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Summary: Tony pays a visit to Jennifer in Kansas.
Date: July 8, 2020
Log Title Country Girl & City Boy
Rating: Log Rating. PG
Kansas
A farm in Fairview, Kansas where Jennifer works, and lives.
Fairview, Kansas: Quite literally a small town out in the middle of nowhere. There really isn't much in the town save for a church, a school, a general store, countless cows and an ex-lawyer and ex-avenger: Jennifer Walters. The slow pace of the town and the friendly nature of the people are far removed from the horrors of the major cities, and has made it an ideal place for Jennifer to try to settle down, relax, and try not to turn huge and green and kill people. So far, so good. She's been here for the better part of seven months, and has been taken in by a kindly old farmer, an Ernest Carver, who had recently lost his wife and needed a woman's touch around the house and an extra hand out on the farm.
It had been one hell of a time trying to track down information about who may still be alive, Avengers, friends and enemies. In this case a lot of names came back deceased or missing in action. There was one individual in particular that Stark had tracked down with considerable work, Jennifer. Jennifer was out in the middle of damn nowhere, doing what? Why wasn't she in NY helping the mutants? Having to keep a low profile, Tony flew under the radar, masking his travel until he landed just outside of a small western town. His armor vanished to be replaced by a faded t-shirt, jeans and a pair of sneakers. He would find her, talk to her, figure out how to get her to help him.
Jennifer currently is out near the barn, forking hay into a wheelbarrow to later give to the horses. She's dressed simply, in jeans, hiking boots, and of all things, a flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Her blond hair is pulled back into a ponytail and sweat beads her on her brow from the summer heat. Around here, she's been going by the name of Jade Morris, a clever nom de guerre taken from her Hulk lineage and the name of her father, something that would only be noticeable by somebody like Stark.
Tony walks through town, finding it strange that people were going about their daily lives as if nothing was happening elsewhere in the States. How could they tend to their crops, animals, and wander about enjoying their day when the world was going to hell in a hand basket? It didn't take all that long for Tony to jog his way to the farm that Jennifer was staying at. As he walked onto the property he caught sight of a flash of hair rounding the backside of a large barn. He arrived at the back side of the barn in time to see Jennifer tossing hay into a wheelbarrow, not an image he thought he would ever see in his lifetime. He stood just several feet from her without a clue what to say other than, "Jade."
"What can I do you for?" asks 'Jade,' with a slight mid-western accent. Sounds like she's blending in fairly well. She hasn't looked over to see who's addressed her yet, since she's busy with a big pile of hay. Otherwise, her reaction just might have been very different.
"You could stop what you're doing for a second," Tony says as he props himself up against the barn. She seems to be in good health, but appearances could be deceiving, in his opinion. "I never thought in a million years that you had a desire to be a cowgirl."
There's something about Tony's tone that makes Jennifer pause in her work, and look up at the speaker. What she sees puzzles her, since what she's seeing couldn't /possibly/ be real. Her knuckles go white as she grips the pitchfork, trying to keep herself calm, as she asks, cautiously, "Tony…?"
"Miss me?" Tony asks Jennifer. In the old days he would have smirked, teased, or goaded her into huffing at him but these were different times. He's not certain how she is going to react to his sudden return to life but she was the last /friend/ he had left. Even if she tossed him through the barn it would at least be something.
Jennifer looks totally speechless for a second before dropping the pitchfork and flinging herself at Tony, catching him up in a hug. "You're /alive/!" she says, not quite tearing up yet, but getting there. "God, everybody thought you were dead, but I should have known better."
Uncertain arms wrap around Jennifer in a tentative embrace. It takes several minutes before he returns her hug as fiercely as she is giving it to him. "For all intents and purposes /I was/ dead. Left for dead, coma, you know…typical day at the office."
Jennifer finally releases the last remaining Avenger and wipes a tear from an eye with the palm of a hand. She clears her throat as she calms herself down and goes back to pick up the pitchfork. "The world has really gone to hell in a hand basket since you were gone," she says. "They really need a hero since they executed Steve."
There is a very noticeable tension in Tony's body. The cringe upon his face might even be a bigger clue as to what he's thinking if she hadn't turned her back on him. "Jennifer," he calls to her softly as he walks over to the opposite side of the wheelbarrow. "Why in the hell are you out here? Why aren't /you/ out there making a difference?"
Jennifer gives Tony a sad, and wistful look. "I wish I could," she says. She looks down at the pitchfork in her hands, no longer able to meet Tony's eyes. "I… was for a while," she explains. "But Ahab managed to bring me down. He used a modified spear on me and…" Her knuckles tightened on the pitchfork. "… and I lost all control over her. He turned her into an uncontrollable /monster/. I killed so many people that day…. a lot of innocent people." She finally looks up at Tony and gives him a wan smile. "Now I really know what it feels like to be in Bruce's shoes."
Reaching out toward Jennifer, Tony covers her hand with his. "You're telling me that you were harpooned by Captain Ahab, and your alter ego will be running about in a Wookie Rage?" This wasn't something he had prepared for. Could he even help her? This certainly wasn't his area of expertise, whatever it was that caused this. "You've got nill control over you're exceptionally sexy side? Not that you're not generally sexy; you know what I mean!" Tony is trying to make light of the situation as he's prone to do when things look dismal.
Jennifer snickers at Tony's wit, rolling her eyes. "Something like that. The good thing is that Ahab wasn't able to control She-Hulk. The bad thing is that /nobody/ can. She's… stronger, too. Hulk strong. Hulk on a bad day strong." Another heavy sigh and she squeezes his hand before going back to her shoveling. The hay won't shovel itself. "I've been on the run since then. Every once in the while somebody will find me and I'll have to move on. Sometimes, they force me to transform and then it gets /bad/." She shakes her head, "I don't even remember what happens for the most part."
Tony sighs heavily as he shoves his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "Me without my Hulk armor,"he mutters under his breath. "I was hoping I could convince you to come help me, I was even prepared to offer you a pony but you seem to have beaten me to the pony thing. I saw horses on the way over here." Tony seems to have slumped in defeat, as if all of his energy has suddenly drained into the soil beneath his feet. "You know I would help you. Even though we fight like brothers and sisters that hate/love each other, I…where the hell is a geneticist when you need one?!"
Jennifer gives Tony a gentle grin and shakes her head. "I'd love to help. I wish I could. But with the way I am now I'm more dangerous than the Sentinels. They at least /discriminate/ with who they hurt. She-Hulk.. just lashes out at whatever's nearest." At the mention of the geneticists she just shakes her head. "Reed was murdered not long after you were… his whole /family/ was. Even the kids. And Pym… he's not even human anymore."
"I know, I've had a year to try and catch up on everything I could." Tony breathes in deeply as if to clear his mind, to think of what his next move was going to be. "I'm going to speak to the American people soon, I'm going to create chaos, it may not end well for me but if I'm still alive at the end of it…" he walks around the hay laying on the ground to stand beside her. With the tip of his index finger he tilts her gaze up to his. "I will come back for you. Somehow we'll find a way to get She Hulk under control." Tony offers her a slight smile. "We always do, remember?"
Jennifer gives Tony a genuine smile, and puts a hand on his shoulder, squeezing. "I know. If there's anything I can do for you just name it, okay? I want to help, but I don't know what I can do with the way things are. Just… whatever it is you're planning to do, don't get yourself killed. Again."
A half smile is given in response, its about all Tony can manage at this point. "Stay out of trouble. I'm going to give it the ol' college try but if I go down you have to run, nowhere will be safe. Promise me, that."
Jennifer gives Tony a rueful smile. "If what you're doing doesn't work I've half a mind to march over to Washington and just let She-Hulk do as much damage as possible." She shovels some more hay until the wheelbarrow is full. Sticking the pitchfork into the bale of hay she nods. "But, if I don't do that I'll run, yes. I'm not sure where I'll run /to/ but if I don't know where I'm going then they won't know either."
The imagery Jennifer provides him makes his eyes twinkle with mirth. "Sorry, the thought of you rampaging through the White House to tear Kelly limb from limb just tickles my heart." Tony takes a step back from Jennifer, his clothing seamlessly turning into the new armor. "I hate to ask this, but, have you seen anyone else we know? Are we really all that's left?"
"That's a new trick," says Jennifer with mild surprise. To Tony's question she shakes her head, and looks pained at giving him the bad news. "I haven't really been keeping in touch. Everybody's dead, on the wrong side, or have disappeared. If anybody's still around you have a better shot at finding them that I do. After all, you found me, and now I hope to God they didn't somehow follow you."
There had been a small glimmer of hope within Stark that someone might have escaped his list. Now that Jennifer had confirmed his greatest fear he felt the flicker of hope snuff out within him. He would be alone, alone against whatever was to come. Clearing his throat before he gave away how affected he was by this news he looked away from Jennifer towards the hillside behind her. "They can't track me. I wouldn't have risked coming here if they could. I may be old but I've still got more tricks than the brainless simpletons they have watching over the country."
Jennifer chuckles at that. "Thank God. Good luck with whatever you're planning, Tony." And with that she picks up the wheelbarrow and makes her way to the stables.
After watching Jennifer disappear into the stables, Tony casts his eyes to the sky. The faceplate snaps down over his face to mask the tears slipping free against his will. Within a heartbeat he's in the sky again, flying back towards New York and the inevitable. There were scores to be settled, dealing with the deaths of his friends would just have to take a back seat, for now.
