Chapter 97: Best Hugs In The Verse 3
Wanda's quiet moment was shattered as the door to her room burst open. Dust and debris flew into the air, a sudden whirlwind of chaos disrupting the fragile peace.
Standing in the doorway were some of the Avengers: Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, Tony Stark, and Doctor Strange. They moved in unison, a well-rehearsed dance of defense and aggression, weapons drawn and ready.
"Wanda, get away from that thing!" Tony shouted, his repulsors flaring up as he took a step forward, eyes locked onto the small ooze that was perched on her lap.
Wanda blinked, momentarily stunned by the intrusion, and burst into laughter. A pure, unrestrained sound filled the small, crumbling room. The Avengers stared at her, confusion etched on their faces, clearly not expecting that reaction.
"Tony, wait, it's not—" Wanda tried to explain, but the words were lost in the frantic shuffle as Doctor Strange cast a binding spell, crimson tendrils of light shooting toward the ooze.
The blob merely yawned, its tiny mouth stretching impossibly wide, and swallowed the magical bindings. It smacked its nonexistent lips and gave a pleased wiggle, looking like it had just enjoyed a hearty meal. Strange's expression tightened, disbelief flashing across his features, but what made it worse was that, somehow, he was starting to see sunglasses on his face and a confident smirk.
"What the hell is that thing?" Tony muttered, his repulsor charging even brighter.
Steve took a step forward, raising his shield protectively. "Wanda, are you okay? Did it do something to you?"
Wanda held up a hand, still caught between amusement and exasperation. "Guys, seriously, just—"
But Natasha was already moving, her widow's bite flaring up as she launched a precise shot at the ooze. The tiny creature, unperturbed, simply opened its mouth once more, absorbing the electric charge like a light snack. It burped softly, blinking up at Natasha with an innocent gaze as if it hadn't just eaten an attack from one of the world's most lethal assassins.
Wanda doubled over in laughter, clutching her sides as tears streamed down her face. "You really need to stop," she managed between gasps. "He's just... he's not dangerous! Not to me, at least."
"Wanda, step away," Steve said, voice firm but concerned. "We don't know what this thing is capable of."
Wanda wiped her eyes, her laughter subsiding into gentle chuckles. "You don't get it. He's... well, he's harmless, in a way." She glanced down at the blob, which was now perched on her shoulder, giving a lazy blink at the assembled heroes.
"I'm sorry, Wanda, but we've seen this before," Tony said, his tone taking on a more serious edge. "Dark magic entities or split personalities that feed off emotions, that corrupt—"
"It's not like that," Wanda interrupted, her smile fading as she caught the worried expressions on her friends' faces. "He's not hurting anyone. He's not doing anything but... existing."
Steve lowered his shield, though his posture remained tense. "Then what is it, Wanda? What's going on?"
She took a deep breath, glancing down at the ooze, whose bright eyes reflected her uncertainty. "He's… something. I don't know exactly what or where he came from, but he's not evil. He's just… here." She shrugged a helpless gesture that felt all too familiar.
Wanda looked around the room at the crumbling walls and the lingering shadows of Genosha outside. She could feel the weight of their concern, the fear that she was slipping back into the darkness that had once consumed her. She clenched her fists, struggling to find the right words.
"After everything that's happened," Wanda began, her voice cracking slightly, "I've felt so lost. The noise in my head, the guilt, the anger... it's all been so loud. And then he showed up, and it was like… like someone finally turned down the volume."
The Avengers exchanged glances, their stances softening, if only slightly. Wanda sighed, running a hand through her hair as she tried to articulate the tumultuous swirl of emotions inside her.
"I know what you're thinking," Wanda continued, her gaze settling on Steve, who watched her with that familiar mix of compassion and caution. "That I'm not okay. That I'm losing control again. But... this little guy?" She gestured to the ooze, which was now playfully nudging her cheek. "He's not the problem. If anything, he's helping."
Strange stepped forward, his expression skeptical but no longer hostile. "Wanda, I understand how it feels to be overwhelmed by forces beyond your control. But we can't ignore the potential danger here. This... creature, whatever it is, has powers we don't understand."
Wanda nodded slowly, acknowledging the truth of his words. "I get it, I do. But I also know that for the first time in a long time, I don't feel like I'm drowning. I can breathe. I can think. I can... laugh."
Natasha lowered her weapons, her eyes softening as she took in the genuine relief on Wanda's face. "Are you sure it's not just masking the pain, Wanda? Hiding it from you?"
Wanda shook her head. "No. It's not hiding anything. I still feel everything, but it's... different. It's like he's helping me carry the weight, just a little bit. It's still there, but it's not crushing me."
Steve approached her, his shield lowered and his posture more relaxed. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, meeting her gaze with the unspoken promise of support. "We just want to help you, Wanda. We want to make sure you're safe. And if this little guy is part of that... then we'll figure it out together."
Wanda smiled a warm, genuine smile that felt almost foreign on her lips. "Thank you, Steve. I appreciate that. But for now, can we just... not fight? I'm tired of fighting."
The ooze gave an enthusiastic bounce as if echoing Wanda's sentiment. The Avengers couldn't help but chuckle, the tension in the room finally easing. Tony deactivated his repulsors, and Strange let his hands fall to his sides, the sparks of magic dissipating into the air.
"All right," Tony said with a smirk, "but if your little buddy here gets any ideas about snacking on any more magic, we're going to have a problem."
Wanda nodded, still smiling as she gently patted the ooze on her shoulder. "He won't. He's... he's just a friend."
For the first time in what felt like an eternity, Wanda allowed herself to believe that she might just be okay.
As the room settled into a tentative peace, Tony couldn't help but keep his gaze on the ooze, his analytical mind racing. "You've got to admit, Wanda," he said, still eyeing the small creature warily, "this thing's not exactly normal. I mean, absorbing spells and energy blasts like they're cupcakes? I've never seen anything like it."
The ooze wobbled happily at the comparison, its bright eyes blinking at Tony with what could almost be interpreted as cheeky delight. Tony raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms. "See? It even knows we're talking about it."
Wanda smiled softly, glancing at her tiny companion. "Yeah, it's… unusual, I guess. But maybe not everything has to be understood in the exact terms we're used to." She watched as the ooze slid off her shoulder, plopping down onto the bed before wiggling over to Natasha's boots, staring up at her with its unblinking yellow eyes. Natasha stared back, cautiously nudging it with her foot, only for the ooze to gleefully roll around like it was playing a game.
Natasha couldn't suppress a small smile. "Okay, that's kind of cute. But seriously, Wanda, we should try to figure out what it actually is. Just because it's harmless now doesn't mean it'll stay that way."
Doctor Strange nodded, folding his arms as he studied the blob intently. "Agreed. There's something fundamentally off about its presence. It defies all known magical laws, and that's not something we can just ignore." He began tracing a pattern in the air, summoning a series of glowing runes that orbited the ooze-like planets around a sun. But the creature simply yawned again, stretching toward the runes and gobbling them up one by one, like a kid munching on popcorn at a movie.
"Oh, come on!" Strange exclaimed, his calm demeanor slipping into frustration as the ooze licked its nonexistent lips, clearly satisfied. "This is absurd. It's like trying to outwit a… a toddler with an insatiable appetite. Seriously, what is this thing? Some kind of Kirby knockoff?"
The ooze burped softly, the sound echoing with an almost mocking tone. It jiggled in place as if daring Strange to try again as if it was winning some kind of game. Wanda chuckled, reaching out to pat it affectionately. "You're making this into a game, aren't you?" she said, addressing the blob directly. "I don't think you even know what you are, do you?"
The ooze blinked up at her, then promptly morphed into the shape of a question mark, its form wobbling as if to emphasize its own cluelessness. Tony snorted, shaking his head. "Great. We've got a sentient question mark that eats spells and energy blasts. How's that for a riddle? Who knows, it could be some kind of extra-dimensional, anomalous entity, possibly a newborn."
Steve, who had been quietly observing, stepped forward and knelt down in front of the blob. "Can you understand us?" he asked, his voice gentle and even. The ooze shifted, forming a tiny jelly thumbs-up, its surface shimmering in the dim light.
Wanda watched, intrigued. "It's aware, at least," she said as the ooze bounced back onto her lap. "But beyond that, I don't think it's… I don't think it's bound by the same rules as we are. It just… is."
"Maybe that's the problem," Tony muttered, running a hand through his hair. "Things that just 'are' usually end up being cosmic entities or something equally catastrophic. Remember Ego? Or the whole fiasco with Dormammu?"
"Yeah, but this isn't that," Wanda insisted, her tone soft but firm. "It's like… a child. Curious, playful. It's not trying to hurt anyone."
Strange rubbed his chin thoughtfully, the skeptical edge still present in his gaze. "Wanda, do you feel… connected to it somehow? Like it's drawing on your emotions or amplifying them?"
Wanda considered this for a moment, her expression pensive. "No, it's not like that. If anything, it's… reflective. It mirrors what I'm feeling, but it doesn't manipulate me. It's like a companion that exists just to share a moment, nothing more."
The Avengers exchanged glances, still wary but clearly wrestling with Wanda's perspective. Natasha crossed her arms, her brow furrowing. "And what happens when the moment changes? When you're not feeling calm or peaceful?"
Wanda shrugged, her fingers tracing idle patterns on the ooze's surface. "I don't know. But isn't that the case with anything? We take risks just being alive. Maybe this little guy is a risk, but he's the only thing making sense right now."
The ooze wobbled again, morphing into the shape of a heart before flopping back into a formless blob. It nestled closer to Wanda, emitting a contented purr that filled the room with an oddly comforting vibration.
Steve stood, glancing at the others. "I think we need to take this step by step. We don't know what it is or why it's here, but if it's helping Wanda… then maybe that's what matters right now."
Tony sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, alright. But we're keeping an eye on it. One wrong move and I'm sending this thing to a containment unit faster than it can blink."
Wanda nodded, her gaze softening as she stroked the ooze. "I get it, Tony. And I appreciate you all being here. But please, just… trust me on this. I need this."
The Avengers fell silent, their postures relaxing as they allowed themselves to stand down. For all their power and prowess, they couldn't deny the simple truth that was written across Wanda's face: a desperate yearning for peace, however fleeting. In a world that had always demanded so much from her, the strange, silly creature in her lap was a comfort she wasn't ready to let go of.
"Alright," Tony said, breaking the silence with a resigned grin. "Let's see where this goes. But Wanda, if your little buddy starts sprouting tentacles or talking in ancient dialects, I'm calling dibs on the first shot."
At the sound of getting shot at by energy blasts, the ooze seemed excited and almost drooled.
Wanda laughed, a sound that was still new and fragile but undeniably real. "Deal," she said, pulling the ooze close. "But something tells me that won't be necessary."
The ooze blinked up at them, glowing softly as if to say, "Don't worry. I've got this." For the first time in a long time, Wanda believed that maybe, just maybe, it was true. So she continued to hug the small creature while the ooze pondered when it was going to get something to eat again. Besides, that cape was looking pretty delicious right now.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone