AN: Warning, this chapter is a bit graphic. If it makes you uncomfortable, scroll down to the Third Person POV
First Person POV
A scream tears from my throat as Loki stabs the scalpel deep into my thigh, the pain becoming a burning sensation that spreads throughout my right leg. Except this burning sensation is not comfortable. Tears sting my eyes, my head reflexively banging back against the chair to keep myself from crying. Don't think about it. Don't let him think he's won just yet.
But deep down I know that I can't win from this. A powerful God of Mischief versus a teenage girl who can barely control her powers. The odds aren't looking good for me right now.
Every curse word I've ever learned flies through my head as he twists the handle of the scalpel, my thigh muscles are screaming in pain. Loki chuckles softly as he pulls the utensil out of my thigh, a slick sucking sound filling my ears and making me want to vomit. My vision had blackened from the pain, but when I feel something cold pressing against the wound, the sight of Loki's face inches away from mine nearly makes me jerk away.
There is no longer any pain in my thigh, which confuses me. But when I see the grin widening on the male's face, my heart races with barely contained fear. With a flick of his hand, my tattered dress disappears, replaced with baggy pants only, leaving me in only my bra. He presses the cold, sharp point of the scalpel against my stomach, my eyes squeezing shut in anticipation for what's to comeback.
I want to kick my legs out at Loki, but he's managed to bind them with magic. Never have I felt so defenseless in my life.
"Please.." I choke out, hating myself for the whimper in my voice.
"You did this to yourself, little bird." Loki smirks, violet eyes glowing eerily as he makes the first cut into the skin just above my belly button. My eyes snap open and all I can see is the gray of the ceiling, my arms straining against the leather that holds them snug against the chair as another scream forces its way from my lips. I don't notice the tears streaming down my cheeks until I feel them splashing onto my lap.
Loki's laugh cuts like a knife through my screaming. Please, I want to die. Are the only thoughts I'm capable of as the knife cuts deeper, my breathing heavy as he takes it out, only to shove it back in once again. The smell of my own blood makes me nauseous all over again. Just when I thought I couldn't take anymore, he pulls his hand away from my stomach. He's carved something in my skin, I can tell by the way he's admiring his handy work.
He heals me again, but stops before the pain is completely gone. I guess he wants to make sure it scars. Loki grabs my chin between his thumb and forefinger, his blunt fingernails making me wince even more than I probably already am. My head is pounding, mind reeling from everything he's done to me.
"Don't relax just yet, little bird." He hisses, squeezing his fingers so tight that I'm sure there will be small bruises on my face. "Our fun is far from over. You need to learn your place."
All I can do is stare at him, too terrified to even move. With another wave of his hand, everything fades away. The chair disappears, along with the leather straps binding me to it. Instead, I'm in my room back at the Avengers' Tower. I look around in confusion, wondering if what had happened was all just a horrible dream.
I move to open the door, but with every step I takes, it gets farther and farther away. More panic settles underneath my skin as I start running, pumping my arms and legs as fast as I can to reach the exit. But then the door disappears, blending in with the maroon colored walls around it. I stop abruptly, chest heaving as sweat dribbles down my forehead. A voice makes me tense, his heavy accent all too recognizable.
But what I don't recognize is how cold he sounds, bitter and broken. I force myself to turn and look at him, my hands curling as I try to fend off my fear.
"Pietro.." I start, voice hoarse from screaming, "Please, we need to get out of here. Loki- Loki will kill us both!" I stumble over to him, grasping his forearms to try and make him understand. His expression never changes, his blue eyes still cold as he grabs my shoulders and pushes me roughly onto the the floor.
"You're joking, right?" He questions, tilting his head to the side as he approaches me, pulling a sharp knife from out of nowhere. "Why do you assume I'd try to save a filthy, disgusting girl like you?" He laughs quietly, shaking his head as he kneels down in front of me. I try to scoot away, but it's as if my hands are glued to the floor.
"P-Pietro . . . You don't mean that. It's not true. This isn't real!" I yell loudly. Faster than light, his hand closes around my neck, squeezing tight. I try to shake myself from his grip, but he's too strong for me. Whatever I did to him, it must have set him off.
Filthy and disgusting. That's who I am, isn't it?
"You thought we wouldn't find out your little secret, didn't you?" The tip of his knife presses against my throat.
One wrong move, and I'll be dead.
"I never loved you, Karissa. And I never will." He moves the knife, but before I can feel the pain, the room spins and I'm sitting back where I was before, with Loki still sneering at me. I swallow hard, shutting my eyes in an attempt to rid of that . . . illusion? Was that what it was?
"Don't you understand now, Karissa? You will never truly be part of that pathetic team. This is what will happen if the truth about you is ever revealed." He murmurs, voice now sickeningly soft. I can't help but to shiver, and with a snap of his fingers, something soft is being wrapped around my shoulders. My body reflexively allows it, trying to find as much warmth as possible.
"One day, you'll reveal just what a monster you truly are." His index finger pushes back strands of my damp hair, but I can't find it in me to fight against him. "Do you want to see what will happen?" The question is rhetorical, and I know it.
For a moment, I glance around me and recognize that I'm once again in The Avengers' Tower. Except this time, everything is engulfed in bright orange and red flames. The heat doesn't burn me, but the smoke makes me cough. I have just enough time to catch a glimpse of crumpled bodies in the corners of the room, before Loki pulls me out of the illusion. I can't tell how many times I've cried today, but I'm already growing sick of myself for being so weak.
When I bring myself to look up at Loki, I'm surprised to see that there seems to be something making him hesitate. Is Nanna's power wearing off of him?
The thought leaves me soon though, because his eyes are glowing purple once again. Loki stands from his seat and cuts through the binding restraining me to the chair. He roughly pulls me up despite my body throbbing in pain. He ignores my yelp and grabs my hair, forcing me close.
"From now on, you will do as I say and exactly how I say it. You will act as Asgard's new cold-hearted and cruel princess. You will kill when I say so, and if not, you can say goodbye to those Maximoff twins you so admire." I can feel my eyes widening, my mouth opening to protest, but just as I do, Loki's hand flies across my cheek.
My head whips to the side, my bottom lip bleeding from my teeth accidentally biting into it. "If those Avengers do come to rescue you, you will force them to leave. Otherwise, I will deal with them personally. I'm sure you would not appreciate that."
I have no choice, then. With each word he says, I can feel every ounce of fight in me leaving my body. Surprisingly, no tears come. I feel nothing, I am nothing. At least, not to Loki. I'm just a pawn in this foolish game he's playing, and when he's done with me, I'll be left here to rot just like Calder. I couldn't even save him.
"Is that clear, little bird?" He questions, his eyebrows raising upwards, as if daring me to say no. I'm sure he wanted me to say no, so he could torture me some more. But I don't. I'm tired of fighting.
So with what little pride I have left, I nod my head and mutter a weak, "Yes, Loki."
Third Person POV
Everyone is in a scramble to locate Karissa. Stark and Banner are busy in their lab, attempting to calculate how long it would take for them to get to Vaz. If they are allowed access to the Bifrost, they wouldn't be able to get there until six months later, which is out of the question. Just as Stark is about to throw his pen out of frustration, Director Fury steps into the room, followed by a group of interesting looking people. He clears his throat, and the two men look over.
"What's this, a circus performance?" Tony questions, smirking as he looks over the group. The first guy looks human, but Stark can't help but to question the very outdated Walkman strapped safely to his hip. The next person, a woman with shockingly green skin and inky black hair sneers at Tony, her slender yet muscular arms crossed tightly over her chest. It's clear that she's only here because Fury forced her to come.
The third guy is practically made of all muscle, his glare matches that of the woman, and Tony makes a mental note not to piss either of them off too much. A throat clears, and both Bruce and Tony have to fight back a humorous smile when they see a raccoon standing on his hind legs, wearing some sort of leather vest. In his paws, the raccoon holds a very tiny humanized tree.
Another person walks into the room, this one Tony recognizes as Peter Parker, the boy who has photographed some of his inventions. Before he could open his mouth to say something snarky again, Director Fury cuts him off. He waves his hand towards the group of strangers and Peter, looking serious as usual.
"These people can all be of use to us. They are known as the Guardians of the Galaxy, according to my sources. They have a ship that can travel into space without causing any damage. This could be your way to finding Karissa." Fury then eyes Peter, nodding his head for the teenager to speak. With a small wave directed at Stark, he moves forward.
"Hey, I'm Peter. But I think Mr. Stark already knew that-" Fury clears his throat impatiently, reminding Peter of why he's here. "Oh yeah, and I'm kind of a friend of Karissa's and . . ." He hesitates for a moment, before pulling down the front of his t-shirt to reveal a familiar blue and red costume that both Bruce and Tony have both seen before. "I'm also Spider-man. I want to help you guys get Karissa back."
The man with the Walkman steps up, grinning as he says, "Don't forget, your Peter II, I'm Peter I."
The raccoon speaks up, surprising Parker, Stark, and Banner. "That's all well and good, but why in the Hell should we waste our time rescuing some girl we don't even know?"
Director Fury turns his hard gaze towards the raccoon, "Because all of you will be paid for it. Karissa has information that we need. Without your help, that information will be lost."
"Wait a moment, let's get one thing straight," Tony holds up his hands, eyebrows furrowing as he sends a glare towards Director Fury. "We aren't rescuing Karissa for information, we're rescuing her because she needs us to. She's part of the team, and part of us. We aren't saving her because you need information."
Fury crosses his arms, sending a glare straight back at Tony, "Yes, but we need the information she has regardless. She knows something about this Nanna woman that we don't, and I'll be damned if that isn't my first priority."
The woman with the green skin shakes her head and laughs softly, "I see men are the same on Terra just as they are elsewhere. They argue like idiots and waste time just to get the last word in." She looks at each of her companions, before nodding her head. "Fine, we'll help you find this girl. You Terrans are useless without us."
Just before Director Fury speaks up, yet another person walks into the room dressed in a strange-looking red and black leather costume. "Hey guys! Sorry I'm late, my taxi-driver pal and I got stuck in a bit of traffic. But don't worry, DeadPool is here to save these- wait, I don't wanna waste my F-bomb here, let me rephrase that." Already exasperated sighs from multiple people fill the room. DeadPool clears his throat and starts again.
"Deadpool is here to save all the people while blowing up some bad guys! There, how'd I do?" He turns towards the Director, spreading his hands.
"Wade, shut the hell up." Fury snaps, already growing impatient with the masked mercenary.
"You're the boss!" The man called Wade raises his hand in defense.
The Director sighs, before looking over at the rest of the group. "As I'm sure you already know, this is Wade Wilson, his code name is Deadpool. He will also be helping to retrieve Karissa. Please, don't try to kill him until after this mission."
Peter Parker looks over at Wade, raising his eyebrow. "I think Karissa will like him. She's been talking about this guy ever since she first saw him on the news."
"Well then, that just means she'll be even more delighted to be rescued." Fury states sarcastically. "Now, let's get to work and bring her back home."