Amara Freyadottir, the heir to the throne of Vanaheim, has never been one for royal trivialities. She would much rather spend her days exploring the lands of Vanaheim and Asgard, finding places to read, and having fun with her best friend, Loki. How...
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"stephen's expression remains stoic for a moment before he chuckles, surprised."
"WELL, I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO FIGURE OUT MUCH, but what I have been able to deduce is pretty interesting. This thing's definitely extraterrestrial, it's-"
"Wow, Tony, did you figure that out all by yourself?" Natasha asks sarcastically.
"Shut up, Nat. Anyway, it's emitting a kind of power that even I've never seen before. And something else weird about it?" Tony gestures to the small, yellow stone he had pulled from the scepter, now locked away safely in a display case. "Go look at it for a minute or so, tell me what you feel. I'm hoping you'll be able to tell me I'm not crazy."
Amara is the first one to step up to the case, eyes narrowed as she examines the tiny stone. Steve comes up beside her after a second, both of them staring mindlessly into the transparent, glowing artifact.
Everything around Amara begins to slowly fade away until it is just the stone and nothing else. She becomes entranced by it, completely unaware of anything else around her.
She jumps when Tony claps her on the shoulder; beside her, Steve does the same.
"Freaky, right?" the man says. "I'm surprised you don't know what this thing is, Thor, 'cause I sure as hell don't."
"I certainly wish I did," Thor says, staring at the stone from across the room. "It would surely make this task much easier."
"Not to fret," Amara says, looking back at the god before her eyes drift to the stone once again. "I have a friend who I believe will be able to tell us exactly what this is..."
* * * *
THE SANCTUM SANCTORUM at 177A Bleecker Street looks more like a church than the home of a superior sorcerer.
"So, what? This guy's some sort of space wizard?" Tony asks as Amara bangs the knocker against the large front door.
"I believe he prefers to be called a sorcerer," she says with a teasing smile.
From her left, she hears Thor scoff. "And how would a sorcerer know anything about an artifact of this kind?"
Before Amara can give Thor his answer, the door to the sanctum opens widely, revealing Stephen Strange's smirking form. "I thought you guys would never arrive," he says, sending Amara a wink. "Come on in - I know you must be busy and so am I."
Amara follows Stephen inside, with Thor and Tony trailing cautiously behind. The sanctum's entry room is grand, with a large staircase in the center that leads up and parts two separate ways. The scenery is rustic and old, and the house is quite dusty - Amara assumes that with all his duties, Stephen doesn't really have time to housekeep.
"Alright, let's see what we got here," Stephen says once everyone is inside. He stretches his hand out to Amara, who places a tiny drawstring bag in his hand. He opens it and tips it upside down, allowing the small yellow stone to fall right into his palm.
He holds it between his fingers and raises it up to the light, examining it with scrutinizing eyes. His hands tremble with the intricate positioning.
"They still shake?" Amara questions softly.
"Only a little," Stephen answers, not taking his eyes off the stone. "The scars have healed nicely, though." He lowers his hand, nodding to himself. "Yep, just as I thought: Infinity Stone. The Mind Stone, to be exact."
"An Infinity Stone? I have never heard of such a thing," Thor says, eyebrows narrowed.
"Not many people have, considering there are only six of them in existence. I don't have the slightest idea how your brother could have gotten ahold of this one."
"And you said it's called the Mind Stone, yes?" Amara asks him.
"It is. Each of the six stones can manipulate its own entity: space, time, reality, power, the soul, and the mind. This one-" He holds it up, displaying it to the three people before him, "is mostly used to corrupt people. Mind control, so to speak."
And there it is. Amara's speculations are beginning to take shape before her very eyes, and she doesn't know that she likes what she is starting to see. "And if someone is under corruption via this stone, how do you stop that?" she asks, her words becoming quicker as her mind races with thoughts.
Stephen sighs, thinking hard for a moment. "From the position of an outsider, there isn't really much that can be done. It's an individual battle for the person under corruption."
"And what if we were to destroy it? The stone, I mean."
Stephen's expression remains stoic for a moment before he chuckles, surprised. "Destroy an Infinity Stone?" he asks incredulously.
"Why not? It's a glorified rock, Dumbledore, what's so funny about destroying it?" Tony butts in.
"Number one, my name is Stephen, and number two, it would take an immense amount of power to even dent this thing," Stephen responds, displaying the stone as he speaks. "The Infinity Stones were created by the Big Bang, they've been around for eons - there's no way to destroy it."
"I am in no way agreeing with the wizard, but might I ask why it would even be necessary to destroy this stone?" Thor questions.
Amara sighs at both Thor's question and Stephen's answer about destroying the stone. "I don't think Loki is committing these attacks of his own free will, Thor," she says gently. "I believe he's being mind-controlled, and everything we've just heard only solidifies that theory."
"Loki? Mind-controlled?" Thor laughs a bit. "Lady Amara, I am sorry, but I hardly believe that to be the case."
"Yeah, I agree, it's a bit of a stretch," Tony interjects.
"It's not a stretch," Amara rebukes adamantly. "Thor, you know Loki better than I do? Do you really think he would do a thing like this just because he could?"
"Yes, my lady, I do. Without any hint of doubt, I do."
The answer takes Amara aback; she had not been expecting this, certainly not from Thor of all people, as he is one of the only people who knows Loki even better than she does.
Her face turns to stone as she stares Thor down with a menacing glare. "If you really believe that to be true, then you are a foolish man and a poor excuse for a brother."
Hurt and surprise flash in the god's eyes, but Amara does not take back her words. Instead, she turns back to Stephen. "There has to be a way to destroy that thing, and if there is I really, really need you to find it."
Stephen sighs, knowing this is an argument he isn't going to win. "Fine; I'll do some research, but don't get your hopes up. And I mean at all."
"That's all I ask." With that, Amara walks off, heading towards the door.
"Hey, where are you going?!" Tony calls after her.
"To prove the two of you wrong," she replies, not looking back.
