This is possibly the best chapter I've ever written. It's at least one of my favorites.
_-x-_
9 Weeks Later
"Regular decaf, please," an older lady sat at the stool in front of me. She was bundled in mittens and scarves, to the point that she could barely move.
"Yes, ma'am," I smiled. "It looks cold out there."
"I can hardly remember it ever being this cold. I reckon this storm'll take out the power lines."
"Let's hope not. Wouldn't want to end up like the New Yorkers, would we?" I smiled weakly. I was personally responsible for millions of people freezing right now.
"Whew, bless those poor folks."
My manager walked past me and turned off the ovens. "Go home, girl. No one else is coming this late."
"Are you sure?" I asked, already taking off my uniform.
"Go get your bread and milk before the storm hits."
"What can you even make with bread and milk? It's so ridiculous. What about people with gluten allergies, or lactose intolerance?"
"Dear God, go get some sleep," she rolled her eyes and walked back to her office.
"See you Monday," I called after her.
"Be safe, hon."
It was, in fact, colder than anyone could remember outside. I regretted not wearing gloves as I gripped the icy steering wheel. After the short drive, I brushed my boots off on my own welcome mat and decided to flip on the news instead of wallowing in self pity for the next half hour.
"NYC has hit the nine week mark in a record breaking power outage. Small generators are being flown over in droves, and gas prices are still skyrocketing. Speculation as to how this outage relates to the prior attacks on the city continues. We have Cindy on the ground in Times Square. How does it look out there, Cindy?"
I flopped onto the couch and listened intently to Cindy.
"Hi, Bob, as you can see behind me the streets are empty. Many families are staying
indoors, just trying to keep warm as the cold weather is really setting in. Several people we've interviewed today have told us about their frustration and anger with how this has been dealt with. Still, power companies are declining to comment on the source of the problem. The situation is causing a spread of panic, as we saw last night, the nightly riots have spread to Boston and Baltimore. Still, no end in sight. Back to you, Tom."
"Thanks, Cindy. And now the traffic."
I resisted the urge to hate myself by picking up my phone and speed dialing Phil.
"Hi, Lily," he answered on the fourth ring.
"Hi, Phil."
"Everything alright?"
"Yeah, I just miss you," I smiled a little.
"Sorry, I've been busy."
"How's Portland?" I asked, phone between my head and shoulder while I pulled a dress out of my closet.
"Cold. You?"
"Freezing. How is SHE?" I emphasized the word.
"Very well, thanks. She wants to meet you actually."
"Same," I smiled.
"Mass tonight?"
"Of course," I pulled my tights on. "Getting ready now."
"I won't keep you then. I'll call tomorrow."
"Talk to you then."
It was a half hour drive to the cathedral, but by now the route was second nature. The snow was coming down a little faster now, but little to none had stuck to the road yet.
I pulled into the parking lot and entered through the back. Everyone greeted me, which was a distinct perk of being new to a church. I pulled on the robe that made me look like a giant white blob and climbed the steps to the choir loft.
The absolute worst part of sitting in the choir is being on display. You can't sleep through the sermon or roll your eyes at the message, and there's no picking your nose when it genuinely itches.
I scanned the congregation, seeing the standard old couples, fidgety kids, and the occasional person actually my age. Nothing was knew. The sermon droned on. I studied the stained glass for the fifth time, tried to count windows, then wood panels.
The back door of the sanctuary opened. It was far away from me, and I could only barely see a figure walk out.
It was a tall man; his hair was black, and sticking up a little. He wore a big green sweater and grey coat, but really he was just a couple blobs from this distance.
He looked almost like- but not at all. It couldn't have been him. I couldn't see his face well, but it wasn't the same. I'd know if he was there.
The sermon ended abruptly, and we stood for a song. I looked down at the hymnal for four drawn out verses.
When I looked back up, he was gone.
Mass ended late, which made driving home even scarier. Snow had piled up on the median, up to at least three inches.
When I made it home, I put the coffee maker on and headed to the restroom. My hair was still up, and way too tight on my head. I pulled out pin after pin, until at least twenty sat on the counter.
My hand was careless, knocking over a pack of q-tips into the toilet bowl. I jumped and groaned at the mess and picked up what I could.
Instead of fishing out the odd hundred cotton swabs, I flushed. The bowl churned and the water level kept rising.
My phone buzzed on the coffee table in the room over. I didn't bother to read it, considering only one person ever called me.
"Hey, Phil, do you know where I can buy a plunger this late?" I started.
"Not your Uncle." The voice was muffled, and a little hard to make out.
My face flushed. "Oh, forget the plunger bit then. Who is this?"
"I want you to meet me," the voice said simply. The reception was bad, and I could barely make out the words past static.
"Can you tell me who this is?" I repeated, starting to worry just a little.
"There is a diner exactly 15 miles north of your house," the reception cleared a little, and I could make out the voice to be a mans, with a slight accent. "Meet me at the diner, Lily."
It hit me like a ton of bricks. The accent, the overly precise yet oddly vague directions, and most importantly the way he said my name.
"Which diner?"
"It has a fluorescent waffle sign."
I hung up, threw the phone in my pocket, laced my boots, grabbed a coat, and flew to the door.
I should have run away, but I wanted nothing more than to run towards.
_-x-_
The doorbell of the diner chimed as I stomped my boots on the doormat. The waitress nodded at me as I looked around the room.
The typical crowds of midnight diners were there, with the exception of the very dark haired man with his back to me.
I was instantly afraid. Not just "will he hurt me" fear, but genuine, the "world is probably ending" fear. Also though, I felt a little bit of anger in my chest. It was uncommon for me, and enough to give me a bit of confidence.
I walked over slowly and sat across from him.
"What do you want to eat?" he asked, not putting the menu down.
"What are you getting?" I asked sarcastically, trying to mask how nervous I was.
"Eggs and bacon, your least favorite breakfast. I already ordered you the waffle. You owe me."
"Well, I think you owe me for ruining my life."
He set the menu down on the table. His skin was even paler than normal and his hair was sticking up all over the place. "I've seen your future, and in every possibility you died young and painfully."
"Excuse me if I'm not grateful then, because I've been watching those scenarios in my sleep for the past two months."
"And I prevented every one by sending you here."
"Bullshit," I felt my cheeks flush.
"That's vulgar," he scrunched his nose.
"You did not send me here. I'm here because Steve and Natasha and Clint and Tony and even your goddamn brother said I should be here."
"Do you think I didn't plan that? Do you think I didn't know what would happen?"
"You don't know half of what you say you do. You look like shit, by the way," I said in disgust.
He smiled. "You still think I'm handsome though."
It felt like my stomach was set on fire, "I've seen inside your mind, too. I know you think I'm cute deep down in there."
"Hardly my type," he scoffed.
"That's what they all say," I rolled my eyes.
"Please keep in mind I know your past relationships as well as you do."
"Don't criticize me. I saw you eyeing that horse."
"That was a phase and you know it!" he leaned forward and hissed.
The waitress came to our table and we both straightened.
"Thanks," I said for Loki as she set down both of our meals.
She walked off looking slightly suspicious.
"I enjoyed your singing earlier," he said while unwrapping his utensils.
"That was you," I shook my head.
"I knew you'd be going to church again, in your time of great crisis," he spoke with a strip of bacon in his mouth. "It seems to be helping you."
"You should try it," I raised my eyebrows.
He shrugged noncommittally.. "Who'd you think I was?"
"Someone normal, just going to church. Certainly not my stalker."
"Oh yes, my great powers set me apart from the normal crowd."
"You don't scare me," I sighed. "Even when you talk like that."
"You know enough about me to know that how easily I could hurt you."
"If you were going to kill me here, I would've already had that dream."
"Fair point," he leaned back against the booth. "You know, the church bit didn't surprise me, and really your job didn't either, but the fact that you're speaking with your mother- well, frankly you've shocked me."
"She's changed," I shrugged. "If your dad was nicer, you'd forgive him too."
"It seems if I valued forgiveness more, or you valued it a little less, we'd be quite the same."
I tried not to consider how right he was.
"Why did you invite me here?" I asked suddenly, getting sick of his banter.
"Conversation. I thought that was obvious. I'm bored, and lonely."
"How awful that must feel. I wouldn't know of course. A life of relative house arrest and no contact with anyone but my uncle is very fulfilling," I said sarcastically.
"You're quite nice to talk to. I never have to think very hard."
"I didn't come to be insulted. Tell me why you're here, or I'm leaving," I sighed, grabbing my purse.
"I want you to turn me in," he stated, not blinking.
It took me a minute to fully comprehend his words. "What?"
"I want you to do it now."
I hesitated, trying to think how this could be a bad thing. "Why do you want this? How could you want to go to prison?"
"There are people looking for me far greater than your little group."
"So hide," I offered. "You've been doing it for the past couple months."
"Bad things are coming, Lily. I'd like to be sitting somewhere heavily guarded when that day comes."
"I don't trust you," my eyes narrowed.
"I want you to call your Uncle. I want you to tell him your exact location. I want him to come put me in handcuffs and take me to my brother."
"Why?" I asked again.
"I've told you."
"But why now? Why draw it out? Why run away from something for so long and then decide to run to it?"
"I can't run forever," he mumbled. I noticed now, how awful he really looked. His eyes were framed in purple, and his skin was even paler than normal. "I need to rest."
"Are you sure?" I asked, a little softer.
"HIV positive."
"No, Loki, that's not- you just say positive. That means something else."
"Oh, well, I am sure, then."
I looked at him, then at the table, and back at him.
Screw it.
I pulled out my phone and speed dialed.
"Phil, I found him."
"Who?"
"Who do you think?"
He gasped. "Give me your exact location."
"That diner a little past my house, the one with the big waffle sign."
"The one you work at?"
"No, the other."
"That's not exact."
I muffled the reciever. "What's this place called?"
Loki whispered, "Pancake Inn."
"It's called Pancake Inn."
"The one with a waffle sign is named after pancakes?" Phil sounded confused.
"That's not as important as the fact that I'm in a diner with a war criminal is it?"
"Good point. The squad is mobile, we're sending seven helicopters, and do you think we'll need a tank?"
"He's not resisting, so I doubt the tank will be necessary."
"Oh, okay. We're sending it anyway."
I hung up the phone and set it on the table.
"I have one last thing to say to you, because there is a good chance that this could be goodbye."
"Shoot."
"Stay away from SHIELD for awhile."
I thought about his reasons for saying something like that. "Why, are you save them from an alien attack and let me die?"
He smiled weakly. "Just wait a few years. They're not quite what they seem right now."
"How so?"
"You'll just have to trust me," he smirked.
"I hope you know that you're only making me want to go back more."
"You'll believe me by tomorrow morning."
I groaned. The last thing I needed right now was another nightmare. "What if I don't go to sleep, ever again?"
"You'll die," he stated.
"That sounds preferable to sleeping right now," I mumbled.
"I'm sorry for that, truly. And for shutting your brain down, trying to drown you, almost throwing you off a building, incriminating you, and well, sending you here. You're quite a special little thing, I believe."
"How sweet."
"I mean it," he said, this time without a smirk.
I didn't respond. I wanted to make some quip about how special is insulting, or once again call him a liar, but I couldn't do it.
A siren sounded outside of the window. This was it.
"Also, the very last thing. We have to make this convincing. I'm taking you hostage."
"Fantastic."
"If I punched you, theoretically, how would you react?"
"I would be surprised, and angry," I said slowly.
"Excuse this then."
He clenched his fist and aimed it straight at my chin. It made full on contact with my bottom lip.
I yelled and swung back at him. My fist hit his nose and he reeled back.
He grabbed my throat and threw me against a wall. "Sorry," he said through clenched teeth. I stayed down, not daring to move.
A loudspeaker sounded from outside the diner. "Come out with your hands up."
The whole of the diner was in hysterics. Everyone was screaming and or yelling their lungs out. "EVERYBODY SHUT UP!" I yelled.
They quieted considerably.
"I have seventeen hostages, including a SHIELD employee" Loki yelled, blood dripping from his nose.
"We don't care.
The diner went hysterical again, as did I this time.
Loki blinked, a little confused. "I thought your agents were precious material."
"We have the means to destroy this entire block, and we will, if you do not cooperate," came the reply.
I felt sick to my stomach.
"Come get me then," Loki said, with a slight wink in my direction.
The guards opened the door, guns pointed.
I crawled towards Loki slowly, remembering what he said about making this convincing.
With a steak knife from the booth above in hand, I grabbed his leg and jabbed the knife into his foot.
He screamed in pain. It went all the way through his foot, piercing top and bottom of his shoe.
The guard at the door fired a tranquilizer straight into Loki's chest. He fell backwards onto me. I caught him, barely.
"Good one," he mumbled, his eyes half closed. "I deserved it," he chuckled.
It was an odd feeling, mixed with pity and sadness, with a sense of triumph and revenge. He was so very sad deep down, and that made hurting him twice as painful.
A group of soldiers ushered the civilians to a giant group of ambulances, even though I was the only one hurt. The medic insisted that I was in shock and needed help with my cracked open face. I didn't fight them, mainly because I could barely register what was happening.
I remember sitting in the back of the ambulance while they poked my lip. I remember the nurse injecting my chin with some very strong anesthesia. My lip tickled a little with every stitch she made. I tried not to think about what she was doing.
"This is the second time I've had stitches since summer," I told her.
"Where else?" she focused intently on my lip.
"My leg," I lifted my skirt a little bit to show her. The line was barely visible through my tights.
"That looks like a nasty one. It looks like it was pretty well done though," she tied off the thread and snipped it. "You're all done. You'll need a prescription, because that is going to hurt like you wouldn't believe when the anesthesia wears off."
I reached for my cell and immediately dialed the one number I knew by heart.
"Lily?"
"Hey, Phil. I'm in an ambulance getting my lip tailored," I sighed.
"Yeah, Emergency Contact #1 already got the call. Have they done it yet?" his voice was surprisingly calm.
"Yeah, they just finished."
"Where are you?"
"About a thousand feet above your exact location."
"Great. Interrogating Loki, I'm guessing?" I sighed, feeling an odd amount of distaste when I thought about SHIELD.
"Oh no, that's all Fury."
"I'm guessing his big brother is here to take care of it, too?"
"Actually, Thor's at your house. I gave him the key."
"Great," I felt a slight wash of panic. "I didn't need working appliances anyway."
"Bruce and Clint and Natasha are on their way, too,"
"Bruce is here?" I suddenly felt terribly nervous.
"They're all here as backup."
"Huh, where was backup when I got punched in the face?"
"Probably in one of the helicopters."
"Do you think SHIELD might've overreacted a little?"
"No, I'm glad we ignored you and sent the tank. Listen, did Loki seem... off, to you?"
"How do you mean?"
"Just different."
Yes, I thought. Absolutely yes. Remorseful and surprisingly kind.
"No," I answered.
"Oh, okay."
"Great. I'm gonna go drop off this prescription and see if I can salvage my microwave."
"Good deal, I'll see you soon."
"Bye."
"Bye."
_-x-_
Yoooooo. So dramatic. I loved getting caught up with Lily's new life as a Catholic waitress that actually talks to her mom.
More is on its way. The final installment will be coming to you very soon.
