Universal Chaos

Chapter 29

Nothing.

Nothing was something. A noun.

Sutton's thoughts raced. She tried to recall anywhere she might have heard about it before. If it was a throwaway line in one of the movies, or something her brother had mentioned in one of his comic book rants, or if she'd scanned a reference to it on the Marvel wiki so, so long ago. But she couldn't find a point of reference. She didn't remember seeing any spoilers passed around online or comic book nerds boasting that they knew "nothing" about the future plot line while being coy.

But it did feel made up. Like something a reaching writer might come up with to service a plot.

"What is it," she asked Loki sharply. "How do we get to it? What does it do?"

Loki fidgeted slightly, a strange behavior given his upper hand.

"You want me to say something now?" he questioned. "When before, you instructed me to 'not say a word'?"

"We already went through this! I was telling you to shut up. And that was eons ago."

"It certainly was," he agreed.

"Nothing?" Gamora cut in, recognition and concern colored her tone. "Are you speaking of The Space that Devours?"

Sutton turned when it was clear Loki refused to budge. He was such a jerk. Gamora frowned and Sutton considered the extra name that Gamora provided.

"The Space that Devours," Sutton repeated stiltedly as she glared at Loki. "What a wonderfully descriptive distinction. If only someone could have thought to define the term that way."

Gamora cut her eyes away as she glowered in thought.

"I've never heard of it," Peter said in dismissal. "It sounds fake."

"You call your base Nowhere." Nat said.

"Yeah, because we Know Where we are when we're there."

"That's not why it's called that," Rocket sneered.

Sutton ignored the chatter, eyes set on Gamora, and leaned over the table top.

"You've heard of it before. You know about Nothing?"

"I know it is not something to be treated lightly. It is a danger to go near it; all that passes through its veil are no more."

"So, like," Sutton tried to work through the idea, "it can just...erase things from existence? Because whatever 'passes through its veil' also... becomes 'nothing'?"

"In a manner of speaking," agreed Gamora.

Sutton leaned back in her seat as her mind continued to race. A weird void. The lack of anything. Could she actually use that? She already knew trying to keep the Infinity Stones away from Thanos wasn't a long term or successful solution. It never would be in a comic book world.

Killing him might be possible, but it was clearly a lot harder than they ever anticipated. It already cost too much just to hold him at bay. But to erase him?

"Does your dad know about it?"

Gamora grimaced at Sutton's question.

"He knows of it, of course. It has never interested him, though. It cannot be collected or used for torment. You cannot take it with you. For him, it is good for very little."

Peter leaned forward and waved his hand dismissively.

"So what are you suggesting? We lure him to it? Set a trap to knock him into this void? Do you really think that would work?"