Chapter Eighteen: Farewell to the Mayhem
Genevieve felt more nauseated than she had in the last
few hours, but not from readjusting to her mortal form this time. Her left hand
went to her stomach while the other went to her mouth as she watched the DBN
news coverage on the situation in Hell’s Kitchen. Essentially every part of the
battle was covered, including the fight on the rooftop between Yve Ette and the
Guardians via chopper footage.
(Spoiler Note: Genevieve seems to get much of her news through chopper footage. In the fifth chapter of The Disney Access, she witnesses the extraction of the Sphere's core, Victoria, and a new amalgamated reincarnation named "Stacy" through chopper footage in a news coverage.)
The second Genevieve saw the blade from Yve Ette’s
unique lightsaber go into Sheryl, her body went numb and fell back to the couch.
She stood the entire time while watching the coverage, angered over
the idea of being benched in Avengers Tower because of her mortality. But,
witnessing the end of Sheryl’s life cycle like that infuriated her. Sadness
soon took over that anger as the memory of the event swept through her – the
memory of that blade cutting into her stomach, rupturing her intestines, and
shattering her spinal cord. This was the effect of one’s history rippling
through change.
(Character Note: Two versions of Sheryl's death actually exist, the other to be depicted in the Tales of Fantasia miniseries. Originally, she died in one of the multiple versions of the war on Fantasia, succumbing to wounds sustained in battle on Bald Mountain.)
“Ohhh, man.” She heard a familiar voice moan.
Quickly, she spun around at the noise and spotted a tiny
figure coming down the stairs from the lab. It was a fully conscious Walter,
slightly rubbing his head. His presence there was more than a welcoming relief
for the grieving Genevieve. In her delight, she jumped from the couch and
rushed to him, joyfully picking him up off his feet and smothering him in a
massive hug.
“Argh!” Walter yelped. “You’re…killing me!”
Realizing how bad her timing was, Genevieve
released him right away and gently set him down. “I’m so sorry, lil’ buddy. You
feeling O.K.?”
“Well, between what happened on Asgard and that bear hug
you gave me, I feel like I just survived one of Gonzo’s stunts.”
“You remember being in Asgard?”
He gave a careful nod. “Yeah. I was there with Natalie.
W-We’re looking for Thor for help, until we got attacked by Loki. He was
disguised as Odin, so we never saw it coming.”
This news distraught Genevieve, yet there was nothing she
could do about it. The Marvel Universe was Mindy’s territory, so she certainly took a mental note as to keep her aware of the circumstance.
“I’m so sorry you got caught up in all of this, Walter. I
hope you know that Natalie didn’t mean for any of this to happen to you.”
The little Muppet shrugged. “I-It’s alright. I can tell
she really cares about me.”
Genevieve warmly smiled. “She does. It was her that
wanted me to stay here and watch out for you.”
(Character Note: The relationship between Walter and Natalie has been a focal point in the subsequent stories that feature them together, such as World of Disney 3 and The Disney Access. Each one depicts them becoming closer as friends, as well as companions in their adventures. Part of this is due to Natalie possessing many similar characteristics to her other half, Sean Thomas.)
“Where is she now?”
Genevieve sighed, gazing back at the television set.
“Defending this world from the Super Skrull. I think this
is just the start of another invasion Yve Ette intends to bring to this world,
unless we stop that thing tonight.”
Walter saw the gigantic creature in the news coverage,
much of his body taking up the wide angle that all the havoc was shot in by the
cameras. He was daunted by how much larger it was compared to the Hulk, seeing
the green Avenger doing battle with the adversary.
“Why aren’t you
out there fighting with them? I’ve seen how strong and powerful you were this
morning with those crates by the Muppet Theater. You’re like a superhero
yourself.”
Genevieve was touched by his faith in the abilities she
once possessed; it made it that much harder to come to grips with the fact that she
could no longer be that “superhero” he believed in.
“I’m just…ordinary now, Walter.” She gestured to her hair
and eyes. “Look at me. See how different I look?”
Walter noticed it at her mentioning, a bit surprised in
himself for not seeing it a lot sooner. “You look almost like a new person.”
“I almost look
like my old self – Sean Thomas, I mean. But this is just a reflection of the
mortality Yve Ette cursed me with. Without my abilities, what can I do now?”
“There’s plenty
you can do.”
Genevieve gave an unconvinced look to her Muppet friend.
“You’re no more ordinary than Tony Stark, Genevieve, and
even he can still be Iron Man. In
fact, he’s got a whole assortment of his armor upstairs – it’s so awesome!”
Her ears tingled at the one minor detail in his
pep talk. “Wait. Where did you say that you found this assortment of
armor?”
-------------------
Walter led Genevieve to the topmost floor of the tower,
which was reserved for the office space of Tony Stark. Housed there was his
“Hall of Armors,” similar to the one his mansion in Malibu once stored before
its untimely demolition. Consisting of six new suits kept in a row of glass
cases that took up half of the room, a specific red-and-pink armor caught
Genevieve’s eye. It looked to be designed for a female with features in its
structure reminiscent to that of a woman.
(Marvel Note: This armor is the "Rescue" suit. In the comics, Pepper Potts - who was instated as CEO of Stark Industries by Tony himself - discovered a secret room in Stark's office that contains a suit of armor that he made especially for her. Going by the continuity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Stark's purpose in designing this suit for Pepper is based on her rescue for him in the battle on the Norco in Iron Man 3.)
“I think that one’s made for his girlfriend, Pepper Potts.”
Walter observed.
Genevieve’s sly, smiling face reflected in the glass
that encased the feminine armor. “Tonight, it’s made for another woman, lil’ buddy.”
--------------------
Spider-Man made it a personal choice not to get back on
his feet until the ringing in his ears stopped. That last blow from his alien
opponent took a lot out of him, enough to make him black out for an amount of
time he was uncertain in the duration. When he came to, he was shocked to
find the alien monster duking it out with the Hulk. He had the big green guy
pinned, delivering lefts and rights to the punching bag that was the Hulk’s
head. There were so many that it was practically buried into the
ground.
The big guy needs
me! Can’t just sit here on my butt doing nothing!
Parker made an attempt to stand, using the taxicab he was
thrown into as a crutch. His legs still felt like spaghetti, numbed and
wobbling in his weakened state. It did not help much to have the ground
quaking, nearly knocking him back down. He imagined the tremor to come from the
Hulk’s retaliation against the alien, but he saw that he was still in the same
position as he had been since Spidey regained consciousness.
“Need a hand, kid?”
A loud, automated voice spoke to him, drawing his
attention to another towering figure that landed just beside him – this one
resembling Iron Man. In fact, as Spidey soon realized from the color scheme of
the Hulk-sized metal suit, it was
Iron Man!
(Marvel Note: In the conflict of the Civil War series, it was Spider-Man who was caught in the middle of the conflict between Captain America and Iron Man. Initially Spider-Man sided with Iron Man, who was the one to convince him to reveal his secret identity as Peter Parker to the world. Stark designed a new armored "spider suit" for Parker, which he secretly used to analyze his powers and develop ways to overcome them. This was only after Spider-Man left Iron Man's team and joined with Captain America's, realizing that people who did not agree to register for the Superhero Registration Act would be imprisoned.)
“Mr. Stark?” He identified the man within the suit,
thankful that the billionaire/Avenger was not shy about his secret identity.
“Is that some sort of armor for the Hulk? ‘Cause he could sure use it right
about now.”
“I know.” Iron Man answered. “The good news is that I’ve
got a plan of attack for the Super Skrull.”
Though the mask hid his face well, Parker reacted to the
name with a questionable frown. “Super Skrull? Is that what this thing’s called? Sounds like the front man of a 1980s
heavy metal band.”
Stark snickered. “Yeah, that’s what I thought, too.”
“So you gonna need me for your attack plan or what?”
“If you’re not too busy.”
--------------------
The Hulk was a sore disappointment for the Super Skrull,
who anticipated more of a challenge with the imposing defender of Earth than
Spider-Man turned out to be. The combatant was beaten, his green blood seeping
out from his nose and mouth and dark green welts over his face. All the Super Skrull
had to do was finish him off with a disintegration beam to the cranium, which
would ultimately explode it from the inside. The devastation would be messy but
it would have just the effect the Skrull desired to end his opposition.
(Marvel Note: Disintegration beams are a common superpower among comic book supervillains, particularly the Mandarin, the archenemy of Iron Man. Out of the ten rings he wears on his fingers, the "Spectral" ring - located on the ring finger of his right hand - destroys all bonds between the atoms and molecules of the object it strikes.)
His eyes lit up intensely in a fiery shade of orange,
directed right at the head of the Hulk. The beam was just a second from being released
until something shot at the Skrull’s eyes, forcing his eyelids shut and
blinding him. He heard a rocketing sound from behind and felt a
fast and hard blow from that general direction. His body slammed against the concrete,
skidding across it.
(Pop Culture Note: The Super Skrull's disintegration beam from his eyes bears resemblance to Darkseid, one of the most powerful beings in the DC Comics universe and a common adversary of Superman and the Justice League.)
The substance that blinded the Skrull tore away from his
eyes during the tumble. He soon found himself caught in the same position he
had the Hulk in mere seconds ago, pinned by a heavy, armored challenger of
similar build and stature. A circular device on its chest ignited, which the
Skrull presumed to be its defense mechanism. Taking this into consideration, he
teleported away before his new armored opponent fired a concentrated beam his
way.
--------------------
“IRON MAN! LOOK OUT!”
Spidey hoped the webbing he shot into the eyes of
the Super Skrull would be enough of a distraction for Iron Man to swoop in as
he did and end the alien. Unfortunately, the Skrull became aware of the attack
plan and struck back, manifesting at a hovered point above Stark with a Dr. Pepper semi-trailer that Spider-Man
figured to have been picked up from a few or so blocks away.
(Marvel Note: Dr. Pepper is a common sponsor of Marvel's films, from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy to the recent release of Avengers: Age of Ultron. Sometimes it comes as notable product placement within a scene, just as it is here.)
His warning to Iron Man came all too late as he looked up
just when the trailer came down upon him in a loud, metallic crash. With both
the Hulk and Iron Man downed, the Super Skrull set sights back on Spidey
himself. He watched the hovering alien land roughly back to the earth and
advance on him, his eyes again glowing in their fierce orange hue and his
fists – one flaming and the other rock-hard – clenching at his sides.
Parker had no other tricks left up his sleeve – nothing
that would catch the Skrull enough by surprise to overwhelm his volatile power.
All he had was his wit, which he used in the face of his imminent demise by his
asking of the alien threat, “Can’t we talk this out?”
When the Skrull was close enough to pummel the masked
hero, something heavy and fast suddenly flew in and smacked it right across the
face, knocking it several feet away from Spider-Man.
Relieved to discover that he survived, Spidey jumped
at the thunder that erupted from the heavens. Strangely, he saw not a single
cloud in the sky to indicate any oncoming thunderstorm. He did, however, spot a
caped figure soaring over the area at the aid of what appeared to be a large
hammer. It touched down with a mighty thud
right in the middle of the street.
To Spider-Man’s surprise, his newest savior was yet
another Avenger: Thor.
(Character Note: This is Thor's first official appearance in the World of Disney universe, having been absent from the events of The Marvelous World: World of Disney 2, due in part to being restricted to Asgard following the events of The Avengers. His debut in this scene has been built up throughout the story as a key player in the final battle.)
“Man, am I glad you
showed!” Spidey gratefully exclaimed.
“I could not let a beast like a Skrull harm a damsel.”
The Asgardian gazed up and down at Spider-Man, an awkward grimace forming on
his face. “No matter how strangely dressed she may be.”
Parker’s eyes bulged beneath his mask, taking great
offense to Thor’s confusion of his gender. “Damsel? Dude, I’m a dude!”
Genuinely surprised at this, Thor remarked, “Well…your
pubescent form is a bit misleading,
particularly in your night garments.”
Spidey shook his head in disbelief; his first-ever
encounter with the mightiest of the six Avengers rapidly spiraling into one of
the most embarrassing moments of his career.
(Authorial Note: I wrote this scene keeping in mind of Thor's unawareness of Spider-Man, which reverberates among the other Avengers in the story when they interact with or take notice in the wall-crawler - minus Black Widow, who was Genevieve in disguise. The best part about writing it was taking a very "PG-13" approach in the confusion of Spider-Man's gender, which I imagined to actually happen in the films.)
The grinding sound of metal being ripped apart directed
their attention off their discomfited exchange (to Spider-Man’s high approval) and
to the smashed trailer that Iron Man tore and blasted his way free from.
“Thor,” said Stark, regrouping with his fellow Avenger
and Spider-Man. “What took you so long?”
“Once I distinguished our newest foe to be none other
than a Skrull,” Thor answered, “I made haste to the city to provide what
assistance was needed. Though I do wonder what has become of Rogers and
Natasha.”
“They’re indisposed at the moment.” Stark established. “It’s
nothing that the four of us can’t handle.”
Thor surveyed the atmosphere in question. “Your numbering
is off, Stark. I only count three of
us.”
The Asgardian warrior’s misperception was put to rest on
the familiar vicious roar of his other fellow Avenger. It echoed from
above, drawing their attention upward as the Hulk – having leapt to the heavens
– dropped down onto the Super Skrull, stomping his incredible weight into the
Skrull’s back. He progressed in picking the Skrull up by the neck and hurling it
towards Iron Man, Thor, and Spider-Man.
Tony was way ahead of his green comrade. He jetted the Mark
XLIV against the soaring Super Skrull and clotheslined the creature in midair. The
Skrull skid across the ground, coming to a halt right at the feet of Thor and
Spidey.
“Nope,” Stark said. “It’s four. Definitely four.”
-----------------------
Ciciley was immensely satisfied to know that Stan’s
source was correct. There was a
warehouse at the Hell’s Kitchen docks, still structurally sound enough to house
whatever new house of horrors Saccheri had her son and mother involved with.
She and Elendriel landed the Quinjet directly on the roof. Guns drawn, both
women quietly and carefully scouted each floor of the warehouse until one
greeted them with the strong, foul stench of death.
There was no question that they found the right level of
the warehouse Saccheri operated in when they discovered the mass
litter of severed body parts and blood splattered across every inch of the long,
wide area.
Elendriel was on the verge of puking at the gruesome carnage; she had never been in the presence of such of a sight in
her years as an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. “I think it’s a safe bet this is all Saccheri’s
science team…or what’s left of them,” she denoted. “What the hell did this?”
Ciciley wanted to tell her daughter that she didn’t know,
but her focus was too heavily on the possibility that the bodies of Sean and
Chrissy could have been lying among those of the science team. Her unnerved
eyes shifted all over the floor until she gazed on one area lit by a single
overhead light. “Look,” she alerted Elendriel the second she spotted two
inclined, unoccupied examination tables.
Approaching the tables, Elendriel found a recognizable grey
sports bra and shorts lying uselessly on the one to the right. “I’d loaned these to Grandmamma with the rest of my clothes.” She
handed them to Ciciley, who became more and more perturbed by the realization
of what occurred in that warehouse.
“It was beautiful.”
Ciciley and Elendriel tensed at the voice speaking outside the circle of light, turning to the direction it came from and aiming
their guns. Saccheri revealed himself, his suit coated in the blood of those
that perished in the massacre, and his face masked by a hypnotic sense of awe
and wonder.
“It was a true marvel of evolution,” he said in a voice
that was close to a whisper.
(Authorial Note: This line from Saccheri purposely teases the title of next year's sequel, Marvel Evolution. By this point in the story, I already had it officiated and left bread crumbs for readers to follow, alluding to the plot.)
“Where’s my mother and son, Saccheri?” Ciciley
demandingly inquired. “What the hell have you done to them, you sick son of
a…?”
“Your mother?” The zoned businessman uttered, seeming to
need to remind himself of who that was. “Oh, yes. I had to kill her in order to provide the nutrients for the vessel.”
Ciciley felt all sensation in her body dissipate. Her
mouth gaped in shock from the reality of what Saccheri just divulged to her:
Chrissy – her mother – was dead.
“What vessel?” Elendriel questioned. She did her best not
to shoot Saccheri dead right where he stood for what he had done to her
grandmother.
“Sean Livingston’s body, of course.” Saccheri clarified.
“It’s now the home for the most remarkable genetic code gifted to us from the
cosmos.”
Fumed by the actions of this madman, Ciciley’s grip on
her handgun tightened, remaining firmly trained on Saccheri. “You monster,”
she tearfully and furiously screamed. “I just got that woman back in my life,
and you’ve taken her out of it all over again!”
Saccheri maintained his cold-hearted demeanor in the face
of the seething daughter and mother, both having murder in their icy blue eyes. “If
I’m a monster, then what does that make God Almighty Himself?”
Ciciley desperately fought the urge not to shoot him.
There was still the matter of her son, who was nowhere to be found in the butchery.
Unfortunately, whereas her mind was rational in the situation, her body was
not. She emptied the chamber of her gun into Saccheri’s chest, riddling it with
holes that bloodied his suit more than it already was. By the time her gun merely clicked when she continued squeezing the trigger, she realized what she had done.
Saccheri remained standing, gazing down at his chest,
completely unfazed. Then his eyes enlarged, not from the attack at his front
but from one in the back. Something tore through his spine and burst out
through his chest. A human arm emerged, clutching his heart in its hand. Blood
spewed from his mouth as he looked in distress upon the organ raided from his
body.
Elendriel and Ciciley witnessed the scene in bewildered
disgust. The human arm retreated back in and finally out of Saccheri’s body,
leaving him collapsing to the floor dead. Once his wide, stocky body was out of
view from his killer, Ciciley and Elendriel noticed a young, barefooted woman
with dark brown hair and eyes standing over him. She looked to be of Portuguese
descent, athletic in appearance with dense, defined muscle.
(Authorial Note: This is "Lee," a new character who we will see more of in Marvel Evolution. The inspiration for this character comes from my close friend Jennifer Lee, whose surname and appearance is the basis for what will be one of the threats to overcome in the sequel.)
Elendriel promptly realized how this young woman wore
undergarments similar to those normally worn by her brother. Drooped over her
body was a black muscle shirt that was too oversized for her shorter frame,
baring much cleavage. A pair of black compression shorts was hinted beneath the
extra-large shirt, and they also looked to be fighting to stay on the girl.
Considering what Saccheri told them about his
experiment and her brother’s role in it, Elendriel whispered to the young woman
in questionable recognition, “Sean?”
(Spoiler Note: "Lee" is in fact just one of seven different people that Agent Sean divided into from Saccheri's experiment. Known as "Splitters" in Marvel Evolution, each of them possess unique personalities and, following the events of Mayhem, develop into different lifestyles around the world. Only one of them has the core memories and personality of Agent Sean, which will be of great value to the heroes when gathering the individuals together.)
The Portuguese girl reacted to the name, her brown eyes
widened and her brow furled. Her next gesture caught Ciciley and Elendriel off guard:
she ran to the nearest window and leapt through the glass. The mother-daughter
agents rushed to the glass-ridden windowpane and looked out in
search for where the young woman had gone.
There was not a single trace of her.
--------------------------
Down to three, Natalie began to worry of their odds in
defeating Yve Ette. Of course, it might just have been Sean Thomas under the
emotion that plagued the back of her mind. She did not want to get him involved
at any point in this fight. He was to be a father back in his world and that
was the last thing Natalie wished to rob of him. She fought not only to keep
herself alive but him as well, yet it was turning out to be a challenge with
just herself, Mindy, and Yamila in the battle.
Even between Mindy’s legit Guardian power and the half
Natalie possessed in her fusion with Sean, they were no match against the much
stronger power of Yve Ette. She was fueled by more than just their
magic; Natalie could not quite figure what it was.
To make matters more
complicated, Yve Ette executed a move on Mindy with her specialized lightsaber
that she did not anticipate. After a hard, swift kick to the face that
temporarily stunned her, she lopped off Mindy’s left forearm. While Mindy was
left shrieking in agony, Yve Ette tossed aside the severed limb like a
worthless piece of garbage. The arm hit the rooftop and was instantly rendered
to dust, no longer a part of the woman it was once attached to.
(Marvel Note: The loss of Mindy's forearm follows with the theme of "Phase Two" in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which the events of Marvel Mayhem happen in. Each Phase Two film features at least one character having their hand cut off in homage to The Empire Strikes Back. To see all the Phase Two moments in which characters lost limbs, click here.)
With Mindy now brutally incapacitated from the fight, the
odds were even greater stacked against Natalie and Yamila. It was insane for
them to believe that a half-reincarnation and a female super soldier could trounce one
superbly formidable sorceress with nothing more than their bare hands. But the
two women refused to yield.
They charged together again. Both battered, bruised, and
bloodied.
Yve Ette shook her head at their feeble attempt in an
exhausted tactic. She caught Yamila coming at her first and effortlessly
subdued the smaller and younger opponent by one fierce roundhouse kick to the
face. Yamila went down hard and into a daze, blood seeping from her nose.
Natalie could now sense Sean’s apprehensiveness, which
influenced her motion towards Yve Ette. She wanted to try at another attack
that might give some effectiveness, but Sean’s fear proved to be stronger. The
veins on her forehead pulsated and sweat poured out from it. She was forced to
watch Yve Ette stare at her one second and then kick her in the stomach the
next.
She dropped to her knees from the blow, until Yve Ette
knocked her back with her right foot, reducing her to a horizontal position.
What followed was nothing short of indignation towards Natalie’s womanhood. Yve
Ette roughly placed her foot down upon Natalie’s groin, the sharp heel of her boot
buried deep into her vaginal area. The pain was unbearable after just two
seconds of pressure applied. She was almost certain from the sensation that
there were spikes on the sole.
“Let’s finish where we left off, shall we?” Yve Ette
taunted. “Bring your other half out here! I’m dying to see if he still carries
the bruises!”
She applied more pressure from her foot. Natalie
screamed.
“Still protecting him, I see.” Yve Ette contemptuously
clicked her tongue. “Well, sweetheart, I’m afraid you just left him with a
grieving widow and a child to live a fatherless upbringing.”
(Spoiler Note: Yve Ette unintentionally foreshadows one of these two prospects in the lives of Christina and Brandy Thomas that occurs after the events of World of Disney 3. Although Sean Thomas merely goes missing and does not actually die, Brandy does end up with "a fatherless upbringing" because of it.)
(Spoiler Note: Yve Ette unintentionally foreshadows one of these two prospects in the lives of Christina and Brandy Thomas that occurs after the events of World of Disney 3. Although Sean Thomas merely goes missing and does not actually die, Brandy does end up with "a fatherless upbringing" because of it.)
She held her lightsaber high into the air, its fiery
blade illuminating the rooftop in a foreboding hue. Two lives in one body were
on the brink of coming to an end once she brought the blade down.
Then the unexpected happened.
A sudden explosive force threw Yve Ette off Natalie,
allowing the young Native American woman to recover from the unsettling
maneuver perpetrated to her groin. In her recovery, she watched as the
extinguished lightsaber clattered to the rooftop, more than a few feet from
where Yve Ette landed after the mysterious attack. Yve Ette attempted to call
it back to her hand before it swiftly flew in the opposite direction and into a
gauntlet-clad hand that crushed it to pieces.
(Narrative Note: Although Yve Ette's specialized lightsaber is destroyed in this story, an exact replica of it is used in World of Disney 3, presumably made in the event that the previous model was lost or demolished.)
“Not sure what that
was, but it looked important.”
The voice was automated, yet it still sounded
identifiable to both Yve Ette and Natalie. Near them stood a figure donned in a
feminine red-and-pink version of the suit of armor commonly adorned by Iron
Man.
“Genevieve?” Natalie managed to guess the identity of the
wearer. “Is that you?”
“You better believe it is.”
Within the enclosed helmet, Genevieve looked upon the HUD
display projected right in front of her face. There were schematics of the suit
she wore and other technical mumbo jumbo that she did not try to understand for
the sake of centering her attention on what was happening there on the rooftop.
One image that did bring ease to her otherwise tensed body was a live feed of a
headset-wearing Walter, who maintained communications back in Avengers Tower.
Genevieve smiled at the feed. “You still with me, lil’
buddy?”
“Oh, yeah!” The Muppet toughly responded.
“Then let’s pump up the volume!”
Right on cue, the suit’s integrated outward stereo system
switched on. The exterior speaker boomed to the tune of Ratt’s “Round and Round”
at maximum volume, directly at Yve Ette. Natalie, who caught on to Genevieve’s
attack plan, covered her ears from the earsplitting classic rock music.
As it turned out, the loud music was just the weakness
needed to provide enough of a distraction for Genevieve to unleash a multitude
of kicks and punches on Yve Ette. The vibranium structure of her suit gave
enough force to create insurmountable damage, fracturing nearly every bone in Yve Ette’s body. For added measure, Genevieve included a head butt, her metallic
noggin meeting with Yve Ette’s unprotected skull.
(Marvel Note: The "Rescue" armor represents a hybrid of repulsor technology and portable electromagnetic superfield generators that give the suit flight, speed, strength, and magnetic field manipulation. Its electromagnetic force fields are powerful enough to enable Rescue to stop a falling jet airliner without physical contact with it and can also be used as an offensive weapon with other armored opponents. In the comics, it was the first armor to feature J.A.R.V.I.S. in his artificial intelligence form from the Marvel Cinematic Universe films.)
Close to two minutes into this brutality by Genevieve,
she held the right palm of her iron gauntlet right in the cripplingly bruised,
bloodied face of Yve Ette – the light of the repulsor irradiating the extensive
mutilation. “This one’s for Sheryl,” said Genevieve, who commenced in firing
the repulsor at close range.
The intensity of the blast sent Yve Ette off the rooftop
entirely, disappearing within a dark alley below. Natalie heard the sickening
resonance of the body smacking into the concrete. Not even a dumpster was
worthy of breaking the fall.
“Ooh! And that’s
how it’s done!” Walter cheered.
Genevieve giggled. “You can kill the music now, buddy.”
She went to the aid of Natalie, who picked herself back
up to her feet. “That was some rescue,
Genevieve.”
The suit’s helmet opened automatically, unmasking the
smiling, winking face of Genevieve. “I see what you did there.”
(Narrative Note: Although never openly given to the suit itself, this is the only real reference to its code name.)
Their victory was short-lived with the heavy groans of
Mindy nearby, reminding Natalie of the two incapacitated women left from the
intense battle. “Check on Min. I’ll check up on Yamila,” she instructed
Genevieve.
Genevieve did as she said and rushed over to Mindy, while
Natalie crouched beside Yamila. Seeing the charred stump from the hack job Yve
Ette committed on Mindy’s left arm, Genevieve was stricken with a sense of
guilt.
“Oh, Mindy. If I’d only gotten here a minute sooner,
I’d…”
“Don’t…Don’t beat yourself u-up…over it.” Mindy groaned,
desperately fighting off the searing discomfort in her mortal wound. “At
least…you gave that witch what she got coming to her.”
Genevieve nodded in agreement with that sentiment.
“Walter,” she addressed her unseen Muppet partner through their radio contact.
“Patch me in with Ciciley and Elendriel.”
After a brief moment, he confirmed, “You’re in.”
“Cici! Elle! Mindy and Yamila are both hurt bad! We need
to get them back to the tower right now!”
There was no reply from either of the two S.H.I.E.L.D.
agents. Before Genevieve could have listened out for one, the ferocious howl of
the Hulk from the street below overshadowed any other noise in the area. It
encouraged Genevieve and Natalie to momentarily leave the sides of Mindy and
Yamila and look over the edge of the rooftop, seeing Spider-Man and the
Avengers standing over the unconscious Super Skrull.
-----------------------
“How shall we deal with this Skrull threat?” Thor queried
to his teammates.
“Duh!” Spidey uttered. “Hand it over to S.H.I.E.L.D. and
let them deal with it.”
“That right there is the last thing we should do.” Stark hastily shot down.
“Then I shall transport it to Asgard.” Thor offered. “We
can determine what ploy the Skrulls have in mind to—”
Out of nowhere, the four heroes were fleetingly blinded
by a flash of light.
Unbeknownst to them, the source of the light came from
the eyes of the reawakening Super Skrull. With the diversion in place, the
creature flew back onto its feet and continued where it left off in its mayhem.
It started by viciously grabbing the breastplate of Iron Man’s Mark XLVI armor
and using the entire suit as a weapon to bash the Hulk into the ground. As soon
as the Hulk was imprinted deep enough into a crater, the Skrull hurled Stark
and the armor down a few blocks away.
It let out a barbaric scream before moving on Thor and
Spidey, the latter reliving a reoccurring nightmare.
“Not again!” The masked hero shouted.
Thor had enough. Calling on Mjølnir, the powerful
Asgardian enchanted war hammer flew to his right hand, and he pointed it to the
heavens. By his mighty power, he summoned a massive bolt of lightning that he
channeled through the hammer and into the Super Skrull.
(Marvel Note: Mjølnir was forged in the heart of a dying star and stored in Odin's vault until it was entrusted to Thor. It has been stated by Odin himself that Mjølnir's power has no equal. Made of Uru, a godlike metal forged in the furnaces of Nidavellir, Mjølnir itself is extremely durable, like the Earth metal vibranium, and - combined with the various enchantments placed upon it by Odin - it is, for all intents and purposes, indestructible. Almost nothing is capable of withstanding a hammer strike or throw, with the exception of Captain America's shield. Whenever dropped by Thor, it assumed a fixed position from which no one could move it except a "worthy" individual. So far, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, only Odin and the android Avenger Vision have been worthy enough to weld Mjølnir.)
The creature’s immense form convulsed violently, sparking
from the inside out with deadly volts of electricity. Ultimately, it spontaneously
combusted in spectacular fashion right in the middle of the street. Fragments of
white dust with gold and rainbow-colored specks floated to the air and skies.
At the edge of the rooftop near the combustion, Genevieve
and Natalie looked on to see the dust fragments float before them. There was a
sense of familiarity in Natalie as the colorful specks reflected in her bright
green eyes. They were undoubtedly reincarnation remains, but they were her remains.
“This is me,”
she whispered. “All this is goin’ to the theater, where it all started.”
(Character Note: Technically, the Super Skrull can be identified as a reincarnated form of the original Sean Thomas, since it was reincarnate remains that helped bring it to life. If the remains were not inhaled by the alternate Sean Thomas earlier in the story, reincarnating Natalie from his body, there would not have been another form to succeed the Super Skrull.)
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Yve Ette could hardly stand more less breathe in her
ravaged state. There was not a mirror near for her to see how
extensive her wounds were, yet she knew it from how paralyzed her face felt. From
her inability to blink, she determined her eyelids to have been obliterated
from the repulsor blast to her face. Her nose and lips suffered the same
condition as she fought to get air into her lungs.
Nonetheless, the damage was only temporary. Her regenerative
qualities would restore whatever parts of her face missing. Though the
same could not be said for her dignity, of which she was robbed at the hands of
Genevieve and her companions. The ultimate defeat of the Super Skrull left her
in fury, enough to take it all out on those responsible. But she didn’t. Rather
than get her revenge there and then, she did the only sensible thing – retreat.
Into the darkened alley she went, disappearing from the Marvel realm in a dark
red haze.
(UP NEXT: It's Never A Marvel Story Without A Bonus Scene!)
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