Marvel’s Omnitrix

Chapter 25: Aftermath and Agendas

—

My legs felt like jelly as we trudged back through the forest, the Omnitrix's red interface mocking me with its recharge cycle. 

Behind us, Gwen floated the unconscious Mini-Hulk Hex between the trees, her face scrunched in concentration. The purple glow from her charms cast eerie shadows across her features, highlighting the sheen of sweat on her forehead.

"Little help here?" she grunted, maneuvering Hex's bulky green form around a particularly thick oak. "This magical steroid freak weighs a ton."

"Help? Nah, you're a strong woman, you're doing great," I said, trying not to stare at how her tank top clung to her curves, damp with exertion. The way she bit her lower lip when concentrating was... You're gone crazy, Tennyson. 

"Oh, thanks for the moral support, dweeb. Really helpful." She shot me a glare that could've melted steel. "Maybe if someone hadn't let their watch time out—"

"Hey, I saved the day! Again!" I protested, stepping over a fallen log. "You're welcome, by the way."

"Saved the day? As if you did it on your own."

"Of course, mostly. Plus isn't it your fault? You turned a regular villain into a magical Hulk," I accused her. "It's not my fault you were so late in finding Hex's location. If you were faster, Mr Magical Hulk wouldn't have happened."

"Mini magical Hulk," she corrected. "There's a difference."

"Oh, excuse me. That makes it so much better."

As we emerged into the clearing where the Rust Bucket waited, all conversation inside the RV died. Through the windshield, I could see Grandpa Max's eyes widen, Betty's hand fly to her mouth, and Bruce Banner's face go pale. So he found the RV without any trouble.

"What in the name of..." Grandpa started, rushing out to meet us.

Bruce followed, his movements cautious. His eyes locked onto Hex's transformed state with a mixture of horror and recognition. "Is that... did he become Hulk?"

"Not exactly," I said quickly, helping Gwen lower Hex to the ground. "This is what happens when magic and gamma radiation have a really bad first date. Gwen says he'll return to normal soon, it's not a lasting effect."

Bruce knelt beside Hex, studying the transformation with scientific curiosity battling obvious revulsion. "The cellular structure appears stable, but the… magical energy is creating interference patterns with the gamma signature. Magic. Magic is real. How fascinating."

"Yeah, fascinating," I muttered. If only you knew what's waiting for you in Harlem, Doc. The Abomination's going to make this look like a science fair project.

"What happened out there?" Betty asked, her voice shaky as she gripped Bruce's shoulder.

Gwen and I exchanged glances. How much to tell? How much to leave out?

"Hex tried to steal Dr. Banner's power through some kind of magical ritual," Gwen explained, absently rubbing her temples. "We interrupted it, but not before he'd already partially transformed himself."

"There was another magic user," I added carefully. "A woman. She seemed to be working with Hex, but betrayed him in the end..." I trailed off, remembering those violet eyes and that dangerous smile. No need to complicate things with Charmcaster's ambiguous role.

Bruce stood slowly, his expression grave. He and Betty shared one of those looks, the kind that said entire conversations without words. The weight of their gaze was heavy enough to affect us as well.

"We need to leave," Bruce said quietly. "Now."

"Bruce—" Betty started, but he shook his head.

"Your father won't stop, Betty. Not after what happened at the university. He won't help me. I need to help myself, otherwise this illness will kill me. And now with this..." He gestured at Hex's unconscious form. "They'll think I'm spreading it somehow. Creating more monsters."

My chest tightened. I knew what was coming—the desperate flight, the growing desperation, the inevitable confrontation. Could I warn them? Tell them about Blonsky? About the Abomination?

Yeah, right. I doubted he'd believe me. 'Hey, Doc, just FYI, there's gonna be this other guy who gets injected with Super Soldier Serum and your blood, turns into an even worse monster, and you'll have to fight him in Harlem. Trust me, I'm from another dimension where your life is a movie.' That'll go over well.

"You helped us," Betty said, turning to our group with tears in her eyes. "You saved Bruce from being in more pain. We can't thank you enough."

"But we're leaving you with this mess," Bruce added, guilt evident in his voice. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Grandpa Max said firmly. "I thought you were some villain, Doc, but clearly the media misunderstood your situation. No worries, we've dealt with worse. You two need to focus on staying safe."

Betty wiped her eyes, then seemed to steel herself. "When the military arrives—and they will since I called Father—tell them the Hulk did this. Tell them Bruce fought this creature and won. It'll explain the condition, the destruction, everything."

"But that's not what happened," Gwen protested.

"It's close enough," Betty insisted. "And it keeps you three out of it. Unless you want to explain how you defeated them?" She and Bruce both eyed us.

Bruce hadn't seen me in this human form before, but his eyes fell on the Omnitrix symbol. Even in his deranged state earlier, he must have seen the symbol on XLR8, and now on my watch. Somehow, he'd connected the dots. But he didn't question it out of respect.

Betty sighed. "My father... he won't care about the truth. He just wants results."

I watched Bruce's face as she spoke, seeing the pain there. The man who would become one of Earth's mightiest heroes, reduced to running and hiding. It wasn't fair.

But then again, when has life ever been fair in the Marvel Universe?

"We'll handle it," I assured them. "You two just be careful, okay?"

Bruce managed a weak smile. "Careful. Right. That's worked so well for me so far."

They gathered themselves and prepared to disappear into the wilderness again. Before leaving, Bruce turned back to us one more time.

"Whatever you do," he said, his eyes haunted, "don't let anyone try to replicate what happened here. The world doesn't need more monsters like me."

Too late for that warning, Doc. Blonsky's probably already getting his first dose of knockoff Super Soldier Serum. And in a few days, they'd both be tearing up Harlem like it's made of cardboard.

I wanted to scream, to warn them, to change the timeline. But all I could do was nod and watch as they vanished into the tree line, two souls against the world. The best I could do was be present during the event.

"Well," Gwen said after a long moment, still maintaining her telekinetic hold on Hex, "that was depressing."

"Yeah," I agreed, staring at the spot where they'd disappeared. "Real mood killer."

****

The rumble of military vehicles announced their arrival long before we saw them. Humvees, transport trucks, and what looked suspiciously like a mobile containment unit rolled into the clearing like an invasion force.

And leading the charge, stepping out of the lead vehicle with all the warmth of a glacier, was General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross.

"Max Tennyson," Ross said, his voice carrying the kind of authority that expected immediate obedience. And yet, his tone was respectful. "It's been a long time."

Grandpa Max straightened, and I saw something in his posture change, and the easy-going grandfather was replaced by someone who'd dealt with military types before. "Thaddeus. Wish it were under better circumstances."

Wait, they know each other? Of course they do. In a universe where aliens, mutants, and magic all exist, everyone in the high ranks of secret-keeping business probably crosses paths eventually.

Ross's eyes swept over our group, lingering on me and Gwen before settling on Hex's unconscious form. His expression tightened. "My daughter called me… where is she, and what am I looking at here?"

"The result of a confrontation between your target and this individual," Max said smoothly, slipping into what I recognized as his 'official report' voice. "We arrived during the conflict. Your daughter thought things would escalate to a danger for Dr Bruce Banner, and decided to call you for help. Ultimately, Dr Bruce in his so-called 'Hulk' form defeated this fake one and then fled with your daughter again. I'm sorry, I didn't have the capability of stopping him."

"I see… It's understandable, don't be sorry. Even with all my military tanks, I couldn't stop him myself, and you're just here hanging out with your grandkids, it's natural." Ross sighed. "Did you see how this person managed to transform himself?"

"I'm not sure," Max replied without missing a beat. "But your daughter did provide a brief account after she called you. Said the... 'green behemoth hulk,' as your men call it, fell into some magical trap set by this man here. I'm unsure how much of that is true."

I had to admire Grandpa's poker face. Much of it wasn't technically a lie. Just... creatively edited for clarity.

While Ross and Grandpa did their verbal dance, I caught Gwen's eye on Hex. When I followed it, I nearly flinched.

There was a grimoire in Hex's inner robes, barely visible. I hadn't noticed it before, and it seemed Gwen hadn't either; otherwise, we'd have taken it before the military arrived.

Gwen and my eyes met. She seemed to be asking permission, asking my support, and I knew exactly for what. I made a subtle nod. She swallowed.

As soldiers moved in to secure the unconscious sorcerer, her telekinesis slowly made the smallest adjustment, just enough to let a certain leather-bound book slip free from his robes and slide behind a conveniently placed rock.

Nobody noticed, only she and I, as she successfully stole the grimoire.

The Archamada Book of Spells. It's that I'm sure of it. Looks like Hex returned to the museum to steal it in the end. But sorry, buddy, Gwen's gonna make much better use of this than you ever did.

"Strange energy readings," one of Ross's technicians reported, waving some kind of scanner over Hex. "Gamma radiation mixed with... something else. Something we can't identify."

"Magic," I said helpfully. Everyone turned to stare at me. "What? Look at the guy. Skull face paint, weird robes, probably shouts Latin during fights. Classic wizard stuff. Plus, you heard what Miss Betty said. Magic."

Ross looked like he'd bitten into something sour. "Magic. Of course. As if my job wasn't complicated enough."

The general ordered his men to load Hex into the containment unit, and I noticed how carefully they handled him. Whatever Ross thought about magic, he wasn't taking chances.

"We'll be increasing our presence in this region," Ross informed us as his men worked. "I suggest you take your... vacation... elsewhere. Things are likely to get dangerous."

"Actually," Grandpa said, "we were planning to head back anyway. Maybe swing up through Pennsylvania, avoid the whole mess."

My heart dropped. No, no, no. We needed to be in New York. The Harlem incident was days away, and people would die if I weren't there to help. I needed to be there, I must.

I needed an excuse, any excuse— "Actually, Grandpa," I blurted out, "I kind of... have a date."

Dead silence. Even the soldiers paused in their work.

"A date," Grandpa repeated flatly.

"Not in this forest, don't worry, but in the city. In New York," I added, trying to sound casual. "With Jessica. You remember Jessica, right? Jewel? The superhero who helped us before? We've been texting, and I promised I'd meet up with her in a few days."

Gwen made a disgusted noise. "Ugh, seriously?" she whispered so that only I could hear. "We just dealt with magical Hulks and alien bounty hunters, and you're worried about your love life?"

"Sounds like you're jealous, Gwen," I shot her a look. "It's okay, you'll find yourself a boyfriend someday. Look, it's too late. I already promised her. Heroes don't break promises, right?"

"Oh, now you're worried about being heroic?" Gwen crossed her arms, and I definitely didn't notice how the motion emphasized her... Stop it, brain! "Where was this concern when you were showing off with the hoverboard?"

"That's different!"

"How is that different?"

"Because... because it just is!"

Grandpa Max held up a hand, stopping our bickering. He studied me with those sharp eyes that seemed to see right through people. For a moment, I wondered if he suspected there was more to my request than teenage hormones.

"New York's going to be crawling with military after this," he said slowly. "It's not safe."

"When is it ever safe?" I countered and lowered my voice greatly. "Besides, we've got the Omnitrix, Gwen's got her magic, and you've got your secret alien arsenal. We'll be fine for a couple of days."

"Please, Grandpa?" I tried not to sound too desperate. "Just two days. Three tops. Then we can go wherever you want. Canada. Mexico. The moon. Whatever."

Ross cleared his throat. "If you're done with your family meeting, we'll be departing. Max, good to see you again. Try to keep your grandkids out of trouble."

"I always do," Grandpa replied, though his tone suggested he knew exactly how impossible that task was.

We watched the military convoy disappear down the forest road, taking the unconscious Hex with them. Once they were gone, Gwen immediately retrieved the hidden spellbook, cradling it like a treasure.

"This is incredible," she breathed, flipping through pages covered in arcane symbols. "The magical theory alone is decades ahead of anything I could have done by myself."

"Great, more homework for the nerd," I teased, though I was genuinely happy for her. That book would help her become the powerful sorceress I knew she could be.

"Better than chasing superhero girlfriends across the country," she shot back, but there was less heat in it than usual.

Grandpa Max sighed the sigh of a man who'd long ago accepted his lot in life. "Fine. Three days in New York. But we stay out of trouble, understood?"

"Absolutely," I agreed quickly. Sorry, Grandpa. Trouble's kind of unavoidable when you know the Hulk and Abomination are about to turn Harlem into a wrestling ring.

As we piled back into the Rust Bucket, I caught Gwen watching me with a curious expression.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing," she said, turning back to her new spellbook. "Just wondering what's really going on in that thick head of yours."

If only you knew, cousin. If only you knew.

The engine roared to life, and we headed north toward New York City. Toward Jessica. Toward destiny. Toward a battle that would reshape the Marvel Universe's perception of the Hulk.

I just hoped I'd figure out how to make a difference before it was too late.

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