#7 February 2007

“You know how to hotwire this?”

Nick Fury looked down at the cockpit of the shining Ford Mustang. Ruby red on a calm cream color, bologna cut pipes, leather interior, am/fm radio with a cassette player! Shame it had to blow.

Nick whipped out a knife, stuck it into the ignition. The car immediately started.

Fury grinned, “That’s a SHIELD issue knife. Tell your General Ross that I’m sorry about his car.”

“If you save that kid,” Banner looked at him, “I’ll buy you a new one.”

Fury puffed one last time on his cigar and then threw it over his shoulder, “Can I tell you a secret, Doc?”

“Yeah?” Banner answered without thinking.

“I never saw this coming.”

The tires of the Mustang squealed and Fury shot off across the Arizona desert, kicking sand under Banner’s glasses into his eyes. It took Banner a few seconds to clear his eyes, but by the time he did, Fury was just a speck in the distance.

---

“That’s Fury. A hero till the end. I would have done the same thing.”

“The end?” Tony asked his guest, “Oh no. This is the beginning! Haha! Remember, this is the beginning.”

“So…he survived?”

“Yep.”

“A gamma bomb explosion?”

“That’s right.”

“Huh.”

“Oh look who’s talking! You know the Infinity Formula?”

“Of course. It was…a descendant of the Super-Soldier formula. After all documents of the Captains America and the USAgents were destroyed. Nick Fury and Luke Cage were among those experimented upon…you’re telling me the Infinity Formula allowed Fury to survive that blast?”

“In a nutshell.” Tony shrugged from his wheelchair, “He caught up with the boy in the nick of time—Rick Jones was the boy’s name, his plaque is in here somewhere—pushed him into the ditch. But…he couldn’t beat the blast himself…”

---

“Colonel Fury? Can you hear me?”

Nick’s eyes fluttered open, and he wrenched his neck from side to side. There were series of thunderous snaps. His vision was blurry but…good. It took him a second to remember that only having vision in one eye was normal.

“Colonel Fury? Do you hear my voice, Colonel?”

“I can hear you.” Nick answered, and he was shocked at the sound of his own voice. It was thicker, deeper. There must be something in his throat. He tried to clear it, but then heard his cough, which was like a thunderclap.

His eyes still had not focused. But in front of him, Nick was beginning to see a blur…of green.

“Colonel Fury? Please try to not move.”

That voice. It was squeaky, cracking, and familiar. It was…Banner, that mousy scientist from…the Arizona desert! The gamma bomb! The boy!

Nick blinked furiously for his eyes to focus. He rubbed his hands over his body, trying to make sure that his parts were still there. Arms…torso…legs…groin…nothing missing…but still…

“Sweet Jesus.” The whisper was like a gale force wind.

Nick’s eyes finally came into focus, and he looked at himself.

“Like I said, Colonel. Let’s try to take this slow.” Banner said calmly.

“I’m GREEN!” Nick roared at Banner, spittle erupting from his lips.

Banner took two steps back.

“Look at me!” Nick wailed, and he stood up from the bed, shaking the ground with every step.

He was naked, as there weren’t clothes big enough to cover him. He hadn’t been lying on a bed…he had been laying on two beds, stains of purple on the sheets. His arms and legs were as thick as tree trunks. His chest heaved with every breath like a shuddering nuclear reactor. His hair had fallen out.

And, yes, Colonel Nick Fury was very, very green.

And he seemed to be getting very, very angry about it.

Banner tried to step back just a few more feet, but ended up tumbling over the bedside medical equipment, sending wires and annoying sounds flying into the air.

Nick Fury looked at himself. He had to hunch his neck a bit as to not hit the ceiling.

“The formula.” Fury mumbled, “Turned me into more of a weapon.”

“Uh, no!” Banner said, surprising himself with his shout, “*cough* I mean, you don’t have to be, Colonel Fury.” He jumped to his feet, and almost fell over again.

Fury wheezed and his growls grew deeper. “Why not?! That’s all I’ve been bred for! Twenty-five years! Nothing but blood and death! Tell me why it doesn’t end now?! When they finally have the monster they wanted!”

Now, Fury was so huge that his head was pushing hard against the cement ceiling. His arms and legs pulsed with thick veins, and grew. His eyes were flooded red, the only parts of him that weren’t green.

“No, Colonel!” Banner yelled, “I know—please believe me—I know what’s like to live with the anger inside! Anger that you’re not responsible for! Anger that you didn’t put there! Anger…” Banner hung his head in front of this green goliath, not afraid anymore, “that you’re useless to stop.”

And the…hulk in front of Banner eased his breathing.

“Go on.” Fury snarled, but Banner knew it wasn’t threatening.

“My gamma radiation research has NOT given them a weapon.” Banner didn’t know why, but he now felt confident enough to approach this jade giant, “It gave them a hero. The likes of which we haven’t seen since World War 2.”

“What are you saying?” the Hulk’s breath was now much more controlled.

“I’m saying,” Banner outstretched his hand toward the Hulk, “it’s been three hours since the blast. SHIELD hasn’t gotten here yet. And General Ross’s other car—a T-bird—is parked outside.”

The Hulk, with one eye squeezed shut, smiled for the first time, “Banner…I think this is the start of beautiful friendship.” He shook Banner’s hand, handling it like a feather.

---

“But…”

“Hmm?” Tony glanced at his guest. He had become caught up in the framed newspapers and photographs that lined the wall alongside Nick Fury’s Hulk. Pictures of the Hulk shaking hands with Elvis…‘Hulk Saves Bus of 24 in Birmingham riots!’…a copy of the Hulk’s underground newsletter that he printed between 1972 and 1976… ‘British PM honors Hulk’…

“It says here that the Hulk was the reason the United States was able to secure democracy in Vietnam, and all over southeastern Asia.”

Tony chuckled, “Yep. He is. But he didn’t go there of his own choice. You see, the military was on Fury’s tail from the start, thanks to General Thunderbolt Ross. And it wasn’t like SHIELD was going to give up…not with Special Agent Rick Jones heading up the retrieval squad.”

“So…he went to Vietnam to escape?”

Tony laughed, “No, of course not. Fury and Banner were chased all across the United States, and wherever they appeared, some inconceivable threat was averted. It was with Banner that humanity was saved from the likes of the Leader, the insane John Ryker, and Monica Rappaccini—the psychotic She-Hulk! He also found the amnesiac King Namor and restored him to sanity.

“As a matter of fact, the Hulk was such an inspiration in the following decade that a youth culture movement—the Purple Pants Underground—was named. To this day, those bums are still called “Pantsies”! There was Lou Reed and the Hulkbusters, a cult favorite band…legendary artists like Warhol and Steranko became rich painting his likeness! The list goes on and on! He was an American icon.”

His guest nodded, “And it was around this time that Hank and Janet Pym perfected the Pym Particles…Wolverine moved from Canada to the US…and when you invented the Iron Man armor.”

Tony smiled and gazed longingly back at the photographs, “Yes. I suppose we were all inspired by the Hulk to greater things. But…Vietnam? No…Fury went to Vietnam as a favor to a friend…”

---

Arlington National Cemetery
Almost Three Decades Ago…

The rain poured over the Hulk’s baldhead in sheets. It was so fierce that no one could make out the tears running down his cheeks. He could feel his muscles bulge and grow stronger with every silent whine.

He gazed down at the open grave in front of him, where the casket had just been lowered. The headstone above it, embedded into the ground, read ‘Thaddeus Aloysius ‘Dum Dum’ Cadwallader Dugan’.

Hulk felt a hand on his back and tried not to jump, tried to control his impulse to rip the arm from the socket of whoever wanted to disturb right now…over his best friend’s grave…just another friend sent to fiery Hell because of him…like Betty, Red, Jim…

“It wasn’t your fault.” Banner smiled as grimly as possible.

The Hulk sighed. He hadn’t seen Banner for years. Not since he had first decided to leave for Vietnam. Banner had not understood the decision and their parting had not been amicable. The last Fury had heard, SHIELD had finally captured Banner and sent him to prison for accessory to destruction of private, federal and public property.

“We won the war because of you,” Banner said, wiping the rain from his glasses. “I was wrong. You should have gone over there. You’re a war hero. You knew what you were doing. Dum Dum Dugan knew what he was doing when he asked you.”

The Hulk said nothing. His muscles kept pulsing though, and Banner knew on the inside Fury was a typhoon that raged harder than any rain that the two felt then.

“FURY!”

Hulk spun around on his heel, instinctively latching onto Banner, and throwing him onto his back. His fists clenched and popped so loud that it rivaled the thunder blaring in the sky over them.

Fury growled, “Jones.”

Rick Jones, with his slick haircut and form-fitting SHIELD uniform, was walking slowly across the wet grass, from a SHIELD issue jeep sitting just yards behind him on the road.

“Dammit, Rick,” Banner yelled at him, “I told you to let me deal with this! You are one of the last people Nick wants to—”

But the Hulk was faster than Banner’s sentence. In a quick motion, the Hulk had Rick Jones up in the air, a thick hand grasping at Jones’s throat.

“Alright, little boy,” The Hulk spewed. “I saved your life years ago, and every day that you hunted me, I wondered how life might have been different if I had let you die. Now, I get the chance to rectify that mistake.”

“Nnooo…” Jones was choking.

“Stop!” Banner jumped off the Hulk’s back and began to desperately pull his arm from Jones. “You don’t understand, Hulk! Can’t you see what we’re doing here? Why I’m out of prison? Why Jones has come alone? They’re going to pardon you, Nick!”

The Hulk dropped Jones unceremoniously. Jones hit the damp ground with a splash, his hands rubbing at his throat.

“What else?” Fury demanded. “A pardon? Whatever. The President promised that in the last State of the Union, when he declared operations in Vietnam ceased. Why are you both here?”

Rick Jones wheezed out a response: “Here.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a laminated piece of paper. He threw it at the Hulk’s feet.

“Superhumans are the future,” Rick said, rising to his feet. “There have been…preludes to violence in Atlantis, the Soviet Union, Attilan, Britain, Latveria…all of this is superhuman related. It is SHIELD’s aim, and the aim of this administration, to make sure that these threats are not dismissed as urban myth, nor treated with fearful retaliation—”

“Like you treated me?!” Fury shouted.

Banner again placed his hand on the Hulk. “Yes. I was pardoned myself as a sign of good faith, Nick. The public has changed their views on you radically since you left for Vietnam. They want you back. And SHIELD has a way to stay ahead of the curve…so threats like the Leader or those Skrulls can be dealt with quickly, not by happenstance.”

“With what?” the Hulk yelled.

“Read the paper,” Jones told him.

The Hulk wearily brought the paper to his eyes, and scanned it for a second. “Avengers? What the hell is that supposed to mean? Iron Man? Spiderman? The…Thing? Who are these people?”

“Think of them as the new Howling Commandoes, Fury,” Rick said.

“A team of superhumans, with complete autonomy as a branch of the military!” Banner yelled, almost smiling at the possibilities.

Hulk crumpled the paper in his fist. When he opened his hand, bits of ash floated heavily in the rain, to the ground.

“No,” he said, very quietly for the behemoth.

“What?” Banner and Jones said at the same time.

“You heard me,” Fury said, much louder this time.

Rick Jones stepped closer. “Do you realize how long I’ve been waiting for this? Ever since that day you saved me, Fury, I’ve wanted to study what you’ve become. I’ve wanted to find the monster that I made during a stupid teenage bet! You’ve turned into something I never thought you were…a hero of millions. Look at poor Banner here! He went to prison for you! He went to prison to protect the knowledge that created you! Banner could have kept producing a bomb, but he helped you! Are you just going to turn your back on the people, no, the country that’s made you what you—”

“SHUT UP.”

Jones and Banner threw their hands up to their ears as the Hulk screamed at them.

“I owe you nothing!” It was like the cries of dying animals. “All that’s followed me is violence! The only age that dawned in my wake was the twilight of humanity! You think these superhumans are the future? You goddamned fools! Idiots! It’s already happening with this Cold War in Europe and Asia. The end is nigh! This age of superhumanity will be this world’s last.”

Banner responded quickly: “No, Nick. Don’t think like that. I can see how it looks now that humanity is on the fast track to demolish itself but there is hope…if we stand together and lead humanity!”

“I think,” Fury said, as he turned his backs on them, “that if the leaders of the people now have problems with these mutant kiddies, how could they not have a problem with me?”

Banner reached after him. “Nick, don’t—”

Jones stopped him. “There’s no arguing with the Hulk, Bruce. If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s that.”

“No.” Banner got close to Jones and whispered to him, “He’s not in his right mind. We’ve talked about this. Samson and I agree that there’s some sort of personality disorder and if we can’t—”

“It’s no use, Bruce!” Jones said and pointed behind him, “Look!”

Banner looked over his shoulder at the Hulk. The giant was walking slowly toward the woods that surrounded the Cemetery.

“Nick, don’t go!” Banner called and he started to trot into a jog.

“Don’t come after me, Bruce!” Nick yelled over his shoulder, “You’re one of my best friends! I don’t want to see you turn out like all the others! This will be the last time either of you see the Hulk!”

The Hulk’s knees bent, and then a second later, he was airborne, fading from sight like a missile unavoidably flying toward its target.

Banner heard Jones come up behind him.

“Don’t worry, Banner. Your freedom’s guaranteed. We still need your mind. Besides, Richards, Hammond, Stark and Barnes have all signed off on the Avengers project. Even without wild cards like Fury and Parker, the Avengers are a done deal.”

“A done deal?” Banner was only half listening, painfully looking at the sky where his friend had disappeared. “Yes…maybe we are a done deal.”

---

“But it wasn’t the last time you’d see the Hulk.”

“Obviously.” Tony stared down at the still brandy in his sifter glass. After a second, he downed it in one gulp.

“The Hulk eventually did join the ranks of the Avengers, right?”

Tony nodded slowly. “Eventually. And till the very end. Gave him retroactive founders status too! He was our best…and then, he was our worst.”

“What do you mean?”

Tony swallowed hard, to keep down both the brandy and his tears. “Patience, friend. Eventually I will tell you about…the Maestro.

“But, for now, it is enough to say that Nicholas Fury, the incredible Hulk, was the first of the superhumans to emerge after World War 2, and he brought with him the dawn of a new age, and inspiration of generations to come. Without him…who knows where we’d be?”

THE END

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AUTHOR’S NOTES

Who doesn’t love What if…?

Honestly, What if…? fanfic is generally better too, considering that even fanfic writers don’t have to adhere to much continuity!

But I especially love the homages that we’ve been seeing in Marvel nowadays. The recent one-shot specials have really inspired me to go in the same direction: A series of What if…? tales all set in the same universe!

I’ve named this universe ‘Earth-3002’. It won’t be the last time we hear from the disabled Tony Stark with a history lesson of this universe. This time was, as mentioned, the dawn of it all. As we go along, we’ll see the formation of the Avengers, the X-Men, and the arrival of Galactus! Also, you’ll find out the identity of Tony’s mysterious guest (though it’s not too hard to figure out!). Hopefully, you’ve enjoyed the story enough to read the four other tales have I planned.

I won’t divulge which skewings of which stories I’ll be going with…but I will share my next story’s slant…

What if Wolverine formed the X-Men?

Aloha!

-Bryan Locke, c.020107

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