illyris, p. parker ¹

vi. confrontations

"So you're actually in the Avengers headquarters right now?"

"Yep... gearing up to fight a genocidal Titan and his killer-spawn who tried to kill me," Thea sighed. She sunk deeper into a black lounge chair that was far comfier than it looked. "Sorry, I'm starving right now, that's all I can think about."

"Thea, focus!" Bex groaned. "You actually met Bruce Banner and War Machine?!" She froze and her eyes widened even more. "Are you an Avenger?"

"No," Thea quickly answered. She squinted in thought. "Well, maybe. Colonel Rhodes and Dr. Banner spent twenty minutes trying to get me to go home."

Bex leaned closer to the camera, her brows knit in confusion. "What? Your powers come from one of those Infinity Stone-things. They need you."

"I know, that's what I said!" Thea replied incredulously. "Dr. Banner called the missing Avengers— we're waiting for them now."

"Thea!" Bex nearly shrieked and she briefly went out of frame like she dropped her phone."You're gonna meet Captain America! Holy shit, I gotta tell Ned, he'll freak out!"

The mention of Peter's excitable best friend made Thea's heart sink. "Yeah..." she muttered though the words of comfort didn't rest easy. She bit her lower lip, remembering the hefty bit of news dropped down on her back in Greenwich Village. "There's something else."

"What?"

"Thor and the Allfather are dead," Thea spoke in a quiet tone. "Which means—"

"Dragonfort," finished Bex breathlessly. A whirlwind of thoughts processed on her face. "You can— oh my God."

"Too bad he didn't die sooner," Thea mumbled, as she propped up her head on her fist. She knew it was wrong to say and though he had his reasons— revenge-driven or not— Odin slaughtered her family and tormented Thea for her entire life. She would never forgive him for that.

Bex blew air out of her cheeks and winced. "Have you told Sera?"

Thea shook her head, picking at her nails nervously. "No, not yet. I don't know if I should, she'll literally drop everything to take the dragons and the Valoqar to Dragonfort and then to London."

"Wasn't that the plan?" Bex inquired, leaning back in her seat. "Seriously, I think I can recite it in my sleep with how much Sera talked about it."

"Yes, but now?" Thea spoke and shook her head. She pulled the circular dragon head pendant back and forth on her silver chain as she thought long and hard  "I can't leave now."

She saw Bex smile softly on the other end. Thea wanted to hug her more than anything and a bit of homesickness flooded her heart. Bex nodded proudly though her eyes reflected sadness. "Good choice. There's nothing to reclaim if everyone's dead. Look, I don't know what's going to happen but promise me one thing... Stay alive."

Thea grinned. "Feel the city breakin' and everybody shakin', you're stayin' alive, stayin' alive."

"You are not singing Bee Gees to me right now," Bex sighed but let out a small laugh. "Look, we're just a call away. Good luck, I love you."

"I love you too," Thea responded reflexively. The girls exchanged another smile before she hit the 'end call button and suddenly it was quiet again. Having Bex around was a presence Thea craved in her life. Surprisingly, she kept things calm and always had her back when she didn't have confidence in herself.

She slipped her phone in the pocket of her burgundy pants and stood up. Her stomach growled instantaneously and she rested a palm on it, feeling the oddly strong vibrations against her skin. Other than the half of that protein bar, she didn't remember eating anything else. Her next meal should've been some overpriced pizza at MoMa, criticizing the quality of the food with Peter and Ned. It was funny how things could change in a blink of an eye.