Stand As Heroes » Quicksilver

chapter eleven

11 x a doctor, a witch, and a sorcerer walk into a room ...

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[ FORTY-SIX HOURS LEFT ]

"Doctor Strange," Banner said without looking up from the Asgardian tablet, "this is Wanda Maximoff. Wanda, Doctor Stephen Strange. He is — was — an acclaimed neurosurgeon, and he's the Sorcerer Supreme."

Doctor Strange nodded with a little smile. "A pleasure, Miss Maximoff."

"Wanda," she corrected with a slight smile in turn. "The pleasure is mine, Doctor Strange."

"Out of curiosity," Strange said, "what help are you hoping to provide in this situation?"

Wanda's smile grew until her gaze dropped to where Megan lay on the table. "I am telepathic," she told him. "Among other things. I do not know what's wrong with Megan, but I do know that I am the only person capable of supernatural, neurological interaction. If it's needed." She decided against mentioning that she wasn't sure how that would work out, if and when Megan's density alteration returned.

Doctor Strange's brows arched and he nodded. "It just might be. Doctor Banner?"

"Hmm?" Bruce still didn't look up.

"What course of action do you want to take?"

"Well ..." Bruce lowered the tablet and sighed. "According to what we learned on Asgard, Megan is half-human, half-Kochavim. Kochavim hail from the planet Kochav, and from what I've read, it sounds as though Kochav was more similar to a star than inhabitable planets as we, ah, humans would figure.

"That's why she is light. Part of her lineage is a planet full of beings of light. And," Bruce continued, "Kochavim were known for their psychic abilities. Unlike actually manifesting light, those abilities seemed to vary depending upon the individual." He took his glasses off and gestured with them as he spoke. "So that explains two of her abilities, but ..."

"But?" Strange prompted as he arched his brows.

Bruce shook his head. It was Wanda who answered. "She has more than two abilities," she told Strange. "I remember she said the first power she ever discovered of hers was flight. And the last was a capability to alter her density ... turn indestructible, intangible."

Strange frowned in consideration. "I see."

"The physical on Asgard indicates that her temperature is higher than normal for her," Bruce continued. "Usually, Megan runs at about one-hundred-eight degrees Fahrenheit. Currently she's at about one-hundred-twelve. Now, to be fair, she can absolutely run hotter than that—"

"We have taken to calling it going supernova," Wanda relayed.

"—but that's always a temporary jump," Bruce said as he looked at Strange. "This ... this is more like if somebody got a high fever and passed out."

"So you think she's, what? Contracted some alien-flu?" Strange asked.

Bruce shook his head. "Wouldn't account for the fact that she lost her ability to fly, and her ability to change densities."

"Whoa, whoa," Strange said, waving a hand. "Hold on. She's been losing abilities?"

Wanda and Bruce exchanged a look before Bruce spoke. "I'm sorry," he said, "I thought that you knew that."

"All Thor told me was that she was 'unwell'," Strange said as he looked down at Megan. "And only partially human. Out of curiosity, Doctor Banner ... does Asgard have any record of the difference between homo sapiens and homo superiors?"