Aug 20, 2022 - Flowers of Life: Scotch Brooms (FR-13)
Aug 20, 2022 - Flowers of Life: Scotch Brooms (FR-13)
Author: mmooch
**Part of 2022 FaD challenge** Chapter Summary: World Security Council is in for a rude awakening, but they’re not the only ones surprised.
Crossover: She-Hulk; Avengers
Rating: FR-13
Word count: 1399
Challenge: for the livejournal 2022 August Fic-a-Day Challenge
Timeline: first Avengers movie timeline for MCU and post-series for BtVS.
A/Ns: My leg still hurts like hell, so I’ve been breaking the pain meds into quarters so I can still think while staving off the worst of the pain. Hoping that means I can update coherently; sorry if it doesn’t turn out that way. Much longer than I anticipated it being.
Kinda think I injured the muscle either during the cramp itself or by stretching it to keep it from cramping again. Weird, but unless it’s still bad in a couple days, I’ll just self-tend rather than bother with a doctor visit.
Scotch Brooms were known for regulating the heart and circulatory system, leading them to represent strength and abundance. While not directly referenced in the chapter, this is related to Tony healing while things are going on during his coma. Let’s say Buffy brought him a bouquet of Scotch Brooms to the tower for Pepper to put in his room.
Disclaimer: BtVS/AtS characters belong to Joss Whedon/Mutant Enemy. MCU characters belong to Marvel, Disney et al. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.
The Pentagon
Washington, DC
“General Hammond, there’s a team of people at the visitors’ entrance wishing to speak to quote ‘the people in charge’,” the aide said, fighting the urge to do the air quotes. “The leader said to tell you about the DRI project in California as proof of her qualifications.”
“This woman, is she more on the petite, athletic side with blonde hair?” General Hammond demanded with a marked interest.
“She is, sir,” the aide confirmed.
“Ask her and her colleagues to please come here to join our conference,” the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs commanded. “Be sure to be polite; we want her as our ally,” he warned.
Once they were alone again, Hammond turned to the other Chiefs and explained, just in case the others weren’t aware of the situation, “Ms. Summers and her team were the ones who save our Sunnydale base from complete annihilation, despite the fact that the first leader attempted to have her killed and the second one locked her up just before the hostile takeover by the creation Adam.”
“Weren’t they also responsible for the destruction of the town a few years later?” inquired Rear Admiral Rayne warily.
“The city was deserted by that point and the only casualties of their last battle were members of her side…and of course their enemies. Technically, it was the collapsing of the Hellmouth that destroyed the city. A fair trade, if I may say so,” General Hall opined. The remaining members of the DRI from Sunnydale fell under his command, and they got the after-action report straight from Summers while they were recuperating in LA.
If he could, he’d offer them all jobs with the US military, but he knew they had to remain available for the world’s protection and tying them to a particular government would hinder them from working with others. While the DRI could afford to be kept out of places, The Slayer couldn’t. He wasn’t sure how she and her team were supporting themselves financially, but as long as he didn’t have proof they were doing anything illegal, he’d stay out of it.
“Should we bring in Colonel Rhodes?” someone asked after a few more minutes of discussion.
“Let’s have him come to the Pentagon, but wait to see what she has to say before we have him join our discussion. It’s possible she’s here for a different reason, as terrifying as that possibility is,” Hammond replied.
“For all that is good and holy, please let her be here because of the alien invasion!” Raynes pleaded to whatever greater beings were listening.
“Don’t worry, that is the reason,” Buffy answered from the doorway. Once she introduced her team, they sat down and started talking about their purpose in being there, “As you can imagine, we aren’t happy that some idiot or idiots decided to try and blow up New York City. We quickly came to the realization that it wouldn’t be anyone in the government because that would be suicide.
“While stupid choices can be made that affect a lot of innocent people - Walsh’s experiment being a prime example - nuclear weapons are more controlled. Although, I’d like to revisit Adam’s power core at some point since it was uranium 235, which my geeks say should be hard to get as well. Sorry for the digression,” she waved her hand while she got herself mentally back to a diplomatic setting.
“Our point is that while we try to say out of human conflict stuff, this is a big enough issue that if you want our help tracking down the culprits, we’re here to assist you capturing them. We will not be involved in their punishment, however,” Buffy clarified. They’d have to trust in whatever system prosecuted the ones who gave the order and carried it out to decide the appropriate judgment.
“We’ve received an offer from Stark Industries to help in that as well. If you agree, we’d like to read Colonel Rhodes, the military liaison to SI, into the demon issue so we can coordinate properly,” Hammond quickly suggested, making a note to have someone look into the uranium core, if only for his own peace of mind.
Buffy looked at her team, then said, “As long as he’s willing to sign our version of an NDA.”
Stark Tower
Hours later…
Once Rhodey was read into the Slayer stuff, he suggested they reconvene at Stark Tower in New York since that’s where JARVIS and Tony’s best tech was located. Despite the minor panic attack at the thought of a sentient or near-sentient AI, Buffy’s team agreed. They’d leave any supernatural stuff out of their search or relegate it to the nearby Sanctum.
Meeting Pepper Potts and ‘officially’ meeting Jennifer and Bruce was a kick for them. Nobody could tell if their smiles were because most people were in awe of Pepper being a female CEO - especially for a company that was previously run by a man a lot of people assumed was a misogynist because of his sex life - or if it was something else.
It shouldn’t have come as that much of a shock that the jet that fired the missile came from the SHIELD Helicarrier, but it did. When Bruce and Jennifer confirmed that when they were on the carrier, it was in that general area, Buffy asked, “Understand that I’m not accusing or anything, but would Tony be the kind of guy that if he had access to the carrier, he’d leave some bugs around the place to keep tabs on what they were doing?” She knew the answer, of course, but since she shouldn’t, she had to pretend.
“JARVIS?” Pepper asked the AI, giving her authorization to override if necessary.
“Sir did leave some devices. That is how he learned they were using the tesseract to build WMDs,” JARVIS responded.
“Were any of them recording devices?” Bruce inquired. “Maybe we can find out if it was Fury that gave the order or somebody else.”
Rather than verbally replying, JARVIS opened a holographic screen showing the discussion between the World Security Council and Director Fury and Fury’s defiance of the strike order.
“So…good news is that Fury isn’t a complete bastard; bad new is we have to find out who those four are since they are the one behind the strike,” Rhodey summarized. “It’s strange that their council is an even number, unless Fury has the deciding vote in case of a tie.
“Maybe that isn’t all of them,” Jennifer countered. “We can’t assume they’re the only ones. They might be the only ones Fury knows.”
“We’ll start by capturing them and find out if there are any other members of this shadowy council while interrogating the ones we have,” Buffy said, internally growling at the thought of group that felt entirely too much like the old Watchers Council to her. Maybe there would be a time where a city was worth sacrificing to save humanity, but that wasn’t the case this time. And she’d make them pay for choosing the wrong option.
Unknown Slayer Base
Turns out there were five ‘visible’ members of the WSC and seven that stayed in the shadows.
When the sorcerers - along with cleared members of the DRI and Rhodey - interrogated the public members, they learned about the other seven and their locations. One of the names made Wes consider there was a reason for the additional secrecy.
“Holland Manners worked for Wolfram & Hart before Darla and Drusilla killed him and a bunch of other lawyers. Given their perpetuity clause for their employees, he probably still does,” Wes explained, reminding the team of why he didn’t join his former co-worker when Angel took over the Los Angeles branch. Some prices were just too high for friendship, and signing his soul away was definitely too steep for him.
“Shit!” Buffy muttered. “Now we have to worry if they’re involved in this or if he’s a random element. Do you know if he was turned?”
“I don’t,” Wes admitted. “It’s weird, but I’m actually rooting for him to be a vampire if that means we don’t have to deal with the Senior Partners.”
“We all are,” Willow agreed. From what she read about them, they were practically on par with The First Evil as far as power, and one of those confrontations in their lives was more than enough for her.
A/N: The WSC twist was only thought up as I was starting this update; I couldn’t find their Council size with a quick MCU google search so I made up a number that felt right for the twist. I can’t remember Holland’s fate off the top of my head and it’s too close to the deadline to research it, so it’s what I want as the writer. If you like these changes, thank Musie; if you hate them, blame the pain meds.
Author: mmooch
**Part of 2022 FaD challenge** Chapter Summary: World Security Council is in for a rude awakening, but they’re not the only ones surprised.
Crossover: She-Hulk; Avengers
Rating: FR-13
Word count: 1399
Challenge: for the livejournal 2022 August Fic-a-Day Challenge
Timeline: first Avengers movie timeline for MCU and post-series for BtVS.
A/Ns: My leg still hurts like hell, so I’ve been breaking the pain meds into quarters so I can still think while staving off the worst of the pain. Hoping that means I can update coherently; sorry if it doesn’t turn out that way. Much longer than I anticipated it being.
Kinda think I injured the muscle either during the cramp itself or by stretching it to keep it from cramping again. Weird, but unless it’s still bad in a couple days, I’ll just self-tend rather than bother with a doctor visit.
Scotch Brooms were known for regulating the heart and circulatory system, leading them to represent strength and abundance. While not directly referenced in the chapter, this is related to Tony healing while things are going on during his coma. Let’s say Buffy brought him a bouquet of Scotch Brooms to the tower for Pepper to put in his room.
Disclaimer: BtVS/AtS characters belong to Joss Whedon/Mutant Enemy. MCU characters belong to Marvel, Disney et al. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.
The Pentagon
Washington, DC
“General Hammond, there’s a team of people at the visitors’ entrance wishing to speak to quote ‘the people in charge’,” the aide said, fighting the urge to do the air quotes. “The leader said to tell you about the DRI project in California as proof of her qualifications.”
“This woman, is she more on the petite, athletic side with blonde hair?” General Hammond demanded with a marked interest.
“She is, sir,” the aide confirmed.
“Ask her and her colleagues to please come here to join our conference,” the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs commanded. “Be sure to be polite; we want her as our ally,” he warned.
Once they were alone again, Hammond turned to the other Chiefs and explained, just in case the others weren’t aware of the situation, “Ms. Summers and her team were the ones who save our Sunnydale base from complete annihilation, despite the fact that the first leader attempted to have her killed and the second one locked her up just before the hostile takeover by the creation Adam.”
“Weren’t they also responsible for the destruction of the town a few years later?” inquired Rear Admiral Rayne warily.
“The city was deserted by that point and the only casualties of their last battle were members of her side…and of course their enemies. Technically, it was the collapsing of the Hellmouth that destroyed the city. A fair trade, if I may say so,” General Hall opined. The remaining members of the DRI from Sunnydale fell under his command, and they got the after-action report straight from Summers while they were recuperating in LA.
If he could, he’d offer them all jobs with the US military, but he knew they had to remain available for the world’s protection and tying them to a particular government would hinder them from working with others. While the DRI could afford to be kept out of places, The Slayer couldn’t. He wasn’t sure how she and her team were supporting themselves financially, but as long as he didn’t have proof they were doing anything illegal, he’d stay out of it.
“Should we bring in Colonel Rhodes?” someone asked after a few more minutes of discussion.
“Let’s have him come to the Pentagon, but wait to see what she has to say before we have him join our discussion. It’s possible she’s here for a different reason, as terrifying as that possibility is,” Hammond replied.
“For all that is good and holy, please let her be here because of the alien invasion!” Raynes pleaded to whatever greater beings were listening.
“Don’t worry, that is the reason,” Buffy answered from the doorway. Once she introduced her team, they sat down and started talking about their purpose in being there, “As you can imagine, we aren’t happy that some idiot or idiots decided to try and blow up New York City. We quickly came to the realization that it wouldn’t be anyone in the government because that would be suicide.
“While stupid choices can be made that affect a lot of innocent people - Walsh’s experiment being a prime example - nuclear weapons are more controlled. Although, I’d like to revisit Adam’s power core at some point since it was uranium 235, which my geeks say should be hard to get as well. Sorry for the digression,” she waved her hand while she got herself mentally back to a diplomatic setting.
“Our point is that while we try to say out of human conflict stuff, this is a big enough issue that if you want our help tracking down the culprits, we’re here to assist you capturing them. We will not be involved in their punishment, however,” Buffy clarified. They’d have to trust in whatever system prosecuted the ones who gave the order and carried it out to decide the appropriate judgment.
“We’ve received an offer from Stark Industries to help in that as well. If you agree, we’d like to read Colonel Rhodes, the military liaison to SI, into the demon issue so we can coordinate properly,” Hammond quickly suggested, making a note to have someone look into the uranium core, if only for his own peace of mind.
Buffy looked at her team, then said, “As long as he’s willing to sign our version of an NDA.”
Stark Tower
Hours later…
Once Rhodey was read into the Slayer stuff, he suggested they reconvene at Stark Tower in New York since that’s where JARVIS and Tony’s best tech was located. Despite the minor panic attack at the thought of a sentient or near-sentient AI, Buffy’s team agreed. They’d leave any supernatural stuff out of their search or relegate it to the nearby Sanctum.
Meeting Pepper Potts and ‘officially’ meeting Jennifer and Bruce was a kick for them. Nobody could tell if their smiles were because most people were in awe of Pepper being a female CEO - especially for a company that was previously run by a man a lot of people assumed was a misogynist because of his sex life - or if it was something else.
It shouldn’t have come as that much of a shock that the jet that fired the missile came from the SHIELD Helicarrier, but it did. When Bruce and Jennifer confirmed that when they were on the carrier, it was in that general area, Buffy asked, “Understand that I’m not accusing or anything, but would Tony be the kind of guy that if he had access to the carrier, he’d leave some bugs around the place to keep tabs on what they were doing?” She knew the answer, of course, but since she shouldn’t, she had to pretend.
“JARVIS?” Pepper asked the AI, giving her authorization to override if necessary.
“Sir did leave some devices. That is how he learned they were using the tesseract to build WMDs,” JARVIS responded.
“Were any of them recording devices?” Bruce inquired. “Maybe we can find out if it was Fury that gave the order or somebody else.”
Rather than verbally replying, JARVIS opened a holographic screen showing the discussion between the World Security Council and Director Fury and Fury’s defiance of the strike order.
“So…good news is that Fury isn’t a complete bastard; bad new is we have to find out who those four are since they are the one behind the strike,” Rhodey summarized. “It’s strange that their council is an even number, unless Fury has the deciding vote in case of a tie.
“Maybe that isn’t all of them,” Jennifer countered. “We can’t assume they’re the only ones. They might be the only ones Fury knows.”
“We’ll start by capturing them and find out if there are any other members of this shadowy council while interrogating the ones we have,” Buffy said, internally growling at the thought of group that felt entirely too much like the old Watchers Council to her. Maybe there would be a time where a city was worth sacrificing to save humanity, but that wasn’t the case this time. And she’d make them pay for choosing the wrong option.
Unknown Slayer Base
Turns out there were five ‘visible’ members of the WSC and seven that stayed in the shadows.
When the sorcerers - along with cleared members of the DRI and Rhodey - interrogated the public members, they learned about the other seven and their locations. One of the names made Wes consider there was a reason for the additional secrecy.
“Holland Manners worked for Wolfram & Hart before Darla and Drusilla killed him and a bunch of other lawyers. Given their perpetuity clause for their employees, he probably still does,” Wes explained, reminding the team of why he didn’t join his former co-worker when Angel took over the Los Angeles branch. Some prices were just too high for friendship, and signing his soul away was definitely too steep for him.
“Shit!” Buffy muttered. “Now we have to worry if they’re involved in this or if he’s a random element. Do you know if he was turned?”
“I don’t,” Wes admitted. “It’s weird, but I’m actually rooting for him to be a vampire if that means we don’t have to deal with the Senior Partners.”
“We all are,” Willow agreed. From what she read about them, they were practically on par with The First Evil as far as power, and one of those confrontations in their lives was more than enough for her.
A/N: The WSC twist was only thought up as I was starting this update; I couldn’t find their Council size with a quick MCU google search so I made up a number that felt right for the twist. I can’t remember Holland’s fate off the top of my head and it’s too close to the deadline to research it, so it’s what I want as the writer. If you like these changes, thank Musie; if you hate them, blame the pain meds.