Chapter 0123: Amends

Asgardian Earth.

Jane's little universal adventure didn't last for very long. Alex didn't know the exact details since couldn't read her mind, but all she did was go into space, run into Beta Ray Bill who was wielding Stormbreaker, and fight the guy for a while to a standstill before they parted ways after which, she Bifrosted back to Earth.

[I'm confused. Why did you fight the guy for practically no reason and then leave?] Jane heard Alex's voice in her head.

She ignored it as she had been doing for the past couple of days. Just because he'd decided not to care much about it, didn't mean that he'd stopped pestering her about it.

[Tell me, Jane…] He'd already told her how he was aware of her real identity. After the initial surprise, she'd just grown to ignore him.

After getting back on Earth, she talked to Loki for a bit about her now-repaired house and left.

[Hey… Tell me.] Alex's pestering finally broke his new host.

"What! What do you want from me?!" Jane screamed with her hands tightly gripping her luscious blonde hair, "You have spent the last 20 hours constantly pestering me about this and that! I don't want to be friends with you! I didn't even want to bond with you! You forced yourself upon me and are annoying the fuck out of me! Tell me what you want from me and fuck off!" She screamed her lungs out.

Jane was left huffing after screaming at the air like a crazy person.

[You know, if someone heard you, they would think you are haunted…] Alex commented in a poor attempt to lighten the mood. Jane was not amused.

Just as she was about to start screaming again, he said, [I just want to help you.]

"I didn't ask for your help!" She snarled.

At this point, Alex appeared in front of her and scoffed, "Please. Your entire situation is a cry for help. And I'm an empathetic being. Even if you have the toughest mental defenses, I can still accurately read your emotions. It doesn't matter how much you hide them, I can read them. And do you know what I feel from you?" Alex said to her aggressively.

Hearing his words, Jane felt herself losing the mental protective layers that she'd built up for years. She stepped back as she felt herself being seen through by this unfamiliar man in front of her.

"I want to help you, Jane." Alex became calmer, "I want to answer your unsaid cry for help. And I want to heal you." He finished.

Jane took a moment to process his words before looking at him with widened eyes, "You…"

"Yes, me." Alex rolled his eyes, "I'm a purely biological being, do you think I can't tell if my host has an extra lump of flesh in her body that's killing her?"

Jane looked at him expressionlessly for a few seconds before saying, "We'll talk later. I have a meeting with the world council soon and I would like to get some rest before that. Can you stop acting like a haunted ghost that's constantly buzzing in my head?"

"For a while, I guess. I'm not going away and I'm not going to stop pestering you, so you might as well accept it. Right now, or in a month." Alex shrugged before disappearing back into her body.

Jane was left blankly looking at the spot where Alex was standing and she sighed before slumping down on the bed as she dropped her hammer at the side along with the sword and its scabbard.

She rested her head on her pillow and slowly, her body started morphing. From its previous rosy and healthy state, her skin greyed and lost its life, her body grew weaker and thinner as she felt like there was barely any mass on her bones. At the same time, her luscious golden hair which was always glowing brightly lost its luster and fell off of her head, leaving her bald.

[What did you refer to yourself as?] She asked him.

[Alex.] He answered feeling a sense of pity for her but also a sense of awe for her. He'd read her story. She was an immensely strong woman, but reading a comic and seeing her pain in person painted a completely different picture.

[This is me, Alex. A dying woman who's barely clinging to life. There's no point in you bonding with me. If you're adamant about an Asgardian then I'll introduce you to Loki.] Jane said.

[There is no way I'm bonding with a man.] Alex instantly denied it.

Jane laughed, [Hela then. She's a strong woman. And before I got Hofund— that's the sword that I use to work the Biforst— I wasn't a match for her.] She told him, assuming he was aware of the Bifrost. She didn't mention her cosmic energy abilities.

[Not interested… Okay, that's a lie, she's a very attractive woman. But that's not the point.] Alex got back on track, [I'm already interested in you and have formed a preliminary bond with you. It will be a loss for me to lose you. Plus, I like gentle hosts. And Hela is far from a gentlewoman.]

[I don't think I came off as gentle when I blasted you with lightning…] Jane said speechlessly as she closed her eyes to rest for a while. Her entire body was currently in pain. That's why she was talking to Alex mentally. Her throat was in pain every time she spoke.

[You were just trying to push me away. When someone is as depressed as you, they reject anyone who answers their call for help. One needs to force help on them.] Alex said. A little smile grazed Jane's lips as she laughed mentally.

[I still think you should bond with Hela. I can help you if you want.] She said.

[As I said, I'd rather not. Just hearing your voice through our telepathic connection is a soothing experience. Do you think Hela's voice can be that gentle? Impossible.] Alex's words made Jane laugh again.

[You like your little quips, don't you?] She asked.

[Very much so. And you like them too. I could feel you desperately holding your laughs in at multiple instances just to not give me the satisfaction back then.] He said.

[Can you really heal me, Alex?] She asked, a trace of hope appearing in her eyes.

[Sure, I can. It's easy. I get that cancer is a big deal and all, but why didn't you refer to Asgardian tech? I refuse to believe that their tech is unable to get rid of an extra lump of mass in your chest.] Alex asked. This had always puzzled him. There was no canon reason given for Jane to not get treatment from Asgardian's or even Wakandan's who had also long been known to have cured cancer.

'I know it's a sort of empowering thing for terminal patients on the part of Marvel's writers, but there has to be a canonical reason for it…' Alex wanted to know.

Jane didn't answer.

After almost a minute of waiting, Alex called her again, [Jane?]

That was when he noticed her rhythmic breathing. She'd fallen asleep.

'Don't tell me…' Alex felt a shiver go down his nonexistent spine as he had a scary thought, 'This is basically the equivalent of The One Above All telling me 'No', isn't it?'

He decided to not bring it up again, 'Whatever. I can heal her by myself… I don't think there's any problem with that…' With that thought, he looked around vigilantly. He half expected to find himself floating in an infinite void before being confronted with the big man himself.

'Thank fuck…' He heaved a sigh of relief and woke up Jane.

"Hm?" She frowned with that hum, [Water…] She thought to herself but Alex heard her. There wasn't any water close to her so Alex just extended a thin tendril in the shape of a straw into her mouth, [Drink.] He told her.

Jane jerked when she felt the unfamiliar item touching her dried lips, but hearing his voice calmed her down as she sucked water from the straw.

[Thanks…] She told him.

[Anytime. Since you've accepted me, shall we talk about how I can help you treat your cancer?] He asked her.

[I haven't accepted it yet. I just thanked you for getting me water.] She pointed out, [It'll be a while before I'm ready to accept you to any extent. Forget about the treatment till then, I still have a year or so to live.] She told him.

[Not with Mjolnir negating the effects of your chemotherapy, you don't.] Alex told her.

[Why do you know everything?] Jane got annoyed.

[I'm a literal apex biological being, Jane. The universe doesn't have anything more advanced than my species when it comes to biology. At least naturally occurring.] He said.

[You guys aren't naturally occurring.] Jane pointed out with a laugh, [You were created.]

Alex was speechless, [Don't you have a meeting? Why are you here messing with me?]

[This is nothing, I'm going to take revenge on all of your annoyance in the past 24 hours… In installments.] She said with playful vindictiveness.

***

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