The Defenders Of Midgard, An MCU Fan Fiction:
Chapter 7: Look Who’s Coming To Diner!
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Chapter 7
Look Who’s Coming To Diner!
Punish Me Harder Gabriel! Punish Me Harder!
The first rays of the morning sun hit the Johnson Building, as the Black Smith and his shady lady pull up on his bike, as many nervous onlookers await their arrival in the gallery. The rear wheel, the two arc reactors in it’s hub, the back seat and back rest, all morph and shift their way out from under the shady lady, as she lifts up in the air hovering slightly. The bike morphs completely into the matte black Mark I tribute armor of the Black Smith, with all four arc reactors in the chest, and matte black roller blades forming under each boot. Monica places her hand on her matte black knight’s shoulder as she levitates, allowing him to drag her along like a tethered balloon, as he rolls over to the front door, and steps inside the open front doorway.
Monica sets her bare feet down on the floor inside the gallery, still clutching her matte black twenty sided polyhedron, as Dir. Mace and Gen. Talbot look on grimly, next to an even more grime Robbie Reyes, with Daisy standing by his side as well. An angry Fitz stands by Dr. Simmons and Betsy Braddock. Daisy’s father and the Warriors Three sit off to the side, observing and scarfing down large amounts of tacos and churros. Mack stands off to the side babysitting the Stark interns, as they look on, concerned about their new friend. Queen Karnilla and her daughter Dr. Laufey stand in observance, attended by Grant Ward. And Captain Brian Braddock stands in attendance as well, seemingly to look after his sister Betsy.
Dir. Mace:
I’m not sure if you properly understood the conditions of the Sechovia Accords that you signed… Mr. Reyes… Law enforcement matters are not in your purview… Chasing fugitives is not your job… Running a lab is… We talked about this…
Gabriel:
I didn’t chase after her… She kidnapped me… Then she surrendered to me… It’s complicated… But it gets worse… You gotta hear what she has to say…
Gen. Talbot:
She kidnapped you?… Then she surrendered to you?… And you expect us to trust her?… I didn’t know that you were that kinky son…
Gabriel’s armor opens up and lets Gabriel step out of it unaided, to the astonishment of everyone, especially his older brother Robbie.
Robbie:
Gabe… Bro… What happened to you?…
Monica:
I happened to him… I take full credit… and full blame… I forced an experimental treatment upon Gabriel to heal him… The same treatment that you know as Black Box Extremis… Or at least a variation of it that I came up with independently… as an experimental treatment to save my own life… after I was recently drained of blood… I knew that I had lost Gabriel’s trust… And I could not afford for him to say no… I accept full responsibility for all that I have done… And all of the follow on consequences… But I surrender to no one… But my angel Gabriel… I will submit to no one… and nothing… save for my angel Gabriel… Beyond that I will answer any of your questions that it is within my power to answer… And cooperate to fullest of my ability to do so… But I will never permanently leave my angel Gabriel’s side… Even if he orders it himself…
Gen. Talbot:
Who the hell do you think you are?… Lady Shade?…
Gen. Talbot steps to Monica and tries to grab her arm, only to be blasted away by lightening arcs erupting from her matte black polyhedron, and from all over her body and her cloak.
Monica:
I will not be handled by anyone… but my angel Gabriel…
Gabriel:
Look… We came here because there’s more you gotta know… There’s more coming… Never mind that other conversation for now… Tell them what you told me… about Dr. Tarleton… and the FSB drones…
Monica:
Dr. Tarleton came to me with the FSB technology… We were friendly in the past and he trusted me… But his attention was unexpected and unwanted… save for what it brought with him… In an act of cold blood… cold and desperate… I stabbed Dr. Tarleton through the heart… with a dagger that he had made with his FSB… after he issued me one of my own…
Robbie:
Lovely…
Monica:
Nothing really excuses it… But Dr. Tarleton represented a chapter of my life that I had desperately tried and failed to leave behind me… AIM… Advanced Idea Mechanics… But his FSB… was too good to be true at a time when I was at the end of it… But Dr. Tarleton… and any unnecessary connection to Shield… had to be disposed of… Or so I rationalized at the time… That simple cold blooded act… done completely without Gabriel’s knowledge or consent… set in motion everything related to the MODOC incident… But even before MODOC was created from the remains of Aldrich Killian… I used my FSB… to colonize and absorb Dr. Tarleton’s body… and all of his blood… and absorb them into a hulking FSB golem that I made to destroy and disappear the evidence… along with the dagger I used to stab him in the heart… and his original FSB… I also made numerous other FSB drones from that golem… Which I used to conduct the experiment that created MODOC… without Gabriel’s presence or knowledge… drones that contain all my data from that experiment… Drones that have all now wondered off on their own… without my knowledge… And well beyond my control… And may constitute and even greater danger than MODOC… Somehow… I believe that Dr. Tarleton’s FSB… had gradually recolonized the golem and the other drones… without my realizing it… regenerating his consciousness to some limited extent… Dr. Tarleton had big dreams about rebuilding AIM with alien nanotech… I suspect that the golem and the other drones may try to attempt that… Even to the point of trying to rescue MODOC for that purpose…
Dir. Mace:
Just when did all of these FSB drones go missing?…
Monica:
Two days ago…
Gabriel:
Two days ago!?!… How long have we been gone?…
Robbie:
You’ve been gone for three days bro…
Gabriel:
Three days!?!… Dammit Monica!… I thought maybe a day or two tops…
Robbie:
You got Shanghai’d big time bro…
Fitz:
Shanghai’d?… It almost sounds as if he got married… A Shanghai shotgun wedding perhaps…
Betsy:
Married?… Is that true Monica?… Are you okay?… I’m sorry… about before…
Monica:
Well… Heaven’s to Betsy Braddock… I’m just fine… Don’t you worry about me… If anything… I owe you a dept of gratitude… for the necessity that compelled me to experiment on myself to save my own life… If anything… I may have a way we can help each other in that regard… But we should talk about that in private… Come here for a moment…
Betsy:
I’m in enough trouble… I nearly killed Brian!… Not just you… Dr. Simmons is researching a cure for vampirism… If anything… we could use your help…
Monica:
I’m sure you can… But I need you here first… I want to properly introduce you to a friend of mine… Gabriel Reyes…
Betsy:
We’ve met…
Monica:
Have you now?… Well… Come over here… I want you two to get to know each other better… Since you both mean so much to me…
Betsy cautiously and curiously walks over to her friend. Gen. Talbot comes to his feet just in time to see as Monica holds up her matte black twenty sided polyhedron, and lightening erupts and arcs from it to strike and engulf herself, Betsy Braddock, and Gabriel along with his empty armor, causing them all to disappear somehow in a blinding white flash.
Robbie:
Gabe!…
Captain Brian:
Betsy!…
Gen. Talbot:
She did it again!… Now she has two hostages!…
Gabriel, Betsy, and Monica, materialize in a round matte black room, with a ceiling and walls shaped like a hemisphere dome, and the matte black surface disrupted only by intermittent twinkling white sparkles within it’s surface, permeating every surface and providing the only light within the room.
Monica:
Welcome to the White Sparkle Lounge… My special home away… from being completely homeless…
A large overstuffed matte black faux leather couch, morphs into shape, emerging from the floor, with every square inch of it’s surface surface twinkling and sparkling like the rest of the room. A spinning crystal ball emerges from the pinnacle of the dome ceiling, and begins to shed a bit more light.
Monica:
Come… Sit down and get comfortable… I’m afraid I have some more private business to attend to… Before I can deal with the full metal normie brigade… General high and tight… was cramping my style… My apologies my angel Gabriel… I seem to make a habit of abducting you… But we need some more private time… We have to talk… among other things… Come on… sit…
Monica sits down on one end of the couch, and motions Betsy to sit down next to her, who in turn motions for Gabriel to sit on the other end next to her. Gabriel stands, at wits end.
Gabriel:
Dammit Monica!… What the sparkly hell!… I thought you said that you would surrender to me… only me in fact… You sent Talbot into a wall for it…
Monica:
And I’m still with you silly… And whether you realize it yet or not… I’m am looking out for you and the best interest of our children…
Gabriel:
Our children?… What children?…
Monica:
Our children… We have already conceived twins my precious love… But their future has been jeopardized by my own actions… And I cannot allow the authorities to get in the way of the interests our posterity…
Gabriel:
How do you even know?… that your already pregnant?…
Monica:
I’ve already used my own nanotech to verify the pregnancy and do a full genetic workup… Fraternal twin boys… Our children will grow up strong hearty and bright… The world they inherit is another matter of more grave concern… For their sake… Betsy and I have an important task to perform… A task for which she needs to be firing on all cylinders… As a vampire… she needs to feed… And I would effectively be bleeding for three… With your Black Box Extremis… your blood will replenish plenty fast enough for it to be safe… if Betsy can handle it… I want you two to take care of each other for me… Whenever I’m not around… Come sit down next to Betsy Gabriel… Heaven’s to Betsy don’t be so shy… my angel Gabriel…
Betsy beckons Gabriel to sit next to her on the end of the couch again, and Gabriel hesitantly complies. Just as Gabriel sits down Betsy jumps him and thrusts him back against the end of the couch, bites him on the side of his neck, and begins to drain him. Gabriel and Betsy both begin to emit a pulsating blue glow, as Monica watches, face expressionless except for a frozen smile, before Monica’s voice begins to come from the ceiling and the walls.
Monica:
Besides looking after Betsy’s nutritional needs… The primary task at hand… is one of deep information exchange… an FSB to FSB Vulcan mind meld… Since Betsy has her own FSB… And Betsy here is in need of my knowledge of science and medicine… So that she may aid in the pursuit of the cure for vampirism… Assuming she wants a cure that is… She does seem to be enjoying herself… I am fundamentally in need of knowledge that I didn’t even know existed outside of fairy tales… all that mystical mumbo jumbo that Ogun taught you… Everything I know… for everything you know… a fair enough exchange… But you will need to be well fed to survive the attempt… So drink deep Betsy… Drink deep… And hold on to your head…
Every matte black surface in sight begins to ramp up the rate and amplitude of their twinkling and sparkling, until they are blinding. After unknown hours of white out conditions, the blinding white light dies down, and Gabriel wakes up with Betsy passed out on top of him, and Monica hovering over them connecting a lightening circuit between them and the couch on the floor, and the disco ball at the top of the momentarily white room. The circuit disconnects, and Monica drops down to the floor as the white room turns back to matte black. The normal level of twinkling white sparkles returns to every surface in the room, and Betsy Braddock begins to wake up.
Betsy:
You’re tasty…
Monica:
Betsy!… You’re awake!… And I didn’t kill you!… At least… no more than you already were…
Gabriel:
Betsy?… Are you okay?… What did you do to her Monica?…
Monica:
What did I do to her?… I made her a scientist!… But as far as you are concerned… there is one more thing I need to give to you… Something I made for you before… But I haven’t yet had the chance to give to you… You might have felt it already without knowing what it was… I shrunk it down for you… and hid it here… I didn’t want to just hand it over to you without explanation…
Monica raises her hand to brow ridge of her matte black goggles, and something the size of a small matte black D&D die comes out of it and into Monica’s hand. The small matte black polyhedron grows into a small baseball sized twenty sided matte black polyhedron in Monica’s hand, as Betsy and Gabriel sit up on the couch.
Monica:
I made this one for you… It’s the same as the one that I made for myself… After the drones wondered off… I realized that I could never trust any power not in my own hands… And drones cannot be relied upon… Neither can the authorities… So I made this with all that I learned from assimilating the contents of your FSB… It’s an arrangement of twenty arc reactors… in a twenty sided polyhedron shell structure invented by someone named Ned Leeds… But shrunk down using synthetic Pym particles created in a process developed by a Dr. Jemma Simmons… with each arc reactor paired with a small mountain’s worth FSB nanotech material… dedicated to quantum super computing and nanotech mass fabrication… This very space at the core of my Power Prism… is dedicated by design to mass nanotech fabrication… But the primary purpose for all of the power generated by the twenty arc reactors… are to power it’s computational processes… The reactors are paired with just the right amount of FSB nanotech processors… to keep the whole configuration stable… Stable enough to be shrunk as necessary… and carry in the palm of your hand… Since this one was made with your FSB… you should just be able to integrate it directly into your knightly suit…
Gabriel gets up off of the couch, as Monica hands him the polyhedron. Gabriel takes the polyhedron and installs it into the chest of his armor, within a newly formed hole in the middle of the four regular size arc reactors already in the chest plate. The entire matte black armor begins to pulsate blue momentarily before dying down.
Gabriel:
What exactly have you done Monica?…
Monica:
Built the future I hope… The future for our children… Try it on… See if it feels any different…
Gabriel slips into his suit as it morphs and closes around him.
Monica:
Good… Then for now… I’ll see you later my love… Betsy and I need to run an errand… I’m afraid you’re just too much of an angel for this part… Be sure to give my specs to the Fitz Simmons… and all the FSB’s creators…
Gabriel is suddenly struck with lightening and disappears from the White Sparkle Lounge, only to suddenly reappear with another flash of lightening in Fitz and Madame Web’s lab in the basement of the Johnson Building, next to Fitz, Madame Web, and the Stark interns.
Parker:
Gabe!… You’re back!… Where are the girls?… Did you get dumped?…
Gabriel:
Zip it Parker!… I got way too much on my plate to keep up with you guys right now… sorry…
Parker:
It’s cool… We’re down for whatever you need dude…
Gabriel:
But I was ditched!… My mad scientist girlfriend decided to call an audible with her old friend Betsy Braddock…
Fitz:
What kind of an audible?…
Gabriel:
I don’t know exactly… She just said that she and Betsy had an errand to run that I was too much of an angel for… Whatever that means it can’t be good… But there’s more… She bestowed a gift upon me… that she wanted me to share the specs for… This thing here… I think she called it a Power Prism… It’s probably very dangerous for anyone who isn’t augmented to use…
Gabriel moves his right hand over the space in the center of his armor’s chest plate, and the Power Prism in his chest moves itself out into his waiting hand, as his armor opens up in front, morphing away, allowing Gabriel to walk out of it. Gabriel hands the matte black polyhedron over to Fitz.
Gabriel:
In anyone else’s hands but mine… it might as well be inert it seems… But if I weren’t augmented with the Black Box Extremis… I probably couldn’t even touch my own box while using it…
Fitz:
Sounds like a personal problem…
Gabriel:
Dr. Rappaccini has one just like it… That’s what she used to abduct me… the second time… Twenty arc reactors in a Mega Golem Cluster… shrunk with Dr. Simmons synthetic Pym particles… counter balanced with a building size FSB mass dedicated to quantum super computing and nanotech fabrication… with a space in it’s core for that fabrication take place… She shrunk us down and put us in there… She called it her home away from being homeless… her White Sparkle Lounge… That’s where we were… She asked me to share the specs with you and Dr. Simmons… I got the impression that this was something too dangerous to be shared widely… She said to share it with you two specifically by name… because you were the co-creators… But she wants it shared with all of the device’s creators… which would include Ned for part of that… But I don’t think you can physically handle that… She only mentioned Fitz and Dr. Simmons by name…
Fitz:
Well… I’m as augmented as you… Hit me with your best…
Gabriel:
I’m sending you two the specs now… I’ll send Ned the specs too… But don’t make one Ned… I don’t think an unaugmented human body can’t handle the juice if they were to actually physically handle it… while using it… Don’t even try to make one without Stark’s say so… and direct supervision… Just having mine makes me nervous… It’s a gift… But it’s also a burden I’m stuck with…
Parker:
With great power… comes great responsibility…
Gabriel:
Yeah… Did Stark say that?…
Parker:
My Uncle Ben… Before he died… He’s the reason I do what I do…
Fitz:
Well… I’ll go first then… Here…
Fitz hands Gabriel’s Power Prism back to him, and cups his hands together in front of himself. White sparkles emanate from Fitz’s hands, forming a baseball sized twenty sided matte black polyhedron in Fitz’s hands. Fitz holds it up to the light.
Fitz:
Translucent…
The matte black polyhedron in Fitz’s hand turns into a translucent crystal, which then begins to sporadically emit beams of colored light, turning the FSB Energy lab into a makeshift disco lounge.
Dr. Simmons:
Pretty… Dr. Spectrum…
Fitz:
Not as pretty as you… Madame Web… Speaking of spectrum…
Fitz forms a pair of rectangular matte black blinder goggles onto his face.
Fitz:
Now it’s your turn my love…
Dr. Simmons:
Me?… I don’t think that it’s safe for me…
Fitz:
That’s why I propose an experiment… For Ned’s sake… as well as yours…
Dr. Simmons:
Oooh!… An experiment?… What kind of experiment?…
Fitz:
Use one of your bloody creepy spider minions to make one and try to use it… all without ever directly physically touching it… It’s something we have to establish… And Stark will want one to play with anyway… Try making some sort of hulking golem size spider just for that… just as a precaution… You can put it over there next to Ned’s golem…
Numerous matte black spider minions with glowing red eyes skitter out from behind all of the various lab equipment in the room, and begin to emit streams of red sparkles that form a large spider minion shaped golem mass next to Ned’s massive golem on one side of the lab. The red sparkles die down slightly and solidify into a giant hulking matte black spider with glowing red eyes, with it’s entire body covered in twinkling red sparkles on a matte black background. The spider suddenly shrinks to the size of a small tarantula, and jumps onto Dr. Simmons shoulder.
Dr. Simmons:
I love it… I’ll call her Agent Romanov… The elite secret agent of my spider minions…
Ned:
Well that’s proof of concept… And I feel outdone with my own invention here… I’m a co-creator too here… of part of it at least…
Fitz:
What do you propose?… Golem Master…
Parker:
Aw… Do you have to use that name?…
Fitz:
The queen gave it to him… And I am a servant of the queen… Besides it’s bound to drive Stark completely batty… You invented the Mega Golem Cluster… Even if Stark named it… Do your worst I say… Just don’t touch the damn thing when you use it… just not directly… just in case…
Ned:
I already have a Mega Golem Cluster in this golem here… But I didn’t think to use synthetic Pym particles… to put the stabilizing FSB load on the inside the twenty arc reactor array… I left that empty in my design… And put the load on the outside in the form of the golem… But now that I have the specs… I can put a Power Prism inside my existing Mega Golem Cluster!… And no one will ever have to touch it… I won’t even have to make the golem any bigger… unless I want to… I’ll call it… the Death Star Super Cluster… If it works…
Ned walks over to touch his golem with both hands. The golem begins to pulsate a purple glow, before settling down to simple matte black.
Ned:
It worked!… Where’s Alderon?… It’s bound to make valuable test of my power soon enough… I hear they got it coming for opposing my empire…
Parker:
We were worried about you dude… But since you’re back… and we have a new responsibility to deal with now… we should really take this to Stark at Stark Industries… Let me know if you need back up… Come on Ned… Let’s see how the flying car handles with the extra power of the Death Star Super Cluster… We have diabolical work to get to now… See ya…
Ned:
Hang in there dude… As an avowed sidekick… I’m more than happy kick your side any time… You know what I mean… I’m more than happy to be your man in the chair anytime…
Gabriel:
I appreciate that guys… I’m not sure anyone can help me with Monica… But I’ll try to remember that the next time I’m kidnapped by my girlfriend…
Ned and Parker head up the stairs, and Ned’s golem walks up after them, following them out to the street where Ned’s golem changes into it’s flying car configuration, of the matte black impala convertible. Ned slides in behind the wheel and Peter grabs shotgun, as the car lifts off, but heads out to the ocean rather than heading for Stark Industries.
Parker:
Ned… Aren’t we going the wrong way?… Stark Industries is the other way… literally… directly… the other way…
Ned:
We’re taking the scenic route to field test… Like you said… to see what the flying car can do with the new power plant… I bet I could make a space ship… or even a literal Death Star… I have to start thinking of the full implications… Just one of these is a super factory… contained within a super power plant… Within an infinitely mobile and adaptable super Mega Golem package… And I can make more!… But I got a take it easy… One step at a time… First things first…
Parker:
Like joyriding…
Ned:
Test joyriding…
Iron Man:
I better get a full report for that test!…
Ned/Parker:
Mr. Stark!…
Iron Man:
At ease nerds!…
Iron Man flies up behind them in his armor and plops his armored butt in the back seat of their convertible, with four other flying convertibles falling into single file formation behind the Leader, with Ned behind the wheel of the leader. The Iron Man armor’s face plate and helmet retract revealing Tony Stark.
Mr. Stark:
I’ve been glancing at the new specs… watching your telemetry… looking forward to seeing what the flying car can do with the new power plant… But seriously… the Death Star Super Cluster?… But anyway… Put all that aside for now… Something’s come up… besides Gabriel’s AIM Fatal Attraction melodrama… Somethings come up during a routine shakedown cruise for the queen’s new FSB colonized and upgraded war shuttle… Along with the upgraded sensors that… It revealed some anomalies on the far side of the moon… It could be anything… Or it could be nothing… But war with the Kree is immanent… So if it turns out to be something… were probably not ready for it… So… First things first… Finish what you started… And upgrade these other four… But don’t make any more!…
Ned:
As good as done boss… processes underway… It only takes a minute… then what boss?…
Mr. Stark:
Then put them together… And make your Mega Golem again… with us in the cockpit… And see what you can do about integrating any compatible Kree technology from the colonized war shuttle… and whatever may be useful from the Stark catalog… Show me what you can do Golem Master… If you want to earn that name that the queen gave you… Wow me… But take us out to sea just in case…
All the remaining flying cars take on the pulsating purple glow of the leader, as they morph and merge into a single massive Mega Golem, all matte black save for the pulsating purple glow all over, and a cockpit window in the golem’s head, shaped like the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon. Inside the cockpit, instrumentation morph’s and shifts, as glowing red symbols and characters appear and disappear, first in Kree, then in Asgardian, then finally in English. The steering wheel in front of Ned morph’s away into the console, and a pair of form fitting faux leather matte black gloves form over Ned’s hands, and a holographic head’s up display begins to display astronautical telemetry for all to see.
The passenger side and the back seat each morph into science work stations for Mr. Stark and Peter Parker. Beneath the feet of the giant golem form hexagonal arrays of repulsors, all pointed downward for thrust. Similar repulsor arrays form on the inside of the golem’s giant hands. A holographic heads up display by Stark’s work station shows progress reports for a manufacturing process underway for an FSB colonized and upgraded war shuttle.
Ned:
I believe you’ll find your workstation set up in accordance with your usual preferences… Right Friday?…
Friday:
That is right Mr. Leeds…
Ned:
I’ve also taken the liberty of starting a manufacturing process for the war shuttle specs… In addition to being a kick ass giant robot… This Mega Golem is now the ultimate manufacturing power in the universe… I suggest we use it…
Mr. Stark:
Agreed Darth Ned… my young apprentice… But I’m not sure about these synthetic Pym particles that your working with here… Where is this exactly?…
Ned:
It’s being manufactured at a less than nanoscopic scale… shrunk down within the heart of one of the Power Prisms by synthetic Pym particles… with shrunken materials… which can the be re-enlarged to full size when finished… like building a ship in a bottle… That can grow up to be a real ship some day… hypothetically… The only caveat that concerns me with the synthetic Pym particles… is Dr. Simmons own black box warning about using it on anything living… It is more than enough for me to never want to try that… Although Monica used it on her… Gabriel… and Betsy Braddock… and put them in the heart of her Power Prism… A place she called her White Sparkle Lounge…
Mr. Stark:
So Monica had Gabriel trapped in her White Sparkle Lounge?… Not quite a white room with black curtains at the station… But it sounds kinky…
Ned:
Either way that’s not something I want to try personally… But we don’t have to go in… to make stuff there… Apparently… That’s what Dr. Rappaccini designed it for… primarily…
Mr. Stark:
Very well then… But don’t make any more of those… for now… For now we’ll stick to one process per core… You keep supervising the core your already using… Give control of two each to me and Parker’s work stations… You’re not ready for the moon yet Golem Master… So this thing needs a shakedown cruise under extreme conditions… Without potential alien entanglement… Head up the coast for the Monterey Trench Ned… That’s about as extreme as we’ll find any where without leaving the planet… or running into the Kree…
Parker:
Or Gabe’s girlfriend…
The crew of the Mega Golem chuckle at their mutual acquaintances personal melodrama.
Mr. Stark:
I like to test stuff there… And do science while I’m at it… Open up my Monterey database… And start calibrating those fancy FSB upgraded Kree sensors… Prepare to add to my database as part of your Mega Golem’s exploration shakedown cruise… A three hour tour… A three hour tour…
The crew of the Mega Golem laugh at Mr. Stark’s stupid joke, as it speeds up the coast towards the Monterey Trench. Back in Monica’s White Sparkle Lounge, Monica sits with Betsy on her couch.
Monica:
Now that we’re alone… there is something deeply personal that I wanted to ask of you… I know that your blindness is a sore spot… given what happened with your mother especially… But I have the means to restore your sight… or more accurately… you do… With your FSBs… the ones in your bones… Even Extremis could only restore your eyes to their natural defective state… But with your FSBs… You can use them to colonize your defective eyes and replace them with FSB eyes… like the blinder goggles with heads up display that I’m wearing… They extend my natural vision… and provide private visual access to the information from my FSB… But with the telepathic connection of the FSB… the relay of visual information can be fed directly into your brain… better than natural sight… And should be able to be made to look normal… if you want that…
Betsy:
How do I even do that?… I can’t control these things as well as you… And it already relays visual information that way… Even before I had FSBs… I saw with my mind… as Ogun had taught me… seeing normally is something that I just can’t believe in… until I see it… I have your knowledge… but not your skill…
Monica:
Then let me do it for you… Give me temporary control of your FSBs with my Power Prism… And I will make the blind see again… with salvation through science…
With her Power Prism in her right hand, she places her other hand on Betsy’s forehead. White sparkles begin to bath and cover her eyes, turning them matte black as the white sparkles die down, before they turn into normal looking green eyes.
Betsy:
I… I can’t believe it… It’s like… It’s like how I see when I telepathically use other people’s eyes…
On a ranch on the outskirts of rural Ojai California, a woman with a scarred face and graying blonde hair sits motionless in a chair, and stares out the window into the surrounding country side from her private room, as the big screen TV drones on at low volume playing the classic Disney cartoon Sleeping Beauty, while she clutches the remote in her hand, in a private long term care clinic run by the King Laufey Memorial Foundation. In the space between the chair and the window, a small matte black twenty sided polyhedron appears in the air four feet of the ground, surrounded by lightening arcs. Then two human figures form in a flash of lightening, with one them being Dr. Rappaccini, now holding the polyhedron, with Revanche standing beside her.
Chair Woman:
Did you come from the other side?…
Revanche:
Yeah… We broke on through and everything… And we’ve come to raid your Soul Kitchen…
Dr. Rappaccini:
Betsy!… We’ve come here to save you Whitney Frost… Or should I say Agnes Culley?… Salvation through science… is our only hope here Betsy… And we need Agnes Culley… AKA… Whitney Frost… AKA… grand mama to me…
Revanche:
She’s Whitney Frost?… Isn’t Whitney Frost supposed to a hundred years old by now… This woman is at best half that age…
Dr. Rappacini:
A side effect of her own intimate exposure to zero matter… a product of her own risks… in pursuit of the salvation of science… And science is our only salvation here… the only salvation for you and your condition… the only salvation for grand mama’s sanity… And the only salvation for the future of my children… But science must expand beyond it’s own limits… to master the dark arts of sorcery… the mysteries of magic… and the truth behind the veil of existence that gets in the way… the veil of chaos… born of the infinite complexity of our existence… Chaos that must be mastered by science… Not cowered before… by superstition… Submitted to… out of ignorance and fear… restraining reason… and thwarting salvation through science… Grand mama here is crazy… But she’s brilliant… Her work was part of the basis for Fitz’s working hypothetical bridge between science and magic… That was the basis for this tool of our salvation… And hopefully the salvation of grand mama herself…
Whitney:
Do I know you?… I don’t think I like how you’re talking about me… Are you some kind a fan perhaps?… I don’t really see fans anymore… Not for a long time now…
The rectangular matte black goggles on Monica’s face morph and shape shift away into a set of matte black purls around her neck, as she pulls back her hood.
Dr. Rappaccini:
I am a fan Whitney Frost… More so of your scientific work than your Hollywood career… But I do like your movies too… I am here… not just for personal reasons grand mama… But because your work on zero matter and dark force is absolutely crucial to the future of science… But you’re crazy… and broken… But I may be able to fix you… through a product of the science that you have already helped create… I’m afraid I can’t ask for your permission… because you’re in no condition to grant proper informed consent… You may turn out even worse than MODOC… But science requires risk… And salvation through science may require risking everything… And I especially need you grand mama… And so will my children…
Whitney:
You’re a very strange woman… Are you new here?… What were you committed for?…
Dr. Rappaccini:
I’ve never been committed grand mama… Never even diagnosed… At least never officially…
Dr. Rappaccini holds her Power Prism up to Whitney Frost’s scarred face, so that she can get a good look at what is about to happen.
Dr. Rappaccini:
Try to relax… And just let it happen… It’s for science… And for the future… of all of our children… and grand children… and soon to be great grand children…
White sparkles emanate and stream from Dr. Rappaccini’s Power Prism, streaming into Whitney’s eyes, nose, and mouth, as she begins to emit a pulsating blue glow, before the white sparkles die down and leave Whitney continuing to pulsate blue for a while longer. The scars on Whitney’s face completely heal, and the blonde color of Whitney’s hair is completely restored, as she stops pulsating blue.
Whitney:
What?… What did you do to me?…
Dr. Rappaccini:
It’s a new experimental treatment grand mama… called Black Box Extremis… It’s a combination of two different experimental technologies… Extremis… which I can explain in depth later… although it’s more biomedical engineering related… Combined with a technology based at least partly on your work with zero matter and the principles of dark force… Used to make something called nano technology… made of zero matter… You have a lot to get caught up on grand mama… And I don’t want to spoil too much because I want to see what you come up with on your own… But the FSB nanotech… Fitz Simmons Box technology… can colonize and take over technology… replicating it… or upgrading it… or fabricating new things with it… like my goggles… and my Power Prism… It also helps regulate the Extremis in your system that has healed all your scars… and restored your youth… to the image of your Hollywood days…
Whitney is startled by what she is told, and creates a matte black hand mirror shaped object in her hand in a flurry of white sparkles. The side of the matte black hand mirror that faces her turns reflective, as she looks at it and sees the results for herself.
Dr. Rappaccini:
You’re a natural grand mama… The FSB uses some sort of telepathic interface… based on magic… actual magic… I know how that sounds… especially to a fellow scientist… But the stuff works… That’s an empirical fact… Denying empirical observation is not science… All that remains… is for us to figure out the science of it… And Leopold Fitz believes that your work with zero matter and dark force is the key to figuring it out… He built the FSB technology largely as prototype to test that working hypothesis… But that doesn’t necessarily prove it… It’s an infinite work in progress… that we are now a part of…
Whitney:
Leopold Fitz?…
Dr. Rappaccini:
One of the co-creators of the Fitz Simmons Box grand mama… along with Dr. Jemma Simmons… They developed the fundamental computer architecture of the nanotech quantum supercomputer together… which is part of the FSB’s fundamental functions…
Whitney changes her hand mirror into a quivering mass of matte black jello, that then leaps onto her face, covering it like a matte black mud facial mask. The matte black mask morphs and solidifies into the laughing mask of drama, one of two masks of drama, portraying and representing laughing and crying in drama. White sparkles cover her clothing, as Whitney’s FSB colonizes her clothing and morphs it into a matte black skin tight body suit, covering her from her neck down to her wrists and ankles, leaving her hands and feet bare, just like Dr. Rappaccini.
Dr. Rappaccini:
If you don’t mind me asking… grand mama… Why a mask?… Is it because of mama?… Do remember me and mama?…
Whitney:
I do not wish to show my face… It has always been a burden… A distraction… If I am to serve the interests of science… for salvation as you say… Then I cannot afford that distraction…
Dr. Rappaccini:
You may find that among the normies grand mama… wearing a mask will be more of a distraction…
Whitney:
Normies?…
Dr. Rappaccini:
Normal average ordinary mundanes… with no talent knowledge or skill… People who don’t know… and don’t want to know… don’t care… and don’t want to care… the mindless conformity of mediocrity… the all too common enemies of science and reason… the norm of the human herd… all too normal really…
Whitney:
Human… all too human…
Dr. Rappaccini:
Mindless creatures… enslaved to the even more mindless politics of the human herd…
Whitney:
You keep calling me… grand mama… But I don’t remember ever seeing you before… Have we met before?…
Dr. Rappaccini:
When I was little grand mama… My mother would take me to see you all the time when I was little… She wanted me to see you… to know where I came from… for better or for worse… Do you remember my mother?… Giuletta Manfredi?… and her brother Slivio Manfredi?… She married Count Luchino Nefaria?… the nobleman?… who had a daughter?… little Monica?… It’s been a long time since either me or mama have visited… I haven’t seen you since I was kid… Mama and I don’t really talk any more… But I don’t think she’s been here in while either…
Revanche:
Nefaria?… Isn’t your name Rappaccini?…
Dr. Rappaccini:
My mother changed my last name when I was little… to protect me from being collateral damage of the family business… She disowned me completely after AIM… She called me a terrorist!… and a traitor!…
Whitney:
I… I remember… little Giuletta… I was there for her and her brother when they were younger… But things became difficult for me… So I had to go back into the institution again… But Giuletta grew up… And had her own daughter… I remember little Monica… But you can’t be her… It hasn’t been that long has it?…
Monica:
I’m afraid it has… grand mama… Our relationship was collateral damage of the family business on the one hand… and my relationship with mama on the other… I never stopped thinking about you… But there was nothing I could do for you… until now… It may have been a pathetic rationalization at the time… But visits always seemed to disturb you more… having reminders of the past… So I felt that it would do more harm than good… until I could do something more for you… How much do you remember of your time… with grand papa?… Grand papa always said that you seemed really happy for a while… Like it was all behind you… until it wasn’t…
Whitney:
I remember… I wouldn’t have thought it real… If you and Giuletta had not come to visit me… In fact… I was starting to wonder…
Monica:
I’m sorry grand mama… But I’m here now… And I’m going to take care of you… I have to introduce you to the father of your great grand children… my precious angel Gabriel…
Whitney:
He’s not a real angel… is he?…
Monica:
Not as far as I know… Come on grand mama!… We have to go see mama first!…
The three of them disappear in a flash of lightening, while the angel Gabriel is being grilled by a group of men in the FSB garage lab of the Johnson Building, under the observance of Daisy and the queen. Dir. Mace and Gen. Talbot grill Gabriel, while Gabriel’s brother Robbie joins in with Capt. Braddock and Mack.
Gabriel:
Nefaria!?!… As in… Giuletta Nefaria!?!… The Guillotine Princess… Madame Masque!?!… You can’t be serious!… Back in the hood people think she’s some sort of bruja… El Angel de la Muerte… Some say that’s why she wears the mask… Normally I would believe that it’s just some sort of psychological warfare mind trick… But too much has happened in recent days… I don’t know what’s real anymore…
Gen. Talbot:
We’ve been doing deep research on your girlfriend ever since MODOC hit Stark Industries… We already knew her from AIM… But AIM was just the tip of the iceberg… She’s neck deep in mafioso connections… It’s quite literally in her blood…
Daisy:
Just because her family is shady… doesn’t necessarily mean that she’s gone into the family business… or necessarily has to… I have to believe that… It may sound strange to say… but maybe she’s just a mad scientist… Although I’m not sure what’s supposed to worse here… Maybe we should hope that she’s just a murdering crook…
Dir. Mace:
In Dr. Rappaccini’s defense… at least as far as her family connections are concerned… The profile emerging suggests a lifelong pattern of distancing herself from those connections… in the noble if overzealous pursuit of science… But then falling in with a bad crowd of fellow zealots… as Mr. Stark has suggested… based on personal experience… with both her and AIM… As Gen. Talbot says… Me and him both have personal history with Dr. Rappaccini… She was the scientist supervising the administration of Extremis to both of us… As I recall she was always fairly cold when it came to the negative consequences of the trials upon her patients… But she was an enthusiastic believer in the cause… At the time of the exposure and seizure of AIM… she said that she didn’t know about the corruption and criminality of AIM… And that she felt betrayed by it… Which I can believe based on the profile… and my personal experience…
Gen. Talbot:
You’re being too generous… As far as I’m concerned… that chick is just a glorified Dr. Mengele with a good tan and a pair of ovaries… Being mafia connected is just the deeper roots of the problem as far a I’m concerned…
Dir. Mace:
All the information we have on Madame Masque… suggests that Dr. Rappaccini was disowned by her mother after the AIM incident… Apparently… Even the mafia can’t stand terrorists… It’s bad for business if nothing else… Unless you’re a professional terrorist… Like AIM was… Or like it became… assuming it wasn’t to begin with…
Queen K:
I do not understand this distinction… between crime and terrorism… or between the nature of her supposed crimes… and the pursuit of science… I am unfamiliar with these rules of yours…
Daisy:
It’s complicated… and at least partly political… Midgard has a history of bad consequences when scientists go crazy without constraint… horrible atrocities committed by zealots of one sort or another… So people are wary… to say the least… The Shield of Midgard as you call it… was created to police that… And to safeguard against it… The Shield of Midgard… was primarily made to protect Midgard… from Midgard… more so than anything else… MODOC is living embodiment… of why Shield exists… And this Dr. Rappaccini created him!… Even I just want to chalk it up to an accident… But it didn’t need to happen…
Queen K:
Is this MODOC truly so evil?… Dangerous certainly… But evil?…
Daisy:
The spirit of vengeance seemed to think so…
Robbie:
Not as much as you might think… The darkness was certainly there… But it was mostly rage… and hate… but without guilt… Like a spoiled corrupted child… almost innocent by comparison… to your average gang banger… I’ve never met this Madame Masque… But by reputation… She’s far worse than this MODOC… MODOC is just freakier… Just barely evil enough to register… on the Rider’s radar… And as dangerous as this Dr. Rappaccini is… or Nefaria… or whatever her name is… She doesn’t even register… Even your vampire friend May has more genuine darkness in her… more than this Monica chick… But she’s reckless… And callous… Bad news… But not evil… as afar as the Rider is concerned…
Gen. Talbot:
Well pardon me if I don’t take the word… of glorified criminal vigilante whose skull catches fire occasionally… Maybe the Rider’s radar… has become nose blind to it’s own evil…
Robbie:
If you really believe that… you’re welcome to try and do something about it… if you think you can… general…
Gen. Talbot:
I was a Hulk Buster kid!…
Robbie:
Well I aint the Hulk… And last I checked… the Hulk was missing… not busted… unless you wanna claim credit for him being missing… Fans of the avengers might have something to say about that… Maybe you’re the evil one here… Not according to the Rider mind you… But according to you… I can’t trust that…
Dir. Mace:
Now now… Lets not get carried away with divisive and pointless melodrama… This situation is complicated enough as it is without making it more so gratuitously… Even though she may be reluctant to do so… She may have no choice but to reach out to family at some point… Shield has all of her family friends and colleague under surveillance… just in case… But with the power that was on display here… she most likely doesn’t need anyone… But I suspect she will be back for you Mr. Reyes… And you need to be ready for anything when she gets back…
Daisy:
You think she’s coming back here?…
Dir. Mace:
That would be my professional assessment… based on my experience as an old intel analyst and profiler… I would bet on it… On the bright side… Fitz Simmons have their own Power Prisms now… And Dr. Rappaccini… wanted them to have the technology… as well as you… Mr. Reyes… It’s seems to me… in my analysis… that she did so primarily to please you… I suspect she confessed to the murder of Dr. Tarleton… as part of some effort to regain your trust… long term… effectively making you her moral compass… But there’s no telling just how well that moral compass will really constrain her… She claims to be having your children… Which could be true… Or it could be a tactic… But… for what it’s worth… Without it being true… or without at least Dr. Rappaccini herself actually believing it… there’s simply no explanation for her behavior so far… One way or the other… you are clearly very important to her… for better or for worse… whether you want to be or not…
On an elaborate Tuscan estate, high atop a hill overlooking the Malibu coastline, with a large US flag flying high from a flag pole, a massive elaborate dinner party is underway, looking like a large family reunion, but surrounded by men in black, with dark shades, ear pieces, and shoulder holsters. Various tables are arrayed outside on the lawn for the affair, with a large central table presided over by a middle aged woman dressed all in black, with black hair and a shiny and velvety black eye mask, like the kind meant for fancy pretentious masquerade balls, topped off with a wide brim black fedora. With long prematurely silver hair, wearing black shades and bulky ill fitting cloths made of fine silk, a middle aged man sits as the guest of honor next to her.
Circulating among the crowd and the men in black with the ear pieces, is a middle aged woman with dyed black hair and black shades, stalking the premises like a predator, with red lip gloss, red high heels, and a semi automatic pistol tucked into the waste band of her black pants suit. A bright flash of lightening erupts out of nowhere on a clear day, and Monica, Whitney and Betsy suddenly appear next to the central table of the gathering. Immediately, all sorts of bodyguards swarm and bury the host and the guest of honor in a wall of bodyguard flesh, as the rest of the party pull their weapons and open fire on the presumed interlopers.
Bullets fly and bounce off of some invisible barrier, but keep flying anyway. The predator in the pants suit ditches her high heels, and starts to creep around behind them, and trying to slowly walk through the barrier from behind. Bullets continue to fly as the predator continues to slowly push through with her gun drawn. The predator finally penetrates the barrier, leveling her gun at Monica’s head, when Betsy pulls one of her sais and infuses her chi into the blade, causing it to take on an intense pinkish glow, as she uses it to slice through the gun barrel of the predator’s gun. The predator kicks Betsy away, as Whitney makes a move against the attacker. Whitney swings and misses, as the predator flips over backwards, kicking Whitney in the face, knocking her mask off and revealing her famous face to everyone. The host, the guest of honor, and the predator, all recognize her as more than just a famous face.
Predator:
Whitney!?!… Is that you?…
Whitney:
Hello Dotty… It’s so lovely to see you again…
Host/Guest:
Mama!?!… Cease fire!… Cease fire!…
After the gunfire stops, Monica pulls her hood back and morphs her goggles into a set of matte black purls around her neck. Whitney picks up her mask and does the same, as Betsy comes over and helps Dotty up.
Betsy:
Dotty is it?… No hard feelings eh?… How do you know Whitney?…
Dotty:
Long story… not suitable for strangers… What happened to you Whitney?… You look like you did when I first met you… I know you don’t show your age any more than I do… But you actually seem to have reversed the clock!…
Whitney:
I have… through a treatment of my grand daughter’s… called Black Box Extremis… What are you doing here?… For that matter… What are we doing here?…
Dotty:
This is your daughter Giuletta’s home… She was hosting your son Silvio when you arrived… They were in the process of trying to make peace… There’s been a mob war going on… for the past several months… I’m here trying to look after your kids… Because you asked me too… Remember…
Whitney:
Yes… I remember saying that to you… But to be honest… I didn’t think you were real at the time…
Dotty:
Well Whitney honey… You’re pretty unreal to me too sometimes…
Giuletta:
Mama?… Monica!… What did you do this time?… What did you do to your grandmother?…
Whitney:
She healed me… and restored me… Giuletta… Are you really my Giuletta?… and my Silvio?…
Silvio:
We are… But we’re not so sure about you… Is this some sort of trick of your daughter’s Giuletta?… Some foul experiment of AIM mad science?… Passing off some sort of impostor as our mother!?!… Enough of your twisted games!…
Giuletta:
Wait Silvio!… I have no idea what my crazy daughter is up to… But I swear to you… I had nothing to do with this… Whatever it is…
Silvio:
Too late Giuletta!… I’m done with your games!… And I’m done with you!… Open fire!… Kill them all!… This war ends now!…
Whitney:
Wait!… Stop!…
All the various men in black divide up and start shooting at each other, as the would be peacemaking banquet degenerates into a battlefield of open warfare. Giuletta pulls some sort of advanced plasma pistol, and fires repeatedly at Silvio, as Silvio’s fancy silk catches fire and engulfs him in flames. Silvio rips off his burning silk, and reveals cybernetic hardware and body armor underneath his silk, as he begins to chase after Giuletta, plowing through bodyguards as Giuletta flees to a nearby helicopter.
Monica:
I’m sorry grand mama… I should have anticipated difficulties… But I had no idea they were in the middle of a mob war!… We have clearly come at a bad time… And I have made matters worse… I had hoped that I could leave you here with mama… But I’m afraid that I’ll have to take you with me now…
Whitney:
Where are we going now?…
Monica:
Home… to my angel Gabriel… the father of your great grand children… And hopefully not in an active war zone currently… Sorry Dotty… who ever you are… But you’re coming with us…
A flash of lightening erupts from Monica’s Power Prism, striking and disappearing everyone within Monica’s protective barrier, including Dotty. The four of them materialize within Monica’s White Sparkle Lounge.
Monica:
So Dotty… How do you know my grand mama?…
Dotty:
Oh… We go way back… I was once her torture victim!… Water under the bridge now… But I did seek her out to kill her originally… But I found her to be so pathetic that I lost interest in revenge… We talked… She was an attentive listener… We became friends… of a sort… She would talk about her kids and would worry about them… So I decided that I would look in on them for her… Which is not so easy to do with this family… I got involved… So sue me… I was a woman without a country or a purpose… So I adopted one… a purpose at least… I can’t have kids of my own… So I guess I adopted hers…
Whitney:
You can’t have children?… Was that because of what I did to you?… You never told me that…
Dotty:
That damage was done long before you got a hold of me… And it was done by people I believed in… Because they made me believe in them… They raised me to believe in them… What you did to me… has had the same side effect on me… that it had on you… Before now that is… Whatever she did to you… it certainly agrees with you… Where can I get some of that?…
Whitney:
I can give it to you!…
Monica:
Wait!… Are you sure about this grand mama?… How well do you really know this person?…
Whitney:
Better than you little Monica… Dotty has at least been a regular visitor…
Monica:
Well… Let me do it then… Until you have more experience with the technology… I wouldn’t try that yourself… And I have more expertise in medicine anyway…
Whitney:
You’re a medical doctor?… Honestly… I was beginning to think that you were some sort of sorceress…
Monica:
I am a medical doctor… But I’m primarily a neural computational geneticist and genetic engineer… I only dabble in magic…
Dotty:
Your mother Giuletta does more than dabble… Fair warning… You’ve been away a long time… You may find your mother to be very different than you remember her…
Monica steps up to Dotty and holds up her Power Prism before Dotty’s face. The Power prism begins to emit streams of white sparkles that flood into Dotty through her eyes, nose, and mouth. Dotty begins to emit a pulsating blue glow, as the white sparkles die down. Signs of aging disappear from her skin, and her dyed black hair is restored to her natural brown color.
Dotty:
Woh!… Holy fracking Chernobyl!… We have to see Dr. Wilkes!…
Whitney:
Dr. Wilkes is still alive?… Is he like us?…
Dotty:
Not exactly… He’s much worse… We have to go to the Dunbar Hotel!…
Monica:
The Dunbar Hotel?… Downtown?…
Dotty:
Yes!… Dr. Wilkes needs your help!…
Monica:
We’re headed for downtown anyway…
Giuletta’s helicopter lands on the roof of the Dunbar Hotel, as the queen’s war shuttle comes in to land on the roof of the Johnson Building a few blocks away. Giuletta makes a mental note of the unusual sighting of the war shuttle as it lands, then makes her way down into the hotel. As the war shuttle lands on the roof of the Johnson Building, Dir. Mace, Gen. Talbot, Cap. Braddock, and Fitz stand there waiting next to Queen Karnilla, Princess Meghan, and little Karny.
The hatch of the shuttle opens up, and Lady Sif and Grant Ward walk out, followed by the US Secretary of State Thaddeus ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross, and a middle aged man white man with short salt and pepper hair, in the black dress uniform of the special Black Air unit of the British SAS, with the name ‘Gen. Fitz’ on his uniform. They are accompanied by an African man in a hooded black robe with silvery embroidering, covering the Black Panther armor, with the hood down and the mask off, and an African woman in a black dress with an elaborate and ornate pattern of silvery embroidering, wearing high tech computerized forearm guards on either arm. Grant Ward walks over to stand by Gen. Talbot, as Talbot seems somewhat uncomfortable with it. Lady Sif observes Ward’s behavior with a look of embarrassment, as he smiles like an idiot in front of Gen. Talbot and Thunderbolt Ross, while Fitz just looks irritated.
Sec. Ross:
Your majesty… Queen Karnilla of Nornheim… I presume… My name is Thaddeus Ross… I’m the Secretary of State… of the United States of America… This is King T’Challa… of the African Kingdom of Wakanda… And his sister… Princess Shuri… a leading scientist of Wakanda… And this…
Fitz:
Is General Alistair Fitz… Head of the Black Air unit of the British SAS… Hello dad…
Gen. Fitz:
Son… You’re looking well… In spite of what I’ve heard…
Fitz:
And just what is that supposed to mean?…
Gen. Fitz:
If you really want to know… we can always catch up later son… In the mean time we have serious business to conduct here… Personal indulgences will have to wait…
Fitz:
Personal indulgences!?!…
Sec. Ross:
I think what the general means… is that we have a lot to talk about with looming intergalactic war on our doorstep… And I agree…
Queen K:
As do I… I do not know exactly what personal business has my new protege so disturbed… But it can wait…
Gen. Fitz:
Protege?… Your majesty?…
Queen K:
Yes… Master Fitz here has been taught the basics of magic by me personally… Which he then used to make the Fitz Simmons Boxes… which are so crucial to the war effort now… The very same Fitz Simmons Boxes that have already facilitated the potential replication of enemy technology… Like the war shuttle that you flew here in… which we can now make more of… thanks to your son… my protege… Master Leopold Fitz… And that should suffice enough… for that…
Sec. Ross:
Agreed… your majesty…
Shuri:
So it is true then?… The FSBs combine magic and science?… In Wakanda… we have our own ways of combining methods… But I was told that you had a genuine bridge between them… unifying them…
Fitz:
That part’s a work in progress… experimental… The technological part has already been demonstrated… As far as the magic is concerned… the queen here has been using hers for a while now… And she can attest better than anyone to it’s effectiveness in that department… But as far as unification is concerned… That is to be determined by time… and results… The pace of advances in the wake of the development of the FSBs… has been staggering… A bit too staggering actually… The MODOC incident at Stark Industries… resulted from the technology getting into the wrong hands… Because of a Shield tech… formerly of AIM… Someone I gave a second chance to personally… The woman who actually created MODOC… also may have created the ultimate weapon… But for reasons I can’t completely go into… she decided to share the development with us… She called it… a Power Prism… A technology so powerful and dangerous… that even it’s creator thought it too dangerous to share too widely… And she was a true believer in AIM… by all reports…
Master Fitz holds up his baseball sized twenty sided polyhedron crystal as an example. White Sparkles emanate and stream from Fitz’s crystal, and form a number of FSB replicas of Kree plasma weaponry, copied from the examples captured at the same time as the Kree war shuttle.
Fitz:
And that is just what’s possible with ordinary FSBs… I’m still exploring the higher potentials and full possibilities of the Power Prism… At a minimum it can do that on a much larger scale… It’s creator used it to abduct two people and disappear… And she is still at large… But we do have reason to believe that she might come back here… And be mostly cooperative… for personal reasons… But frankly we can’t be sure… Stark and his interns are testing something potentially even more powerful… Especially when it comes to manufacturing the weapons most likely needed for the war…
Gen. Fitz:
Can we see this technology that Stark is testing?…
Fitz:
It’s currently being field tested in the Monterey Trench… It was created mere hours ago… as a further development of the Power Prism technology…
King T’Challa:
How may we get one these FSBs?… I’m sure my sister would love to have one…
Fitz:
That’s not really up to me… But I don’t see a problem with that… But you have to understand your majesty… Not everyone can even handle one… It has a telepathic interface and control mechanism… which is extremely responsive… almost too responsive… It fundamentally requires an expertise in one… or both of two skill sets… magic… and or… science… As a leading scientist of Wakanda… Shuri is more than qualified in one of those… But if you have any experience at all in combining methods as you say… then you may be one of best qualified for it… But that is not up to me any more… One of the last people I gave an FSB to… turned traitor and helped create bloody MODOC!… So I’m not doing that anymore… Not unless Queen Karnilla herself specifically commands it…
Queen K:
Very well then… I command it… Give one to King T’Challa’s sister for now… We can leave the rest of Wakanda to her as far as their war preparations are concerned… And from what Dir. Mace tells me… Wakanda has special resources most likely necessary for the war… This is the minimum of what we can do for them as proper allies…
Gen. Fitz:
Well I’m no slouch in engineering… I may not be at my son’s level of expertise… But I’m no piker… I can handle anything sonny boy here can handle… And we’re supposed to be proper allies too… Can I possibly get one these FSBs?… on behalf of the United Kingdom of Great Britain?…
Captain Brian:
I’ve already been issued one general… But I’m still getting used to it…
Queen K:
Master Fitz… Is the general qualified for an FSB?… In your expert opinion?…
Fitz:
Yes… Your majesty… I would even go so far as to say… that Gen. Fitz… is expertly qualified… in aerospace engineering at least…
Gen. Fitz:
Gee… Thanks son… I can feel the respect…
Queen K:
Indeed general… That is high praise indeed… coming from him… Very well then Master Fitz… Go ahead and issue FSBs to Shuri and Gen. Fitz…
Fitz goes through the process and issues FSBs to Gen. Fitz and Shuri, then they make their way downstairs to the newly FSB repaired elevator, taking the elevator down to the basement FSB Energy Lab. Queen Karnilla rides the elevator with King T’Challa and Shuri, joined by Gen. Fitz and his son.
Gen. Fitz:
Interesting device you’ve made here son… Very talkative… But not out loud…
Fitz:
That would be the telepathic interface… It’s a little different for everybody… Daisy’s building talks like HAL… Mine doesn’t always talk out loud either… But when it doesn’t sound like K9… it always sounds just like you… for whatever reason… A bit irritating actually… I’m still trying to find a mute button…
Gen. Fitz:
Perhaps it’s your guilty conscience…
Fitz:
What exactly is it… you think… that I have to feel guilty about?…
Gen. Fitz:
I wouldn’t know son… We’re not that kind of family…
King T’Calla:
In psychology… fathers… and father figures… often appear in dreams as a figures of judgement… irregardless of how the actual person thinks or feels about the figure in question…
Shuri:
My FSB is also quiet… And it sounds like our deceased father… King T’Chaka… I find it comforting…
Fitz:
Lucky you…
Queen K:
Is it really so unfortunate?… for you?… Master Fitz?…
Fitz:
We’re not that kind of family…
Next to ride down in the elevator, are Sec. Ross, Gen. Talbot, and Lady Sif, with Grant Ward joining them, to the discomfort of Gen. Talbot and Sec. Ross.
Ward:
So… Gen. Ross… Sorry… Sec. Ross… Can I call you Thunderbolt?…
Sec. Ross:
No…
Ward:
Secretary then… Right… I have to ask… As the former leader… of the Hulk Busters… How do you feel about the Avengers?… and the Hulk?… really… especially when it comes to the redemption of a monster… that you fought so hard against…
Sec. Ross:
Well… If you don’t mind my asking Mr. Ward… Why so fascinated?… with something so… discredited?… How do you feel about the Avengers?… and the Hulk?…
Ward:
Well… I couldn’t care less about the Hulk really… not as much as what he represented to me… before he was redeemed…
Lady Sif:
Represented?…
Ward:
The monster for the hero to slay… like a fairy tale… I don’t know how much you’ve been told about me… Lady Sif… about my past as a Hydra double agent… I did a lot of bad things… I was a monster… in human form… But I always harbored delusions of being a hero some day… And the Hulk Busters were the closest thing I knew to real heroes… With my clearances at Shield… I had access to most of the files… I may have even memorized a few field reports…
Gen. Talbot:
Of my god!… That’s why you’ve been acting so weird around me!… You’re one of those Hulk Buster fanboys!… He’s probably a member of that freaky fan club!…
Ward:
No… At least… not back then… I didn’t join the fan club… until after I came back from the dead… and started changing into an actual monster my self…
Grant Ward reaches into his pocket and pulls out a membership card for the Hulk Buster fan club, ‘The Buster Brigade.’ Lady Sif lowers her head into her hand, mortified.
Sec. Ross:
You know… The members of that fan club… have been known to phone in death threats to the Avengers… and to Stark Industries…
Ward:
And we completely disavow that!… But there are always a few bad apples… Right?… I would know… I actually find it comforting to have you guys around… Just in case I need to busted some day… With Coulson compromised… You have no idea what that means to me…
Gen. Talbot:
Well then you can consider it a promise from a former Hulk Buster… I’ll be more than happy… to bust you into the afterlife permanently… should it come to it…
Sec. Ross:
Ditto kid…
Ward:
Thanks… I appreciate that… You have no idea what that means to me…
Dir. Mace, Cap. Braddock, his wife Princess Meghan, and little Karny take the final elevator ride down to the basement.
Dir. Mace:
How are you holding up?… Cap. Braddock?… I can only imagine what must be going through your mind right now… with your sister missing… I appreciate what it must take for you just to be here right now… helping out with politics of all things…
Cap. Braddock:
It is my duty Dir. Mace… And duty is at least something that I can understand and deal with… Besides… There are other reasons for me to be here given that my CO is here… And given that he probably knows by now… or soon will… that Princess Meghan here… is not an inhuman… I’m probably about to catch some degree of hell today…
Meghan:
I’m sorry Brian… I don’t mean to be difficult…
Cap. Braddock:
You have nothing to apologize for here Meghan… This is just some silly earth rules that I have to deal with now… And I already knew that I would have to eventually… today is just the inevitable reckoning… On the bright side… As a princess of Alfheim… you’re probably eligible for diplomatic immunity… Which might rub off on me well enough for me to only be fired… and dishonorably discharged…
Dir. Mace:
If it comes to that… You can always come to work for me… The UK is a signatory of the new Shield charter… as well as the old one…
Cap. Braddock:
Thank you Dir. Mace… I appreciate that… But I’m rather particular about flying the Union Jack… If it comes to it… I’ll probably just tend to the family estate… Perhaps running an NGO of some kind… Still flying the Union Jack of course…
Little Karny:
A knight of Britannia!… Like grandma says!…
Dir. Mace:
The Shield of Midgard could use a knight of Britannia…
Cap. Braddock:
I appreciate the attention Dir. Mace… But I can only abide waving the Union Jack… But I’ll help out however I can regardless… In the name of the Union Jack of course…
Daisy and Yo Yo decide to take Dr. Laufey for a walk, for drinks and jazz a few blocks away at the Dunbar Hotel, in an effort to avoid any unnecessary involvement in politics, or adding the complications thereof to what they’re dealing with already. Hooded vampires May and Dr. Simmons join them, wearing shades and matching LA Raiders hoodies raided from Robbie and Daisy’s closet, tagging along to clear the building of vampires while the Sec. Ross and company pay a visit. As they enter the jazz club in the hotel, Coulson and the Warriors Three are already at the bar, with Volstagg working on a large sample platter of chicken wings with various sauces. Coulson and the Warriors Three raise their glasses to the ladies as they enter. But they stay at the bar. The girls wave back, and proceed to occupy a private booth in the back.
Coulson:
I really can’t thank you guys enough for coming with me… I couldn’t hang around there… And I don’t trust my self without supervision… under the circumstances…
Fandral:
Nonsense… it is an honor to drink with the Son of Coul…
Volstagg:
And to eat!…
Hogan:
Yes… But I must confess… I find this Jazz of yours to be… most interesting… Chirpy says that it’s quite popular here on Midgard… Although not as popular as something called… Hip Hop…
Coulson:
Chirpy?… You call your FSB… Chirpy?…
Hogan:
Yes… Why?… What do you call yours?…
Coulson:
At the moment I call it a pain in my bones… But why Chirpy?…
Hogan:
Because it’s Chirpy… It chirps… Do you not know… chirping?… Do you not have birds on Midgard?… I think I have seen them here before… One of them pooped on my helmet… I think…
A waiter comes to take the ladies order.
Waiter:
What can I do for you lovely ladies this afternoon?… I’m afraid live music does not start here until after dark… But the jukebox is free… If you don’t mind the queue… which is virtually empty this time of day… We’re just shuffling a house playlist at the moment…
Dr. Laufey:
When exactly does the live music start?…
Waiter:
About eight o’clock…
Dr. Laufey:
Perhaps we can stay till then?… If we pace ourselves?… Maybe?…
Daisy:
Why not get a room?…
Dr. Laufey:
It is tempting…
Daisy:
Why is that?… Are you that desperate to avoid going back?… You hate politics that badly?…
Dr. Laufey:
Yes… But I have bigger problems than that… I don’t know what my mother has planned exactly… But I have a feeling that I won’t like it… But there’s no avoiding it now…
Daisy:
No avoiding what now?…
Dr. Laufey:
I don’t want to talk about it…
Daisy:
Then I really want to know… And tequila… I want tequila… Bring me a bottle… and a set of shot glasses… Unless someone else wants something different…
Dr. Laufey:
That’s not exactly pacing…
Daisy:
I’m not exactly in the mood for pacing…
Yo Yo:
I’ll take a rum and coke…
May:
I’ll take a dirty martini… No olives…
Dr. Simmons:
Would it be possible to see a wine list?…
Waiter:
Here you go miss… Would you like time to peruse?…
Dr. Simmons:
Thank you… That would be lovely…
Dr. Laufy:
I would like a cup of tea please…
Daisy:
Tea!?!… An Asgardian drinking tea?… In a bar?… Okay… Something must be up… spill…
Dr. Laufey hesitates to answer until the waiter walks away.
Dr. Laufey:
I suppose if you must know… You’ll all find out soon enough anyway… Now that my mother knows… I won’t be able to hide it forever anyway…
Daisy:
Hide… what?…
Dr. Laufey:
I’m… pregnant…
Daisy:
What?… I didn’t even know you had a boyfriend!… Do you have a boyfriend?… I don’t mean to judge or anything but… damn…
Dr. Laufey slams her hand on the table, cracking it slightly.
Dr. Laufey:
I don’t have a boyfriend!… I have a patient… Grant Ward… is the father…
All Together:
What?!?…
Daisy:
I didn’t even know you were together!… Wait!… You said he was your patient?… But not your boyfriend?… Did you strap him down like Gabriel’s girlfriend did?… Or something kinkier?…
Dr. Laufey:
It wasn’t like that!… It just sort of happened during our sessions… He was prone to losing himself in his memories… Completely at first… But gradually less and less… He was often tormented my memories of a lost lover… More than one actually… Including you…
Daisy:
We were never lovers… It was little more than a mutual crush that ended badly because he killed a friend mine… Because he was a murdering scumbag Hydra double agent… But never mind that… Don’t let that stop you from dishing… What’s the rest of the story?… morning glory?…
Dr. Laufey:
He was in need of comforting… I didn’t mean to but… I must admit that I was curious as to what my sister Lorelei saw in him… Since I’ve been here on Midgard… I don’t normally socialize very much… Not anymore at least… I was feeling lonely… And he seemed to genuinely need me… Or so I told myself when I rationalized what I had done the first time… And swore it would never happen again… But it kept happening… It hasn’t happened in quite some time… But the damage is done… A far as I know… he has no memory of these episodes… But he’ll know soon enough… I told my mother about it… when she sensed my pregnancy and demanded answers… I have no idea what she’s planning… But I know I won’t like it… And that’s not even my primary issue today… As much trouble as I’m in for Ward… That’s nothing compared to Fitz…
All together:
Fitz?!?…
Coulson and the Warriors Three glance over at the ladies booth in the back starting to wonder what the periodic commotion is all about.
Dr. Simmons:
You didn’t sleep with Fitz too did you?… Do you sleep with all of your patients?…
Dr. Laufey:
I didn’t sleep with Leopold!… I would never sleep with Leopold!…
Dr. Simmons:
First name basis huh?… Are you sure you’re not into him?… And what’s wrong with Fitz?… He’s not good enough for you for some reason?…
Dr. Laufey:
Leopold Fitz… is… my great grandson…
All Together:
Great grand son?!?…
Coulson:
Great grandson?… Fitz?…
Dr. Laufey:
Will you please stop doing that?… Leopold’s father… Alistair Fitz… is my grandson… my daughter’s Ursula’s son… I haven’t seen little Alistair in so long… And the last time I did… I had to use a glamour spell to appear as a proper grand mother of Midgard should… But he’s bound to recognize me… My mother knows about them too… She’s known about Alistair and his mother for decades… But she only just learned about Leopold… And she is very cross with me right now… There’s no telling what she’ll do… But I know I won’t like it…
Daisy:
What about the guy?… Who’s the baby daddy?… I bet there’s a juicy story there too… Did the daddy know?… about you being Asgardian?…
Dr. Laufey:
Yes… He was Asgardian himself… Odin’s Scribe of Midgard…
All Together:
Randy?!?…
Dr. Laufey:
Stop doing that!…
Daisy:
Professor Randolph… is Fitz’s great grandfather?… Does Randy know?…
Dr. Laufey:
No… But mother has known for decades… And her patience is at an end with me… She threatened to take me and all my descendants back to Nornheim with her!… By force if necessary!… And by now… her great grandson Alistair Fitz… is no doubt chatting up the queen as we speak… So I am seriously thinking about reserving a room… Perhaps in Argentina… She wouldn’t think to look for me there… Would she?…
Daisy:
Somehow… I don’t think that’s going to work…
Dr. Simmons:
If I may ask… what does the queen have against the mortals of Midgard… that she would be so upset with you for having half mortal Midgardian children?…
Dr. Laufey:
She has nothing against them at all… She’s actually very proud of Leopold… She resents them not knowing… especially about her… She believes that they have a right to know… And she doesn’t like being strangers to her own blood kin… Not any more at least… And she’s not wrong… But she doesn’t understand how things are here on Midgard… how debilitating and ostracizing being different can be here… not to mention the association with my father Loki…
Daisy:
So… That’s why your hiding out?… Cool… I’m hiding out too… Although for different reasons… Aren’t we all here?… Instead of a girl’s night out… it’s a girls hide out…
May:
The boys… are right over there…
Daisy:
I was referring to the booth… I don’t need that much cover… So… Live music at eight o’clock huh?…
May:
Anyone… good?…
Yo Yo:
Usually… We come here all the time… But usually only at night… when the music is live… often quite late…
Daisy:
Yeah… To hell with it… Let’s just stay here… And forget everything else…
Yo Yo:
Easier said than done…
Daisy:
That’s why I ordered Tequila… Just not for Dr. Laufey…
On the roof of the Dunbar Hotel, Monica and company appear in lightening flash next to Giuletta’s helicopter.
Monica:
Is that… my mother’s helicopter?…
Dotty:
Why yes I believe it is… Your mother owns the hotel… It was purchased by your grandfather in 61 from it’s colored owners at the time… as part of his general business holdings… after it fell on hard times… after integration diminished it’s special cache… it’s special place within the community… He liked the jazz club… The music was always good… And gangsters love their music… Dr. Wilkes was rather partial to the scene here… So when he had a relapse and his condition worsened… Howard Stark set up a trust to pay his bills… And set him up in a special containment suite… close to the jazz club…
Betsy:
Colored owners?…
Dotty:
I’m old… So sue me… I was young at a time when colored was the polite term… Old habits die hard… Sometimes they have to be terminated more forcefully…
Whitney:
Containment?… So Dr. Wilkes has become intangible again?…
Dotty:
Yes… But intermittently… Randomly… And without control outside of his containment field… I don’t know the science… But if you ask him… I’m sure he can explain all of it to you… But… from what Wilkes says… you may know even better than Wilkes… He kept asking me to ask you about his situation… And I tried… But I’m no good with all that techno jargon… I make a horrible go between for that sort of thing… And you weren’t always that coherent… before now that is…
Monica, Whitney, Betsy, and Dotty head down to the jazz club to help Dr. Wilkes, while numerous SUVs with blacked out windows pull up to the front of the Dunbar Hotel. Numerous men in black with black shades, ear pieces, and shoulder holsters, get out of the SUVs and congregate outside of the lead vehicle, as Silvio Manfreddi, with his silver mane and the cybernetic parts, gets out and starts barking orders.
Silvio:
Alright!… Listen up!… This war ends today!… No matter what!… Find my witch of a sister!… And kill her!… And kill everything in your way!…
Politics Are Poison!
Poison That Never Ends!
Battles Of Shadows And Mist!
That Forever Never End!
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