Revelation {BOOK 3}

[NEW ASGARD]

[Y/N]

When I woke up again, I was able to get out of bed. I stretched my limbs, feeling more like myself than I have in years. I saw a pile of clothes on a nearby chair and shower items. After I'd gotten ready, I decided to look for Thor and have a look around. I've never been here, although I'd heard that the Asgardians had settled here after Ragnarok.

As soon as I'd gotten to the living room of the cottage, I saw Valkyrie sitting on one of the sofas. We briefly "met" in battle when we had to help Peter Parker get the gauntlet.

"You're awake," she greets me. "Finally."

"How long was I out?" I asked.

"Nearly a day," Valkyrie sighs. "You've been having issues with the Aether. You had a high fever when he brought you here."

"Why did he bring me here?" I wonder aloud. "I haven't seen him in years, and then he scoops me out of a mission in Madripoor?"

"There have been whispers of someone wanting to use your power to cause another Decimation," she explains. "He wanted to find out who and deal with it before a threat like that ever came down to Earth. He never found anything, so he came back."

"Then why not tell me what was going on?" I asked her.

"He tried," she sighs, somber. "But after the war, you weren't in a good place. It was as if you'd locked yourself up to forget what happened. Only John was able to bring you back."

"...That explains why I bothered to trust him again," I murmured.

I felt a sharp pain in the back of my neck that brought me to my knees. I heard a high-pitched whine, and it felt like my head was on fire. My vision gave a sharp tilt, and someone caught me. Not sure who. What the hell-

I felt a cold hand on my temple, and it was soothing. Someone was trying to speak to me, I think, but I felt sick. I didn't trust myself to speak. I thought I saw shapes...no, there were a few people here. It took a few moments for me to regain my senses.

"-What happened?"

"-I thought she was getting better?"

"She is a fascinating study..."

"Don't even think about it, Zemo, she can kick your ass, regardless-"

"-She was! I mentioned the war, and then-"

"-We probably shouldn't. Her power seems to be tied to her psyche-"

"-This wasn't the Aether," I found Thor's voice among the others.

"Then what is it?" Bucky asks in a grave tone.

It was his hands on me. When did he get here? When I'm able to sit up, I see Sam, Bucky, Thor, Zemo, and Valkyrie.

"I don't know," I replied after taking a deep breath. "Maybe it's...sometimes I feel pain in the back of my neck, but it was never this bad."

"Let me see," Thor requested, and I felt a chill down my spine when he applied pressure to my neck. "Are you still in pain?"

"N-no," I frowned, surprised. I mentally shook myself.

He stopped at the base of my neck and frowned. I don't know if I was still dizzy, but he smelled like ocean air and it was calming. So I focused on that, and I got my breathing under control. Zemo was looking at me as if I was fascinating.

"What is it?" Sam asks.

"You found something?" Bucky follows up.

"Yes, I did," Thor murmurs. "There's some sort of implant in the base of her skull."