Chapter 11
While Wong and Stephen quickly hammer out a plan, America is sitting on the counter eating handfuls of cheese balls and staring off. Her head felt heavy, despite the muted thoughts. Not even crickets chirped in there.
Around the corner, America noticed a portal open and Rintrah step through along with another Master. They nodded during a hushed conversation.
Maybe she should care more, but the hazy, dissociation she felt kept her in the kitchen. It was one of her core beliefs. In times of stress: find food.
America spent nearly seven years running from something. It could've been a bee. Or a spider demon. Or a teenager trying to close for the night.
She had countless memories to reassure her that escaping was her best bet at survival. Clean start. New world, new rules. New rag-tag group of characters she could befriend and subsequently abandon. She staying here this long was a mistake.
“I'm glad I fell into your universe,” shehears herself say. Her stomach is fluttering and her chest swells with silent hope that begged him to stay.
“Me too kid, me too.” Stephen offers a small smile before disappearing through the portal.
She blinked at the empty space, reminding herself that he wasn't gone for good, just gone for now. She could be content with that.
Stephen’s voice carried from the other room. His tone was quip and held a smidge of belittment.
Earth-616 was different, while their pizza was mediocre at best, she felt at home here.
America shoveled another handful of cheese balls in her mouth before wiping her fingers on her jeans, leaving trails of orange powder behind. She bit back a wince as she hopped off the counter, feeling an ache in her knees.
She hadnt felt this sore since her first week at Kamar-Taj.
As she meandered back into the foyer Rintrah was stepping through a portal to temple. She could see some of her classmates sweeping plaster and shards of wood with large push brooms. At the very least, she got to escape another cleaning detail.
Dr. Strange had his hands hitched on his hip, looking one stupid comment away from choking someone out. His attention flicked up to America as she inched towards them.
The waves continued to lap against the rocks in the center gateway. It was one of her favorite places to sit. The wind there was deafening and left a numbness on her skin long after she’d go inside. Stephen always kept at least one of the Rotunda gateways there after noticing her fondness for it.
She wished she could sit along the rocky shore and disappear for a while.
“We need to go,” Stephen broke the lull of silence in the room.
“You need to be patient,” Stephen chastised. America quickly regret missing him. They had been standing on the training pad for the last two hours, long after her other classmates were released for the day.
America groaned and dropped her hands. “Maybe I could concentrate if my stomach wasn't growling so loud.”
The sorcerer let out a gruffed sigh. They both knew she could do it, if only she focused a little harder. Stephen ground his teeth together, “again.”
“Where are we going?” America’s eyebrow tugged upwards.
Stephen was adjusting his sling and wiping his hands on his robes as he asked, “ever been to space before, kid?”
In America’s years of multiversal travel, she had in fact, never been to space. There was that one version of Earth that was entirely lizard people so that had to count for something.
“You may not find them,” Wong interjected. He had the red bound book in hand and a stoic expression.
A frown deepened on Stephen’s face as he gave Wong the side eye. “You worry about your part, we’ll worry about ours. Kid, stay close.”
Just as Wong portalled out of the Sanctum, golden rings appeared around Stephen’s arms. “Is that a location spell?”
He had his eyes closed but briefly peaked one open at her. The crease between his eyebrows stayed. “Ah, so you have been reading your assignments.” The symbols within the rings orbited around his arm. “I’m combining the location spell with a portal.”
America was perplexed. They’ve yet to teach her about combination spells. “Is that gonna work?”
“Hm. In theory.” He began to rotate his wrist and contort his fingers. A large, circular symbol appeared in front of them, bordered by zipping yellow sparks. “Or I'm just that good.” He smirked at her, stepping towards it.
America could feel the energy buzzing off of the portal and trailed behind Stephen’s floating cloak. Tingles went through her body as they passes through, immediately bambarded by sound.
“Oh what the fuck!”
“Woah! Who the hell--”
“I am Groot.”
“It's the Magic Man!”
“No shit.”
America soaked in her surroundings as a million voices erupted from the walls. The space was much smaller than the Sanctum, boxing them in as soon as they stepped through the portal.
The first thing America noticed was the clutter. Bolts and candy wrappers and parts of weapons and miscellaneous tools littered the metal flooring and piled in corners along the wall.
There was a talking tree and a raccoon wearing a vest and a jacked up blue Mr. Clean quickly closing in on them. America would have been scared if she weren't quickly distracted by the swirls of purple smears and clusters of stars against a gigantic black canvas. She barely blinked as she gapped through the window.
This was a thousand times better than the ocean.
A man with an eye patch and a deep, pink scar running down the side of his face stood from a chair. Objectively handsome, if you asked America. This space thing was just getting better and better.
“Ah, Mr. Magic,” the man greeted in a thick accent.
“Dr. Strange.” He corrected. His tone didn't have nearly the same about of sass as it typically did. He gestured towards her with his shoulder. “This is America.”
The man frowned, the scar deepened slightly where it began to tuck under the eye patch. “The country?”
“No, I think it's a song,” the racoon piped, he was creeping towards them, his hairy fingers hesitantly reaching for the cloak before it batted him away.
Stephen scowled. “Stop that. No. Not the song or the country, her name is America and we need a favor.”
“You ask a favor from the guardians of the galaxy?” Thor bellowed theatrically. His voice filled the space.
Mantis murmured gently before inching her way past America and Stephen, who flinched and involuntarily gasped, “mierda.”
America’s eyes widened becauseohmygodhe’spickinguponherspanish but Stephen brushed it off as the woman nonchalantly made her way to one of the four seats and plopped down.
Stephen let out a mildly frustrated sigh. “Yes. I suppose if you're a package deal. What we really need is to find the Goblet of Set.”
Thor made an inquisitive face, followed by an inquisitive noise. The, “hm,” was accompanied by him tapping his chin with the pads of his fingers. Finally be dropped his hand and answered, “I don't know of such a goblet.”
To which Stephen let out of full chest grumble. “Odin was said to have it in his collection for the last thousand years.”
“Is it worth anything?” Rocket inquired. He had found a busted metal tool box to sit on.
Stephen is starting to wonder if this was a mistake, America can see it on his unamused expression.
“What did this Goblet of Set look like?” Thor crossed his arms over his chest and seemed to take up six more inches of space purely in arm muscle.
“Uh. Big, gold, has rubies or something on it.” Stephen used his hands to gesture, shaping out a rough size estimate with the air.
The corner of Thor’s lips twitched downwards once in thought before he scratched his beard. “Ah, you mean the mead glass.”
“The what?”
“Yeah, we’d pass it ‘round and all drink from it. Great for a laugh because of it’s size.” Thor nodded, pleased because he believed the favor was paid.
Stephen was desperately trying not to roll his eyes at this point. “Okay. Right, where is it?”
“I am Groot.”
“Uh, let’s see. Probably destroyed along with the rest of Asgard.”
Dropping his head, Stephen pinched his eyes closed and let out a breath of air. America gently tugged on the cloak to get his attention. “That’s good news, right? If it’s destroyed than Chthon can’t use it.”
“Why does the country speak of the Elder God?” Thor’s tone had become tightened.
“He’s trying to capture me with his army of corrupted sorcerers so he can possess me full time and walk the Earth and stuff.” America tsked afterwards.
Stephen gave her the side eye.
“What? That’s basically it. I guess I left out the part about the goblets being used for the ritual. But if one’s already gone, we should be in the clear, right?”
There was a beat of silent hesitation before anyone spoke again. Stephen opened his mouth but was cut off from a shout from behind. A gravely, “Hey! What’s going on up here? You guys didn’t think to come get me?”
Quill was sporting the same red, leather jacket he was the last time Stephen saw him.
“Oh, you again,” he groaned. “Who’s the kid and what are you doing on my ship?”
“I am Groot.”
“The country needs the Goblin of Sit so the old Char man doesn’t learn how to walk,” Drax explained.
They spent the next several minutes reexplaining the situation to Quill, who introduced himself as the captain three times in the entire five minute conversation.
Then Gamora came up from down below and they proceeded to spend another two minutes re-reexplaining the issue, only for Quill to mention he’s the captain once.
“If it does still exist,” Gamora stated, “you’d need to go to Xandar.”
“Good. Can you take me to him.” Stephen asked coldly but politely.
“I am Groot.”
“It’s a planet, dumbass. Not a person.” Rocket snapped.
For a split second Stephen had a vision of drop kicking the little creature but swallowed the idea instead.
“The Broker is dead but they still have an auction there,” Gamora explained. Mantis was looking at her nails absentmindedly.
“It’s also way out of our way,” Quill said, crossing his arms over his chest.
“This is a matter of life and death,” Stephen grit. “If we allow Chthon to walk the earth, the entire planet will be corrupted.”
“And they have the really good jerky there,” Thor added.
“RatJerk!” Drax beamed excitedly back at Thor.
“I am Groot.”
“Fine! Oh my Gods, we can go. But I expect you guys to chip in for gas money.”
“We’ll Venmo you,” Stephen groaned sarcastically.