Stand As Heroes » Quicksilver

chapter thirteen

13 x cognitive recalibration 

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[ FOURTY-THREE-AND-A-HALF HOURS LEFT ]

[ Third Person POV ]

"Is everything okay?"

Tony half-smiled. "No," he admitted to Pepper's holographic image in his workshop. "But that's not exactly new." He fiddled with one of his work-in-progress gadgets while he spoke. "To be clear, you are still at the Tower, right?"

"Yes ... why?" Pepper watched him with visible suspicion. "What's going on?"

"Looks like we're going to have issues in California," Tony said. He paused and his hands stilled. He stared at the gadget for a moment before he looked up at Pepper's holograph. "The team's prepping to fly across-country within the hour."

Pepper's face softened. "How bad?"

"Uh, interdimensional bad, actually," Tony said with a forced smile. "Thor's back on planet, we've got some guy called the Sorcerer Supreme on board ... it's lining up to be the party of the century." He paused. "Or maybe just the party of the decade. It's kinda hard to tell, given how our lives go."

Pepper nodded slowly. "How's Megan? Have you guys made any progress with her?"

"Sort of," Tony said. "It's a long story. It looks like we may have some answers, maybe even a solution ... but it's one of those things where we won't know until we know. Bruce said it looks hopeful, though. So that's something."

"How are you?"

"I'm ..." Tony sighed and finally set the gadget down on the table. "Tired. I'm tired. And I miss you," he admitted as he pushed off the table and stepped toward her image. "It's been a lot of hero stuff for a lot of days. Which can be fun, but honestly, not as fun as you."

Pepper's smile was radiant and made Tony's heart swell. "I'll still be here when you're done," she promised. "Happy and I will extend our stay in the city. I'll make sure that the relief foundation is prepped for whatever's coming."

"I'm not worried about you taking care of anything, you know," Tony said honestly. "Just stay safe. Let Happy do his overprotective thing. Remember to keep your suit on standby."

Pepper rolled her eyes. "The day I need to use that suit will be the day the world is actually ending."

"Let's hope that day doesn't come any time soon," Tony said with a small smile. "I love you."

"I love you too," Pepper smiled. "I'll talk to you soon." And then the call ended.

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[ Other Third Person POV ]

"You called this ... cognitive recalibration?" Wanda asked Doctor Strange as she looked down at Megan, who still lay unconscious and unmoving on the exam table. She looked up at Strange. "And she was okay with it?"

Doctor Strange nodded. "She said you had to be a participant, but yes, she was okay with it."

Wanda nodded slowly. "Of course I will help. What needs to be done?"

"Well," Doctor Strange said, "we're going to have to go into her mind, for lack of a better phrase. Which honestly will be significantly easier with you on board, because mysticism doesn't make one a mind reader."

"And what do we do when we get there?" Wanda asked. She was completely confident that she could enter Megan's mind; she wasn't accessing it at the moment, but she was aware of it, just on the edge of her consciousness. Not so much as Doctor Strange, or even Doctor Banner, who still was waiting across the lab, but she was present.