"Absolutely not."

Steve crossed his arms over his chest, restraining himself in an effort to look calm and authoritative. Rhodes was standing next to him, the same look of disapproval on his face.

"But it's a gift."

"You don't seem to grasp that you're not exactly in terms of negotiating."

The girl tried hard not to pout, and stand her ground, leaning over the ship protectively. She knew there was no way of winning this argument, not this time. And she had to agree with them for once. This was an extremely expensive and advanced spacecraft, one of a kind for the time being, and in the hands of a nineteen year old stranger. Not even the good doctor could be on her side this time.

"So what will you do with it then?"

"It's confiscated."

"By who?" Shuri interceded for her. "The ship is calibrated to her brain, none of you could even start it."

"It will stay in our premises then, out of hand for the time being."

"Does that mean I can take it out for a ride when I'm twenty-one?"

The Captain glared at her momentarily, before his features softened.

"Bellamy, you can't expect us to let you have this weapon." His tone was subdued now, almost soft. "You don't know what is at stake, kid."

Maggie held his eyes for a moment before looking to the ground in defeat. She knew they didn't trust her, not yet. They had only known her for little over two weeks, they were just now starting to warm up to her. But there was a big divide between being cordial and even friendly to trusting someone with hyper-advanced technology. She would have to wait then.

"Come on, let's get this thing on the carrier and go home." Bruce softly grabbed her by the shoulders.

Her bag was already in the massive aircraft's hold, she only needed to put one feet in front of the other, go up the runway, and sit down. And still she couldn't bring herself to do it. She had just begun to feel comfortable in Wakanda, and going into the unknown again, after so little time in between, felt extremely rushed. She felt her gut pull at her, dreading what was to come. Trying to soothe herself, she wrapped the jacket against her tightly, standing her ground. She was almost prepared to take that first step when a hand rested against her upper arm.

"You know you'll have to visit once in a while, right?" Shuri smiled kindly at her. "Not because I want you to or anything, the Wakandan government requires it."

"How terrible then, huh?"

The girls laughed with each other, relishing in the last moments together before they would have to say farewell. The princess had a kingdom to run, and she… she just had to follow the Captain and his troop.

They arrived to their Headquarters in the early hours of dusk. The Widow had been waiting for them, travelling one week ahead in order to assess the situation better. When she made her way down the runway, she couldn't help but to stare in awe of the massive structure in front of her. It looked like it was specially designed for cutting edge technology. With sure steps, she followed the team to one of the entrances, after helping unpack the aircraft. She grasped at her bag hoping it would give her some sense of security, hoping to get through all of this as soon as possible and just find a bed and lie down.

"Bruce, you need to see this." Natasha urged him to follow along, the rest of them following after them.

When they reached what seemed to be a lab, the Captain turned around and instructed her to sit and wait in the hallway, as he closed the door behind him. Secret meeting. Okay. To her defense, she had to say that she did wait for a while, but the need to eat overtook her and she decided to take off and explore in search of a fridge or a vending machine, whatever she found first. She wandered through the deserted hallways for a while, curious as to why a building so big was so empty.

She would occasionally peek into the rooms, seeing mostly offices, and what seemed to be a gym. The design of the architecture reminded her of an airport, with its long and wide hallways, although one with no passengers. It looked almost eerie. She was very close to calling it quits and returning to where they had left her when she doubled around the corner and found what she was looking for. A coffee break room. With renewed excitement, she rushed to the cupboards in search of something to eat, anything really. Mugs, mugs, some dishes. It took her a couple of minutes, but after climbing on the small kitchen counter she reached the higher levels and made what to her was an amazing discovery. She was about to grab one of the bags of chips when a bright haze of light thundered from the outside, making her lose her balance and falling to the ground. That was very close.

Hurriedly, she decided it was best to run back to the group, not before hastily grabbing a bag and opening it. With her mouth full, she ran through the dark corridors, sometimes even blindly due to the lack of light. She should have waited to open the bag. But she was starving. Multitasking.

Skidding through the halls, she finally made it back to the lab, the doors wide open and a new figure standing in the middle of the room. It was a woman in a blue, red, and gold uniform, with a strange glow about her. She stopped like a deer in the headlights once she locked her eyes on her.

"Bellamy!" The Captain exclaimed exasperated, then stopped on his tracks when he saw what she was holding. "Where did you get that?" He shook his head as he decided there were more important issues to focus on. "You know what? I thought I ask you to stay outside."

"Who is this one?"

The strange woman circled around her, evaluating her. Maggie stood as straight as an arrow, straighter than she ever had, in hopes she would lose interest and let her go. This new visitor was unsettling, and she couldn't put her finger on why. The woman stood in front of her once again and smiled self-confidently, reaching inside her bag and grabbing a handful of chips.

"Maggie, please." The doctor ushered her. "Wait outside."

"Gladly." She went around to turn and leave when she remembered why she had been running. "By the way, I think there's a meteorite or something. Or a storm."

"We saw, please close the door after you."

"Why can't she stay?" The woman countered, intrigued.

"Because I have a bedtime." She started to turn the door's handle when the stranger grasped her arm.

Suddenly, the room erupted in a flash of light that disappeared as soon as it arrived. There was a sound, like the one of magnets calling to each other, so loud it almost made her ears bleed. Stumbling, she tried to regain her balance but failed, dropping unceremoniously to the ground. When she opened her eyes, the woman was staring right through her, her face inscrutable.

"No, I don't have time for this today." Maggie dusted herself off as she stood from the ground. "I'm hungry, tired, and I just want to go to sleep."

As she turned around in order to leave where she came from, she noticed there was another unexpected guest standing in the room, next to the door she had just burst through. How she didn't notice him before was a mystery, as the stranger had to be one of the most imposing people she had ever met. His hair was cropped short, his demeanor ominous, like he wasn't someone to be trifled with. But what struck out the most were his eyes. One of them was bright blue, while the other was a warm brown. But there was nothing warm about this man. He seemed ready to go into battle, ready to kill. Like he had unfinished business. Certainly not someone you would like to get into a fight with.

And that's why she stepped back, as if stepping into a corner would take his heavy gaze off of her. But he seemed inescapable, as he followed suit and approached her, a primal feeling surrounding him. And he had an ax.

"Oh no."

That's all that could leave her mouth. She was paralyzed.

"Who are you?" He approached menacingly, raising his ax to the side of her face, the metal cold against her cheek.

"For the love of… Thor, stop it." Bruce rushed to his side, pulling the arm that was holding the weapon down. "She's with us."

His eyes softened momentarily, so quick it looked like lightning, before hardening again just as fast. He took a step back and offered her an apologetic smile, one of those that were so polite there was barely any emotion behind them.

"I'm Maggie." She held out her hand, a foolish gesture she soon regretted. Who offers to shake their hand to someone that moments ago was holding an ax against them?

To her surprise, he shook her hand, and with such care that it seemed to contradict everything about him. She had expected him to crush her.

"Thor Odinson."

They had excused her after giving the two new guests a rundown on everything they knew about her, both of them eyeing her with more curiosity than suspicion, which was refreshing for once. She had learned that Thor was an Asgardian, an alien of some sorts she thought, as he came from another planet. Carol, on the other hand, said she was from Earth, but she had a hard time actually believing that. She was definitely not normal. But she was nice to her, nicer than anyone here had been at first to her, and she appreciated it.

As to the strange reaction that had happened between them, they decided it was something for the next day. Regardless of the doctor's observation that nothing good would come from trying to rush things after a tiring day and long journey, she still couldn't grasp what had happened when the woman had grabbed her. She had felt a strong wave of something similar to electricity rushing through her, like hummingbirds trapped under her skin. And Carol had only smiled. Not with superiority, not with concern, not with curiosity. She had just smiled. But that was tomorrow's concern, Bruce had guaranteed her. They would think about it after a good night's rest.

After the introductions, Natasha had quickly shown her to what would be her room, advising her against leaving the premises before she left, as the whole building was being monitored, she assured her. As for her empty stomach, the bag of chips would have to suffice until the next morning. She didn't dare ask for anything else after the whole ordeal.

The room was relatively small but spacious at the same time, minimalist in design. It must have been a guest room. She laid on the bed, immediately feeling a sinking sensation that seemed to pull her against the mattress. Her eyes were heavy with sleep, the emotions of the whole day weighting on her.

Soon she was dreaming.

She welcomed the orange mist like an old friend, feeling its embrace around her as it twirled throughout her body, tingling her fingertips. It felt like a deep pressure, like she was far underwater, but it was reassuring. She felt calm.

He arrived soon after. Like always. The smile lit his face as he welcomed her back. He had been awfully alone, he complained. But it was alright now, she was there to keep him company. They talked for a long time about everything, about people she didn't know, places he hadn't been to. She knew there had also been some important exchange of information, but she couldn't remember what exactly. She had to find someone, someone important to him.

"Do you really have to go?" His brown eyes were sympathetic, but she knew how much he hated to be alone.

"I don't really have a choice, do I?"

"Well, you could try to stay longer."

She laughed. He knew how to make her feel better, even after she had to leave him behind. But she couldn't stay sleeping forever, she had to wake up.

"See you soon?"

"Every night."

Hope you liked this one! Thanks to everyone who weighed in on who to write this story about. The balance is tipping for Thor at the moment, so don't forget to leave a comment with the character you'd like to see Maggie with: Thor, Steve, or Peter (aging within the Soul Stone).

I'll probably post the next chapter by the end of the week, and by then the decision will be finalized.

As always, feedback is loved and appreciated!