Chapter 2

I stood strong as Loki slowly stepped in my direction. I could feel the hairs standing up on the back of my neck but I wasn't about to give up without a fight. The riot in midtown had to be a distraction devised by Loki to slip in unnoticed and reclaim his weapon. My eyes fixed on the blue orb of the staff, which was secured in Tony and Bruce's lab only moments ago. There was only one person who could prevent Loki from escaping the facility with it. And that person, unfortunately, was me.

Nerves bubbled inside my stomach making me feel queasy. I had never been in a fight before. At least not a real fight. In training I sparred with Thor, who took it easy on me. He was a fan of positive reinforcement, which I hated. It made me feel like I was a child. On the other hand Tony, in his Iron Man suit, never took it easy on me. After beating me, he would "educate" me and tell me to "brush up on her skills". Despite his smugness I actually preferred it. He usually rejected my pleas to train with him though, telling me he doesn't get joy out of crushing the spirits of little girls. Loki would not be as merciful. Still I was pretty confident I could stop him.

Without warning, Loki thrust his staff forward, hurtling a massive blue energy ball straight for me. I threw myself out of the way, letting the blue fire bolt crash into the glass wall behind me. Glass from the wall, shelves and table flew in every direction. I hopped to my feet quickly. I could hear the stray glass falling from my body. That had to have looked awesome! I smirked as I rushed towards Loki, closing the gap between us. I threw a punch at him with my right fist, then my left. I twisted pounding his right thigh with a hard kick, which like the punches did not seem to faze him. Is he just toying with me? I glared at him, relentlessly continuing my assault. Even if he was holding back, it didn't matter. He would regret underestimating me.

As my barrage continued, I noticed Loki take a shaky step backwards. Finally, an opening!I reeled back my right fist and launched it straight towards Loki's face. I braced for the impact, but it never came. I gasped as I passed straight through him. I quickly regained my balance, but before I could figure out what just happened, I heard a "tsk tsk" from behind my right shoulder. I turned quickly, but it was too late. A massive blue blast sent me crashing into a wall of glass shelves. I could feel something run down my back. I knew it was the glass remaining from the shelves tearing through my suit and cutting down my back. I slumped down against the wall with my eyes closed tightly and gritted teeth.

"My apologies little dove, this probably was not my best introduction," Loki grinned maliciously as he approached me, the glass crunching beneath his leather boots.

I gazed up at him, and curled my lips into a devilish smile. A gratifying look of shock flashed across Loki's face before he narrowed his eyes at me in a malevolent stare.

"Enjoying this are we?"

"Immensely" I spat back as I let the bright rosy flames burst forth from my body, enveloping me.

Fire was my specialty. No one had ever been able to withstand the heat from my flames. I was thanking myself profusely for changing into my uniform as it was designed to withstand high temperatures.

Loki pursed his lip, "So…I guess what they say is true…all roses have their thorns…"

"I think Botany is the least of your worries right now," I shot back confidently. This was getting fun.

Loki chuckled as kneeled down before me, his eyes meeting mine through the veil of flames.

"And making sharp comments is the least of yours," he replied as he slowly extended his hand towards me. Loki slowly reached into the blaze without consequence. His skin turned an icy blue as it came in contact with the flames, but quickly returned to its normal peachy tone. A small gasp escaped my lips. I flinched slightly as he gently placed his hand against my cheek.

How the hell is he doing this? This CAN'T be happening!

He asked me something, but I could hardly concentrate on what he was saying.

"What?" I squeaked.

"Your name?"

"S-sigyn."

Loki's hand trailed down my cheek, across my neck and rested on the zipper of my suit. I felt sick to my stomach. I wanted to scream out, push him away, make him stop, but I couldn't.

"What's this?" He asked as he slowly began to unzip the front of my suit. To my relief, he stopped, only pulling the zipper a bit past my collarbone. He seemed fascinated by my gold necklace, which he was handling with a thoughtful look.

"Where did you get this?"

Loki clutched the necklace in his hand and pulled me closer as his expression darkened.

"I said where did you get this?" he hissed.

"I…I've always had it," I managed to choke out.

"Do not lie to me," he commanded, his voice growing louder.

"I'm not lying! I've had it since before I can remember," I cried back, angry with him but mostly angry at myself being so useless.

His expression lightened as he pulled away from me.

"Oh this…this is good, THIS is perfect!" He exclaimed, now laughing happily.

He's absolutely insane! I gaped at him.

"You can thank this," he said, tugging on me necklace.

"Thank it for what?"

"For saving your life," he responded matter-of-factly as he swiftly took his spear and struck me in the head, leaving me in darkness.