A/N: Hello! Here's chapter eight! I'd like to thank madiwadipandalover for following and favouriting this story. And the exceptional Sapphire Roz for her continual support of this story. I hope you like this chapter!
Warning: This chapter contains blood and self harm
Chapter VIII
(Zara's POV)
The attacks happened every day for weeks on end. In the tower, out in New York. Everywhere. We couldn't get away from the unnamed villain. I'd was beaten, bruised and sick to death of being an avenger. It didn't help we still had to watch Loki. So if we weren't fighting for our lives we were watching over a demi god. I didn't really mind Loki. If you got past the horrid, sarcastic, cruel, arrogant, self-loved exterior he was ok. Actually he was quite funny. I wished he wasn't Loki then maybe we could be really great friends. If only the world was fair, if only everything made sense. Then enemies would be evil and hateable and friends wouldn't stab you in the back. And one of the coolest guys you ever met wouldn't be the man you should hate.
(Maria Hill's POV)
SHIELD kept secrets for a reason. To protect the innocent and keep valuable information out of the wrong hands. When HYDRA destroyed SHIELD Maria swore not only to Nick but herself too to keep those secrets under lock and key. She was trained to the highest standard but there was something SHIELD couldn't teach you, how to block out people you care about.
When Maria met Zara Haley, she was a broken girl, grieving the loss of her father. She was only sixteen. Living in Newquay, far away from her family in Greenwich. 374.65 km away from them. It showed a stubborn sort of independence. Something she hadn't seen in such a young girl before. Something she didn't see at all. Maria had found about her through many records of a girl with powers. Telekinesis to be precise. People were scared of her. She was on SHIELD's threat lists. Everyone was frightened of her. Maria couldn't even begin to understand the horrors she went through. Not living at home, have powers she couldn't control and everyone being afraid of her. Being abnormal, being a freak. She told her she moved away to protect her family. But everything she went through, all the pain and hate. Was her fault. SHIELD's fault, not that she would ever tell her why.
(Zara's POV)
I knew, from the very beginning I was different. I looked different, I acted strangely and I had powers that no one else did. I was adopted, I always knew that. My parents died, apparently. I was adopted by Mr and Mrs Haley and I lived happily ever after. Yeah, right. I moved in with them, for a bit it was kinda nice. Family, house, love that sort of stuff. I got on well with their kid Harry.
They didn't know about my condition. It was multiplied by anger and fear. I was bullied at school, for being adopted. I held in all the hurt and one day I couldn't take it anymore. I ended up lashing out, accidently. The bullies and I all ended up in A&E. My mother scolded me. My father was different though, he told me I was special and gifted. I wasn't a freak, I was amazing. Ever after everyone was scared of me, I was a monster. A creep. Someone wrote a letter to the head teacher wanting me to be moved to a mental hospital. I hated school and home wasn't much better. I locked myself away not wanting to hurt the people I loved most. The day my dad died of cancer was the worse day of my life, it wasn't right. He was a good, kind honest man. Loving and funny. He died when I was so young and other people had their parents, grandparents, great grandparents. Everyone. I just lost the only man who made me feel loved. I hated them, I envied them. Of course I had my mum but no one could take his place. I still missed him, but I know however much I miss him. However much I think about him, nothing will bring him back.
I had to get away from the craziness of Stark Tower. It was awful. Everyone was getting on everyone's nerves. Tony and Clint had yelling matches every single evening. I can't even remember what started of this stupid arguments. I couldn't sleep, partly because of the arguing, partly because of the nightmares I couldn't escape. I always kept them at bay before but now they were a force I couldn't beat. Sometimes I heard smashing, lots of smashing actually. Maria came over just to check we were all still alive. Then after debriefing or whatever the hell she was doing she left, without even a word. Not that I cared. She was just a SHIELD agent that invaded my life, no big deal.
I wasn't the only one driven to the verge of insanity. If Steve wasn't a nice guy I think both Tony and Clint would be dead. Bruce locked himself in the lab, he couldn't bear to listen or watch the stupid fights. Natasha ignored them, somehow. I really needed to ask her how she did it. I honestly thought about stuffing cheese in my ears.
I walked down the streets of Manhattan. Definitely nothing like Newquay. Newquay was a town in Cornwall, a small town near the sea. Quaint but full of character. Manhattan was a whole different ball game. Something I'd never experienced before. I'd lived in Greenwich but nothing in England compared to this. I wasn't saying it was better, I was patriotic for sure, but this was amazing. I spent to long admiring the big apple and some moron walked into me. Idiot I thought. Sam chuckled at my annoyance.
He came back after the first attack from the unknown assassins and ended up fighting alongside us. We both took the first opportunity to get out of the living hell, which was Stark Tower. Steve didn't manage to escape, Tony dragged him into the argument. Literally dragged him over. Asking him to decide who was right, him or Clint. Steve was caught in the middle of an Avenger fight. That was not a good thing. Clint had his arrows right next to him. And Tony had the Iron Man stuff and he owned Stark Tower, theatrically speaking, he could throw Clint out if he wanted. He could throw any one of us out, I better be extra nice to him for a while.
"I used to live a normal life Sam," I said.
Normality was a life time away. Nothing was normal anymore, it was never to be the same again, and I'm not sure where I stand on that one.
(Loki's POV)
The survived. Miraculously they survived, every single time. They had many a scar and many tales to tell but they just carried on living. I thought I would hate it. Hate them surviving, hate them winning. I didn't though. I held my breath at the time of every attack, praying for their safe return. I waited, for the time they could not defeat Thanos' men but so far this day did not come. Fighters survive. Zara was safe and as long as it was so I had something to live for.
(Thor's POV)
His paces quickened with step. His anxiety building, he knew whatever happened now would change everything.
"How is she? How is Jane?" Thor asked Heimdall, the gatekeeper.
His sight stretched through all of the nine realms and beyond.
"She is fine but this is not what troubles you my prince," he said.
It was true, he troubles lied elsewhere.
"How… How is Loki? Does…" he stopped in his tracks, just the thought of his brother dying, made a lump in his throat.
"He lives," Heimdall informed him.
Thor sighed a sigh of last thing Heimdall told him was Loki died. His friends the Avengers tried to remove a kill switch. It was set off and it killed him. "How?" Thor asked breathlessly. Loki was evil, despicable and beyond aggravating but Loki was his brother and nothing he ever did, whatever he said, nothing who change the fact that he loves him. However much Loki claimed to hate him, somehow Thor knew secretly Loki cared about him. As did he.
"A telekinetic mortal named Zara Haley managed to manipulate his cells and healed his wound, you are in debt to her as is Loki," Heimdall said.
Thor must thank this girl, even if it was never to be in person.
"Your friends, The Avengers, as they call themselves have been attacked," Heimdall turned to look at him.
His eyes saw so many things. Lives beginning and ending. War, hate and horror. Never being able to turn away, never being able to close your eyes. What kind of a life was that? "By who? Has war been waged upon them?" he asked.
"It seems so my lord," he said.
"Then you must let me pass, I will fight alongside them," he said.
If a war was upon them he would fight alongside them, they would do the same for him.
"You forget my lord, the promise you made to your father, if you venture to Midgard your mortal will pay the price," Heimdall reminded him.
Either he let his friends die or he let Jane die. How could he chose?
(Zara's POV)
I walked into the meeting room Maria was whispering to a man with dark skin and wearing sunglasses, indoors. Not even Tony did that. He briskly left, brushing past me on the way out.
"Who's that?" I asked her.
"How are you Zara? No more attacks?" she asked, dodging my question.
"No, it would be all over the news if there was," I hissed.
Sick of her lies and her way of never telling me what I needed to know. I wish she hadn't invaded my life, then I wouldn't have a whole bunch of lies stuffed down my throat all the time. I hated how everything I wanted to know was classified.
"Who was that?" I asked again.
She sighed and attempted to walk past me but I stood in front of her.
"Don't" I said.
She crossed her arms at looked at me.
"I don't have to tell you anything," she said.
I glared at her but she returned my cold stare. She pushed past me, leaving me alone. I sat down in the chair placing my head in my hands.
When Clint entered the room I was using a tablet. Trying desperately to hack into the SHIELD files.
"What you doing?" he asked.
He dragged a chair over and sat next to me.
"Hacking into SHIELD? Ha that never ends well," he commented.
I glared at him for a second before looking back to my work. Yet again it blocked me out of it. I swore under my breath.
"Stupid SHIELD," I cursed.
Clint looked at me like I was crazy.
"You're an agent, you can get me in," I said.
I passed him the tablet eagerly but he passed it back to me.
"No way Zara!" he said.
I sighed hugging my knees to my body.
"What do you even wanna see?" he asked.
What didn't I want to see? All the lies blinded by the truth. I wanted… I needed to know who I was. Where I came from. Why I was so different and why I couldn't have a normal life.
"My file," I admitted.
He looked at me sympathetically. He took the tablet out of hands and typed his password in but it locked him out.
"It's for level ten eyes only. I'm level seven. Don't even bother asking Nat, we're the same level. The only person that can read it is Nick Fury and he's dead. Well that's what everyone says," he apologised, well I think it was an apology.
I nodded, looking down.
"Who am I Clint?" I whispered.
He looked at me, taking my hand in his own.
"I don't know who you were or what you used to be. But I know this. You're a great person Zara and if anyone else says otherwise I think they're gonna get an arrow in their eye," he said.
I hugged him suddenly, at first he recoiled but he eventually gave in and hugged me back.
"Thanks," I said.
(Loki's POV)
Boredom was the lone constant in my life. It was my only companion but it did not keep me sane. At least when I was dying there was a rush of something other than this continuous monotony.
Zara walked into the room relieving the spy of her watch over me. She took a seat and didn't turn to look at me which she normally did. She just sat in the chair, her posture slouched and her usual happy attitude was nowhere to be seen. She held something her in hands, looking down at it. She made no attempt to even look at me. After an age of silence I decided to strike up a conversation.
"Zara?" I asked, hoping for a reply.
She looked at me for a second her eyes clouded by tears.
"Loki," she replied, I wish she wouldn't say my name so, it sent shivers down my spine.
"What... Are you well?" I asked.
She smiled weakly.
"Can I ask you a favour?" she said, which surprised me.
No one ever wanted my help, I would just ruin everything as I always do.
"Yes," I answered.
She opened up the small hatch and passed a small contraption. On the back it said Stark Industries.
"Can you get me into the SHIELD files?" she asked.
She was asking me to hack into the top secret, classified SHIELD files? Finally! Something to do. And it was bad, which strangely made me feel good.
"What's in it for me?" I asked, even though I would do anything and everything to make her happy, I still had have that harsh exterior with everyone, even her.
"You can read your file, I've already hacked into that. You're a really bad boy aren't you?" she teased.
I laughed.
"Of course," I smiled.
"But the second you try and opened any other files, I'll know and you'll get a beating of a life time," she warned, I really don't want to know what a beating of a life time is, so I guess that means I'm going to have to play nice.
"What do you even want me to get you into?" I asked.
"My file," she said.
I really wanted to help her but finding out the truth never leads to anything good. If I could I would go back and make sure I didn't know. I would rather live in a world of lies than a life of truth and regret.
"Are you sure?" I asked sheepishly.
I knew, of course I did. How couldn't. I read everyone's mind, I knew all the secrets, lies, feelings. I could block them out, sometimes. But the screams of thoughts weren't always so easy to ignore.
"Well if you don't think you can, I could always ask someone else," she said, taking the tablet back.
She sighed sadly, I knew exactly what she was doing. Trying to guilt trip me, making me feel bad. Well it wasn't going to work. Not on me. My heart is a heart of stone. My mind is not swayed or dictated by the action of a mortal girl. Her figure was hunched and she made sniffling noises. Ignore her Loki, this is exactly what she wants. Stay, in control. She looked over at me, her eyes glistening with tears. Don't give in Loki, stay strong.
"Fine!" I exclaimed, finally breaking the silence.
I threw my arms up in the air as a sign of exasperation.
"Yay!" she said, as if she expected me to give in.
She pushed the tablet back through the hatch and beamed.
That night I dreamt dreams that were not my own, dreams of such horror. Dreams I couldn't escape.
There was broken and smashed objects everywhere. Glasses, plates, mugs. Anything and everything. In the corner of my eye I saw a young girl, no older than sixteen smashing these objects. Tearing falling from her eyes like a flood. Another woman stood in the room screaming at the girl. I turned to face them.
"Zara! Stop!" the woman screamed.
It was Zara? She looked so different, she was never large but her figure was so thin and fragile. Her skin so pale, almost a greyish colour. Her eyes full of unstoppable tears and her faced blotched.
"Please, please, please. Stop! Zara stop! Stop hurting those around you!" the woman pleaded.
She was bedraggled and tired. Her face older than her actual age.
"Stop hurting those around me?" Zara asked.
She picked up a shard of glass in her frail hand. She began to cut herself. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I tried to grab the glass out her hands but I couldn't, this was a memory. Not just a dream and memory. The first cut was bleeding, I couldn't watch. I couldn't bear to see.
"That! Is for my parents who left me," she yelled.
Her mother sobbing in the background.
"That!" she said while cutting herself a second time "Is for being in a care home."
She carried on cutting herself while declaring who each cut was for.
"That is for being bullied," she cried.
"That is for having powers that no one understands!" she shrieked.
Her mother buckling to her knees, crying, rocking back and forth while whispering "Stop."
She took the glass from her right hand and placed it in her left hand.
"And this," she said while dragging the shard down the whole of her arm "Is for dad," she whispered.
The blood trickled down her arm and onto the floor. A boy ran in and dragged Zara's mother out of the room and dialled 999 into the telephone. Zara dropped the glass and fell to the floor weeping. I knelt beside her and tried to hug her but she disappeared in my arms, leaving me, sitting on the blood stained floor, my eyes full of tears.
I awoke, my face blemished with tears. I hugged my knees to my body, feeling all her pain and sorrow.
"Oh Zara," I whispered.
(Zara's POV)
I tossed and turned in my sleep. My dream ridden sleep. My nightmares and my fears.
The water was heavy. Always so heavy. Pulling me down. Sinking, drowning, and dying. I gasped. Gasping for air. I tried to swim to shore. But my legs were tired, weak and heavy. Always heavy. I would stay afloat. For a while. But then I became fully submerged by water. Pulling me down. Drowning…
I sat up. Hyperventilating. So many memories. So many nightmares flooded my mind. Beads of sweat were rolling down my forehead. I got up and looked at my phone. No reception, but it told me the time: 5 am. I went to the bathroom. And washed my face with cool water. I climbed back into bed and closed my eyes, yet again submerged in a troubled sleep.
But wait lovely people of FanFiction. There's more
I am sadly announcing the end of What Is Right. But do not fear, I'm already starting a new story. I need your help!
As I said before I'm starting a new story but I need some characters. The plot so far is about the superhumans who were taken prisoner and locked away by HYDRA. And I need more ideas for these awesome superhumans.
So here's the information I need to know about your OCs
Full name [First name, middle name, last name] (Middle name is optional)
Age
Appearance
Superpower
Personality
Age from which they were captured
Any extra information
Thank you guys so much. So please keep an eye out for my new story Trust
So either review What is Right or PM me. I can't wait to hear your ideas *****CLOSED******
~I've been Jotunheim Storm~
Thanks xoxo
