The Park, Thursday Afternoon

[needsacatchphrase]

Last week, Jane had finally taken the advice of checking on some things from Valkyrie. Which had lead her to returning to her now disorienting actual self in order to get some blood drawn for tests with her doctor back in New York City.

It had been, unfortunately, less than pleasant news.

Mjolnir wasn't so much healing her as resetting the countdown clock on her time left each time that she picked it up. Which wasn't exactly ideal, but... But she wasn't sure at all. For the moment, she was just taking little time to watch the birds in the park on a bench that she didn't know was for emo, but it worked!

It definitely worked.

[open! - content warning: cancer]

Comments

[stykera]

Stark had nothing to do on Thursdays which meant he often spent part of the day walking around the island sort of aimlessly. This almost always involved the park at some point because the park was a good place to be and it was near the coffee shop and the bakery. He'd just stopped at both and had some cookies and a peppermint mocha with him.

And look, there was a superhero in front of him. Maybe she needed a cookie?

"Hello, Jane."

[needsacatchphrase]

Hey, a cookie would always be nice!

"Stark! Hi," Jane said, definitely rallying with a quick smile. She hadn't changed back to the tall, blonde and muscular version of her just yet.

[stykera]

"Are you alright?"

You looked smaller, Jane!

[needsacatchphrase]

"Oh, this? This is just... normal me," Jane said. "Short, huh?"

[stykera]

"Shorter than you were the last time I saw you," Stark said. "This is you before you were the you you are now? Not now, but usually now."

[needsacatchphrase]

"Before me. Well. Real me, I guess," Jane replied. "The blonde and tall thing is all the hammer."

[scarlet_chaos]

Wanda was cutting through the park with a peppermint mocha in hand (evil required caffeine) when she spotted Jane.

"Hey, Jane," Wanda said. "I like your hair."

The whole less muscular thing was kind of worrying, though.

[stykera]

"You still look like you, either way."

And like Anakin's dead ex but Stark didn't know that part.

"And you still are you, either way. Still real."

[needsacatchphrase]

Well, that made Jane smile at least. It'd put Stark in the same company of seeing Jane as Thor.

"Though like this, I can't open pickle jars nearly as easily."

[needsacatchphrase]

Everything required caffeine, to be honest.

"Thank you, Wanda," Jane said, touching it self consciously for a moment. But hey, she still had it! Which was saying something. "I had to take a break from the whole... Thor thing for a couple days for tests."

[sith_happened]

Anakin could recognize Jane in the Force now but he did a double-take at the new hair color. She looked a lot like Padme now.

"Jane?"

[scarlet_chaos]

"Tests?" Wanda repeated. "Is everything okay?"

Jane didn't really look okay, but Wanda knew she was looking like a hot mess for a little bit over the summer before she cracked the whole multiverse concept.

[needsacatchphrase]

In no way would this cause any issues for him. In no way.

"Anakin, hi!" Jane said, rallying strength quickly to be as bubbly as the Thor her could be.

[needsacatchphrase]

"Medical stuff," Jane said with a little huff of laughter that sounded bitter even to herself. "Nothing fun."

[scarlet_chaos]

"I'm sorry," Wanda said, moving to take a seat next to her. "Do you want to talk about it?"

NFB

[needsacatchphrase]

Jane opened her mouth to automatically say no, but deflated a little because the only people who knew about her diagnosis were Selvig and Darcy. And they were far away now. "Breast cancer," she said, folding her hands in her lap and looking down at them. "I came back after five years of not existing to... breast cancer."

[carbsliftthespirit]

Raiden was wandering through the park munching from a giant, open bag of potato chips he was carrying with him, as one did, when he noticed... "Jane? Did you get shorter?"

Also her hair was a different color, buddy.

Re: NFB

[scarlet_chaos]

Wanda had to cover her mouth with her hand to keep a shocked little noise from coming out. Everyone had to deal with putting their lives back together after the Blip but that hadn't even been a possibility she had even thought of.

"Oh, Jane, I'm so sorry," Wanda said, reaching out to put one of her hands over hers. "That's horrible."

Re: NFB

[needsacatchphrase]

"I'd hoped that Mjolnir would fix that, but--" She struggled for a moment to explain it. "It just puts me back at the start. Or has so far the moment I turn back into me."

[needsacatchphrase]

"I did... in a way," Jane replied with a quick smile. "I turned back for a little bit."

Re: NFB

[scarlet_chaos]

"So as long as you're transformed into--" Wanda gestured at Jane with her other hand. "Buff, blonde self, you're okay? Well, not okay, obviously..."

Re: NFB

[needsacatchphrase]

"Yeah," Jane replied. "I get some more time, at least. Which is good."

[carbsliftthespirit]

"Oh, right!" Raiden exclaimed. "You told me you could that. Duh. I remember." Now. He remembered now. "How's that...going for you?" Was the weather different down there or like...?

[sith_happened]

Anakin could tell when you were trying too hard, Jane. He came closer, looking concerned. "You look...different," he said.

Years of marriage had taught him not to say 'less than amazing' out loud.

[needsacatchphrase]

"Well, I'm short again," she remarked, more than happy to have this sort of conversation with Raiden. He was sweet in the same way Thor had been.