#once there's a day with more brain power I have to tackle trees properly

[broccoli-chomper]

Plein Airpril Day 5

[nyx-aira]

When two worlds collide

Summary: When Wanda finally snaps and attacks the S.W.O.R.D base, she doesn't expect they would have inhuman support. While the battle rages on Jimmy, Monica and Darcy discover a secret about their colleague that might save the day.

A/N: I've wrote this after episode five came out but in this version S.W.O.R.D threatens Wanda again and she snaps. This isn't canon compliant, at least not 100%. Also I'm not an expert on magic in the MCU, I just took some of the pieces I remembered and put them in there, so it's probably not canon as well.

TW: mind controlled, brief mention of violence, panic attack

You had been in the lab when it happened. Something had breached the barrier. Looking around you saw that nobody was in the lab with you. You knew Monica was in a meeting with Hayward but you didn't know where Jimmy and Darcy went.

Running out of the building you almost fell to the floor, as if you had ran into a barrier. The air was full with magic, it was everywhere, wearing you down, seeping into your bones, lapping at your strength. You tried to regain your breath but it was as if your lungs were full of honey, making it almost impossible to breathe. It was unbearable.

Looking around, trying to find a familiar face, you grabbed the first agent you saw by the arm and asked what was going on.

"Maximoff has breached the barrier, she's turning our own  men against us. Stay inside ma'am, we'll handle it."

Wanda. This wasn't Wanda. You knew her magic, it felt different, like a thunderstorm. Crackling with energy, unpredictable and ever-changing. This, whatever this was, wasn't her, not entirely.

You had known Wanda since you were little, you grew up on the same streets and had benn unseparable, Wanda, you and Pietro. Then Ultron had happened, you had lost the twins as the battle continued to rage on but you had felt their powers all over the city. It had been agony to feel the wave of magic when Wanda cried out. You had felt all of it, her pain, the shock and the rage, so much rage.

Wanda probably thought you were dead as well, thinking you had died in Sokovia all these years ago, but you didn't. She wasn't the only one with abilities, with magic. The only difference, you were born with it, she had been nudged in the right direction by Hydra.

That's why you started running again, following the awful feeling of dread and agony. Hurting you every step you took, sapping at your strength, wearing you down but you continued running. For Wanda.

You rounded another corner when you fell to your knees, that sensation growing stronger the closer you got. Trying to regain your breath you realised someone was taking to you.

"...you okay? Can you get up?"

Blinking up you could make out two people, shaking your head to clear your vision the blurred figures became people. Monica and Darcy, allies, friends, your brain supplied.

"Captain, Doctor." you greeted them, groaning while getting up from the floor.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Monica asked while offering you a hand. "Yeah you look like shit." came the remark from Darcy.

You rubbed your head and dusted off your clothes. "I'm good, don't worry." Looking in the disbelieving faces of your colleagues you couldn't blame them, whatever that was, was sapping up all the magic it could get. So it made sense that normal people wouldn't be affected, they probably didn't even feel a difference. You couldn't imagine how Wanda must be feeling.

"I need to get to her." you heard yourself say before you started to run again, ignoring the calls of your name and the torturous sensation that was making your life a living hell right now. You didn't come far though as you felt a hand grab your shoulder and not so gently halt your attempt at saving your best friend. Turning around you looked in the, now, three concerned faces of your friends.

"Listen I know you believe that this was all a mistake somehow..." Jimmy tried to say but you interrupted him. "It's not her, whatever this is, it's not her." Starting to walk again you heard three sets of footsteps follow you. "What do you mean it's not her?" Darcy prodded. "I can feel it, that's something else." came your curt reply, focusing on the task ahead, trying to shield yourself from the other source of magic you pulled your glamour closer to you. Not ready to show them what was really going on.

"What do you mean you can feel it?" came the cautious question from Monica. "And what something else, is that why you're so affected by what's going on?"

"You have powers too, don't you?"

Turning around you looked at them, you knew you could trust them but there was this nagging feeling in your head that you were losing time, but looking at them again you realised, you couldn't do this alone so you took a deep breath and dropped your glamour, preparing yourself for their reaction.

Taking a deep breath you realised that you were feeling different, the suffocating sensation wasn't as strong and painful anymore, your mind cleared up as well, the feeling of haziness still there but not as present as before.

"Your hands are ...broken...gleaming..?" was Jimmy's confused reaction. Looking down you traced the glowing cracks on your arms, closing your eyes as the familiar feeling of your magic surged through your body. It felt good, after all these weeks, not having to suppress your powers. Taking another breath you willed the glow to go away, only the small white cracks staying visible, you continued marching towards the chaos, your friends not far behind.

"It's a long story but the short version: Wanda isn't the only one with powers here and I probably won't stay as the only magical surprise today."

Continuing your way to the barrier you realised that there were no other agents around, it was completely silent, no sound besides your own footsteps. Something was wrong. The others must have realised that as well, as you could see Monica and Jimmy draw their weapons, Darcy readying her taser. You tapped your foot on the ground, a small wave of energy moving through your surroundings, allowing you to see what your eyes couldn't.

"There's nothing. Not a single person." Scanning your surroundings you started to wonder where all the people went when you hear a deafening bang. Looking at your friends you nod as you all started running towards the noise. It's the sound of gunfire you soon realise and Monica pulled you behind some of the buildings where you could have a good look of what was going on.

You were about 200 meters from the barrier, the open area in front of you a deadly battle. It looked like S.W.O.R.D was fighting their own agents, some being mind controlled, some still with a free will but the numbers were dwindling. Charging into the fight would be a suicide mission, looking at the others they seemed to agree with you. Concern was plastered all over their faces, these people were their colleagues, comrades and friends. Letting your gaze glide through the battle you frantically tried to come up with a plan. You needed to get to Wanda, not having spotted her yet, and try to snap her out of whatever that was. Admittedly the plan wasn't the best but it was the only one you had.

"Can you take her?"

The question snapped you out of your thoughts. "Wanda." Jimmy repeated "Could you beat her in a fight if you had to?"

Now you had the attention of everyone, looking at you with a questioning look. You sighed, rubbing your face, absently tracing the marks on your arms, a nervous habit you had picked up over the years.

"I'd like to believe so. Wanda's raw powers a strong, stronger than mine but its mostly just that, raw strength, raw energy. She isn't properly trained, hasn't worked with other magic users, to my knowledge at least. I was born with these powers, having trained with other sorcerers and mages since I was little. I can tap in energy sources she's probably not even aware of. I'm more in control but she has greater potential." You weren't sure on how big their understanding of magic was, going with Darcy as the one with the most knowledge as she had met some Asgardians.

Magic was alive, it wasn't just something that was simply there. It was in nature, in plants, in trees, in animals, even in humans. Magic was everywhere, you just needed to know how to tap into it. Some drew their power from other dimensions, some used the the power of the Yggdrasil, others used powerful objects as their source of energy and other magic users, including yourself, drew their power from the aether. The aether was an ancient energy source, as old as the planet itself, maybe even older. It was a feral energy, not as defined as the power of the Yggdrasil, it was more difficult to handle as it was closest to nature and the planet. For you it was perfect, the rough, brute, untamed nature of it. Like the stormy see, it's unpredictable, brachial, brute nature was alluring, tempting. You couldn't just use it, you had to work with it, convince it that you were worthy of it's powers. Once you had passed that test your understanding of what was possible would change forever.

The noise of the battle brought you back to reality. Watching the clash you realised that there weren't many S.W.O.R.D agents left standing. Catching a glimpse of red you looked to the far left end of the barrier to see Wanda blast some agents back into the woods.

The woods. You took note of your surroundings and a plan formed in your head. This could actually work, you just needed to get a little bit closer. Getting up from where you were sitting you realised that this was gonna be more difficult then you thought when you felt Monica tackle you to the ground and a spray of bullets hit where seconds ago would have been your head.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed!" she yelled at you but you just pointed to the trees 30 meters in front of you.

"I have a plan but I need to get there."

"In one piece? That's impossible." Darcy exclaimed, fixing you with an incredulous look, Jimmy just shook his head, agreeing with her statement. "If we don't do anything soon there will be no S.W.O.R.D agents left!" You tried to spot Wanda again but could only see the red flares of her magic, at least she hadn't vanished. Seeing the look in Monica's eyes you knew that she agreed with you, they all did. Realising that you needed to do something fast, you told them your plan. They didn't seem thrilled but it was your only option.

Focusing on the task at hand you closed your eyes, preparing yourself for whatever might happen, trying to shield yourself from the sickening feeling of whatever that thing was.

Taking a final breath you opened your eyes to see Monica, Darcy and Jimmy take cover, the scientist giving you an encouraging thumbs up. Looking to the battlefield you tried to blend out all the noise and screams of agony, focusing on your target, the trees and woods surrounding you.

Kneeling to the ground you felt a surge of power flow through your body, welcoming the feeling of the aether, you poured all of your energy into the ground, the presence of the other thing making it harder than it usually was. You felt the ground react to your magic, adapting to your will. The ancient power cursing through your veins and surroundings, making the world slow down, letting you see the battle through different eyes. The soldiers desperately trying not to hurt their friends but realising there's no other way, the mindcontrolled trying to break free of the spell and crying out in agony when they have to hurt their comrades. It was brutal, brutal and beautiful in it's own horrible way. The ground ached when you jumped over the makeshift barricades, groaning and giving in a little bit when you landed in between the trees.

Your magic creating a shock wave, knocking everything down in a 20 meter radius. Looking up from the ground you could feel all eyes on you, the battle had stopped for a moment, everyone staring at the new arrival. As soon as they got out of their trance they started fighting again, charging towards you and the remaining S.W.O.R.D agents. You didn't hear the gunfire when you got up, you didn't feel the bullets trying to hit you when you started walking. Twisting your hand in the air, a shimmering barrier appeared, blocking them off. As you continued to walk into the battle the ground started shaking, cracks started to appear and the trees you had left behind started moving. Groaning and aching as they turned from lifeless vines to enormous giants. Some as high as a three story building, some smaller, they started walking into your direction, steadily going forwards, pushing enemies out of the way with their branch-like arms and shielding your allies.

There were at least six of them, aiding you in your pursuit as you conjured more creatures, small rock giants, trolls and even a small serpent. Making sure they knew what they were doing you started charging in direction of Wanda's red magic, creating cracks in the ground to stop your enemies, you didn't want kill them, just slow them down.

Conjuring a gust of wind to jump the remaining distance you landed in front of Wanda. Looking her in the eyes for the first time in eight years.

If she was surprised to see you she didn't show it, blasting you with a ball of energy. You caught it fairly easy but she just started blasting energy ball after energy ball towards you. Not being able to withstand her assault you threw up a barrier. You didn't want to hurt her, you really didn't but you could feel your shield cracking so you summon a waterspout to knock her back. You both got slammed away from the brute force of the wave, the ground now being covered in a layer of water you froze Wanda to the ground, knowing it wouldn't stop her for too long.

You saw her struggle to blast off the ice, watching her grow more frustrated when it came back stronger than it was before, your spell working against her magic. Cautious you started walking in her direction, wary of her magic and her current state of mind as she grew more agitated every second she was enclosed in the ice. Something was wrong, she could have gotten out of there if she really wanted to in no time. Why was she struggling so much? Getting closer you realised that she was crying, tearing streaming down her face, getting more desperate every second.

"Wanda..." you asked tentatively.

Whipping her head around at the sound of her name she stared at you, mouth hanging agape, not struggling against her bonds anymore. You two were staring at each other, saying nothing.

Suddenly she started shaking her head, letting out a terrified scream. "You're not real, you're not real, you're not real..."

She started repeating the same phrase over and over again, shaking her head, crying, throwing all of her energy into trying to break the ice. Sensing the danger of her actions you made it dissappear, letting her fall into the shallow water. When you looked at her again she was rocking back and forth, still repeating the same phrase over and over again, silent tears streaming down her face.

You crouched down next to her, still keeping a short distance.

"Wanda, I'm here, this isn't fake, please look at me."

She shook her head and an almost not audible "that's what it always says" was heard. "Says who Wanda?" you tried, wanting to dig deeper.

"It's all in my head, it's all in my head. They said I could live my perfect life but it's not true. They lied!" Tears were streaming down your face as well as you pulled her close to you.

Putting your glowing hand on the ground the water started to float, little droplets dancing around in the sky. The tree giants started to walk back to their original positions, shrinking down, becoming normal trees again. The small rock giants burying themselves in the ground, vanishing into the earth. Cracks in the ground the only indicator they were even there. Starting to shimmer and fade away, the trolls gave one last bow in your direction until they too, disappeared. Now the only thing left were you and Wanda, sitting amidst the battle field. S.W.O.R.D agents regaining their free will, getting escorted away by their comrades, happy that their friends were back.

While you were ridding the scene from the marks of the battle Wanda was staring at you in awe.

"It's really you."

"Of course Wands, I promised you I would always come back."

Sniffling she took your hand in hers, examining the glowing marks on your arms, tracing them like you did before the battle.

"I always had a feeling you were special." she whispered, not really believing that you were alive.

"Well what about being special together?" Offering your hand to her you both got up, walking back to the S.W.O.R.D base hand in hand. The small serpent you summoned before slithering towards you, shrinking down until he was wrapped around your finger, molding back into the ring he was before.

Yes there was gonna be a lot to undo but together you were unstoppable, friends by blood but sisters in heart.

[fandommemematerial]

I told myself I wouldn’t do this, but I need to put my resurfacing ideas somewhere and might as well let the world see

So, one of like the very first couple posts I made were about RC9GN, and one of them is a very crappy fanart pic of Randy and an Oc (No I’m not putting it here go search my posts, there’s not that many)

Well, guess who just rewatched the entire first season?

And with that rewatching, my brain went, ‘Hey remember that one character you made like a year ago for this? Let’s info dump all of that into your brain so that’s all you can think about for the next hour!’

So now I’m doing an info dump onto tumblr about it. Thank my brain.

Originaly, she was just going to be like a ‘Dark Reflection’ of the original Ninja from another universe

Then I found out the Power Balls are evil mcguffins and learned the land of shadows was a thing and went

‘I can work with this’

So, bing bang boom Alexis Johnson became a thing

At first, she was this really happy go lucky kind of five year old, wearing dresses and all that, and the biggest fan girl of the Norrisvile Ninja

Then she goes for a walk into the forest, you know, like all five year olds do when their mom tells them not to do that and trips over a green thing almost completely submerged in dirt

She tries to get it out and it isn’t going very well until the green thing decides to start shocking her, which immediately gets it yeeted through the trees and out of her line of sight, so great

Going back to the daycare she got scolded for wandering off, so ...not so great

Next day, she sees this weird green mist coming from the high school, and said green mist yotes itself at her. She feels impowered, like she could do almost anything, and went to go tell her mom what happened

She gets to the day care and opon seeing her mother dealing with a Doug with a finger half way up his nose, she decides to not do that and looks for anyone else she could tell instead

Spotting her brother picking on Bucky she goes over to them, then telling Bash to quit it and unintentionally stanking Bucky in the process

Que everyone screaming at a tiny stanked Bucky here

Alexis then figures out that the mist from earlier must have given her superpowers, and feeling everyones terror and vulnerability, along with the urge to make everyone stop feeling those emotions, goes stanking up a storm

During this mess, the Ninja had arrived, and seeing a lot of monster toddlers as well as one power-high superpowered toddler flying overhead, puts two and two together and quickly tries stoping her

Alexis however just starts geeking out over her hero, doesn’t fully recognize what she’s doing is bad, and once she realizes the hero trying to fight her, she gets sad and a little angry and starts fighting back

Those emotions coupled with her power-high opens up a portal behind her to, you’ve guessed it, the Land of Shadows

Those weird snake mouth things start coming out of it, and the ninja gets tackled by said toddler and que toddler starting to feel even more impowered than before, and this time she can see something white crawling up her arms

Alexis promptly freakes out about this, and seeing a window, the Ninja quickly throws her off of him

This is bad, as he unintentionally yeeted Alexis into the portal of mouth snakes

oops

So now we have a child stuck with the mouth snakes entangling her, slowly being pulled into the portal while also having the white (and streaks of neon blue in areas) slowly encasing around her. not fun

What’s even less fun is calling out to the hero for help and only getting a confused stare in return

Que child freak out numero 2

Alexis eventually gets pulled into the land of shadows, and after ten years of living there, learning how to fight with her newfound ninja ability’s as well as stank powers and getting properly battle hardened, she gets out and back to the normal world thanks to the Sorceress and swears revenge on who she once thought was a hero, now going by the alias the Assassin

That’s about as much as an info dump on the Assassin’s backstory as I can do right now, and this got way longer than expected holy crap-

[shesey]

Who will run the frog hospital? By Lorrie Moore

“With concentration and a muscular push of air, I felt, I might be able to people myself, unleash the crowd in my voice box, give birth, set free all the moods and nuances, all the lovely and mystical inhabitants of my mind’s speech.” “There must have been pain in me. I wanted to howl and fly and break apart.” “...her voice become a trained one, trying to relocate itself socially and geographically.” “It reminded me of how children always thought too big; how the world tackled and chiseled them to keep them safe.” “What life of offices and dull tasks could have a moon in it flooding the sky and streets, without its seeming preposterous.” “I’ve felt an old wildness again. Revenant and drunken. It isn’t sexual, not really. It has more to do with adventure and escape.” “I often think that at the center of me is a voice that at last did split, a house in my heart so invaded with other people and their speech, friends I believed I was devoted to, people whose lives I can only guess at now, that it gives me the impression I am simply a collection of them, that they all existed for themselves, but had inadvertently formed me, then vanished.” “Still, something deeply sad had been born buried in me, stirring occasionally inside like a creature moving in sleep.” “Things, I know, stiffen and shift in memory, become what they never were before. As when an army takes over a country. Or a summer yard goes scarlet with fall and its venous leaves. One summons the years of the past largely by witchcraft - a whore’s arts, collage and brew, eye of newt, heart of horse.” “But later, for years, I referred meekly to any strongly felt and informed opinion, or weeks and weeks of my own research, as ‘my two cents’ worth.” “Later, as an adult, when I was wonderfully used to long, important conversations in restaurants or bars - books, love, politics, science - talk that licked about like a flame, talk that traveled like roads into the night, guided, or urged, I suppose, by drink and hunger, or some chaos of the heart...” “We drank and bantered and remarked and gazed around and once in a while when the music got too loud we shouted something at each other and laughed. We smoked cigarettes, the strange brazen dare of it never abating for us, even though it was only one of so many dares we made, over and over. We ordered gin and tonics and held each one up to the black lights on the ceiling to marvel at the spooky blue and then to drink it. We had no idea what life had in store for us; not a clue, not a thoughtful thought.” “Why did we live like that, with all that mean, incessant tallying?” “But which is more powerful, what you make or what you inherit? Which is more permanent?” “I felt, perhaps because of the pot, like we were all planets in the same solar system - which was all I had ever wanted or asked from people, anyone, ever.” “I remember thinking that once there had been a time when women died of brain fevers caught from the prick of their hat pins, and that still, after all this time, it was hard being a girl, lugging around these bodies that were never right - wounds that needed fixing, heads that needed hats, corrections, corrections.” “God, how life was full of moments that should have gone differently but didn’t.” “I hoped he wasn’t going to be perverted. You never knew.” “While here for three weeks we live in unapologetic sin. Touristic waste, native presumption. The Parisian meanness makes us despair, so grounded in opinion as it is - unlike the meanness of Americans, which is all careless ego, selfishness, the stuff of spoiled, stupid children.” “So i bring her my crush, inappropriate but useful between adult women, who need desperately to be like and amused, and will make great use of any silent ceremony of affection.” “The worst thing, though, says Marguerite, is when a man walks by you in the street, sizes you up, and says, Pas mal. Pas mal! You feel outraged in a hundred different directions. She pauses. For one, you expect a little grade inflation on the streets.” “There is no place to put such facts, not properly. There is only one’s own mournful horror, one’s worthless moral vanity - which can do nothing. The bad news of the world, like most bad news, has no place to go. you tack it to the bulletin board part of your heard. You say look, you say see. That is all.” “My brain sought always to make the strange familiar, available, not scary. It built railings, ways to get around, maps and roads. It farmed and planted with a panicked, compulsive, mechanical energy. And so I wont the Bible drills.” “What I’d learned at camp, from all the vesper readings, mostly, was that you didn’t give back to the same people who gave to you. Let’s see, I said, stalling. You didn’t give back to the same people at all. You gave to different people. And they, in turn, gave to someone else entirely. Not you. That was the sloppy economy of gift and love.” “For a semester, an embarrassing, amphibious semester when I didn’t know who I was, what I looked like, what jokes to tell, moving from water to land, I tried to stop telling any jokes at all.” “It is unacceptable, all the stunned and anxious missing a person is asked to endure in life. It is not to be endured, not really.” “I didn’t meet nice people. I met witty, hard, capable, successful, dramatic. Some vulnerable. Some insecure. But not nice, the way Sils was nice.” “What did it mean that she had stayed here, in Horsehearts, in one place, like a tree? Though I know one’s roots grew deep and steady that way, still, one’s lower limbs could fuse, or die, killed off by one’s own stalwart shade.” “For a fleeting moment, as anyone can, I imagined I felt the poverty of my future, all its unholdable surfaces; I felt inexplicably ungrateful and sad. It was a moment of stillness in which one looks around and ruefully sees only the rocks and searing sun and cheap metal. ‘You wanted an adventure and instead you got Adventureland,’ Sils herself used to say. I longed for a feeling again, a particular one: the one of approaching a room but not of yet having entered it.” “I wanted it back! - those beginning sounds, so much more interesting than the piece itself.” “How could I know or hop that she contained within her all our shared life, that she had not set it aside to make room for other days and affections and things that had now all made their residence and marks within her?” “I never knew what to do with all those years of one’s life: trot around in them forever like old boots - or sever them, let them fly free?” “Of course, one couldn’t really do either. But there was always the trying, and pretending. And then there was finally someplace in between, where on lived.” “For a brief moment, I decided, I would defeat nostalgia with caffeine.”