Chapter One: S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier Base –
2012
“Did she just say that…she died?”
Fury had watched the entire scene between Agent
Livingston and the mysterious woman through footage from the surveillance
camera projected in hologram form onto the conference table near the
Helicarrier Bridge. At his side were Steve Rogers and Maria Hill, both watching
along with Fury; the one statement uttered by the woman took Rogers by
surprise.
“What did she mean by that?”
Fury shook his head in confusion. “No idea.” He then
turned to Hill and asked, “What do we have on her?”
“Nothing much.” Hill reported. “She claims her name is
Joanie Navarro-Thomas.”
“Well, do we have anything on a ‘Joanie Navarro-Thomas’
then?”
“Our computers came up with a Joan Navarro – no ‘Thomas’
at the end – that lives in Orlando, Florida. She died just a week ago from
natural causes. She was only fifty-eight…no next of kin.” Hill gave that last
bit of information with a sympathetic tone that Rogers seemed to share with
her; Fury, on the other hand, did not appear to care. The S.H.I.E.L.D.
director’s focus was primarily on what took place inside the holding cell between
his agent and their visitor.
(Narrative Note: The "Joan Navarro" reference in this scene is the parallel counterpart of Joanie herself, her life an opposite representation of what Joanie's was, as depicted in World of Disney. Her death occurs much earlier than the age when we were introduced to the elderly Joan Navarro.)
There was no training S.H.I.E.L.D. could have prepared
Sean with for what this strange woman standing in front of him dished at him.
For minutes, he listened to her ramble on about having died and reincarnated as
a completely different woman, yet still retained the memories of her previous
life. Before she could have gone on any longer, he stopped her and asked,
“What’s your name?”
(Narrative Note: This is the first example that we get of the "reincarnation" plot device that has become integral to the World of Disney series ever since with Joanie and Sean.)
She shrugged while answering: “I have no clue after now.
I mean, I used to be Joanie Navarro-Thomas, but now…” She looked back to the
only mirror in her cell, analyzing her face again. “I just really don’t know. But, one thing’s for sure – I am not Joanie Navarro-Thomas anymore.”
Sean decided to have a little fun with the woman at his
expense; he started to become less freaked out by her and more amused; clearly,
she appeared like a mental case to him. “How about ‘Gigi?’”
(Biographical Note: The name and appearance of "Gigi" is based on Gigi Loren, a model and friend of Livingston's. Loren was the biggest reason Livingston opted to develop another draft of World of Disney 2, seeing a potential lead character to succeed Joanie Mars while keeping the "Joanie" character still involved through the reincarnation plot.)
She looked back to him with a cringe. “Gigi?”
“It was my great-grandmother’s name, or nickname, I
suppose.”
(Authorial Note: Livingston's real-life paternal great-grandmother was actually nicknamed "Gigi.")
“Gigi” shook her head and chuckled. “Your
great-grandmother’s name was Yvette, Sean.”
(Narrative Note: "Yvette" is the name Sean Thomas took on in his 13th reincarnation, first introduced in Tales of the Disneyverse. Whether or not the reincarnation was modeled in appearance after Sean Thomas's great-grandmother hasn't yet been determined.)
The young agent grinned. “You still think that I’m your
son.”
She gestured to his S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform. “And what’re
you doing wearing that thing? Have
you joined the military or something? Just how long have I been gone?”
Sean glanced to the surveillance camera that loomed over
them as if he were looking to Fury on the other end for help. The interaction
swerved its way back to being awkward again, but Sean was prepared for just how
to handle it. “O.K., so…I’m your son,” he began, trying not to sound too sarcastic. “What was the last thing
you remember me doing before you died?”
Gigi hesitated for a slight moment as he tried to answer
him. “Y-You stood over me and said that you were gonna miss me…and that you’d
always love me.” She sniffed a bit, signifying that she was on the verge of
crying. “You were so unsure how you were gonna move on without me. It was so
unfair to you and your sisters. I wasn’t old enough to leave you all, but another
force decided it would be time.” She approached him and affectionately placed
both her hands at the sides of his face. “I’m so sorry, Sean.”
(Narrative Note: Joanie's death is depicted happening within the Disneyverse in the tenth tale of Tales of the Disneyverse as opposed to her deathbed in the real world, referenced in this scene. The explanation for the different settings is provided in the Disneyverse tale as Joanie's body dying in the Disneyverse and returning to the real world while her spirit remains. When she ultimately succumbed to reincarnation, her spirit temporarily returned to her body to experienced her final moments.)
Listening to her and seeing the genuine sadness in her
eyes, Sean somewhat trusted the fact that she was telling him the truth. The
only contradiction was that his mother never went by the name of “Joanie
Navarro-Thomas.” Curiously, he asked Gigi, “When did you die?”
She shrugged and sighed. “I don’t know. A week? A month?
A year? Apparently some time has gone
by if you’ve joined the Armed Forces.”
“I’m not Armed
Forces.”
“Alright, then the Navy.”
“I’m not the Navy.”
Gigi chuckled. “Then is it Halloween? Because that’s a
pretty convincing uniform you’ve got on, especially that funky symbol there.”
She pointed to the two S.H.I.E.L.D. insignias stitched to the left breast and
upper right sleeve.
(Authorial Note: By the time he wrote The Marvelous World, Livingston had become a huge admirer of the British sci-fi program Doctor Who, which he turned to for inspiration in this story - the reincarnation plot is a direct adaptation of the regeneration of Who. Much like the Doctor in the first stages of his regeneration, the Guardian is prone to mental complications, such as memory slips and denial - two of which Gigi has displayed in these scenes.)
Sean was slightly insulted from her comments over his
uniform, and he did not hesitate in setting the record straight with her. “I am
an agent of a secret organization called S.H.I.E.L.D. The Strategic Homeland
Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division.”
Gigi whistled humorously. “No wonder you guys settled on
S.H.I.E.L.D.”
“That was Agent Coulson’s idea.”
(Marvel Note: This is a direct reference to Iron Man when, after Phil Coulson's repeated introductions of himself and the organization, settled on the popular acronym at the very end of the film.)
“Smart man.”
“Yes, he was.”
Hearing how much emphasis he put on the word “was” clued
her in on the fact that this “Agent Coulson” was dead. “I’m sorry.”
Sean nodded despondently. “He went out the only way he
preferred – fighting.”
(Marvel Note: Agent Coulson died from a confrontation with Loki in The Avengers but was brought back to life through a painful procedure part of a top-secret project codenamed T.A.H.I.T.I., as mentioned in the TV show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which first premiered a few months after The Marvelous World was completed.)
“Sounds like he was a great man.” There was brief silence
before Gigi got enough courage to make an important request. “Look, since
you’re part of this S.H.I.E.L.D. team or whatever, you can talk to the H.D.I.C.
about the sphere they’ve got locked away in the Mojave Desert.”
The young agent raised his hands for her to stop. “Whoa,
whoa. First off, what the hell is a H.D.I.C.?”
“Head Dude In Charge.”
(Authorial Note: Livingston was inspired by the "H.N.I.C." acronym established by Morgan Freeman's Joe Louis Clark in Lean On Me for the one that Gigi comes up with in this scene.)
Nodding with amusement over the title, Sean continued:
“Nice, but I honestly have to know how you know so much about Project Geo. My
boss tells me that you broke into the base in the Mojave – a heavily fortified base, I might add. How
did you manage to get in there and get close enough to the sphere?”
“That’s my
secret.” She looked up to the surveillance camera that Sean glanced at earlier
and added in a mildly aggressive tone, “And I won’t give it away until I speak
to the H.D.I.C. now!”
Sean looked up to the camera at the same time she did,
only to give a defeated look to the audience of Nick Fury.
As soon as Gigi became somewhat hostile during their
“interrogation” of her, Fury made the order for Livingston to leave her holding
cell and meet with him on the bridge. He kept his eye on the footage that was
just Gigi leering at the camera with arms folded; after a while, he could have sworn he saw
those eyes of hers turn completely white just as the image of Tony Stark popped
up in a separate window, blocking the one that featured Gigi. Angered by his
interruption, Fury shouted, “Dammit, Stark! I told you not to hack into S.H.I.E.L.D. communications!”
“It’s just way
too much fun not to.” Stark said.
(Authorial Note: Channeling the charismatic personality that Robert Downey, Jr. brings to the Iron Man character on-screen through dialogue and action was not much of a challenge for Livingston, who is a fan of both the actor and character.)
With a heavy sigh, Fury merely accepted Stark’s
interruption, especially when it meant something important. “Did you find out
anything from the Sphere?”
“I don’t know how you guys could’ve examined this thing
for thirty-five years and think that it was tech.” Stark responded. “I mean,
it’s not even Earth tech…more like alien tech.”
(Narrative Note: Stark's analysis is what separates the reality of "Dimension B" in The Marvelous World from that of the final act in World of Disney. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s involvement and their realization of the Sphere not being average tech are two factors in the machine's prolonged examination in the Mojave base and not an Disneyland attraction.)
Fury appeared highly curious over Stark’s analysis. “Are
you saying that we’re dealing with another
alien artifact?”
“If we are, then that beautiful young lady you have
locked up on your ship must know enough about it to sneak past your security
without any difficulty. Either she’s your most valuable asset in finding out
the truth behind this thing…”
“…or she’s as big of a threat to us as Loki was.” Fury
concluded Stark’s last statement, letting his suspecting tone sound loud and clear.
“Keep looking into that sphere, Stark. You and Banner do whatever’s necessary
to get inside that thing and find out what it’s capable of.”
Stark mocked a salute in front of Fury and said,
“Aye-Aye, General.”
Once Stark disconnected, Fury said under his breath, “Jackass.”
(UP NEXT: A visit to Project Geo!)
No comments:
Post a Comment