The Marvelous World: World of Disney 2 - Chapter Six (w/ Commentary Notes)

Chapter Six: Realm D1995

            Rogers did not quite know what to expect after Gigi conjured up her magic to teleport him, Bruce, and Agent Livingston to the unspecified location where Tony Stark was. He assumed the disorientation he felt subsequent to it was normal, although no one was around to confirm that. When his eyes opened to the new world around him, he discovered that he was somewhere in a lush forest. Considering how the Mojave Desert lacked much vegetation, there was no doubt in his mind that he was in the other dimension – the “Disneyverse” as Gigi called it. Once his disorientation had passed, Rogers got to his feet to begin his mission.

            He looked around to find no sign of the others; he arrived in the forest alone. At first Rogers wondered if there was a fault in Gigi’s magic that caused the team to scatter across this new world, but then he expected the worse – she accidentally spread them across separate dimensions. Even though he knew very little about parallel universes (his only real experience having been with the “Loki Incident” not very long ago), Steve knew that to be trapped in one was the worst thing possible. He only hoped that his assumptions were wrong and that the others were somewhere in that dimension with him.

            After a moment of recollecting, Steve soon heard what sounded to be a horn blown in the distance. Its sound echoed throughout the heavens and worked as an auditory compass for Rogers to follow and lead him to whatever civilization might have been near. It was possible that Tony Stark was picked up by the locals of this world. With that thought in mind, Rogers trekked through the forest. Leaping over logs and splashing across creeks, Rogers soon happened upon a river that was occupied by a series of canoes. The passengers were all Native American, most of who were of muscular build, paddling across the waters to reach what Steve could only assume was their village.

(Authorial Note: Livingston based his decision in placing Captain America into the world based on Pocahontas from a curiosity in seeing a history-based Disney character like Pocahontas interact with Cap, who is a historical figure in his own right. There's also a sense of irony in Rogers, an icon of America, on the soil before it was even founded.)

            The emergence of these natives was a surprise for Rogers, who expected to find beings that were a lot stranger than the Chitauri in this parallel dimension. It raised many questions, the most crucial one being whether or not if Stark was with them. Not wanting to attract any attention, Rogers swiftly moved away from the riverbank and went through the forest once more. He trekked for what felt like hours before coming upon yet another river.

            How many rivers are in this place? Rogers thought in frustration.

            Thankfully, this particular river was not filled with natives on canoes; however, he did spot a young native girl standing upon a nearby cliff and letting the fresh breeze of the morning wind to pass her. Steve was not sure why she was up there; he figured it was for the breeze; but she looked so peaceful that he could imagine himself being up there and doing the same.

            “Pocahontas! Your father’s back! Come down here!”

            He heard another young girl shout close to his location. Looking down to the river, he spotted a lone canoe arrive at the scene, handled by another native girl – the one who shouted to the other on the cliff. Rogers was surprised to hear that the girl on the cliff was in the fact a historical figure like him, except she did not look a thing like the actual Pocahontas. It made him wonder if he traveled back in time rather than between worlds; of course, there was one thing that contradicted the idea: this Pocahontas did not look like the one recorded in history books. She was much prettier than the actual Pocahontas – just as pretty as Snow White from Steve’s perspective.

(Marvel Note: Being a "man out of time," Rogers is more capable of accepting the "alien" nature of circumstances akin to the one he finds himself in here, especially after experiencing the events from The Avengers.)

            Could I have arrived in the history of this new world? He thought curiously.

            As he pondered on the matter, he almost missed the spectacular sight of Pocahontas diving off of the cliff and into the waters below with a mild splash. She did not come back up through the surface for a while, which worried Steve a little. Her fellow native did not seem very concerned as she saw it as Pocahontas playing games. This turned out to be true when the canoe the native girl occupied had been turned over, putting her in the water with Pocahontas. Once they had their fun, they worked together in turning the canoe back its proper place and board it.

            Rogers noticed that the two native girls were leaving for their village to meet with the father of Pocahontas, and he figured on that being the perfect opportunity to follow them to see if Stark was with them. Just like before, he moved swiftly from the riverbank to avoid being detected; unfortunately, in the process, he stepped on a twig that created enough of a sound to possibly attract attention. Steve hoped that the attention of Pocahontas and her companion were not on him; but, as he turned towards them again, he saw how they both were looking in his direction in wide-eyed surprise.

(Factual Note: The stepping on the twig is similar to a "Butterfly Effect." In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions in which a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state. By example, Captain America has created a butterfly effect through his action on the twig, thereby altering the timeline of events from Pocahontas. This has been a common issue with many characters outside of the Disneyverse that interact with the Disney Worlds.)

            Judging from their expressions, it was certain to Steve that these girls had never seen a white man their whole lives (especially one dressed as he was at the moment) and it was also possible that they were not fluent in the English language. Rogers swallowed hard; he could not find any other way of communicating with these girls other than what he remembered from the old westerns he would watch at the movies. Though it sounded like a stereotypical maneuver to him, it was his best option at the moment.

            Raising his right hand with the palm facing the girls and smiling sheepishly, he uttered one word: “How?”

(Factual Note: "How," or "Howgh," is a greeting or particle in the sense of "I Have Spoken" in some Native American languages and their popular representations.)

Realm D1999

(Narrative Note: By the "D1999" subheading, which is The Marvelous World's way of identifying different locations in similarity to the Time/Realm Zones of World of Disney, readers who are true Disney fans can correctly presume the scenes with Sean Livingston and Gigi take place in the Tarzan realm.)

            A second gunshot rang through the air while Sean and Gigi dashed through the jungle, following after the sounds. Livingston did not lose sight on their primary reason for being there – searching for Tony Stark – and the young agent appeared to have a hunch that the shots would lead them directly to the Armored Avenger. Gigi was surprised from how much the young S.H.I.E.L.D. agent had recovered from his arrival and how weak she began to feel after running close to two miles through the jungle. She figured the exhaustion had to come from her usage of the magic that brought them there, and it was taking a toll on her new body.

(Narrative Note: Gigi's exhaustion was due to the fact that she is still in the early stages of her reincarnation and her new body is still "breaking in," making the life energy required in traveling between worlds limited. Although the Guardian is virtually immune to pain or illness, her first few hours of living in a new reincarnation are when she is at her most vulnerable point.)

            It was so much easier doing this before…even when I was an old lady! Gigi thought amongst panting heavily.

            “Sean! Wait!” She cried to the relentless young agent, who began to disappear from her sight as she felt herself slowing down. “Sean! Hold up, kiddo!”

            Of course, he did not bother to oblige to her demands, being too focused on his mission in finding Stark. Gigi had no other choice than to stop before she collapsed, stopping in one place in the jungle to bend down and catch her breath. She allowed her pointy blue hat to fall from her head and land on the grass; it instantly lost its majestic glow, drained of the same powerful energy that its wearer carried. Gigi stared upon the lifeless hat; she wondered how long it would take her to get used to traveling in and out of the Disneyverse with her new form. During her moment of deliberation and recuperation, another gunshot – which sounded much closer than the previous ones – rang through the air; it was soon followed by the agonized screams of her young companion.

            “Sean!” She yelled with a look of horror while rushing through the jungle. In her panic, she forgot about her hat, leaving it still lying on the ground.

            Gigi came upon a section of the jungle that was cut down, signifying that someone or something had slashed their way through the thick bamboo trees. She also smelled the gunfire in the air, which served as her key to tracking where Sean was. Of course, as the young S.H.I.E.L.D. agent let out another scream, she knew exactly which direction to go. Pushing hard through the bamboo, she arrived at a clearing where Sean was sprawled out on the grass and writhing in pain. Gigi saw how he clutched the right side of his torso with blood seeping through his fingers. Near where he was lying, some bamboo had been blown away from the gunshot.

(Character Note: Even though this is an entirely different incarnation of Sean, this is the second moment of the series that a version of the character has been severely injured while venturing into a Disney World. The first was in the final chapter of World of Disney when Sean Thomas attempted to rescue Diana Navarro and his other family and friends in the Snow White realm.)

            Rushing to his aid, Gigi placed her hands atop of his to apply pressure on his wound. “Just relax, hon.” She instructed him amid his agony. “Everything’s going to be fine, sweetie.” Although she told him this to help put him at ease, she was saying it mostly for herself; she needed to keep calm for his sake.

            Soon Gigi heard approaching footsteps and looked up to see a cutlass slice through a section of the bamboo trees collected around the clearing. A slender, muscular, mustachioed man with graying brown hair and yellow clothing enter the clearing with his cutlass in one hand and a rifle in the other. Gigi recognized the man instantly, and he was even a major clue as to which part of the Disneyverse she and Sean arrived in – a world that she had visited before in her previous life. His name was John Clayton, a gorilla hunter and the villain of Tarzan…and, at the moment, the man responsible for shooting down Sean.

(UP NEXT: The fury of two mothers!)