For You, The World

Chapter The Twelfth

Reykjavik, Ice Land 2023 ACE

Kaia had done her best to stay away from everything, after the battle of Wakanda, rarely even venturing out of the little home she inhabited outside of town. She didn't have visions of Arishem, not after the last one, which was the one small comfort that brought her peace.

The Avengers had fixed Thanos' actions, just as Arishem had said; she remembered seeing the reports on the news, calling the whole affair The Blip. The knowledge that the sudden population boost had occurred terrified her.

It was only a matter of time after that.

She had been out, at the supermarket when it had happened. Earthquakes weren't unusual there, but she'd never felt one of that magnitude. One moment everything had been perfectly normal, the next the ground shook. Suddenly the whole building she was in shuddered and shook, sending the other patrons around her to the ground.

"Earthquake!" Someone yelled.

Cans and boxes seemed to fly from the shelves, and Kaia barely managed to stop them midair, leaving them hovering for a moment, suspended in glowing red energy before they dropped. Hurriedly she began to help the nearest humans up.

"It's okay- we should be okay-" The shaking had reduced back to a tremble, but the damage had still been done.

A young girl, who still cowered next to her mothers looked up at her with wide eyes, "Are you- are you the scarlet witch?"

Kaia shook her head with a groan of annoyance, "No- we've crossed paths though."

She'd barely managed to get out of the supermarket while dodging questions, hurrying back to her car, which seemed to have just avoided falling into the large crack in the ground that had formed.

She'd barely sat down in the driver's seat when she felt Arishem's voice echo in her ears for the first time in five years,  "It has begun," Arishem gloated, "And you will be powerless to stop it."

Quickly she dug her phone from her pocket; millennia of planning had led to this, and yet she still knew that nothing could be done if she didn't find the others.

London, England, 2023 ACE

"Get a room, you two!" Sprite half yelled at the couple sitting on the stairs, "Can we go now? It's past my bedtime."

Dane sighed, moving away from Sersi and down the stairs. Sprite couldn't help but grin at his defeat, but Sersi just shook her head, "Sprite you shouldn't be so rude to him."

"I'm not being rude. I'm just tired of sitting here."

"I know."

She and Sprite continued to walk behind Dane, out of the bar, and down the street. Something about the way the street was deserted, and the shadows seemed too dark, put Sersi on edge. Already all day she'd been having a weird sort of feeling, that something was wrong, that something bad was going to happen, and that she was going to have to fix it.

"Are you really in love?" Sprite asked, dragging her out of her thoughts.

"What if I am?" Sersi countered.

Sprite scoffed, "Better tell him the truth then."

"I'm working on it."

From where he was, farther up the path, Dane turned around, calling, "You guys wanna get a pizza?"

"No, thank you!" Both girls called back in unison.

He sighed, turning back around.

"He won't live forever, you know. Move in with him."