"She-Hulk Loses Control AGAIN - Is Jennifer Walters Dangerous?"
"Superhero or Liability? She-Hulk's Week of Violence"
"From Courtroom to Combat Zone: She-Hulk's Public Meltdown"
The headlines were everywhere. All over news sites, social media and on cable news panels featuring 'experts' who analysed all the footage.
Both incidents showed the same thing. She-Hulk losing control. Jen was sitting in her apartment watching CNN's coverage at 6 PM. She hadn't slept for over twenty-four hours. The panel was discussing her.
"...pattern of aggressive behaviour that should frankly concern not just the public but the Avengers. This isn't an isolated incident anymore. Jennifer Walters cannot control her emotions anymore," the prosecutor said on the panel.
"To be fair, gamma mutants all struggle with rage management. Bruce Banner's condition is well documented..." Interjected the psychologist.
"Which is exactly the problem. We've all seen what happens when the Hulk loses control. Cities get destroyed and people die. These incidents prove she's just one bad day from committing yet another catastrophe," the prosecutor interrupted.
"And with the recent revelations from the courtroom attack, it raises concerns of She-Hulk's abuse of her status when it comes to the legal system. We're talking about corruption on top of the violence." The professor nodded.
Jen turned off the TV and pulled out her phone. Twitter was worse. #SheHulkIsOverParty was trending with thousands of tweets with people comparing her to Hulk's worst rampages and claiming they always 'knew' she was dangerous.
Jen threw her phone across the room. It hit the wall, and the screen cracked, but it still was working. She immediately regretted it. It was exactly what they were scared of. Her losing control.
What made it worse was that it felt good to throw the phone. To release all that frustration. The realisation was worse than breaking her phone.
It was 2 AM in the Avengers training facility alone. She had been there for six hours and was hitting the punching bag so hard it flew off its chains. It was the fourth she destroyed tonight.
She should stop and take a break to process her emotions like a healthy person. Except healthy people didn't nearly kill someone over the most mundane things. Jen grabbed a fifth bag, hung it and started hitting again.
She imagined Titania's face and hit harder. She imagined Sophist and what he said to her. She hit harder. She imagined the news coverage and the bag exploding on her next hit, sand booming all over the training room.
Jen was breathing hard and covered in sweat. She should feel bad about destroying so much equipment, but she didn't. It felt good to release her anger. The door opened.
"Jen, It's 2 AM. What are you doing?" Carol Danvers said.
"Training."
"You've destroyed five bags. That's... something else," Carol replied, looking at her friend.
"I need to be stronger. Titania proved I'm not strong enough. Sophist proved I'm not good enough. I'm simply fixing that," Jen responded.
"By beating up equipment at 2 AM?"
"By proving they're wrong about me."
"Jen. You're one of the strongest people I know, both physically and mentally. But this... this is just letting them get in your head," Carol replied, walking closer and gesturing at the destroyed bags.
"They're already in my head, so I might as well use it productively," Jen responded, grabbing and hanging up a sixth bag.
"That's not... Jen. Listen to yourself. This is the opposite of control," Carol said.
"Maybe it's overrated. Maybe I'm trying to be someone I'm not. The 'controlled' Hulk. The lawyer who just so happened to get powers," Jen replied, hitting the punching bag.
"You are those things."
"Am I? Evidence seems to suggest I'm exactly what they claim I am. A monster," Jen replied, hitting the bag harder.
"You don't believe that."
"I nearly killed Titania on live television and could have killed everyone in that courtroom because I lost control. That's twice in one week. So yeah, maybe I do believe it," Jen replied and stopped hitting the bag.
Carol was quiet for a moment. "What did the Sophist say to you? In the courtroom."
"He told me to stop pretending to be something I'm not. To process my emotions," Jen replied.
"And you're taking the advice from a terrorist?" responded Carol.
"I'm taking advice from someone who saw right through me," Jen answered.
"Jen. Look at me." Carol said, grabbing the bag and stopping it from swinging.
Jen listened, reluctantly.
"You're spiralling by letting these people define you and determine your self-worth. That's not the Jen I know," Carol said.
"Maybe you don't know me as well as you think," Jen responded.
"I know you're better than this. Don't prove them right by letting yourself lose control," Carol replied.
Jen pulled away from the bag and walked to the wall. She pressed her forehead against it.
"What if they're right? That I'm a monster," Jen asked.
"Then you're a monster who's saved thousands of lives and fights for justice every day they wake up. I don't think you're a monster. Just a human like everyone else who makes mistakes," Carol answered, her voice softening.
"Humans don't put cities in danger because they can't control their rage," Jen replied.
"We've all got demons. The difference is if we work on them or let them define us. We definitely don't train at 2 AM," Carol responded, moving closer.
"I don't know how to fix this. How do I prove them wrong?" Jen asked quietly, looking at her hands.
"You don't need to prove anything. Just be yourself and keep trying. Definitely stop listening to advice from villians who hate you," Carol answered, putting a hand on Jen's shoulder.
Jen left at 4 AM after Carol finally convinced her to stop for the night and sleep. Jen agreed and went home.
Jen stood in her apartment and walked to her wall, punching it. The wall cratered, dust flying everywhere. Jen stood there, her fist still in the wall, and breathed hard.
She waited for the regret and guilt to come, but it didn't. Just satisfaction.
She pulled her fist out and looked at the damage. She then walked to her bedroom and lay down, staring at the ceiling.
Titania was sitting in her SHIELD holding cell watching the same news coverage, smiling.
The news was talking about her and respecting her. The screen showed footage of their fight, of her pushing Jen back. The 'strongest woman alive'.
"Hello Mary," Sophist said pleasantly.
"How did you..." Titania started to speak, standing up and being defensive.
"Teleportation makes most security irrelevant. I wanted to congratulate you," Sophist interrupted, pulling up a chair and sitting down.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she replied.
"Your approach to the She-Hulk fight. The psychological warfare was quite amusing. I wouldn't expect it from someone like you. It's very similar to my own approach," Sophist responded, smiling.
Titania recognised him from the courtroom incident on the news.
"What do you want?"
"Nothing yet at least. Just wanted to stop by and say it was excellent work. Making her question herself," Sophist replied, standing.
"She deserves it. She acts like she's better than everyone else, and someone needed to show everyone else the fraud that she is," Titania said.
"I agree. But you do it for personal validation. You need to prove you're not inferior to her and that you deserve respect," Sophist replied.
"Get out," Mary said, her jaw tightened.
"Oh, don't worry, I'm already leaving. Just wanted to say keep up the good work. Another fight or two and she'll either grow better than ever or turn into the rage-fuelled beast she claims to not be," Sophist replied.
Then he was gone.