's… She's alright I think." Tigger Replied, before looking back at the crater.
From not too far away, The K.K.K.'s had dragged Courntey's body clear of the explosion just in time, and dragged her along not too far from the main group, they quickly stopped and watched as the Townsfolk and the Hulkbusters observed the crater.
"The Hulk…" Murmured Wendy. "He's…"
Then they saw a figure emerge from the smoke.
"Oh my god…" Brian exclaimed. "Hulk he's… He's alive!"
"How could anything have survived that?" Ross asked in bewilderment.
Out of the Crater, emerged the Hulk himself, alive and well, but something about him had changed.
"My god… He's… gray!" Exclaimed Megan.
"The Gamma Cython." Stewie realized. "It wasn't draining the Hulk of his life, It was taking away the Radiation! Thus changing him again!"
The new Gray Hulk then lept out of the crater and looked down at Ross.
"N-Now, Now…" Ross said nervously. "Banner, If you're still in there, Remember Betty…"
"I would love nothing better than smash you where you stand, Ross." The Hulk said menacingly.
The normally composed General began to shake a little and gulped.
"But you're not worth it." And the Hulk shoved Ross aside, While the Talbot Brothers and other Hulkbusters looked on as the Hulk addressed the town.
"You wanted me gone so the Hulkbusters would go." He said. "So I will."
"Wait We're sorry we tried to run you out." Said Wendy. "You don't have to leave."
"I must keep others safe from what I am." Hulk replied, before looking at Mabel, who had been taken into her Uncle's arms, and Brian and Stewie. "Make sure this girl's okay, and get that laptop to your local authorities."
"We will." Badger said, nodding.
Hulk then knelt down before Harold and stared at Mabel's unconscious form. "Goodbye, Mabel."
And with that, Gray Hulk turned away and gave a mighty leap over the Mountainside and away from Crossover Town…
Flashback End.
"Hulk's still out there?" Mabel asked.
"Yeah, and who knows." Said Brian. "You might see him again someday."
"Yeah, Maybe." Said Mabel, before internally thinking. "Like I'll probably see Dipper, Stan and Ford again." "But what about Courtney? Did you hand over the evidence?"
"Yeah we did." Said Nick.
Mabel beamed hopefully.
"But her Mom came in and bought the evidence off them." Megan finished morosely.
Mabel's face fell. "What? No… Damn it! Now we'll never prove Kyle's innocence!"
"We may not be able to prove Kyle didn't assault you." Said Harold. "Or reveal anything about her arms trade, But me, Badger, The Watersons and the rest still managed to testify how she and the Hulkbustsers tried to kill us and they know the Truth, Several federal agencies have her on their watchlist, and they're sending her away to get all that Gamma Blood out of her, Her operation is crippled, We'll get her eventually."
And with that Mabel had to be content.
A Few Days later,
Things in Crossover Town slowly changed for the Better after Mabel was released from the Hospital, The Hulkbusters had left for good, with much insistence from Thunderbolt Ross, who heard the Hulk had reached the Canadian borders, and was quick to reach them before bruce crossed, Courtney was carted off to whatever facility she was being taken to, and her henchgirls kept a very low profile after she had gone, It still ached for Mabel to know that Courtney still had some small partial victory over her, But it still pleased her that Courtney was gone from Crossover Town, and hoped she never came back.
There was still some issues to sort out though, Kyle was still somewhat in Hot water, but after some talks between the Testaburgers and Mrs. Brovflowski, he was let off, though some still thought he attacked Mabel, and ostracized him.
Mabel felt helpless for a time, but eventually made a decision.
One Day, she was headed off to school, but had split off from Wendy, instead going in a different direction than before, as she made her way though, she was stopped by a familiar face.
It was Derek Richards, flanked by Bill and Fosse and two other boys, Terrance and Chandler.
"Hey Mabes, missing your boyfriend already?" He asked.
Mabel said nothing, she just gave him an unusually cold look.
"Yeah, Sure he was nice." Derek continued. "Listen, I just wanted to say, Thank you, for all you've done, Especially for getting my sister out of my hair."
Once again Mabel was silent as Derek went on.
"You see, I've been in her shadow for too long." Derek explained casually. "But now with her out of the way, It's time I ran the show, I mean, Somebody's gotta hold down the Family's foot hold in this school."
Still no answer.
"And gonna be honest, being at the top gets a little… Eh, Lonely." Derek finished, eyeing up Mabel. "So if you wanna… Maybe we could swing by Willie's sometime?"
Mabel still didn't respond, just kept up that stone cold expression the entire one sided conversation, It was getting on Derek's nerves. "SAY SOMETHING!"
He raised hand to slap Mabel, Only for the girl to block it and shove him back into his boys, knocking them over.
They all looked up as she stood over Derek Richards. "I'll be watching you, Richards." Was all she said before she turned and went on her way.
"Hey! Get back here!" Derek called out as he got up. "I'm not finished with you!"
Mabel just ignored him.
Soon she came upon what she was looking for. There, at a lonely Bus stop, was Kyle and his friends, Kenny and Cartman, waiting for the Bus.
She quickly walked up to them. "Hey guys."
The three fourth graders were surprised. "Oh hey Mabel." Said Kyle. "Mom says I'm not grounded anymore."
"Cool." Said Mabel. "So uh, listen, I know people still think you pushed me down those stairs, But maybe we could just tell them, I forgive you and that we're all totally friends now."
The Fat kid Cartman just scoffed. "Yeah right, Like people are going to believe we're totally fine with hanging out with a girl."
"Hey, Shut up Cartman!" Kyle snapped, before turning to Mabel with a grateful expression. "Yeah… I think we'd like that."
It was at that moment, another boy with a Blue and Red Poof Ball hat and a brown coat came in. "Hey guys." He said. "Sorry for not being around. My dad was dragging us around on a "Grieving tour for his friend." So what have I missed?"
Mabel smiled, things actually seemed to be looking up for once, and even if Dipper wasn't around for it, Mabel had a feeling that she truly had made herself at home.
The End… For now.
And that, Ladies and Gentleman, Is the end of this story. We will now return to the story of Crossover Legends, along with a few more "Terrors" coming this October. :)
I also want to give out a shout out to Lfee1206 for her support of this story, her reviews truly meant alot to me, And I would also like to take a moment of solace for a… recent loss today, For Lil ol Glitterly Fictions, Or OneDaye as he's renamed herself an old Gravity Falls fan as recently deleted his Fanfiction works and Deactivated his Deviantart account, This is a personal loss to me as she left me with her OC, Cashmere Gleeful from the now Departed Stories, It runs in the Family, A Story where Cashmere tires to kill Dipper on behalf of her Cousin Gideon who escapes from jail and they Brainwash Mabel, Many of you probably don't know or remember it, and now you never will, But it was a personal Favorite of mine and true South Park Classic before Season 2, RIP to it and may it live on as scraps.
But the Character of Cashmere Gleeful will live on though, with a few tweaks and will be an Upcoming Character in Crossover Legends going forward. (Spoilers.) so saty tuned for that.
And now with all that out of the way, I wish you all a pleasant day, and remember, Reviews, Faves and Follows are much appreciated for more Crossover Legends. :)
So long for now. :)