𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐌 ⁽¹⁾

✧

chapter three
( elara noxley and the rag-tag group of hotheads )
❝ i don't think i belong here. ❞

━━━ 𝓔LARA strutted into the laboratory, a large case in hand. Bruce stood from his seat to greet her. "Hey kid, how did it go?"

Elara smiled warmly, skipping over to the table he was at. "It was more... interactive than I expected," she admitted, "but I come bearing gifts!" She set the case on to the table, undoing the latches and opening it up. Bruce peered inside to see a long, other-worldly looking scepter. He looked over at Elara, at a loss for words.

"You brought me a staff?"

"Not just any staff, Dr. Banner—" she took it out and roared it in her hands, "the staff. This thing is powered by an Infinity Gem. And I think you're going to be much more interested in this one."

"What can it do?" Bruce asked, watching Elara as she started to set up a station for the scepter. She put it up on it's display, moving a few monitors over to hook the scepter up to.

"Well, I'm almost certain that the stone powering this thing is the Mind Gem," Elara said as she worked, "Loki's been using it to keep people under some sort of hypnosis. The Mind Gem, it's..." she paused, searching for the right wording, "beyond powerful. It's an entire living network — an A.I., so to speak. It's one of the most complex in the entire galaxy." Bruce watched her rave on and on with a soft smile. She was clearly passionate about her theory, and it saddened Bruce to know that he was one of the few people who actually cared enough to ask her about it.

"How do you know so much about the stones? You haven't gotten to work with this one yet, so is this all based on hypothesis?"

Elara stopped what she was doing, turning to face Banner. Her expression was unreadable, but it was clear that Bruce may have unintentionally struck a chord with her. "It's complicated," she sighed, "and it's not something we need to get into yet. Just trust me, Dr. Banner. I promise that this is going to be worth your time." Bruce crossed his arms.

"I trust you, Elara," Bruce said softly, and before he could say anything else Elara's face lit up with excitement.

"Perfect. Now let's toy around with this thing until the others get back."

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Elara continued to rant and rave to Bruce about the stones for as long as he would allow. Admittedly, he was enjoying it. He appreciated the look in her eyes when she spoke on the topic. He smiled fondly at her as she talked about the stone's capability for sentience; Bruce wasn't quite sure what she was talking about, but he smiled along anyways. Elara reminded him a lot of himself before The Other Guy. Elara smart, like Banner is smart. Smarter than Banner. Bruce shifted in his seat uncomfortably. Elara paused for a moment, scanning Bruce's face to make sure he wasn't getting bored. "Continue, I'm just," he scanned his brain for an excuse, "getting hungry, is all."