Chapter Three: Project Geo Base – 2012
The entire trip to the project base in the Mojave Desert
was a bit uncomfortable for Sean as he was tasked with keeping an eye on Gigi;
Ellie Goulding’s “Lights” was the only soothing thing for him as it played on
his MP3. It was a less than ideal assignment for him, considering how
displeased she was with how he tricked her into revealing her secrets. Sean
admitted that it was an immoral plan of action, taking into consideration how
“unbalanced” she appeared in front of the S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel; and it seemed
to have only made things worse between him and the mysterious “sorceress,” as
she called herself.
(Marvel Note: S.H.I.E.L.D. is no stranger to using immoral tactics, especially with agents of Hydra among the ranks, as revealed in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.)
As the two rode in the back of a black Acura SUV with two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents dressed in suit and ties
sitting up front, Sean removed the earphones connected to his MP3 and looked
out the window to see a navy blue warehouse twenty stories high and
fifty feet wide that they were driving directly towards.
Gigi looked out the same window as Sean, seeing the
warehouse and softly saying the word “Groovy.”
(Narrative Note: A common term used by Joanie Navarro, "Groovy" was uttered seven times in World of Disney and only a few within this one scene in The Marvelous World.)
Sean cringed over the “old school” jargon. “Groovy?
Nobody says ‘groovy’ anymore.” She did not say a word to him, instead returning
her focus downward to the floor, crossing her legs and folding her arms in a
fit of anger. Her attitude towards him annoyed the young agent at first, but
then it began to amuse him at that point in their “relationship.” “You know
you’re gonna have to talk to me sometime.”
The sorceress was heavily determined to keep her
communication with him down to zero, and he merely left her to continue the
silent treatment for an unspecified amount of time. Their caravan, which also
consisted of other black SUV’s that carried Nick Fury, Maria Hill, and Steve
Rogers, arrived at the entrance to the warehouse, which was guarded by two
armed and uniformed S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.
(Marvel Note: In Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Nick Fury drove a S.H.I.E.L.D. standard black SUV with an advanced computer system, an integrated turret, and flight capabilities.)
One of the agents had to open the door
to the warehouse through a control box mounted against its hull, pressing a
purple button amid a series of multicolored ones. In pressing the button, the
entrance to the warehouse automatically parted open and allowed the caravan to
drive straight through. Once they were in, the entrance closed up and sealed
them inside.
The section of the warehouse that they arrived in was a
large, wide garage that currently had up to thirty-two other vehicles that were
also black and from the same manufacturer parked. After parking their own
vehicles, the group went to a large steel door just ahead where Fury placed his one good eye upon a scanner located to the right of it. A loud, electronic buzz sounded
and the large steel door opening inward. Everyone followed the S.H.I.E.L.D.
director through the door and instantly felt a surge of energy come through
them upon entering what appeared to have been an observation deck.
(Authorial Note: Some of the narrative in this scene survived from the original draft of World of Disney 2, taking place much earlier in the prologue.)
Gigi instantly recognized the remarkable energy; it was
from the sphere that she believed to have vanquished from reality thirty-five
years ago. Up until the moment she arrived at the base, she did not want to
believe that S.H.I.E.L.D. and the government had actually found the same
sphere; but confirmation came when she looked through the window and saw it for
herself. Housed at the core of the warehouse, several steel scaffolds
surrounded the sphere’s structure with men donned in hazmat suits walking
across and taking scans with a variety of particle detectors. Black lighting
filled the area around the sphere, giving it a very otherworldly appearance;
from how Sean viewed it, it might as well have been.
Noting the overwhelmed looks on the faces of Steve Rogers
and Sean Livingston, Fury confidently asked, “Unbelievable, isn’t it?”
“Unbelievable…Unacceptable…Inconceivable…I can think of a lot of words to describe what you
people have done here, Mister Fury.”
Gigi sneered.
“I should remind you that you’re a guest here, ma’am.” Fury retorted.
“Of course I am! Because I’m the only one who knows anything
about this monstrosity you’ve actually bothered to tamper with!”
Approaching footsteps were heard close by and everyone
turned to see Bruce Banner enter the observation deck. “A ‘monstrosity’ that’s
caused one of our own to suddenly disappear.”
(Authorial Note: Banner entering on the moment the word "monstrosity" is used was Livingston's way of using parallelism to Banner's green alter-ego and foreshadowing of upcoming events in the story.)
Upon seeing Banner, Rogers nodded and smiled. “Good to
see ya again, Doc.”
Banner nodded back. “Right back at ya, Steve.”
Fury got right to the point. “How exactly did Stark
disappear, Dr. Banner?”
“Tony got curious about the workings inside the sphere.
Through the visor from his helmet, we saw a massive array of alien tech
inside.”
Gigi sighed with annoyance. “It’s not alien. It was made by Bunsen Honeydew.” Everyone looked at her
with awkward expressions, slightly confusing her. “Doctor Bunsen Honeydew? None
of you ever heard of him?”
“You’re saying that this huge piece of advanced technology was created…by a Muppet?” It
sounded weird enough when Fury asked it aloud.
“I know it sounds funky. It did to me when I found out
myself all those years ago. But I promise you it’s the truth. All you’ve got to
do is contact Bunsen and…”
“Alright, stop there!” Sean exclaimed. “We were willing
enough to believe you about the whole ‘being a sorceress’ thing; but now you’re
telling us to go out and find a fictional
character to confirm that the tech we found was made by him?”
(Authorial Note: The Muppets being entirely fictional in the Marvel Universe is an inside joke to Livingston's "Marvelous Muppets" series from the mid-2000s, in which the characters of both known franchises co-existing within the same world. In Marvel Mayhem, the Muppets' recent addition - Walter - is the only known Muppet to have appeared in the Marvel Universe in the World of Disney series.)
Sean’s words confused Gigi even more. “Bunsen Honeydew is
a real person…er…Muppet! You know
that, Sean! You met him yourself once!”
Ignoring her irrational claims, Sean looked to Fury and
desperately inquired, “Sir, maybe this was a bad idea. She’s clearly not all there.” His comment just made her
even angrier towards him, glaring his way with her hands on her hips.
“Right now, I’m willing to accept whatever assistance I
can take to get Tony Stark back here.” Fury stated before he focused squarely
on Gigi and added, “You need to tell us everything
you know about this sphere, starting with where
it took Stark and ending with how we
get him back.”
Gigi let out an aggravated sigh. “I can tell you how to
get him back…but, as far as telling you where he is…that’ll be another
unbelievable fact.”
Fury self-assuredly grinned. “Try me.”
(UP NEXT: Hair Meets Iron!)
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