Not Too Late my friend,
Take it up and try again,
I'll stand right here,
While you walk to face the end,
As the skys clear up again,
I'll disappear,
And have a go again,
-Not Too Late; by Lemaitre
Letting out a heavy sigh, Sasha leaned her head against the passenger side window, closing her eyes for a moment. It had been a very long night — a very long, very uneventful night. There had been promises of some special aurora showing up, one that was supposed to be a game changer; but sunrise was in a couple hours and there was still no aurora. It was frustrating. Sasha was exhausted, she wanted nothing more than to curl up in her bed and go to sleep. Being stuffed in some van full of homemade machinery was extremely uncomfortable.
Opening her eyes, Sasha turned her head slightly, looking behind her. Her friend, Jane, was typing away on her laptop, focused and unwavering in her determination. Frowning, Sasha turned to look out the windshield and her window before turning back to Jane. "I really don't think anything's happening tonight," she said, a hint of frustration in her voice. "It's almost sunrise and we still haven't seen the aurora."
For a moment, Jane stopped typing, it almost seemed like she was processing what Sasha was saying. But Sasha knew better. Jane was stubborn, and she would never admit she was wrong, even if it was blatantly obvious. "It'll happen," she said, her voice firm, leaving little to no room for arguing. "We've got plenty of time left and I'm not leaving until it happens."
"Seriously?" Darcy, Jane's intern. She only agreed to help Jane out for six college credits, but it was apparent the two formed a genuine friendship in their time together. Unfortunately, Darcy had to deal with the blunt of the overall craziness that is Jane Foster's Obsession™. Sasha had come up with the term herself. Jane had a deep desire to be acknowledged within the scientific community. She wanted to be recognized, to have her name written in the stars — to finally be with the top dogs. The only problem was she hadn't done anything outstanding that deserved recognition. So she put all of her time and energy into atmospheric anomalies, hoping to find something out of the ordinary. She hasn't. Darcy, as per her agreement as Jane's assistant and intern, has to help with organizing paperwork and digital files, testing the homemade machinery, going over every little bit of research, and being available 24/7. Darcy has become just as exhausted and even more frustrated.
"Seriously," Jane exclaimed, looking up from her laptop for the briefest second. "This aurora will push my research forward. I can't afford to miss this."
"You're an astrophysicist," Sasha said, "not a storm chaser."
"It doesn't matter."
"It does, Jane." Erik Selvig, Jane's mentor. He'd been an old friend of Jane's father, and began mentoring her after she graduated from Culver University. While he appreciated her enthusiasm, her stubbornness and tunnel-vision frustrated him to no end. Erik wanted her to go beyond atmospheric anomalies, but nothing he said seemed to get through to her; it was in one ear and out the other. Erik saw her as his daughter, and he cared for her too much to just leave, even if his frustration told him to reconsider. "You have to broaden your horizons," he stated, "and you won't find it huddled in a van in the dead of night."
Letting out a frustrated groan, Jane closed her laptop before standing up. Opening the van's sunroof, she wiggled her head out to look up at the sky, Erik following suit not even a minute later.
"You think it's gonna happen?" Darcy asked, turning to look at Sasha with a hint of curiosity.
"Doubt it." With a airy chuckle, Sasha leaned forward a little, hoping to get a bit of comfort. "If it hasn't shown up by now, it probably won't."
Nodding in response, Darcy settled into her seat, staring out the windshield absently. Sasha settled back into her seat, hoping to feel as comfortable as possible. Even with the harness she'd been given, the discomfort came every now and again. Resting her head against the back of her seat, Sasha began fiddling with the end of her shirt, hoping to distract herself from the overwhelming feeling of boredom. There was a long silence, lasting only two or three minutes before Darcy called out to Jane. "Can I turn on the radio?" she asked.
"No," Jane exclaimed.
"Even if the volume's low?" Sasha pressed.
"No."
Letting out a frustrated huff, both Sasha and Darcy silently admitted defeat. Jane wouldn't let them play the radio, but they'll figure out other ways to entertain themselves.
Wiggling herself out of the sunroof, Jane quickly sat herself down and opened her laptop again. At the same time, she grabbed paperwork to look over, tinkering with her machinery as she mumbled to herself.
"Jane, you can't keep doing this," Erik sighed as he wiggled his way down. He looked and sounded equally overwhelmed.
"The last seventeen occurrences have been predictable," she exclaimed.
"Nothing's going to happen," Sasha said. "I'm telling you right now, it's not going to happen."
"It's just like Sasha said, you're an astrophysicist, not a storm chaser." Erik gave Jane a pointed look, hoping she'd at least consider what he was saying. Unfortunately, the chances of her actually listening were slim to none.
While the two continued to bicker, going back and forth over research and the obvious wasting of everyone's time, Sasha noticed something in the distance, a flicker in the sky. Now, when the small group left their New Mexico town, the day — and night — had been clear. Not a single cloud in the sky. No winds, no indication of foul weather. But, without warning, the sky began to fill with clouds, and in these clouds were colors. It seemed...rainbow-like. The colors were vibrant, almost blinding. But the strange thing about it was the clouds and colors began congregating in one spot, and as the clouds thickened the colors became even brighter. This event caused Sasha to sit up straight, just for a second, before leaning forward, as if it would help her confirm what she was seeing. Feeling a hand on her shoulder, Sasha knew Darcy was seeing it too.
"Jane," Darcy exclaimed, "I think you wanna see this."
-0-0-0-0-
The lights soon gathered in one single spot, forming an almost perfect circle. The clouds formed around the lights, as if becoming some kind of barrier; and soon more clouds were beginning to gather around the lights, and Sasha quickly realized the excess clouds were starting to extend to the ground, swirling as if they were some kind of cyclone. And as this all began to unfold, as the lights became brighter and the clouds made their touchdown to the sandy ground less than a mile from Jane's van, wind started to pick up. Strong wind, causing dust to swirl around the cyclone. The strange thing was the cyclone was by no means strong enough to cause such a change in the weather. But it did, in some strange way. The winds caused the van to tremble, the lights and cyclone caused the ground to vibrate, the atmosphere changed within a split second.
That was all Jane needed. This cyclone, this abnormality, was her catalyst. She needed to be as close to it as possible, to get as much of it as she possibly could either on tape or in some other documented form. Which, unfortunately, caused her to yell at Darcy to drive. Toward the cyclone of colors. And that's just what Darcy did. She started the engine and hit the gas pedal, the van shaking and trembling with the turbulence of everything going on. Jane shoved herself into the passenger seat, practically on Sasha's lap, with a camcorder in hand.
All color had visibly drained from Sasha's face as she tried to grip onto something. She couldn't believe what was happening. It had been a completely normal night. There was no reasonable explanation for its sudden shift.
Erik, who was sitting in the back with Jane's belongings, had stumbled from the abruptness of it all. He was trying to gather his bearings, to get some balance and talk Jane out of her current mindset.
Thankfully, Darcy seemed to have the most common sense, even in such an anxiety-inducing situation. Being the driver, she had all the control. She could do whatever she wanted. So she did what she had to do, which meant swerving the van away from the cyclone before they got too close.
"What are you doing!" Jane cried.
"I am not dying for six college credits!" Darcy snapped.
"Jane please stop this," Sasha barked. "We're not dying for your research."
A few minutes of struggling ensued before it was drowned out by a loud crash. The ground shook violently, and time felt as if it stood still. Everything that was happening was happening so fast. How could any of it be real?
Jane, in that moment, took it upon herself to grab the steering wheel, in hopes of turning the van in the direction of the storm. She wanted to be as close as possible, despite the risks. But her blind ambition, her desire caused her to turn the van in the direction of a silhouette.
And promptly run it over.
(A/N):
Hopefully you guys enjoy this chapter. If you see anything that could use improvement, don't hesitate to let me know, okay? I'd appreciate the constructive criticism.
I don't own anything in the Marvel universe. All I own are my characters and subplots. Everything else belongs to Stan Lee and company.
Thanks.
District Elysium