So Close
Fluttershy sat silently in the back of the rusty, old pickup Rarity had stolen the day before. She watched the passing trees along the side of the freeway as they made their way north towards Manehattan. Rarity and Boot were in the front seat, Rarity driving and Boot looking at a map to make sure they were headed the right way.
“I do know my way to Manehattan,” Rarity remarked, glancing sideways at Boot.
Boot kept his eyes on the map. “I’m sure you do, but I don’t and I wanna make sure you don’t take us on any unplanned detours,” he replied, looking up at a passing sign to make sure they were in fact on the right road.
Rarity huffed at Boot’s mistrust, but didn’t bother trying to reason with the stallion. “Everything alright back there Fluttershy?” Rarity asked, catching Fluttershy’s attention. “You’ve been awfully quiet.”
Fluttershy smiled at Rarity’s apparent concern. “I’m okay. Just thinking of what I can say to Dr. Study,” she replied. Fluttershy had grown more comfortable around her companions and, although she still spoke softly, she spoke with more confidence.
Boot looked up from the map. “Speaking of plans, probably gonna hit a roadblock outside of Manehattan. Hurricane tends to cover all his bases pretty well,” he pointed out.
Rarity smirked. “If we need a backup plan there’s a safehouse on the waterfront near the city. We can use the boat there to get in if we need to,” she informed them.
Boot and Fluttershy looked at eachother, confused. “I thought you said we weren’t getting any help from S.H.I.E.L.D.,” Boot said. Fluttershy looked at the mare, as curious as Boot was about the usefulness of the safehouse.
Rarity laughed. “This isn’t a S.H.I.E.L.D. safehouse. It belongs to a friend of mine and I’m sure she won’t mind me borrowing a few of her things. It is for a good cause after all,” Rarity explained, only making her companions more confused.
“Fine, so long as we aren’t turning to some criminal for help,” he submitted, turning back to his map. “But if I smell a trap, we’re backing out,” he threatened.
“Oh don’t worry. S.H.I.E.L.D. wouldn’t risk getting on Fluttershy’s bad side,” Rarity told them in an obvious attempt to appease them.
Fluttershy turned back towards the window, not wanting the other two to see how much Rarity’s words bothered her. Fluttershy knew she was dangerous, but every reminder of that felt like a knife in her heart.
“Are you alright Fluttershy?” Rarity asked. Fluttershy looked up in surprise, finding Rarity watching her in the rearview mirror.
“I’m just ready for a change,” Fluttershy replied.
////////////////////
General Hurricane sat in his office going over dossiers for potential recruits to bring to Manehattan when he heard a knock on his office door. “Enter,” he called out.
Winchester opened the door, looking cheerier than expected. “Sir there’s been a development in Heavyweight’s condition,” she told him.
Hurricane cocked an eyebrow, “What kind of development?” he asked, hoping he was going to hear good news.
“Could just ask me yourself,” Heavyweight said as he pushed his way into the room, already wearing his uniform again and smirking like the devil.
Hurricane gave the sergeant a once over, amazed that the stallion was already back on his feet. Standing up, Hurricane asked,” How are you feeling?”
“Ready for another go at the monster,” he stated with confidence. “Whenever we’re ready to move on her.”
Hurricane smiled, having been more than ready to hear some good news. “Good to hear soldier. We haven’t been able to track her down just yet, but we have people watching Stern in Manehattan. If that’s where she and her friends are headed they should be showing up soon,” he informed leaning against his desk, unable to fully process Heavyweight’s miraculous recovery.
Heavyweight seemed please with the news. “Than I say we get ahead of her,” he suggested, earning a curious look from Hurricane. “Get ourselves set up around Stern’s office and be ready to move in as soon as she shows up.”
Hurricane considered his options for a moment. “Unfortunately our movements are more restricted than before,” he said, earning a frown from Heavyweight. “The Commander has ordered that I inform him of any future operations involving Fluttershy before we make a move and only if he gives the go ahead,” Hurricane explained, observing the less than pleased look his soldier was giving him.
After a moment of silence Heavyweight spoke up. “Fluttershy isn’t there yet though,” he pointed out.
“What’s your point?” Hurricane asked seeing the same confused look on Winchester’s face that he was sure he had as well.
“If she isn’t there yet, it’s less an operation involving her and more us protecting an asset,” Heavyweight pointed out. “We can’t just leave Stern out to dry when big green comes knocking can we?” he asked, once more wearing a smirk.
Hurricane thought about Heavyweight’s plan for only a moment. “We might be able to get away with that, but then what happens when Fluttershy does change. With her allies, she’s proving to be more than we can handle,”Hurricane reminded the soldier.
Heavyweight glared at Hurricane, but didn’t seem to have an answer.
“I may have a suggestion sir,” Winchester said, earning a hopeful look from Heavyweight and a curious one from. “After we had Fluttershy’s belongings from Bassett Town processed, our lab techs reported that she had made a formula that could suppress a radiation flare,” she explained, seeming to get more nervous when she realized Heavyweight was glaring at her..
“How exactly does that help?” Heavyweight asked, gritting his teeth.
Winchester looked at Hurricane, who nodded for her to continue. “If they’re right it’s a temporary cure. We can give the data to Stern and he can give her a dose. That way when we move in and Fluttershy panics she won’t change,” Winchester finished.
Heavyweight chuckled. “There. She shows up and we take her without a fight,” Heavyweight said, crossing his arms and smirking at the General.
Hurricane took a moment to consider everything he’d been told. “Get Fluttershy’s equipment and any notes she had and gather them up. Then get two units posted outside Stern’s office. I want to be ready and waiting for Fluttershy in the next two hours,” Hurricane commanded, earning a salute from Winchester and a smug grin from Heavyweight.
Hurricane turned to the Sergeant as Winchester exited the office. “Get ready son. We may need you to handle that white mare,” Hurricane said, earning a lazy salute from Heavyweight.
“Yes sir,” Heavyweight replied as he left as well, shutting the door behind him.
Hurricane stood in his office and sighed. “Please let this work,” he said to himself.
////////////////////
“Well at least we were prepared for this,” Rarity said, gesturing at the roadblock, just barely visible through the gridlocked traffic in front of them.
“Can we back out of here?” Boot asked.
“I don’t think so,” Fluttershy told them as she looked out of the back of the truck. As Rarity and Boot turned to look, several more cars pulled up, blocking them from escaping with the pickup.
“We’ll have to ditch the car here and make our way to the boathouse on foot,” Rarity told them, already opening her door and stepping out.
Boot looked unsure and glanced at Fluttershy. Fluttershy shrugged as she exited the vehicle as well, joined soon after by Boot.
“We aren’t too far. Follow me,” Rarity instructed, almost having to shout over the angry drivers honking at them for leaving their car in the middle of the road.
“So are we going to get to meet this friend of yours?” Boot asked. He and Fluttershy had been curious who Rarity would trust outside of S.H.I.E.L.D., but Rarity was reluctant to share any details.
“Of course not. She isn’t actually going to be there, she just owns the building,” Rarity told them with a smile as they walked between the cars and off the side of the road in the direction of the nearby waterfront.
////////////////////
Boot and Fluttershy followed Rarity until they came to the coast and stopped as soon as they saw the building. “Your friend owns this building?” Boot asked.
“Oh dear,” Fluttershy whispered, becoming more hesitant to enter the building.
“Is there a problem?” Rarity asked. “You can tell S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn’t own it,” she pointed out, gesturing at the side of the building where the logo for Dash Industries was painted in large letters.
“I can’t actually tell if this is worse or not,” Boot replied with a flat tone.
Fluttershy stare at the logo hesitantly for a moment before making a decision. “We don’t have much choice,” she said, catching Boot’s attention. “This is our best chance to get into the city,” she said, mustering all her confidence. Fluttershy turned to Rarity and nodded.
Rarity returned the nod and led Boot and Fluttershy inside, after kicking the door open. “You don’t have a key?” Boot asked, smiling at the improvised entrance.
“Not as such,” Rarity replied. “You’re going to have to give me moment. I need to hot wire the boat,” Rarity said as Fluttershy and Boot entered behind her and saw what Rarity called a boat.
“That thing is huge!” Boot shouted. “You expect us to sneak into the city in this thing?” he asked incredulously.
“It does seem a little big for what we need,” Fluttershy pointed out.
Rarity rolled her eyes at the pair as she hopped onto the boat from the walkway next to it. “Well we are unfortunately out of options. The road is a no go and we don’t have a way to fly in,” Rarity argued as she gestured at the boat. “This is all we’ve got.”
Fluttershy eyed the boat for a moment. “Okay. You’re right,” she conceded. “Will it take long to get it started? Not to be pushy,” Fluttershy asked.
“Maybe an hour or two,” Rarity said from the wheelhouse of the boat, as she pulled a panel off of the front of the console, exposing the wires inside. “Maybe less.”
////////////////////
Stern Study sat in his office with General Hurricane, going over Fluttershy’s notes on her failed cure. “Well I can see a few reasons why the cure didn’t work,” he said as he put the notes back on his desk.
“Can it do what we need it to?” Hurricane asked, keeping his tone even.
“Oh absolutely. My only concern is the people you intend to have me in the same room with. When I signed that contract it didn’t include me putting myself at risk for your interests. What’s to stop me just turning Fluttershy away as soon as she gets here?” Study asked.
Hurricane could tell when he’d arrived that Study wouldn’t want anything to do with Fluttershy or her friends. “If you help us now, I can guarantee you’ll have everything you need for your research for the next decade,” Hurricane promised.
Stern was silent for a moment. “This is insane, but that is a difficult offer to pass up,” he commented, nodding his head. “Okay, I’ll do it,” he agreed, smiling at the General and holding his hand out to shake.
“Good,” Hurricane said shaking hands with the scientist.
////////////////////
After just two hours fiddling with the wires in the boat, Rarity had it up and running and she, Fluttershy and Boot were half way from the coast to the docks that ringed Manehattan. Fluttershy could already see the skyline of the city, the towers near the center marking the financial district and the smaller buildings where the general public of the city usually lived.
“Have you ever been here before?” Rarity asked, glancing at Fluttershy from the wheelhouse.
Fluttershy shook her head. “No. I was invited to a convention years ago, after I wrote my thesis on bioengineering, but I didn’t go,” Fluttershy explained, earning a curious glance from the unicorn. “I didn’t want to embarrass myself in front of strangers,” Fluttershy said, barely above a whisper.
Boot Strap looked at Fluttershy, sympathy filling his eyes. “Maybe you can make the next one after you get cured,” he suggested, bringing a smile to Fluttershy’s face.
“If I get cured,” Fluttershy corrected, unable to keep the doubts out of her mind. She knew there was chance Stern Study wouldn’t be able to help her, but just the thought of being able to live a normal life seemed worth any risk.
“Well, we’ll know soon enough,” Rarity said, bringing their attention back to the front of the boat and the rapidly approaching docks. “Things should be fairly easy from this point on,” she said as she slowed their pace, stopping next to a pier they could disembark from.
“So close,” Fluttershy whispered to herself as she followed Rarity and Boot off of the boat.
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Aw don't be so down. It's better then some other hulk stories I've read on the site. I'm not naming names...... Ben.
6780463 I'm sure We've all written things we look back on and think "Gross", but my big problem here is I'm basically just putting in a lot of pointless filler crap to make the characters journey not seem too short. But it doesn't matter. Shits gonna explode in the next chapter.
6780540 How big of a storm of shit we talking?
6780547 I believe the way Banner phrased it in the Avengers was "I broke Harlem"... so something along those lines.
6780571 Yes.
6780584 That's about how excited I am too, honestly.