The night was cold. Too cold. Veronica shivered as she pulled her leather jacket closer around her. Farther off in the distance, a bright light shone in the night sky. It rose further and further up until she had to shield her eyes from the intensity of its rays.
She stood up from her perch atop the SHIELD headquarters, planning to run if necessary, but as quickly as it had come, the light faded. The stars returned, standing out brilliantly against the night sky.
Footsteps sounded from behind her, but she didn't bother to turn around.
Cold arms snaked around her waist, resting at her stomach.
"Hello, Love," Loki's cold voice whispered in her ear.
Veronica's eyes snapped open as she sat up in bed. The dreams were back. Her breath came in shallow gasps and she was drenched in a cold sweat.
She slung the covers off of her body and swung her long legs over the side of the bed. She hadn't had dreams this vivid since… she couldn't bring herself to think his name…
She got up and traipsed across the hardwood floor of her bedroom and opened the window, taking in the warm night air of Los Angeles. A small breeze blew in through the opening and Veronica took in a deep breath. It was just a dream. She told herself. Loki is in a coma in New York. He's not going to wake up.
As much as she wanted him to come back to her, the doctors had told her that there was nearly zero chance of him waking up. That dream had been the product of wishful thinking. Severe wishful thinking.
But maybe it was a good thing Loki would never wake up. She wasn't sure if she could bring herself to look him in the eye after what she had had to do. She cringed at the memory of him crumpling to the ground. Crumpling to the ground because of her. For all she knew he was completely pissed at her. And making the god of mischief mad was not exactly high up on her bucket list.
She closed the window and turned back to the room in front of her. It was sparsely furnished, with a bed, dresser and mirror, and desk being the only pieces of furniture in the large room. No carpet covered the polished hardwood floor, making for a very cold walk at night for bare feet. But she had kept it that way. It reminded her of him…
Her bare feet padded across the room, back to her bed. She slipped back beneath the covers and tried to push Loki from her mind.
The clock on her bedside table read 3 a.m. She was in for a long night…
Loki strode down the corridors of Avenger's Tower. After extracting the necessary information from the insufferable captain, he had erased the captain's memory and made himself invisible to mortals once again.
He wanted Veronica. Though her betrayal had been rather hurtful, he still wanted her. But that didn't mean he wouldn't teach her a little lesson in manners first.
He was pleased to find his strength returning to him the more he walked. In fact, he felt far stronger than he ever had.
He passed by a training room, and stopped in his tracks when he saw his older brother, Thor, twirling his hammer around like it was a ragdoll.
He couldn't resist. His pride got the better of him and he turned on his heel to enter the training room.
"You have certainly gained new skill with your hammer, dear brother," Loki said quietly.
Thor looked at Loki, surprise written all over the god of thunder's face. "Loki?" he asked. "You are-"
"Alive," Loki replied. "And quite well, actually." He took a step closer to Thor. "A lot seems to have changed since my- absence." he said quietly, searching for the right word.
As Loki took another step closer, Thor raised his guard. "The medicine man said you would not wake ever again. How-"
"I really have no idea, brother," Loki confessed. "But I am back now and I want Veronica Parker."
Thor glared at his younger brother. "Well, you will not find her here."
"Oh. I know. Your little friend, Rogers is it? Already told me where she is. Somewhere out in Cal-i-fornia?" Loki said, the strange name rolling off his silver tongue in definite syllables. "Yes. I want her, Thor. She will be mine."
Thor looked at his younger brother in disbelief.
"She already is actually," Loki went on. "Mmm. That last night we were together? Absolute perfection."
Thor's look turned from disbelieving to disgust in a matter of seconds. He swung at his brother with the hammer, but Loki dodged his blow, changing into mist so the weapon would pass through his body. He smirked at Thor's expression. "It seems the tables have turned, brother. I hold all the power now. Stop me if you can."
And then Loki vaporized, disappearing into thin air.
Thor threw his hammer against a wall in his irritation, nearly bringing the building down when the concrete wall crumbled into a pile of rubble.
As he traveled through space, Loki couldn't help but suppress a chuckle. He had always thrived on making Thor angry or irritated but this had just about taken the cake. Dearest brother, does it hit a nerve that your little brother has finally found himself someone of worth, while you still sulk around about your precious Jane?
When he had first fallen to earth, Loki had toyed with the idea of really punishing his brother and killing the mortal woman. But as his plans for world domination began to unfold he had disregarded the scheme entirely. He had had bigger fish to fry as some would say. And then of course, he had met Veronica…
Out of nowhere, Loki's power began to diminish. He fell from teleportation and landed squarely on his buttocks in the middle of a field. Soft grass had cushioned his fall, but it still had hurt him. That had never happened before…
He nearly jumped from his skin as a brutish beast nuzzled the top of his head. He looked up to see a brown cow, chewing its cud and looking at him with dull eyes. Stupid creature. Loki stood up, brushing himself off with as much dignity as he could. A slight burning sensation on the skin of his chest caught his notice. It was right where the handprint shaped scar Veronica's power had left on him was located.
How odd. He tried to gather enough power to teleport again, but it seemed no different than if he was just an infant trying to hold its head up. He let out an irritated sigh as he set out towards the direction of city lights.
He hated to associate any more than he had to with mortals, but he would have to make an exception tonight. A sign to his left as he neared the town read Camden, South Carolina. Wonderful. Just wonderful. Not only was he completely off his target but he was also stuck in an insignificant southern town.
With as much dignity as possible, he marched into the small town. It was late at night and very few people were out and about. But a transportation vehicle was parked by a curb. What did mortals call them? Bugs? No… Buses! That was it.
He stalked right up to the bus. Taking a deep breath, he attempted to conjure up a few Midgardian coins. He could feel his powers drain even more as he the weight of the currency landed in his hand.
He straightened his collar as he boarded the bus. With his head held high, he walked straight to the back of the bus and sat down in a seat. Looking out at the dark world outside his window, he wondered what was becoming of the powers that had seemed so potent when he had woken up.
He knew the answer before he could finish his train of thought.
Veronica.
Ok. Sorry about bashing South Carolina. I live here, so, really truly I didn't mean it. Please, fellow Southerners, don't take it personally. *Lets out a nervous laugh*
Anyways, what do yall think? Is it a good start? Does it need anything? Lemme know!
