It was such a beautiful morning. Maybe an hour or two outside Green Bay, a quiet place deep in the Nicolet forest. The smell of pine trees and sandy earth... and the warmth of the woman he loved, her hair damp with dew from lying under the open sky. No werewolves, no sorcerers, just he and Liz, together. The rising sun gave the promise of a new beginning, endless renewal, and..
"Hey, watch it... buddy!" The manwolf turned sharply to look down at the creature that had jostled him at the bar. The thing looking up at him obviously had no idea what he'd just said (or growled, rather)- all it saw was a surly, eight foot tall engine of destruction perched on a barstool. It stared up at him in sheer terror, blurted out some kind of weird, gargled noise, turned tail, and ran.
Fenris looked back at his beer and sighed wistfully. Perfectly good daydream, totally ruined. At least they had Leiney's at this dump. He couldn't find any in New York, but here, here at the goddamned edge of the universe, in a little shithole that had nothing on Mos Eisley, here he could get a frickin Honey Weiss.
Dr. Christensen, you and I both know this is not the edge of the universe. A familiar voice whispered in his mind. Was nothing sacred?
Aneksi, I'm trying to have a drink here. An adult beverage? You remember those, don't you? I go to the bar to be alone and drown my sorrows.
Yes, I remember them very well. I do not believe, however, that the alcohol will have the effect you desire, given your meatabolism. It seems a futile ritual, on the face of it.
"Don't I know it," he growled. The barkeep looked at him in confusion. He pushed the empty over and said, "Sure, Sam, I'll have another, thanks."
He took note as Drax, Groot and Rocket entered the establishment, grabbing a table not too far away.
Dr. Christensen, I believe that with your universal translator turned off, communicating with other patrons or the staff will be problematic.
"Yeah, that's exactly the point."
The barkeep pushed another drink over, and looked at Fenris blankly. The manwolf nodded back happily.
"So, to what do I owe the pleasure of this mental intrusion?"
I wish to discuss recent events that have effected me. I believe with your expertise in both science and the occult, your insight would be very valuable.
"Let, 'er rip, then" he replied, downing the ice cold beer. "And for you, I'll even waive my normal hourly rate."
But, you don't-
"Oh for Chrissakes, Aneksi, what is it?" As he tensed and curled his claws into fists, the nearby patrons slowly began to back away.
...Very well. As the distraction with the Kree has concluded, I have once again spent a great deal of time in deep meditation. I allowed my consciousness to wander farther than I have in many, many centuries. In my wanderings, I have had a vision.
It is little more than a vague impression at this time. Upon returning to earth, however, I will seek out Stephen Strange's manservant and request access to the Doctor's sanctum, to focus and refine my insights into the meaning of this.
The sum of my vision is thus- There is darkness. And ash and flame. I sense great power of life, which cannot be defeated by death yet is consumed by death, and yet it is also death that creates life.
"The phoenix," he muttered, after a moment of thought. "Interesting. Why the phoenix?"
This I do not know. I have not dreamt of a firebird directly. Not yet.
"Well, you're a being of pure psychic energy now. Legends say the phoenix is the nexus of all psionic power in the universe. And you are like a psychic transceiver, Aneksi. I doubt even old baldy is as sensitive to long range psionic vibrations as you are. Maybe something out here tripped your trigger, like you're some kind of early warning system. I don't know. With the intimate connection between life energy and psionic energy, something of that magnitude would stick out to you like a sore thumb, no matter what."
He leaned over to the bartender. "Pour it again, Sam."
Leaning back, he stretched and yawned. "Anyway, those are my thoughts. We're so far out in the galaxy, who really knows. There's a lot of crazy shit going down out here. The sooner we get home, the better."
I concur, Dr. Christensen. Your insight has proved valuable to me. Many thanks.
"Don't mention it."
"And I mean it. Don't mention it to anyone. Let me know how it turns out at Strange's and we'll talk some more later."
His sharp ears picked out the telltale signs of a commotion a short distance away. Looking back, it appeared that the frisky raccoon and the big ole' bastard had already had too much to drink and were picking a fight. Judging by the pissed off looks on the faces of a little Xandarian stunner and her starship marine boyfriend, things were going south quickly. It also appeared that the rest of the guy's platoon-mates were on shore leave, too, and were quickly moving in on the action. The towering babysitter's obligatory attempt to calm the situation down was little more than an apologetic 'I am Groot,' which only seemed to inflame the situation even more...
"I gotta go Aneksi," he said hopefully. "I think there may be trouble."
(published August 9, 2015)
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