His love of the Hulk may have decided his future profession. Three weeks before Stew's ninth birthday, he went out for a bike ride.
"Look, Mommy! Daddy! No hands!" Unfortunately, Stew didn't see the dip in front of him, and for a moment, he flew. When he woke up, Mommy and Daddy were crying, but they quit crying the moment they saw he was alright. He was more than alright, though: he was determined to be the best nuclear physicist around, just like Bruce Banner.
He studied really hard and got into MIT on a full scholarship. He was top of his class and was hired to work on a top secret government project right after graduation. He worked under a Dr. Bruce Banner, who was quite tired of the Hulk jokes even before Stew started working for him. Stew did tell his folks who he was working for, but couldn't say exactly what he was working on: a "Super Soldier" program. He was working on a Super Soldier serum with Dr Bruce Banner, just like in the comics. It was a dream come true.
Even the best dreams, however, can become nightmares. One late June day, a gang of men killed Stew's father. A witness claimed the three men who shot poor Dad were dressed as clowns, which Stew knew as the modus operandi for the Killer Klown Krew. The best way stew could think to work through his grief was, well, to work through it. And so, he threw himself into working on the Super Soldier Serum.
Naturally, as this was California, an earthquake hit. Stew was thrown back into his wall. The various syringes of serum all fell on him, at least 60 doses, each of which could theoretically make him above human. They hadn't tested the stuff on people yet, but the 60 syringes they had were of a formula that made the monkeys they tested it on much more strong and durable. And a little larger. Stew grew a lot larger. Not quite Hulk-level large, but close.
"Hmmm...better test this out," was his first thought, once the quake ended. He found he could lift the heaviest thing around, his neighbour's pickup truck, with little difficulty. He could also jump at least 4 stories high, though the landing wasn't exactly ground friendly. Naturally, the next thought Stew had was to use his newfound power for good while he still had it, lest it wear off before he could catch his dad's killers.
It wasn't that hard to find the Killer Klown Krew. A quick google search for local abandoned circus grounds found only three in the area, and it wasn't hard to check all of them in a small amount of time. He wondered why the cops didn't do that, but then guessed there were probably too many dirty cops on the force or something. Either way, it wasn't long before he had a makeshift superhero costume made out of a circus strongman suit and a ski mask. A fitting costume, he figured, for busting some clowns.
The third abandoned circus ground he checked did, indeed have the gang of clowns there. There were 5 of them. Not the whole gang, clearly, but somehow, he <i>knew</i> these armed thugs were the ones who killed his father (and two more). They didn’t hesitate to shoot at him, and that’s when Stew learned that not only was he strong, he was also invincible. He slowly, ominously walked towards them, and broke their guns. Then, an urge overtook him. He grabbed one by the arm and threw him up, then another, and another, until eventually, he was juggling all five of the clowning criminals. Granted, he could have killed them all, but heroes never kill. When he was certain the clowns were beaten, he tossed them into an acrobats’ net and tied said net.
“Now that I’ve got you all tied up, I’ll take you to a circus you won’t have fun in – the Big Circus!” He then jumped all the way to the police station. He dropped them off with a note attached: “These criminal clowns won’t make any more families cry.” He didn’t know what to sign it, so he just left them there.
The next day, he received an odd text. “We know about the clowns last night. Meet me at ¬¬_______. Urgent.” Stew didn’t know what make of it, but he went to the prescribed place at the prescribed time. No one else was there, of course, but he was surprised by who he saw. There was Dr Bruce Banner, and beside him…
“Nick Fury, Director of Supreme Headquarters International Espionage Law-enforcement Division.”
“…SHIELD?” Stew was in awe.
“Yeah, that’s the acronym. Anyway, we’ve been watching you and your newfound gamma powers. If you’re willing, we have a spot on the Avengers for you.”
“But…that’s all fiction!” As much as it pained Stew, superheroes didn’t exist. Well, except for him.
“We keep it secret, and the comics and movies are good at that. Anyone who tells anyone about us gets laughed at, because we’re comic book characters,” said Fury.
“And…you want to recruit me?” Stew asked. Both Fury and Banner nodded.
“But we’ll need a code name…and a better costume,” Fury added.
“Well, I did just juggle some clowns…” He then thought of his father. “Why not the Smashing Clown Juggler?”
“Well, I guess all the good names are taken anyway,” Fury said with a shrug. “Welcome aboard, Smashing Clown Juggler!” They shook hands. “We’ll take you to the Helicarrier right away. Oh, and Stew? Whatever you do, don’t make Banner angry.” They all laughed. It was the best day of Stew’s life.
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Yesterday was one of the worst days of Martha Smith’s life. Yesterday was her son Stewart’s tenth birthday. Since the accident, her marriage to Dean had suffered, though they managed to stick together. If Stew had died in the accident it would have been much easier, but having her son comatose for almost 13 months was like having him die every day in that stretch of time. So, she was glad for the good news. The doctor told her that Stew’s brain activity had spiked, and was continuing to increase steadily ever since yesterday, when they left his presents at his bedside: an Incredible Hulk action figure and a clown doll.
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