Wanda is sitting on a bench on board the ship, fingers clenched around the necklace around her neck. She knows that she’s capable of what Thor is asking her. She’s done it before, gone into people’s heads to see what she could find. She’s done it to him specifically, so the idea of why he’s asking her to do this again is beyond her, and she isn’t sure she should say yes.
“You do remember the last time I went into your mind, don’t you?”
The silence hangs between them, resting in the space Thor has given them when he chose where to sit, and she wants to be able to articulate all the reasons why this is a bad idea, but she thinks that that question does most of it for her.
“The last time you went into my mind, you had ill intent. This time you do not. You’ll be going with me, not against me.”
“That doesn’t mean …”
“The last time you went into my mind, you showed me something I desperately needed to see.” He reaches across the space, taking her hands in his, giving them a small squeeze. “You gave me a much needed warning of what would be expected of me and what was coming. True, it was hidden in horrors and intended to torment but Ragnarok was coming for me and my people, whether I was ready for it or not.”
Wanda sighs softly, letting him keep her hands in his as she tries to parse exactly what he’s asking for. “I don’t understand what there is to gain by all this. How is going into your mind going to help us find Loki?”
“Your power allows you to find the minds of those you know, correct? Pick them out of a crowd regardless of where they are?”
“You want me to use my power to search the universe for Loki?”
“More or less.”
She stares at him again, still not withdrawing her hands but looking inherently skeptical at the idea that this is going to be something that they’re capable of. “I’m not strong enough for that.”
“You’re a child of the Mind Stone. You’ve likely barely begun to test the limits of your power and I’ve seen you do great, powerful things, Wanda. You were strong enough to destroy the Mind Stone. Who’s to say you’re not powerful enough to do this?”
It’s at that point where she withdraws her hands, both from the wave of grief that comes with the memories he referenced, as well as the flash of memory of Strucker’s voice in her ear, telling her to push further and harder, even at detriment to herself. She knows that Thor isn’t asking her to push beyond her limits, to hurt herself. She knows that she’s more than an experiment to him. Still, the desperation in his voice worries her, and she can’t help but wonder if that line will eventually be crossed too.
Thor sits in the silence with her, recognizing that he said something wrong, and he tries to course correct. “You are important to me, Wanda. And you are certainly not more valuable to me than the life of my brother. If you truly do not wish to do this, we will find another way to find Loki.”
She watches him, heart breaking because she knows the pain of having her brother so far out of reach that he’s impossible to find, only to be tempted into having him close again. She reaches up to play with her necklace again, before leaning back against the wall.
“Explain it to me again.”
There’s a brief flash of hope in Thor’s eyes at the request, and he straightens again, almost like he’s a general crafting a plan of battle. “In order to locate Loki, you need to recognize his mental signature.”
“Yes. But we’ve never met.”
“You and Loki haven’t. But Loki and I have. I will act as the go between.”
“You don’t have any psychic abilities of your own.”
“No, but he has used his magic on or around me many times. He also used to wield the scepter that was used to create you.” Thor straightens, shoulders squaring as he lays out the plan. “You may not know him as intimately as you would name your own brother or me, but you can find the fragments. Use the ones in my mind to connect the ones in your own and use them to create one whole psychic signature.”
She swallows hard, closing her eyes as she leans back against the wall. “This may not work.” She pauses. “Even if I do find the signature, and am able to piece it together, the universe is a massive place.”
“I know. All I wish is simply to try.” He watches her again. “You can say no, Wanda.”
“I don’t want to,” she admits softly. Thor is her friend. Her good friend, their bond running deeper and deeper since they climbed aboard the Benetar and took off for points unknown. “I just don’t want to disappoint you.”
A smile crosses his face, before getting up and moving to sit on the bench next to her. She feels so much smaller, in the way that he dwarfs her with the massiveness that is Thor, but she still feels safe, all at the same time. “Never,” he says softly. “Succeed or fail, we do this together.”
She smiles in return, before reaching for his hand and linking her fingers in his. “I’ve never done this before,” she admits softly. “At least not in this way. You may have to lead me.”
Thor nods, giving her hand a squeeze as he leans back and closes his eyes. “You will have no resistance from me.”
She nods, closing her eyes in return and taking a deep breath. “Here we go.”
thor and wanda's excellent adventure [2/5] | marvel cinematic universe | 985 | set 7
“This is a bad idea.”
Wanda is sitting on a bench on board the ship, fingers clenched around the necklace around her neck. She knows that she’s capable of what Thor is asking her. She’s done it before, gone into people’s heads to see what she could find. She’s done it to him specifically, so the idea of why he’s asking her to do this again is beyond her, and she isn’t sure she should say yes.
“You do remember the last time I went into your mind, don’t you?”
The silence hangs between them, resting in the space Thor has given them when he chose where to sit, and she wants to be able to articulate all the reasons why this is a bad idea, but she thinks that that question does most of it for her.
“The last time you went into my mind, you had ill intent. This time you do not. You’ll be going with me, not against me.”
“That doesn’t mean …”
“The last time you went into my mind, you showed me something I desperately needed to see.” He reaches across the space, taking her hands in his, giving them a small squeeze. “You gave me a much needed warning of what would be expected of me and what was coming. True, it was hidden in horrors and intended to torment but Ragnarok was coming for me and my people, whether I was ready for it or not.”
Wanda sighs softly, letting him keep her hands in his as she tries to parse exactly what he’s asking for. “I don’t understand what there is to gain by all this. How is going into your mind going to help us find Loki?”
“Your power allows you to find the minds of those you know, correct? Pick them out of a crowd regardless of where they are?”
“You want me to use my power to search the universe for Loki?”
“More or less.”
She stares at him again, still not withdrawing her hands but looking inherently skeptical at the idea that this is going to be something that they’re capable of. “I’m not strong enough for that.”
“You’re a child of the Mind Stone. You’ve likely barely begun to test the limits of your power and I’ve seen you do great, powerful things, Wanda. You were strong enough to destroy the Mind Stone. Who’s to say you’re not powerful enough to do this?”
It’s at that point where she withdraws her hands, both from the wave of grief that comes with the memories he referenced, as well as the flash of memory of Strucker’s voice in her ear, telling her to push further and harder, even at detriment to herself. She knows that Thor isn’t asking her to push beyond her limits, to hurt herself. She knows that she’s more than an experiment to him. Still, the desperation in his voice worries her, and she can’t help but wonder if that line will eventually be crossed too.
Thor sits in the silence with her, recognizing that he said something wrong, and he tries to course correct. “You are important to me, Wanda. And you are certainly not more valuable to me than the life of my brother. If you truly do not wish to do this, we will find another way to find Loki.”
She watches him, heart breaking because she knows the pain of having her brother so far out of reach that he’s impossible to find, only to be tempted into having him close again. She reaches up to play with her necklace again, before leaning back against the wall.
“Explain it to me again.”
There’s a brief flash of hope in Thor’s eyes at the request, and he straightens again, almost like he’s a general crafting a plan of battle. “In order to locate Loki, you need to recognize his mental signature.”
“Yes. But we’ve never met.”
“You and Loki haven’t. But Loki and I have. I will act as the go between.”
“You don’t have any psychic abilities of your own.”
“No, but he has used his magic on or around me many times. He also used to wield the scepter that was used to create you.” Thor straightens, shoulders squaring as he lays out the plan. “You may not know him as intimately as you would name your own brother or me, but you can find the fragments. Use the ones in my mind to connect the ones in your own and use them to create one whole psychic signature.”
She swallows hard, closing her eyes as she leans back against the wall. “This may not work.” She pauses. “Even if I do find the signature, and am able to piece it together, the universe is a massive place.”
“I know. All I wish is simply to try.” He watches her again. “You can say no, Wanda.”
“I don’t want to,” she admits softly. Thor is her friend. Her good friend, their bond running deeper and deeper since they climbed aboard the Benetar and took off for points unknown. “I just don’t want to disappoint you.”
A smile crosses his face, before getting up and moving to sit on the bench next to her. She feels so much smaller, in the way that he dwarfs her with the massiveness that is Thor, but she still feels safe, all at the same time. “Never,” he says softly. “Succeed or fail, we do this together.”
She smiles in return, before reaching for his hand and linking her fingers in his. “I’ve never done this before,” she admits softly. “At least not in this way. You may have to lead me.”
Thor nods, giving her hand a squeeze as he leans back and closes his eyes. “You will have no resistance from me.”
She nods, closing her eyes in return and taking a deep breath. “Here we go.”