COMMITMENT

By Steve Crosby

It was a small room that Jennifer Walters found herself in. There was a desk, chair, and video monitor on the wall. At the moment it was blank, but soon the monitor would come to life for the scheduled meeting. Setting her briefcase on the desk, Jennifer said to the Corrections Officer behind her, “Thank you. I can take it from here.”

The guard didn’t say anything when he left and closed the door, but Jennifer had an idea of what he’d been thinking. From the moment she’d walked into the prison, she had felt their eyes on her, grading her, diminishing her. Nothing like the looks that She-Hulk got, the nervous desire, the posturing to hide their sense of intimidation. Jennifer Walters was nothing like She-Hulk, and she hated knowing that.

The monitor glowed to life, and Jennifer was faced with one of the few women on Earth who felt as she did. Before her transformation into Titania, Mary MacPherson had been a short and scrawny girl with no self-confidence. That description certainly didn’t fit the tall, powerfully built sitting alone in that cell, not since Doctor Doom had fulfilled her dreams of power. She must have seen the light on the camera in her cell, because Titania looked right at it and smiled.

“Is that you, counselor? I only have audio in her, so you’ll have to speak up.”

“Can it with the Cape Fear references, Titania,” Jennifer said.

In her cell, Titania moved a hand up to her face. “Do you see a mask? I’m locked up, helpless again. I’ll answer to Mary, and from that mousy voice I’m guessing your complexion isn’t very green, eh Jennifer?”

“You aren’t worth a transformation, Mary. I’ve answered your request. What can I do for you? And before you ask, no, I won’t help with your appeal.”

That triggered a laugh. “No, my favor’s for something with a chance of happening.” Like a switch went off, Titania’s face went serious. “I want a divorce.”

Jennifer looked down at her open briefcase. Along with a file on Titania, there was also one on her husband, the even more notorious Absorbing Man. Even before Loki had given him powers for a scheme against Thor, Crusher Creel had been a violent criminal. A failed boxer who went to other means for power and glory, the ability to absorb the properties of anything he touched allowed Crusher to pursue his dreams for both. According to Thor, Absorbing Man had actually managed to take on the magical properties of Asgard itself. He was certainly stronger than Titania, a rarity among men that she would find appealing.

“No shared assets, no kids, the paperwork wouldn’t be much. You sign, he signs, a jailhouse lawyer can help with it.” Jennifer slipped the papers back into her briefcase. “If that’s all, I’ll be going now.”

“No, it’s not that simple.” There was an urgency in Titania’s voice that gave Jennifer pause. “I told Crusher what I want. He refused.”

“Doesn’t matter. No-fault divorce, you request on the grounds of irreconcilable differences. If he objects, well, that’s an irreconcilable difference. The courts won’t force you to stay in a marriage you don’t want, Mary.”

“Everyone I’ve spoken to is. Nobody’s willing to help me if they think Crusher will go after them the moment he’s out.”

That hasn’t stopped Absorbing Man from being tried and sentenced multiple times, Jennifer almost said. But she stopped herself, recalling previous cased she’d witnessed. A lot of criminals treat the loss of their families much worse than the loss of freedom. For somebody like Absorbing Man, where the loss of freedom has always been so brief, this could be even more extreme.

“So what is it you imagine, Mary? If I’m in your corner, it’ll reassure the right people to proceed?”

“Exactly! And if Crusher did go after you later, so what? You could take him.”

So could Daredevil, Jennifer thought. Though Absorbing Man had battled Thor to a standstill, he wasn’t very smart. Nothing She-Hulk couldn’t handle. Titania was right, the threat of Absorbing Man wasn’t anything to her.

“Please,” Titania continued. “I want to turn my life around, but that will never happen as long as Crusher is in my life. Unless I can escape him for good, I’m trapped in this cycle.”

Almost to her own surprise, Jennifer Walters said, “Okay. I’ll help you.”

“What on Earth would possess you to help her?” asked Quicksilver.

The seven Avengers based on the West Coast had just been about to wrap their meeting when She-Hulk had made the announcement. Quicksilver, the Chairperson, had already begun rising out of his seat. He had no patience for the trappings of leadership, and seemed to resent She-Hulk adding to the tedious business.

“Because she needs help,” She-Hulk said.

“No she doesn’t.” Wonder Man picked up a paperweight from the table. “I could throw this outside and hit a lawyer who’d snatch up her cause in a minute. They’d be so eager for the publicity, any threats Absorbing Man made they would ignore as the same old bunk.”

“And instead Absorbing Man will go after us the first chance he gets,” Darkstar said. “He would likely break out of jail just to try to kill us. Some men take the end of relationships hard, and he seems the type.” He mind couldn’t help but go to her own father.

“It really is a shame,” said Scarlet Witch. “As horrible people as they are, I thought Absorbing Man and Titania really loved each other.”

“That means nothing,” Silverclaw said. “In my village there were more than a few couples who just, they just went through the motions. They were together, but you could just tell it was more tolerance than anything. Ending the union was unheard of.”

Hank Pym rose to his feet. “That’s not right. Anybody who wants to leave an unhealthy relationship should be able to.”

“Preposterous.” Quicksilver really was not pleased with how the conversation was going. “Titania knew what she was getting into when she married Absorbing Man. I seem to recall several of us were there when it happened.”

She-Hulk had been. When she’d first seen Titania with several other villains who’d turned out to be bridesmaids, she’d issued a call for all the Avengers. They’d thought it was a nefarious gathering of villains, and when they burst in on the ceremony it had been with great embarrassment. She-Hulk had still tried to argue for attack, but her teammates wouldn’t hear of it.

“Well, I’m sure Titania wishes I’d stopped her wedding when I had the chance,” she said. “This’ll just be me finishing what I started.”

“As long as it doesn’t interfere with other duties I don’t see a problem with it.” Scarlet Witch was looking at her brother who was still fuming. She couldn’t only imagine what this talk of divorce had him thinking. Probably a lot of what she and Hank were thinking.

“Fine,” Quicksilver said at least. “Just hurry up with it and the same goes to you, Silverclaw. I’d rather we didn’t make a habit of helping out convicted criminals.”

“Cloak and Dagger do make a habit of that, so I was planning to ask their help.” Recently, Silverclaw had joined with a Hispanic organization at college. Through them, she’d learned of suspicious gang activity in Los Angeles. Nothing too public, mainly disappearances, but she’d asked permission to investigate. “Even if this turns out to be nothing, I like the idea of being more active locally.”

“I also don’t like the idea of these extracurricular activities leaving us short-handed.” Quicksilver glanced over at Wonder Man. “At least your film is over with.”

“Still have to promote it. I’ll probably be away more than ever, traveling. Which reminds me.” Wonder Man turned to Scarlet Witch and gave a short bow. “The premiere is later this week. Would you like to accompany me?”

Scarlet Witch smiled, paying no notice to Quicksilver scowling behind her. “Sure, I’d love to. In fact, we could probably make it a whole team outing.”

Everybody in the room quickly gave excuses.

Nobody took notice of the bird flying overhead. Had they, it wouldn’t have been recognized as any breed native to California. Only animals from South America; that was one limitation of Silverclaw’s magic-based powers. Another was that any creature she took the shape of was entirely silver. Only disadvantages if any took notice, of course.

For people in Los Angeles to really see birds, they would first have to look up. Taking one’s eyes off the street was a big risk. The sighting of a big celebrity could be missed, or a car slowly approaching as its windows rolled down. Which was the bigger risk depended on the neighborhood. Silverclaw was flying in the latter, was in fact following such a car.

The vehicle slowed, and Silverclaw tensed. Fortunately, it turned into a vacant parking garage. Silverclaw flew inside, her silver body blending well against the gray. However, she was conscious of how loud her wing flaps seemed to echo, and shifted into a rodent. Better ears made it easy to track the car, and powerful legs made for quick jumps through the levels.

At three levels above ground, the car stopped. With buildings on all sides there was little daylight, and the overhead lamps flickered dimly. The trunk opened as six heavily-tattooed men got out, all carrying semi-automatic weapons. Duffel bags were removed, and Silverclaw didn’t need enhanced smell to know they contained heroin. A buy was being made, but these men suspected trouble. As well they should. Gangs had been hit hard those past few weeks.

From out of the corner of her eye, Silverclaw thought she saw movement from the shadows. The contact had arrived. She tapped her communicard. Either an exchange was going to take place or-

A flash of motion, a twist of shadows, and one of the tattooed men was gone. No cry of surprise, the gun hadn’t even clattered to the floor. It was just lying there where the man had been, the other side of Silverclaw’s eyesight from the first glimpse of movement.

“Smoke ‘em!”

Immediately the other gang-bangers responded, spraying gunfire all around them. Silverclaw sprang into action, growing in size as she raced toward the shooters. Though she wasn’t nearly so fast as Quicksilver, her enhanced senses and hyper reflexes enabled Silverclaw to avoid every bullet that whizzed past her. By the time she reached them, the men weren’t even aware of her to shoot at. One swipe of a clawed hand knocked a gun away, and a powerful kick to the chest brought the shooter down hard.

In the same span of time, two more of the shooters had disappeared into the shadows.

“Drop those now,” Silverclaw snarled. “I’m here to help you!”

It may have been the tone of her voice, or that Silverclaw opened with the wrong words, but they didn’t stop shooting. One actually leveled his gun for a concentrated spray. Silverclaw jumped straight into the air faster than she possibly could have, aided by the flap of sudden large wings. Also sudden was the lump in Silverclaw’s throat, so she spat it out.

There was nothing dangerous in the spit, but it served to distract the shooter. Silverclaw needed that moment of breath to avoid the sword that appeared out of nowhere. She winced at the cut along her feathered arm, but had twisted enough to avoid anything serious. At last she had a good look at the living shadows, and saw the eyes of a man. Those eyes quickly vanished behind the heel of Silverclaw’s foot.

Silverclaw whirled around, and ducked back to avoid the tip of a sword from slashing her neck. Suddenly she was surrounded by a half-dozen living shadows. The shooters had all disappeared. In the blink of an eye. What the hell were these things?

Just to avoid getting cut to pieces, Silverclaw was moving faster than she ever had in her life. Faster than even dodging bullets, and these opponents were far more accurate. If it wasn’t for the tortoise shell she’d rapidly grown, Silverclaw would have been dealt more than a few serious wounds. As an Avenger, Silverclaw tried to be strong, to be brave, but at that moment she felt she was going to die and was terrified.

Fear is an animal response. It drove Silverclaw to instinct and in the midst of one dodge she slashed. Claws dug into flesh, and there was a brief spray of blood. In the air it transformed into dust, and suddenly the flesh it spurted from was also dust. Silverclaw had no chance to process any of this as she was now moving purely by instinct.

Again shadows moved, but from their center came a brilliant light. Dagger stepped out of Cloak, white purity thrown in front of her. One shadow man was struck and went down in a solid heap. The others, at least a half-dozen that Silverclaw could see, shifted targets. She took the chance to swipe at the back of one, but was otherwise helpless as they advanced on Dagger.

Somehow, Cloak went from behind his female partner to in front of him. He simply flowed around it, and the shadow of his being enveloped the coming shadows. As they vanished, Cloak buckled almost to his knees, visibly affected by whatever he had taken into himself. Silverclaw saw there was now dust at his feet.

All around the Avengers shadows seemed to melt away. How many of the things had been there? Dagger threw more light and man-shapes were illuminated, but no more were hit.

“Hand ninjas,” Dagger said. “You stumbled onto something very interesting, Silverclaw. A shame we may never know exactly what this was.” Dust that had been men was disturbed under her feet.

“We could always ask him.” Silverclaw indicated the man lying on the ground. The one Dagger had struck with light, and hadn’t disintegrated like the others. The hand she was pointing with, it felt sticky. Silverclaw looked down and saw blood dripping from it. The ground was suddenly spinning up at her.

“Silverclaw!” Dagger’s voice shouted. “Cloak, we get to get her to the compound now!”

“If you’re nervous, Mary, we don’t have to do it this way.”

Titania gave a start. She was clamped down to her chair in manacles that sapped her strength. It was one of the many provisions for the courtroom meeting. Keeping out of reach was Jennifer Walters, and all of the guards were armed with special tasers. Seated at his bench was the honorable judge. There was one other table meant for use, but empty at that moment.

“We’re only here because you insisted on it,” Jennifer said. “This doesn’t have to be done face-to-face.”

“No, it does.” Titania shook her head. “I owe him that much.” She gave another start, a mild convulsion that Jennifer had noticed a minute ago.

“Just try to relax. Show him you’re strong.” Jennifer raised an arm as though intending to pat Titania. But then she thought better of it.

The doors to the courtroom opened. He walked in, escorted on all sides by armed guards. Considering Crusher Creel had been in prison when Loki gave him his powers, it made since he wore those same prison clothes. Or rather just one piece of clothing, those striped pants. Shirtless, everybody could see it wasn’t only his head that was bald.

Simple restraints weren’t enough for Absorbing Man. Anything he touched he could absorb the properties of, from steel manacles to the stone floor. Of course, his ball and chain was nowhere nearby, kept under lock-and-key. To keep Absorbing Man from touching anything, he was held in a mild electro-magnetic force-field. Jennifer Walters wasn’t entirely sure of the science, but apparently Stark had designed it. The platform generating the field was half-a-foot below Creel’s feet, rolling him in on wheels.

Once the other table became occupied, Jennifer rose to her feet. Beside her, Titania gave a kind of hiccup. “Your Honor, as Mr. Creel has waived counsel, we can begin. This is a simple matter of no-fault divorce, with no shared property. As such, Ms. MacPherson’s petition-”

Absorbing Man cut her off. “We have property! That ring I gave her. It was paid for clean. She’s breaking this off, she gives back the ring. That’s how it’s done.”

Jennifer gave a start. Titania had been right. To a normal person, Absorbing Man was very, very intimidating. “If this is the case, Your Honor, the transfer of property can be expedited at a later date. But considering the present situation of both parties, it hardly bears a factor in today’s-”

“You want it, you got it!” Titania yelled across the room. She gave a sharp intake of breath mingled with a loud gag, then spat an unusually large glob. No, Jennifer spotted the glint of light as it passed her head. Time slowed down as she realized everything. That was a diamond. Titania had swallowed a diamond then had just regurgitated it. This whole thing was all a sham and she had helped make it happen.

The diamond, flown under the power of Titania’s strength, breached the field and touched Absorbing Man’s shoulder. The change of his entire body to diamond was immediate. Not built for such a powerful form, the force-field collapsed. Absorbing Man shattered the platform, shattered one guard’s helmet with a swipe of one arm, and hurled the sparking metal that was the platform in Jennifer’s direction.

Not thinking clearly, Jennifer dived out of the way. Too late, she realized Absorbing Man had been throwing in Titania’s direction too. The demolished machine exploded against her manacles, disabling them in turn. A grin on her face, Titania flexed and broke free of her restraints.

No. Jennifer had to transform. She-Hulk had to stop this escape. Her hand reached for the gamma-inducer on her wrist. Titania’s hand closed around it first. The hand closed, crushing the inducer and Jennifer’s wrist. She cried out in pain, but part of her was glad for it. Crushed, the inducer was deactivated and Jennifer could feel the transformation start.

“No excuses.” Titania delivered a backhand that would have taken a normal woman’s head off. Her change in the beginning stages, She-Hulk only suffered a dislocated jaw that popped painfully back into place when she fell to the floor. More painful were the bones of her wrist reassembling. With her other hand, She-Hulk slapped the card on the floor.

“Baby, see to it we’re not disturbed.” Titania gave her knuckles a loud crack. Behind her, Absorbing Man was knocking around the few remaining guards. “This is just gonna be the two of us.”

As with all transformations, the legal suit of Jennifer Walters had become tattered rags, but fortunately She-Hulk’s stretchy bodysuit had been worn underneath. She-Hulk slowly rose to her feet, still hurt and healing. She’d half expected Titania to take advantage, but the other woman was patiently waiting. Titania wanted to beat She-Hulk fair and square, with no excuses. She was about to learn that was a big mistake.

Staring down her enemy, She-Hulk said, “Okay, you had your chance. Let’s go.”

It had been a long time since Wanda Maximoff wore nice clothes that weren’t her costume. The designer Simon had sent her too made the mistake of offering red. Wanda opted for something similar but apart from what she normally wore. The skirt was tight around the legs and ended just above the knee. There was no cleavage but most of Wanda’s back was bare. Most important was the color, a vaguely metallic purple that shifted to, yes, red when lit at certain angles.

Walking down the red carpet with Simon holding her arm, Wanda felt in a dream. She’d been used to attention before, her first Avengers photo-op and later the marriage with Vision, but this seemed so much more positive. There was no sense of judgment. Compared to Avengers business in general it was nothing. Just…something Wanda could enjoy.

The carpet wasn’t even twenty feet, but it took a long time to walk. There seemed to be a reporter or commentator at every inch, all peppering Simon with questions. He gave fluff answers, and occasionally Wanda was expected to give an answer too. She would smile, give the name of her designer, and make a remark about how proud she was of Simon. No mention of the Avengers at all.

Sure enough, no sooner did the thought cross Wanda’s mind than her communicard beeped. While Simon was talking to some short woman with a bad tan, Wanda checked for the emergency. Her eyes widened. With a slight tremor in her hand, she touched Simon’s shoulder.

“We have to go. It’s She-Hulk. Her hearing must have gone wrong.”

She had spoken in a low voice so that only Simon heard her. But the body language, the sudden whispering that followed a beeping communicard, of course people in the crowd suspected something. Questions were shouted out, but Scarlet Witch ignored them. Her focus was on Simon’s eyes.

Wonder Man nodded. “This movie’s worth paying to see,” he said loudly as he scooped the Scarlet Witch in his arms. He launched himself into the air, and the two Avengers were off.

An entire wall of the court building had been smashed out. Their brawl had moved to the street, She-Hulk and Titania slugging each other on the pavement. Police had arrived on the scene and established a perimeter, but hadn’t moved beyond it. The reason may have been Absorbing Man, in diamond form with his hand around a judge’s throat.

On her own was fine with She-Hulk. Every punch Titania threw she rolled with, taking only part of the impact and forcing Titania to move after her. By contrast, Titania stood against every blow She-Hulk made. The woman was being prideful and stupid, pressing her attack while refusing to give an inch. Strength being more-or-less equal, She-Hulk’s training was her advantage against the thug.

A hard right smashed into Titania’s jaw. She fell to the ground, She-Hulk standing over her with an expression of gloating triumph. “SHIELD Fantastic Four. Avengers. You never stood a cha-aah!”

Lying on the ground, Titania kicked She-Hulk in the kneecap. Caught by surprise, the Jade Giantess collapsed, her leg bent wrong. Screaming, Titania pounced on her fallen opponent, gripping her hair with one hand and twisting an arm around her back with the other.

“You ain’t so smart, lawyer bitch! Maybe you got degrees and Hulk’s blood and friends, but I got you! I! Got! You!” Each word was punctuated by smashing She-Hulk’s head against the pavement.

Try as she might, She-Hulk couldn’t grapple with Titania. Her arms ached from all the powerful blows she’d dealt, while odds were Titania felt better. It dawned on She-Hulk, and with a roar she found the strength to turn over. Throwing her head back, She-Hulk smashed it against Titania’s face.

“No. You did not just rope-a-dope me!”

Having maintained her grip on She-Hulk, Titania managed to turn her back over. “Don’t know what that is. I’m just beating you to hell!” With She-Hulk pressed against ground, Titania raised a knee and smashed it against her kidneys.

She-Hulk jerked her arm back and caught Titania in the eye with an elbow. She let go with a yelp, and She-Hulk struggled to her feet. Wrestling was not her strong suit, but with some distance she could keep it a battle of blows.

“Yaahh!” Titania leapt out and caught She-Hulk around the ankles. She fell face-first to the pavement, and of course when Titania gave one of her legs a hard wrench it was the one with the injured knee. Yelping at the pain, She-Hulk smashed her fist down on Titania’s head a couple times, but the angle was bad. Titania responded by jabbing at She-Hulk’s groin, and while women don’t have testicles it was still a sensitive area.

Through a pained grunt, She-Hulk managed to say, “Oh, we’re playing dirty are we.” She reached forward and gripped Titania by her big hair. Pulling hard, she wrenched Titania off her legs but inadvertently caught the woman’s forehead with her own chin. She tasted blood.

Screaming at the sensation of her own hair being ripped out, Titania grabbed a piece of broken pavement and smashed it against She-Hulk’s skull. Both women rolled on the floor, a jumble of super-strong limbs fighting for dominance. In trying to push Titania’s head back, She-Hulk’s hand slipped and the villain’s teeth clamped over her wrist.

“Graah!” She-Hulk yelled out more in startlement than pain. Titania grabbed her other arm and shoved it painfully beneath She-Hulk’s chin, then proceeded to punch several times at her exposed neck. It was more than painful, as She-Hulk could then do little more than cough horrible. This involuntary reaction left her even more exposed.

Titania twisted She-Hulk’s arms as she was turning her over to her side. Both the Avengers hands became pinned behind her back against Titania’s hip and the pavement. This freed Titania’s arms to wrap around She-Hulk’s neck, tight against the carotid artery. She-Hulk struggled, desperate to free her arms. But she was still hacking, and quickly began to feel light-headed.

“Shh,” Titania whispered in her ear. “Just try to relax. You won’t even feel it when I break your neck.”

She-Hulk couldn’t tell if it was Absorbing Man’s shadow falling over her or the blackness closing over. “We talked about this Titania. She dies, the heat will come down hard on us.”

“I know baby. SHIELD, Fantastic Four, Avengers. That’s who you name-checked, wasn’t it She-Hulk? You get your pretty little neck snapped, they all come after me. Maybe beat me up bad, put me in jail, but not kill me. No. And then I get out, things continue like always, like nothing ever happened. Everybody will move on, and you’ll be dead.”

Those were the last words She-Hulk heard before she blacked out.

“She-Hulk? Jennifer! You have to wake up!”

With a deep gasp for breath, She-Hulk opened her eyes. Immediately a hand went to her neck. It was swollen but otherwise unbroken. “She didn’t do it,” she whispered, eyes closed to hold back tears.

Standing over here were Scarlet Witch and Wonder Man. All around them were police officers and emergency workers. She-Hulk was glad to see the judge being examined near the ambulance, at first glance unharmed. As she moved to sit up, She-Hulk missed what Woman Man had asked.

“I’m sorry?”

“What was it that happened here? Did they have much help?”

“Not unless you count me.” She-Hulk flushed with embarrassment. “The whole thing was a ruse. Titania used me to get close enough that she got Absorbing Man to touch something. I did my best but…” She-Hulk touched her neck again, and tears formed in her eyes.

Scarlet Witch touched her shoulder. “It’s all right. I doubt any of us could have taken both of them.”

“The alert’s gone out.” Wonder Man slipped his communicard back into his belt. “There’s no place those two will be able to hide. You’ll get another shot at them soon enough.”

“Yeah. I can’t wait.” She-Hulk said the words in a cocky tone. Confident, that was her. Not mousy little Jennifer Walters, terrified of most anything. “You guys find them, and just leave the rest to me.”

NEXT ISSUE: Wonder Man’s actions have consequences!