5207/Behold. My stuff.

Behold. My stuff.
Date of Scene:	20 August 2018
Location:	Avengers Mansion, New York City
Synopsis:	In which Thor realizes that Mantis is an evil villain dead set on revenge.
Cast of Characters:	Thor, Mantis

---

Thor has posed:
    "So that was the kitchen, the garden." Down the twisting staircase comes the sound of heavy boots thumping and fwumping upon the steps as the God known as Thor holds a hand out for the guard rail along its side, casually making his way down each step until he moves out onto the clear and wide open hallway with hard wood floors. It leads three different ways, the walkways heading to tall arched doorways that lead to various points of interest.
    "There is Stark's wine cellar, and beyond that the garage where various of our vehicles are kept." He gestures the other way, motioning down the hall with the tall arched ceilings and the classical chandeliers. "That is med bay, I have no use for it as you well know, I cannot be hurt." He says quickly as if rolling past that before she can object.
    "Then there are laboratories, some training areas, all pretty much," He claps his hands together, "Standard fare. Well for us at least. Greatest heroes." He nods and looks to the side, "Of the entire Earth, after all."
    Then back towards her, "Was there something in particular you wanted to see? I know you must be blown away by the..." He seems to struggle with a word and then settles on, "Prestige of what you're seeing."

Mantis has posed:
    During the tour, Mantis has been quite interested in the mansion. She's been polite and asked a few questions as the tour has progressed from above to now the basement level. She looks to each of the paths as he points them out, nodding vaguely at the variety of things there. Wine cellar seems a little odd but this wasn't always a base for super heroes so perhaps it does make sense. Why move the wine from the controlled atmosphere when it was already established there. Garage. Underground which is sensible in New York City where real estate is at a premium. Not that Stark couldn't afford it but why do so when it wasn't necessary.
    As he explains the medlab and his lack of need for it, she opens her mouth but he's already moving onward before she can speak. Mantis closes her mouth, smirking a bit. Laboratories? Not her thing. She does perk up a bit at the training areas.
    "It is an honor for this one to see this Hall of Heroes," she agrees, antennae twitching slightly as she smiled. "The greatest? Thus why you are part of them? Are there others since you mention being the best of them? Lower level teams?" She does glance in the direction of the training areas, waving a hand that direction. "This one would see where the Greatest heroes train."

Thor has posed:
    "Ah, some, a few." Thor folds his arms over his chest and lifts his good eye upwards as if trying to summon the names to memory. "The Justice League are close runners up." He touches the tip of his index finger to the tip of his other index finger as he begins to count off the other groups, "The X-Men, though they seem to split their efforts and only sojourn forth when something threatens their particular interests."
    Turning and starting to walk down the hall, the blonde Avenger chews his lower lip as his brow knits in concentration. "I believe the teen sidekicks from some of the other heroes got together to create a team, and they are enthusiastic albeit youthful." His hand lifts and waves to the side, "A few others perhaps, but none that spring to my thoughts currently."
    He moves down the hall and then stops at an intersection as he looks one way, and then the other along the halls. "Hm. I believe it is..." He turns and points, "This way." And with that he continues on down, moving past the potted plants and decor that line the way. There are a few images on the walls, portraits or battle scenes that are connected to the past of the Avengers.
    "Ah," Thor exclaims and then touches a hand to the wall's data pad...
    Only for it trill into activation, but then make a short blatt sound of denial. // Voice activation required. //
    Towards Mantis Thor smiles a little apologetically and then turns back to the datapad, "Thor."
    // Access Denied. //
    He clears his throat, "Thor!" He repeats with authority.
    // Access Denied. //
    "The Mighty Thor!"
    // Access Denied. //
    A breath is taken and he frowns, then he says, "Goldilocks."
    // Access Granted. //
    The double doors slide open to a large white expanse and an open training hall that gleams as if chrome-plated with advanced machines evident against the walls, heavy dynamic weight engines, elaborate treadmills designed for individuals that can run faster than the mortal man. Punching bags. Heavy Bags. A few Shaolin Wooden Men. There's even a shooting range that has a variable ranged target on an automated roller.

Mantis has posed:
    The pictures on the wall have her attention as Mantis follows along at his side. She glances at each as they pass, impressed with the variety of them and the heroes depicted. As they reach the door, she stops and glances to the pad he places his hand on.
    With each denial, she finds herself fighting a smile as she can feel his frustration starting to build a little. A tiny bit more after hte second time. Much more after the third. Then when he realizes what has been done to the system, that emotion hits her as well. Yet outwardly, there is no change in her slightly bemused expression. Only the shifting movement of her antennae give away that something more might be going on beneath the surface.
    Once inside, she starts to wander around the room to check out the various pieces of equipment. The Wooden Men look very familiar to her while the treadmills are recognized for what they are though she's never used one.
    "Goldilocks?" she queries, glancing sidelong at him. "This one does not understand. This one knew a woman who called herself Goldilocks. She was a dancer. It was in reference to her long blonde hair. This is not fitting for you."

Thor has posed:
    "Ah, no." Thor steps into the training hall with his hands resting on his hips. The doors whisper shut behind them and some of the light amplified screens snap into life with holograms flickering into being. Various schedules and exercises are highlighted under the name of 'Thor' and it declares that he is, 118 days late for his scheduled work out. But as he walks further into the room, the heavy hydraulic press hums to life as if getting ready.
    "Goldilocks was a powerful... warrior of Midgard. Faced three..." He lifts his hands and forms teeth with his fingers as if gnashing them together in a half-hearted gesture, "Great bears in their kingdom and defeated them then escaped."
    He then smiles wryly and tells her, "Inside joke." He waves that off.
    "But here is where champions train. Steve Rogers, myself, Clint Barton, Natasha Romanoff. Even Stark trains here when he can though he is..." A half-smile, a crinkle of his nose. "Mortal."

Mantis has posed:
    Mantis doesn't look entirely convined as he shares the story of Goldilocks. Well, his version. Which doesn't match the Midgard version at all. Though she doesn't let on she knows that. Better to let him go on with his story since it's more amusing that way.
    In the end, he admits the truth. That it's a joke. So likely a nickname given to him by someone. She looks at the holographic displays about his workout routine, noting there is a lot of lifting there. Mostly things to keep his muscles. The elapsed time has her trying to add up how long that might be but she gives that up after a moment or two. Too many different places, too many different sets of time. Sakaar had its own that wasn't in synch with everything else so no telling how long she was there.
    At the last word, she arches a brow. "Mortals are more than capable of defeating those who would be considered gods." Then she smiles. "This one defeated you, after all. This one did not use powers either," she adds with a slightly disgruntled tone.

Thor has posed:
    "Are you sure about that?" Thor says as he follows along after her while she looks over and checks out the training hall. He stops when she gets close to some of the heavier equipment and then straddles a stationary bike that looks as if it could roar to life and conquer the roads if it wasn't restrained by heavy grips and large hydraulic pistons. Yet he leans forwards, resting his forearms upon the handlebars and tilts his head towards her, "I distinctly remember I was winning until your best friend and pal the Grandmaster saved you."
    He flares his hands then and turns his head to the side, "I mean if I knew the competition was to be myself versus you and your friend I would have brought one along myself to make things even."
    Thor then half-smiles and holds up his other hand as he rests a heavy boot upon one of the pedals, "But go on imagining you have bested Thor if it warms your heart at night. I shall not begrudge you your delusions."

Mantis has posed:
    "You are only hearing the words you wish to hear. A trait that is not attractive," Mantis says with a shake of her head as she watches him settled upon that bike. She leans an arm against one of the Shaolin Wooden Men, making sure it remains stationary and doesn't spin to have her sprawling on the floor. Nothing messes up smack talk like falling face first.
    "This one had you down. This one was about to finish you. You drew down the lightning and cheated." And there it is. Gauntlet thrown. "This one did not use her telepathy nor her empathy. This one did not even use a weapon. It was pure physical skill." Her dark eyes show amusement and a flash of something else.
    "This one would be up to prove it to you again if necessary."

Thor has posed:
    "Is that what this is all about?" Thor says with a half-smile as he revs up that stationary bicycle and pumps several rotations into it, his jean-covered legs thumping up and down a few times and sending those wheels /whirrring/ into motion as the hydraulics engage. Lights flare to life to display the displaced energy and show the information of the vehicle's imaginary progress even as he lets the wheels /spiiiiin/ with a steady whir from those few movements.
    "You followed me all this way back to Earth, abandoned all of those revolutionary people on Sakaar, simply to pursue me and ask me... no /beg/ me for a rematch? Is _that_ what this is?"
    Thor shakes his head and grins, slipping off the seat of that bike to step towards her, arms crossing over his great chest as he looks /down/ at her, one eyebrow quirked above his strapless eyepatch. "I mean, I'm sorry but that just sounds... well it sounds sad. Is how it sounds." He clucks his tongue for a moment, "I pity you. I do. I would agree to this rematch but I would feel bad for taking advantage of the mentally ill."
    Oh certainly there's some harshness in those words, but the barely hidden smile might rob them of whatever vitriol she might perceive.

Mantis has posed:
    "Again, you hear the words you wish and not all of them. If necessary. You know this one is the better fighter. You wish not to admit it." Mantis shrugs as she looks /up/ at him, not the least bit intimidated by the fact he towers over her. It didn't bother her in the arena on Sakaar. It certainly isn't going to here.
    She does shrug though. "This one returned to Earth for it was time to. There are things in motion that must be." A bit of an odd statement perhaps. She was not one to try to toy with fate. She'd tried to change her visions in the past yet the events always came to pass, no matter how hard she tried to stop them. And many times, things were worse if she'd interfered. Now, she had learned to play her role. Even when she knew there would be tragedy in the end.
    One moment she is standing there. The next, her palm is about a millimeter from the center of his chest. There is a loud snapping noise. He might notice then that her right hand is extended toward the dummy she'd been next to. The snapping noise was the wood giving way as the top half of it simply fell away onto the floor with a thud, her blow having severed it from the top with ease while her faux strike toward him had his attention.
    "This one thinks the furnishings would not withstand a rematch." Hopefully they don't charge her for a new dummy.

Thor has posed:
    For a time he stands there peering down at her, even as some small distance behind her the top half of that dummy slooooowly slides to the side, and then tilts over... only to clatter upon the ground as its arms, now no longer bound in place, fall free to add to the wooden crash. He cocks his other eyebrow upwards as he peers down at the palm strike that stopped before his chest and then he looks up to meet her gaze.
    He does look different than she remembers, haggard, and that eyepatch without the strap. In the arena he had been vibrant with anger and youth and intensity. But here he seems not quite as young as he had before. Even when he lifts his own hand to rest upon hers, to cover it against his chest as he meets her gaze. Thor's smile is a touch wry, but his tone is more gentle as he murmurs to her. "And was that all the reason you sought me out?"
    His hand squeezes hers gently as he adds with that slightly crooked smile. "To seek a rematch and make yourself open to the whims of fate?"

Mantis has posed:
    "This one did not seek a rematch," Mantis says softly as her palm is pressed against the center of his chest by the weight of his own hand against it. She peers up at that face which is so changed from the man she met on Sakaar. Her free hand comes up, touching his cheek as the tip of her index finger brushes over the edge of the eyepatch. She hasn't asked. She knew it would be a fresh memory, one that would be difficult for him if he thought about it too deeply. Thus, she would let him tell his tale in his own time. If he never did, she was accepting of that.
    "This one missed you." The words are almost a whisper. "This one did not know where to find you then the vision came. The shop where this one would find you again. This one had to come. Not because of fate." She doesn't say it but it's there really. Plainly stated, it was because of him that she came back to this planet instead of remaining in space with her crew.

Thor has posed:
    The tall man turns his head to the side slightly, as if drawing away from the touch so close to that injury suffered at the hands of Malekith. His brow knits for a moment and she might well feel the subtle stir of emotion there, the warmth of something shared and the gentleness that reaches his good eye when he looks back to her. His strong hand gives a gentle squeeze again, as if steadying her as he stepped closer and turned his head slightly to the side.
    There was a brief moment where his breath brushed against the softness of her cheek, and then his breath caught. Only for his smile to slip free as he whispers to her with that competitive tone they've shared, "Hah. I knew it."
    And then he's turning away, his back to her as he starts to walk back across that large open area with his arms wide and open to the sides, "I knew you couldn't keep away." He shakes his head and undoes the zipper of his hoodie as he looks towards the door. "How typical."

Mantis has posed:
    Being an empath, she can sense emotions around her. When touching, there is no way to even block them like she can at a distance. So Mantis is fully aware of what he is feeling in that moment of closeness.
    Even as he is pulling away, she knows that he is being himself. Carefree, something he hasn't been for quite a while with whatever happened to him. It makes her smile as he is turning away from her, walking toward the door as he unzips the hoodie. Which means his hands are occupied for a second. But only a second.
    That's really all Mantis needs. She leaps. From a standing position with no warning. She clears the ten feet between them, airborne as she brings down her hand in a strike to the side of his neck. It should send him staggering for a moment, despite his strength.
    "This one is not typical," are her words, a smirk on her lips as she lands on the ground in a crouch, hands at the ready. "And this one will have to pay the Avengers back for any damages. Because there will be damages."

Thor has posed:
    It's a quick thap-thap-thap of her feet across the ground and then she leaps into the air and /whap!/ as her knife-hand strike hits him in the side of the neck hard enough to stagger and force him to stumble to the side. But even before the hit landed he was already curving his back as if anticipating some sort of impact. And then it comes and he reels those quick few steps, then arches his back as he reaches a hand to the rear of his neck as if he had just taken a big bee sting and was really feeling it.
    "Ah! Of course your first refuge is violence, for shame." He winces as he turns around stepping back a few more steps. But then he rolls his shoulders, then his neck, a short sharp cartilaginous crackle is heard as he brings his fists up. "Very well then, villain. Prepare to face your downfall!"
    And with that, the rematch begins.