Chapter Eleven: Realm D1995
Pocahontas took Rogers downriver to an area secluded by
the ancient weeping willow tree that towered over with many woodland creatures
moving around its branches. A sensation of serenity came over Steve as he
walked along the large, wide roots of the willow tree and sat upon a stump with
Pocahontas. “This is great. And you come here often?” Rogers asked her.
“Yes,” replied Pocahontas, who could not take her eyes
off of Steve. “I come here to talk to Grandmother Willow.”
Rogers saw her gesture to the willow tree, and he was a
bit baffled. “Um…your grandmother is a…tree?”
Pocahontas playfully smiled. “Look closely.”
(Authorial Note: Bits of the dialogue and actions were taken from the scene in Pocahontas that this one emulates, incorporating those by John Smith into Steve Rogers's.)
He did as she suggested and gazed closely into one
section of the tree that strongly resembled an elderly woman’s face. Then,
after a few seconds, an actual face did emerge from the tree to Rogers’s
immediate surprise. It was indeed the face of an elderly woman, and she even
addressed him like one, “Hello, young man.”
Rogers hardly knew what to say. “Uh…hi.”
“Grandmother Willow, this is my new friend, Steve
Rogers.” Pocahontas introduced.
Grandmother Willow smiled warmly. “Come closer, Steve
Rogers.” As Rogers had done so, he felt a group of thin branches push him
further up to the face of Grandmother Willow, who stared deep into his eyes. “Such
a young face, but an old spirit
behind it.” This observation fascinated even Grandmother Willow herself.
“You’re not from this land, Steve Rogers.”
“I’m not,” he confirmed out loud, even though it was
visibly obvious. “I’m not even from this world. I came here by accident from
the magic of this sorceress.”
“I do sense magic in your presence – strong magic.” Grandmother Willow said.
“Is there a way you can find her – the sorceress, I
mean?” Rogers asked.
Grandmother Willow intuitively considered the idea,
taking a short moment to ponder it. “The magic that surrounds you is beyond my
understanding, I’m afraid. But, like I once told Pocahontas’s mother, the key
is to listen.”
“Listen to what?” Steve asked curiously.
“Listen to the spirits, child.” Grandmother Willow said.
“This world around you is filled with spirits. They live in the earth, the
water, and the sky. Even the sorceress you speak of is a spirit herself. If you
listen, she will guide you back to her.”
Rogers accepted Grandmother Willow’s advice and listened
carefully. A cool breeze blew through the area, clashing with the leaves. He
felt himself engulfed in an atmosphere of serenity and could have sworn he
heard singing and whispering – among various other noises – all around him.
Closing his eyes, he concentrated much harder on the voices whispering into his
ears. Pocahontas looked on with interest and then noticed how a small
collection of colorful leaves billowed around him, accompanied with flashes of
golden sparks.
(Authorial Note: Livingston wanted readers to feel a commonality between John Smith and Steve Rogers with the Pocahontas scenes, seeing not that much of a difference between the two characters and their presence in the story. Both men are White/Caucasian, both are blonde, and both aren't natives to the land.)
“What do you hear, Steve Rogers?” Grandmother Willow asked.
Steve smiled as he answered: “Everything.”
In the midst of the soft singing and whispering, there
abruptly came a loud, fierce (and familiar) roar that startled Rogers. He fell
off his feet as if a powerful force knocked him down. Pocahontas and Grandmother
Willow both grew concerned for him. “What’s wrong?” Pocahontas questioned.
Rogers appeared intense. “The Hulk,” he muttered.
His response confused the young native girl. “What?”
Fighting to regain composure of what he heard and even
felt, Cap reiterated on his answer: “A friend of mine…he’s…he’s in trouble…serious trouble.” He then looked to
Grandmother Willow again and said with great caution, “I need to get back to my
world now.”
“You have to focus,
Steve Rogers. Think of the sorceress – her voice, her appearance, her scent –
these senses will help guide you to her.”
Time was of the essence for Rogers; he didn’t have the
patience for a spiritual journey. But he knew that if it was the key to finding
Gigi and his fellow Avengers, then he would have to do as Grandmother Willow
suggested. Shutting his eyes again, he focused hard on all of the senses he
could recall from his brief time with Gigi. It was a difficult task with
thoughts on what could have happened to Banner that led to another transformation
– within another world of all places – running through his mind, but he did his
very best for the sake of innocent lives.
Project Geo Base – 2012
Gigi instantly knew something was not right the moment
she and Sean rematerialized back in the base, and it wasn’t the hundreds of
guns trained on her that clued her in. Several armed S.H.I.E.L.D. agents
greeted them by surrounding them with their various firearms. It was one thing
to have a gun pointed at her by Sean, but it was an entirely different thing to
have it happen with several of his fellow agents. Gigi slowly raised her hands
in the air while trying to figure out what was going on. She soon received her
answer as soon as she heard Maria Hill yell, “Drop your weapon and get down on
the floor!”
Weapon? I don’t
have any weapons on me…unless she’s talking about my hat, Gigi thought in
confusion.
That was when she heard the sound of a gun drop to the
concrete floor from behind her, and she turned to see a petrified John Clayton
with his hands high in the air, exposing the sweat-stained armpits of his
yellow safari shirt. “Clayton? What’re you doing here?”
(Narrative Note: Clayton being an unintentional stowaway with real world characters returning to their world mirrors that of Buzz Lightyear in World of Disney when he was accidentally brought out of his realm with Joanie and Robin the Frog.)
The gorilla hunter was too terrified to reply. Without a
moment’s notice, he was handcuffed by a blond female S.H.I.E.L.D. agent whose
name was shortly revealed to Gigi as Nick Fury emerged from the surrounding
group of agents and instructed, “Agent Stevens, take our ‘guest’ into one of
the offices. We’ll figure out what to do with him once we’ve gotten this mess
sorted out.”
(Biographical Note: The role of "Agent Lisa Stevens" was written for Lisa Marie Stevens, a close friend and frequent collaborator of Livingston's. She was featured in the 2010 installment of The Disney Ghostbusters series, The Dead End, and appeared in the final DGB story in 2013. She's scheduled to appear in the upcoming Disney Mystery fanfic series, Case of the Weird & Wonderful, having already been featured in the Christmas one-shot.)
Agent Stevens, who Gigi practically towered over, looked
just as aggressive as she was attractive with piercing blue eyes that were
quick to intimidate even a powerful sorceress like Gigi. She watched as Stevens
led Clayton away as Fury ordered, and she felt relieved once she noticed all
the agents holster their guns and return to their active duties, which
confirmed that they were not for her. However, from the way Fury glared at her,
she was still in trouble.
“Did I ask you to bring someone from the other side
here?” The S.H.I.E.L.D. director rhetorically asked.
“I didn’t realize he was transported with us!” Gigi
innocently admitted. “I swear it was an accident!”
“And where’s Banner, Cap, and Stark? Please do not tell me they were lost, too.”
Gigi could not bring herself to admit the truth, and she shortly
realized that she didn’t have to as they were suddenly interrupted by another
female S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, one that was much older, shorter, and intimidating
than Stevens. This one was a darker skin color – almost the same skin tone as
Sean – and she even reminded Gigi of an older version of her (Joanie’s)
daughter, Ciciley. Of course, that notable similarity in skin tone just
confirmed what Gigi suspected when Sean addressed the woman in surprise: “Moms?
What’re you doing here?”
Pointing to the woman that was marching their way, Gigi
smiled and asked, “She’s your
mother?”
“Yeah, I am.” The woman viciously said. “And I’m also the
woman who’s gonna kick your big ol’ butt!”
Without warning, a fist came directly across Gigi’s face
swiftly from the left, connecting with her eye. Although the blow took her by
surprise, it didn’t do enough damage to leave a bruise. That was until she
received a brutal roundhouse kick that sent her to the cold concrete. Knees
collided with ribs as Gigi’s unanticipated opponent pinned her down and
unleashed a series of left and right punches to her face. After two or three, a hint of Gigi’s blood was stained on Ciciley’s right hand.
(Editoral Note: Violent imagery such as this was what convinced Livingston to give The Marvelous World a "K+" rating on FanFiction.net. Stories that follow that rating on the website should be "suitable mature children, 9 years and older, with minor action violence without serious injury, may contain mild coarse language, and should not contain any adult themes." Livingston tread lightly on his content, particularly for being an installment of his otherwise family-friendly series.)
Before the brutality could continue any further, Sean
stepped in and pried his mother off of Gigi. Ciciley squirmed under the massive
grip of her son, making things problematic for Sean. “Moms, chill out! What is
your problem?”
As he fought to get her under control, Elendriel and
Solus then entered the scene, seeing the battered Gigi on the floor. Her
once-flawless face was covered in cuts and bruises with blood seeping from her
nose and the corners of her mouth and left eye. She struggled to get back on
her feet, clutching her bruised ribs. Elendriel realized this woman was the
“threat” that her mother spoke of, although she did not seem much of one from
the insane ferocity that was unleashed on her just then.
(UP NEXT: A problematic adversary returns!)
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