Chapter Four: Across the Rainbow Bridge
Well, here's another chapter, the reason it took a little longer for me to post is because I had to look for this folded sheet of paper with the mini-stories layout so I had to look for it but I found it so now I can relax and not have to worry about what was really supposed to happen. Anyways, next chapter will be the halfway point so there's that to look forward to, be sure to comment and favorite this story.
Panic's been eerily silent since the incident that occurred less than four hours ago with the Avengers who I can still sense are downstairs, completely silent as far as I can tell. Probably the result of Panic's outburst pointing out all their flaws and injustices that they themselves have committed throughout the passing of years. It was very surprising to hear Panic stand up for me to her friends but I do not want any repercussion because of this.
Unlike me, she sees them on a regular basis and I would not want any tension to occur over me and how they feel about my presence and friendship with Panic for whom they care greatly for. Something that they seem to not understand is that I too care about her well being and safety as we have been friends for nearly two years now and she is the most important person to me after my own mother.
Glancing over at her, she sits stationary in a rolling computer chair, red hair moved to one side, falling over her right shoulder. She looks much older than her actual age for a moment, I see just how fast she really has had to grow up over the years. It is a look that I rarely see on Panic but I can only assume that she has always felt this way and appears as such.
She is just much better at hiding it than I originally thought, she must have had to grow up after the death of her mother when she was ten and because of that she grew up to survive. Panic always has been mature for her age but what happened downstairs fully exposes just how grown up she really is by standing up and exposing unjust things and providing reasoning behind why others have no right to judge.
Right now if anyone who knew nothing about Panic would assume she was at least four years older than she really is. She seems tired, like the weight of the word rests on her shoulder and I guess it does most of the time.
"Raven..." Panic murmurs, her voice low and hoarse, heavy like she is holding back intense emotions. She still looks down at the carpet covered floor without showing any sign of flicking her eyes up. Due to her use of my given name, I can tell that what she says next must be important and so I sit silently, waiting for her to finish her thoughts aloud.
"I-I'm sorry..." I open my mouth to tell her she does not have to be for she did nothing but before I can make a sound, she continues speaking. "I know that I.. Uh, didn't do anything and it's not really me who should apologize but I felt like I needed to. And I want you to know that I never thought any of those things when I-I found out about your dad."
She stops, swallowing, before tearing her gaze away from the floor to look over at me with glistening eyes. "I said some things and accused you of being like him when I found out but I-I was shocked and confused and it was a really bad time to find out."
"Panic," I cut her off as I meet her gaze. "Stop alright, I know you did not mean any of what you said otherwise I highly doubt I would be here right now if you had and I knew you would act out when you learned the truth. I thought about that the whole time when I headed to this tower that day but I knew that you would need all the help you could get and you would say some hurtful things but I was wrong."
She blinks at me, confused. Even without reading her mind I can tell she is recounting all of the things she had said to me that day when she found out Loki was my father, probably picking out all the rude things she had said.
"Honestly I thought you would have said much worse things then that Panic," I glance at the floor. "But you were confused and somewhat outraged by my semi-secrecy and I did not hold that against you but then the game changer was what happened after. You still wanted to be friends with me even after knowing about my father and remained by my side. Just now you stood up for me before the Earth's Mightiest Heroes because you care."
She shrugs her shoulders. "Trust me, I know what it's like to be judged based on thing that you can't control like the paparazzi who circle the tower fro time to time and ask questions about Dad and me to anyone. Or how news reporters say that it's awful that now that Tony Stark's finally got his life together that he now has to deal with a child he didn't ask for. I'm use to being judged but I can damn well stop that from happening in my own home."
Suddenly the tower quakes around us and Panic jumps to her feet as the sound of shattering glass behind the door to Panic's room. "What the hell's going on!" Panic shouts over the loud trembling and falling glass. She glances over at me but instantly the tower stills, glass stops falling, and it is as if it had not happened at all when we both know that it did.
Darting forward, Panic rips her bedroom door open, and starts down the hallway and I am hot on her heels but she slows when we round the corner and see the glass fragments from the framed artwork littering across the floor. Slowly we step across the glass that covered the floor, it crunches loudly beneath our shoes and I worry about glass impeding itself into my shoes and possibly cutting my feet.
We creep silently down the stairs and peek stopping just out of sight of those who may be in the living quarters and instead opt to use sneaky tactics such a snooping to decipher what is indeed occurring. By the sliding doors that lead to the large overlooking balcony stands the mighty Thor of Asgard dressed in his Asgardian armor, red cape fluttering and everything.
The thought to immediately run and hide does in fact cross my mind, why would he of all people be here at this time. Typically he comes when the Earth is in grave danger but I know that they are his friends but my gut feeling tells me that is not the reason for which he has come. Perhaps it would be best if I use my powers to leave this tower for awhile.
"Meat swing, what brings you here, is it hammer time?" Mr. Stark asks, frowning at him in mock with amusement twinkling behind his brown eyes in much the same way as in Panic's.
Thor looks at him in puzzlement, obviously confused by these references that he has yet to understand not tat it is all the surprising considering his lack of Earthly knowledge. This is not him home planet after all.
"Of course you don't," he mumbles. "You're even worse when it comes to these references that Captain Freeze over here," he motions to Steve Rogers who glance up at him with an eyebrow raised.
"While it is wondrous to be apart of your humorous banter Stark, I have come here under orders this time, under my father Odin. He has requested me to retrieve someone from here and take them back to Asgard."
Panic instantly freezes as do I when he said someone because both she and I understand exactly who it is that he has come for. Me. Who else on this planet would Odin want to hold captive in Asgard, I am the daughter of his adopted son who attempted to destroy the Earth so he must want to take care of the next threat, who he must assume is me.
I am paralyzed by fear and am unable to move, to blink, and am barely capable of breathing, much less thinking rationally. While I may not understand to be fully aware of Asgardian laws and rules and regulations, I already can tell that I shall be treated like a prisoner. Must get far away from this tower as possible, that is all I am capable of thinking as movement returns to my fingers.
"Someone, who?" Natasha Romanoff asks, standing up and dusting off her pants.
"Lady Raven," he says and I slink away, heading back towards the way I came, there is a staircase back by Panic's room that leads up to the roof, for there I will have full range to teleport anywhere in the world. Not that I can't do that already. I stop when I reach the stairwell and realize that this is not me. Running away was never a trait I had and if I am to be locked up so be it.
"Well then, here I am," I step to the main floor, arms crossed over my chest, ignoring the other Avengers besides Thor and Panic's protest to go with him but I know what I have to do.