Anomaly

Two • Stone

The armchair by the window had become a safe place. Juno's damp hair had been slicked back out of her face, and the T-shirt she had borrowed was still wet, clinging uncomfortably to her body as she sat gazing out at the full moon in the pitch black sky.

Wong stood nearby watching her awkwardly. He shifted on his feet and cleared his throat.

"Would you... like some tea?"

She looked up at him. "Uh, no. No, that's okay, thank you."

The room fell silent again.

"Sorry about the water," he added.

She looked down at herself and nodded. "Better than burning the place down, I suppose."

A bright portal began to materialise in the middle of the room. Juno squinted as the ring of sparks expanded to the height of the ceiling. Stephen walked through the portal followed by a group of people, each one eyeing her suspiciously as they stepped into the room.

Juno's brows came together at the sight of a towering green creature, her eyes growing wide when it began to speak with a clear, calm voice.

"I thought you said she glowed?"

"It's still a little unpredictable," Stephen replied.

"I'm sorry, what's happening here?" asked Juno as her eyes darted across the faces in front of her.

"We're the Avengers..." said the creature. He gestured to himself. "The Hulk?"

She shook her head. "Sorry, I don't- Should I know what that means?"

"Wow, that's one way to crush a guy's ego."

An older man with tired eyes stepped forward, folding his arms as he spoke. "So, you're the one that's been causing all the trouble, huh?"

"Accidentally..."

"Accident or not, you got a lot of people looking for you. They think you're dangerous."

"She is dangerous," a voice chimed in from the back.

The group parted to make way for a young woman with long, ginger hair. It was as if Juno could feel her emotions; the fear, the apprehension.

"She's being powered by the mind stone," the woman continued. "I felt it as soon as I walked in here."

"That's impossible," one of them replied.

She extended her hand as her eyes turned red, her fingers beginning to glow with the same scarlet energy. Juno's eyes glazed over with a golden light as they rolled back in her head. She let out a pained groan as the thing in her neck began to throb like a beating heart.

"Wanda, that's enough," said the older man. "Wanda!"

Wanda's eyes returned to normal. She dropped her hand to her side, a look of hatred on her face.

"What did you just do to me?" asked Juno as she panted to catch her breath.

"That stone is what gave me my powers. Its energy lives inside of me."