Chapter 9

The comics always used to have kind of a running gag about how Jennifer Walters was supposedly plain and mousy, and thus having her alter ego stand out even more in comparison, which I always thought was a bit mean. For one thing she never looked particularly plain, which I just chalked up to comic art usually making people either drop dead gorgeous or outright monstrous but even if she had been, it seemed weird to give a superhero a complex about their looks.

Unsurprisingly, Marvel turns out to have been full of crap, as Jennifer Walters turns out to be a very pretty, if somewhat short and thin woman with long, brown hair tied into a bun, dressed in a conservative business suit.

Also unsurprisingly, she's not the least bit impressed with me barging into her office, if the annoyed glare she's giving me is any indication. "I'm sorry, who are you exactly?" Her eyes widen as she recognizes the object in my hand "And WHY DO YOU HAVE AN INFINITY GEM?!"

"Long story short, my name is Ginnungagap, mutant, reality warper, pissed off at Tony Stark, I ambushed him and his super secret club and stole the gems from them. I came to you because I got plans for them and I figured you were pissed at Stark too. What with him stealing your powers and sending your only family into space"

"How do you-" She shakes her head "Never mind, I'm a bit stuck on the part where you apparently just walked off with some of the most powerful items in the universe. And- wait, did you say STARK had the Gems?!"

"Oh, right, I guess that wouldn't be common knowledge. Yeah, basically, Stark, Reed Richards and a few other hero bigshots got together about a year or so back to handle all the big threats before they became an issue. One of the things they tried was gathering the Gems to destroy them, and when that didn't work, they divided them up to "keep them safe". Which essentially meant just sitting on them while they tore the superhero community apart. So, as part of me bringing down their group, I took the Gems to hand them out to people who will actually use them responsibly."

Walters seems to be having trouble processing what I've just told her, so I give her a minute before continuing. "I want you to be one of the new Gem holders, partially because you've already had one of them once, but also because I think you're one of the more capable heroes around, and because I want your lawyering skills to use against Stark and the SRA."

She finally shakes herself out of it "You want me to work AGAINST the SRA? You realize I was a supporter, right?"

"Are you still one?"

She looks away "It seemed reasonable after Stamford..."

"This kind of bullshit always seems reasonable at first, I wouldn't kick myself too hard for falling for it, Stark managed to get Spiderman onboard too, and that guy is the poster boy for Secret Identity Paranoia. Which turns out to be completely justified, since his Aunt is in a coma now. Who woulda thunk it?"

"I feel like such an idiot for getting drawn into this" Jennifer sighs "Alright, let's hear your plan. Maybe with the Gems I can get these damn nanobots out of me."

"Oh no need for that, I can fix that right up for you. Let's call it a sign on bonus!" With a nod, the nanomachines in Jennifers blood disappear without a trace, and there's a sudden ripping noise as her She-Hulk form reestablishes itself with the power suppressants gone and her body almost doubles in mass. Thankfully, her suit remains relatively intact aside from a handful of tears showing green skin underneath, and her sleeves which tore apart from her sudden increase in musculature. Her heels seem to have fared less well, having burst entirerly and leaving her barefoot. Jennifer tugs at the frayed remains of her blouse with a mix of surprise and mild embarassment.

"Hmm. That's less than ideal." I give a small wave, and her outfit stitches itself back together, readjusting itself to fit her larger frame. Apparently this is something the comics actually got right, because I'm not exagerating when I say that She-Hulk is quite possibly the single most gorgeous woman I've seen in my life, even compared to the already unfairly attractive superhumans of this world. It's actually a little difficult to avoid staring.

Jennifer checks her suit, noting that she's decently dressed again "That was...unexpected, but I can't say unwelcome. And thanks for fixing my clothes too, you wouldn't belive the kind of money us Hulks have to spend on new wardrobes. So you can just...turn off nanites like that?"

"Not exactly, I just made it so they disappeared completely instead, so there was nothing preventing you from turning back into She-Hulk. Reality warping is pretty versatile."

She nods, then looks at the Gem in my hand again "So, tell me, what exactly did you have in mind? Both for the Gems and for Stark?"

.....

It takes me some time to explain the details of Stark and the Illuminati, and by the end of it, Jennifer is switching between shock and absolute fury at Stark's hypocrisy and lies. Not surprising considering that he stabbed all his friends in the back under the guise of upolding the law, while in reality he was running a conspiracy group behind the scenes. The comics might have glossed it all over in an attempt to get back to an arbitrary status quo, but I don't think Stark or Richards are going to be as lucky here.

Finally, she calms down enough to sit back at her desk without breaking it in frustration "All this time, ALL THIS TIME, he was telling me how important the SRA was and how it was for the greater good, and it was all a lie. I threw away every principle I had, just because he said it was the right thing to do and it was for nothing." She leans forward, resting her elbows against the desk and hides her face in her hands miserably.

"I doubt he started out that way, but you know what they say about good intentions and where they lead. Something like the SRA always sounds appealing, because any sane person would understandably be afraid of battles between superhumans, and where there's public fear, there's politicians to exploit it. To hear Stark tell it, he and Reed predicted that not having the SRA would mean open war between the government and the superhero community, and once he got in deep enough and realized that this situation really wasn't much better, it was too late to change his mind."

She sits back up, a furious look on her face "And what about Bruce? Why did he deserve to get thrown away like he was trash?"

I shrug "Miss Walters, I don't know if you've noticed, but The Hulk is really scary. And people don't like being scared. And the U.S Government REALLY don't like sharing their borders with a powerful entity they don't control. So obviously he had to go, all in the name of the nearly mythical "stability" Stark's group has such a boner for. I mean, we can go get him back if you want? Or atleast visit him if he wants to stay?"

She looks confused "Why wouldn't he want to come home?"

"You never know, it's a big universe. Anyway, here's the list of candidates I had in mind." I point to an empty sheet of paper on her desk, and words quickly etch themselves into the material. Jennifer picks it up and looks it over carefully.

"You're giving me the Time Gem? Why?"

"Well you already had the Power Gem once and I had another candidate in mind for that. Think of it as a reference to you being a previous holder."

She looks dubious, but keeps reading. "Luke Cage... Kurt Wagner... Abigal Boylen? I've never heard of her."

"She's called Cloud 9, she got pressganged into the Initiative and is one of the worst victims of the SRA, even though her power was only creating a cloud she could fly on. She's getting the Space Gem so she'll never have to deal with these pricks again. I know for a fact she won't even think of abusing it's power." Plus, if anyone could make use of a gem that allows you to travel anywhere, it's her.

Jennifer looks about to ask further questions, but then she notices the last name on the list "Wait, PETER PARKER?!"

"I need to trust whoever is given the Reality Gem to use it responsibly, even against myself if I ever go too far, and if you can tell me a single person more obsessed with responsible use of power than Spiderman, I'll hand the Reality Gem to them giftwrapped with a bow on top."

Jennifer opens her mouth, then seems to think better of it, and reads the list again. "Seems like you've put some thought into this. How were you planning on approaching them?"

"Actually, I've been trying to think of something, but I'm having trouble thinking of anything good. Any ideas?"

Jennifer leans back in her office chair, studying the list for a few moments. "Well, speaking as a lawyer, there's one way that's always worked for me..."

....

He hadn't been able to visit Aunt May regularly in months, but after what happened with Captain America, Stark seemed to have lost interest in chasing after most of the remaining unregistered heroes, probably because he figured it was only a matter of time before they gave up too. Peter had to admit it was getting more tempting by the day.

It seemed to be something of an open secret at the hospital that Spiderman came by to visit his dying relative, usually when Mary Jane was also visiting, and security was usually conspiciously absent on the floor whenever it happened. Sliding the window open, Peter caught sight of his wife at May's bedside, and the familiar feelings of joy and misery at seeing both of them, but also knowing he couldn't stick around for long, flowed through him. MJ lifted her head when she heard him enter, and rushed over to meet him, the two embracing for the first time in what felt like forever.

"Missed you, Tiger..."

"Missed you too, MJ." Tugging his mask off, he kissed her as the two stood together, just holding eachother for a moment, before his gaze sadly turned to May in her bed. "Any changes? Anything at all?"

MJ shook her head miserably "Nothing, doctor says she's not going to last much longer though. Could be a month, could be a week, could be..." She closed her eyes and leaned against his shoulder. Peter felt her shudder with a quiet sob, and bit his lip to keep himself from joining her. Not for the first time, he wished he had never listened to Stark, wished desperatly for some way, ANY way to just make it all go away, for some way to keep his family from being hurt. God, he'd even sell his soul if it would help...

His train of thought was interupted when he noticed an engraved envelope leaning against the flower pot on the bedside table. "Hey, MJ, what's that?"

Pulling back and looking, MJ blinked in confusion "I... dont know. It wasn't here when I came in! I don't know who could have left it here, I've been in here the whole time..."

The two looked at eachother uncertainly. Finally, Peter carefully reached out for the envelope, reading the gold-colored signature on the front.

"What the hell is a Ginnungagap?"