needsacatchphrase | New Asgard, Tuesday

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New Asgard, Tuesday

Jane felt a bit like a smuggler with her bag of vegetables as she knocked at the door to Wanda's temporary (maybe) home here in New Asgard. But the whole broad nature of the food pyramid here on Earth was sort of lost on the Asgardians.

And sometimes you just needed something green in order to feel healthy again.

She hefted the (definitely from Trader Joe's) bag a little higher as she waited for an answer to the knock.

[for the gal mentioned! NFB, obvs]

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Wanda didn't think they'd be kicked out for smuggling in spinach, but why risk it?

"Jane!" Wanda had been making friends here somewhat, but it was such a relief to see someone who had known her before the, you know, horrible mental breakdown.

She instantly zeroed in on the bag. "Oh my god I love you."

"That's out of duress over lack of vitamins, but I'll take it," Jane replied with a grin. "I also brought wine."

Oh yes, cheap wine made everything better.

"Which counts as fruit!" Wanda said, opening the door wider to let Jane in. "How have you been?"

"Well, I found out that I don't need sleeves in the cold." Definitely a Thor thing. "How have you been?"

"Pretty good. Getting better at this whole manual labor thing," Wanda joked. "I think I'm starting to get muscle definition in my arms."

Not Thor muscles, but better than it was!

Jane gave an appreciative little 'ooo' at that. "I kind of cheated to get mine, so you're doing better than me."

In Wanda's opinion Jane had very good reasons for cheating.

"I think everyone is purposely giving me the easier jobs to do," Wanda confided. "So I feel helpful, but also not straining my back."

She was over 30 she had to worry about such things.

"Some of the little old ladies here can lift a truck, so it's kind of apples and oranges," Jane replied, fishing out the bottle of wine. "Have you thought about what you want to do with the... magic?"

"Not yet," Wanda admitted, going for some glasses. "I know my magic is a part of me--I learned that in Westview--but it's been proven time and time again that I clearly can't handle it."

Jane considered that, opening the bottle. Because it was a screw top. Of course it was a screw top.

"Everything was a mess there," she replied. "For you, for me, for the world in general... it's like none of us got a chance to recover before getting tossed back into the pool."

Everyone was just expected to be glad to be back.

"You're being too nice," Wanda said. "I seem to have been the only person to return from the Blip and take over a town."

Then again, not everybody was capable of that.

"And even when I thought I learned my lesson from that I somehow made things worse," she continued. "With great power comes...great screw ups."

"And I came back and had a super hero midlife crisis," Jane replied with a wan smile. Among other things.

She busied herself with pouring the wine for a moment before continuing. "People like you, like Thor... everything is bigger. The ups and the downs."

They were standing in a town that only was there because of a whole series of fuck ups from a lot of very powerful people.

"If I'm trying to take on that mantle, I have to think you--I can come back from those. It's selfish of me to put that on you, though."

"It's not selfish. It's very optimistic." And Jane wasn't the first person to express that sort of optimism to her, though she appreciated that Jane seemed to realize that it did come with some pressure for Wanda.

Which was the sort of pressure every superhero had, really.

"I wish Thor wasn't in space," Wanda admitted. "He forgave Loki for so much. Now that I'm on the Loki side of things, I want to know how that was possible."

"Thor was good at seeing the best in people," Jane agreed, offering Wanda her glass of wine.

She wasn't to sure how she felt about Thor potentially coming back. Would it mean she wouldn't have Mjolnir anymore? That everything would just reset back to before?

"Maybe part of my optimism is because of that. He was always so certain that Loki would come back. Probably with a few betrayals or stabbings in there, but... he'd be back."

"Thanks," she said, accepting the glass. "I heard he was known for messing with a mind or two as well."

She hated that as she stood right now she had more in common with Loki than Jane or Thor.

"Oh yeah," Jane replied with an expression that said a lot there. "And faking his death. A lot. Thor told me about one time where he did it to get out of having to eat something at dinner."

Did that help? Probably not. But it was a cute anecdote!

"Wow, he must have been really good at it," Wanda said. "I did it just the one time and it was a lot of work. And I didn't even last a couple days before telling people I was alive."

"It seems hard to do," Jane agreed. "And hopefully you won't make it a habit like him."

It was to the point that Thor had a tattoo with a question mark after Loki's name on the list of remembered dead.

"Safe to say I won't," she said, taking a sip of wine. "What do you think I should do? With the whole magic thing."

"I think... you're worried about messing up again. And that's a good thing. If you weren't, then maybe I'd be more worried about it."

Like, grab Mjolnir worried.

"But I don't know if ignoring it will help you actually be in control."

Wanda thought about that for a moment, before nodding. "I do miss it. It sort of feels like I'm purposely not using one of my limbs, you know?"

"That's how it feels to go back." To just normal Jane after all this. "So, maybe you start over. You relearn things without all the whole evil book thing?"

Super helpful advice there. Not at all vague.

"Couldn't hurt to try," she said. "Well, it could. But I'm sure Valkyrie wouldn't mind kicking my ass if she had to."

"She can be kind of scary," Jane agreed readily. "But in a good way!"

You know. In case she was somehow listening in.

"Definitely the good kind of scary," Wanda agreed with a laugh. "She's done a lot for me here, while also reminding me she wouldn't hesitate to take me down."

"I'd probably hesitate," Jane admitted. Also, she wasn't sure she could actually beat Wanda?

"I already told you that you were too nice," Wanda teased. "How is the hero'ing going, by the way?"

"Good, I think? There's not really too much out there to do at the moment?" It was almost like most of the big bad guys were dead or still being introduced. "I've stopped a few muggings."

Got called Lady Thor and pissed off a lot of guys on the internet by existing.

"Which is way more muggings than I've ever stopped," Wanda said. "There does seem to be a bit of a lull going on. Which would be good...unless you're trying to hone your superhero skills."

Jane pinched her fingers together to show that was indeed what she was trying to do. A little bit.

"But, I guess that's a good thing. Things aren't nuts."

She wanted to fight someone with her hammer so bad, Wanda.

"I mean, that's what we should say, yeah," Wanda said. "But what's the harm in wishing for, like, disco-obsessed bears to invade the island and try to force everyone to do the Hustle?"

"I would be so all over that," Jane whined shamelessly, flopping back a little like it pained her to not have something to do. "Maybe that's why Thor went to space."

"If Thor were involved I think he'd join them," Wanda said. "One day he's gonna see the Cha Cha Slide at a wedding and we're all gonna be in trouble."

"Unless they were killing people," Jane said. "Then he'd get that one puppy expression. You know the--" She pinched at the bridge of her nose to approximate it. "And then hit them very hard with his hammer."

Oh, she said it fondly.

Wanda laughed. "You are scary good at that."

"I did live with him for a good amount of time there," Jane replied. Before the whole drifting apart thing.

Wanda's smile turned a little sad. "What would you do? If he came back."

Jane looked thoughtful and somber at that, looking off at one of the walls. "I'm not sure," she admitted. "I was a complete coward about the break up. A note."

"Okay, not the best look, I'll admit," Wanda said. "But it's been years since then, right? Even more years for him than you. He's not going to hold a grudge."

"I know he wouldn't," Jane said with a little sigh. Because it was really just an excuse. after some just looking at her wine glass to get the words together for it, she add, "I don't want to hurt him."

"I think the fact that you're worried is a good thing," Wanda said, mirroring Jane's words right back at her. "I don't think you'll hurt him again."

"I will," Jane said sadly. "He's lost his entire family."

Loki was still firmly in the maybe slot, though.

"And if I go back to him now, with how things are for me..."

He'd lose yet another person.

"Jane," Wanda said, moving a little closer to put her hand on her arm. "You are speaking to someone who has lost everything, many times over. And it hurts, a lot, and it will make you do some very stupid things sometimes."

Stupid, almost world-ending things.

"But I would rather have the memories of my family than to have never had them at all."

Jane sniffled and wiped away at her eyes at that, laughing in that way that was at herself for getting emotional about things.

"I can really see why he liked you so much," she said.

"I can see why he liked you so much," Wanda said, giving her arm a squeeze before reaching for the wine again. "Not many people would sneak in vegetables for me."

"It gives me an excuse to check on you too," Jane replied. "I think I'd get in some serious trouble if I let you die of scurvy here."

Was that possible? Who knew!

"But, I think we deserve to get a little drunk for this whole---everything."

God, the Scarlet Witch dying of scurvy would be so embarrassing. The prophecies would have never seen it coming.

"Oh we absolutely do," Wanda said with a grin. "And I know for a fact no matter how drunk we get, we can't be as loud as my neighbors."

It was her kryptonite! Scurvy.

"Oh, I thought it was just like that for parties," Jane replied with a gasp. "Every day?"

"Oh, there's always something to celebrate," Wanda said. "Even when there isn't an official reason they'll usually make something up."

"Ear plugs next time?" Jane suggested.

"Who knows, maybe next time I'll be up to soundproofing the place with magic." Without burning down the town or going nuts!

The dream.

"See? Positive goals," Jane replied. "But I'll add them to the list to be safe."

What if Asgard could just be louder than magic?

Then they would have to learn to bottle that power and use it for good.

"I owe you one," Wanda said. "I owe you a lot, actually. I'll buy you so many drinks when--if--I come back."

Would they? Would they?

"When--if," Jane agreed, smiling as she lifted her glass to clink to that.

"Exactly," Wanda said, clinking her glass against hers. "When-if."

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New Asgard, Tuesday

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