[Nozomi pov]
Nozomi adjusted the weight on her back, feeling the steady rise and fall of Hiro's breathing against her shoulder. He was out cold, a dead weight of exhaustion and borrowed power spent. Walking back toward the palace, the silence among her companions was a stark contrast to the chaos they'd left behind.
Her thoughts churned, a private storm. 'The script has been changed.' If defeating Thanos was the final enemy, their purpose here should have been fulfilled. They should have felt the pull of home, or at least the judgment of Death's domain. The continued solidity of the ground beneath her feet, the weary ache in her own muscles—it all signaled one thing. 'We're not done. We'll be here longer than I expected.'
"That was some fine fighting, little one," Thor's voice boomed gently beside her, his curiosity cutting through her reverie. "Where did you acquire such training?"
She hitched Hiro higher. "I was self-trained." It was the simplest truth of this mortal life.
"I see. 'Tis not your first fight, I presume," he continued, his tone holding a note of disbelief.
"It was. I've sparred with my brother and some killer robots, but never a real, life-threatening battle." The lie came easily. The memories of clashes that could shatter stars and birth nebulae—fights that would break a mortal mind to witness—were locked away in a part of her she was no longer. She was not the Goddess of Creation here. She was just Nozomi.
She turned her head slightly toward the quiet figure walking on her other side. "What's your story?" she asked Wanda.
Wanda kept her eyes on the distant palace, a profound sadness etched into her features. "I lost someone," she said, the words a quiet, closed door.
Nozomi accepted it with a soft hum. She knew better than to push against that kind of grief.
The rest of the walk passed in a comfortable silence, the fatigue of victory settling over them all. At the palace entrance, they found Tony, Steve, and Strange in a tense, quiet conference that broke off as the group approached.
Steve stepped forward first, his eyes flickering with concern. "Is he alright?" he asked, nodding toward Hiro.
"Yeah," Nozomi said, shifting again. "Just spent. He gave… everything." She left the nature of that 'everything' vague.
"There are medical bays inside," Tony offered, gesturing. "Go get him settled."
Once Hiro was deposited in a quiet, dim room, monitored by Wakandan med-tech that beeped reassuringly, Nozomi felt the sudden stillness. The adrenaline was gone, leaving a hollow, restless energy. She wandered out into a common area—a spacious room with wide windows overlooking the scarred but healing landscape. In there was the spy, Natasha Romanoff, or Natalie as she had introduced herself earlier.
"I didn't realize you had a thing for gunning down aliens, Natalie," Nozomi said, her name with a smirk.
A smirk touched her lips as she lowered the firearm she had been cleaning. "I assume you already know, but my name isn't really Natalie."
"What! Now way!" Nozomi said with a mock gasp as she sat next to her. "You totally look like a Natalie." Natasha chuckled at Nozomi's teasing tone. "So if not Natalie, what is it? Natasha?"
Natasha smiled and nodded. "I don't know why, but I am not surprised that you know my real name."
Nozomi puffed her chest out in pride. "Sometimes people underestimate me. And it cost them."
"I can see that." Her gaze then shifted to Nozomi's wagging tails. "So, Nozomi, what are you doing here? Aren't you far from home?"
Nozomi thought about the question for a short while before shrugging. "For now, I don't know. I came on a mission to kill Thanos, but now that it's done... I don't know."
Natasha's face tightened. "Mission? Are you some child soldier or something?"
Nozomi smirked cryptically at the question. "A soldier? I serve way higher up."
Natasha assessed her for a while longer before sighing. "If you're fine with it, I guess I can let it go, but if you ever want to get out of that service, don't hesitate to talk to me."
Nozomi smiled at the idea of Lady Death hearing those words. "Sure, I won't."
They spent more time talking about random topics and my school life. But one topic led to another until
"Another dimension? Like, a different earth diffrent earth?" The shift in the atmosphere was instant. Natasha's expression shifted from curious to disbelief, then to shock in a matter of seconds.
Nozomi looked at the spy, practically seeing the gears shifting in her head as she tried to find a logical explanation of what the girl in front of her was saying.
"Is it okay for you to be sharing that. I feel like if you are some child soldier traveling dimensions, that should be like a secret or something."
"Oh wow, you actually believed that?" Nozomi asked with slight surprise in her voice.
"Were you lying?" Natasha asked, her shoulders slumping a bit. "And if you work in this line of work for as long as I have, dimensional-hoping kids. Just another Tuesday."
"Oh no, I was serious. Just surprised at how you just accepted it." Nozomi replied. "And I don't think my... boss," Nozomi snorted at the word. "Would mind. And I have a gut feeling that we'll be here a while, it would be better to have strong allies who trust you than strong people who don't."
"And what does this mission of yours entail?" Natasha asked, switched to work mode.
Nozomi shrugged. "Even I am not entirely sure. The details were pretty vague. Just that we were to eliminate an anomaly in this world. At first, we thought it was Thanos. But now, I am not entirely sure." Nozomi looked up at the ceiling.
"Now I am more curious about this boss of yours who happens to know when an anomaly appears in another dimension," Natasha said, mostly talking to herself.
Nozomi grinned. "You will, eventually. But let's hope not too soon."
"Why is it a cruel high-level mafia boss?" Natasha asked with a grin. "Trust me, kid, I can handle myself."
Nozomi smiled at the confidence. She planned to keep Lady Death's involvement in this a secret, and it was funny to see a slightly above-average human taunt Lady Death like that. Even unknowingly. "I am sure you can."
"I don't really hear the trust in those words." She shot her a mock glare.
"Why would I have any reason to doubt you?" Nozomi shot back with a grin. "The earlier fight proved your capabilities."
"Now I feel like you're making fun of me." She said in an annoyed voice, but the smile on her face was unmistakable.
[Hiro POV]
I opened my eyes, but then quickly closed them to eliminate the light that was absolutely here just to abuse my eyes. "Uh, fuck."
I feel like this is going to be a new routine.
I slowly reopened my eyes and scanned the surroundings. Dark room, high tech, tubes connecting to my arms. I sighed.
"Not your first rodeo, I assume?" An irritatingly smug voice spoke up from one corner of the room. I raised my head to find Tony, sitting in an armchair with chips in one hand and a book in the other.
"At least someone had the decency to watch over me," I muttered as I slumped back.
"Watch over you? Don't kid yourself, kid." Tony shot back as he stood up. "I was only here cause all the other places were too loud to read a book."
"Sure, we can go with that part as the story. I am pretty sure everyone won't bat an eye at Tony Stark avoiding a celebration party to go read a book in a patient's room."
"Touche." He smirked and threw the bag of chips he had on my bed. "See you down." Then left.
I closed my eyes to recollect my thoughts. 'We are still here.' I lamented in my mind. It was both good and bad. On the positive side, I don't get to go home with scars and worry Akihime. But on the negative side, Thanos was not the anomaly, and now the script is screwed. It made sense. Thanos was meant to happen. So he can't be the anomaly. 'Great. Now we are even lower than square one.'
My ears twitched as I heard footsteps getting closer to my room. I pulled the potato chips closer to me and took a bite as the door hissed open.
"Welcome back to the land of the living," Shuri said in a thick Wakandan accent. She walked closer and examined me. "You really are a monster. Most people would have taken weeks to wake up. But you healed in two days."
I snorted. "Most people wouldn't survive holding an infinity stone."
"True." She said as she sat on the rolling chair next to the bed. "So. How did it feel?"
I turned to face her, and she looked like a kid who was one candy away from a sugar rush.
"How did what feel?" I asked through a mouthful of chips.
"Holding the infinity stone. How did it feel? I've always wanted to hold it and feel the sensation."
And there it was. The sugar rush.
I closed my eyes and recalled the sensation. "It felt like... I was holding the hand of a clock. Any time I wanted, I could move it forward or backward, and then all around me, I could see the results. And the power that was crushing into me felt like..." I paused, trying to find the right word for it. "It felt like trying to resist a tsunami on sand."
I opened my eyes and turned to her. She just stared at me, speechless. "Are you sure you're a kid?"
"What?"
"I mean, you look like a kid, minus the tails and ears, but that was... deep." She said, staring at me.
"Stop, you're creeping me out," I said, slightly backing away from her.
Her face switched from fascination to a pout. "I give you a complimant and you reply with that. You are going to die single."
"Hehe~ I'll have you know that I've had literal goddesses fall from my charms." I retorted with a grin.
"Right? And where was that 'goddess' of yours when you were overloading yourself?" Shuri asked with clear, unimpressed disbelief.
"You'd be surprised how close she was," I answered, finishing the bag of chips. A side of my bed opened up, and a recycle bin came out. I looked at it with a bit of interest before throwing the bag in. "So, did you come here to ask me about the infinity stone, or is there something else?"
"Well, that was the main reason." She started. "But I am also bored." She added shamelessly. "The others are discussing the aftermath, and honestly, I don't want to be anywhere near them at this moment."
"Uh-huh, and so you are now in here for entertainment. I am sorry, but I am not in that industry." I replied as I adjusted myself on the bed and closed my eyes.
"You speak so casually to me." She said all-over sudden.
I opened and looked at her in confusion. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"You know I am royalty, right?" She replied with some pride in her voice, and I swear I saw her puff out her chest.
I closed my eye and turned away from her. "Goodnight. Princess." I added that last part in mock respect.
"You think I am lying, don't you?" She asked, frustration just beneath the calm surface she was putting up.
"No. I know that you are the princess of this country." I turned and faced her. "But, in my homeland, I am considered close to royalty," I smirked as she paled a little. "No king bows to another."
"I heard little about your homeland from your sister, but she never mentioned anything about being royalty," Shuri said, eyeing me with disbelief.
I shrugged. "You do you."
"Could you tell me more about your home dimension. I have always known they existed, but I have never seen one or someone from one. Till two days ago, apperantly"
I smiled as I turned to face the ceiling. "We come from an earth where 80% of the people are born with a superpower we call quirks."
Her face brightened in interest. "80%?! That would be an incredible world."
"Well, it's a double-edged sword. When more than half of a country's population is given superpowers, you'd be surprised how much the crime rate increases."
"That makes sense. But aren't there also many heroes who fight against that crime?" She asked, unconsciously drifting the rolling chair closer to the bed.
"They're. Most of the people who awaken powerful quirks choose to go for the hero path. There is even a school dedicated to teaching young heroes to control their power." I answered.
"That's so cool. What are your quirks?" Shuri leaned closer. I could practically feel her excitement and anticipation rise by the second. I waited extra seconds for the climax to reach an acceptable height before answering.
"None."
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Been a while since I posted. I have been in a nightmare. Ever since school restarted, I have been bombarded by test after test with no time for rest. I thought I should use the time I get to update my books. I have also been writing more books and I will be publishing them in the near, very near future. For all my hard work, I believe two powerstones each reader would suffice. I reall am cheap. Meh, I'll work on it
Anyway. See you.
Peace.