TheHoneyPot
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Imagine a mini hulk.... throwing a temper tantrum for the smallest of things.... this fic is going in seriously scary directions....
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The Sage of the Mind
- Thread starter IdleMuse0307
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- #self insert fanfic marvel saga
Hyperionthetitan
Stuck in a tree
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Well.....about that
Hyperionthetitan
Stuck in a tree
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But really tho ,the mini hulk is fine.especially since its bruce who fathered the child ,not hulk.
What is concerning is the rate of the growth
Chapter 60 : PaNiCk!
IdleMuse0307
Not too sore, are you?
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Disclaimer - The rights of the respective characters are with their respective owners. I don't mean to violate their intellectual property rights and thus, only my original characters are my IP.
The Sage of the Mind: Chapter 60 [September 2010]
–Axle Riddle–
"Okay Bruce, I have told all the people I could to help make sure that everything turns out to be fine," He told Bruce, seeing that Betty was still asleep, he used the curtain of Silence around the entire apartment. Scanning Betty once again, from top to bottom showed no signs of any growth but it had literally been less than an hour since Bruce dropped the bomb on him.
"Huh? Okay," Bruce said lifelessly as if the very purpose of his life had been snatched away from him. God, he must be feeling awful right now but there was nothing any of them could do at the moment.
In the end, this was not their decision anyway. It was Betty's call and he was just going to have to make sure that whatever call she made, she came out safe from it. Bruce might be able to handle the loss of an unborn child, but the loss of Betty?
Whew, that would not go okay.
"Bruce, snap out of it. I've ordered breakfast for both of you. Now, we both know things have already progressed past a point of no return. I think you and I both know the kind of woman Betty is and what decision she will take, but we will wait for her to wake up and consult her before taking any major steps.
In the meantime, is there anything that Randall can do, so that we can make an informed decision? Any medical equipment you need? How did you even find out about her gamma radiation anyway?" He asked Bruce in rapid fire.
Bruce simply pointed him at a clock in the doorway. He focused on the clock and was astonished to find that it was nothing like a clock. It was completely digital on the inside with some sort of antennas going around it.
"The hands of the clock are like a radiation gauge. I wanted to keep something like that handy to monitor if my condition was stable or not. Betty insisted that we make it a fun art project so that I don't ruin the "aesthetic" of the place. Huh," Bruce chuckled wryly as he just told him a very heart touching story.
Heart touching it may be but it was not exactly useful for them in this scenario. They needed Bruce back in the game. And a bunch of other geniuses, to make sure that Baby Hulk is born safely, because he knew what Betty was going to choose, and so did Bruce.
"Bruce! Snap out of it. Betty is still alive, you are acting as if she is already gone. Now, is there anything that Randall can do on his own?" He once again asked Bruce to give some directions to Randall who was already running around like a headless chicken once Randall had completed all the tasks he had given to him.
The subterranean highway that he made on a whim would be very useful for such an operation. He could let them get out of Manhattan if adequate medical care was not available here but that would just further jeopardise their safety. No, the best option would be to create the perfect environment, here in Manhattan and then hope for the best.
Plus, if something did really happen, he was the best shot at suppressing Bruce, even if it would turn out to be a temporary measure, with Bruce going stronger the angrier he gets.
Bruce slowly looked up at the ceiling and sighed, "Tell Randall I'll be there in the evening. Until then, get the gamma spectrometers ready,"
"Very well," he nodded and left Bruce to his own devices. The man was sad enough as is. He didn't want to add even more to his already full plate.
He honed in on the Sanctum and was delighted to find that he had made enough progress to sense the protections around the Sanctum at even greater clarity than before. He had a theory that, given enough time, he would be able to sense the weakness of the entire structure, like the texture of it, and after prodding a bit, actually collapse them as well.
Granted, that would be a really bad idea but hey, progress was progress.
Leaving that aside, he metaphorically knocked on the doors, as in knocked on the wards of the Sanctum.
'What can I do for you, Mr.Riddle?" Master Drumm came out and was startled to find a small note just slamming into his chest as his presence receded. He had just given him the note to warn the Ancient One about the situation, even though she probably knew about it with her bullshit magic and bullshit Singularity Stone.
Let's see what all he has done.
Called Fury, who will call upon all the experts he has access to? Check.
Inform the Ancient One? Check.
Inform the team about it. Judging by the various states of panic that had gripped all members of the team? Double Check.
Oh god, this was so stressful. He didn't know how normal people managed to handle this much stress and then go on to raise children.
In the meanwhile, the people of New York went on with their lives, not knowing that Bruce Banner, the Hulk lived with them and there was a chance that he was going to….multiply.
Oh yeah, the Highway. He told What's-his-face to get some construction equipment ready. They were going to create a very sturdy structure with all the space they might need.
The worst thing was that if the baby was normal, he would have had months to prepare. This was literally the first time it would be happening, so nobody knew how fast the Baby would grow up and if Betty's decidedly human body could even handle a Gamma foetus.
He made sure to maintain the lockdown he had on crime though because even with the entire world, at this point, knowing that he was here in New York and was capable of stopping most crimes, criminals still somehow tried. He tried to reduce the underlying reasons for which people turn to crime but there were limits to what he could accomplish, and eliminating hunger from a very sizable population of the city alone had worked wonders in the crime rate.
Obviously, that had ruffled some feathers, some people going live on TV and calling it Mafia Communism of sorts but that was just white noise and he had elected to ignore it. As long as the initiative survived and worked for a few more years, the results would then speak for themselves.
The truth of the matter was that once people are given the basic things they need with dignity, the bare minimum, there was very little chance they would turn to do bad things.
The only reason most criminals started was because a life of crime was somehow much more accessible to them than a life of hard work. Faster, more riskier progress was somehow right in people's faces but slow progress, the one that stuck until the end, was not readily available to them.
If you guys would like to support my writing or just read ahead of the public release, you can head to my P*treon or Ko-fi, for upto 5 extra chapters.
The Sage of the Mind: Chapter 60 [September 2010]
–Axle Riddle–
"Okay Bruce, I have told all the people I could to help make sure that everything turns out to be fine," He told Bruce, seeing that Betty was still asleep, he used the curtain of Silence around the entire apartment. Scanning Betty once again, from top to bottom showed no signs of any growth but it had literally been less than an hour since Bruce dropped the bomb on him.
"Huh? Okay," Bruce said lifelessly as if the very purpose of his life had been snatched away from him. God, he must be feeling awful right now but there was nothing any of them could do at the moment.
In the end, this was not their decision anyway. It was Betty's call and he was just going to have to make sure that whatever call she made, she came out safe from it. Bruce might be able to handle the loss of an unborn child, but the loss of Betty?
Whew, that would not go okay.
"Bruce, snap out of it. I've ordered breakfast for both of you. Now, we both know things have already progressed past a point of no return. I think you and I both know the kind of woman Betty is and what decision she will take, but we will wait for her to wake up and consult her before taking any major steps.
In the meantime, is there anything that Randall can do, so that we can make an informed decision? Any medical equipment you need? How did you even find out about her gamma radiation anyway?" He asked Bruce in rapid fire.
Bruce simply pointed him at a clock in the doorway. He focused on the clock and was astonished to find that it was nothing like a clock. It was completely digital on the inside with some sort of antennas going around it.
"The hands of the clock are like a radiation gauge. I wanted to keep something like that handy to monitor if my condition was stable or not. Betty insisted that we make it a fun art project so that I don't ruin the "aesthetic" of the place. Huh," Bruce chuckled wryly as he just told him a very heart touching story.
Heart touching it may be but it was not exactly useful for them in this scenario. They needed Bruce back in the game. And a bunch of other geniuses, to make sure that Baby Hulk is born safely, because he knew what Betty was going to choose, and so did Bruce.
"Bruce! Snap out of it. Betty is still alive, you are acting as if she is already gone. Now, is there anything that Randall can do on his own?" He once again asked Bruce to give some directions to Randall who was already running around like a headless chicken once Randall had completed all the tasks he had given to him.
The subterranean highway that he made on a whim would be very useful for such an operation. He could let them get out of Manhattan if adequate medical care was not available here but that would just further jeopardise their safety. No, the best option would be to create the perfect environment, here in Manhattan and then hope for the best.
Plus, if something did really happen, he was the best shot at suppressing Bruce, even if it would turn out to be a temporary measure, with Bruce going stronger the angrier he gets.
Bruce slowly looked up at the ceiling and sighed, "Tell Randall I'll be there in the evening. Until then, get the gamma spectrometers ready,"
"Very well," he nodded and left Bruce to his own devices. The man was sad enough as is. He didn't want to add even more to his already full plate.
He honed in on the Sanctum and was delighted to find that he had made enough progress to sense the protections around the Sanctum at even greater clarity than before. He had a theory that, given enough time, he would be able to sense the weakness of the entire structure, like the texture of it, and after prodding a bit, actually collapse them as well.
Granted, that would be a really bad idea but hey, progress was progress.
Leaving that aside, he metaphorically knocked on the doors, as in knocked on the wards of the Sanctum.
'What can I do for you, Mr.Riddle?" Master Drumm came out and was startled to find a small note just slamming into his chest as his presence receded. He had just given him the note to warn the Ancient One about the situation, even though she probably knew about it with her bullshit magic and bullshit Singularity Stone.
Let's see what all he has done.
Called Fury, who will call upon all the experts he has access to? Check.
Inform the Ancient One? Check.
Inform the team about it. Judging by the various states of panic that had gripped all members of the team? Double Check.
Oh god, this was so stressful. He didn't know how normal people managed to handle this much stress and then go on to raise children.
In the meanwhile, the people of New York went on with their lives, not knowing that Bruce Banner, the Hulk lived with them and there was a chance that he was going to….multiply.
Oh yeah, the Highway. He told What's-his-face to get some construction equipment ready. They were going to create a very sturdy structure with all the space they might need.
The worst thing was that if the baby was normal, he would have had months to prepare. This was literally the first time it would be happening, so nobody knew how fast the Baby would grow up and if Betty's decidedly human body could even handle a Gamma foetus.
He made sure to maintain the lockdown he had on crime though because even with the entire world, at this point, knowing that he was here in New York and was capable of stopping most crimes, criminals still somehow tried. He tried to reduce the underlying reasons for which people turn to crime but there were limits to what he could accomplish, and eliminating hunger from a very sizable population of the city alone had worked wonders in the crime rate.
Obviously, that had ruffled some feathers, some people going live on TV and calling it Mafia Communism of sorts but that was just white noise and he had elected to ignore it. As long as the initiative survived and worked for a few more years, the results would then speak for themselves.
The truth of the matter was that once people are given the basic things they need with dignity, the bare minimum, there was very little chance they would turn to do bad things.
The only reason most criminals started was because a life of crime was somehow much more accessible to them than a life of hard work. Faster, more riskier progress was somehow right in people's faces but slow progress, the one that stuck until the end, was not readily available to them.
If you guys would like to support my writing or just read ahead of the public release, you can head to my P*treon or Ko-fi, for upto 5 extra chapters.
Hyperionthetitan
Stuck in a tree
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Or he could just put a baby in a pod ,hulk baby would survive . If it is a hulk that is .
Hyperionthetitan
Stuck in a tree
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Or harpy
Chapter 61 : The One where Bruce Calms down
IdleMuse0307
Not too sore, are you?
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Disclaimer - The rights of the respective characters are with their respective owners. I don't mean to violate their intellectual property rights and thus, only my original characters are my IP.
The Sage of the Mind: Chapter 61 [September 2010]
–Bruce Banner–
Rage.
Looking back, that was the emotion he was most familiar with. Throughout his shitty childhood, then his very bad schooling experience, then towards the end, where he ended up working for the most stereotypical bully there could be, Rage-Anger were emotions he was most familiar with.
Anger at the unfairness of the situation. Anger at the unfairness of his life. Anger at the inability to understand others.
Sometimes he wondered, there was no wonder he turned into a raging monster capable of destroying entire cities. It must be due to the sheer rage he held within himself.
And yet, the same rage that had turned advanced reinforced military equipment into scraps without even thinking about it, the same rage that felt like a burning inferno at the time, felt so small.
It felt so small, like a barely burning ember of fire, when compared to the rage he was feeling right now. Oh, he was not green. Oh, that would not be a good thing and somehow, this time, the Other Guy seemed to agree as well, silently mirroring his rage.
As he was now, he had two options. He could rage at the world, the unfairness of trying to snatch away someone who had just now entered his life, or, he could be there for her.
"Bruce! Snap out of it!" The Invisible Man had said to him, clearly worried for the city he held so dear but the Invisible Man had nothing to worry about, for he would not be turning into a raging monster today.
Not today.
"Good Morning, Honey. I made your favourite pancakes. The first batch burned but why don't we just ignore them, huh?" He said with what he hoped was the appropriate amount of cheer before placing the breakfast table on Betty's lap as she woke up.
He would have to break the news to her, one way or another. He had already informed the Invisible Man, who was his only help at this point. The good news was that man was a powerhouse for whom most of the world's richest and most powerful would bend over backwards for. So, he was sure that if it existed in the world in any form, the Invisible Man could get it for him.
But no matter how resourceful and all present the Invisible Man might be, this was an entirely new problem, something that had never happened before. Part of him berated himself for not realising it sooner. It would never work out between someone like him and a normal human being, and yet….he lost himself in the moment.
He was just so happy to finally have someone he could call his own, and that too, without being called a monster because of the Other Guy.
"Honey, these are delicious,"
"Thank you,"
"So, what's up?"
He looked at Betty, "Nothing,"
"Oh please, Bruce Rober Banner, I know you better than that. Now, spill, what's up?" Betty asked him in between mouthfuls of pancakes.
"So, you know how we have that clock that can measure gamma radiation coming off of a person?"
"Oh yeah, that was a fun project. It looks so much better and goes with the look of the apartment now, instead of being a cheap plastic-looking thing. What about it?" She asked him with those big beautiful eyes and he had to consciously remind himself that he would have to tell her about it anyway, so there was no point in prolonging the inevitable.
"So, I was just going through the logs when…."
……
…..
"So, you think that I am pregnant with our child?" She asked him, all serious, pancakes all but forgotten.
He gulped as his mouth suddenly felt way too dry, "Yes, that is my belief as well as the Invisible Man's but we will still be taking another look. I don't know what is happening but the Invisible Man has assured me that…"
"Bruce! Ohmygod!" Betty hugged him as she gushed about the baby and how happy she was about everything. And how it was perfect that they were already in the safest place imaginable. They also had access to the best doctors and schools anyway, and so on and so forth.
"So, why the mopey face? Gasp! Don't tell me, you don't want our child, the sign of our love? Oh Bruce Robert Banner, thou art a heartless bitch!" She mockingly gasped as she pointed an accusing finger at him.
He chuckled at her antics, a tear escaping his eyes as his mind finally started to relax from the high tension it had wound itself into.
"Listen, you know about my situation and the gamma radiation coming off of you is increasing exponentially. I just want to make sure that it is safe before we get our hopes up. I'll make something with Randall that will help identify the signs of the baby,"
"Can I come? Come on, what will I even do here? I get so bored when you leave for your boys' meetup and I have to look at daily soap, like a housewife,"
"Hey, I seem to recall someone in the labs telling me that they would prefer being a housewife if lab work was all they had to do for the rest of their life," He teased her as he got out of bed, getting ready to head to the Lab, or rather, the Lair of the invisible Man where he kept his team locked up. It was a huge load off his shoulders that Betty was not freaking out like him. She was so calm and composed, as opposed to him.
That gave him more than enough strength to go to the lab and work his damndest hard to make sure that Betty gets what she wants. After all, isn't that was love is all about?
GASP!
"Bruce Robert Banner, how dare you accuse me of saying something I totally did?"
Both of them looked at each other for a moment before he burst out laughing.
"Play, that one was good. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting with another gamma genius extraordinaire,"
"Oh. Give Randall my regards. I am having some pregnancy cravings for French baked goods right now,"
"Honey, it is too early for you to be having pregnancy cravings -err, you know what, I will make sure that it is delivered to you within the hour," He amended himself after being subjected to her glare.
"That's more like the Bruce Robert Banner I know. Have fun, bye!"
He deadpanned at the liberal use of his middle name to mock him and waved back at her as he left his apartment.
Now, all that was left was to make sure that a Gamma Baby came safely out of a normal human whose body was woefully inadequately prepared for such circumstances.
Easy peasy, right?
Come on Bruce, you have always had a big head. If it is not useful at such times, what even is it useful for?
….
Soon, he reached the house in which the seven hulks were living. It was fairly large and it was also reinforced multiple times because the Hulks were not known to live delicately, at all.
"Hey Samuel, I just came to meet Randall," He greeted Samuel who opened the door for him. Even though it would be the height of foolishness for someone to try and rob people who could bend steel, they still made sure to lock their doors.
"Yeah, he is down in the Cave, doing something. See you," Samuel said and left for the kitchen where the rest of the Hulks were doing their preferred activities. One was reading, one was on a gaming console, one was reading a newspaper, and one was cooking for all of them.
All in all, a very odd but still functional family the seven brothers made.
If you guys would like to support my writing or just read ahead of the public release, you can head to my P*treon or Ko-fi, for upto 5 extra chapters.
The Sage of the Mind: Chapter 61 [September 2010]
–Bruce Banner–
Rage.
Looking back, that was the emotion he was most familiar with. Throughout his shitty childhood, then his very bad schooling experience, then towards the end, where he ended up working for the most stereotypical bully there could be, Rage-Anger were emotions he was most familiar with.
Anger at the unfairness of the situation. Anger at the unfairness of his life. Anger at the inability to understand others.
Sometimes he wondered, there was no wonder he turned into a raging monster capable of destroying entire cities. It must be due to the sheer rage he held within himself.
And yet, the same rage that had turned advanced reinforced military equipment into scraps without even thinking about it, the same rage that felt like a burning inferno at the time, felt so small.
It felt so small, like a barely burning ember of fire, when compared to the rage he was feeling right now. Oh, he was not green. Oh, that would not be a good thing and somehow, this time, the Other Guy seemed to agree as well, silently mirroring his rage.
As he was now, he had two options. He could rage at the world, the unfairness of trying to snatch away someone who had just now entered his life, or, he could be there for her.
"Bruce! Snap out of it!" The Invisible Man had said to him, clearly worried for the city he held so dear but the Invisible Man had nothing to worry about, for he would not be turning into a raging monster today.
Not today.
"Good Morning, Honey. I made your favourite pancakes. The first batch burned but why don't we just ignore them, huh?" He said with what he hoped was the appropriate amount of cheer before placing the breakfast table on Betty's lap as she woke up.
He would have to break the news to her, one way or another. He had already informed the Invisible Man, who was his only help at this point. The good news was that man was a powerhouse for whom most of the world's richest and most powerful would bend over backwards for. So, he was sure that if it existed in the world in any form, the Invisible Man could get it for him.
But no matter how resourceful and all present the Invisible Man might be, this was an entirely new problem, something that had never happened before. Part of him berated himself for not realising it sooner. It would never work out between someone like him and a normal human being, and yet….he lost himself in the moment.
He was just so happy to finally have someone he could call his own, and that too, without being called a monster because of the Other Guy.
"Honey, these are delicious,"
"Thank you,"
"So, what's up?"
He looked at Betty, "Nothing,"
"Oh please, Bruce Rober Banner, I know you better than that. Now, spill, what's up?" Betty asked him in between mouthfuls of pancakes.
"So, you know how we have that clock that can measure gamma radiation coming off of a person?"
"Oh yeah, that was a fun project. It looks so much better and goes with the look of the apartment now, instead of being a cheap plastic-looking thing. What about it?" She asked him with those big beautiful eyes and he had to consciously remind himself that he would have to tell her about it anyway, so there was no point in prolonging the inevitable.
"So, I was just going through the logs when…."
……
…..
"So, you think that I am pregnant with our child?" She asked him, all serious, pancakes all but forgotten.
He gulped as his mouth suddenly felt way too dry, "Yes, that is my belief as well as the Invisible Man's but we will still be taking another look. I don't know what is happening but the Invisible Man has assured me that…"
"Bruce! Ohmygod!" Betty hugged him as she gushed about the baby and how happy she was about everything. And how it was perfect that they were already in the safest place imaginable. They also had access to the best doctors and schools anyway, and so on and so forth.
"So, why the mopey face? Gasp! Don't tell me, you don't want our child, the sign of our love? Oh Bruce Robert Banner, thou art a heartless bitch!" She mockingly gasped as she pointed an accusing finger at him.
He chuckled at her antics, a tear escaping his eyes as his mind finally started to relax from the high tension it had wound itself into.
"Listen, you know about my situation and the gamma radiation coming off of you is increasing exponentially. I just want to make sure that it is safe before we get our hopes up. I'll make something with Randall that will help identify the signs of the baby,"
"Can I come? Come on, what will I even do here? I get so bored when you leave for your boys' meetup and I have to look at daily soap, like a housewife,"
"Hey, I seem to recall someone in the labs telling me that they would prefer being a housewife if lab work was all they had to do for the rest of their life," He teased her as he got out of bed, getting ready to head to the Lab, or rather, the Lair of the invisible Man where he kept his team locked up. It was a huge load off his shoulders that Betty was not freaking out like him. She was so calm and composed, as opposed to him.
That gave him more than enough strength to go to the lab and work his damndest hard to make sure that Betty gets what she wants. After all, isn't that was love is all about?
GASP!
"Bruce Robert Banner, how dare you accuse me of saying something I totally did?"
Both of them looked at each other for a moment before he burst out laughing.
"Play, that one was good. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting with another gamma genius extraordinaire,"
"Oh. Give Randall my regards. I am having some pregnancy cravings for French baked goods right now,"
"Honey, it is too early for you to be having pregnancy cravings -err, you know what, I will make sure that it is delivered to you within the hour," He amended himself after being subjected to her glare.
"That's more like the Bruce Robert Banner I know. Have fun, bye!"
He deadpanned at the liberal use of his middle name to mock him and waved back at her as he left his apartment.
Now, all that was left was to make sure that a Gamma Baby came safely out of a normal human whose body was woefully inadequately prepared for such circumstances.
Easy peasy, right?
Come on Bruce, you have always had a big head. If it is not useful at such times, what even is it useful for?
….
Soon, he reached the house in which the seven hulks were living. It was fairly large and it was also reinforced multiple times because the Hulks were not known to live delicately, at all.
"Hey Samuel, I just came to meet Randall," He greeted Samuel who opened the door for him. Even though it would be the height of foolishness for someone to try and rob people who could bend steel, they still made sure to lock their doors.
"Yeah, he is down in the Cave, doing something. See you," Samuel said and left for the kitchen where the rest of the Hulks were doing their preferred activities. One was reading, one was on a gaming console, one was reading a newspaper, and one was cooking for all of them.
All in all, a very odd but still functional family the seven brothers made.
If you guys would like to support my writing or just read ahead of the public release, you can head to my P*treon or Ko-fi, for upto 5 extra chapters.
chicozapote
Making the rounds.
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If he transforms into a female hulk I will laugh and watch the world burn 
Chapter 62 : The One with the SCIENCE! bros
IdleMuse0307
Not too sore, are you?
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Disclaimer - The rights of the respective characters are with their respective owners. I don't mean to violate their intellectual property rights and thus, only my original characters are my IP.
The Sage of the Mind: Chapter 62 [October 2010]
–Axle Riddle–
"So, you mean to say that if we didn't pull Baby Bruce out of there in 2 more months, the chances of Betty surviving would drop sharply?" He asked Bruce who looked heartbroken at the news. Bruce and Randall had been hard at work the past month, taking notes and resources from SHIELD and whats-his-face Billionaire to build anything that could help BEtty survive.
Fury had pulled in all the resources he could. Axle was somewhat surprised in the beginning when Fury didn't make any unreasonable, or any demands really when he agreed to help Banner. He brought in the best people from his organisation and from outside his organisation.
Helen Cho. He didn't expect her to be here considering her field was not really pregnancy related but she was apparently a licensed doctor and had some interesting ideas for making sure that Betty made it out of the experience.
Tony Stark had been called in as well but the man took one look at the setup, talked a bit with Bruce, and had immediately flown back to bring something. As it turned out, Tony had been hard at work, Tony was the one who built most of the equipment that was being used in one of the warehouses he had taken over, for the express purpose of fortifying it for Betty's pregnancy.
So far, combining the geniuses of all these three people, they had built machines and procedures that could work but nothing concrete at all. The baby was growing exponentially, estimated to pop out of Betty at just 5 months old, fully formed.
The problem was not the baby's size or anything, it was going to be normal sized, at 5 months anyway. The problem was the gamma radiation. Betty was being constantly subjected to it from inside for months.
He had still now shown Tony the subterranean Lair but the warehouse had a direct underground line built straight to the Highway tunnel. From the tunnel, they had a direct line to the Lair as well.
When he first showed Tony the huge tunnel he had built underground, his reaction was expected. After all, the man regularly hacked sensitive databases and his tunnel was hardly a secret so Tony knew about it but once he scanned the entire thing and realised the precision with which he had built a miles long tunnel without any outside help, he had been dumbfounded, not at the tunnel but the potential applications of his power.
"What does Betty have to say about this?" he asked Bruce who slumped even further.
"She wants to keep the baby, even if it does cost her own life," Bruce whispered. Welp, that complicated things.
"A C-Section? We have world class surgeons in New York," he offered, even though he had a hunch why that would not be feasible in Betty's case.
"Wouldn't work. The issue is not the baby, it would be irradiated tissue in Betty's body. We need something to purge all that radiation and nothing has been found that could absorb the radiation from inside Betty," Bruce said, frustrated at his failures.
"What about Vibranium?" He was just pulling at straws here, his limited mental capacity unable to think of anything else that could help.
Bruce's neck snapped up as his face, along with Randall's, gained that thoughtful look when they were doing some intense thinking.
"Micro fibers woven from Vibranium, carefully injected into various parts around Betty might help slow down the radiation poisoning," Randall said out loud.
"And once the baby is delivered, they could absorb the remaining radiation, leaving Betty's cells slightly damaged but nothing that can be immediately fatal," Bruce replied in turn.
Oh. So Vibranium could work then. But….
"But where would we even get Vibranium? That stuff was the rarest metal on the planet," Bruce whispered in defeat.
"Oh, don't you worry about that, Brucie bear. What am I here for then, huh? We SCIENCE! Bros gotta stick together, you know. I'll make a couple of calls and get us the Vibranium we need. If we weave it thin enough, we might be able to get by with a couple hundred grams as well. If the properties of Vibranium are as miraculous as I know they are, we can even siphon off the radiation from Betty accordingly," Tony said as he swooped in on the two geniuses discussing things with Axle.
"Oh. Heya Invisible Man. Kinda creepy of you to listen in on our conversation, don't you think?" Tony snarked at him as he looked straight up.
"Oh, like you haven't been trying to listen in with all the bugs you dropped around the place, Stark? You do realise why I didn't take you to the real base then?" He snarked back, his mind working in the background as he realised that the Vibranium plan might actually work.
…If they could utilise it properly. He had no doubt that Tony would be able to source the Vibranium, especially since they needed so little of it but he should be able to use it properly.
Howard Stark had no other way of using the Vibranium so he built a shield with it, not understanding the miraculous properties of the cosmic metal. In fact, he had a hunch that the only reason Captain was allowed to keep the shield by the Wakandans was due to the fact that it was nothing but an over glorified frisbee, capable of devastating acts in the right hands but a frisbee nonetheless.
The only other people on the planet who knew best how to use Vibranium were Wakandans and lucky for him, for some reason probably related to him, Wakanda had opened a new embassy in New York, a little further away from Manhattan.
Now he was sure that it should have been at least a little suspicious that a tiny African country, which was poor by all measures, should not have been able to afford an embassy in New York of all places, especially with all the real estate inflation that had occurred ever since he became active in the area. And yet, there it was the Wakanda Embassy.
It was completely normal, as far as he could sense. Sure, it had all the digital doodads and everything but it was nowhere near as advanced as Wakanda could be. It made sense because they wouldn't want the outside world to know but he had a hunch that Wakanda specifically kept this place clean to avoid his gaze.
Well, if this idea of Tony was going to work, he needed additional information about Vibranium and how to better use it in this scenario.
Now all that was left was to approach the Wakandas and see if they were willing to help him out or if they were going to prove their stereotype that had formed in Fanon over the years.
He just hoped that T'Chaka didn't dismiss him outright. After all, he was landlocked to an area that was halfway across the world from Wakanda.
He would not be a threat anytime soon. But he didn't really have to go to Wakanda to threaten them, now did he?
Information was just as deadly as physical force these days.
If you guys would like to support my writing or just read ahead of the public release, you can head to my P*treon or Ko-fi, for upto 5 extra chapters.
The Sage of the Mind: Chapter 62 [October 2010]
–Axle Riddle–
"So, you mean to say that if we didn't pull Baby Bruce out of there in 2 more months, the chances of Betty surviving would drop sharply?" He asked Bruce who looked heartbroken at the news. Bruce and Randall had been hard at work the past month, taking notes and resources from SHIELD and whats-his-face Billionaire to build anything that could help BEtty survive.
Fury had pulled in all the resources he could. Axle was somewhat surprised in the beginning when Fury didn't make any unreasonable, or any demands really when he agreed to help Banner. He brought in the best people from his organisation and from outside his organisation.
Helen Cho. He didn't expect her to be here considering her field was not really pregnancy related but she was apparently a licensed doctor and had some interesting ideas for making sure that Betty made it out of the experience.
Tony Stark had been called in as well but the man took one look at the setup, talked a bit with Bruce, and had immediately flown back to bring something. As it turned out, Tony had been hard at work, Tony was the one who built most of the equipment that was being used in one of the warehouses he had taken over, for the express purpose of fortifying it for Betty's pregnancy.
So far, combining the geniuses of all these three people, they had built machines and procedures that could work but nothing concrete at all. The baby was growing exponentially, estimated to pop out of Betty at just 5 months old, fully formed.
The problem was not the baby's size or anything, it was going to be normal sized, at 5 months anyway. The problem was the gamma radiation. Betty was being constantly subjected to it from inside for months.
He had still now shown Tony the subterranean Lair but the warehouse had a direct underground line built straight to the Highway tunnel. From the tunnel, they had a direct line to the Lair as well.
When he first showed Tony the huge tunnel he had built underground, his reaction was expected. After all, the man regularly hacked sensitive databases and his tunnel was hardly a secret so Tony knew about it but once he scanned the entire thing and realised the precision with which he had built a miles long tunnel without any outside help, he had been dumbfounded, not at the tunnel but the potential applications of his power.
"What does Betty have to say about this?" he asked Bruce who slumped even further.
"She wants to keep the baby, even if it does cost her own life," Bruce whispered. Welp, that complicated things.
"A C-Section? We have world class surgeons in New York," he offered, even though he had a hunch why that would not be feasible in Betty's case.
"Wouldn't work. The issue is not the baby, it would be irradiated tissue in Betty's body. We need something to purge all that radiation and nothing has been found that could absorb the radiation from inside Betty," Bruce said, frustrated at his failures.
"What about Vibranium?" He was just pulling at straws here, his limited mental capacity unable to think of anything else that could help.
Bruce's neck snapped up as his face, along with Randall's, gained that thoughtful look when they were doing some intense thinking.
"Micro fibers woven from Vibranium, carefully injected into various parts around Betty might help slow down the radiation poisoning," Randall said out loud.
"And once the baby is delivered, they could absorb the remaining radiation, leaving Betty's cells slightly damaged but nothing that can be immediately fatal," Bruce replied in turn.
Oh. So Vibranium could work then. But….
"But where would we even get Vibranium? That stuff was the rarest metal on the planet," Bruce whispered in defeat.
"Oh, don't you worry about that, Brucie bear. What am I here for then, huh? We SCIENCE! Bros gotta stick together, you know. I'll make a couple of calls and get us the Vibranium we need. If we weave it thin enough, we might be able to get by with a couple hundred grams as well. If the properties of Vibranium are as miraculous as I know they are, we can even siphon off the radiation from Betty accordingly," Tony said as he swooped in on the two geniuses discussing things with Axle.
"Oh. Heya Invisible Man. Kinda creepy of you to listen in on our conversation, don't you think?" Tony snarked at him as he looked straight up.
"Oh, like you haven't been trying to listen in with all the bugs you dropped around the place, Stark? You do realise why I didn't take you to the real base then?" He snarked back, his mind working in the background as he realised that the Vibranium plan might actually work.
…If they could utilise it properly. He had no doubt that Tony would be able to source the Vibranium, especially since they needed so little of it but he should be able to use it properly.
Howard Stark had no other way of using the Vibranium so he built a shield with it, not understanding the miraculous properties of the cosmic metal. In fact, he had a hunch that the only reason Captain was allowed to keep the shield by the Wakandans was due to the fact that it was nothing but an over glorified frisbee, capable of devastating acts in the right hands but a frisbee nonetheless.
The only other people on the planet who knew best how to use Vibranium were Wakandans and lucky for him, for some reason probably related to him, Wakanda had opened a new embassy in New York, a little further away from Manhattan.
Now he was sure that it should have been at least a little suspicious that a tiny African country, which was poor by all measures, should not have been able to afford an embassy in New York of all places, especially with all the real estate inflation that had occurred ever since he became active in the area. And yet, there it was the Wakanda Embassy.
It was completely normal, as far as he could sense. Sure, it had all the digital doodads and everything but it was nowhere near as advanced as Wakanda could be. It made sense because they wouldn't want the outside world to know but he had a hunch that Wakanda specifically kept this place clean to avoid his gaze.
Well, if this idea of Tony was going to work, he needed additional information about Vibranium and how to better use it in this scenario.
Now all that was left was to approach the Wakandas and see if they were willing to help him out or if they were going to prove their stereotype that had formed in Fanon over the years.
He just hoped that T'Chaka didn't dismiss him outright. After all, he was landlocked to an area that was halfway across the world from Wakanda.
He would not be a threat anytime soon. But he didn't really have to go to Wakanda to threaten them, now did he?
Information was just as deadly as physical force these days.
If you guys would like to support my writing or just read ahead of the public release, you can head to my P*treon or Ko-fi, for upto 5 extra chapters.
Hyperionthetitan
Stuck in a tree
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And fuck ton of billionaire in his pocket . He probably could pressure a president to invade wakanda if he want to.
ImperialMage701139
Know what you're doing yet?
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It wouldn't require any pressure, just look at we did to the Middle East IRL for oil, imagine what we would do for vibranium
Hyperionthetitan
Stuck in a tree
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Yup,and their sleepwr agent bs wont work on them either cos he shield all of the important people.
Chapter 63 : The one with Wakandan Embassy
IdleMuse0307
Not too sore, are you?
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Disclaimer - The rights of the respective characters are with their respective owners. I don't mean to violate their intellectual property rights and thus, only my original characters are my IP.
The Sage of the Mind: Chapter 63 [October 2010]
–Axle Riddle–
He created his paper avatar in front of the Wakanda Embassy and had it slowly approach the gates of the Embassy. The guards in front of the embassy were understandably startled as they saw something straight out of a movie walking towards them.
One of them began speaking into his comms and the other one began approaching his paper avatar. He made sure that the paper avatar appeared as nonthreatening as possible. Just as the guard came into listening range, he activated the phone speaker inside the head of the avatar, speaking, "Greetings. I am the Invisible Man. This is a temporary avatar I have created to interact with you. Can you take me to meet the head of the Embassy?"
The guard who was speaking in the comms looked like he had heard something surprising and came running toward the paper avatar.
"Yes. She will meet you now. This way, please," The guards then escorted him inside the embassy. It looked quite ordinary with loads of diplomats walking around, handling paperwork. Of course, he could see them for what they really were instead of the facade they were trying to build around him.
The calluses on their hands, the musculature, and the hidden weapons all pointed towards most of the Embassy being actually warriors, instead of diplomats. One such clue was one of the so-called diplomats actually holding the paper upside down as they discussed with each other the Wakandan Textile policy and import agreements with some private corporations in the US.
He wouldn't be surprised if said private company in the US was owned by Wakanda itself. Honesty, with the amount of power they had, they could have easily pervaded every single hall of power in the world, be it through soft power, military strength, or just by providing information.
There were a lot of ways that Wakanda must have involved themselves in the world economy. He actually refused to believe that an advanced civilisation actually just closed themselves from the world, not even deigning to maintain an active presence in key industries of the outside world.
If he was the head of Wakanda, he would, firstly, control the Oil trades, and then control the demographic population of the most powerful democracy on the planet. Those two things alone would have allowed Wakanda to subtly direct any entity that came too close to Wakanda, and that too with ease.
Some country uncovering their involvement? Bomb Them. Drop WMD accusations and flatten the country, then extract their resources.
Now, this was heinous but it was not as if Wakanda was above such acts if it suited them just fine. Murdering scientists who came too close to them in technological superiority, just rubbed him the wrong way.
If he had it his way, he would not interact with Wakanda, not unless T'Challa himself had become King. The business with Killmonger was nasty business but that was what convinced T'Challa to open up Wakanda to the rest of the world, something that was sorely needed because if T'Challa didn't do it, Wakanda as a nation would not have existed in a century at most.
At most, it would have remained as the name of the Vibtranium mine on the planet.
So, he watched as the Embassy head, an unassuming black woman cleared her desk and waited for his avatar to arrive, even though she must know that he could sense her at this moment as well.
Now, he knew that she was a warrior through and through as well. The Wig told him that she was probably a part of the Dora Milaje but he had no way of confirming that.
Well, all of that could be done later on. He was here for help and might as well go along with the charade. Othersei, he would have just flexed his powers, and then the information he had on Wakanda and then gotten things done.
That was still not out of the picture though. Depends on the attitude and stubbornness of the Embassy head. If T'Chaka himself had placed her here, she must have some level of authority to promise something. Vibranium distribution would be out of her hands, undoubtedly, but knowledge on how to use Vibranium might be a little in reach of her.
"Greetings. I am the Invisible Man, as you must know. I am here for something that only Wakanda can provide,"
His statement tensed a lot of people in the building. Well, it was clear that everyone in the building was hearing his conversation, ready to do..what exactly?
Did they not know he was not here in person at all? Nothing their Vibranium weapons could hurt was here. His physical body, enhanced as it was, would also be instantly punctured by Vibteranium spears but that was a question for later.
"What can I do for the illustrious hero of New York?"
He had to hand it to the woman. She was tense, that much was obvious from the increased heart rate but outwardly? Nothing could be seen on her face or even in her body language.
For this, he dismantled the phone entirely. What if SHIELD was listening in and in trying to get Wakanda as an ally, he ended up revealing its existence to SHIELD, or worse, SHIELDRA.
"I know about the hidden city. The Birnin Zana," The much deeper voice spoke in the office of the Embassy and this time, there was a number of stiffenings in the Embassy before all of them began rushing towards the top floor, only to be stopped by somebody ordering them.
"I see. Can I ask how you came in possession of such dangerous knowledge?" She asked him as she leaned forward at her desk.
"That is not of importance as of now. As I am sure you know from your WarDog channels, Bruce Banner, along with Betty Ross, are having a baby,"
"Yes, I have heard of the Gamma-baby. Give them my congratulations,"
"Yeah, I guess. For that to happen, we need to deliver the baby safely. Now, Gamma Radiation is tricky to work with, especially since Betty wants to have the baby. For safe removal of the Gamma radiation, we need the one miracle metal that can absorb any and all types of energies safely,"
"Vibranium. You want our Vibranium?"
Now that triggered her for some reason. Well, it must be genetically encoded in them by now. NO VIBRANIUM TO OUTSIDERS.
Especially to the people who looked like the colonisers.
"No, we will get the Vibranium on our own. I just need to know how to mould the Vibranium into thin enough fibres so that the excess Gamma radiation given off by the baby can be absorbed by the Vibtranium instead of Betty's body."
"....That…is certainly better than Vibraniumm but I cannot make that decision just now,"
'That's fine. You can tell me in a week's time. Tell T'Chaka that I have some information about his long lost Brother. I am willing to trade it for the information," He said his piece and dismantled his paper avatar.
Then he watched her calmly look around the room and tell her assistant to schedule a flight straight to Wakanda.
Well, he expected more panicking and running around like a headless chicken from her but she was made of sterner stuff.
_______xx______
He knew something was wrong when Fury didn't say anything but just did what was required when he was informed about the possibility of a baby Hulk roaming around. Tony, he could understand, the man had no fear of consequences, especially since he knew that the majority of the blame was going to be dumped on top of a single head.
Him. The Invisible Man.
So, as Helen Cho, along with Bruce and an armada of SHIELD scientists worked on the cradle that would eventually house Betty and then give birth to the gamma baby, he was called into a meeting with Fury and Tony, of all people.
The meeting was deliberately kept away from Bruce and everyone else, for reasons he was about to come to know.
"Well, I was wondering when you would call me, Director Fury," He, or rather his paper avatar said as they sat down in the SHIELD safehouse in Manhattan, the Random Beautiful Agent given reprieve for the day. He could spy her drinking very sugary drinks in one of the cafes just a couple blocks from the SHIELD safehouse.
Well…good for her?
"Uh-huh. Now, can either one of you tell me, the actual chances of the Hulk having a baby and not rampaging around the most prosperous area in the world," Fury asked as he pinned Stark down with a glare. Of course, Tony looked as unphased as ever as he removed his phone and placed it down on the table in front of him.
Now this is where things got a little tricky for him. He could sense holograms as objects but it took a little more focus to interpret them. So, he had to flood his presence in the safe house for him to accurately get all the inputs.
Tony's phone projected a hologram about the cradle they were building. Vibranium, as was expected, was taking longer than expected to secure. Tony had a small cache of his own but he was understandably loathe to take it out of his experiments. He would use it if the leads didn't pan out though.
"If the cradle works properly, and it will, Betty will survive the pregnancy, as well the child but the long term damages are still unknown. As such, we cannot be sure for how long Betty will be alive but she will be alive to see the baby,"
"I see. Have you told Banner that?"
"No, but he knows. I can tell," Tony said in a serious voice, the gravity of the situation dawning on him as well.
"And you," Fury rounded on the phone floating in mid air.
"Yes?"
"Sigh, Nothing. Just tell me what you need. Also, there is a rally next month in New York. The President's coming. He wants to meet,"
Oh?
"Sure, just tell him he will receive the same paper treatment,"
"...Fine.."
Ah, frustrating Fury was a very good hobby of his, in his opinion.
If you guys would like to support my writing or just read ahead of the public release, you can head to my P*treon or Ko-fi, for upto 5 extra chapters.
The Sage of the Mind: Chapter 63 [October 2010]
–Axle Riddle–
He created his paper avatar in front of the Wakanda Embassy and had it slowly approach the gates of the Embassy. The guards in front of the embassy were understandably startled as they saw something straight out of a movie walking towards them.
One of them began speaking into his comms and the other one began approaching his paper avatar. He made sure that the paper avatar appeared as nonthreatening as possible. Just as the guard came into listening range, he activated the phone speaker inside the head of the avatar, speaking, "Greetings. I am the Invisible Man. This is a temporary avatar I have created to interact with you. Can you take me to meet the head of the Embassy?"
The guard who was speaking in the comms looked like he had heard something surprising and came running toward the paper avatar.
"Yes. She will meet you now. This way, please," The guards then escorted him inside the embassy. It looked quite ordinary with loads of diplomats walking around, handling paperwork. Of course, he could see them for what they really were instead of the facade they were trying to build around him.
The calluses on their hands, the musculature, and the hidden weapons all pointed towards most of the Embassy being actually warriors, instead of diplomats. One such clue was one of the so-called diplomats actually holding the paper upside down as they discussed with each other the Wakandan Textile policy and import agreements with some private corporations in the US.
He wouldn't be surprised if said private company in the US was owned by Wakanda itself. Honesty, with the amount of power they had, they could have easily pervaded every single hall of power in the world, be it through soft power, military strength, or just by providing information.
There were a lot of ways that Wakanda must have involved themselves in the world economy. He actually refused to believe that an advanced civilisation actually just closed themselves from the world, not even deigning to maintain an active presence in key industries of the outside world.
If he was the head of Wakanda, he would, firstly, control the Oil trades, and then control the demographic population of the most powerful democracy on the planet. Those two things alone would have allowed Wakanda to subtly direct any entity that came too close to Wakanda, and that too with ease.
Some country uncovering their involvement? Bomb Them. Drop WMD accusations and flatten the country, then extract their resources.
Now, this was heinous but it was not as if Wakanda was above such acts if it suited them just fine. Murdering scientists who came too close to them in technological superiority, just rubbed him the wrong way.
If he had it his way, he would not interact with Wakanda, not unless T'Challa himself had become King. The business with Killmonger was nasty business but that was what convinced T'Challa to open up Wakanda to the rest of the world, something that was sorely needed because if T'Challa didn't do it, Wakanda as a nation would not have existed in a century at most.
At most, it would have remained as the name of the Vibtranium mine on the planet.
So, he watched as the Embassy head, an unassuming black woman cleared her desk and waited for his avatar to arrive, even though she must know that he could sense her at this moment as well.
Now, he knew that she was a warrior through and through as well. The Wig told him that she was probably a part of the Dora Milaje but he had no way of confirming that.
Well, all of that could be done later on. He was here for help and might as well go along with the charade. Othersei, he would have just flexed his powers, and then the information he had on Wakanda and then gotten things done.
That was still not out of the picture though. Depends on the attitude and stubbornness of the Embassy head. If T'Chaka himself had placed her here, she must have some level of authority to promise something. Vibranium distribution would be out of her hands, undoubtedly, but knowledge on how to use Vibranium might be a little in reach of her.
"Greetings. I am the Invisible Man, as you must know. I am here for something that only Wakanda can provide,"
His statement tensed a lot of people in the building. Well, it was clear that everyone in the building was hearing his conversation, ready to do..what exactly?
Did they not know he was not here in person at all? Nothing their Vibranium weapons could hurt was here. His physical body, enhanced as it was, would also be instantly punctured by Vibteranium spears but that was a question for later.
"What can I do for the illustrious hero of New York?"
He had to hand it to the woman. She was tense, that much was obvious from the increased heart rate but outwardly? Nothing could be seen on her face or even in her body language.
For this, he dismantled the phone entirely. What if SHIELD was listening in and in trying to get Wakanda as an ally, he ended up revealing its existence to SHIELD, or worse, SHIELDRA.
"I know about the hidden city. The Birnin Zana," The much deeper voice spoke in the office of the Embassy and this time, there was a number of stiffenings in the Embassy before all of them began rushing towards the top floor, only to be stopped by somebody ordering them.
"I see. Can I ask how you came in possession of such dangerous knowledge?" She asked him as she leaned forward at her desk.
"That is not of importance as of now. As I am sure you know from your WarDog channels, Bruce Banner, along with Betty Ross, are having a baby,"
"Yes, I have heard of the Gamma-baby. Give them my congratulations,"
"Yeah, I guess. For that to happen, we need to deliver the baby safely. Now, Gamma Radiation is tricky to work with, especially since Betty wants to have the baby. For safe removal of the Gamma radiation, we need the one miracle metal that can absorb any and all types of energies safely,"
"Vibranium. You want our Vibranium?"
Now that triggered her for some reason. Well, it must be genetically encoded in them by now. NO VIBRANIUM TO OUTSIDERS.
Especially to the people who looked like the colonisers.
"No, we will get the Vibranium on our own. I just need to know how to mould the Vibranium into thin enough fibres so that the excess Gamma radiation given off by the baby can be absorbed by the Vibtranium instead of Betty's body."
"....That…is certainly better than Vibraniumm but I cannot make that decision just now,"
'That's fine. You can tell me in a week's time. Tell T'Chaka that I have some information about his long lost Brother. I am willing to trade it for the information," He said his piece and dismantled his paper avatar.
Then he watched her calmly look around the room and tell her assistant to schedule a flight straight to Wakanda.
Well, he expected more panicking and running around like a headless chicken from her but she was made of sterner stuff.
_______xx______
He knew something was wrong when Fury didn't say anything but just did what was required when he was informed about the possibility of a baby Hulk roaming around. Tony, he could understand, the man had no fear of consequences, especially since he knew that the majority of the blame was going to be dumped on top of a single head.
Him. The Invisible Man.
So, as Helen Cho, along with Bruce and an armada of SHIELD scientists worked on the cradle that would eventually house Betty and then give birth to the gamma baby, he was called into a meeting with Fury and Tony, of all people.
The meeting was deliberately kept away from Bruce and everyone else, for reasons he was about to come to know.
"Well, I was wondering when you would call me, Director Fury," He, or rather his paper avatar said as they sat down in the SHIELD safehouse in Manhattan, the Random Beautiful Agent given reprieve for the day. He could spy her drinking very sugary drinks in one of the cafes just a couple blocks from the SHIELD safehouse.
Well…good for her?
"Uh-huh. Now, can either one of you tell me, the actual chances of the Hulk having a baby and not rampaging around the most prosperous area in the world," Fury asked as he pinned Stark down with a glare. Of course, Tony looked as unphased as ever as he removed his phone and placed it down on the table in front of him.
Now this is where things got a little tricky for him. He could sense holograms as objects but it took a little more focus to interpret them. So, he had to flood his presence in the safe house for him to accurately get all the inputs.
Tony's phone projected a hologram about the cradle they were building. Vibranium, as was expected, was taking longer than expected to secure. Tony had a small cache of his own but he was understandably loathe to take it out of his experiments. He would use it if the leads didn't pan out though.
"If the cradle works properly, and it will, Betty will survive the pregnancy, as well the child but the long term damages are still unknown. As such, we cannot be sure for how long Betty will be alive but she will be alive to see the baby,"
"I see. Have you told Banner that?"
"No, but he knows. I can tell," Tony said in a serious voice, the gravity of the situation dawning on him as well.
"And you," Fury rounded on the phone floating in mid air.
"Yes?"
"Sigh, Nothing. Just tell me what you need. Also, there is a rally next month in New York. The President's coming. He wants to meet,"
Oh?
"Sure, just tell him he will receive the same paper treatment,"
"...Fine.."
Ah, frustrating Fury was a very good hobby of his, in his opinion.
If you guys would like to support my writing or just read ahead of the public release, you can head to my P*treon or Ko-fi, for upto 5 extra chapters.
Hyperionthetitan
Stuck in a tree
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I guess he will need to play ball for a bit ,but fuck those racist asshat imo.
Chapter 64.1 : Wakanda POV
IdleMuse0307
Not too sore, are you?
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Disclaimer - The rights of the respective characters are with their respective owners. I don't mean to violate their intellectual property rights and thus, only my original characters are my IP.
The Sage of the Mind: Chapter 64.1 [August 2010]
Birnin Zana, Wakanda
–King T'Chaka–
For months, it has been like this.
Ever since T'Challa came back from his education in the United States, he had been confessing having some ideas that he wanted to implement when he became King. Ideas that were dangerously similar to what his brother had.
That brought another pang of sadness in his heart as he thought of ways he could have handled that night differently. The brother in him mourned the loss of the one who he grew up with but the King in him would have done the exact same thing, given the chance. It was actually the most practical option.
No chances of any civil war, no chances of that dangerous ideology spreading to the higher ups in Wakanda, and no chances of the outside world coming to know about them. Just kill his brother, plain and simple.
However, similar words were now coming out of T'Challa's mouth as he recounted the plans he wanted to enact to help the outside population, irrespective of their race, creed, religion, etc. He didn't think that his son would be so naive but he consoled himself by telling himself that once the burden of becoming King was transferred to T'Challa, he would eventually learn the perils that came with such naive ideas.
For the time being though, he was an old man barely clinging to his post with the help of his old loyal followers, one who didn't want to sour his relationship with his eldest son, so he began humouring T'Challa.
"So, what would be the first step for this? Baby step, I mean," He asked T'Challa who gained a thoughtful look at the question, Little Shuri looking curiously at her elder brother and then her father, the mere sight of that enough to melt his heart.
"An Embassy."
He raised an eyebrow and gestured for T'Challa to continue explaining.
"An embassy, right in New York. A Wakandan Embassy would allow us to establish a legitimate foothold in the heart of the American Economy. This would allow us to learn more and adapt our plans accordingly," T'Chlla said with passion in his voice as he dug into his food with gusto.
He internally mulled the idea and wasn't really opposed to it that much.
"Oh? New York? Is that the same one where the Invisible Man resides, brother?" Shuri asked T'Challa, always having been interested in the special anomaly of New York that was the Invisible Man.
"Yes, little Shuri. The Invisible Man operates in most of New York, with MAnhattan being his base of operations for some reason. We will not be opening the embassy there anyway so that should be fine," T'Challa immediately began peppering Shuri with all the little anecdotes he had about the rise of the Invisible Man in New York and the subsequent fall of crimes, hunger in the same area.
When they had first learned about this person, more than two years back, his WarDogs had dismissed it as nothing but the ramblings of crazy people, not allowing themselves to believe in someone outside Wakanda possessing such powers.
Only for that misconception to fade away over time as more and more incidents kept happening, eventually leading to the entirety of Manhattan being sealed away, for criminals.
Aside from white collar criminals making that place their secure base of operations, no crime of any sort happened in that place anymore, so much so that people began leaving their babies unattended for short periods of time, something that would have been unthinkable a short few years back.
"So, Father, who will go as the Embassy head? Because we don't actually have any need for the Embassy, we can just make a sham one, without any of our technology and send in some WarDogs to pose as embassy staff. No need to tip off the Invisible Man about our existence, right?"
He nodded, pleased that T'Challa was at least aware of the dangers that would befall Wakanda should the world come to know about their true civilization.
"Still, the Invisible Man, huh? Father, what are the chances of some other god aside from Base having blessed someone who went on to become this Invisible Man?"
He looked up from his meal, suddenly not having the appetite as T'Challa's question fully registered in his mind.
What if that really was the truth?
No. he couldn't think like that. It was almost blasphemy in his opinion.
"No need to think of such things. It is most likely another American science experiment that went wrong, just like the Hulk," He told T'Challa and gestured for the attendant to begin cleaning the table.
"Yeah, you could be right. Still, the sheer strength that Dr.Banner wields in that form, I don't think there is anything that I can do to harm his alter ego." T'Challa admitted to him, making him feel proud at seeing him admit that even the Black Panther had its own limits.
"Relax, T'Challa. You will be King. You will never be alone. The might of the entire country will be standing behind you, nothing and no one should be able to phase you,"
"You are right, Father. Thank you for that,"
Still, T'Challa's thoughts were correct. The sheer destruction the beast caused was a sight to behold. He was akin to a force of nature, not slowed down by anything that man could throw at it. Just drop the best in an active war zone and just see the slaughter happen. No gun, no missile, no grenade, and nothing was able to stop the Hulk's charge as he escaped through the base and then settled down in Manhattan, under the protection of an even bigger Monster.
The thought of someone being able to maintain near omnipresence in a city the size of New York while also actively acting using telekinetic powers, was bone chilling.
He had already ordered this Invisible Man to be properly investigated but aside from some people he regularly interacted with, there was nothing that could determine the identity of the Invisible Man or if he even had an identity or not.
For all they knew, the Invisible Man, while a very stupid name, might actually be incorporeal.
"Alright, I have a meeting. I will see you all at dinner," He said and then headed straight to the Throne Room.
Sigh, he couldn't wait to hand over this burden to T'Challa and then watch, relaxed, from the sidelines.
[October 2010]
This was a disaster.
The Stark Expo, that is.
Now he was glad that he didn't send T'Challa or Bast forbid, Shuri who was pestering him to get tickets for the Stark Expo, the biggest Tech Expo that the outside world had hosted in years.
The Expo also gave them a lot of intel on how the Invisible Man operates. The WarDogs already had a theory but it is now confirmed that there are some limits as to how much power the Invisible Man could exert over a specific area.
According to the theory proposed by his team, one that he was inclined to believe, the Invisible Man was actually somehow geo constrained, meaning he had a fixed range of influence.
While they believed it was still growing, the outermost edges would be the areas where he would be able to exert the least amount of power.
Basically, the closer the area is to Manhattan, the more power he could exert.
For example, in the Stark Expo, at the calculated edge of his range, he was unable to directly crush the robots that were attacking people. No, he had to fling around some enhanced people that could crush the robots with ease.
On the opposite end of this spectrum was a building that was scheduled for demolition. For some reason, the demolition didn't happen properly and the building was about to tip over to the building next to it.
It almost happened when as if an Invisible Hand held it, the crash stopped, the building was then turned to fine powder and then that same powder was deposited at the base of the building, showcasing the sheer power and fine control the Invisible Man had in areas.
The Council was abuzz with the display of power and how to deal with the new threat when a guard walked into the room with an official message.
"My King, we have a message from the Embassy in New York,"
His eyebrows rose as a hologram appeared with her on it.
The second most troublesome figure in all of Wakanda, after the Jabari.
Jeda.
Sister of Ramnoda, and the fiercest warrior in all of Wakanda.
If you guys would like to support my writing or just read ahead of the public release, you can head to my P*treon or Ko-fi, for upto 5 extra chapters.
The Sage of the Mind: Chapter 64.1 [August 2010]
Birnin Zana, Wakanda
–King T'Chaka–
For months, it has been like this.
Ever since T'Challa came back from his education in the United States, he had been confessing having some ideas that he wanted to implement when he became King. Ideas that were dangerously similar to what his brother had.
That brought another pang of sadness in his heart as he thought of ways he could have handled that night differently. The brother in him mourned the loss of the one who he grew up with but the King in him would have done the exact same thing, given the chance. It was actually the most practical option.
No chances of any civil war, no chances of that dangerous ideology spreading to the higher ups in Wakanda, and no chances of the outside world coming to know about them. Just kill his brother, plain and simple.
However, similar words were now coming out of T'Challa's mouth as he recounted the plans he wanted to enact to help the outside population, irrespective of their race, creed, religion, etc. He didn't think that his son would be so naive but he consoled himself by telling himself that once the burden of becoming King was transferred to T'Challa, he would eventually learn the perils that came with such naive ideas.
For the time being though, he was an old man barely clinging to his post with the help of his old loyal followers, one who didn't want to sour his relationship with his eldest son, so he began humouring T'Challa.
"So, what would be the first step for this? Baby step, I mean," He asked T'Challa who gained a thoughtful look at the question, Little Shuri looking curiously at her elder brother and then her father, the mere sight of that enough to melt his heart.
"An Embassy."
He raised an eyebrow and gestured for T'Challa to continue explaining.
"An embassy, right in New York. A Wakandan Embassy would allow us to establish a legitimate foothold in the heart of the American Economy. This would allow us to learn more and adapt our plans accordingly," T'Chlla said with passion in his voice as he dug into his food with gusto.
He internally mulled the idea and wasn't really opposed to it that much.
"Oh? New York? Is that the same one where the Invisible Man resides, brother?" Shuri asked T'Challa, always having been interested in the special anomaly of New York that was the Invisible Man.
"Yes, little Shuri. The Invisible Man operates in most of New York, with MAnhattan being his base of operations for some reason. We will not be opening the embassy there anyway so that should be fine," T'Challa immediately began peppering Shuri with all the little anecdotes he had about the rise of the Invisible Man in New York and the subsequent fall of crimes, hunger in the same area.
When they had first learned about this person, more than two years back, his WarDogs had dismissed it as nothing but the ramblings of crazy people, not allowing themselves to believe in someone outside Wakanda possessing such powers.
Only for that misconception to fade away over time as more and more incidents kept happening, eventually leading to the entirety of Manhattan being sealed away, for criminals.
Aside from white collar criminals making that place their secure base of operations, no crime of any sort happened in that place anymore, so much so that people began leaving their babies unattended for short periods of time, something that would have been unthinkable a short few years back.
"So, Father, who will go as the Embassy head? Because we don't actually have any need for the Embassy, we can just make a sham one, without any of our technology and send in some WarDogs to pose as embassy staff. No need to tip off the Invisible Man about our existence, right?"
He nodded, pleased that T'Challa was at least aware of the dangers that would befall Wakanda should the world come to know about their true civilization.
"Still, the Invisible Man, huh? Father, what are the chances of some other god aside from Base having blessed someone who went on to become this Invisible Man?"
He looked up from his meal, suddenly not having the appetite as T'Challa's question fully registered in his mind.
What if that really was the truth?
No. he couldn't think like that. It was almost blasphemy in his opinion.
"No need to think of such things. It is most likely another American science experiment that went wrong, just like the Hulk," He told T'Challa and gestured for the attendant to begin cleaning the table.
"Yeah, you could be right. Still, the sheer strength that Dr.Banner wields in that form, I don't think there is anything that I can do to harm his alter ego." T'Challa admitted to him, making him feel proud at seeing him admit that even the Black Panther had its own limits.
"Relax, T'Challa. You will be King. You will never be alone. The might of the entire country will be standing behind you, nothing and no one should be able to phase you,"
"You are right, Father. Thank you for that,"
Still, T'Challa's thoughts were correct. The sheer destruction the beast caused was a sight to behold. He was akin to a force of nature, not slowed down by anything that man could throw at it. Just drop the best in an active war zone and just see the slaughter happen. No gun, no missile, no grenade, and nothing was able to stop the Hulk's charge as he escaped through the base and then settled down in Manhattan, under the protection of an even bigger Monster.
The thought of someone being able to maintain near omnipresence in a city the size of New York while also actively acting using telekinetic powers, was bone chilling.
He had already ordered this Invisible Man to be properly investigated but aside from some people he regularly interacted with, there was nothing that could determine the identity of the Invisible Man or if he even had an identity or not.
For all they knew, the Invisible Man, while a very stupid name, might actually be incorporeal.
"Alright, I have a meeting. I will see you all at dinner," He said and then headed straight to the Throne Room.
Sigh, he couldn't wait to hand over this burden to T'Challa and then watch, relaxed, from the sidelines.
[October 2010]
This was a disaster.
The Stark Expo, that is.
Now he was glad that he didn't send T'Challa or Bast forbid, Shuri who was pestering him to get tickets for the Stark Expo, the biggest Tech Expo that the outside world had hosted in years.
The Expo also gave them a lot of intel on how the Invisible Man operates. The WarDogs already had a theory but it is now confirmed that there are some limits as to how much power the Invisible Man could exert over a specific area.
According to the theory proposed by his team, one that he was inclined to believe, the Invisible Man was actually somehow geo constrained, meaning he had a fixed range of influence.
While they believed it was still growing, the outermost edges would be the areas where he would be able to exert the least amount of power.
Basically, the closer the area is to Manhattan, the more power he could exert.
For example, in the Stark Expo, at the calculated edge of his range, he was unable to directly crush the robots that were attacking people. No, he had to fling around some enhanced people that could crush the robots with ease.
On the opposite end of this spectrum was a building that was scheduled for demolition. For some reason, the demolition didn't happen properly and the building was about to tip over to the building next to it.
It almost happened when as if an Invisible Hand held it, the crash stopped, the building was then turned to fine powder and then that same powder was deposited at the base of the building, showcasing the sheer power and fine control the Invisible Man had in areas.
The Council was abuzz with the display of power and how to deal with the new threat when a guard walked into the room with an official message.
"My King, we have a message from the Embassy in New York,"
His eyebrows rose as a hologram appeared with her on it.
The second most troublesome figure in all of Wakanda, after the Jabari.
Jeda.
Sister of Ramnoda, and the fiercest warrior in all of Wakanda.
If you guys would like to support my writing or just read ahead of the public release, you can head to my P*treon or Ko-fi, for upto 5 extra chapters.
Chapter 64.2 : Wakanda POV
IdleMuse0307
Not too sore, are you?
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The Sage of the Mind: Chapter 64.2 [October 2010]
Birnin Zana, Wakanda
–King T'Chaka–
When he thought of Jega, he thought of the one person who could even best the Black Panther in one to one combat, purely on the basis of her skills alone. In fact, it had not even been months since she was in the Royal Academy, handling T'Challa's ass to him every other day without even being enhanced by the Heart-Shaped Herb.
In fact, she was a very strong contender to become the Black Panther as well. Traditionally, the Black Panther was always a man but they had evolved past such petty gender discrimination. No, the discrimination was not because she was a woman, but because she was not the King or a member of the direct line of the King.
Since history has been recorded in Wakanda, the Black Panther has either been the King or the King's son, or brother. That's it. It made sense because the Black Panther was supposed to be the pinnacle of the Kingdom's fighting power and the way each King wanted to keep that power in their control meant that there was little chance of someone not from the King's family becoming the Black Panther.
Even if the candidate was as deserving, if not more so than T'Challa himself. There was no doubt in his mind whether Bast would accept Jeda or not and yet, he could not bring himself to give her the permission to undergo the trial.
While it would throw some of the priests into disarray at seeing two Black Panthers alive at the same, he could have worded it so that it could provide more protection to Wakanda in these changing times, citing the Hulk and the Invisible Man as reasons.
It could have been done, with little political backlash and a bit more cultural backlash, not that the Priests had much power in how the country was run and who was made King.
But there was a single reason why she was not made Black Panther and was instead sent off to New York to head the so-called Embassy project of T'Challa.
Her mindset.
When she had begun her stint in the WarDogs to go see the outside world and serve her country, she had been of the same mind as him, and most of the other WarDogs. She knew that Wakanda needed to hide itself from the world, lest human greed destroy Wakanda as they knew it.
And yet…
As she went on mission after mission, saw the plight of the world, and saw the state of the Continent they were living in, her thoughts began changing. The change didn't happen overnight but over the years, as she performed admirably in the WarDods, successfully carrying out missions in all the countries they maintained a presence in.
Thankfully, nothing as extreme as his brother but she began voicing out her thoughts, of helping the suffering people openly, to create a solid presence that would deter the evildoers of the world from committing any more atrocities on their people. She wanted Wakanda to take over the African Continent and form a new power bloc over the most resource rich place that was still mostly unexplored and completely governmentless.
He had to actually take her off the roster for her own safety as the higher ups of the WarDogs had begun taking notice of her rebellious thoughts. He had to do something before some of the elders on the council did.
That was two years ago, when she had been relieved of her duty and had chosen to take teaching at the Royal Academy where she regularly humbled all the top students with contemptuous ease, including T'Challa who came to visit sometimes and was the only one capable of holding his own against the dreaded Combat Instructor at the Royal Academy.
Even there, she did not stop expressing her borderline treasonous thoughts to anybody who would listen. She understood her position as the only sister to the Queen and thus did not abuse the privileges that came with that by trying to enact any official changes with her authority but she did try to spread her dangerous ideology in the Academy as well, irking many of the seniors at the Academy.
This prompted him to move her to the outside. The Embassy idea from T'Challa simply came at the right time.
Now, it would seem that the decision to do so, hoping that nothing important would happen and she would be safe and sound outside the Kingdom was naive then, as he watched the hologram of her appear.
"My King, I was just contacted with the elusive Invisible Man," SHe began and the entire council, which had not paid attention to her, snapped to attention. It was natural as the Invisible Man was a point of quiet interest in the Kingdom as whole.
The scientists had found out that the sphere of influence of the Invisible Man continued to expand, day by day. In small incremental amounts, they calculated that he would be able to cover the entire city of New York and then eventually its surrounding areas in less than a decade.
There was a chance that his reach might expand beyond the country as well, though that was assuming that he didn't have any real limits, and even the most optimistic of the scientists said that it was almost impossible for the invisible Man to reach Wakanda.
Still, they had begun researching ways on how to hide Wakanda from the prying gaze of the Invisible Man, should he come near Wakanda, even if by accident because nobody really knew how the Invisible Man looked or who he really was.
"Speak," He ordered her, understanding the gravity of the situation.
'Yes, he alluded to knowing about Birnin Zana. He knew about the Vibranium and about the country,"
The entire council erupted in loud noises at that. The mere thought of an outsider, much less one of the most dangerous ones at that, was disturbing on so many levels, that it weighed heavily on his heart.
"Quiet!" He told the council before turning to the hologram.
"Get yourself out of there as soon as you can. We cannot risk you with–"
"Already done, My King. I am in the car, heading to the airport. I have already scheduled pickup from Johannesburg airport," She said as she sent him multiple reports about the whole encounter.
He sighed in relief when she told him that she had removed herself from the dangerous situation.
"Very well. What did he want?"
"I assume you know about Bruce Banner and his baby?"
He nodded at that piece of information. It was surprisingly easy to maintain tabs on Bruce Banner as well as the seven brothers, even with the WarDogs residing inside Manhattan. All they had to do was not perform violent acts and not be over the top in their surveillance efforts, to safeguard themselves from the wrath of the Invisible Man. As long as they didn't break any laws, like breaking and entering or stealing, they were fine.
"Well, the baby, as the nerds had predicted, is already showing signs of complications. Apparently, they have figured out a solution to deal with all the Gamma Radiation, one that involved Vibranium,"
There was a pin drop silence in the room as he processed the information. So, they needed Vibtranium then? The question was, did he cooperate to not only save a innocent life but also gain the favour of the two undisputedly strongest beings on the planet?
'Maybe even as strong as Bast herself' he didn't let his treasonous thoughts appear on his face.
"And no, they don't need the Vibranium," His neck snapped up at that, "--they need the Vibranium to be woven into thin enough strands that they can absorb all that Gamma Radiation from the woman's body without harming her or the baby. They need to know how to do that," She finished.
Well, that certainly made things easier. Still wouldn't get past the council but it was for good reason then that they were not King. Before he could tell her that he was Agreeing to it though, she dropped another bomb.
"The Invisible Man said that he had information on Prince N'Jobu. He was willing to trade that information for the knowledge," She finished her report.
He maintained a facade of calm on the outside even though he was freaking out inside, his mind reeling from the fact that this person somehow had information about his dead brother. Out of love and hoping that Wakanda didn't remember his brother as a traitor to the country, he had just labelled his brother as Missing in Action, and never really bothered to declare him dead, even though it was common consensus that after all this time, his brother was most probably dead.
Could this Invisible Man be bluffing? Hoping that he would take the bait and give the information?
There was only one way to know..
"Jeda, return to Wakanada. I will have someone else deliver the information. Your safety is paramount,"
"Yes, my King," She took the dismissal and shut down the video call.
The moment the hologram faded away, the council turned to him, no doubt ready to voice out their complaints about the decision but the memories of that tragic night made him lose his already sparse patience.
"Enough! I am King and this is my decision. Sacrificing a little bit of information in exchange for the possible favour of two of the strongest beings on the planet is a profitable deal, no matter how you look at it. We will speak no more about this, that is an order!" His outburst clearly left them unbalanced.
"Dismissed!" He said as the council, although shaken, left the room, and the Dora Milaje followed later on.
His shoulders slumped in defeat as he leaned into his uncomfortable throne, as soon as the room was empty and he had some privacy.
By Bast, he was too old for this shit.
If you guys would like to support my writing or just read ahead of the public release, you can head to my P*treon or Ko-fi, for upto 5 extra chapters.
The Sage of the Mind: Chapter 64.2 [October 2010]
Birnin Zana, Wakanda
–King T'Chaka–
When he thought of Jega, he thought of the one person who could even best the Black Panther in one to one combat, purely on the basis of her skills alone. In fact, it had not even been months since she was in the Royal Academy, handling T'Challa's ass to him every other day without even being enhanced by the Heart-Shaped Herb.
In fact, she was a very strong contender to become the Black Panther as well. Traditionally, the Black Panther was always a man but they had evolved past such petty gender discrimination. No, the discrimination was not because she was a woman, but because she was not the King or a member of the direct line of the King.
Since history has been recorded in Wakanda, the Black Panther has either been the King or the King's son, or brother. That's it. It made sense because the Black Panther was supposed to be the pinnacle of the Kingdom's fighting power and the way each King wanted to keep that power in their control meant that there was little chance of someone not from the King's family becoming the Black Panther.
Even if the candidate was as deserving, if not more so than T'Challa himself. There was no doubt in his mind whether Bast would accept Jeda or not and yet, he could not bring himself to give her the permission to undergo the trial.
While it would throw some of the priests into disarray at seeing two Black Panthers alive at the same, he could have worded it so that it could provide more protection to Wakanda in these changing times, citing the Hulk and the Invisible Man as reasons.
It could have been done, with little political backlash and a bit more cultural backlash, not that the Priests had much power in how the country was run and who was made King.
But there was a single reason why she was not made Black Panther and was instead sent off to New York to head the so-called Embassy project of T'Challa.
Her mindset.
When she had begun her stint in the WarDogs to go see the outside world and serve her country, she had been of the same mind as him, and most of the other WarDogs. She knew that Wakanda needed to hide itself from the world, lest human greed destroy Wakanda as they knew it.
And yet…
As she went on mission after mission, saw the plight of the world, and saw the state of the Continent they were living in, her thoughts began changing. The change didn't happen overnight but over the years, as she performed admirably in the WarDods, successfully carrying out missions in all the countries they maintained a presence in.
Thankfully, nothing as extreme as his brother but she began voicing out her thoughts, of helping the suffering people openly, to create a solid presence that would deter the evildoers of the world from committing any more atrocities on their people. She wanted Wakanda to take over the African Continent and form a new power bloc over the most resource rich place that was still mostly unexplored and completely governmentless.
He had to actually take her off the roster for her own safety as the higher ups of the WarDogs had begun taking notice of her rebellious thoughts. He had to do something before some of the elders on the council did.
That was two years ago, when she had been relieved of her duty and had chosen to take teaching at the Royal Academy where she regularly humbled all the top students with contemptuous ease, including T'Challa who came to visit sometimes and was the only one capable of holding his own against the dreaded Combat Instructor at the Royal Academy.
Even there, she did not stop expressing her borderline treasonous thoughts to anybody who would listen. She understood her position as the only sister to the Queen and thus did not abuse the privileges that came with that by trying to enact any official changes with her authority but she did try to spread her dangerous ideology in the Academy as well, irking many of the seniors at the Academy.
This prompted him to move her to the outside. The Embassy idea from T'Challa simply came at the right time.
Now, it would seem that the decision to do so, hoping that nothing important would happen and she would be safe and sound outside the Kingdom was naive then, as he watched the hologram of her appear.
"My King, I was just contacted with the elusive Invisible Man," SHe began and the entire council, which had not paid attention to her, snapped to attention. It was natural as the Invisible Man was a point of quiet interest in the Kingdom as whole.
The scientists had found out that the sphere of influence of the Invisible Man continued to expand, day by day. In small incremental amounts, they calculated that he would be able to cover the entire city of New York and then eventually its surrounding areas in less than a decade.
There was a chance that his reach might expand beyond the country as well, though that was assuming that he didn't have any real limits, and even the most optimistic of the scientists said that it was almost impossible for the invisible Man to reach Wakanda.
Still, they had begun researching ways on how to hide Wakanda from the prying gaze of the Invisible Man, should he come near Wakanda, even if by accident because nobody really knew how the Invisible Man looked or who he really was.
"Speak," He ordered her, understanding the gravity of the situation.
'Yes, he alluded to knowing about Birnin Zana. He knew about the Vibranium and about the country,"
The entire council erupted in loud noises at that. The mere thought of an outsider, much less one of the most dangerous ones at that, was disturbing on so many levels, that it weighed heavily on his heart.
"Quiet!" He told the council before turning to the hologram.
"Get yourself out of there as soon as you can. We cannot risk you with–"
"Already done, My King. I am in the car, heading to the airport. I have already scheduled pickup from Johannesburg airport," She said as she sent him multiple reports about the whole encounter.
He sighed in relief when she told him that she had removed herself from the dangerous situation.
"Very well. What did he want?"
"I assume you know about Bruce Banner and his baby?"
He nodded at that piece of information. It was surprisingly easy to maintain tabs on Bruce Banner as well as the seven brothers, even with the WarDogs residing inside Manhattan. All they had to do was not perform violent acts and not be over the top in their surveillance efforts, to safeguard themselves from the wrath of the Invisible Man. As long as they didn't break any laws, like breaking and entering or stealing, they were fine.
"Well, the baby, as the nerds had predicted, is already showing signs of complications. Apparently, they have figured out a solution to deal with all the Gamma Radiation, one that involved Vibranium,"
There was a pin drop silence in the room as he processed the information. So, they needed Vibtranium then? The question was, did he cooperate to not only save a innocent life but also gain the favour of the two undisputedly strongest beings on the planet?
'Maybe even as strong as Bast herself' he didn't let his treasonous thoughts appear on his face.
"And no, they don't need the Vibranium," His neck snapped up at that, "--they need the Vibranium to be woven into thin enough strands that they can absorb all that Gamma Radiation from the woman's body without harming her or the baby. They need to know how to do that," She finished.
Well, that certainly made things easier. Still wouldn't get past the council but it was for good reason then that they were not King. Before he could tell her that he was Agreeing to it though, she dropped another bomb.
"The Invisible Man said that he had information on Prince N'Jobu. He was willing to trade that information for the knowledge," She finished her report.
He maintained a facade of calm on the outside even though he was freaking out inside, his mind reeling from the fact that this person somehow had information about his dead brother. Out of love and hoping that Wakanda didn't remember his brother as a traitor to the country, he had just labelled his brother as Missing in Action, and never really bothered to declare him dead, even though it was common consensus that after all this time, his brother was most probably dead.
Could this Invisible Man be bluffing? Hoping that he would take the bait and give the information?
There was only one way to know..
"Jeda, return to Wakanada. I will have someone else deliver the information. Your safety is paramount,"
"Yes, my King," She took the dismissal and shut down the video call.
The moment the hologram faded away, the council turned to him, no doubt ready to voice out their complaints about the decision but the memories of that tragic night made him lose his already sparse patience.
"Enough! I am King and this is my decision. Sacrificing a little bit of information in exchange for the possible favour of two of the strongest beings on the planet is a profitable deal, no matter how you look at it. We will speak no more about this, that is an order!" His outburst clearly left them unbalanced.
"Dismissed!" He said as the council, although shaken, left the room, and the Dora Milaje followed later on.
His shoulders slumped in defeat as he leaned into his uncomfortable throne, as soon as the room was empty and he had some privacy.
By Bast, he was too old for this shit.
If you guys would like to support my writing or just read ahead of the public release, you can head to my P*treon or Ko-fi, for upto 5 extra chapters.
Hyperionthetitan
Stuck in a tree
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Eh , just remove the plague that is halting humanity progress already . Those tribal ass need to be throw off their high horse into the cliff.
chicozapote
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Being a king is like being a babysitter, except that this job does not last a normal working day and any problem that arises if you do it wrong costs a lot.
Chapter 65 : Mystical Backing, Getto!
IdleMuse0307
Not too sore, are you?
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Disclaimer - The rights of the respective characters are with their respective owners. I don't mean to violate their intellectual property rights and thus, only my original characters are my IP.
The Sage of the Mind: Chapter 65 [October 2010]
–Axle Riddle–
"So, are you completely and utterly sure that you want to have this baby, even with all the risks attached?" He asked Betty who was currently busy gorging on all kinds of cheeses. Apparently, the pregnancy cravings had arrived early on this one.
"What? Are you kidding? I love this kid already. Plus, I get to eat so much foooood," Betty said as she dove right back into the cheese platter.
"Disturbing comparison aside. Betty, you know the risks, right? I am sure Bruce didn't have the stomach to do so but you can actually die while doing this, Betty. I am not a hundred percent sure of being able to save you if the need arises," He said, trying to convey the risks associated with the pregnancy.
The woman barely paused at the news, as if it was something that happened on the daily.
"Oh relax, nothing is going to happen to me. I can feel it, the baby will save me if anything happens," Betty said, and he actually fell into deep thought at that.
If Bruce could be considered a Gamma God of some sort, having divinity associated with the feeling of Rage, then his baby would be considered a godling. Huh, maybe there is some truth to this theory but he might have to consult with the Ancient One about this.
"Hey Randall, how far along are we with the Vibranium?" He asked Randall, who was working in the warehouse with none other than Helen Cho, in order to create emergency tissue just in case they needed to do an emergency C-Section. Apparently, the chances of that happening are very high because if they let the pregnancy come to term, Betty's body might not handle it very well.
"..Uh, Tony said that it will arrive in about two more days. He had Vibtranium stashed in different parts of the country and some of it was hidden very well so he had to send out his suits to recover it."
Okay, he did not know Tony was this paranoid. He should have had this level of caution when it came to Obadiah, probably would have saved him the trip to Afghanistan.
"Okay. And is Vibranium going to be enough?"
"Oh yeah, more than enough. Our primary concern at the moment is being able to actually use the Vibranium in any meaningful way."
"Oh, I am working on that as well."
"Dr.Cho, Good Afternoon,"
"Good Afternoon, Mr.Invisible Man," She bowed at him slightly then turned back to her work.
"What can you tell me about the Gamam fetus?"
"It is advancing very fast, faster than what Ms.Ross' body can keep up with. You can see her body requiring much more nutrients than usual to sustain all the activity happening in her body. Mr.Stark and Mr.Randall here were able to build the live scanner that is now installed in her bedroom, giving us real time updates about her body,"
Wow, talk about violation of privacy.
"We are figuring out alternative methods of providing the energy necessary but so far, any energy dense source of food we have given her, has ended up in her emptying the contents of her stomach," Cho replied.
"I still believe that we should be able to do what Mr.Stark told me about the Vibranium but the fact remains that we don't know how the baby might react to the Vibranium. We must proceed with caution. We only have about 2 more months until the baby is born,"
"Very well, Continue your work. Thank you for coming on such short notice. You are being paid, right?" He asked her the last question when he remembered that he was not really paying any of the people present here. He might have to rectify that.
Oh, he was more than certain that all the SHIELD personnel here were mining all the information, and that information was probably worth more than any amount of money that SHIELD could get but he didn't really like them working without being compensated.
"Oh? Oh yes, I am on the direct payroll of SHIELD. I am getting 30% more than my emergency rate. Also, this work is very interesting, I would have done it for free anyway," Cho replied.
Well, he might have to compensate Fury for all the work he must have done in keeping not just General Ross from coming but also from the WSC getting their paws on Bruce and his baby.
Aside from this emergency Gamma situation, things were running smoothly in the city. Crime was being handled properly.
He had now hashed out proper procedures for different crimes, how to apply appropriate amount of force and how to better subdue the perps until the police arrived, that sort of stuff. He had an official understanding with the NYPD and the City of New York now.
The soup kitchens were running perfectly, with no deviation in funds, and no mistreatment of the people arriving there.
Hell, he considered it his personal achievement when normal people who couldn't, or rather, didn't want to cook and just wanted a hot hygienic meal, arrived at his kitchens and had their meals in silence.
Well, time to get to the Ancient One now, he thought to himself while eating the pizza slice, walking towards the New York Sanctum.
Dealing with the Ancient One was one of the few things that he had to do in person,instead of using his powers. For one, his awareness was instantly sensed by her, due to his sheer presence in the Astral Realm.
She once told him that if he were to ever wander deeper into the Astral Realm while someone severed the connection from his body, he would be the biggest snack for all the creatures that lived in the Astral Realm, including some non corporeal Gods.
That did the trick and he no longer tried to explore the Astral Realm willy nilly.
After disposing of the coffee cup and the paper napkins, he went up to the Sanctum building and waited for the doors to open. The last time he came here, he almost fell through because he was about to knock and ended up with his hand hovering right in front of the face of Master Drumm who looked very bemused at the act.
"Oh come on," He said while he knocked on the door, not just with his body, but also with his mind, and this time, he did not hold back, as much. The resulting force would have probably blasted any door and created a hole in the wall behind it but as a result of the wards that he could now sense properly, the door didn't even budge.
"What the hell! Are you trying to destroy the Sanctum, you brute!" The door opened and the irate face of Master Drumm entered his vision who didn't waste a single moment as he shoved him into the Sanctum and then closed the doors.
"Hey, I just knocked. It's not my fault you didn't open the door even though you knew I was coming," He complained as he looked around the layout of the Sanctum. Seriously, this place changes every time he comes to visit.
"Hi, Master Drumm, I was wondering if the Ancient One is free. I have a certain Gamma Problem that we need to deal with,"
Daniel narrowed his eyes at him, "I am well aware of the Gamma problem you are referring to. Bruce Banner is a volatile being and unless he settles down, he cannot be given access to Kamar Taj in any way, you know that,"
"Yeah yeah, I know but I am not here for Bruce Banner, I am here for–"
"--the godling, I assume?" The crisp clear voice of the Ancient One made them both look up as she descended from the stairs, her hands clasped behind her back.
Honestly, she had such a penchant for dramatic entrances but then again, what did he know about old people and what they do in their spare time?
He nodded at her, "Yes, Bruce's baby is about to be born and while I do trust Stark in having the technology side of things handled, I am not so sure about the mystical aspect that probably comes with having Bruce Banner as their father,"
He was even fearful that the Guy Below could have a hand in the entire process or that he would steal the baby in some manner, setting off the Hulk.
"Hmm, this is certainly interesting. The baby of an unrealised God, born as a fully realised Godling. Very well, I will be there when the time comes. Now, please leave because I have some preparations to do," She said and waved her hands.
His vision blurred as he found himself back on the same street, facing the same dustbin where he dumped the coffee mug.
Damn her shenanigans, he fumed to himself as he started his walk back to his office, his sweet sweet air conditioned office.
He was not sure if Wakanda would respond to his request because he had sensed the Embassy Head all but fleeing the country after he had submitted his request but he would reserve his judgement on the matter. Worst case scenario, he could just threaten them with complete exposure if they refused to budge on the matter.
He was all for being honest but a life, an objectively more important life, was at stake and he honestly did not have the time for Wakanda's Xenophobia at the moment.
If you guys would like to support my writing or just read ahead of the public release, you can head to my P*treon or Ko-fi, for upto 5 extra chapters.
The Sage of the Mind: Chapter 65 [October 2010]
–Axle Riddle–
"So, are you completely and utterly sure that you want to have this baby, even with all the risks attached?" He asked Betty who was currently busy gorging on all kinds of cheeses. Apparently, the pregnancy cravings had arrived early on this one.
"What? Are you kidding? I love this kid already. Plus, I get to eat so much foooood," Betty said as she dove right back into the cheese platter.
"Disturbing comparison aside. Betty, you know the risks, right? I am sure Bruce didn't have the stomach to do so but you can actually die while doing this, Betty. I am not a hundred percent sure of being able to save you if the need arises," He said, trying to convey the risks associated with the pregnancy.
The woman barely paused at the news, as if it was something that happened on the daily.
"Oh relax, nothing is going to happen to me. I can feel it, the baby will save me if anything happens," Betty said, and he actually fell into deep thought at that.
If Bruce could be considered a Gamma God of some sort, having divinity associated with the feeling of Rage, then his baby would be considered a godling. Huh, maybe there is some truth to this theory but he might have to consult with the Ancient One about this.
"Hey Randall, how far along are we with the Vibranium?" He asked Randall, who was working in the warehouse with none other than Helen Cho, in order to create emergency tissue just in case they needed to do an emergency C-Section. Apparently, the chances of that happening are very high because if they let the pregnancy come to term, Betty's body might not handle it very well.
"..Uh, Tony said that it will arrive in about two more days. He had Vibtranium stashed in different parts of the country and some of it was hidden very well so he had to send out his suits to recover it."
Okay, he did not know Tony was this paranoid. He should have had this level of caution when it came to Obadiah, probably would have saved him the trip to Afghanistan.
"Okay. And is Vibranium going to be enough?"
"Oh yeah, more than enough. Our primary concern at the moment is being able to actually use the Vibranium in any meaningful way."
"Oh, I am working on that as well."
"Dr.Cho, Good Afternoon,"
"Good Afternoon, Mr.Invisible Man," She bowed at him slightly then turned back to her work.
"What can you tell me about the Gamam fetus?"
"It is advancing very fast, faster than what Ms.Ross' body can keep up with. You can see her body requiring much more nutrients than usual to sustain all the activity happening in her body. Mr.Stark and Mr.Randall here were able to build the live scanner that is now installed in her bedroom, giving us real time updates about her body,"
Wow, talk about violation of privacy.
"We are figuring out alternative methods of providing the energy necessary but so far, any energy dense source of food we have given her, has ended up in her emptying the contents of her stomach," Cho replied.
"I still believe that we should be able to do what Mr.Stark told me about the Vibranium but the fact remains that we don't know how the baby might react to the Vibranium. We must proceed with caution. We only have about 2 more months until the baby is born,"
"Very well, Continue your work. Thank you for coming on such short notice. You are being paid, right?" He asked her the last question when he remembered that he was not really paying any of the people present here. He might have to rectify that.
Oh, he was more than certain that all the SHIELD personnel here were mining all the information, and that information was probably worth more than any amount of money that SHIELD could get but he didn't really like them working without being compensated.
"Oh? Oh yes, I am on the direct payroll of SHIELD. I am getting 30% more than my emergency rate. Also, this work is very interesting, I would have done it for free anyway," Cho replied.
Well, he might have to compensate Fury for all the work he must have done in keeping not just General Ross from coming but also from the WSC getting their paws on Bruce and his baby.
Aside from this emergency Gamma situation, things were running smoothly in the city. Crime was being handled properly.
He had now hashed out proper procedures for different crimes, how to apply appropriate amount of force and how to better subdue the perps until the police arrived, that sort of stuff. He had an official understanding with the NYPD and the City of New York now.
The soup kitchens were running perfectly, with no deviation in funds, and no mistreatment of the people arriving there.
Hell, he considered it his personal achievement when normal people who couldn't, or rather, didn't want to cook and just wanted a hot hygienic meal, arrived at his kitchens and had their meals in silence.
Well, time to get to the Ancient One now, he thought to himself while eating the pizza slice, walking towards the New York Sanctum.
Dealing with the Ancient One was one of the few things that he had to do in person,instead of using his powers. For one, his awareness was instantly sensed by her, due to his sheer presence in the Astral Realm.
She once told him that if he were to ever wander deeper into the Astral Realm while someone severed the connection from his body, he would be the biggest snack for all the creatures that lived in the Astral Realm, including some non corporeal Gods.
That did the trick and he no longer tried to explore the Astral Realm willy nilly.
After disposing of the coffee cup and the paper napkins, he went up to the Sanctum building and waited for the doors to open. The last time he came here, he almost fell through because he was about to knock and ended up with his hand hovering right in front of the face of Master Drumm who looked very bemused at the act.
"Oh come on," He said while he knocked on the door, not just with his body, but also with his mind, and this time, he did not hold back, as much. The resulting force would have probably blasted any door and created a hole in the wall behind it but as a result of the wards that he could now sense properly, the door didn't even budge.
"What the hell! Are you trying to destroy the Sanctum, you brute!" The door opened and the irate face of Master Drumm entered his vision who didn't waste a single moment as he shoved him into the Sanctum and then closed the doors.
"Hey, I just knocked. It's not my fault you didn't open the door even though you knew I was coming," He complained as he looked around the layout of the Sanctum. Seriously, this place changes every time he comes to visit.
"Hi, Master Drumm, I was wondering if the Ancient One is free. I have a certain Gamma Problem that we need to deal with,"
Daniel narrowed his eyes at him, "I am well aware of the Gamma problem you are referring to. Bruce Banner is a volatile being and unless he settles down, he cannot be given access to Kamar Taj in any way, you know that,"
"Yeah yeah, I know but I am not here for Bruce Banner, I am here for–"
"--the godling, I assume?" The crisp clear voice of the Ancient One made them both look up as she descended from the stairs, her hands clasped behind her back.
Honestly, she had such a penchant for dramatic entrances but then again, what did he know about old people and what they do in their spare time?
He nodded at her, "Yes, Bruce's baby is about to be born and while I do trust Stark in having the technology side of things handled, I am not so sure about the mystical aspect that probably comes with having Bruce Banner as their father,"
He was even fearful that the Guy Below could have a hand in the entire process or that he would steal the baby in some manner, setting off the Hulk.
"Hmm, this is certainly interesting. The baby of an unrealised God, born as a fully realised Godling. Very well, I will be there when the time comes. Now, please leave because I have some preparations to do," She said and waved her hands.
His vision blurred as he found himself back on the same street, facing the same dustbin where he dumped the coffee mug.
Damn her shenanigans, he fumed to himself as he started his walk back to his office, his sweet sweet air conditioned office.
He was not sure if Wakanda would respond to his request because he had sensed the Embassy Head all but fleeing the country after he had submitted his request but he would reserve his judgement on the matter. Worst case scenario, he could just threaten them with complete exposure if they refused to budge on the matter.
He was all for being honest but a life, an objectively more important life, was at stake and he honestly did not have the time for Wakanda's Xenophobia at the moment.
If you guys would like to support my writing or just read ahead of the public release, you can head to my P*treon or Ko-fi, for upto 5 extra chapters.
Midnight198
Making the rounds.
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This is a really good story that I have truly enjoyed i hope you continue it
Do you plan to have Axle use the mind stone to permanently enhance his intelligence and give himself telepathy maybe even enhance his spacial awareness because it should be theoretically possible and if he plans to operate form a distance he is going to need both
Also wanda or jessica for waifu please
Do you plan to have Axle use the mind stone to permanently enhance his intelligence and give himself telepathy maybe even enhance his spacial awareness because it should be theoretically possible and if he plans to operate form a distance he is going to need both
Also wanda or jessica for waifu please
Last edited:
Heavenly Mark
Making the rounds.
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Nice chapter
Chapter 66 : The one where I don't know what I am doing!
IdleMuse0307
Not too sore, are you?
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Disclaimer - The rights of the respective characters are with their respective owners. I don't mean to violate their intellectual property rights and thus, only my original characters are my IP.
The Sage of the Mind: Chapter 66 [October 2010]
–Chris Lang–
His eyes snapped open as the alarm that his father had gotten him when he went to college rang, waking him but not his sweetheart because her brain was wired to a different frequency of alarm clocks.
It was actually quite a nifty thing because it meant that she would only wake up with her alarm clocks and he would only wake up with his. The kids were a whole other thing though. They needed to be woken up by their parents and if they woke up on their own, well, then god have mercy on him and Anna's soul.
"Good Morning, Chris!" He made finger guns at himself while brushing his teeth. Nowadays, due to the electric toothbrushes, all the fun was taken out of the process. Also, since he was approaching middle age, he was not allowed to brush like he used to, in college. Gone are the days of brash brushing, uncaring if any sensitive gum was hit or not.
Now, he had to do skincare, in the morning and even before sleeping.
Ugh, that sucked.
In the words of a famous actor in an equally famous movie, "Good Morning, Good evening, and Good night. I am Chris Lang,"
Ugh, that sucked, he thought to himself in his mind as his intrusive thoughts began forming dialogues on their own, the first thing in the morning.
Once he got ready, he put on some casual clothes, and greeted his still very much sleepy wife, "Hey, honey!" "Ugh,", and then went on to make breakfast for himself, because it was a Friday.
On Fridays, the kids wake themselves up and go out to play in the Central Park, since their school didn't start till late in the afternoon, something about too many kids being enrolled in the nearby schools. The only reason he allowed them to do so was that they knew better than to leave Manhattan, to leave the safety umbrella that the Invisible Man provided.
He whistled to himself as he made himself some breadbutter jam, some cereal, and a freshly squeezed glass of Orange juice.
Now, one might ask, how is Chris able to afford all of this?
A house in Manhattan, Two kids in private schools, a totally unnecessary car, house help, and more.
Well, the answer to that was one name - Wu Enterprises.
See, he was in college, a very third tier college but still a college nonetheless. He was interested in money, no matter which field brought him the money, he just wanted to make a lot of money.
And wouldn't you know, there was a field especially dedicated to the science of money making?
Finance.
He just dove into that then. He worked hard for a couple of years, spending his days filling spreadsheets, doing analyst stuff, and getting by on his salary when BAM! He met Mr.Wu, the ex-CEO of Wu Enterprises, a giant firm from China, dating back to the 50s.
While his salary as an analyst was above average according to the market, he also had to support his girlfriend through medical school, so he didn't exactly live at par with his salary. All that changed when he met Mr.Wu at one of the many many conferences that he attended in the name of networking, and after talking with him for a couple of minutes, Mr.Wu offered him a job as a Junior Analyst.
Now the title was the same, but the pay was 2X of what he was making then. He could not have accepted the deal faster.
That was how he joined Wu Enterprises, a coalition of companies operating out of Asia. He also realised why the salary was so high because the entire bloody hedge fund was being managed by less than a dozen people, all working from China.
He had to build the entire team from the ground up, hiring people from the US, entering the US Markets, and making sure that everything was compliant on both ends of the company. Comply with US Laws, comply with Chinese laws, and more.
That was a very exhausting 3 years of his life, the period where he probably lost most of his hair but eh, it was worth it. He was promoted to Head of Department after that and he never looked back after.
He bought a house for himself in Manhattan. He had multiple commercial properties in Manhattan. He had a couple of apartments on rent in Manhattan, two office floors that he rented out.
For some reason, his real estate portfolio never really ventured out of Manhattan, and for good reason. He got really good rental yields as well as the ease with which he could manage all the properties by himself.
He purchased the space where his wife practiced as well, so they had, overall, very nice finances.
Life was going good, great even.
Then it became even better, when the Invisible Man began operating in Manhattan. Crimes went down, rentals went up. His wife's business boomed because of the influx of rich people in the city.
His kids became safer in the neighbourhood. He could actually let them wander around, and explore Manhattan because it was actually safe to do so now. It was heartening to watch the change around the city.
It was equally disheartening to see the number of threats that the original property owners got to sell their properties at dirt cheap rates before the Invisible Man found out, and shut them down, hard.
The Invisible Man teamed up with the Mayor, he didn't know how, but he did that and enacted a law that helped protect the original owners from predators.
Still, he was working from the same office he did way back when he started. Only now it occupied the entire floor instead of a small section of the floor.
The work was nice, he knew where everything was, he was paid handsomely, and he was his own boss, all in all, a pretty cozy job.
Then came him.
Axle Riddle.
Even after years of asking the current CEO and even his father, the ex-CEO about the mystery that was Axle Riddle, he was nowhere near the truth of his identity. The man had somehow waltzed into the office and was granted a totally useless title, but with all the benefits that came with a C-suite title.
Chief of Strategic Bets.
What kind of nonsensical title was that?
The thing was, that he could have accepted it if Axle was some hot shot from the industry with decades of experience under his belt but Noooo…
Axle was just 20 20-something young adult who had somehow wormed his way into the executive structure of a 300 billion dollar fund.
The perks would have been one thing, he could have consoled himself by telling himself that this Axle fellow was simply some relative who got in due to nepotism but no, that was not the case.
He looked into this Axle and he had no prior history with Finance at all. The bastard was an English Major for god's sake.
He had just about resolved himself to call a board of directors meeting when they just handed over control of the free flowing funds of the hedge fund straight to him, over 20 billion dollars of it.
And then, that bastard went and put that money, no, burned that money by dumping it all into Stark Industries Stock, a failing Stock, at the time.
He had just about strangled the fellow when his wife called him and reminded him about their anniversary.
That call from his wife was the only thing that saved his job, and created his confusion.
He went on a week-long vacation with his wife after that, to cool off a bit. When he came back...
Well, it was pandemonium.
Axle's bets had actually paid off, netting the company with so much money but more importantly, they actually had a seat on the decision making Board of Stark Industries now.
Something that was much more valuable than mere money, according to Axle that is.
Ever since that day, he had been watching Axle. How he worked, what he did, and who he talked to.
But aside from spending an inordinately long time with his Secretary in his office, Axle did nothing that would indicate him doing his job.
The thing had haunted him for weeks when he had simply resolved to ask the man about it.
Until now, he had never really interacted with the man, not even once.
The day he tried to schedule a meeting, was the day Tony Stark appeared in the office, threatening Axle with something.
After that, Axle came out of his office, dolled out donuts as apology, and went back inside.
He expected some backlash from upper management but no.
Nothing came Axle's way even after weeks of waiting.
So, he resigned.
Not the way he wanted his career to end but the stress of the uncertain situation at the office was taking a toll on his body, as well as his marriage.
Anna was the one who suggested that, especially since their rental portfolio was now making more money in a month than they needed in a year.
So, he quit and took on a consulting role in the industry. Well, he said consulting but mostly, it was just meetings with senior Analysts, telling them what they did wrong.
All in all, quite an unexpected career he had with Wu Enterprises.
"Oh, that looks delicious," Anna said as she finally arrived in the kitchen.
"Oh, it is," He said as they ate their breakfast in silence.
Ah, what a blissful life.
But Damn Axle Riddle.
If you guys would like to support my writing or just read ahead of the public release, you can head to my P*treon or Ko-fi, for upto 5 extra chapters.
A/N - I–I..I have no idea why I just wrote this. Brain gave this to me and I delivered it to you. Hey! Don't shoot the messenger.
Thank you for reading (and sorry, just in case)
Toodles!
The Sage of the Mind: Chapter 66 [October 2010]
–Chris Lang–
His eyes snapped open as the alarm that his father had gotten him when he went to college rang, waking him but not his sweetheart because her brain was wired to a different frequency of alarm clocks.
It was actually quite a nifty thing because it meant that she would only wake up with her alarm clocks and he would only wake up with his. The kids were a whole other thing though. They needed to be woken up by their parents and if they woke up on their own, well, then god have mercy on him and Anna's soul.
"Good Morning, Chris!" He made finger guns at himself while brushing his teeth. Nowadays, due to the electric toothbrushes, all the fun was taken out of the process. Also, since he was approaching middle age, he was not allowed to brush like he used to, in college. Gone are the days of brash brushing, uncaring if any sensitive gum was hit or not.
Now, he had to do skincare, in the morning and even before sleeping.
Ugh, that sucked.
In the words of a famous actor in an equally famous movie, "Good Morning, Good evening, and Good night. I am Chris Lang,"
Ugh, that sucked, he thought to himself in his mind as his intrusive thoughts began forming dialogues on their own, the first thing in the morning.
Once he got ready, he put on some casual clothes, and greeted his still very much sleepy wife, "Hey, honey!" "Ugh,", and then went on to make breakfast for himself, because it was a Friday.
On Fridays, the kids wake themselves up and go out to play in the Central Park, since their school didn't start till late in the afternoon, something about too many kids being enrolled in the nearby schools. The only reason he allowed them to do so was that they knew better than to leave Manhattan, to leave the safety umbrella that the Invisible Man provided.
He whistled to himself as he made himself some breadbutter jam, some cereal, and a freshly squeezed glass of Orange juice.
Now, one might ask, how is Chris able to afford all of this?
A house in Manhattan, Two kids in private schools, a totally unnecessary car, house help, and more.
Well, the answer to that was one name - Wu Enterprises.
See, he was in college, a very third tier college but still a college nonetheless. He was interested in money, no matter which field brought him the money, he just wanted to make a lot of money.
And wouldn't you know, there was a field especially dedicated to the science of money making?
Finance.
He just dove into that then. He worked hard for a couple of years, spending his days filling spreadsheets, doing analyst stuff, and getting by on his salary when BAM! He met Mr.Wu, the ex-CEO of Wu Enterprises, a giant firm from China, dating back to the 50s.
While his salary as an analyst was above average according to the market, he also had to support his girlfriend through medical school, so he didn't exactly live at par with his salary. All that changed when he met Mr.Wu at one of the many many conferences that he attended in the name of networking, and after talking with him for a couple of minutes, Mr.Wu offered him a job as a Junior Analyst.
Now the title was the same, but the pay was 2X of what he was making then. He could not have accepted the deal faster.
That was how he joined Wu Enterprises, a coalition of companies operating out of Asia. He also realised why the salary was so high because the entire bloody hedge fund was being managed by less than a dozen people, all working from China.
He had to build the entire team from the ground up, hiring people from the US, entering the US Markets, and making sure that everything was compliant on both ends of the company. Comply with US Laws, comply with Chinese laws, and more.
That was a very exhausting 3 years of his life, the period where he probably lost most of his hair but eh, it was worth it. He was promoted to Head of Department after that and he never looked back after.
He bought a house for himself in Manhattan. He had multiple commercial properties in Manhattan. He had a couple of apartments on rent in Manhattan, two office floors that he rented out.
For some reason, his real estate portfolio never really ventured out of Manhattan, and for good reason. He got really good rental yields as well as the ease with which he could manage all the properties by himself.
He purchased the space where his wife practiced as well, so they had, overall, very nice finances.
Life was going good, great even.
Then it became even better, when the Invisible Man began operating in Manhattan. Crimes went down, rentals went up. His wife's business boomed because of the influx of rich people in the city.
His kids became safer in the neighbourhood. He could actually let them wander around, and explore Manhattan because it was actually safe to do so now. It was heartening to watch the change around the city.
It was equally disheartening to see the number of threats that the original property owners got to sell their properties at dirt cheap rates before the Invisible Man found out, and shut them down, hard.
The Invisible Man teamed up with the Mayor, he didn't know how, but he did that and enacted a law that helped protect the original owners from predators.
Still, he was working from the same office he did way back when he started. Only now it occupied the entire floor instead of a small section of the floor.
The work was nice, he knew where everything was, he was paid handsomely, and he was his own boss, all in all, a pretty cozy job.
Then came him.
Axle Riddle.
Even after years of asking the current CEO and even his father, the ex-CEO about the mystery that was Axle Riddle, he was nowhere near the truth of his identity. The man had somehow waltzed into the office and was granted a totally useless title, but with all the benefits that came with a C-suite title.
Chief of Strategic Bets.
What kind of nonsensical title was that?
The thing was, that he could have accepted it if Axle was some hot shot from the industry with decades of experience under his belt but Noooo…
Axle was just 20 20-something young adult who had somehow wormed his way into the executive structure of a 300 billion dollar fund.
The perks would have been one thing, he could have consoled himself by telling himself that this Axle fellow was simply some relative who got in due to nepotism but no, that was not the case.
He looked into this Axle and he had no prior history with Finance at all. The bastard was an English Major for god's sake.
He had just about resolved himself to call a board of directors meeting when they just handed over control of the free flowing funds of the hedge fund straight to him, over 20 billion dollars of it.
And then, that bastard went and put that money, no, burned that money by dumping it all into Stark Industries Stock, a failing Stock, at the time.
He had just about strangled the fellow when his wife called him and reminded him about their anniversary.
That call from his wife was the only thing that saved his job, and created his confusion.
He went on a week-long vacation with his wife after that, to cool off a bit. When he came back...
Well, it was pandemonium.
Axle's bets had actually paid off, netting the company with so much money but more importantly, they actually had a seat on the decision making Board of Stark Industries now.
Something that was much more valuable than mere money, according to Axle that is.
Ever since that day, he had been watching Axle. How he worked, what he did, and who he talked to.
But aside from spending an inordinately long time with his Secretary in his office, Axle did nothing that would indicate him doing his job.
The thing had haunted him for weeks when he had simply resolved to ask the man about it.
Until now, he had never really interacted with the man, not even once.
The day he tried to schedule a meeting, was the day Tony Stark appeared in the office, threatening Axle with something.
After that, Axle came out of his office, dolled out donuts as apology, and went back inside.
He expected some backlash from upper management but no.
Nothing came Axle's way even after weeks of waiting.
So, he resigned.
Not the way he wanted his career to end but the stress of the uncertain situation at the office was taking a toll on his body, as well as his marriage.
Anna was the one who suggested that, especially since their rental portfolio was now making more money in a month than they needed in a year.
So, he quit and took on a consulting role in the industry. Well, he said consulting but mostly, it was just meetings with senior Analysts, telling them what they did wrong.
All in all, quite an unexpected career he had with Wu Enterprises.
"Oh, that looks delicious," Anna said as she finally arrived in the kitchen.
"Oh, it is," He said as they ate their breakfast in silence.
Ah, what a blissful life.
But Damn Axle Riddle.
If you guys would like to support my writing or just read ahead of the public release, you can head to my P*treon or Ko-fi, for upto 5 extra chapters.
A/N - I–I..I have no idea why I just wrote this. Brain gave this to me and I delivered it to you. Hey! Don't shoot the messenger.
Thank you for reading (and sorry, just in case)
Toodles!
Shaedy Hoe
Thicc Shaedy
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Axle should really come out to Chris on his death bed to ease the poor man's suffering.
Chapter 67 : The one with the unconscious RBA, Again!
IdleMuse0307
Not too sore, are you?
- Joined
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- 11,037
Disclaimer - The rights of the respective characters are with their respective owners. I don't mean to violate their intellectual property rights and thus, only my original characters are my IP.
The Sage of the Mind: Chapter 67 [October 2010]
Manhattan
–Axle Riddle–
It was nice that the Ancient One was offering her support. It was also very anxiety inducing because of her exact words when he left.
"A fully realised godling born from an unrealised god," The words from the Ancient One still reverbed in his mind as he readied himself to meet POTUS.
What did those words mean, he did not exactly know but it was worrying all the same. It meant that Bruce's child would be strong, much stronger than most humans, probably even at birth itself.
Those words did not bode well for the delivery of the baby. If it was just a science problem, he wholeheartedly trusted the combined genius of Tony and Bruce in that regard. Armed with Randall as well as Helen Cbho meant that the Science Side was as good as covered completely.
The problem lies in the mystical side of things. The very existence of Bruce was shrouded in cosmic machinations. His patron was not someone who could be described as anything close to kind or merciful.
No, the guy below will take every chance he gets at hurting Bruce or stealing Baby Banner. The worst thing was that he wouldn't be able to do much if that guy actively tries to stir shit up.
They were very vulnerable and all the Guy Below had to do was nudge a few things here and there, and voila, he had either Baby Hulk, or a very angry Papa Hulk.
He shuddered as he tried to imagine a situation with A World War Hulk level Bruce rampaging around, without anyone around to stop him.
As powerful as he was, he knew that he was nowhere close enough to Bruce's strength levels, someone who could, theoretically, build enough power to sink even the Eastern or Western coast as well.
No, that was an absolute nightmare scenario. They didn't have access to Thor, at all, and, without someone on the same level as Thor holding down Hulk, the chances of defeating Hulk were almost nil.
"Alright, no use worrying about it now. I'll just have to trust the Ancient One and her mystical experience with all things eldritch," He muttered to himself as he kept a close eye on the convoy that POTUS was using at his rally.
He could see FUry already waiting in the SHIELD safehouse with an entire STRIKE team outside, for his protection. He didn't know why they did all those convoluted preparations when they knew that nothing would happen to either of them in Manhattan.
If something unfortunately does happen, he would be unanimously hated by the entire country for it. He doubted even he could make it if the US Military, along with its advanced spy complex began searching for him. The sheer manpower they could deploy for him was no joke and it was not as if he could flee the city, not with the limitations imposed on him.
Well, no time like the present, he psyched himself up and then….snuggled into the covers, with the AC on Full blast.
What was he gonna do? Put on a tuxedo and then sit in his living room, while using his powers to communicate with the POTUS? Now, that would just be the height of stupidity.
So, with a warm cup of tea that just floated out of the kitchen and straight into his hand, he began prepping the avatar that he would use for this meeting.
A vortex formed on top of the building where Fury was staying, drawing in small pieces of paper that were shredded out of a newspaper that was lying around, and then culminated in a small burner phone that was prepared with the text to speech software already installed by a nearby vendor.
He had a deal with the vendor, giving him 200% of the cost of the burner phone in exchange for setting everything up. The money was leftover gang money anyway so no sweat off his back because he broke off every burner phone after it was used only once.
He mostly used the burner phone only when he interacted with Fury, so it did not happen often but when it did, having a stash of prepared burner phones that could be swiped off at his convenience was incredibly nice.
The paper avatar began slowly floating down the side of the building. The avatar then turned a bit and then waved at the 6 snipers perched on top of different buildings. He could see the sweat running off their foreheads as the action seemed to scare them a bit.
Hmmm, he wondered why.
Slowly, he came to the window of the safe house. The very much bulletproof window that was a chore and a half just to open so it always remained closed by the Random Beautiful Agent, since she did not like to exert any effort that was not explicitly required as part of her job.
The same window's lock mechanisms were opened from the inside as the paper avatar slipped in the small gap he had created, the window being locked behind him.
"Top of the morning to you laddies," he shouted out cheerfully using his air manipulation voice, creating a horrible deep tone.
"Jesus Christ," Fury exclaimed as he re-hostered the gun into his Trench Coat, a look that not anyone could quite pull off. As usual, the Random beautiful Agent lay unconscious near Fury, presumably because she was startled by his voice.
"You sure everything is fine with her? No anxiety issues? Anything that could explain her fainting fit?" He asked Fury who continued to glare at the paper avatar a moment longer before finally turning to the unconscious agent sprawled on the ground.
He slowly lifted her and deposited her on the utility bed with pink sheets and pink pillows, likely decoration from the Random Beautiful Agent who had begun living in the safehouse for a very long time now.
It was a very cushy job since she was in a safe environment and now she also had the Internet, or at least whatever SHIELD has allowed her to access, the sanitised version of the Internet, if you will.
"Yeah, she'll be fine. POTUS will be meeting you in a couple of hours, and I want to know just what you are going to talk to him about. I want some heads up regarding any harebrained scheme that you might have cooked up," Fury asked him.
He thought about the problems he wanted to address with POTUS.
There were many he wanted to address but the prime of which was Bruce's situation. He was not yet declared a fugitive, officially, but he knew that the moment Bruce stepped out of his protection, they would spare no expense in getting him captured.
Now, a Bruce who was down on life, depressed, and unwilling to harm anyone whilst actively suicidal? The Army might have a chance at taking the Hulk down then.
But if Bruce was actually angry and had a family, something to return to, something worth fighting for, well, then let's just say that even the strongest of weapons that Stark could whip up, would not be able to contend with the Hulk's sheer raw strength.
In fact, he knew from his comic lore that even Nukes would not be able to completely wipe off the Hulk from the face of the planet. He would survive even that with ease, and more.
So, getting an official pardon, or a "BACK OFF" notice for Hulk, straight from the White House would be good. Next would be a pardon for the Seven Hulk brother but that is down on the priority list since they don't seem willing to get out of Manhattan anytime soon and by the time 2012 rolls around, he will go and meet Jiaying on his own.
Having an un-brainwashed village of enhanced people would go swimmingly, especially if the groundwork he will be trying to lay down with the President works out or not.
For the experiment to get off the ground and actually work, he might have to actually physically present himself and while that tickled his brains in all the wrong ways, the idea of revealing himself to the world, he might just have to do it one day.
Now, they do not know what he looks like so something to disguise his true face would work out best, since he would be able to assume his normal civilian identity if things ever went south.
So, let's see what he had in mind for the agenda.
"Nah, nothing special. I'll figure it out when the time comes. Now, why don't we go the warehouse that I am sure you are dying to see," He said and before Fury could mount any sort of defense against that statement, he was swooped in and enveloped by a wind cushion and then thrown in the direction of the warehouse, screaming profanities at the Invisible Man, all the way.
Man, the reaction of the snipers and the STRIKE team was legendary.
Now, he could have just gently picked him up and dropped him into the warehouse on the outskirts of the city but where was the fun in that?
Fury's screams were heard by him as he deliberately made him take the route in front of his building, the screams sounding like music to his ears.
Man, he loved bullying the so called badass characters of this universe.
He couldn't wait to troll Hawkeye, that man had the signature trollable personality in all of MCU, at least from the movies.
If you guys would like to support my writing or just read ahead of the public release, you can head to my P*treon or Ko-fi, for upto 5 extra chapters.
The Sage of the Mind: Chapter 67 [October 2010]
Manhattan
–Axle Riddle–
It was nice that the Ancient One was offering her support. It was also very anxiety inducing because of her exact words when he left.
"A fully realised godling born from an unrealised god," The words from the Ancient One still reverbed in his mind as he readied himself to meet POTUS.
What did those words mean, he did not exactly know but it was worrying all the same. It meant that Bruce's child would be strong, much stronger than most humans, probably even at birth itself.
Those words did not bode well for the delivery of the baby. If it was just a science problem, he wholeheartedly trusted the combined genius of Tony and Bruce in that regard. Armed with Randall as well as Helen Cbho meant that the Science Side was as good as covered completely.
The problem lies in the mystical side of things. The very existence of Bruce was shrouded in cosmic machinations. His patron was not someone who could be described as anything close to kind or merciful.
No, the guy below will take every chance he gets at hurting Bruce or stealing Baby Banner. The worst thing was that he wouldn't be able to do much if that guy actively tries to stir shit up.
They were very vulnerable and all the Guy Below had to do was nudge a few things here and there, and voila, he had either Baby Hulk, or a very angry Papa Hulk.
He shuddered as he tried to imagine a situation with A World War Hulk level Bruce rampaging around, without anyone around to stop him.
As powerful as he was, he knew that he was nowhere close enough to Bruce's strength levels, someone who could, theoretically, build enough power to sink even the Eastern or Western coast as well.
No, that was an absolute nightmare scenario. They didn't have access to Thor, at all, and, without someone on the same level as Thor holding down Hulk, the chances of defeating Hulk were almost nil.
"Alright, no use worrying about it now. I'll just have to trust the Ancient One and her mystical experience with all things eldritch," He muttered to himself as he kept a close eye on the convoy that POTUS was using at his rally.
He could see FUry already waiting in the SHIELD safehouse with an entire STRIKE team outside, for his protection. He didn't know why they did all those convoluted preparations when they knew that nothing would happen to either of them in Manhattan.
If something unfortunately does happen, he would be unanimously hated by the entire country for it. He doubted even he could make it if the US Military, along with its advanced spy complex began searching for him. The sheer manpower they could deploy for him was no joke and it was not as if he could flee the city, not with the limitations imposed on him.
Well, no time like the present, he psyched himself up and then….snuggled into the covers, with the AC on Full blast.
What was he gonna do? Put on a tuxedo and then sit in his living room, while using his powers to communicate with the POTUS? Now, that would just be the height of stupidity.
So, with a warm cup of tea that just floated out of the kitchen and straight into his hand, he began prepping the avatar that he would use for this meeting.
A vortex formed on top of the building where Fury was staying, drawing in small pieces of paper that were shredded out of a newspaper that was lying around, and then culminated in a small burner phone that was prepared with the text to speech software already installed by a nearby vendor.
He had a deal with the vendor, giving him 200% of the cost of the burner phone in exchange for setting everything up. The money was leftover gang money anyway so no sweat off his back because he broke off every burner phone after it was used only once.
He mostly used the burner phone only when he interacted with Fury, so it did not happen often but when it did, having a stash of prepared burner phones that could be swiped off at his convenience was incredibly nice.
The paper avatar began slowly floating down the side of the building. The avatar then turned a bit and then waved at the 6 snipers perched on top of different buildings. He could see the sweat running off their foreheads as the action seemed to scare them a bit.
Hmmm, he wondered why.
Slowly, he came to the window of the safe house. The very much bulletproof window that was a chore and a half just to open so it always remained closed by the Random Beautiful Agent, since she did not like to exert any effort that was not explicitly required as part of her job.
The same window's lock mechanisms were opened from the inside as the paper avatar slipped in the small gap he had created, the window being locked behind him.
"Top of the morning to you laddies," he shouted out cheerfully using his air manipulation voice, creating a horrible deep tone.
"Jesus Christ," Fury exclaimed as he re-hostered the gun into his Trench Coat, a look that not anyone could quite pull off. As usual, the Random beautiful Agent lay unconscious near Fury, presumably because she was startled by his voice.
"You sure everything is fine with her? No anxiety issues? Anything that could explain her fainting fit?" He asked Fury who continued to glare at the paper avatar a moment longer before finally turning to the unconscious agent sprawled on the ground.
He slowly lifted her and deposited her on the utility bed with pink sheets and pink pillows, likely decoration from the Random Beautiful Agent who had begun living in the safehouse for a very long time now.
It was a very cushy job since she was in a safe environment and now she also had the Internet, or at least whatever SHIELD has allowed her to access, the sanitised version of the Internet, if you will.
"Yeah, she'll be fine. POTUS will be meeting you in a couple of hours, and I want to know just what you are going to talk to him about. I want some heads up regarding any harebrained scheme that you might have cooked up," Fury asked him.
He thought about the problems he wanted to address with POTUS.
There were many he wanted to address but the prime of which was Bruce's situation. He was not yet declared a fugitive, officially, but he knew that the moment Bruce stepped out of his protection, they would spare no expense in getting him captured.
Now, a Bruce who was down on life, depressed, and unwilling to harm anyone whilst actively suicidal? The Army might have a chance at taking the Hulk down then.
But if Bruce was actually angry and had a family, something to return to, something worth fighting for, well, then let's just say that even the strongest of weapons that Stark could whip up, would not be able to contend with the Hulk's sheer raw strength.
In fact, he knew from his comic lore that even Nukes would not be able to completely wipe off the Hulk from the face of the planet. He would survive even that with ease, and more.
So, getting an official pardon, or a "BACK OFF" notice for Hulk, straight from the White House would be good. Next would be a pardon for the Seven Hulk brother but that is down on the priority list since they don't seem willing to get out of Manhattan anytime soon and by the time 2012 rolls around, he will go and meet Jiaying on his own.
Having an un-brainwashed village of enhanced people would go swimmingly, especially if the groundwork he will be trying to lay down with the President works out or not.
For the experiment to get off the ground and actually work, he might have to actually physically present himself and while that tickled his brains in all the wrong ways, the idea of revealing himself to the world, he might just have to do it one day.
Now, they do not know what he looks like so something to disguise his true face would work out best, since he would be able to assume his normal civilian identity if things ever went south.
So, let's see what he had in mind for the agenda.
- Getting Bruce an official Pardon.
- Getting the Seven Brothers' official status in the country
- Setting up the groundwork to have the participation of enhanced people in the workforce.
- Plant seeds for eventual legislation that would protect the rights of, and recognise enhanced people as the same as normal vanilla humans.
"Nah, nothing special. I'll figure it out when the time comes. Now, why don't we go the warehouse that I am sure you are dying to see," He said and before Fury could mount any sort of defense against that statement, he was swooped in and enveloped by a wind cushion and then thrown in the direction of the warehouse, screaming profanities at the Invisible Man, all the way.
Man, the reaction of the snipers and the STRIKE team was legendary.
Now, he could have just gently picked him up and dropped him into the warehouse on the outskirts of the city but where was the fun in that?
Fury's screams were heard by him as he deliberately made him take the route in front of his building, the screams sounding like music to his ears.
Man, he loved bullying the so called badass characters of this universe.
He couldn't wait to troll Hawkeye, that man had the signature trollable personality in all of MCU, at least from the movies.
If you guys would like to support my writing or just read ahead of the public release, you can head to my P*treon or Ko-fi, for upto 5 extra chapters.
Shaedy Hoe
Thicc Shaedy
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- Messages
- 2,126
- Likes received
- 16,399
Chapter 68 : Excuse Me?!
IdleMuse0307
Not too sore, are you?
- Joined
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- 11,037
Disclaimer - The rights of the respective characters are with their respective owners. I don't mean to violate their intellectual property rights and thus, only my original characters are my IP.
The Sage of the Mind: Chapter 68 [October 2010]
Manhattan
–Axle Riddle–
Now, that was enough, he decided as he gently took hold of the SHIELD Director, and placed him down on the sidewalk in front of the warehouse, drawing surprised looks from the people in the adjacent warehouses. He did so because….
"Blarghhh"
Yeah, that. Fury emptied the contents of his stomach. Guess even his hardened body was not prepared for the joyride through the city he was just subjected to. Well, what can you do?
"Now, Director Fury, if you are done, shall we?" The paper avatar gestured at Fury and then began walking deliberately towards the warehouse. He paused but the paper avatar didn't when Fury whirled around, removed his gun, and shot the paper avatar in the back of its head.
The shots were silent too, it would seem that SHIELD had guns that didn't require external silencers to mask the gunshot. Obviously, Fury knew that this was not going to do anything but the man probably just wanted to express his frustration at the helpness of the whole situation. For a man who has been in control of a world spanning organisation like SHIELD, feeling so out of depth must be an entirely new feeling.
Yeah, he could not sympathize with that, at all.
"Now, now, Fury. I know you are angry but that is no way to kill someone. You have to actually hit their bodies for the bullets to do their job," The paper avatar creepily turned its neck around, with the body still facing the warehouse, and then spit out the two bullets that Fury had fired at the paper avatar.
Obviously, he was not going to let it go anywhere near the warehouse, Fury probably already knew that.
"Now, shall we?" The paper avatar gestured and he made sure to give FUry a little nudge from behind to make him behave.
"Now, I know you want to meet Banner and give him the "I am Fury, Director of SHIELD" talk along with whatever pitch you might have for him to come to work for you as a consultant but I am only going to tell you this once, save it! Banner is already stressed enough as is. I am going to talk to POTUS about his situation as well. I believe his warrant is still issued somewhere, only not in use because of their inability to enforce it," The paper avatar said as the doors to the warehouse opened up, revealing a warehouse full of technology and people that most governments could only dream of bringing together for a common cause.
"Fine…wait! You are going to ask the President to pardon Banner? You have to run things like that through me first," Fury rolled his eyes at the paper avatar, his expressions a lot more visual than what he thought would be. Then the sense of shock on his face was incredible as they walked into the warehouse, the center of innovation dedicated to one thing and one thing only.
The safe birth of Bruce Banner's child, along with the continued survival of the mother, Betty Ross.
'I think Bruce should tie the knot now. At Least get engaged or something. It was not nice, living in sin like this. What would Stan Lee say?'
There was a sense of urgency in the movements of every single person in the warehouse, even in Tony's when he was working from here. Rest of the time, he worked from either the Stark Facility upstate or from his Residence in LA. The only times he came here was if he needed to deliver some critical component or to make some custom component that only they required.
So far, things have gone pretty well. Stark was able to source the Vibranium from questionable sources, according to his words. He was not able to get the entirety of the amount requested but whatever amount he got, plus the Vibranium he already had in his stash was more than enough for the operation to be successful.
Now the most peculiar thing happened the other day when he noticed a Wakanda Raptor entering the edge of his range before flying away, depositing a single drone that was only about the size of a sparrow which then promptly began flying straight to the warehouse where Bruce and the others were working.
He didn't intercept the drone because, well, mainly he was curious as to what Wakanda was trying to do. He knew there weren't any explosives in the device so he didn't exactly stop it but he took all the necessary precautions at the warehouse, which was already fortified to hell and back by both SHIELD and Tony Stark's personal recommended private contractors.
The small drone slowly landed on the rooftop of the warehouse or rather, it tried to but he stopped it from completely landing. The drone seemed to be confused about its situation for a moment there but then abruptly, the drone's entire body unfurled to reveal a small USB.
That moment was a relief for him which meant that Wakanda had agreed to hand over the information required to build the Vibranium fibres, without much fuss on their end. Oh, he completely expected them to come at him later on with some inane demands but for now, this was more than enough for him.
That was how Tony got the necessary push to make the final design changes and today was going to be the day, once his meeting with POTUS was over that is, the Vibranium fibres were going to be created. The USB also had data on how to effectively recycle Vibranium with no loss in its properties, creating an infinitely recyclable loop in their hands. So, if the first try wasn't successful, they could just melt it down, or dismantle it down using the specific frequencies that Wakanda had graciously provided them, and then begin anew.
What wasn't going to be possible to restart was the process of inserting them into Betty's body once it had started. So, they were going to be running countless simulations before even thinking of doing anything to Betty.
The scenery that greeted them was of what would happen when a bunch of scientists, all extremely proud of their work, were put together in a project with hastily drawn up, unnegotiable, deadlines.
"And I am telling you that Betty will not be subjected to something so painful. Not if I have any say in it," Bruce could be heard arguing passionately with both of the female scientists on the other hand.
"Excuse me? Did you just assume what could or couldn't be done to Betty without her express consent?" The wildly offended voice of Simmons could be heard as she berated
"Besides, this will only be mildly painful compared to the delivery where she will have to pop out your child, Dr.Banner. Ever thought of that before coming here to argue with us on Pain factors?"
Ooh. That particular burn from Dr.Cho was quite a firecracker. He didn't think Bruce had anything in his arsenal that he could retaliate with. His guess was confirmed when Bruce's shoulders sagged.
As Bruce was probably about to announce his defeat to the female scientists/doctor cabal, he interrupted their lovely moment of SCIENCE!
"Dr.Banner, Dr.Cho, Dr/Simmons, I trust work has been going well?" He addressed the three lead scientists, sans Tony, discussing animatedly in front of a hologram showing the human body.
All three of them turned around. Bruce stiffened at the sight of Nick Fury, already aware of the legendary Director's reputation and the extent of his powers.
"Director Fury,"
"Doctors, I am here to get the progress report about the entire operation. I have been told that not only has Stark procured the required Vibtranum but also devised a method to use it according to your requirements and then recycle it infinitely as well?" Fury asked the doctors.
He rolled his eyes back into his apartment. This was a power play of sorts, loud and clear. Fury was telling him that he had eyes in the operation.
Oh. Wasn't that a shocker? Scientists and analysts provided exclusively by SHIELD, who wore SHIELD uniforms on the daily, reported every single thing that happened in the warehouse to their superiors.
Oh, what a catastrophic information leak this was!
"Yes, Dr.Stark was certainly instrumental in making sure the project was finished before time. With his genius, we will be able to start the VIbranium fiber production today itself, once Mr.Invisible Man is free to monitor the process of course," Helen Cho piped up.
"Yes, Dr.Stark's methods are truly revolutionary. We have already tested them and the results are as expected. VIbranium can be recycled, infinitely, at least that is what we have observed. Dr.Stark has also made it clear that the methods will be patented by Stark Industries so any attempt by SHIELD to use his technology will result in a lawsuit," Simmons reported to Fury.
"Yes, Repeatedly," Helen CHo said, exasperated.
This was Tony's payment in return for keeping hush about the source of the methods. Now, it was nothing for him and once Wakanda opened up its birders, if could contest that method in court but Tony had assured him that it would not be used for any commercial activity, only for his suit once the Vibranium was done being used by Betty and was ready to be recycled to be incorporated into his suits.
He had been holding on to a fortune's worth of Vibranium but was always hesitant to use such a precious metal, in fear of destroying it since it was common consensus that Vibranium, once set, could not be used again.
Probably didn't want to end up making a frisbee out of the most versatile metal on the planet, like his father did.
Maybe, Ultron was right in that regard.
But Howard Stark did end up making one hell of a legendary frisbee.
He was sure that the mere mention of recycling Captain America's shield would have the entire branches of the US Military in arms.
Huh, wonder what that would be like?
If you guys would like to support my writing or just read ahead of the public release, you can head to my P*treon or Ko-fi, for upto 5 extra chapters.
The Sage of the Mind: Chapter 68 [October 2010]
Manhattan
–Axle Riddle–
Now, that was enough, he decided as he gently took hold of the SHIELD Director, and placed him down on the sidewalk in front of the warehouse, drawing surprised looks from the people in the adjacent warehouses. He did so because….
"Blarghhh"
Yeah, that. Fury emptied the contents of his stomach. Guess even his hardened body was not prepared for the joyride through the city he was just subjected to. Well, what can you do?
"Now, Director Fury, if you are done, shall we?" The paper avatar gestured at Fury and then began walking deliberately towards the warehouse. He paused but the paper avatar didn't when Fury whirled around, removed his gun, and shot the paper avatar in the back of its head.
The shots were silent too, it would seem that SHIELD had guns that didn't require external silencers to mask the gunshot. Obviously, Fury knew that this was not going to do anything but the man probably just wanted to express his frustration at the helpness of the whole situation. For a man who has been in control of a world spanning organisation like SHIELD, feeling so out of depth must be an entirely new feeling.
Yeah, he could not sympathize with that, at all.
"Now, now, Fury. I know you are angry but that is no way to kill someone. You have to actually hit their bodies for the bullets to do their job," The paper avatar creepily turned its neck around, with the body still facing the warehouse, and then spit out the two bullets that Fury had fired at the paper avatar.
Obviously, he was not going to let it go anywhere near the warehouse, Fury probably already knew that.
"Now, shall we?" The paper avatar gestured and he made sure to give FUry a little nudge from behind to make him behave.
"Now, I know you want to meet Banner and give him the "I am Fury, Director of SHIELD" talk along with whatever pitch you might have for him to come to work for you as a consultant but I am only going to tell you this once, save it! Banner is already stressed enough as is. I am going to talk to POTUS about his situation as well. I believe his warrant is still issued somewhere, only not in use because of their inability to enforce it," The paper avatar said as the doors to the warehouse opened up, revealing a warehouse full of technology and people that most governments could only dream of bringing together for a common cause.
"Fine…wait! You are going to ask the President to pardon Banner? You have to run things like that through me first," Fury rolled his eyes at the paper avatar, his expressions a lot more visual than what he thought would be. Then the sense of shock on his face was incredible as they walked into the warehouse, the center of innovation dedicated to one thing and one thing only.
The safe birth of Bruce Banner's child, along with the continued survival of the mother, Betty Ross.
'I think Bruce should tie the knot now. At Least get engaged or something. It was not nice, living in sin like this. What would Stan Lee say?'
There was a sense of urgency in the movements of every single person in the warehouse, even in Tony's when he was working from here. Rest of the time, he worked from either the Stark Facility upstate or from his Residence in LA. The only times he came here was if he needed to deliver some critical component or to make some custom component that only they required.
So far, things have gone pretty well. Stark was able to source the Vibranium from questionable sources, according to his words. He was not able to get the entirety of the amount requested but whatever amount he got, plus the Vibranium he already had in his stash was more than enough for the operation to be successful.
Now the most peculiar thing happened the other day when he noticed a Wakanda Raptor entering the edge of his range before flying away, depositing a single drone that was only about the size of a sparrow which then promptly began flying straight to the warehouse where Bruce and the others were working.
He didn't intercept the drone because, well, mainly he was curious as to what Wakanda was trying to do. He knew there weren't any explosives in the device so he didn't exactly stop it but he took all the necessary precautions at the warehouse, which was already fortified to hell and back by both SHIELD and Tony Stark's personal recommended private contractors.
The small drone slowly landed on the rooftop of the warehouse or rather, it tried to but he stopped it from completely landing. The drone seemed to be confused about its situation for a moment there but then abruptly, the drone's entire body unfurled to reveal a small USB.
That moment was a relief for him which meant that Wakanda had agreed to hand over the information required to build the Vibranium fibres, without much fuss on their end. Oh, he completely expected them to come at him later on with some inane demands but for now, this was more than enough for him.
That was how Tony got the necessary push to make the final design changes and today was going to be the day, once his meeting with POTUS was over that is, the Vibranium fibres were going to be created. The USB also had data on how to effectively recycle Vibranium with no loss in its properties, creating an infinitely recyclable loop in their hands. So, if the first try wasn't successful, they could just melt it down, or dismantle it down using the specific frequencies that Wakanda had graciously provided them, and then begin anew.
What wasn't going to be possible to restart was the process of inserting them into Betty's body once it had started. So, they were going to be running countless simulations before even thinking of doing anything to Betty.
The scenery that greeted them was of what would happen when a bunch of scientists, all extremely proud of their work, were put together in a project with hastily drawn up, unnegotiable, deadlines.
"And I am telling you that Betty will not be subjected to something so painful. Not if I have any say in it," Bruce could be heard arguing passionately with both of the female scientists on the other hand.
"Excuse me? Did you just assume what could or couldn't be done to Betty without her express consent?" The wildly offended voice of Simmons could be heard as she berated
"Besides, this will only be mildly painful compared to the delivery where she will have to pop out your child, Dr.Banner. Ever thought of that before coming here to argue with us on Pain factors?"
Ooh. That particular burn from Dr.Cho was quite a firecracker. He didn't think Bruce had anything in his arsenal that he could retaliate with. His guess was confirmed when Bruce's shoulders sagged.
As Bruce was probably about to announce his defeat to the female scientists/doctor cabal, he interrupted their lovely moment of SCIENCE!
"Dr.Banner, Dr.Cho, Dr/Simmons, I trust work has been going well?" He addressed the three lead scientists, sans Tony, discussing animatedly in front of a hologram showing the human body.
All three of them turned around. Bruce stiffened at the sight of Nick Fury, already aware of the legendary Director's reputation and the extent of his powers.
"Director Fury,"
"Doctors, I am here to get the progress report about the entire operation. I have been told that not only has Stark procured the required Vibtranum but also devised a method to use it according to your requirements and then recycle it infinitely as well?" Fury asked the doctors.
He rolled his eyes back into his apartment. This was a power play of sorts, loud and clear. Fury was telling him that he had eyes in the operation.
Oh. Wasn't that a shocker? Scientists and analysts provided exclusively by SHIELD, who wore SHIELD uniforms on the daily, reported every single thing that happened in the warehouse to their superiors.
Oh, what a catastrophic information leak this was!
"Yes, Dr.Stark was certainly instrumental in making sure the project was finished before time. With his genius, we will be able to start the VIbranium fiber production today itself, once Mr.Invisible Man is free to monitor the process of course," Helen Cho piped up.
"Yes, Dr.Stark's methods are truly revolutionary. We have already tested them and the results are as expected. VIbranium can be recycled, infinitely, at least that is what we have observed. Dr.Stark has also made it clear that the methods will be patented by Stark Industries so any attempt by SHIELD to use his technology will result in a lawsuit," Simmons reported to Fury.
"Yes, Repeatedly," Helen CHo said, exasperated.
This was Tony's payment in return for keeping hush about the source of the methods. Now, it was nothing for him and once Wakanda opened up its birders, if could contest that method in court but Tony had assured him that it would not be used for any commercial activity, only for his suit once the Vibranium was done being used by Betty and was ready to be recycled to be incorporated into his suits.
He had been holding on to a fortune's worth of Vibranium but was always hesitant to use such a precious metal, in fear of destroying it since it was common consensus that Vibranium, once set, could not be used again.
Probably didn't want to end up making a frisbee out of the most versatile metal on the planet, like his father did.
Maybe, Ultron was right in that regard.
But Howard Stark did end up making one hell of a legendary frisbee.
He was sure that the mere mention of recycling Captain America's shield would have the entire branches of the US Military in arms.
Huh, wonder what that would be like?
If you guys would like to support my writing or just read ahead of the public release, you can head to my P*treon or Ko-fi, for upto 5 extra chapters.
Chapter 69 : The one with the.....Nerd?
IdleMuse0307
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Disclaimer - The rights of the respective characters are with their respective owners. I don't mean to violate their intellectual property rights and thus, only my original characters are my IP.
The Sage of the Mind: Chapter 69 [October 2010]
Manhattan
–Axle Riddle–
"Now that this is done, Fury. I will be going to meet the President. He has already finished his rally and the scheduled time is near so I will just go and wait in the lobby. I hope you have already informed them about my paper avatar, otherwise, there might just be a big scene because of you!" The paper avatar said and essentially exploded as the chunks of paper, along with a small burner phone traversed through the door that opened and closed on its own.
The "WAIT!" of Fury registered to his senses but quietly ignored as well.
The paper avatar reformed on top of Waldorf Astoria, the President, and his team keeping a constant vigil on the surroundings of the hotel as well as its internals.
That was how they probably found him. As he stopped three different sniper bullets from hitting him, he realised that Fury did not inform them about his paper avatar. That, or they were startled at the moment and just shot the first suspicious thing that appeared mid air. It was totally understandable since they were probably already nervous, being in proximity to a being capable of powdering buildings instead of people.
The paper avatar raised its hands up in the stereotypical harmless pose, and then slowly lowered itself right up until it landed right in front of the lobby, all the while the Secret Service continued to pour out of the hotel in droves.
He could see that POTUS was about to be escorted outside and was wondering if the prank had gone too far when he saw the President take a call and after doing a literal double take, ordered the Secret Service to stand down and escort the "Paper Man" Inside.
Seriously, Fury? Paper Man? That was such a lame name.
Soon after, the Secret Service lowered their weapons as they gently escorted him inside the hotel. He was taken to the penthouse suite after going through no less than six security checks wherein they ran him through a metal detector, which obviously pinged because of the burner phone.
They also tried to frisk him which was just ridiculous in his opinion. After going through all of that, where they no doubt tried to gather all the data they could, he finally came face to the face with the President's Secretary, an uppity looking woman who just turned her nose up at him as she just gestured at him to follow, not deigning to utter a single word.
Rude.
Did she not know he could just dismantle her body from the inside? Or just nudge a few things here and there, leading to total organ collapse a few months later with none being the wiser?
Oh, he was the Hero here. He was not supposed to think of such things.
He cleared his thoughts as POTUS finally came into view.
"Mr.President,"
"Invisible Man? I am sorry, that name is atrocious. Is there anything else I can call you?" The President said as he sipped on what seemed to be a glass of whiskey. Damn, he could really hold his liquor then. He thought it was some sort of non alcoholic beverage since he didn't think the President would want his mental faculties impaired on such an occasion.
But apparently, he was wrong.
"Actually, you can just call me IM then. Shortened. I am sorry but I can't really tell you my real name, if that's what you were hoping for," The paper avatar said since the burner phone was unable to get any signal for the text to speech software to work properly. It had an offline only mode but that was so bad, it might as well not have existed.
"Very well, IM. Let's talk. I believe this is the first time I have ever interacted with someone…."
"Enhanced?" He prompted the President, having the paper avatar sit leaned back into the no doubt comfortable chair provided to him.
"...Um, let's go with…. different," The President said after a moment of introspection. This was good. Good thing there was no mutant hating nonsense here. That word itself invoked negative emotions since mutations were seen as an inherently bad thing, mainly because of the widespread proliferation of mutations being one of the side effects of nuclear radiation.
God, he wished he had empathy at long range just like he did with his TK. Oh yeah, the book that the Ancient One gave him about Spiritual contracts for Dummies, also somehow unlocked some of his powers that he definitely should not have, according to his contract with the ROB.
He can now sense people's emotions, but only within like three feet of him. So, peak time Subway rush, a great time to practice his power, a bad time to be hungover for sure. God, the sheer amount of hate, and horniness he felt in that subway train was nauseating.
"Alright," The paper avatar nodded. "You arranged this meeting, Mr.President. Please tell me what you would like to know," He said straightforwardly because he did not want to think too hard about these conversations later on. It was always better to have an honest straightforward conversation.
The posture changed, and so did his face, as it slowly began setting into stone, no sign of any emotion leaking from his face or his body. Wow, that change was impressive, especially with liquor in his system.
"So, IM, I would like to ask you, who, or what are you, really?"
Well, that question was not totally generic, "Well, for starters, I am human. Not a regular human, by any stretch but a human nonetheless. I have extraordinary powers but I did not get them from an experiment,"
"So you got them naturally?"
"Yes, you could say that."
"Alright, I will take what I can get. Next question, why New York?"
This was beginning to sound like an interrogation of some sort but it was fine as long as he didn't feel bored.
"Well, when I woke up, I was in this place. So, I guess you could call this place my home. But don't worry, I will be moving soon, in a couple of years," He dropped the bomb on POTUS' lap, taking delight in the way that his heartbeat quickened and his left finger twitched.
It had probably been a general consensus to leave the Invisible Man, the monster alone, because he was just operating from a single city, no matter how rich or prosperous it might be. Now that they were going to be aware that he was going to move or rather, he could move, it was probably going to light a fire under their asses.
"...I see. Well, I will be happy to see another city become a safe beacon just like Manhattan has become for…people." POTUS said after a beat passed.
"The Billionaires, IM. The people residing under your umbrella are some of the richest and consequently, most powerful men on the planet. Having influence on so many people at once makes you stronger than most countries. I can say that many people at the White House have been getting antsy seeing the amount of influence you, or rather, your name is collecting as time passes by,"
Oh. Well, it was true. But it was not as if he used his influence to do anything bad. Even he punished the rich or poor the same when it came to crimes being committed.
As if reading his thoughts from miles away, POTUS continued, "I know you haven't used your influence to do anything bad but the fact remains, as of right now, if what you say about your movement is true, you are probably the most powerful person in all of America,"
Wow. That was kind of a disastrous move to make, especially when engaging who is, by all rights, a rival of sorts, not in terms of politics but in terms of power.
"Also, the cult, the congregations. While you have done an admirable job in suppressing them and giving them healthier outlets, some people in the government are still worried about the cult spreading,"
"That is one of my concerns as well. I have tried my best but the people believe I am some sort of God or something, hoping that I would be able to solve their problems, but I am not. I have told them numerous times but they refuse to listen so I just tasked them with maintaining the kitchens and organising exercise, yoga-sports, camps that anyone can participate in."
"Yes, I am aware of those initiatives. As I said, you have done a great job in diverting their motivations. Now, I would like to know, what are your future plans?"
"Future plans?"
"Yes. Your Future Plans. What are you going to do later? Which city will you move to? What will happen to the power vacuum you will undoubtedly leave behind? Each and every one of your moves will be monitored by thousands of people. A single step in the wrong direction can have catastrophic consequences, simply because of the sheer power you have in your hands. You have to think carefully about everything and inform us because in case you forgot, it is our job to take care of our citizens."
Wow, that was kind of an unexpected outburst.
"Admittedly, we will not be able to do the job as good as you but realistically, no one can. What is it like anyway? To be able to feel an entire city's worth all at once. Stopping crime in some other place whilst simultaneously having a conversation with me?"
Wow, this was inching dangerously close to Nerd Alert and he did not know what to do here.
One thing was for certain though, this conversation was heading in uncharted territory.
He blamed the Alcohol.
If you guys would like to support my writing or just read ahead of the public release, you can head to my P*treon or Ko-fi, for upto 5 extra chapters.
The Sage of the Mind: Chapter 69 [October 2010]
Manhattan
–Axle Riddle–
"Now that this is done, Fury. I will be going to meet the President. He has already finished his rally and the scheduled time is near so I will just go and wait in the lobby. I hope you have already informed them about my paper avatar, otherwise, there might just be a big scene because of you!" The paper avatar said and essentially exploded as the chunks of paper, along with a small burner phone traversed through the door that opened and closed on its own.
The "WAIT!" of Fury registered to his senses but quietly ignored as well.
The paper avatar reformed on top of Waldorf Astoria, the President, and his team keeping a constant vigil on the surroundings of the hotel as well as its internals.
That was how they probably found him. As he stopped three different sniper bullets from hitting him, he realised that Fury did not inform them about his paper avatar. That, or they were startled at the moment and just shot the first suspicious thing that appeared mid air. It was totally understandable since they were probably already nervous, being in proximity to a being capable of powdering buildings instead of people.
The paper avatar raised its hands up in the stereotypical harmless pose, and then slowly lowered itself right up until it landed right in front of the lobby, all the while the Secret Service continued to pour out of the hotel in droves.
He could see that POTUS was about to be escorted outside and was wondering if the prank had gone too far when he saw the President take a call and after doing a literal double take, ordered the Secret Service to stand down and escort the "Paper Man" Inside.
Seriously, Fury? Paper Man? That was such a lame name.
Soon after, the Secret Service lowered their weapons as they gently escorted him inside the hotel. He was taken to the penthouse suite after going through no less than six security checks wherein they ran him through a metal detector, which obviously pinged because of the burner phone.
They also tried to frisk him which was just ridiculous in his opinion. After going through all of that, where they no doubt tried to gather all the data they could, he finally came face to the face with the President's Secretary, an uppity looking woman who just turned her nose up at him as she just gestured at him to follow, not deigning to utter a single word.
Rude.
Did she not know he could just dismantle her body from the inside? Or just nudge a few things here and there, leading to total organ collapse a few months later with none being the wiser?
Oh, he was the Hero here. He was not supposed to think of such things.
He cleared his thoughts as POTUS finally came into view.
"Mr.President,"
"Invisible Man? I am sorry, that name is atrocious. Is there anything else I can call you?" The President said as he sipped on what seemed to be a glass of whiskey. Damn, he could really hold his liquor then. He thought it was some sort of non alcoholic beverage since he didn't think the President would want his mental faculties impaired on such an occasion.
But apparently, he was wrong.
"Actually, you can just call me IM then. Shortened. I am sorry but I can't really tell you my real name, if that's what you were hoping for," The paper avatar said since the burner phone was unable to get any signal for the text to speech software to work properly. It had an offline only mode but that was so bad, it might as well not have existed.
"Very well, IM. Let's talk. I believe this is the first time I have ever interacted with someone…."
"Enhanced?" He prompted the President, having the paper avatar sit leaned back into the no doubt comfortable chair provided to him.
"...Um, let's go with…. different," The President said after a moment of introspection. This was good. Good thing there was no mutant hating nonsense here. That word itself invoked negative emotions since mutations were seen as an inherently bad thing, mainly because of the widespread proliferation of mutations being one of the side effects of nuclear radiation.
God, he wished he had empathy at long range just like he did with his TK. Oh yeah, the book that the Ancient One gave him about Spiritual contracts for Dummies, also somehow unlocked some of his powers that he definitely should not have, according to his contract with the ROB.
He can now sense people's emotions, but only within like three feet of him. So, peak time Subway rush, a great time to practice his power, a bad time to be hungover for sure. God, the sheer amount of hate, and horniness he felt in that subway train was nauseating.
"Alright," The paper avatar nodded. "You arranged this meeting, Mr.President. Please tell me what you would like to know," He said straightforwardly because he did not want to think too hard about these conversations later on. It was always better to have an honest straightforward conversation.
The posture changed, and so did his face, as it slowly began setting into stone, no sign of any emotion leaking from his face or his body. Wow, that change was impressive, especially with liquor in his system.
"So, IM, I would like to ask you, who, or what are you, really?"
Well, that question was not totally generic, "Well, for starters, I am human. Not a regular human, by any stretch but a human nonetheless. I have extraordinary powers but I did not get them from an experiment,"
"So you got them naturally?"
"Yes, you could say that."
"Alright, I will take what I can get. Next question, why New York?"
This was beginning to sound like an interrogation of some sort but it was fine as long as he didn't feel bored.
"Well, when I woke up, I was in this place. So, I guess you could call this place my home. But don't worry, I will be moving soon, in a couple of years," He dropped the bomb on POTUS' lap, taking delight in the way that his heartbeat quickened and his left finger twitched.
It had probably been a general consensus to leave the Invisible Man, the monster alone, because he was just operating from a single city, no matter how rich or prosperous it might be. Now that they were going to be aware that he was going to move or rather, he could move, it was probably going to light a fire under their asses.
"...I see. Well, I will be happy to see another city become a safe beacon just like Manhattan has become for…people." POTUS said after a beat passed.
"The Billionaires, IM. The people residing under your umbrella are some of the richest and consequently, most powerful men on the planet. Having influence on so many people at once makes you stronger than most countries. I can say that many people at the White House have been getting antsy seeing the amount of influence you, or rather, your name is collecting as time passes by,"
Oh. Well, it was true. But it was not as if he used his influence to do anything bad. Even he punished the rich or poor the same when it came to crimes being committed.
As if reading his thoughts from miles away, POTUS continued, "I know you haven't used your influence to do anything bad but the fact remains, as of right now, if what you say about your movement is true, you are probably the most powerful person in all of America,"
Wow. That was kind of a disastrous move to make, especially when engaging who is, by all rights, a rival of sorts, not in terms of politics but in terms of power.
"Also, the cult, the congregations. While you have done an admirable job in suppressing them and giving them healthier outlets, some people in the government are still worried about the cult spreading,"
"That is one of my concerns as well. I have tried my best but the people believe I am some sort of God or something, hoping that I would be able to solve their problems, but I am not. I have told them numerous times but they refuse to listen so I just tasked them with maintaining the kitchens and organising exercise, yoga-sports, camps that anyone can participate in."
"Yes, I am aware of those initiatives. As I said, you have done a great job in diverting their motivations. Now, I would like to know, what are your future plans?"
"Future plans?"
"Yes. Your Future Plans. What are you going to do later? Which city will you move to? What will happen to the power vacuum you will undoubtedly leave behind? Each and every one of your moves will be monitored by thousands of people. A single step in the wrong direction can have catastrophic consequences, simply because of the sheer power you have in your hands. You have to think carefully about everything and inform us because in case you forgot, it is our job to take care of our citizens."
Wow, that was kind of an unexpected outburst.
"Admittedly, we will not be able to do the job as good as you but realistically, no one can. What is it like anyway? To be able to feel an entire city's worth all at once. Stopping crime in some other place whilst simultaneously having a conversation with me?"
Wow, this was inching dangerously close to Nerd Alert and he did not know what to do here.
One thing was for certain though, this conversation was heading in uncharted territory.
He blamed the Alcohol.
If you guys would like to support my writing or just read ahead of the public release, you can head to my P*treon or Ko-fi, for upto 5 extra chapters.