InsaneJournal

Who: Nat, Thor and Doctor Strange
What: Those dang mind leeches again
When: Yesterday
Rating: Green



Sparring was always a good thing. No matter what was happening, what was going on, Thor could lose himself against a punching bag, or an iceberg, or whatever he needed to get that energy out. Between all the council meetings, the elders squabbling, Loki and Val's weird thing (the gender thing was still strange to him) and Jane...

Jane. Cancer. He didn't even know he could loathe a word as much as that, and yet there he was -- trying to punch Nat while picturing this strange word, this strange concept.

It would explain why he narrowly missed her head before suddenly stopping This was not Steve -- a super powered human whom he could fight freely. This was Nat. She may have been enhanced but she was still not the same.

He stopped and dropped his fists. "My apologies, friend Nat. I believe it is only fair that you attempt to harm me now."

Natasha had woken up with excess energy to burn and running into Thor needing a distraction from everything going on with Jane was a perfect reason for a sparring session. Everything had seemed normal. Maybe she was getting a little bored staying in one place for so long. Maybe she needed to hit Steve or Clint up and see if there was something she could do off site for a little while.

Normally workouts with Thor were at a pace that pushed her but weren't stressful. Today was different. She was panting harder than she ever did normally and her reaction times felt slightly off. She'd shake it off the more they spared. Too much time spent anchored in one place. That had to be it.

She was countering, really avoiding, Thor's strikes pretty well until that very last one where she barely managed to drop and roll out of the way of his incoming fist. She took a minute to regain her bearings then slowly pushed to her feet. A wave of dizziness hit her and she shook her head, frowning as she refocused on Thor. "Huh? What?”

"I was distracted and I almost caused you injury. That was not my intention." It seemed sparring distractedly was not the best option for him. With a small smile on his face, he gently put Stormbreaker down and gave her a mischievous look, trying to get back some of the earlier joy he had. "Come. You cannot tell you have never once desired to slap me or try your full strength out. I can take it."

Natasha blinked at Thor and while yes, she had had those urges usually in the midst of a fight that had gone sideways through some weird complication, that wasn't here or now. What concerned her was that she didn't remember how she came to be here or where here was or what was going on. She took a half step back to give herself breathing room. "It would be a lie if I said otherwise, Thor. I've just had a...moment of disorientation is all and am a little uncertain what's going on."

Frowning with concern, he reached towards Nat. "Do you need to sit down?" That question seemed redundant, considering how pale she suddenly had got. Looking around the room, he saw a chair which he quickly rushed to before bringing it back to her. "What'd you mean by disorientation? Do you remember how you got here?" Thor was worried. He hadn't thought he'd hit her, but maybe he had. This could be a concussion. Or something else.

Natasha sunk into the chair gratefully and took a deep breath. The room didn't ping her senses. She didn't feel danger from this place, which meant she might have been here before. "No, I don't remember how I did. I actually don't remember here at all." She looked up at Thor. "I also don't feel like I've been hit, so that being an answer is off the table. My brain feels like someone pulled the cotton out of it." Which wasn't entirely unfamiliar but it was still different than the previous times.

Thor looked at her curiously and tried to retrace the steps as well.

And then it hit him.

"Mind leeches," he said in a tone of wonderment. It had been a while since they had made their appearance in this universe. In fact, most people tended to return to their original universe (or so Thor believed, he really wasn't too sure). There were a few, himself included that had their memories almost scrubbed, even though their bodies remained. "I believe that there must have been something occur on the astral plane. I apologize if I am explaining this incorrectly -- and I would strongly encourage you speak to the Doctor Strange; however, this happens sometimes due to ...things." Space time continuum maybe? That was a valid excuse for everything.

"You remember who I am though, correct? And you remember Thanos? Do you remember fending him off in Wakanda a few months ago?"

"Mind leeches," she said in response. It wasn't the strangest way to define what had happened. It was rather fitting actually. "Astral plane? That actually exists?" Natasha arched an eyebrow at the mention of Strange. At what point in time had she been dropped into. She needed someone to summarize the timeline. "Yes, I remember you, Thor. I remember...up til the aftermath of Thanos and the aftermath of dealing with the world disappearing. Beyond that...there's a blank and it's fuzzy." She pushed to her feet. "Let's get me to Strange then. If nothing else, he can at least spout weird words at me in explanation."

Thor nodded with concern. His phone was out, and he was messaging Strange as they walked. "Yes, of course. Let me get you upstairs to have something to drink and you can convalesce in peace while we sort this out." Knowing the doctor, he would make some sort of flashy appearance. The kitchens would be more appropriate for this.

True to form, there was only the span of two minutes before sparks sputtered mid-air, like a ghost setting off fireworks. They soon whirled into a ring of embers and Dr. Strange floated through it, the cloak setting him down in a matter more fluid than fabric.

"I'm here for that house call," Strange said, sounding like he was there to do something as simple as checking a low grade fever. "So. Mind leeches again. I figured we hadn't eradicate them. It's difficult to fumigate the astral plane."

Like that was possible.

Natasha took a step back when the sparks started then simply rolled her eyes at the flashy display as Strange appeared. What was it with men like Strange and Stark always having to make everything into a loud production. “Yes, that’ll be for me and I appreciate the quick response. Evidently the mind leeches have decided to make me their next victim. Funnily enough, they feel different than the other times my brain’s been messed with.”

It hadn’t been that long ago that he too had to deal with his mind leech problems. Now that he thought about it, he also hadn’t done any drawings since then. Perhaps Strange had taken that creative ability from him in the process…

“It is a unique sensation, “Thor agreed, “not unlike a magical cleanse of the mind. When we were children, Loki quite enjoyed playing tricks on me like that.” To be honest, Thor wasn’t wholly convinced Loki didn’t still play those tricks. Regardless. “There shouldn’t be many after-effects, if I’m correct. After all,” he puffed out his chest, “I was completely fine after it.”

Somewhere in the warehouse, Loki felt his ears burning and wasn't sure why. He brushed it off and continued reading. It was probably Thor, and probably better ignored until he was bellowed at, or yelled for.

From all of the times he had run into the enigmatic spy, Dr. Strange knew that asking about those other times her mind was messed with likely wouldn't result in an answer.

"Thor's right," Stephen confirmed, "there's not many after-effects. Whatever you knew before is intact, at least until the mind leech tries to feed on those. I'm convinced that a few early onset Alzheimer's sufferers actually have mind leeches. Let's take a look."

Strange moved so he was floating in a lotus meditation position, eyes closed and hands held in an arcane gesture. His astral form moved forth from his body, rounding where Natasha's physical body was and slipping his fingers in a slow sweep through her brain. There would be nothing but a cold chill and a tickle as one of the astral parasites was pulled loose. He studied it, knowing that whatever memories of before were now digested and irretrievable. It was gone in seconds with an indignant squeak, erupting in what looked like glowing orange glitter, and Strange willed himself back into his body.

"All done," the doctor said. "I'll get you the net access, since you'll need to reacquaint yourself with everyone again. If there's any headaches, take two Tylenol and you should feel better by tomorrow."

Well, that was good. The last thing she needed was to have more things gone sideways with her brain. She watched Strange as he floated, cataloguing the minute twitches that came and went on his face. They never revealed much. She shuddered as cold swept over her and it felt like someone was playing with her brain like the string’s in a cat’s cradle. She shuddered again as the sensation lifted and Strange spoke again. “That went far faster than I was expecting.” And as for any pain, well, she could deal. She tilted her head. “Network? I guess we do need a better way to communicate with each other than we had been.”

The sorcerer was standing on his own two feet again, and being his usual comforting self as he explained, "They're small, so it doesn't take long. It's more difficult when there's direct mouth-to-soul contact involved."

Naturally. Those types of predators tended to fight back. Mind leeches were merely annoying parasites, attracted to cosmic anomalies in sentient beings. They were also slow acting where symptoms were concerned, so there was less damage done.

Dr. Strange nodded in agreement about the net access, opening a portal and pulling through one of the not-so-affectionately named Welcome to Hell gift packs. The packet was cheerfully wrapped in handcrafted paper, containing a keycard to an apartment at 30 Warren Street, along with a notebook, Starkphone, and log on credentials. It floated over to Natasha.

"Everyone's talking as much as we can stand to," he explained. "Stark's here, after all. You'll find a login and password. Oh, and a pamphlet called You, Other You, and the Multiverse. You might want to read through that first. You can ask any further questions on the network, or by reaching me through the information on my business card."

He glanced at Thor and then back at Natasha, before a brief awkward pause set in.

"You both look...sweaty. I should really get back to stopping those Lovecraftian cultists from conjuring another Cthulhu-esque entity."

“Of course we are sweaty.” Thor almost rolled his eyes. Almost. “We have exerted ourselves fully on the mat prior to your arrival. In fact, this was most fortuitous indeed, considering I had reached my own limit, and from Nat’s expression, she too has probably had enough.”

He could almost hear the cooking staff hovering outside the walls, considering he had taken over the kitchens. “We will instead feast, regain our strength and resume our daily activities. You are welcome to join, if you would like.” This invitation was given very politely since sharing a meal with Doctor Strange was not on Thor’s top list of things to do.

It wasn’t even on the list at all, if he was honest.

To be mutually honest, peacefully willfully remaining in the vicinity of Thor's stab happy brother was right between dealing with another rogue Faltine (#999), and having a botched frontal lobe lobotomy (#1001) on his list of 1001 Things I Don't Want To Do.

Still, it was a courteous offer and Dr. Strange managed a smile. After all, he still considered there to be a tense peace between him and Thor, despite always being the bearer of bad news. He also wanted to help if Jane or Thor asked. Hopefully without Loki's feathers getting ruffled again.

"No, thank you. I really need to go stop an idiot," he replied. "I appreciate it the offer? Give my best to Jane. And if there's any questions, or if you need help, you both know how to reach me."

He opened a portal into what looked to be a dark cavern and nodded once to them both. Then he floated through, his voice echoing within as the portal gradually shut itself, "Hello again, Avh'oldotl. Put down the squid and necrotic fragment. I warned you about how bad that arm rot was going to get."