Animus
"You'd best leave me, before I change my mind."
That was the last Isaiah Morales had heard from Memoria. Rather, that was the last anyone had heard from her. But he would never forget her, or more specifically, he would never forget how angry she was that day. He would never forget her frightening display of strength, as she pounded her fist on the supposedly indestructable magical barrier of her jail cell, and it flickered for a moment.
And how could she not have been so upset? They had jailed her. They had jailed her for the simple crime of existing. She thought he had betrayed her. She thought she had set him up, and he could see in those two black voids of anger she had in her eyes, that she would never forgive him for it.
He had nightmares about it, from time to time. He would close his eyes, and he would see her for the smallest fraction of a second, and it wasn't her physical apperance that scared him so much. It was the fact that he didn't know if it was his memories revisiting him again, or it was her, reaching out to him. Because every time he saw her, she was in anguish, in pain, and her anger never faltered.
It had been five years.
Isaiah had learned to forget. But she hadn't.
For the regular aesir, one year went by quickly. But for someone like Memoria, who was locked up, and could no longer tell the difference between night and day, one year felt like an eternity. Five forevers was enough to plan a detailed vengeance.
She had no one left to trust. Her father, who she had idolized for thousands of years, had given her in for the price of his freedom, and everyone arounnd her insisted it was all for the greater good. Was this really the greater good? It wasn't torture, no. It was worse. A life full of pain would have been better than a life stolen from her. And those who had granted color into her world, slowly sucked it away. Memoria wasn't ready to forgive them. Memoria wasn't ready to forgive any of them, and after what she was going to do, she wasn't sure if she could forgive herself too.
The aesir was a good girl. The guards really only checked on her once a day. That made it much easier to hide the mess she had made on the walls. Her writing was a jumble of all sorts of languages and codes that were arranged in a way that only she could understand. It all amounted to one, long hit list.
And the first name on it? Adeline Grace Parker. That name stirred up all sorts of feelings in Memoria's heart, and none of them were good. Five years was enough waiting. Five years was enough conditioning. Memoria was ready.
Of course, even though Adeline Grace was the first Memoria wanted to eliminate, that wouldn't be an option for her. She would have to take out her enemies in Asgard first, the one who posed real threats to what she wanted to accomplish. It wouldn't be too hard to do. With enough magic and deciet it would be easy. Quiet. Like a mouse scuttling around, causing trouble unnoticed.
Her own physical strength startled her. Memoria thought she would never be capable of such a feat, she knew how strong that barrier was. Not that she minded it, though. That was her ticket out of there.
Adeline Grace sat before her mirror, dragging her hair along as it was clamped between her hair straightener. It amazed her, that she and Dux had lasted this long. It made her unbelievably happy, that they remained strong up to now. That is, at the cost of an astonishing amount of antidepressants. That didn't change the fact that she was happy. Some could argue Dux was a terrible, evil man, but Adeline saw so much more in him than just that. His views were of another sort, the kind that normal people wouldn't come to understand or see acceptable. But they were justified. Adeline understood them. Adeline understood him.
She was just getting ready, when she heard a few knocks on the door. Adeline quickly freed her hair from the straightener, and stood up from the chair in front of her vanity to go and open the door. To her surprise, her partner was already there waiting for her.
"Dux? What are you doing here so early?" the blonde woman asked. She wanted her get up to be a surprise. "I thought it fit that I should escort you to the venue," the man said, a smirk lacing his lips and his eyes on the floor. "That's thoughtful, but you're an hour early," Adeline pointed out. She could understand if he wanted to be punctual, but this was too much. The way he spoke seemed quite odd too. "Escort you to the venue?" Why so formal? It didn't really seem like something he would say. Yes, there were times when he spoke that way, but not in front of his date. His attire as well. To Adeline's understanding, they were going to a place where a jacket and some jeans was definitely underdressing. She was already having her doubts. But, it was him. He was complete. The silver hair, the gay pride eyes, even the aura of overwhelming arrogance was there.
"Well, come in." There wasn't much Adeline could do. He was already there. The man gave a solemn nod, walking in and closing the door behind him.
"I'm just going to-"
The woman's speech was cut short, when Dux put a finger to her forehead. "Go to sleep," he said, and she fell. She obeyed, like she was helpless to his commands. There was a loud rumble, as the ground beneath them began to shake. Adeline's apartment was being torn away from the rest of the complex. It wasn't the most subtle of escapes. It wasn't supposed to be.
A golden light washed over the man's form, revealing who the culprit really was. It should have been obvious. No one would be interested in pulling off such a stunt, except Memoria. Nearby bystanders couldn't help but point at the chunk of building floating in the sky that was only rising up higher and higher. Memoria made haste in making Adeline's bonds secure. They were made of a magical material from Asgard, and they never failed Memoria. They could hold any captive down. Amora the Enchantress had used them against the Hulk, during the times he decided to wreak havoc in Asgard. Memoria had no doubt they would work on Adeline. Adeline was no hulk. As a matter of fact, she wouldn't stand a chance against Memoria without her demented, silver haired, tyrant of a partner. The second man on her list.
He was the last person Memoria wanted to face. She had definitely grown stronger, but she still wasn't sure if she was strong enough. If Memoria wanted to take care of Adeline first, it was inevitable that she would have to face Dux next. The aesir was confident she could keep the piece of the building high up enough for it to be out of sight, and she could conceal her own presence and Adeline's to make them near undetectable.
She always evolved best when she was angry.
It didn't take long for Adeline to come back to her senses. Her eyelids fluttered open, and the first thing she saw were her two, bound hands in her lap. Confused, and frantic, she raised her head, beholding the sights about her. They were still in her apartment, but the wind coming from behind her was unbearably strong. Aside from that, there was another strange sight to behold. Someone she had not seen for a long, long time.
A girl of petite stature, levitating a few inches off of the ground. Clad in a white dress, that was torn all over. Her pale strands of hair were alive, swaying as if the girl was underwater. She had her back turned to Adeline, but the latter knew who it was right away.
"Meme?"
"Please, don't call me that."
The same sweet voice. The same accent. The same snarky tone. Adeline would have been so happy to be reunited with the feisty Asgardian, if only she wasn't tied to a chair against her will. It wasn't comfortable. The bounds were much too tight, and with every move Adeline made, they would dig into her skin.
"W-What's going on?"
Adeline asked without fear. She was confident Memoria was only trying to help her, as always. Memoria was her friend. A confidant. That was, until she realized, that the reason why the wind was so strong behind her was because the door to her apartment was open, and Memoria made no move to free her.
The goddess turned around, black veins pulsing within her skin, all leading to her even darker eyes. She did not answer her captive. Instead, she neared her. Adeline didn't show any fear. But in truth, she was nervous. She had no idea what was going on. Memoria's feet slowly touched the ground, and she knelt down that her eyes were level with Adeline's.
"Am I your friend?"
Why was she asking that question? Of course...Yes, of course she was Adeline's friend.
The goddess lightly huffed some air out of her nose, as she placed her hand just slightly over Adeline's head, and the chair began to move back. The movement wasn't consistent. It was slow at first, then it stopped, and then Adeline was jerked back, until the two back legs of the chair were hanging off of the floor.
"Have you any idea how high up we are, little girl?"
Adeline wasn't given time to answer. Memoria physically shoved the rest of the chair off, and into the sky, with Adeline still bound to it. The younger of the two could only give out a shriek as she fell, keeping her eyes screwed shut. That was it. That was the end of her. Or so she thought.
There was a loud snapping sound. The chair was jerked upward, as it recoiled against the force of the fall, and the hold of the bonds. The impact sent a shock, running through Adeline's body. She was aghast, dumbfounded, at what just happened; at what was happening right now.
She looked for her wrists, in search of her web shooters. Much to her dismay, Memoria had already taken care of them. Adeline couldn't move at all, for fear of falling, and the pain of the magical god ropes Memoria had used to tie her up. She sat there, for a few minutes, staring at the clouds below her. Tears began to form in the woman's emerald green eyes. She let them roll down her cheeks, and fall. Down, down, down, until she couldn't see them anymore.
She was scared.
For the next few minutes, nothing happened, and Adeline began to grow comfortable with her position in the air. It was like she was on a swing. A dangerous, death swing. Then, without warning, she fell even more. One of the ropes that kept the chair and the large chunk of complex together had been cut, much to Memoria's satisfaction, and Adeline's terror.
In all fairness, Adeline was a brave girl. Anyone else would have shit themselves at this point.
It still wasn't enough for Memoria. Terrorizing Adeline just wasn't enough.
Slowly, carefully, gently, the chair was hoisted up. Back into the apartment, where Adeline would be safe from falling. She was visibly shook. Tears streamed down her face, like they were coming from a faucet that spat out mascara infused water. Her hair and clothes were all a mess from the harsh winds outside, and the terrifying fall.
There was so much, so, so much Adeline wanted to ask, but she couldn't find it in her to speak. Fortunately, she didn't have to. Memoria was on the other side of the room, but she closed the distance between them quickly, as she dragged the chair from one place to another. The aesir had her hand extended out as the chair neared her, and once it did, she had a perfect grasp upon Adeline's chin.
She wasn't gentle. She grabbed Adeline by the bones, with so much force and aggression that if she applied anymore, she would break Adeline's jaw. To add to that, her nails were long, and sharp, and they drew blood from Adeline's face.
Memoria only stared. It was like, she too, was at a loss for words. But remorse? There was none of that in her.
"Explain this to me. Because I, genuinely, do not understand."
Memoria gave out a conflicted laugh. A laugh was something that was only supposed to come from a person's mouth when they were happy. But Memoria's voice cracked, and she looked like she was about to cry.
"Look at me and...look at you. I can become anyone I want, anytime I want. Against me...you don't...you're nothing, I-"
Memoria trailed off. The words came spilling out from her mouth as a jumbled mess.
"So how come everywhere I go, it's always about you. How come you always win?"
Adeline couldn't physically answer. But so many things were going through her head. This? This was the reason why Memoria had decided to kidnap her? This was the reason Memoria had decided to tie her to a chair, and let her dangle from her own home, to stare down at the clouds while the chair swayed with the lull of the wind? This was something so...petty. This was something they could have talked about, just the two of them. This was something they could have resolved without all of this-
Memoria raised her hand, and brought it down against Adeline's face with enough strength to leave a red mark on the blonde's face. "Are you deliberately trying to upset me?" Memoria boomed, her voice sounding like something straight out of a horror movie. It was a thousand voices, all in one, and none of these voices sounded too happy. The slap left a stinging feeling on Adeline's face, but now, Memoria had let go of her jaw. The sides of Adeline's face ached, but she could still speak.
"I'm sorry, if I ever made you feel that way, but that's not my fault."
"What are you saying? That it's mine?"
Memoria looked to another chair, as one of its legs came flying towards her.
"When that boy comes all this way to save you, I want him to look at you once and not know who you are."
Oh shit. Well, that was it. It seemed like the end for Adeline. She was about to get hit in the face by an angry ass Asgardian with a big, fat, piece of wood. And if it wasn't the end, she was going to wish it would be.
The blonde closed her eyes, bracing herself for an impact that never came.