"Funny, I guess destiny isn't the path given to us, but the path we choose for ourselves."
-Megamind; from Megamind
The drive to the hospital was tense; Opal and Darcy would look back at Thor to see if he'd regained consciousness — they were silently hoping he wouldn't — and making sure he wasn't moving around too much. Jane had to move a lot of her equipment to the side and knowing that one wrong turn could have them tumble on top of a random unconscious guy — who was potentially violent — could end disastrously.
Erik was trying to keep Jane's focus on the road, trying to get her to the hospital as quickly as possible.
"What're we going to tell them?!" Darcy exclaimed.
"The truth," Erik said curtly.
"He came out of nowhere," Opal exclaimed. "Should we check for ID?"
"It's too late now," Jane said. "We're almost to the hospital."
Taking a quick turn, Jane sped down a narrow street before turning into entrance of the hospital. It wasn't anything major, like someone would see in the big city, but it was the best the small area they lived in could offer. Besides, it wasn't like any major crime or activity ever happened, so an unconscious man — who was either drunk, high, or mentally disabled — was probably the most excitement the hospital staff ever saw.
After Jane jerked the van to a stop and turned off the engine, the others prepared to get the man out of the back.
O.O.O.O
Some nurses came out with a stretcher, only after Erik snapped at Darcy to go inside and get some help. Once the nurses arrived, looking a bit out of breath and a little baffled at the size of their patient, had Thor loaded onto the stretcher and hurriedly brought into the hospital. Jane, Erik, Opal, and Darcy weren't allowed to go into the room he was being kept in; the receptionist needed as much information as possible on their newest patient. That was when the four of them realized how difficult it'd be, seeing how they only knew his supposed name.
"Name?" the receptionist asked.
"He said it was Thor?" Jane said, making it seem almost like a question.
"And your relationship to him?" she asked, after typing in the name.
"We don't know him," Opal added. "She hit him with her van." Opal pointed to Jane.
"I grazed him," Jane added quickly. "But she tased him." Jane nodded to Darcy.
"Yes I did," Darcy replied, sounding almost smug.
"Is there anything else you found on him?" The receptionist looked at the four of them expectantly.
"No," Erik said. "We've never met him before. This was all a big accident."
With a nod, the receptionist finished typing while Erik, Opal, Jane, and Darcy walked away.
"Should we wait for him?" Opal asked. "What if he has nowhere to go?"
"It's already pretty late," Erik concluded. "We should get some rest. We've had enough excitement for one day."
"Erik's right." Jane let out an almost defeated sigh. "Tonight was crazy, we should just get some rest. I'll see you guys tomorrow?"
With mumbled voices of agreement, they all went back to the van and went back to their respective apartments and houses. It honestly had been a long night, and sleep was more than welcome.
O.O.O.O
By the time Erik and Opal arrived at their shared apartment, Opal didn't even bother taking a shower. She went straight into her pajamas and falling asleep. It barely registered in Opal's mind that she had given Erik a mumbled goodnight before locking herself in her room for the night.
It had barely been three in the morning when Opal's mind finally began to dream, and by the time she had to wake up — and it felt like she'd only been asleep for just a couple minutes — it was well into the afternoon. Erik's continual knocking on Opal's closed door caused her to bury deeper into her bedding, hoping she'd be swallowed up and not have to deal with the new day's events.
"Opal, we've got to go to Jane's," he said. "She said she may have found some connection to last night's events."
"Can't she just explain it to Darcy?" Opal groaned, burying her face in her pillow.
"I don't think some of what Jane discovered will be understood by Darcy."
"(Darcy's smart, I don't doubt she'll understand it)," Opal responded telepathically.
"(Just get out of bed, please. The longer we keep Jane waiting, the more she'll badger us to come)."
While Erik had a point, it still bothered Opal to no end that Jane found herself relying on Opal's appearance when it came to her discoveries. Opal had mentioned countless times before that not only did she not have a college education, she had absolutely no idea what was being said by her or Erik. When Darcy had started working as Jane's assistant, she had said she was going to college for some form of science, but Opal just couldn't remember what she was studying.
"(Fine, just give me a minute)." It took a lot of effort for her to get out of bed, and a lot of wishing that Jane wouldn't keep them there long. After the previous night's events, Opal had no intention of going back to find out what Jane discovered. All the craziness they endured had been too much. After grudgingly getting dressed, Opal threw her auburn hair into a messy ponytail before throwing on some socks and shoes and opening her bedroom door. "You guys owe me for this," she grumbled.
"I know," Erik said, a small smile on his face. "I'll make it up to you."
Nodding, she followed him out and they made their way to Jane's.
O.O.O.O
As it would turn out — though it wasn't very surprising — papers and computers and all kinds of calculations were scattered all over Jane's apartment. She had some of the previous night's discoveries pinned to the nearest wall; she had various laptops opened to show different results for the different pictures; she had calculators and pens and rulers and notepads. Jane's apartment looked more like a mad scientist's lair than an actual living space.
"You don't think this was just a magnetic storm, do you?" Erik said.
Jane had placed herself at one of her various computers, typing in something. She had tried explaining how the occurrence seemed to be completely different than the seventeen other ones she had witnessed. But while there were some differences, there had to be a connection. That had been Jane's main motive for still working on it. "The lensing around these edges," she exclaimed, a smirk on her face, "is characteristic of an Einstein-Rosen Bridge."
"A what?" Darcy and Opal said at the same time.
"I thought you were a science major?" Erik mumbled to Darcy.
"Political science," she responded.
"She was the only applicant," Jane brushed off.
"That still doesn't explain what that thing is," Opal said. "What's it called again?"
"An Einstein-Rosen Bridge is a theoretical connection between two different points in space...," Erik tried saying.
"It's a wormhole," Jane simplified. "So Erik, what do you see?"
While Erik and Jane discussed some of the pictures that were available, Darcy and Opal walked over to some of the pictures pinned to the wall. A lot of them were just photos of the tornado-like figure from different angles, some of them were too blurred out from the flashes of light, and the rest were pictures of the event with Jane's heat signature on. One of those heat signature photos caught Opal's eye.
"Doesn't that almost look like a person?" She nudged Darcy's shoulder and pointed to the one she was talking about. In the photo, there was a fuzzy silhouette of what looked like a fully grown person, most likely a male, surrounded by the different colors the heat signature picked up.
"No way," Darcy murmured. "Hey Jane, check this out."
There was a moment of silence as Erik and Jane made their way over. They studied the photo, looking almost in disbelief.
"It can't be," Erik said.
"I think I left something at the hospital," Jane exclaimed, grabbing her car keys.
O.O.O.O
The drive to the hospital was just as tense as it could be. While it was obvious Erik was trying to come up with some rational solution as to how a humanoid figure could be found in or around the event from the night before, there was no doubt that Thor had something to do, or was a possible connection, with what happened. It was just a matter of whether or not he was still in the hospital. If his injuries weren't severe enough, chances would be he'd be let out without much trouble. If he was in a bad condition — like a concussion or maybe a few bruised ribs — he would have been told to stay overnight. Maybe his erratic behavior would have caused the latter regardless of his physical health.
By the time Jane pulled up into the hospital, she and the others jumped out and practically sprinted to the entrance. Once they were in, they were surprised to see all the doctors, nurses, and security staff quickly walking through the halls, going into rooms and talking quietly amongst themselves.
"Do you think you could pick him up?" Jane murmured to Opal.
"There's too much activity going on," Opal hissed. "Besides, I may accidentally tap into some of the technology they have here. Since, ya know, there's machinery that's specialty is brain scanning."
After searching multiple rooms, they finally found the one that most likely contained Thor. There were restraints on the bed that had been haphazardly thrown around.
"How does someone that big get out that easily?" Opal exclaimed as they ran out to the front of the hospital. After loading back into the van, Jane let out a frustrated huff.
"I just lost my most important piece of evidence," she snapped. "Typical."
"Now what?" Darcy said.
"We find him."
"That's if he stuck around here," Opal said. "As far as we're concerned, he could've ditched town."
"Then we'll search where we were last night."
"Did you see what he did in there?" Erik replied. "I don't think finding him is the best idea."
"Our data can't tell us what it was like inside that event, he can. So, we're gonna find him."
Without a word, Darcy took out her taser and started to check it, which Opal watched with mild interest. Once the engine started and Jane started backing up, there was a loud thud and a split second where Jane let out a horrified screech. Turning off the van, they all jumped out to see Thor lying on the ground. Unconscious. Again.
"Maybe you shouldn't be driving," Opal exclaimed, looking at Jane in mild horror.
"Shut up and help me with him," she snapped.
O.O.O.O
Once they were all at Jane's apartment in one piece, and Thor had steadily started regaining consciousness, they hurriedly led him inside. Jane decided to lock him in one of the guest rooms while she figured something out.
"Try and find him some clothes," Opal instructed, "I'll keep him under control."
"What can I give him?" Jane exclaimed.
"Don't you still have some of Donald's clothes?!" Opal snapped. A slight grimace came across Jane's face. "Hurry up, he's starting to wake up." After she left, Opal positioned herself close to Thor's head so her hands could curve around the sides. She could see his eyes blinking rapidly as he tried understanding what was going on. Sending out some pulses of telepathic energy, Opal worked on calming his mind. It was difficult; mostly because his mind seemed far more scattered than she cared to admit. Sending out more telepathic energy, she started relaxing when his body started relaxing. Thor took more energy than anyone else Opal had worked on before, which was sort of understandable, since some people's minds were just more active than others.
Keeping the flow even, Opal waited until Jane came back with some of her ex's clothes before she started sending messages into Thor's mind. "(We aren't going to hurt you)," she said gently, "(we just need your cooperation. We have some clothes for you to change into. Please change into them. Once you're done, we need to have a word with you. It shouldn't take long)."
He mumbled something under his breath. His eyes, which were partially opened, were glazed over.
"(Will you help us with what we need)?"
"Yes," he mumbled.
"(Thank you. When I remove my hands, once my friend and I are gone, you'll change into the clothes given to you, OK)?"
Giving another mumbled, almost slurred, yes, Opal removed her hands and quickly grabbed Jane's arm and pulled her out of the room once the clothes were set near Thor.
O.O.O.O
Opal mentally scolded herself for not closing the door behind her and Jane when they left, but at the same time, she wasn't complaining too much. Calming Thor's mind seemed to work wonders, since he wasn't lashing out or misbehaving in any way. With the door being wide open, and Jane conveniently having a mirror dangling on the inside of it, that meant they were given a perfect view of Thor changing into the clothes provided. Thor seemed unashamed, almost oblivious in a sense, to what he was displaying. When he sauntered out of the guest room, he looked at the four of them for a moment. He was holding the shirt in one hand, standing at an angle that almost showed off his bare upper torso.
"You know, for a crazy homeless guy, he's pretty cut," Darcy said, looking at him with no shame in the world. "Sorry I tased you!"
When Thor started touching some of Jane's computers, she ran over and practically slapped his hand away.
Thor started studying the shirt as he was about to put it on before he noticed a nametag on it. "What is this?" he asked.
Jane's face reddened. "My ex," she sighed. "Good with patients and bad with relationships. They're the only clothes I have that will fit you..."
"They will suffice," he interrupted. "This mortal form has grown weak. I need sustenance."
Opal turned to see the look on Erik's face, and it was anything but pleased. There was a glare on the older man's face as his gaze followed Thor's movements.
"We can take him to Isabela's," Opal suggested. "There should be enough food there."
Thor stopped for a moment before looking at Opal with an indescribable look in his eyes. "Your voice," he announced. "You were in my head before. What magic is this?"
With her brows shooting up, her mouth hung open for a minute as she tried finding the right words to say. "I'm not a magician," she stammered. "I was trying to calm you down."
Before he could say anything else, Erik intervened. "If we're going to Isabela's, we might as well go now," he stated firmly. His tone leaving absolutely no room for arguing.
(A/N):
Probably not the best ending, but I feel like I've written enough for this chapter, so here you go! If there's anything you'd like to see added into the story, don't hesitate to let me know, OK?
Do I own anything in the MCU? No. No I don't.
If there's anything that's confusing, don't hesitate to let me know. If there's an OC or a subplot you'd like to have added into the story, leave a review or PM me.
For this story, and any future stories I write in the MCU, whenever Opal uses her telepathy to communicate with others, "(it'll be written like this)."
Leave a thought on anything I can improve on.
Thank you.
Judith W