The Sage of the Mind

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The Sage of the Mind: Chapter 65 [October 2010]

–Axle Riddle–

“So, are you completely and utterly sure that you want to have this baby, even with all the risks attached?” He asked Betty who was currently busy gorging on all kinds of cheeses. Apparently, the pregnancy cravings had arrived early on this one.

“What? Are you kidding? I love this kid already. Plus, I get to eat so much foooood,” Betty said as she dove right back into the cheese platter.

“Disturbing comparison aside. Betty, you know the risks, right? I am sure Bruce didn’t have the stomach to do so but you can actually die while doing this, Betty. I am not a hundred percent sure of being able to save you if the need arises,” He said, trying to convey the risks associated with the pregnancy.

The woman barely paused at the news, as if it was something that happened on the daily.

“Oh relax, nothing is going to happen to me. I can feel it, the baby will save me if anything happens,” Betty said, and he actually fell into deep thought at that.

If Bruce could be considered a Gamma God of some sort, having divinity associated with the feeling of Rage, then his baby would be considered a godling. Huh, maybe there is some truth to this theory but he might have to consult with the Ancient One about this.

“Hey Randall, how far along are we with the Vibranium?” He asked Randall, who was working in the warehouse with none other than Helen Cho, in order to create emergency tissue just in case they needed to do an emergency C-Section. Apparently, the chances of that happening are very high because if they let the pregnancy come to term, Betty’s body might not handle it very well.

“..Uh, Tony said that it will arrive in about two more days. He had Vibtranium stashed in different parts of the country and some of it was hidden very well so he had to send out his suits to recover it.”

Okay, he did not know Tony was this paranoid. He should have had this level of caution when it came to Obadiah, probably would have saved him the trip to Afghanistan.

“Okay. And is Vibranium going to be enough?”

“Oh yeah, more than enough. Our primary concern at the moment is being able to actually use the Vibranium in any meaningful way.”

“Oh, I am working on that as well.”

“Dr.Cho, Good Afternoon,”

“Good Afternoon, Mr.Invisible Man,” She bowed at him slightly then turned back to her work.

“What can you tell me about the Gamam fetus?”

“It is advancing very fast, faster than what Ms.Ross’ body can keep up with. You can see her body requiring much more nutrients than usual to sustain all the activity happening in her body. Mr.Stark and Mr.Randall here were able to build the live scanner that is now installed in her bedroom, giving us real time updates about her body,”

Wow, talk about violation of privacy.

“We are figuring out alternative methods of providing the energy necessary but so far, any energy dense source of food we have given her, has ended up in her emptying the contents of her stomach,” Cho replied.

“I still believe that we should be able to do what Mr.Stark told me about the Vibranium but the fact remains that we don’t know how the baby might react to the Vibranium. We must proceed with caution. We only have about 2 more months until the baby is born,” 

“Very well, Continue your work. Thank you for coming on such short notice. You are being paid, right?” He asked her the last question when he remembered that he was not really paying any of the people present here. He might have to rectify that.

Oh, he was more than certain that all the SHIELD personnel here were mining all the information, and that information was probably worth more than any amount of money that SHIELD could get but he didn’t really like them working without being compensated.

“Oh? Oh yes, I am on the direct payroll of SHIELD. I am getting 30% more than my emergency rate. Also, this work is very interesting, I would have done it for free anyway,” Cho replied.

Well, he might have to compensate Fury for all the work he must have done in keeping not just General Ross from coming but also from the WSC getting their paws on Bruce and his baby.

Aside from this emergency Gamma situation, things were running smoothly in the city. Crime was being handled properly.

He had now hashed out proper procedures for different crimes, how to apply appropriate amount of force and how to better subdue the perps until the police arrived, that sort of stuff. He had an official understanding with the NYPD and the City of New York now.

The soup kitchens were running perfectly, with no deviation in funds, and no mistreatment of the people arriving there.

Hell, he considered it his personal achievement when normal people who couldn't, or rather, didn’t want to cook and just wanted a hot hygienic meal, arrived at his kitchens and had their meals in silence.

Well, time to get to the Ancient One now, he thought to himself while eating the pizza slice, walking towards the New York Sanctum. 

Dealing with the Ancient One was one of the few things that he had to do in person,instead of using his powers. For one, his awareness was instantly sensed by her, due to his sheer presence in the Astral Realm.

She once told him that if he were to ever wander deeper into the Astral Realm while someone severed the connection from his body, he would be the biggest snack for all the creatures that lived in the Astral Realm, including some non corporeal Gods.

That did the trick and he no longer tried to explore the Astral Realm willy nilly.

After disposing of the coffee cup and the paper napkins, he went up to the Sanctum building and waited for the doors to open. The last time he came here, he almost fell through because he was about to knock and ended up with his hand hovering right in front of the face of Master Drumm who looked very bemused at the act.

“Oh come on,” He said while he knocked on the door, not just with his body, but also with his mind, and this time, he did not hold back, as much. The resulting force would have probably blasted any door and created a hole in the wall behind it but as a result of the wards that he could now sense properly, the door didn’t even budge.

“What the hell! Are you trying to destroy the Sanctum, you brute!” The door opened and the irate face of Master Drumm entered his vision who didn’t waste a single moment as he shoved him into the Sanctum and then closed the doors.

“Hey, I just knocked. It’s not my fault you didn’t open the door even though you knew I was coming,” He complained as he looked around the layout of the Sanctum. Seriously, this place changes every time he comes to visit.

“Hi, Master Drumm, I was wondering if the Ancient One is free. I have a certain Gamma Problem that we need to deal with,”

Daniel narrowed his eyes at him, “I am well aware of the Gamma problem you are referring to. Bruce Banner is a volatile being and unless he settles down, he cannot be given access to Kamar Taj in any way, you know that,”

“Yeah yeah, I know but I am not here for Bruce Banner, I am here for–”

“--the godling, I assume?” The crisp clear voice of the Ancient One made them both look up as she descended from the stairs, her hands clasped behind her back.

Honestly, she had such a penchant for dramatic entrances but then again, what did he know about old people and what they do in their spare time?

He nodded at her, “Yes, Bruce’s baby is about to be born and while I do trust Stark in having the technology side of things handled, I am not so sure about the mystical aspect that probably comes with having Bruce Banner as their father,” 

He was even fearful that the Guy Below could have a hand in the entire process or that he would steal the baby in some manner, setting off the Hulk.

“Hmm, this is certainly interesting. The baby of an unrealised God, born as a fully realised Godling. Very well, I will be there when the time comes. Now, please leave because I have some preparations to do,” She said and waved her hands. 

His vision blurred as he found himself back on the same street, facing the same dustbin where he dumped the coffee mug.

Damn her shenanigans, he fumed to himself as he started his walk back to his office, his sweet sweet air conditioned office.

He was not sure if Wakanda would respond to his request because he had sensed the Embassy Head all but fleeing the country after he had submitted his request but he would reserve his judgement on the matter. Worst case scenario, he could just threaten them with complete exposure if they refused to budge on the matter.

He was all for being honest but a life, an objectively more important life, was at stake and he honestly did not have the time for Wakanda’s Xenophobia at the moment.

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