Carmine Jewels ║ Wanda Maximoff

Chapter 37 - Just... Mayhem

Keira was sitting on the floor, crosslegged and absentmindedly tracing the lines on Steve's shield with her finger. Even over the rumble of the jet and her own music, the opera music blasting from Bruce's headphones could be heard clear as day.

Or at least to her and Steve, considering their enhanced hearing. Now that she thought about it, Thor could probably hear it as well. She wasn't complaining though. The slow tunes were different from the punk songs playing in her headphones, but she kind of liked the odd mixture.

Tony was up front, steering the ship with the help of JARVIS. Keira still couldn't shake the feeling that something had happened when he retrieved the scepter, because the man had been uncharacteristically quiet the whole ride. She made a mental note of asking him about it once the whole team wasn't around, although she wasn't sure she'd be able to get a straight answer out of him.

She glanced up at Steve, who was leaning over Clint and making sure that the IV drip was taped securely to his hand. Natasha stopped by his side, muttering a few words with a smirk on her face and Keira was sure she was making a joke.

Thor was walking over to the scepter, staring down at it. He was probably the happiest that they had managed to retrieve it. An Asgardian relic like that shouldn't be in the hands of man.

Natasha crouched down in front of Bruce and engaged him in conversation. Keira just watched them, unable to hold back her suspicion that the scientist had a thing for the redhead. And judging from the shy glances he threw at her, Keira couldn't say that they lessened. She took out her earphones just in time to hear Natasha raise her voice, not only speaking to Bruce anymore.

"Thor, report on the Hulk"

"The gates of Hel are filled with the screams of his victims." The blond god raised a fist in victory, a clueless smile on his face.

Natasha threw him an incredulous look over her shoulder, and Bruce buried his face in his hands, groaning in despair. Keira had to smother her smile because she knew that Thor hadn't meant any harm. In reprimand, she lightly slapped his calf, seeing as he was standing right beside her now.

Thor glanced down at her, a confused look on his face before glancing at Banner. "Uh, but not the screams of the dead, of course. No, no, uh... wounded screams. Mainly whimpering, uh, a great deal of complaining and tales of sprained deltoids and uh... gout." He finished off awkwardly, trying to dig himself out of the hole he had found himself in.

"Good try, Thunderbolt." Keira said in a low voice, unable to keep her smile at bay any longer, and tapped his calf lightly. The god just shot her a look of puzzlement, still not really sure of what he had said wrong, and she couldn't help but love his innocence.

"Hey, Banner. Dr. Cho is on her way in from Seoul. Is it okay if she sets up in your lab?" Tony asked from the front, saving the god from the awkwardness.

"Uh, yeah, she knows her way around." Bruce looked relieved at the change of subject.

"Thanks." Tony's attention turned to the clouds outside again while he muttered instructions to JARVIS.

Keira leaned her head back against the crate and closed her eyes. Having the scepter near her again also meant that the buzzing in her head increased, which was not something she appreciated. She had handled the scepter and its gem enough times to last her a lifetime and she couldn't wait until it was back on Asgard again.

Just like before, she couldn't help but feel as if it was alive somehow. Reading the minds in the room, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

"Feels good, yeah?" Tony's voice said from behind her, and she opened her eyes. She hadn't even noticed that he had given control to JARVIS and walked over to Thor and Steve. "I mean, you've been after this thing since SHIELD collapsed. Not that I haven't enjoyed our little raiding parties but..."