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Mantis woke to yelling.
“Avengers Assemble!” The one called Captain shouted at the others. There was the sound of more running and shouting. Shouting for gear, for directions, and for light. Getting up from bed, she opened her door and could see very little. The tower and the whole city beyond it was dark.
She could feel their emotions around her, turbulent and crashing. There was anger, confusion, nervousness, and even some fear coming from the people in the tower. Her usual team was muddled in with the rest of Earth’s heroes and seemed determined to help them with the current attack. Someone named Dr. Doom, apparently.
Mantis yawned. It seemed that her skill set would not be necessary for this battle. Not if they were fighting mindless robots anyway. She did better against things with actual thoughts and emotions. She shrugged and walked to the kitchen to get herself a drink. She was up now anyway and might as well enjoy the show. As the rest of the heroes made their way out of the tower, she grabbed a bottle of some sort of fruit juice, and made her way to the main communal living area. This was the one with the large floor to ceiling windows stretching across three of the walls. She sat in one of the large, comfy chairs and opened her drink. A few explosions lit up the glass in front of her as she lowered her gaze to the battle beginning between the dark buildings below.
The quiet was a pleasant change. It wasn’t often that she was more than a few meters from someone else. The Milano was comfortable, but small, and she could always feel the echoes of the other Guardians. Even in their dreams they projected so loudly. She had tried before to ask them if they could quiet their emotions and thoughts, but none of them really understood. She shrugged, it was still better than some places, and she’d gotten used to it over time. She hardly even noticed anymore.
It was nice to be in the tower alone, though. No other thoughts or worries or emotions but her own. It was quiet and calm and…
FEAR
Mantis jolted, leaping up in the chair to stand on the cushion.
“Who's there?!” she asked.
There was no answer. She reached around herself, mentally searching for whoever had broadcasted so strongly. There was no one. The tower was still empty. Slowly, she let herself sit back down and relax. It must have been a pulse of emotion from the city below. Nodding, she let herself curl back up and go back to watching the battle.
CONFUSION
This time, Mantis was ready and sent her mind out looking for whoever it was, following the bare trace of emotion. There was only the slightest trail to follow, dancing all around until she was finally able to pin it down. There!
Mantis gasped. This presence was…. odd. It was both everywhere and nowhere in particular. For one uncomfortable moment, it reminded her of being on the planet that was Ego. But, even Ego had been mostly focused in one location most of the time. This presence seemed to not have a focus at all, and yet, it filled the whole tower around her.
“Hello?” she asked, reaching out mentally while she spoke.
The presence seemed to hesitate slightly, before it reached out to her as well. There is again the feeling of confusion, but the presence reaches back. It doesn’t communicate in words or thoughts, but Mantis clearly identifies its emotions and even some images. The first is concern, linked to an image of the owner of the tower, a man with styled hair on his face and parts of a red and gold suit on his person.
“You are worried for this man?” she asks gently. The answer comes with a slight wave of mellow excitement and a slight lessening of the confusion. Mantis nods to herself. “He is alright, from what I can tell. He has joined the battle with the other heroes.” This statement is met with a rush of relief, followed by a cautious curiosity.
Mantis smiles. “I can attempt to illustrate the battle to you. I’m not sure how accurate I may be from this distance, but you will know what I know.” More excitement, this time accompanied by gratitude.
Settling back in her chosen chair, Mantis begins describing the battle unfolding below her. She attempts to identify which hero causes which explosion, but she thinks that more often than not she most likely misses her guess. The presence doesn’t seem to mind though, every so often she senses more gratitude towards her or other emotions, mostly concern, towards the battling heroes.
The battle concludes quickly, but the power takes longer to come back on. Some of the heroes, including her own team come back first. Most of them head to their rooms to go back to sleep, but she stays in the common area, continuing to communicate what she can to the presence in the tower.
It is only as dawn is breaking over the horizon that the lights finally flicker back on and power is restored to the tall building.
Mantis smiles as she feels the relief around her. It is much stronger now. She sends a wave of calm towards them.
“Thank you for your attentiveness and regard, Miss Mantis,” a disembodied voice says from a speaker placed above her. Mantis startles a little, not expecting the vocal response, but she recovers quickly. The voice has the same feel to it as the presence she had been communicating with.
“It was my pleasure, and no trouble,” Mantis says gently. “It is difficult to be left behind while others battle.”
“Indeed,” the voice responds. “More so when one has lost all sensory information regarding their friends.”
Mantis nods. “I imagine so. I am glad I could help relieve your discomfort.” She nods towards the speaker. “If you will excuse me, I am going to return to my room to rest.”
“Of course, miss,” he says. “Please tell me if you require anything during your stay.”
Nodding once more, Mantis makes her way back to her room and makes herself comfortable in bed once more.
The guardians spend a few more days at the tower before Quill starts to get antsy again and begins planning their next adventure. The morning before they leave, Mantis finds a small box in front of the door of her room. Inside is a roll of a light pink cloth. Mantis gently touches her fingers to it and grins. The material is the softest thing she has ever touched. Pulling the fabric form the box, she finds it is the perfect size to wrap around herself. Rubbing her cheek onto it, she sighs softly.
Looking down at the box, she can see a note that had fallen from the gift. She picks it up and grins.
A TOKEN OF APPRECIATION FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE - JARVIS
Looking up, Mantis grins at another of the speakers placed through the tower. “Your gratitude is appreciated and I thank you for the gift.”
A brief wave of gratitude flows over her and she grins. It is nice to be able to use her gifts to help another. Rubbing her cheek again against the soft cloth she thinks that it's nice to be appreciated for it as well.