Summary:She-Hulk encounters an angry human sized blue-Hulk then the God of Thunder, Thor, himself afterwards Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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The Winter snow is at its best when it's just a dusting. A thin sheen of white across the sidewalks and the trees, giving the city of Manhattan a lovely clean feel to it that normally escapes the metropolis. It's still bitter cold, however. The long streets that run East to West over the island clear enough to build up some strong headwind that occasionally an errant hat here or there is sent flying into the air.
But none of that is enough to disturb the day to day, the rush and rumble of the city's populace as they pursue their livelihoods or in the case of now as the fifth hour of the afternoon breaks and the streets are filled with those seeking their home… in pursuit of their recreation. Most just want to get home, and for some the most stressful part of the day is behind of them. Though for some this is the most stressful part by far.
Such as for Manny Gutierrez, truck driver and delivery expert. His brown delivery vehicle was so close to reaching that point where he could be in under time for the bonus. Just needs to make one last delivery… only for this hour to hit nd suddenly the streets are even more filled with yellow cabs. And for some reason that starts to make him angry. Very angry.
Jennifer Walters finished up early at the office. All cases were updated and most were ahead of schedule for that matter. Walking out and locking her small firm's doors up after the last of her handful of staffers head home, she sighs. It's nice to have an afternoon now and then.
Riding down the elevator and emerging onto the street in her perfectly tailored power suit and heels, the petite brunette turns and starts making her way along Central Park toward her apartment building. She could drive. It's cold. But somehow it feels refreshing all the same.
Small hints of snow flutter down from the heavily overcast sky, just tiny flakes that land and add just a touch to the dusting. It's a nice tableau all told, even with the hub bub of the people traveling. But then there's a short sharp shout from traffic. A honk of a horn that's loud and drawn out like a heavy, 'BRRRAAAAWP!' that comes from that delivery vehicle there in the intersection.
A yellow cab had turned into the turn lane from the travel lane and was returning short sharp honks as well as various hand gestures accompanied by Middle-Eastern epithets and invectives. Just another day in New York really.
That is until the door to that delivery truck goes /flying/ smashed off its hinges as Manny the driver /kicks/ it out of the way. He hops out of the cab and lands on the street, visibly contorted and blue with veins bulging as he almost comically seems to be puffing and chuffing smoke from his ears for some reason. Clothing tears a bit as he starts to stride across the intersection, burst from inside as musculature grows and there's a blue tinge to his flesh.
Jennifer Walters slows at the developing situation, watching incredulously. She frowns as it gets worse. And sighs. She has a backpack with her files and purse. At least it won't get lost. She steps over to a corner and takes a breath. "… lose more suits this way.." she mutters and then SHULKS OUT.
"OHYEAH!" she shouts as the radiation surges through her body and she grows in strength and size. A white and purple body suit with matching gloves and shoes join the Sensational ensemble. She jumps up and stows her backpack. Then drops back down looking at the angry dude. "hey. It's not that bad. Yet. Why don't we all just take a slow deep breath before anyone gets hurt. Yeah?"
The answer that Jen gets? Even as many more eyes are drawn her direction, especially the gaze of the taxi driver… is the bluish tinged Manny scowling at her and shouting, "Not that bad? NOT THAT BAD?! You ever deliver Amazon shit on Christmas Eve, lady?!" And as he says that he brings his big bluish fists up and then /SMASHES/ them down on the hood of the taxi cab that abruptly crunches under the impact and wraps /around/ his arms. Only for him to tear them free.
He's definitely stronger, a little larger, but Manny was only five foot four to start with so Jen at the least has reach on him. Only now the driver turns on her and snarls.
"You ever have fifteen returns to deal with all in one apartment building? How am I supposed ta carry all that!?" And then, without further warning, he stalks toward her and tries to _smash_ the ground where she's standing.
Shulkie looks at the guy. Blue is.. new. "C'mon. If you whistle while you work, it'll make everything bett…whoa!" as he smashes the taxi hood. "That's not gonna buff out.." She takes a few steps forward, "Look, NO one really LIKES-likes their job… but we all have bills to pay." She blinks and jumps back as the guy smashes the sidewalk. "Ok now it's getting a little worse yeah."
The crowd breaks. At first they'd been watching, looking on, some people not understanding what was going on even when the taxi was crumped since car accidents happen often. But at the crash of the sidewalk and the first shards of debris realization sets in and people start to run away.
Cars in the intersection start to drive around each other, swerving into the other side of the street and another small crack up is heard. Some people in the windows above start to film with their phones, trying to get some updoots on the internet for capturing a ruckus with some blue guy and a green gal.
Manny scowls at her, "You probably just order anything you want, don't you! No thought given to the people who have to actually carry your cheap Chinese junk around! Do ya!" And as he says that he grabs a lamp post and uproots it from the ground, the wires crackling and fraying as he takes a step forward, batters-up… and /SWINGS!/
Shulkie whoas again as he swings and she grabs at the post, strong herself. "Okay. now you're just having a temper tantrum. This isn't how we deal with anger. Nothing good comes from this sort of outburst. The more you break the more you're going to have to pay to repair.. just think about that!"
The lamp post bends and twists in the contested grip of the two powerful beings, though she is able to check his efforts even as the metal in it twists and screams with a metallic complaint. Then it cracks open and falls apart, leaving them each gripping a mess of detritus and wiring.
"Anything is better than this!" He screams back at her and then goes for a good old-fashioned haymaker. And at least to Jen's glance, poor Manny hasn't ever really thrown a punch in his life with the way he telegraphs the thing and tries to get his whole body into the punch. And fails.
Shulkie shakes her head, "No. it isn't. do you have family? Kids? What's your name? I'm She-Hulk. And I'm here to help. But if you won't accept help we're going to have to do it the hard way. I'd just rather not."
The faint blue tinge to Manny's skin seems to flare as he grips the air angrily with his hands, unable to get his hands on her, or anything really. His jaw sets, his eyes blaze, and the little guy just scowls at her as he lifts his hands as if just twitching to tear and rend and rip. And then he droops, submissiveness overtaking him abruptly as that blue rushes through his system, as if it were some powerful liquid that was now sliding over his body and then seeping into the ground where it seems to disappear.
"You don't understand! Now I'll have to file a report!" And as the last words leave his lips it seems like the energy to move does as well as he just crumples over, fading, falling forward toward the heroine. And if she doesn't catch him it's likely he'll just fwumpf to the ground.
Shulkie watches and listens. As the 'blue' drains away she 'uhoh' softly. "nothing good ever comes from things like that…" she looks back, "Hey. Take it easy… what's your name?" she asks again. Stepping forward she moves to steady him. "careful… you feeling okay? Just have a seat here. We'll take a minute to rest. Sound good?"
She asks him, "Do you know what happened? Has anything like that happened before? To you or anyone you know?" She seems puzzled. Trying to think about how this worked or might happen again.
He's light, weak, and his colour is paler than it was even before that blue haze overtook him. Though Jen would have no way of knowing that, he's light to the touch and it's easy for her to settle him even as the crowd starts to curl back close and people are no longer running now that things are no longer being smashed. Yet it lends an eerie quiet to the city for now that is so rare in a place like this.
Snowflakes continue to fall, melting around them. Then a long shadow hangs over them both. A shadow that seems taller than able to be cast from one standng nearby. For its owner is flying, floating in the air a dozen feet up and holding a great hammer in one hand. In the other is a broken golden helm that has seen better days and for some reason it is glowing subtly.
"Doth he yet live, Jade Maiden?" Thor's voice is resonant, strong in that quiet. Though the quiet is short-lived as people recognize the man and the cellphones swing his way now. They film him as he slowly floats down, capturing the curious dichotomy of a man in work boots and blue jeans and a grey hoodie who seems to be holding those archaic arms and armor. Capturing the regal profile of the man with his hair drawn back in a rough pony tail and that braided beard.
Shulkie listens as she helps prop him up. She lets him sit there and rest but there are so many questions. So. Many. She looks at people walking around, "Nothing to see here. Just a big green girl and her new friend who used to be blue and angry. Have a nice day!" she calls to everyone. Then the shadow. Looking up she arches a brow. Oh. It's a flying hero person type it seems. And then the man lands.
She looks at Thor. "I'm hardly a maiden. But thanks. That's sweet of you. And yeah. He seems okay. but he should probably get to a hospital to get checked out." She nods to the crushed taxi. "He did all that. but he was all blue and angry and looked like a midget version of me or the other big green guy that's around."
Thor's blue eyes slip toward Jen, but then he looks to Manny with a furrowed brow marring his features. A few steps carry him forward and he touches the man's brow, frowning to himself as he gauges what must have passed. "It has been some time since I have seen such a thing." However long that may be.
Sirens are heard in the background, albeit distant, likely wending their way through the traffic that are still fleeing the scene or at least just trying to get some distance between them and the most recent Manhattan craziness.
Thor's gaze lifts back toward Jen and he gives a nod, "You did well to hold such patience in dealing with a man afflicted with what ails this one." He seems lost in thought for an instant and then hefts the fallen fellow and sets him onto a bench at the nearby bus stop, a hand touching the man's cheek then throat as if considering something.
"Strange." But then his attention shifts to her and he says, "I am Thor. Odinson."
Shulkie stands up as well. "You've seen something like this before? I hope it isn't going to be something the city ha to deal with regularly. eople are angry enough around here. They don't need help." A million angry mini-Hulks would be. Well. Bad. Shrugging she replies, "Well he's a delivery guy. It wasn't like he's a criminal. Just a regular guy who had had enough and .. maybe? some help? you'd have to tell me. I don't know anything about this. I just happened to be in the right place and all."
She looks to him, "Thor.. oh I know who you are big guy." she grins. "I'm Jen. But most just call me She-Hulk. Or Shulkie if they're friends."
"Jen," Thor says, then nods at the term She-Hulk. "This man was a courier of a sort?" He asks of her as he steps away, turning to consider the traffic and some of the wreckage. A police vehicle rolls up with the siren still going even as the officers get out and start to secure the scene, with the ambulance showing up perhaps twenty seconds later.
"Is there…" He steps to the brown truck and frowns at the broken door. He turns his head to the side and asks of her, "Is there any way to gauge or tell where this man stopped in places prior to his arrival here?"
It's a simple question really, but considering how much Thor grasps of Midgard technology one that escapes him entirely.
Shulkie nods. "Amazon he said." She follows over to the truck. "Well. probably not.. legally.." she muses. but who's here yet to know? Taking the courier's tablet which seems to be unlocked still, she begins to poke and prod and swipe trying to find the days delivery list. "hmm… well.. this is the stops he made on this run prior to getting here. But it only goes back three hours.."
The tablet is observed and Thor leans over her shoulder, peering curiously. For a moment he tilts his head at her, then returns his gaze back to the electronic device. "These are the addresses?" He's been on Earth that long enough to get the hang of some things, if not all. There's a nod as he claps her on the shoulder, "Well done, Jen She-Hulk."
That done he moves to take the tablet and if she allows him he'll hold it before him even as he hangs the helmet that was in his hand upon his belt at his hip. He'll step back out into the intersection and tells her over his shoulder. "I fear that one of these addresses will be the dwelling of either an old foe or a mortal who has made an unfortunate discovery."
Shulkie nods, "Addresses yes. Places around the city where he's made other deliveries." She looks curious. "Well Mr… Thor.. I'm glad I could help." Looking curious, she asks, "old foe?" A tilted expression. "Don't tell me you're… really a Viking from a thousand years ago or something.." because she'd totally believe it. It IS New York City after all.
"The Svartalfar, I fear." Thor says matter-of-factly, as if he simply expected her to accept the name and whatever conotation he expects it to carry for her. He gives her a firm nod as the hammer in his hand is dropped from his grip only for him to catch it by the leather strap. It lets him start to spin it slowly. "They have in the past used toxins to great effect, this seems similar to one I have faced before."
That said he gives her a nod, "You enjoy my thanks for your aid in this matter, perhaps we shall speak again."
There's a nod as he adds, "Until then," With that the hammer starts to spin and unless he's stopped shortly after he'll rocket into the sky.