Chapter Twenty-Three: S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier Base
– 2012
With the Helicarrier gaining altitude each second, time
was of the essence. Every agent aboard the aircraft carrier gathered whatever
weapons he or she could that would defend them against the approaching threat.
On Sheryl’s orders, the agents were only allowed to stun or render the men in
Facilier’s army unconscious; they were still residents of the Disneyverse that
needed to be returned to prevent further disasters. Other precautions that were
taken before the imminent confrontation included Belle, who feared Gaston would
come looking for her, being kept inside one of the quarters with Jack-Jack as
her protector – something Belle had a hard time believing in, due to his infant
nature. Belle more than acted like a temporary babysitter the entire time she
was with Jack-Jack.
(Disney Note: One Pixar short titled "Jack-Jack Attack" centered on Jack-Jack coming into his newfound powers while under the care of his babysitter. The short's story took place during the moments in which the rest of the family were on Syndrome's island and ends shortly before Syndrome's attempted kidnapping on Jack-Jack in the feature film.)
Sheryl, Elendriel, and Sean had gathered into the hangar
with Fury and Ciciley. They were all joined by Tony Stark, who volunteered to
guide the Sheryl, Elendriel, and Sean to the Sphere while providing cover. During
the moments that the team made preparations, Ciciley pulled her son to the side
to have a private word with him.
“What is it?” Sean impatiently asked. “We’ve got to get
going.”
“I know, I know.” Ciciley said. She sounded a little
hesitant over what she wanted to tell him but managed to swallow her pride and
get it out. “I just wanted to say that…I’m s-sorry…about your friend…”
“You mean my ‘alien’ friend?” Sean harshly responded.
Ciciley nodded, understanding the hostility that he still
showed her, despite the efforts she showed in getting back into his good graces
– which included helping bury Gigi earlier in the desert. “I’m sorry, honey.
You have to believe that I am. She died trying to save our lives, and I respect
her for that.”
“Funny. You respect her only after she dies.”
(Character Note: This change in personality between Sean and Ciciley is the first real sense of the role reversal readers see between them that is emphasized more in Marvel Mayhem.)
Ciciley was speechless after that bitter – yet true –
remark from her son. All she could do was hold her head down in guilt while he
joined Sheryl and Elendriel in boarding the quinjet. As the three passengers
buckled themselves in before takeoff, Sheryl realized how angry Sean appeared.
“Is everything alright?” She questioned to him.
As if anticipating her question, Sean quickly gave an
abbreviated response that was hinted with frustration: “I’m fine.” The roar of
the quinjet’s engines prevented the conversation from continuing. Before Sheryl
even realized it, the S.H.I.E.L.D. aircraft was already airborne, soaring out
of the Helicarrier hangar with Iron Man in less than a second. Sheryl got goose
bumps from the abrupt takeoff, which was reminiscent of a roller coaster ride. During
her time as Yen Sid’s apprentice, she learned that she was capable of flight
without use of wings (i.e. Peter Pan); however, because of her vertigo (a trait
that she carried from her previous life as Sean Thomas), it was one ability
that she had chosen not to use. Even
flying in the quinjet took some courage for her, but she trusted the combined
piloting skills of Sean and Elendriel Livingston enough to remain calm during
the flight; yet that didn’t prevent her from checking her seatbelt every few
seconds by tugging on it.
(Biographical Note: In real life, Livingston suffers from vertigo at times when above extreme heights. He incorporated some of his traits in his times of suffering with the sensation into Sheryl's gestures. For instance, the tugging of her seatbelt is something Livingston often does before the start of a roller-coaster ride.)
Through the flight to the Sphere, Sheryl detected a shift
in the atmosphere. It was Facilier. The self-proclaimed Shadow Sorcerer
teleported his army into the Helicarrier as soon as it was within his view. Closing
her eyes and focusing, Sheryl telepathically witnessed the events that unfolded
on the Helicarrier. The first thing she could see was Gaston appearing in the
exact quarters that Belle and Jack-Jack were contained in. Belle had been
singing to Jack-Jack prior to Gaston’s unanticipated arrival through Facilier’s
black magic, and she was instantly alarmed of his presence.
“Get away from us,
Gaston!”
“You belong with me,
Belle! Now come here!”
“No!”
“Is
this because of that beast I slayed? He was a monster, Belle! He
never had any true feelings for you!”
“And
you do? I loved him more than I could ever love you, Gaston!”
Belle’s words greatly infuriated Gaston, resulting in him
taking drastic actions in reclaiming Belle. Meanwhile, Jack-Jack cried over the
dispute between the two, worrying Belle. “Gaston,
please! You’re frightening the baby!”
“I don’t care about
that stupid baby!”
It seemed that Jack-Jack caught on to what Gaston said
about him because the child suddenly went berserk. Both Gaston and Belle took
notice in how Jack-Jack’s human infant form had transformed into a red,
muscular demonic form that leaped into the air and landed atop a terrified
Gaston’s head. The demonic baby that was Jack-Jack began pulling Gaston’s hair
and clawing at his face like an angry cat, forcing the once-brave hunter to
release Belle, who could only observe the scene with mixed emotions of horror
and relief. Gaston cried and screamed in pain while rushing out of the quarters
and away from Belle with the demonic Jack-Jack still clinging onto him.
“GET IT OFF ME! GET
IT OFF ME!”
(Disney Note: Jack-Jack's overpowering Gaston with his destructive demon form mimics that he had over Syndrome at the end of The Incredibles, which ultimately led into the supervillain's defeat.)
Sheryl giggled at the scene as it played out in her
telepathic viewing of it. “Way to go, lil’ dude!”
Elendriel heard her exclamation and looked her way.
“Everything alright?”
Sheryl did not reopen her eyes while answering Elendriel.
“Everything’s awesome. I just saw Jack-Jack kick Gaston’s butt.”
“You mean Facilier’s guys are on the Helicarrier?” Sean
reacted to the news in immense concern. “How are the rest of them doing?”
Sheryl used the mental part of her power to search
throughout the rest of the aircraft carrier, seeing several agents fend off
Facilier’s army of Disneyverse thugs; some did so flawlessly while others had
some difficulty. Pocahontas, Rapunzel, and Flynn worked together in subduing
many of the thugs with a tactic that involved Pocahontas using herself as live
bait, attracting the attention of their adversaries and leading them on a chase
throughout the Helicarrier. Her speed and perfect health proved beneficial
against the thugs, who were mostly fat, out-of-shape, and even drunken men –
presumably ones from Gaston’s tavern. When the thugs were unable to chase
Pocahontas any further, Flynn and Rapunzel would then pop in to knock them out
– Flynn with his abilities in combat and Rapunzel with her frying pan and, in
some occasions, her hair.
Rapunzel’s hair even assisted in healing some agents that
were wounded by thugs welding knives, swords, and guns. One thug, catching on
to the power of Rapunzel’s hair, attempted to cut it, but his attempt was
foiled by Black Widow, who used her intense submission skills on him. Soon the
Stabbington Brothers made themselves known, cornering Flynn at one point in the
fight aboard the Helicarrier. Thankfully, Captain America backed him up in
clashing with the two men within the Helicarrier’s bridge, where the majority
of the battle took place. Even LeFou stormed into that section of the
S.H.I.E.L.D. aircraft carrier, brandishing a large axe; but the right hand man
of Gaston was abruptly tased by Hawkeye, who had been firing specialized “taser
arrows” to prevent killing the army of thugs. LeFou went down before any harm
could have been done by him.
(Authorial Note: Inspired by the final battle from The Avengers, Livingston wrote out the battle scenes aboard the Helicarrier with focus on the skills of each Marvel and Disney character in the face of combat, as well as their teamwork. The only one he had difficulty with was Pocahontas, who was never exactly known to be violent, being a peacekeeping character. He decided that her athleticism was her best weapon.)
“It’s looking good. Real
good.” Sheryl answered the question posed to her by Sean. “Everybody’s
doing their part in the fight.”
“Even the Incredibles?” Elendriel inquired.
The aforementioned superhero family was the only group
Sheryl hadn’t yet found in the fight. What she did eventually discover after
being questioned by Elendriel was the Hulk, who unexpectedly emerged in the
hangar that they departed from of all places in the Helicarrier. He fought
against Fury and Ciciley, who were unprepared for a confrontation with the
creature, armed with only standard guns that had no effect on his impenetrable
green skin. They were only left to run and dodge most of the Hulk’s attacks,
leaving him swatting at the aircrafts surrounding them instead and taking chunks
out of them. Ciciley eventually had enough of the running and boldly took the
Hulk head-on, using her recently recovered youth as an advantage. She rolled in
between the Hulk’s legs and literally
kicked his butt before dodging again to kick his legs, both attacks having minimal
damage on him.
(Marvel Note: Avengers fans will know that this isn't the Hulk's first rampage on the Helicarrier. It was also inside of a hangar in the aircraft carrier where he and Thor first did battle.)
Needless to say, Fury disapproved of her abrupt plan of
action. “Cici! What the hell you doing?”
“Buying our butts
some time before Mindy and those Incredibles get here! Have you contacted
them?”
“They’ll be here!
But you need to…”
Ciciley was soon caught off guard and backhanded from the
Hulk’s bulbous hand. Her body flew hard and fast across the air and sickeningly
smacked against the steel hull of a nearby jet. She landed uncomfortably to the
floor and could barely move. Fury saw the Hulk stomp his way towards her and
acted immediately. He distracted the Hulk with a few rounds of gunfire to the
head, which prompted the green behemoth to turn and roar at the S.H.I.E.L.D.
director.
“Yeah. C’mon,
Banner. I’m the one you want.”
The Hulk rushed for Fury, who continued firing at the
Hulk’s head to blind him and slow him down. The tactic worked until Fury ran out
of bullets and lacked the proper ammunition to reload his gun. The Hulk roared
louder and angrier than before, clearly wanting to destroy Fury. Fortunately,
Fury’s destruction was immediately canceled, thanks to the efforts of Mrs.
Incredible as she used her stretchable body to pin the Hulk’s arms down long
enough for Mr. Incredible to tackle him to the floor.
(Marvel Note: This tactic of Mrs. Incredible's was used by Mr. Fantastic in the 2005 Fantastic Four film when he subdued an angry Ben Grimm, a.k.a. The Thing.)
With the assistance of Mrs. Incredible, Mr. Incredible
wrestled with the creature until he and his wife were thrown off of him. The
two flew through the air until Violet caught them in “bubbles” of psionic
energy and gingerly set them on the floor. Bob chuckled excitedly upon watching
the Hulk stand on his feet again. “This
big fella’s gonna be a handful. It’s gonna take all of us to bring him
down. Ready, Incredibles?”
“Ready!”
Violet was the first to make a move, following her
father’s command in turning everything except for the Hulk’s head invisible.
The plan worked as a startled Hulk looked down upon his vanished form; the
distraction enabled Dash to super-speed towards him and jump high in the air,
unleashing a series of rapid punches directly at the Hulk’s face. Even though
the punches weren’t enough to inflict pain on the Hulk, they were enough to
temporarily blind the creature and provide cover for the one massive punch delivered
by Mr. Incredible that ultimately knocked the Hulk out. Mrs. Incredible then
stepped in to once again wrap her stretchable body around the Hulk, pinning
both arms and legs.
“I don’t know if
I’ll be able to hold him again when he wakes up.”
Bob remained optimistic. “We’ll just have to put our faith in the Guardian’s kid to handle the
rest. But everybody be ready when he does wake up.”
The Incredibles kept their focus on the half-unconscious
Hulk, whose loud, heavy breathing was the only noise that filled the ravaged
hangar. In the meantime, Fury went to tend to the injured Ciciley, who remained
lying on the floor.
“Oh, crap! Heads up, y’all!”
The frantic voice of Sean Livingston brought Sheryl’s
attention to the action that was taking place in her current location, which
was just a few miles from the Sphere. Reopening her eyes, she saw a series of
gun turrets morph from the exterior of the Sphere and fire powerful bursts of fiery
purple energy at both Iron Man and the quinjet. Sean and Elendriel maneuvered
the quinjet out of the way of the bizarre gunfire while Iron Man flew in the
opposite direction, returning fire with his repulsor blasts and taking out a
few of the turrets.
(Spoiler Note: These turrets Facilier "morphed" onto the Sphere remain on its structure after the events of the story to become a useful tech upgrade for the Galactic Empire in World of Disney 3.)
“I’ll hold these guns off. You guys get the sorceress
into the Sphere.” The voice of Tony Stark instructed over the quinjet’s radio.
“Be careful, Mr. Stark.” Elendriel said into her headset
as she and her half-brother worked together in piloting the quinjet over to the
human-sized hole breached at the top of the Sphere. They backed the quinjet
right over the hole and lowered the rear ramp, offering Sheryl with enough
distance between the ramp and the hole for her to jump without injury.
Unfortunately, there was a major obstacle for Sheryl to
overcome before making the jump – her vertigo. Sean and Elendriel saw how she
remained sitting and not moving an inch. “What’s the matter?” Elendriel asked
in concern.
Sheryl, looking away from the lowered ramp but still unnerved
by the massive gust of wind that rushed into the quinjet, shook her head and
cried, “No way! No way am I jumping out of this thing! No way!”
“Then don’t
jump!” Sean impatiently suggested. “Teleport yourself down! Do something!” He saw that she was
completely frozen in her seat, making any sort of action from her virtually
impossible. With a loud, frustrated moan, Sean got up from his pilot’s chair.
As he had done so, he instructed his half-sister, “As soon as we’re inside, you
and Stark get away from here.”
His instruction befuddled and alarmed her. “Wait. You’re
going in there with her? That wasn’t part of the plan.”
“Neither was her fear of heights.” Sean argued before
going to Sheryl and unbuckling her seatbelt. She briefly opened her eyes to see
what he was doing. “I’m jumping out with you.”
Sheryl shook her head. “No, no! I have to do this alone!”
“You have vertigo. I know, because I once did, too.” He
surprised her with that information; it was enough to take her mind off of her
nerves. “The only way I learned not
to be afraid was having somebody show me how
not to be, which is what I’m going to do for you. Now take my hand, keep your
eyes closed, and trust me.”
(Character Note: Although he integrated his full name and just a few of his own traits into the character, Livingston created "Agent Sean Livingston" as a perfected version of himself - a superhero of a man he knew he could never be even if he tried. In truth, the "Sean Thomas" character, from the first story, is the closest version that matches with Livingston himself.)
Sheryl looked at his face and saw his determination to
help. His face was all she needed to trust him because it was the face she once
saw looking back at her in the mirror. Without hesitation, she did as he
instructed and gave him her hand before shutting her eyes tight. She continued
to feel the gust of wind from outside the jet blow past her as she got up from
her seat and moved along with Sean. She felt the wind grow stronger with each
step they took together, indicating how much closer they got to the edge of the
ramp. Her grip on his hand tightened. When he instructed her to stop, she did
so right away and wondered why he wanted her to.
She got her answer once she heard him shout back to
Elendriel, “Elle! Tell Moms that I forgive her!” To Sheryl, it sounded like a
last request. She would have questioned it had he not then asked her, “Do you
still trust me?” She nodded. “Then…jump!”
(Disney Note: Sean's address to the frightened Sheryl is nearly identical to those from Aladdin to Jasmine just before they made their escape from the palace guards in Aladdin.)
On his command, she allowed her feet to depart from the
edge of the ramp.
(UP NEXT: Out of one monster, into the other!)
No comments:
Post a Comment