Carmine Jewels ║ Wanda Maximoff

Chapter 83 - Working Out A Game Plan

"Is he asleep?" Natasha asked the room at large.

"No, no." Rhodey said dryly. "I'm pretty sure he's dead."

Keira narrowed her eyes in warning at Rhodey, who recoiled slightly when catching her gaze. It wasn't fair to make fun of Thor, when he so obviously had fallen victim to depression. When nobody made a move to wake up the god, she sighed deeply before pushing herself up from the sofa and wandered over to Thor. She gently slipped the beer can out of his grip before tapping his shoulder. "Hey, Thunderbolt. Time to wake up." 

The god startled awake, waving his arms around before his eyes fell on Keira. "Huh? Lady Keira? Has the liquor dried out?" He asked, pulling his sunglasses from his face and rubbing his eyes.

"No, no, I got your beer right here." Keira answered, shaking the can slightly in her can without spilling any of its contents. "But we would like some intel on the Aether, if you're feeling up to it?"

"Uh, sure. Alright." Thor hoisted himself up from the armchair and grabbed the can from Keira before stumbling to the front by the screens. Looking at the screen that showed the Reality Stone, he gestured to it. "Uh, where to start? Uhm... The Aether, firstly, is not a Stone. Someone called it a Stone before." He pointed at Steve, who looked a bit affronted. "Uhm, it's more of a... an angry sludge sort of thing, so... someone's gonna need to amend that, and stop saying that."

Thor paused and used some eyedrops before continuing. "Here's an interesting story, though, about the Aether. My grandfather, many years ago had to hide the Stone from the Dark Elves. Wooh." He wiggled his fingers and chuckled, as if telling a scary story to a couple of kids. "Scary beings. So, Jane, actually... Oh, there she is." A photograph of Jane Foster replaced the Stone on the screen. "Yeah, so Jane was an old flame of mine. Uh, you know, she stuck her hand inside a rock this one time... And then the Aether stuck itself inside her, and she became very, very sick."

Glancing around, Keira couldn't help but feel pity for Thor. The rest of the team was looking at him in either confusion or exhaustion, not having the patience for what seemed to be a very outdrawn story that had nothing to do with the actual Stone.

"And so, I had to take her to Asgard, which is where I'm from, and we had to try and fix her. We- We were dating at the time, you see, and I got to introduce her to my mother... who's..." Thor sighed, his face scrunching up. "Who's dead, and, uhm... Oh, you know, Jane and I aren't even dating anymore, so... Yes, these things happens, though. You know? Nothing lasts forever. The only thing that-"

Keira couldn't stand to watch it anymore, so she pushed herself up from the armrest and gently guided Thor back to his chair. "Let's sit down, okay, buddy?"

"I'm not done yet." The god protested, but Keira used some of her strength to push him down, which he accepted after swaying on the spot for just a moment. "The only thing that is permanent in life, is impermanence."

When Thor had settled down in his chair, Keira turned around and Tony's hand landed on her shoulder, silently thanking her for interfering. "Awesome. Eggs? Breakfast?"

"No, I'd like a Bloody Mary." Thor piped up from the corner, one finger in the air as if he was ordering from a waiter.

"And I'm craving Chinese food, so if anyone's up for it, lemme know." Keira took up her phone, and for the first time in a very long time, the sight of her background didn't cause her total misery. Because now, she had a chance.

A chance to get her Wanda back.

Scott jumped out of his seat, nearly causing the chair to topple over in his excitement. "I want food too! I want noodles, please!" It turned out that trying to zigzag his way through chairs and people to reach Keira so he could take a look at the menu, was a bit of a challenge. Because he fell flat on his face just as he passed Rocket, causing the room to erupt in laughter.