Habitation One on Yiziba (local time: nightfall)…
"So how does this place feel to you, big guy?"
"Like Asgard in a way, friend Benjamin," Thor stated as the Avengers and the Fantastic Four — minus Anthony Stark and Reed Richards — gazed out on the vast cityscape around them from the apex of the Dome of the Circle of Thought. Built on an island off the coast of the northern polar continent on this world, Habitation One — its pre-Dawn of Power name had been lost to history — served in more active times as the quasi-capital of what was officially called the "Free Planetary State of Yiziba"…but in effect, only served as the headquarters of the mechanisms that ran the Show. "In a time that is but a faint dream to those such as I. Not during the chaos of battle whenever the All-Father undergoes the Odinsleep and the forces of evil move to seize control of the Realm Eternal…not during the normal times, either. Peace and quiet…yet the scent of battle eternal lurks in the shadows, waiting to be unleashed again."
"I just hope those poor kids don't have to live the lives their previous selves did," Susan Richards stated as she felt the northern breeze shift her blonde hair. "Hearing of all that fighting…and it was ultimately all for nothing in the end. They had achieved a literal Utopia here…but the animal lusts were still there."
"Yeah, that's true, isn't it?" Clint Barton mused as he wrapped an arm around his wife's shoulder to draw Barbara closer to him. "Kinda like us in a way. All the fights we get into with all the supervillains, all the alien conquerors and all that…not too different than here." A shake of the head. "What does it say about humanity as a whole? Not just our humanity, but everyone else out there?"
"We pretend to be civilised," Natalia Romanova mused. "But deep down, we know the monsters we can become lurk under our skin, ready to be let loose…"
"Like the Hulk?" Wanda Maximoff asked.
Silence fell. "I can't believe Reed would THINK of something like that!" Johnny Storm snapped. "Tony, too?! Doc Strange, Professor Xavier, Namor and Black Bolt?! Why?!"
"In a way, I can understand what drove that sort of gathering," Steve Rogers said as he leaned on the safety rail to gaze out at the empty streets below. "Each of them represents a significant part of the superhero and metahuman community on Earth. Each has information the others could desire to possess. And they have their fears, too."
"Including a universal fear of the Hulk," Thor stated.
A nod. "Yeah."
"Could it be true?" Ben then asked.
"What's that, Ben?" Susan wondered.
"What Lizzie said?" the strongest of the Fantastic Four then asked. "That if Reed and the others went to Bruce and told him what they were worried about — especially before Lizzie and little Chiyo fixed his mind up — he might have gone along with it?"
"I wouldn't have!" Barbara Morse-Barton snapped.
"Perhaps," Thor stated. "Then again, the wise Lady Elizabeth did make a good point in defending Doctor Banner's decision to request the aide of Hel's young agent on Midgard to rescue him should he be targeted by monsters like the ones who hurt the valiant Wolverine years ago. And his willingness to allow the Lady Margo to do what she did when she did descend upon the monsters' lair this day to rescue the poor man."
The others grimaced on hearing that. Nexus' report to the Academician concerning the recent incident in northern Alberta had been precise and as full of gristly details as possible; few doubted that even the most gory horror film could equal what Doctor Death had unleashed on the Weapon Plus people who had tried to subvert the Hulk's power for their own purposes. And while the Hulk's planned response to such a plot against him had been vicious and lethal in the extreme, few of the people standing on the Dome now could really bring themselves to blame the man born Bruce Banner for reacting that way.
Then again, none of them could ever really understand what made the Hulk tick.
"Never really thought that he would be trustin' people less and less as time went on," Ben stated. "Yeah, he was scared of that other part of him bustin' out, but Doc Banner always tried to keep his chin up and keep tryin' to find a way to keep it locked up."
"Still, to plan something like THAT behind the poor man's back…!" Susan hissed.
"Makes you wonder," Steve noted.
"What's that, Steve?" Janet van Dyne asked.
"What might have happened if the Illuminati succeeded?"
The others shuddered at such a thought…
Inside the Dome…
"We were doing the RIGHT THING!"
"In a purely academic sense of the term, I agree with you."
Tony Stark jolted on hearing that calm statement from his young host, and then he sighed. "People's trust towards metahumans has been dipping down over the years. Yeah, we have people like Clark Kent and Billy Batson doing what they do…but there are people like Frank Castle running around as well. Not to mention the so-called 'freedom fighters' like Erik Lensherr! What the hell were we supposed to do, Liz?!" he demanded as he gazed at Elizabeth Wakefield. "You're the one with twenty lifetimes of experience to draw on to guide your choices! What should we have done?!"
"Twenty-eight," she corrected, and then she sighed. "Tony, I can't answer that. I can only give you my opinion on what made Bruce do what he did."
"So tell me!"
"Tony!" Reed Richards snapped.
The armoured superhero sighed as he sat down in his chair. "When Chiyo and I brought Bruce here to help him control the Hulk, we were helped by Mizuhara Yomi; she's Soul Searcher, one of Chiyo's classmates in the Azuma Gang," Elizabeth stated. "The man's mind was a total mess. Fragmented soul elements that — thanks to the power that gamma bomb force-fed him years ago — had developed their own personalities. And all of them wanted a chance to break free. Yes, you had the kind elements. The 'scientific' version of the Hulk that came out some years ago. The savage Hulk, of course. Joe Fixit, the grey-skinned one that wanted to experience all the sensual pleasures Bruce Banner had been denied for years. And there were elements of his mind that are darker than anything you could ever dream of." She crossed her arms. "It was mental meatball surgery on Yomi's part just to STABILISE that mess and allow all those fragmented parts a chance to interact with each other without tearing his mind apart! And you want to know what was the most difficult part in doing all that was?!"
"I'm afraid to ask," Reed stated as he shook his head.
"Earning his trust…for deep down, he had none, Professor."
Silence.
More silence.
Still more silence.
And then…
"What?!" Tony breathed out. "What do you mean he didn't trust anyone?! He had us! The Defenders! All those people from Betty Ross on down who stood at his side!"
"Oh, really?" Elizabeth asked. "Tony, the Hulk is GOJIRA brought down to human form! Born in a NUCLEAR BOMB accident instigated by the UNITED STATES ARMY! Don't you remember what happened when he first appeared after that?! Old General Ross hauled out every weapon he could get his hands on to HUNT HIM DOWN like a RABID DOG!"
"Oh, my God…!" Reed moaned. "What have we done…?"
"What are you talking about, Reed?!" Tony snapped. "What about all the damage the Hulk's caused over the years?! All the people who were hurt because of him?!"
"Oh, don't worry, Tony," Elizabeth stated. "Bruce understands that. That was what drove him to accept whatever help Chiyo and I could give him in the end. But think of what that man's been through over the last few years! On the move constantly. Forced to hide himself, stay out of anyone's way. And hope to Heaven someone doesn't come along to either anger him or excite him enough to trigger that change! And for those people who you say supported him from his ex-fiancée on down?! Did they really stop to UNDERSTAND what was happening with that man?! No! He was just a threat that had to be put down by any means possible! And despite his intellectually accepting WHY…!"
"In the end, he felt totally alone."
Tony looked over. "Reed…"
A sigh. "Tony, before all this happened, I liked to think of Bruce Banner as my friend. He fought against me and my family, yes…but he also fought WITH us! And yes, I wanted to do my best to help him. The man has a mind even I cannot come close to equalling, Tony!" As the billionaire industrialist/ex-weapons designer blinked, the leader of the Fantastic Four shook his head. "We never sat back to think about the MAN at the heart of this whole business, Tony. Not even Steven or Charles saw it! In the middle of this…was a MAN not really that different from you or me!
"And all we saw was the MONSTER!"
Tony blinked. "The government won't let the Hulk run free, Reed!"
"He's in CANADA now, Tony!" Reed snapped. "And we all know there's a group out there beyond Alpha Flight which has the power — and the WILLPOWER! — to come down on ANYONE who threatens the sovereignty of that land or harms those within its borders! Need I remind you that even if they're technically retired, Major Raeburn and her friends could be called back to duty in an INSTANT to deal with anyone that needs dealing with?! Look how fast the Canadians were willing to kill Greg Wyszynski before he became Destructo?! And all because he was suffering from RADIATION POISONING!" A shake of the head. "If the Hulk does nothing in Canada, there's no reason for the Canadian authorities to go after him. And his strength alone would help out in case there was a natural disaster or some alien attack wherever he was living. If T-Bolt Ross tries to do anything no matter what the excuse might be, what on Earth's to stop Major Raeburn from putting a .44 bullet into that man's skull? Much less all those who fight with him…?
"…or God help us, save him or his friends from people like Margo Black?!"
"May I propose something?"
Reed looked at Elizabeth. "What?"
"When next you get together with your friends, invite me along."
The leader of the Fantastic Four blinked, and then he nodded. "Alright. We could use a fresh perspective. And the others would want to know what happened to Bruce."
"Reed…" Tony warned.
"Tony, thanks to Greg Wyszynski, Moroboshi Ataru and who knows else, there is a new power loose on Earth," Reed stated. "A power that has interests and desires of its own. It would be only right to learn more about what that power means. Wasn't that the reason the Avengers were ordered out to Sweet Valley in the first place?"
The billionaire blinked, and then he nodded…
North of Habitation One…
"So what do you think's gonna happen?"
"Well, I doubt that the Avengers or the Four will break up over this," Ataru mused as he handed the cup of coffee to Lila Fowler. "In a way, all Richards-hakase and Stark-san were trying to do was keep in touch with other people who wanted to protect the planet from all the threats out there. Both local and imported. And…"
"Until Liz and Chiyo got involved, the Hulk was a threat," Amy Sutton finished.
He nodded. While Winston Egbert had gone back to Earth to do his homework for tomorrow's classes at Sweet Valley High School and Elizabeth was still hosting the visiting teams from Earth (as well as Rogue), the others from the seashore California town — plus Tara Markova and Pansy Parkinson — had shifted up to Moroboshi Ataru's country cabin in one of the mountain ranges spreading out like a spider web from Yiziba's north pole to relax. This allowed the girls to "dress down," transform their fighting costumes into thigh-length nightshirts that showed off their legs very well. While it was pretty much accepted that Jessica, Tara and Pansy had first dibs on Ataru, the other girls from Sweet Valley — even Betsy Martin, who had earned a reputation over the last few years as being a "bad" girl who always drank to excess and slept around with anyone that caught her eye — definitely looked on the wandering Japanese teenager who had helped changed their lives with more than a friendly eye.
Then again, it was understandable.
Underneath it all, despite the incredible amount of knowledge and memories they had gained with their Gifts, they were all teenage girls at heart.
Being a teenager — even a Yizibajohei teenager — meant discovering some things.
"Oh, enough of this horrible talk," Caroline Pearce then breathed out. "Let's talk about juicy stuff." Which, for this girl, meant gossip. "Confess, Ataru!"
He blinked in faux innocence. "Confess what, Carol-chan?"
"Who else in Sweet Valley are Gifted?" the metahuman chatterbox demanded. "We know that Betsy's sister — who's currently dating Jessica's brother — is one; Betsy herself said that back during that fight scene with the Brotherhood."
"Damn! You got good ears, Pearce!" Betsy noted.
"I may not act like it, but I'm a telepath, Martin!" Caroline stated. "And while I don't snoop into Ataru's mind — though I am NOW seriously tempted — I can do it. I 'heard' you tell Lila here that when your memories recovered while you were at the Shady Lady, you remembered what Ataru did for you AND your sister!"
"Who is Tricia, anyway?!" Jessica asked. "Steve's my brother, Betsy! I need to know!"
A sigh. "She's Tzaraath."
Silence.
"Holy…!" a pale Amy gasped. "You're kidding me?!"
"No, I'm not," Betsy stated. "Freaky, huh?! Tricia could've died from leukaemia hadn't Ataru taken her to the Cave…and look what she became!"
More silence.
"She was dying of leukaemia?" a pale Caroline gasped.
A nod. "That's what persuaded Tricia to get a Gift." A smirk. "I swear, that Crystal really has a weird sense of humour. Actually giving my sister the power to unleash a PLAGUE on anyone?!" Betsy then smirked. "But there's a good side to it, too."
"What's that?" Pansy asked.
"She's mastered the ability to create antibodies that could CURE diseases, too!"
Still more silence.
"Holy cow!" Amy exclaimed. "Shit! Next thing you'll tell us is that Margo Black found some way to control her powers so she could STOP someone from dying!"
"Margo? Actually NOT kill someone?! Impossible!" Jessica stated.
The other girls giggled…and then a knock echoed from the front door. "Got it!" Tara called out before she headed over to open the door, and then she blinked. "Yes?"
"Hey! Is the man in?" a familiar voice to the Sweet Valley girls asked.
"C'mon in, Robin!" Ataru called out.
Jessica, Lila and Amy all gasped. "ROBIN WILSON?!"
"That's me! Hey, guys!" the voice of Sweet Valley High School's would-be championship diver — and now the current incarnation of the Underwater Missile, Gulfstream — called out as she came in. "Oh! Dressing down, I see!" And with that, her slate-grey skin-tight jumpsuit with the stylish tidal wave motif on her chest morphed into a nightshirt. "Don't mind if I join the slumber party? Regina, Molly and Annie are coming, too."
Jessica gaped. "Wait! Annie Whitman, too?!"
"She's Oblivion."
And even yet more silence.
"Annie…is OBLIVION?!" a pale Jessica eeped.
"Oh, relax, Jess! I'll let you keep your powers!"
Everyone turned…and then Ataru walked over to pull the brown-haired tomboy that had just stepped inside into his arms. "Hey, Annie! How's the Show Stopper today?!"
"Relieved to be back to 'normal,' so to speak," Annie Whitman — a quite promiscuous girl in Jessica's year at Sweet Valley High who had been called "Easy Annie" behind her back because of her dating different boys for a long time — said before they shared a tender kiss. "So what's this about Rogue? I heard from Nexus that the government was going to allow her to stay in the Valley."
"They are…but Miss Negako needs to look at her first to help her control her powers," Lila stated as the new arrival switched her black jumpsuit with the silver-trimmed black lemniscate insignia on her chest into a nightshirt.
"Still, maybe it's a good idea that you ARE Oblivion, Annie," Betsy noted. "We still need to find some way to give Carol Danvers her powers and memories back."
The current incarnation of the Show Stopper, Oblivion, nodded. "I can help." She then got a saucy smile on her face. "So…anyone for a nookie scene?!"
The other girls gaped, and then they laughed…before a silver-haired typhoon flew through the open door to swamp Ataru with a hug and kiss. "HEY…mmpth!"
"Molly!" Amy called out on recognising Molly Hecht.
"Molly!" a stern voice then barked out.
Everyone turned to look…and then Jessica squealed on seeing who else had come with Regina Morrow and her lover to the cabin. "Dana! You, too?!"
"Yeah, me!" the current incarnation of the Singing Belle, the Siren — who lived today as Dana Larson, lead singer of Sweet Valley's local band, the Droids — called out as she came inside, followed by a taller girl with glasses. "And Lynne, too!"
"Lynne Henry?!" Jessica called out on recognising Lynne Henry, the tall and lanky songwriter who currently was dressed as the Wandering Bard, the Minstrel. "Damn it, Ataru! I swear! If you got Enid Rollins a Gift, I'll…I'll…I'll…!"
Ataru shook his head. "Jess, stop that…or it's no nookie for a MONTH!"
Silence.
More silence.
Still more silence.
And then…
"I'll be good!" a humbled Jessica eeped as we…
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(Posted Wed, 18 Apr 2012 03:45)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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