Monday, September 7, 2015

Marvel Mayhem - Chapter Fourteen (w/ Commentary Notes from the Author, Sean Livingston)

Chapter Fourteen: Unnatural Arrivals

            It was difficult for anyone’s ears not to have popped every second they traveled down the longest elevator shaft in history. They were several miles beneath Liberty Island – well out of range for any Wi-Fi service. Liberty Base was undoubtedly the ideal place to keep hidden from any Hydra or Skrull agents. In her earlier years as an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., Ciciley spent some years stationed at the base. She was not alone in those years, having been partnered with a fellow agent to keep surveillance in all corners of the world.

(Narrative Note: In Chapter Eleven, Ciciley mentioned how she and Nick Fury "used to hang out" in Liberty Base "for personal reasons." It can be deduced from this and the bit of information we're given in this introduction that Fury was the "fellow agent" stationed with her.)

            “It’s been thirty whole years since I last stepped foot in this place,” she reminisced as she exited the elevator with everyone else.

            Sean frowned with recognition. “Wait. Thirty years? That’s as long as I’ve been alive!”

            Ciciley blushed. “Well, uh…”

(Authorial Note: This is another big clue I left for readers to determine how deep the relationship with Ciciley and Fury went, alluding to the possibility of the S.H.I.E.L.D. director being Sean Livingston's father.)

            Thankfully, she was spared of any explanation she could pull out of her behind with the loud cooing of Karter. He became fidgety in the arms of Chrissy. Once being a mother herself, Chrissy knew what that was a sign of.

            “I think this lil’ fella’s getting hungry. Anyone got any formula?”

            “Here.” Mindy stepped in just in time, gently waving her left hand in the air and conjuring a baby bottle.

            Chrissy smiled as she took it from her, going right to feeding Karter. “You are truly a living miracle, dear.”

            Mindy was humbled by her remark. It was not often she received such praise or was described in such a touching way. “Thank you,” she whispered to Chrissy.

(Narrative Note: Mindy's conjuring of the baby bottle is a magic trick repeated in World of Disney 3 by Joanie, who needed one to feed the newborn daughter of Sean and Christina Thomas, Brandy.)

            The group consisting of the Livingstons, Mindy, and Karter entered the decades-old, hidden S.H.I.E.L.D. base almost cautiously. It was a base S.H.I.E.L.D. owned, of course, which gave way for the possible chance that Hydra could have found out about it, despite Ciciley’s assurance that they could not. Liberty Base was literally under everyone’s radar and kept secret from the rest of the organization. And, according to Ciciley, it was just one of a few top-secret facilities authorized by Nick Fury, but it was the oldest one established.

            As soon as they arrived upon an intersecting lobby, they stopped over the large, old-school S.H.I.E.L.D. insignia decorated on the floor. A dark-haired figure stepped out from an area Ciciley recognized as the surveillance room. And the figure herself was recognized by everyone, her presence coming as a shock.

            “Genevieve?” They all exclaimed.

            “You’ve survived!” Mindy noted.

            “And…you got your hair done?” Sean observed with a questionably raised eyebrow. “What’s up with that?”

            Genevieve ran her fingers through her blackened hair in frustration. “I don’t remember a thing after Blake and Sitwell attacked us back in Elendriel’s apartment. They must’ve used some kind of mind-altering drug to wipe away whatever memories I had in the moments between the attack and my arrival on Liberty Island. Gotta give it to Hydra on making good use in S.H.I.E.L.D. resources.”

            There were looks of concern exchanged briefly among Mindy and the Livingstons.

            “Um, there’s something you should know, Genevieve.” Ciciley apprehensively addressed. “That wasn’t Blake or Sitwell that attacked. They’re alien shape-shifters that call themselves ‘Skrulls.’ They made themselves up to look like them.”

            Distress and uncertainty registered on Genevieve’s young face. “Skrulls?” The identity of the alien race should have been familiar to her. But why should it have? Suddenly, the truth of the matter dawned on her: “They probed my mind. That’s the only explanation for my memory loss. They could be the ones that stripped me of my Guardian abilities!”

            Mindy blinked rapidly at that last exclamation. “Say what now?”

            “They made me human – completely human!” Genevieve remarked. “The new hair color? My new eye color? I’m nearly half of who I used to be before I became Guardian!”

            “Oh, man.” Mindy whispered in agitation. “I dread to think what the Skrulls might do with that kind of power.”

(Narrative Note: Most of the Skrulls' technology Yve Ette integrated to the specialized lightsaber that will be seen near the end of this chapter. This saber is capable of exterminating Guardians/reincarnations in whatever way the blade comes in contact with their bodies. It plays a vital role in the deaths of many reincarnation characters featured in World of Disney 3.)

            For a short moment, anxiety took over the atmosphere from the scenario Mindy posed. Shortly thereafter, the tension was broken by the emergence of Stan, who exclaimed in seeing Ciciley, “Well, if it isn’t the queen herself!”

            The second she saw the elderly S.H.I.E.L.D. agent appear, a feeling of warmth swept over her. “Stan the Man!” She rushed right up to the silver-haired, sunglasses-wearing gentleman and embraced him. “Hadn’t been since ’88 since I saw ya! So damn good to see ya again!”

            “Feelin’s mutual.” Stan remarked at the same time as he looked down at her backside, noting the perfectly-structured butt cheeks shown through her black leggings. “For a woman who’s supposed to be sixty, your butt’s looking remarkable, kid!”

            Ciciley let out a hearty laugh, flattered by her old friend’s observation. However, his unnecessary compliment drew unpleasant surprise from Chrissy, who could be heard gasping nearby.

            Hearing her mother’s reaction, Ciciley let Stan go and playfully slapped him on the chest. “Oh, he’s only teasin’, Mama. He was always such a dirty ol’ man.”

            Stan chuckled. “I may be old, but I’m still sane enough to realize the fact that you should look a lot differently than when we last met. I mean, what the hell happened to you? It’s like a day hasn’t gone by for you.”

            “You heard about the ‘Project Geo’ incident that happened back in 2012, right?”

            Stan nodded. “Who hasn’t?”

            “Well, there was this sorceress they kept there with blood that was accidentally transferred over to me when I beat the living shit out of her. This blood got into my system and rejuvenated me back into the hot tamale standing in front of you now.”

            The old agent nodded with fascination. “Well, that story sounds better than the nonsense this one was spoutin’ earlier.”

            Genevieve noticed right away how Stan gestured to her, immediately taking offense. “What? Everything I told you was just as much the truth!”

            “Suuuuuuuure.” Stan replied.

-------------------

            Most of everyone was gathered in the lobby, engaged in various conversations. Only one remained out of the fray: Yamila. From the corner of the surveillance room entrance, she peeked towards the crowd. No one had taken notice of her presence there, as she was shadowed by the dim interior. Ciciley was her main focus; she recognized her as the mother that visited her at the base as often as possible. Her dark brown eyes then shifted to Sean, the big brother she just recently discovered to have. He was undoubtedly handsome, sharing in similar cosmetic features to Yamila; there was no denying they were biologically related.

            There was, unfortunately, confusion over which of the three other women that accompanied them to be Yamila’s sister. All three were definite candidates to be the daughter Ciciley had before her, judging from how much older they looked compared to Sean. The busty redhead carrying the baby appeared to be the oldest, yet not old enough to be counted out as Yamila’s presumable sister. And out of the two brunettes, the younger one with the fairer skin and bright blue eyes that seemed closer to Sean’s age might as well have been a giveaway.

(Authorial Note: Sometimes there's difficulty in writing from the perspective of a new character who has never before met the principal ones. You have to assume that this character has never seen these others their whole life, so you can only identify them through physical description that should have been previously established through proper introductions much earlier in the story. This way, readers will know who it is the new character is seeing from their perspective.)

            Yamila knew there to be one way to find out, and that was by stepping out from the shadows and revealing her presence to the group.

            It was the plan she intended on initiating, until she was restrained by a flash of light that temporarily filled the area. Before she knew it, two new women suddenly appeared in the room – another young brunette and a blonde that had taken the busty redhead’s place as the oldest woman in the base, looking to be in her early forties (maybe older). They were both donned in bizarre clothes – the brunette wore a black robe while the blonde wore a red overcoat – that included matching pointy blue hats with a glittering stars and crescent moon design.

            “Holy Mary and Joseph!” Stan shouted on witnessing the unnatural arrival.

            As staggering as it was for everyone to see the brunette, it seemed to Yamila that it was even more so for Ciciley, Sean, and the younger brunette she assumed to be her big sister to have seen the blonde.

            “Sheryl?” Ciciley nearly screamed with joy in her address to the blonde. “Oh, shit! You’re back!”

            The blonde known as “Sheryl” giggled like a little girl as she and Ciciley shared a warm embrace. The height difference between them was notable as the towering Sheryl almost had to bend over to hug, while Ciciley almost had to stand on her tiptoes.

            “I’m so sorry it’s been so long.” Sheryl said. “I’ve had so much going on in the Disneyverse. Time moves much differently between the two worlds.”

(Narrative Note: This has been a noted fact in the main stories of the World of Disney series, most often demonstrated between the narrative of the visited "Disney World" and "reality.")

            “No worries.” The younger brunette told her. “It’s just great seeing you again, especially with all that we’re going through.”

            Sheryl gave her a smile. “Thank you, Elendriel.”

            Elendriel…so that’s her name, Yamila thought with excitement, finally able to place an identity with the face.

            Meanwhile, the brunette that accompanied Sheryl stared at Genevieve with immense astonishment.

            “Genevieve? Is that you?”

            Sheryl’s attention moved away from Ciciley and to Genevieve, whose appearance just as much alarmed her. A hand went to her mouth, and she muffled beneath it, “Oh, my goodness.”

            Genevieve sighed in aggravation. “I can explain later. Just…what are you two doing here in this realm?”

            Realm? What sort of people are these women?

-------------------

            “Yve Ette’s here.” Jacqueline was quick to get right down to business. “She’s in this world, too, and teaming herself with an alien race that call themselves…”

            “The Skrulls.” Mindy uttered in wide-eyed disbelief. It wasn’t just the fact that she, Sheryl, Jacqueline, and Genevieve all shared the same brain that helped her to realize what Jacqueline was going to say before she said it; it was the fact that she just mentioned the name “Yve Ette,” which she managed to connect to the Skrulls’ kidnapping of Genevieve and stripping her of her power. “Oh, god.”

            Ciciley frowned. “Who’s Yve Ette?”

            “A very dangerous woman – ‘nuff said.” Sean answered. “But my question is why is she working with the Skrulls?”

(Marvel Note: Agent Sean utters the famous catchphrase of Stan Lee, "'nuff said," in this scene. It also was the title for a comic book event in which the writers and artists of Marvel took the challenge to tell a story without using any words, only art. Each issue included a partial script at the end to better inform the reader of what happened. Comics that were featured in this event included: Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 2 #39, Avengers Vol. 3 #49, Black Panther Vol. 3 #39, Cable #100, Captain America Vol. 3 #50, Captain Marvel Vol. 4 #26, Daredevil Vol. 2 #28, Deadpool #61, Elektra Vol. 2 #6, Exiles #7, Fantastic Four Vol. 3 #50, Incredible Hulk Vol. 2 #35, Iron Man Vol. 3 #49, New X-Men #121, Peter Parker: Spider-Man Vol. 2 #38, Punisher Vol. 5 #7, Spider-Girl #41, Thor Vol. 2 #44, Thunderbolts #59, Uncanny X-Men #401, Wolverine Vol. 2 #171, X-Force #123, and X-Treme X-Men #8.)

            “Remember what we said about the very threat of the universe Yve Ette intends to create havoc with?” Mindy reminded him. “Well, who else better to stir up a hornet’s nest with than the Skrulls.”

            Sean let out a heavy, overwhelmed sigh. “Good grief.”

            “Yve Ette.” Genevieve muttered with much anger in her voice, having realized the connection between the corrupted reincarnation’s presence and her abduction at the hands of the Skrulls. “She’s the one behind all of this. She was the one who had them make me vulnerable.”

            Hearing this, Sheryl had a realization of her own as she eyed Genevieve. “That’s why we weren’t able to trace you from Tony Stark’s tower. Detecting Mindy here in this base is how we got here. But you…I don’t sense any connection between you and us anymore.”

            Genevieve felt so much more like an outcast in human form than she did in Guardian form. As much as she always wanted to return to her original life as Sean Thomas, she did not imagine being regressed to a mortal state whilst in her final reincarnated form. It was an inconvenient predicament that she hoped to see her way out of sooner than later.

            “Why does Yve Ette need Genevieve’s power?” Jacqueline questioned.

            “It wouldn’t be the first time she’s targeted me for it.” Genevieve noted. “She’s going for the same play as the one back during that rift across the Disneyverse. She’s stealing my power to use it for herself.”

(Narrative Note: Stealing the powers and life energies of the reincarnations of Sean Thomas was the grand scheme of Dawn, the evil living persona of Joanie Navarro-Thomas, in Tales of the Disneyverse.)

            Jacqueline shook her head negatively. “Nuh-uh. I think there’s a bigger play here. If Yve Ette wanted to, she could purge your power herself at any time – no need for any specialized alien tech, just good ol’ fashioned Guardian skill.”

            “We need Natalie.” Sheryl suggested. “She seems to have more knowledge on Yve Ette’s plans with the Skrulls than any of us do.”

            Now it was Genevieve’s turn to frown and ask, “Who’s Natalie?”

            Jacqueline smirked. “Long story.”

-------------------

            Natalie had not once left Walter’s side as he remained lying unconscious on the examination table that doubled as a vital signs monitor, with the readouts displayed nearby on a flat-screen connected to the table. She sat by him on an aluminum stool chair in Bruce Banner’s lab. Banner and Stark were further upstairs, leaving her alone in the room with Walter.

            Of course, she knew that she was never really alone – not with her other half present as a manifestation of his consciousness.

            “Your butt’s getting numb sitting on that stool for so long.” He alerted her in his infuriation, pacing back and forth behind her. “I know because I can feel it.”

            “I can take it as long as you can.” She jested.

            “That’s not funny!” He stopped pacing and glared at her. “Why are we still here? Let’s just leave this place and go back home with Walter where we belong.”

            “I promise we’ll do just that, once we’ve taken care of Yve Ette and the Skrulls.”

            “None of that is any business of ours! This world already has superheroes to protect it – they don’t need our help!”

            “It’s more than just this world, Sean. There are countless others, including ours. Yve Ette is a powerful threat to all of them. She won’t just stop here. She’ll continue her chaos to those others, until she has exactly what she wants.”

            “And just what is it that she wants?”

            Natalie was right on the verge of giving him a direct answer before the sound of the television switching on in the downstairs suite directed her attention away from him temporarily. Looking back his way, she realized that his manifested form vanished, much to her displeasure. Guess I know how that feels now.

            Her curiosity got the best of her when she realized that there were only two other living beings in the tower, and they were upstairs. She headed downstairs to investigate, showing up in the entertainment section of the suite to curiously find no one there.

            It was then she realized that she ousted one other possible suspect, who did not have a physical presence in the complex but a presence nonetheless.

            “J.A.R.V.I.S.?” She addressed the unseen artificial intelligence, her bright green eyes looking toward the ceiling. “Did you turn on the TV?”

(Marvel Note: The initials in J.A.R.V.I.S. stand for "Just A Rather Very Intelligent System," as noted in 2008's Iron Man by Pepper Potts. As Tony Stark's artificially intelligent computer system, J.A.R.V.I.S. ran Stark's Malibu mansion and Stark Tower, as well as serving as the user interface in all the Iron Man armors, giving him valuable information during combat. In the comics, Iron Man has a butler named "Edwin Jarvis." This was changed for Marvel's cinematic universe as Jon Favreau did not want any confusion between Jarvis and Batman's butler, Alfred Pennyworth. It was later revealed in continuity that Tony did in fact know of a man named Jarvis who was the butler to his father and named the sentient computer in his memory.)

            “What purpose would I have to turn on the television?”

            The sarcasm that Tony Stark programmed into his artificial personality quickly annoyed Natalie. Damn you, Stark – you created a monster. “Well, did you see anyone in the room turn it on?”

(Marvel Note: Stark literally does create a monster through artificial intelligence in Avengers: Age of Ultron.)

            “I have not seen anyone present in the room.”

            It wasn’t the answer Natalie hoped the A.I. system would give her. She chalked the mystery as being just an electrical glitch brought on from the continuing renovations made to the tower. She picked up the remote and shut off the set.

            “Case closed.” She whispered in satisfaction.

            Just as she turned to leave the area, she felt an invisible force push against her body, hurling her across the room and slamming her against the wall, nearly embedding into it. Severe pain should have shot through her body afterward, yet she did not feel a thing. She had been stricken by paralysis while pinned.

            All of the sudden, a leather-clad, dark-haired woman manifested right before her, brandishing a lightsaber – the very weapon of Star Wars lore. Natalie recognized the woman as Yve Ette but was unable to verbally establish her credence of knowing through her paralyzed state.

            Yve Ette activated the blade of her lightsaber, jabbing it right in between Natalie’s legs, just a few inches below her crotch. A hint of flinching came across Natalie’s eyes in reaction.

            “I know your secret: you’re a freak of nature…an abomination to the Guardian bloodline.” Yve Ette maliciously whispered, her face within an inch from Natalie’s, her flaming hot breath practically searing her nostrils. “But I don’t care about any of that. All that matters to me is showing off my little project to all my friends.”

            She inched the blade closer to Natalie’s crotch. She could see the beads of sweat forming on the caramel skin of her forehead.

            “Terrified, are you? I know for certain this thing connecting with your lady parts would be quite painful. I can only imagine how excruciating it’d be while as your other half – if he were to show up right about now.”

            The fabric of Natalie’s red plaid shirt began to singe away – the saber blade reaching in dangerous proximity to her crotch. A faint whimper escaped through her partially closed lips, actually feeling the heat of the blade reaching her nether regions. She could almost hear Sean’s voice echoing through her mind: “Don’t you dare lose focus right now!” She knew that if she had, then she would ensure his immediate castration.

            “You go and find the real reincarnations.” Yve Ette instructed. “Tell them that they’ll meet me and my special new friend at the right place and the right time. They’ll know where to find us.”

            And with this instituted warning, both Yve Ette and her lightsaber vanished.

            Natalie’s body had been released from the paralyzing hold, slumping down to the floor. While it did, Sean manifested, crouching beside her. There was nothing he could physically have done to help. And he knew asking if she was alright was pointless, since he felt how shaken the encounter left her.

            “The Avengers need to assemble now more than ever,” she unnervingly stated.

(UP NEXT: Yet Another Family Secret Exposed!)

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