The Forsaken Truth (Marvel's Avengers)

Your Choice, No Pressure

I stared blankly at her, not quite processing the fact that this ethereal being was speaking to me, until a noise from beside me knocked me out of my trance. 

"Oh! Um hey..." I half smiled, awkwardly waving, before asking the most typical, movie character, question ever. "How do you know my name?"

"We've been expecting you for a very long time now." Her soft, melodic voice carried in the air, sounding so amazingly mesmerizing, I almost sobbed.

Damn it! She's perfect. Why couldn't I have a voice like that?

It took a moment for her response to sink in, making me realize that it was also the very typical answ-

"Wait, we?" I blurted, eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

Her smile almost made me swoon. 

Goodness gracious! Get a grip!

"Yes, we." She confirmed. "My name is Terra, I'm one of the Earth Spirits."

Now, that name isn't very origi- 

My conscious mind cut off when creatures started to materialize out of the trees across the clearing, and again I stared, mouth agape at the sheer beauty of each one.

There were four of them, all women, insanely gorgeous like Terra, and dressed in simple and loose tunics. But while two appeared human-like, the other two had pointed ears and kind of feline features, making them look, for lack of a better word, otherworldly.

"I assume you know why you were asked to come here?" Terra spoke, making me wrench my gaze away from the new-comers and back to her.

"Uh, kinda? I don't know. Something about being the chosen host for a parasitic stone that is going to kill me if I don't stabilize its energy? He didn't give me much to understand, honestly." I stuck my thumb out to point at Willow who made a small sound of protest.

Terra looked at me as if amused. By what though? I hadn't the slightest idea.
"Well, it is in fact true that should the stone's channels are not stabilized, you will die. But I, alone, cannot help you." 

"What do you mean?" My eyes widened as a thought crossed my mind and I spoke again.
"Oh my God, you're trying to destroy the powers along with me, aren't you? So that, no one could use it for their own gain."

To my absolute bafflement, all five of the women laughed. 

And do you want to know what that sounded like? Like the freaking, musical tinkling of Goddamn-it, bells!

"The stone is indestructible, and so are its powers. Rest assured, you are safe." She said, bemused.

"How can I trust you? Matter of fact, how can I trust anyone?" I burst out without thinking, frustration lining my tone of voice.

"Well, you are here, aren't you?"

At that, I fell silent, having absolutely no answer as to why I had been so uncharacteristically trusting till now. I had listened to a mythical being and believed him enough to follow him all the way to a different country, only because he had said I would be dead if I didn't. I mean, who even does that?
All the stuff Willow had told me was sketchy and downright ludicrous. Why had I put my faith in him then? It struck me weird that this was the first time I was actually thinking about it. Sure, I had had my doubts about going to an unknown place, but it was mostly reluctance due to the money it would cost, not the efficiency of the story in the first place. Why had I been so accepting of everything? 

Terra tilted her head, watching me with a thoughtful expression. "You do not understand, do you?"

I frowned, "Understand what?"

"You do not understand why you placed your trust in something that should not have existed in the first place. You are confused about your acceptance of this world you have been thrust into, when you have barely spent a day in it. Wondering about everything that you have heard, you are questioning your sanity for coming here."

My lips parted in awe, and seeing my shock, she smiled. "Do not fret, Aylin. It is not a bad thing. You are here because regardless of your logic, your sub-conscious mind is more powerful. Your intuition is what has guided you here. You have always known that there was something greater hidden beyond the veils of ignorance that your friends and family have tried to blind you with. And you have always wished that you would tear it down some day and finally be able to see the world as it really is." Her eyes seemed to pierce straight into my soul. "And now you have."

My mouth ran dry as words evaded me and I breathed shakily, trying to stop my head from spinning. She was right. Deep-down I knew it, and she knew that I did too.

Looking at her, I swallowed. "So what now?"

She blinked. "You have four channels representing the four elements. The elemental spirits will test you, and should they find you worthy, they will gift you their specific powers. Each of these elemental power will stabilize the energy of the stone that is flowing inside you. But I can only grant you with earth abilities, which will only balance part of you and delay the negative impact on your body. If you are to survive, you will have to find the other spirits, namely the Air, Water, and Fire Spirits, and get their powers as well."

I mulled over the information in my head. "But if you could just grant people abilities like that, where does the stone come into play?"

"The human body cannot withstand that much power on its own. The stone acts as a vessel or a catalyst, it stores these powers safely within a body after it has been absorbed. In fact, the stone has its own energy that compliments the elemental abilities. All of them are interconnected, as in, one cannot exist without the other. At least not for long. The consequences are horrible for both the host and other life. "

"Other life? What will happen?" I questioned, voice low and hesitant.

Terra stayed silent for so long, I thought she would never answer, and when she did, I hoped she hadn't. "Chaos will ensue. Think of a major energy blast, the elements would go haywire and all life within a certain distance would be wiped away. The more elemental powers you gain, the more risky it is to stay long without complete stabilization."

My eyes widened in horror at what I was hearing. "Can't you...can't you just remove the stone before hand?"

She gave me a sad smile. "If only that were possible. The stone has a life of its own, it chooses its host and does not leave the body until the balance is perfected or the host is dead."

When I didn't respond, she continued. "You must know that this is your decision, we will not force you to go through the test if you do not wish to. Just as it is completely your choice to make whether or not you accept our powers. The stone may have deprived you of that, but none of the spirits will. This is something that can be granted only if you are willing to accept it with open arms. " Her soft voice seemed to resonate in my ears, and I looked down, contemplating.

I chewed on my bottom lip, deep in thought, glancing at Willow and the other Earth Spirits who stared back with solemn faces.

So there really was no other way then.

With a small sigh of defeat, I made up my mind as I resolutely looked Terra in the eye. "What do I have to do?"

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A.N: Thank you for reading.