Anon (Guest): Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it so far! I totally agree with you about Thanos. He is an awesome character and a wicked villain.
SapphireDreamer26: Yes, Melanie will have to push through the pain for a while. And yes, I always thought Loki was someone who wasn't evil all the way down to his heart..like Thanos. He has no compassion. But thanks for the review.
And to all my guests that reviewed, thank you so much! i appreciate it very much!
I forgot to mention the title name change... If anyone has ever read the Norse Mythology there's an.. awkward story about Loki and a horse so i decided it was best to change the name.
But on to the next chapter! Enjoy!
Fury, Thor, Tony, Bruce, and Steve sit quietly around a small fire they've built on the shore, their faces transfixed on the flickering flames, the cool air around them nipping at their exposed flesh. The events of earlier in the day hung foul in the air around them, their shock and pain swallowed down into their guts with embarrassed guilt. Nobody had planned on total destruction and devastation happening, and nobody was prepared when it did. How did that old saying go? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. And for Fury, that "shame on me" part hit him right to the core. He was a fool for believing he could encase Loki on that ship again. He was a fool for believing that Melanie could stop that from happening.
And now look where they were. Stranded on some coast, no communication with the survivors, their helicarrier currently sinking to the deepest depths of the ocean, and one of their agents brutally kidnapped and most likely going to be killed. For now, there was nothing the Avengers could do to retaliate. They didn't even know where the rest of the team was, if they had made it out alive.
"Fury, can I ask you something?" Tony asks, breaking the silence and interrupting Fury's thoughts.
His eye flickers from the fire to Tony's concentrated face.
"I hope you don't mind me asking, since in fact we are a bit stranded, and are currently in a... difficult situation, should we be worried about Melanie being in the enemy's hands?"
Steve looks up with a confused look on his face. Thor perks up too, watching the two men.
"What do you mean, Stark? Should I be concerned that one of our team members could be tortured and killed while in enemy hands?" Fury says in a smart tone, his patience gone.
Stark doesn't flinch. "No, I was actually talking about when you were asking Natasha if it was possible she had turned. Or maybe I was just making up voices in my head?"
Fury gives him a long look. "Melanie knows her place. She's on our side."
"Are you sure? Cause you don't sound sure," Tony retorts, his eyes blazing.
"Who is this mortal girl? Why is she of importance? My brother would not just take someone without a reason," Thor pipes in.
"She's someone with more power then she can handle, that's who she is," Bruce answers, drawing shapes in the sand with a long stick. "She's like a ticking time bomb if you ask me. She shows the signs of someone teetering on insanity, losing herself to this... other being almost. Almost... psychotic."
"That would explain the hand shaking thing," Tony agrees. "And the alcohol consumption. Did you know she had her own personal stash of booze on the boat with her? Totally unfair if you ask me. I wasn't allowed to bring any of my intoxicating drinks with me."
"She was drinking?" Steve asks, surprised.
"I told you," Bruce says casually. "She drinks to keep the crazy inside her. That's why Loki wants her. He wants her crazy side."
"That's enough!" Fury shouts, standing up, looking around at the bantering men.
"We just want to know, Director. If she does, we need to know what we're up against," Steve points out, holding out his hands palms up in innocence.
Fury sighs, looking around with an irritated expression on his face.
"Yes, Melanie has very dangerous powers that she has trouble handling. Yes, she is unstable and can easily become uncontrollable. Yes, she used to be on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s radar, and not the good one. But that's all the past. Melanie knows what side she's on. We have to trust her and we have to keep acting as though she is still on our side."
Tony leans back, his eyes flickering back to the fire that burns slowly in the cool air.
"How bad on the bad radar was she?" Steve whispers.
Fury doesn't answer, keeping his large brown eye trained on the fire.
Suddenly a bright light appears from above them, the sound of an engine and thumping blades fills the air. A large black helicopter lowers itself onto the beach, the wind picking up the sand around it, sending it flying.
"Well finally," Tony scoffed, standing up stiffly.
"Director!" Agent Maria Hill runs out from the helicopter, blood on her forehead and burns on her arm and legs.
Fury stood up, a hint of relief washing over his darkened face. "I'm glad you were able to find us so soon."
She huffed, out of breath. "We lost a lot of men on the ship, Director. Agent Romanoff is in critical. Barton is with her. All our communications are down so tracking the ship that took Agent Walker is impossible. I believe she is lost to us Fury."
He nods as everyone begins to limp over to the helicopter. Tony and Thor each take a side of Steve and help him walk, his severely injured legs barely able to move. Steve winces, biting his lip to keep from crying out.
"We'll head back to base. From there we can figure out what we need to do to clean up this mess."
"And Agent Walker?"
Fury sighs, a glimpse of regret traveling over his features. "She's on her own for now."
Melanie didn't know where they were, or how long they'd been traveling. She'd been fading in and out, her body struggling to stay alive and awake as it weakened. She was freezing cold, every once and a while shivering tremors would rip through her spine. It was the blood loss, she had assumed. Her head hadn't stopped bleeding, the roots of her hair were pounding in agony, and she didn't think she could move her right arm. Everything hurt, even her mind. Loud and bright images would explode at random times, memories of pain and discomfort flooding in after them. If only death would come faster, she had thought, something would put an end to this horrific pain.
She had remembered leaving the plane, being carried of course, into hot, dry air. Loki was the one that held her, slinging her limp body over his broad shoulders. It was his gentle, but strong grip that she recognized, reminding her of someone else she once knew and cared for. But those memories were locked away deep in her mind, and no one was getting them out.
"Put her in the cage," Thanos growls, and it echos.
A cave was it? Melanie had felt the rapid decrease in temperature, and the echoing sound of the footsteps indicated something large and open. Caves, somewhere in a place that was hot and dry. A desert maybe? The west?
Loki sets her down in the caged cell carefully, leaving her body slumped against the thick metal rods. She lets her head lean against the bars, grateful that their bitter coolness touched the burning fire of her forehead cut.
She was aware of his presence so near to her, and she couldn't figure out why he didn't just leave her alone.
"Heal her, Loki. She grows weaker as we speak," Thanos grunts, and she can hear him skulking about around them.
Melanie feels Loki's long, slender fingers brush over her head and suddenly the pain in her forehead is gone. Slowly, each and every pain she felt was being brushed away by Loki's soft touch, warmth refilling her body and strength building up in her stiff bones.
Loki moves his hand over her right arm and heals it quickly, feeling the bone move back into place. He watches as the color slowly returns back to her freckled cheeks, the painful grimace on her face fading as he took away each of her injuries.
Thanos watches him skeptically, slightly amazed at how easily Loki could undo the damage he had done. It was Loki's magic that Thanos needed to succeed. His inability to travel between Realms secretly had held him back for many years, but now that he had Loki in his grip, he would be unstoppable.
"Don't." Melanie's sharp voice cuts through the silence, catching Thanos' attention.
Melanie's hand was wrapped tightly around Loki's pale arm, his hand inches from her chest. Loki cocks his head to the side in curiosity.
"I don't want you to heal any more of me," she says sharply, not loosening her grip on his arm.
A smirk spreads across his face and he snorts, pulling back his arm from her grip. She lets go as she hears him stand.
"It's too bad the others had to die. Mortals are so humorous, the way they bask in their weak pride. I'm sure the team of supers together would have made for a grand comedy," Thanos comments, watching as the girl turns her face away to hide the pain of their loss.
"Now that we have obtained our package, what is it that the great Thanos would be pleased to spend his time doing?" Loki asks as he snaps the power-sucking handcuffs back on Melanie's wrists. The small orb in the middle begins to glow blue with the power.
Thanos chuckles. "Ah, I'm sure I could spare a few months from universal take over to spend time with the one I love."
Loki smiles. "Of course. I hear Valhalla is beautiful this time of year."
Thanos glares. "I do not want any mockery from you, Loki."
Loki holds up his hands in innocence. "Forgive me I was only making a small jest. Give Mistress Death my love."
"Of course."
Thanos suddenly stands up and grabs Loki tightly by the neck, dragging him over so that their faces were inches apart. Loki winces and grunts as the tight grip around his neck cuts off his source of air.
"I'm only giving you a few months with her. If by the time I get back she's still uncooperative, I'll expect you to finish this side business and come alone. Do you understand?"
Loki glares as he struggles to pull back from Thanos's grip.
"I want no loose ends Loki. Make her join, or make her die."
Thanos lets go and Loki crashes to the floor, gasping for breath. He runs his fingers over his neck, quickly healing them, sending a harsh glare in Thanos's direction as a bright light fills the room.
"I come for you, Mistress Death," Thanos says as the light brightens.
Loki shields his eyes away from the light, looking over at Melanie who sits crouched in the back corner of the cave, not flinching from the glorious light above them.
And when it subsided, Thanos was gone, and Loki was left on the floor, alone, with a prisoner he wished he had just killed earlier.
Loki hated being treated like a know-nothing slave. Just because Thanos was bigger, and stronger, and maybe even a little smarter, did not give him the right to boss Loki around. Loki, the one who gave him the ability to travel between the Realms without being seen. Without him, Thanos would be nothing.
He shook off his embarrassment and stood upright, adjusting himself and looking around the large cave, evaluating his residency for a while. It wasn't half bad. There was a large bed in the back corner, a small river that ran through bits of the cave for bathing, clothing for the both of them when their current attire got dirty, and of course a small box of light, or what the mortals called it, a television.
Melanie's soft sobs interrupt his thoughts and he shoots a glare in her direction, only then remembering that she couldn't see him. He sighs and rolls his eyes in annoyance, stalking away and over to his large bed. There he plops down and closes his eyes, breathing in the cool air of the damp cave. He hadn't slept in days, the blinding white, mirrored cage he had been in had prevented him from getting any rest at all, not to mention the several forms of torture Fury had put him through. All those things necessary for Thanos's plan, of course. Though those three days had felt murderously long. But here he was now, alone in his own peace and quiet that he had grown comfortable with all his life. And with a small smile on his face, he slipped into a peaceful slumber, all the pains and worries wiped away, and the memories of a small boy and his brother welcomed in.
For five days Melanie sat in that cage, in the same spot, in the same position. She neither ate the food Loki gave to her on that loud metal tray, nor spoke a word when he tried to talk to her. Her cheeks burned from the many tears she had shed and her wrists burned from her writhing wrists in the tight cuffs. Without her daily alcohol intake the tremors in her hands had spread to her arms and shoulders, making the concentration to stay sane that much harder. The other Melanie was trying to get out. She could not push her away with her wise words any longer. She was starving, she was hurting, she was in enemy hands. Melanie was broken, and the other was taking over.
I helped you last time. I can help you again.
That same, sweet, sickly angelic voice would ring in her ears, tempting her, beckoning her, dragging her into her psychotic past.
Her sleep would be plagued with nightmares, or memories. Memories that would be nightmares.
Go away. You only ever hurt me. You never helped me.
But I helped you rid your heart of all that rage. It was so full of anger and hate... I helped you get rid of it. I helped you become hollow again.
Melanie twists her wrists in her handcuffs, her raw skin burning as she rubs them against the rough restrictions. Sweat beads on her forehead and her breath comes out in shaky puffs.
The loud clang of metal against rock startles her, making her jump. The smell of meat and bread fill her nostrils, making her stomach growl. But she turns her face away, swallowing the aching hunger in her gut.
"You need to eat or you will die," Loki says softly, pushing the tray of food closer to her, the sound of scraping metal painful to her ears.
Loki crouches down in front of her and watches her, his eyes fixed on her turning wrists.
"Why do you do that?" he asks, but he's not surprised when she doesn't answer.
He shrugs, standing up and leaving the cage, closing and locking the door behind him.
"If you don't eat soon you'll start to hallucinate, and when that happens, I'm going to leave you out in the desert till you die," he threatens nonchalantly before disappearing into the darkness of the cave.
Melanie shivers, the brisk air nipping at her exposed flesh. She lets herself get pulled into another dream, though now her dreams were just memories. The familiar pain seeping into her bones.
"Deen Elmroy," a tall man with wrinkled skin, greasy grey hair, and small beady eyes greets, holding out his hand.
A younger Melanie takes it firmly and shakes it, a smile plastered across her face.
"It's a pleasure to meet you in person. I've seen you on TV and watched some of your races. You're an incredible athlete," he comments, pulling back his hand and stuffing it in his pocket.
"Well thank you," she responds, looking in another direction, showing a glimpse of her impatience.
"I'm the head of JuicyCorp., you know, the company that makes kids Lemonade?"
"Yeah, I know," she says almost shortly as if to hurry him along.
"Well I was wondering if there was anytime we can talk?"
"Aren't we doing that right now?"
He frowns. "In private."
"Look I've already got enough sponsors and I really don't have time for this. You know there are several great athletes out there that could use a good sponsor like you. So if you'll excuse me I'm late to my afternoon workout."
She jogs away, leaving the man speechless.
Melanie tries to wake up but she's sucked into another dream.
She sitting down, but it's dark and she can't see anything. Tight ropes are knotted around her wrists and ankles. Her heart is pounding and she can feel the sweat rolling down the back of her neck.
Opera music suddenly starts to play in the background, its the sweet melody of Ave Maria flowing through the darkness. Melanie freezes before looking around trying to find the source.
"What a beautiful song. Said to be one of the most popular Catholic prayers. Ave Maria. The first two words that the Archangel Gabriel said to the Blessed Mother. Hail Mary. After what I've done, I think you better start getting to know your prayers," Deen's voice whispers in her ear.
She slams her head back in an attempt to hit him but she only meets empty air.
"I killed you!" she screams, struggling to get out of the chair. "Why are you still here? I killed you dammnit!"
There's suddenly a light ahead of her and strains her eyes to see what it is.
A door. A single white door with a piece of paper stuck to it.
"No," she moans in a soft whisper, feeling the tight ropes loosen where she's tied down.
"Melanie," his voice whispers in the darkness.
She stands and slowly begins walking towards the door, her mind screaming at her feet to stop by her body ignoring it.
"Your rejection was harsh.."
The opera music gets louder as she moves closer to the door, the letters on the paper now barely readable.
"...and I don't like being made a fool of..."
Her hand reaches out towards the door handle, her long tan fingers wrapping around it's silver exterior. She breathes deeply as she opens it a crack, allowing her to see what looks like a bedroom with the moonlight shining in on the carpet.
"...you wouldn't have to open the door..."
When she pushes it open a little farther, she sees something on the wall. The tip of a handprint, the tips of fingers, smeared on the white wall.
"...to see what I've done..."
A smeared handprint on the wall... made of blood.
"...to your husband and child."
