CHAPTER THREE: WIDE AWAKE
.
The room was just as the rest of the fortress had been. Bland, but full of new technologies that whirled and beeped.
And then there was the amulet beside me. On the table, as well as a water jug and a glass. I wondered what I looked like more than anything. Wondered how I was alive, if and what I could do without the amulets aid.
It was all a big bunch of ifs. And the most important was knowing if I could be trusted. If they trusted me. After that memory I wondered.
I am a fool for not seeing it sooner. He has spoken much about it, so much so that I had never expected him to do anything.
But I was wrong. And now the worlds will suffer. We will all suffer and plunge into darkness and chaos if he is not stopped. I fear it will happen if we do not act soon. But what can happen when the very people you need help from are the ones you need to convince.
No amount of worrying over what ifs can change what they think of me. Before this day I needn't worry about other life forms. But now I had to. Now I am alone. And I won't betray them. Not as he has.
I lay there in silence, waiting for one of the operatives to return. Or visit. I knew the door would be locked. And the will to even try it, or escape if needed, eluded me. The object of my existence now detested my touch and approach.
I was truly alone.
The door opened some time later, my eyes following the agents that walked in. The Director followed shortly behind them, and Natasha afterwards.
I was waiting for them to begin, to say anything they could. Or would. To confirm or deny what I had settled as my fate.
Waiting for my fate to be decided, to see if I would be joining my kin in the halls of the dead. Or to be left to rot in some forgotten cell. Perhaps they would see what truly was, and I could atone. Perhaps I could fix the folly of our people, and continue on as I always have.
Listening to the calls of our Council through the echos of reality, fighting back the darkness and then doing it all again. It was all I knew, and what I knew was that the ones who were out there with the army were not my kin. Not the kin I remember.
The kin I remember were loyal to a fault, but these three, as the other two must be ones as well, are corrupted. It has happened before, but it wasn't catastrophic. Not like this.
For now, everything rested upon the shoulders of those who had brought me to this flying fortress.
Fury seemed to be brimming with anger, Natasha held no emotion and the other agents were watching me like a hawk. Only here for backup it seems.
"Lyra..."
My eyes locked on the directors, "Do not call me that." I hissed. I did not want to be called something that he had given me, a name that was itself a betrayal of what we were. But if I were to be working with them, I would have to give a name. A name that would be nothing but everything.
"Then what do we call you? Though, I don't think it matters. Your buddies are out there, tearing up New York, and we can't get any eyes on them." He took a step closer, taking the amulet and holding it up. "Tell me, why were you really in New Mexico, and don't tell me it was for a holiday." He placed the amulet back down, I barely gave it a second glance.
"I have told you why I arrived on this world, it was to stop a threat from plunging all worlds into darkness. Though before I arrived, I believed I would be facing a simple enemy. One that would be easily taken care of." I sighed, looking at the amulet. "I was mistaken, that much was clear as soon as I arrived. It was then that I met the ones who evidently led to my arrival here." I then looked to Natasha and Fury to gauge their reactions. If they were not positive... Well, I don't want to think of what may be. "And then... Then I saw the footage, of Gareth, and the other two. I don't know if they took any names... The fools."I mumbled.
"You know their leaders, all three of them?" Natasha probed, not a muscle revealing her true emotions. Still as a statue.
"It is likely I know the other two. But overall, I do know them. They were like me, but that is no longer true." I rubbed the bridge of my nose, taking note I was still in human form. I wondered what I was truly like underneath the illusion. Or if I was this now and forever, doomed to be still in the constant stream of the cosmos. "The amulet allowed me to commune with them, and that was only due to them retaining their own. It connects us all, allows us to commune and access our abilities with ease. I'm not even sure we can access them without it."
Fury looked to the Avenger, then back to me. They both seemed to have agreed on something, as she nodded to the man before his one was fixed upon me once more. "Now it's all starting to make sense. You tried to contact your associates, had a disagreement, and they found out how to use that against you." He gestured to the amulet at my bedside. "When we go up against them, and we will, will you be ready to help us?"
I gave the man a heated glare, how dare he insinuate that I would never be ready to face those cretins. Those who still believed they were doing good, but were doing just the opposite. "I would choose to die before I got left here while others fought my battle. And I do know it is not just my own, it is every-ones fight." I sighed, "I can promise you one thing, they will not get away with their crimes."
They smiled. It took me back for a moment until the Director spoke again, handing me something. "You'll need this to get around the ship, Romanof will show you around. Welcome aboard..."
"Anstice, that is what you can call me. Until I must go again." I said the last part in a breath. Hoping the sharp ears of the spy did not catch it.
"Anstice." He said curtly, making his way out with his guards. It was said as both a goodbye and an acceptance.
I was now, as well as I could put it, working with mortals. If the council could see me now I would be exiled, hunted and killed. But there was no longer a council, no longer a balance to things, no longer was I bound to do anything. So it begged the question as to why it was being done in the first place. It was simple to answer.
I was made with a purpose. To never have a name. To prevent that which could dissolve the worlds into dark times. To uphold the principles of our nameless folk, their heritage and laws. To never speak a word of our kin. To remain hidden, and to never be known.
In the short stay on this planet, I had failed many of them. But there was one that was still unbroken. One that I would not abandon just because the others were lost. I would save this universe, if it was the last thing I ever done.
I was drawn out of my thoughts by Natasha placing a bundle in my lap. It was some clothes, jeans, a shirt that was orange and plain. Alongside a pair of shoes made of canvas. "Their converse. Your clothes were ruined when the amulet shocked you." She said plainly, then made her way to the door, gesturing to a screen on the other side of the room. "You can get changed over there, I'll wait out here."
I was not upset that my attire had been ruined, it had happened many times before. But unlike those other times, I knew I'd never get it repaired. I noted that I was in a strange, paper like gown. I got out of the bed and made my way to the screened area. I changed quickly and met the spy in the hall.
"It suits you." She stated. I just tilted my head, I'd never received any comments about my appearance before. "It's a compliment." She elaborated, as if it would clear everything up. But it didn't, we'd never received them before, being hidden and forgotten for so long. Just doing what we were born to do.
"Apologies," I started, "I've never been in a situation where I've had to converse with the local populace before. Not on this level at least."
"Don't worry, you'll get use to it." She smiled, trying to reassure me. I smiled back, glad that she wasn't as hard as she portrayed. "This way, the others want to speak with you. Along with a guest of ours. Everyone's been buzzed about you, what you are, how you came here." She started to walk down the metal halls, that weren't buzzing as much as they once had been.
"How I'm the only friendly one of my kind left in existence?" I mused aloud.
She nodded. "It's quite the tale."
We walked for quite some time, the halls seemed endless. Then we found a break in them, only to climb up a flight of stairs to another level, and continue on for a moment or so longer. Only then did we seem to reach our destination.
"The medical bays all on level three, while the agents rooms, meeting halls, mess halls, are on this level, level two. Swipe the card fury gave you over this access point to get into any room you have access to." She explained quickly.
"And this room?" I inquired.
She smirked, swiping her card over the scanner. The door clicked and then slid open, she walked in with me following.
"Hey, Reds back. How's our... OH!" Tony jumped as he saw me trailing the infamous spy. It caused me to smirk, "uh... What did I miss?" He asked cautiously. "She doesn't have you under some kinda spell does she?"
I scoffed at the scientist, "Magic only gets you so far. If I were to escape I would go to a portkey." I spoke as if it would be obvious. Then again, I would need the amulet for that.
"A port-a-what?" Steve asked, confused. But he stood, ready to engage any threat to his comrades.
I then realized my mistake, and stopped walking. "It is what took me to your Earth." I elaborated, then noting that there was more than the usual Avengers here. There was more Aesir, they were all standing by Thor. While Loki was off a little ways, looking on at the exchange. "More Aesir?" I asked aloud.
Thor seemed a little stunned, as did the others. Then Loki snapped his fingers, which seemed to bring them from whatever trance they were stuck in. "Excuse Thor and his ill-manners. This is Lady Sif, Hogun, Volstagg and Fandral." He pointed to them individually, Volstagg being the largest of the three males and only one with a beard. Then there was Hogun, a man with slightly darker complexion to the others and with smaller eyes, Fandral held a smirk that was more sultry than anything, and he was thin. Then there was the odd one out, the Lady Sif, a warrior in her own right, a sword by her side and bearing Asgardian armor. It was something that was mostly unheard of, but not a total surprise.
They all gave a simple nod, and a warm welcome. The room had become unnaturally still when I entered, even more so when I addressed the newcomers. Though I may be seen as one more then they are.
"It is a pleasure." I finally spoke, remembering something about manners and etiquette. "I am Anstice."
"Are you going to give us a different name every time you meet new people? If so, it'll be hard to keep track." Tony quipped, pointing at me.
I moved further into the room. "I intend to keep this one. While I am here at least."