Warning: Bit of weird, possibly disturbing mind control stuff. Possible triggers for self harm? Hope not but just to be safe. It's around the line: Her heart froze in its beating. Was he serious? Ends around: A smile finally...
Corinne stared at Loki.
It was him, alright. She doubted an elf could impersonate him that well. Loki was standing before her yet again, looking quite at ease with the situation.
"Again?" She sighed. Her shocked expression transformed into an exasperated one. He sent her a nonchalant shrug in reply.
A lot of things clicked. Why Hemming had been proficient in healing magic, his 'friend' that had taught him, why he knew about Steve...His magic had been green too. Her gut was right to doubt Hemming.
But could she still trust him?
Loki and Borghild back together again. Ove interrupted behind her, his voice a croon. She had almost forgotten about him during the reveal.
"I'm not her." Corinne tried to move her arms again, but to no avail.
Do you not wish she is, Loki?
She cut in before he could reply. "What do you want?"
Loki's brows drew together. He seemed bothered by something she had said.
Ove laughed in their minds. I would not kill her, Loki. Not so soon.
Loki flashed him an unfazed grin. "What makes you think I have such care for her? She is not Borghild after all, as you have said."
"Thanks." Corinne piped up. But she suspected, trying to keep her thoughts quiet somehow, that Loki at least wanted her for something. And whatever it was, he had to get her out of this. "Can we speed this up? My legs are going numb."
A flare of pain shot up her legs immediately. Corinne gasped as her brain registered agony that didn't exist. She felt Ove's control on her loosen as he let her double over.
She wondered why he didn't just control her. If he could trick her mind into thinking she was being hurt, why couldn't he just turn her into another of his mindless followers? Was this more amusing to him, torturing her to do his bidding?
That should be better. Ove said mockingly. I need you to bring down the final shield first. It is far too much work to do myself. Then we may speak about what you will do for me.
Corinne felt something cool skim the palm of her hand and flinched.
A barely audible whisper sounded in her head. Do not think about it too much. Trust me.
She kept her thoughts on her friends back on Earth. She hoped her thoughts were loud, but not too obvious, before glancing at her hand for a split second.
A curl of green magic was circling around her hand, which she could still move. Ove hadn't relinquished his control over her since releasing her so he could see her reaction. She directed her gaze back up quickly.
Avengers, Avengers...how are they doing? Will they know? She repeated in her head, hoping it came across as panic.
She felt the coolness seep into her hand like water and allowed it. Immediately, she felt a burst of energy. The feeling of having magic again was comforting, despite this magic feeling...different. It was cool where hers was warm. But it didn't feel too strange.
Her head felt lighter now, and something heavy was pushed out. Like waking up, her mind was clearer.
She looked at Loki. The corner of his mouth lifted into a discrete smirk.
It was then she noticed that Loki and Ove had been talking while she absorbed the magic. The demigod had been distracting Ove further whilst she was coming to her realization.
Corinne could feel her ability at the back of her mind again. She could just reach out, and make a shield.
She knew what she had to do now.
"...Borghild could have taken the throne, and you were all too aware of it." Loki sneered at Ove.
Pity you were not aware that you had no chance at getting your throne. Not by fair means anyw-
Corinne conjured shield disks and threw them behind her.
Spinning around, she put up a dome barrier. That should keep Loki and her safe from anymore attacks both physically and mentally. She let out a relieved sigh at finally feeling secure. The thrum of her shield was comforting.
Now that she had turned around fully, she finally got to see Ove.
A couple of the disks had struck him, and he was examining the dents in his armor. Corinne wasn't sure what she expected.
Ove had the same slim, angular face elves all seemed to have. He was a tall figure, casting long shadows on the forest floor. But he looked weak, thin. Was he wearing himself out from his powers? She had seen him before, in her brief memory dreams. But seeing his eyes in person still startled her.
They were clear, but not clear. The remaining sunlight of the day reflected off of his irises like glass. If she squinted, she could see herself and Loki in them. Whereas you could see the universe in Alva's eyes, you could see a mirror in Ove's. The largest difference was that they were disturbing. Empty.
Loki was a solid presence at her back. "I suppose you will have to find another way to storm the palace." He said mockingly.
Ove glowered, then to Corinne's surprise, finally spoke.
"You are a coward."
The venom was hateful, biting, and genuine. Corinne brushed off the insult. "An alive coward." Loki let out a muffled laugh.
"You hide behind shields, behind others. You had the opportunity to be queen, but you ran. Even now, you needed protection from him." Ove pointed accusingly at Loki.
"I'm not above getting help when I need it." Corinne raised a brow, the words flowing out from her freely now that she was safe. "If anything, you're the coward. You manipulate others to do what you want, against their actual will."
Ove's eyes narrowed. A tree uprooted by itself and slammed into her shield. Corinne flinched, but the shield held. She wasn't sure how long Loki's magic would last, though.
She let her thoughts reach out to Loki. Did you give me enough to make another shield outside of this? I'm thinking of trapping him.
Yes, but that would mean letting down this one. I could give you more, but I do not recommend straining yourself so quickly.
I've handled much more than this. She bristled at what felt like concern coming from him. Part of her was indignant, another part unsure of how to react if he truly was concerned for her the way he did for Borghild.
So they were at a standstill.
Ove continued to throw trees and rocks at the shield. The only hint of frustration was his tense posture. Otherwise, his face was expressionless.
If she could get him to Alva, everything would end. All these attacks, the threat to the last standing city...it would all stop. Nobody would be controlled or hurt by Ove.
Can't you get him? She projected at Loki, taking her eyes off of Ove.
Loki shook his head. Believe me, I want to. His gaze was far away.
So what, we just let him go? They couldn't just fight Ove, not without leaving the safety of their bubble. They needed to not only protect themselves, but their minds.
She considered Ove once again. As imposing as his mere presence was, his physical state was frail. His skin lacked the glow she associated with elves, and he looked like he had been awake for centuries. She could overcome him, maybe, with her training. But she had to do it without becoming his to control.
"Come out." Ove spoke again, no longer able to communicate to them telepathically. When Corinne didn't spare him an answer, his voice shook with conviction. "Your shield will disappear."
Corinne suddenly sensed a spot in the dome start to give way, but fixed it with a quick thought. Was this part of his telekinesis?
You have a plan.
Half of a plan. Corinne frowned. Ove could control their minds, but not with her shields. They couldn't get him under her shield, either. Her eyes widened. One of her first missions with the Avengers after New York, she did something that just might help now.
She turned so that Ove couldn't see the wide grin she gave Loki.
I need you to play the bad guy.
Loki ducked his head and smirked. When have you started thinking the opposite of me?
Corinne rolled her eyes. Here's what we're going to do…
Even though it was her plan, it still catches her off guard how fast Loki moves. But her surprised expression is a good thing, as it only plays up their trick on Ove. Loki has her facing Ove, her back pressed to his front as a cold blade pressed at her throat.
Ove looks on with suspicion, but hope flickers through his impassive gaze as he senses that her shield went down. Corinne feels his invasive power brush at the front of her mind, and projects some of her thoughts so he thinks she's vulnerable.
She's anything but that.
She's conjured a layer of her shield on herself from head to toe, just like when the Avengers infiltrated that HYDRA warehouse. When she was shot, it had protected her then. It should protect her now. She just needs to get Ove under the impression that he has her.
"I should have foreseen you turning this into your advantage, Loki." The elf finally says in a drawling voice. "And here I believed you had become well behaved because of her."
Loki chuckled. "You should know that it takes more to change me."
"What do you want in exchange this time, Loki?"
"Half of Álfheim once you seize it, and your loyalty once you are king." The demigod replies easily.
"Only half?" Ove raised his brows. "Fair enough. You have my word-now, your side of the deal, please. I'd rather not make the mistake of letting her mind be uncontrolled for the sake of entertainment again."
"Of course." Loki relieved the pressure of his dagger, and released her.
"Come forward." Ove said to her.
This was it. Either he believed it, or they were screwed. Corinne kept her eyes on the grass, gaze blank as Loki had suggested.
"Look at me." She obeyed, keeping her face as demure as possible. Ove eyes were searching hers for any hesitation, any sign of what was too good to be true. "The sword at your side, unsheath it."
She did as he said, the sound of steel ringing as she held it aloft.
"What colour is your blood?"
Her heart froze in its beating. Was he serious? It's a simple question, but the true command in it is clear.
Luckily, Ove is distracted from any shift in her demeanor. Loki's voices her disbelief for her. "Surely you do not intend to destroy your...prize so soon?"
"I need to be certain she is truly under my control. Even now, her mind still resists, and I feel my power is not completely subduing her." Ove turns back to her again, maintaining that eerie and intense eye contact.
Meeting his scrutinizing gaze head on, she holds the sword to her arm and lightly drags it across. "Red." She murmurs.
A smile finally breaks out on the elf's face. It's smug and predatory and definitely one she will be seeing in her nightmares for years to come. He lets out a shiver inducing laugh as he steps so that he's only inches from her. Hands come up to cradle her face as Ove looks at her with unbridled, almost crazed glee.
"I finally have you." The elf breathes, much too close for comfort. "After all these millennia, of not being able to even read your mind-I control you, Borghild. The one person my powers could not reach. The person who's been making it so difficult to breach these cities...Mine."
Corinne swung the blunt side of her sword to his head, hard.
When Ove crumpled to the ground, Corinne had to take a couple moments to stare at his still form. The simplicity of knocking him out was disconcerting. How could such a powerful being be stopped so quickly?
Knowing she didn't have much time, she transferred the magic that was protecting her to the air. She shaped the glowing energy into a sphere around Ove's head, concentrating on making it as strong as possible. Every little bit of her borrowed magic went into it. She had to ensure that he could not break out of it when he awoke.
When she was done, her shoulders dropped in both relief and exhaustion. She sat against the trunk of one of the uprooted trees and closed her eyes. Now that the excitement was over, the emotions that she had been repressing caught up to her.
A giggle escaped, followed up by a full blown laugh. She laughed at how a simple excursion had nearly gotten her killed. How it almost got her and her powers in the wrong hands. Her next laugh shook as she realized how if Ove hadn't let her have a bit of control in the beginning for his amusement, she would have been completely gone. It would have been just like Tiffany and-
Something smooth was being pressed into her hands. She looked up to see Loki was giving her the water bottle from her bag. He held himself at an arm's length, careful. She accepted the bottle with a nod. Corinne hadn't realized how badly shaken she was until the water jostled so much when she tried to take a sip.
Slowly, Loki sat beside her. He rummaged through her bag and procured a blanket. He draped it over her wordlessly and waited.
"You are safe now." He said simply. "You defeated Ove."
He held his hand out. Corinne gave him a questioning look, but placed her hand in his. His other hand hovered over her cut and made tendrils of magic heal it. Corinne calmed her own breathing as she focused on how the green magic mended and revealed unblemished, healthy skin.
"I've never met someone so...crazy." She stared at where Ove was a few feet away. "When I pretended he had me, for a few moments there, I was scared that it wouldn't work. When he believed he controlled me, he was..." She exhaled heavily, unable to finish.
"His power allowed him to do anything, have anything. You were an exception. That did not sit well with him." Loki's hands clenched in his lap despite his calm tone.
She scoffed halfheartedly. "Understatement of the century." She glanced at Ove again, uneasily. "I hope you tied him up with magic rope."
"It should be enchanted. Alva would not have anything less for your bag. Your shield around his head should stop his powers. It was a sound plan." Loki regarded her with a peculiar expression.
"What?" She asked, too tired to attempt to decipher all those little nuances he had with her.
"You should be sleeping, yes? I believe you Midgardians require quite a bit of it." He said teasingly.
"I haven't slept consistently since college." She laughed, not hysterically now. "And don't try to pull that with me. I know you aren't all that powerful either; Thor sleeps like a hibernating bear after missions, and he calls them naps." Nonetheless, she wriggled herself into a more comfortable position against the log.
Which turned out to be extremely difficult as, unsurprisingly, wood wasn't great mattress material. And she didn't even want to have her head near the grass, where who knows what kinds of alien species crawled. Loki looked on with undisguised amusement as she tried to settle in. "Having trouble?"
She huffed. "I'd like to see you try-"
Her words were cut off as she felt herself pulled so that her head rested on him. Which, although not exactly a bed, was better than the tree trunk. She considered moving away, but decided not to in the end. She couldn't care less anymore.
"How long have you been here, as Hemming?" She inquired as sleep lured her.
"At first? Only as an illusion. When you began this journey, I had 'Odin' make some excuse and I came here myself. It was not too rare for Odin to go on his own trips, and nobody could question him. I was Hemming ever since. Until Ove's army was in pursuit, and I went as Odin to order troops to intercept."
"That was when you left me."
"Yes. It was not ideal, but it had to be done."
Corinne chewed on her bottom lip. "You know I am not Borghild, right? Whatever this is, it can stop right now."
A lengthy pause followed that almost made her want to check if he had fallen asleep. "I am well aware that you are not her. You made that abundantly clear many times today." He said drily.
"Good." She wasn't sure if the recent Borghild memories were messing with her, or she was...Her other life was still fresh on her mind, and now was not a good time to mix her personalities up. "All that loyalty talk was confusing me."
"That still holds true." He replied quietly. "I am still loyal to you, as Corinne."
There was a different quality to his voice when he said her name now. She shut her eyes closed. She needed to sleep because she was starting to hallucinate. "Our alliance, right?"
"...Right."
Hope that wasn't too terrible! Got some Loki goodness in there for you shippers out there ;)
At this point you're probably used to and fed up with my excuses, so I'll just say that I am really really sorry. You guys gave me feedback when I was worried, and I disappeared.
I've been losing how I write Deterrence for a while now, and I think I might take a break from this. Every chapter's been feeling kind of...ick, for several months now. Either some sort of Borghild/Loki story or something completely different-I think I need to take a break before civil war.
Thank you so much for the continued support :) We reached 100 REVIEWS last chapter! That's awesome. I should probs do some special drabble when spring break comes up and before we go hiatus on Deterrence ;D
03.06.16.
Side note that's super late: DEADPOOL! AM I RIGHT?