I suck so much sorry for the wait.
Also heads up - there's like a flashback within a flashback within a flashback in this chapter...I tried to make it clear but it's still kind of messy...hopefully it's not too confusing.
Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Wolf, only Loki.
*FLASHBACK*
"Loki?" Scott called gently. There was no response, and he knocked on the door to her apartment again. "Loki, please." The door swung open slowly, and the teenage girl stared back at Scott impassively. She was wearing sweatpants and a black tank top, and her hair was tied away from her face as usual. Scott pressed his lips together, noting the dark smudges underneath her eyes with concern.
"Come in," she offered, moving aside to allow him to step into the hallway. Scratching the back of his head nervously, Scott stepped over the threshold of the apartment. Loki closed the door, and crossed her arms over her chest as she tilted her head back to look at Scott. She hated being short sometimes.
"Look, I came to say I'm so –"
"You don't have to apologize," Loki cut him off. Scott paused, and noticed with a jolt that she looked uncomfortable too. Not her face – her face was as carefully devoid of emotion as it usually was, but her posture was tense and stiff, awkward. She smiled at him tightly. "I – I wasn't wrong, I don't think. But I shouldn't have yelled, regardless of how angry I was. I'm sorry." Scott blinked, staggered by her apology.
"Oh. Um, it's fine. And anyways, what I also came to do was to tell you that the body's gone. So – you don't have to worry about that, at least." Scott studied Loki's face, a brief suspicion passing through his mind. Had she taken the body? He decided quickly that she hadn't, because the flash of shock across her face was as genuine as any part of Loki's emotions were.
"Gone?" She repeated, clearly startled. She blinked, shaking her head in disbelief. "Wow."
"All of them," Scott clarified. "Someone broke into the animal clinic and took Tracy's body, and Lucas's is missing from the morgue. Someone's – someone is stealing them." Something passed over Loki's face, a sort of realization that Scott didn't understand. He frowned. "What?"
"Nothing," she responded. "Just – confused." Scott hesitated, not quite sure if he believed her or not. If she could sense his doubt, which she probably could, she didn't show it. Her eyes lifted to meet his coolly, and she tilted her head, waiting for a response from him.
"Well," he said, after a long moment of charged silence. "I guess I should go. I'll see you in school tomorrow." Loki nodded, already twisting the doorknob to let him out.
"See you then."
Loki rubbed the back of her neck as she walked into the school building. She remembered her conversation with Scott last night; how he'd theorized that someone was stealing the bodies. Which had made her recall her conversation with Jordan from a few months ago, about a dream he'd been having. No, not just a dream - a recurring one. Was it possible that the two were connected?
It seemed likely, but Loki didn't want to tell Scott about Jordan's dream without first confronting her boyfriend. And she had no idea how to approach this topic to Jordan.
"Loki." Scott's voice jolted the Beta from her thoughts, and she turned towards the other teenager expectantly. He seemed nervous again, even more so than last night. His nerves set Loki on edge as well.
"What's up?" she asked. Instead of answering, Scott handed her a bundle of papers. It was a photocopy of an entire book, one called The Dread Doctors. Loki read the title aloud, and then looked up at Scott in confusion. "You really think this is a lead?" She asked dubiously, flipping through the pages in an absent-minded fashion. Scott nodded.
"I do." He hesitated. "You're not going to like this, but – read the acknowledgements page. In the back." Loki did as she was told, flipping to the end of the photocopy. She read the words, and realized why he was nervous immediately.
"'For providing scientific perspective and invaluable insight…'" Loki's entire body filled with dread as she finished the sentence with a sigh. "'This book is dedicated to Doctor Gabriel Valack.'" Closing her eyes, Loki let her hand fall to her side. She took a deep breath. "I take it we're going to see him?" She asked, voice higher than normal.
"You don't have to come." Scott told her immediately. "Malia's not going, and Lydia's trying to convince Stiles to stay. I just – I wanted to keep you in the loop." Even as he spoke to hastily reassure her, Loki could sense the conflicted longing in his voice. He wanted her to come, but he also wanted her to stay and be safe. She remembered the last time she'd been at Eichen, what had happened…she opened her eyes.
"I can't go back there, Scott," she told him, her voice barely above a whisper. "I can't. I'm sorry." Scott nodded, and he reached out, pulling her into a hug. He kissed her on the forehead, in a manner so familiar to when they were dating that it did the opposite of relax Loki.
"Don't worry about it," he told her.
Malia jump-kicked the Dread Doctor in the chest, and Loki crouched down, swinging one leg out and knocking the Doctor's feet out from underneath him. Shooting to her feet, Loki lifted her fists, but before she could throw another punch, she gasped, and her arms fell to her side. She stumbled backwards, expressing slackening as her mind shot a million miles away.
"Loki!" Malia shouted as the Pathologist stepped forward, easily swiping her friend to the ground. Loki crumpled to the floor, eyes wide and unseeing as she became lost in a flashback.
Growling, Malia stepped in front of her friend's prone body, taking another high roundhouse kick at the Doctor and then swiping him across the chest. Scott pushed himself up from the ground enough to watch his friends fight. His eyes widened when he saw Loki curled on the ground, and his breath wheezed again as panic for her coursed through him. Emotional distress really did not help an asthma attack.
Scott's attention flickered to his mother, who was crouched next to him. His eyes widened when he saw the needle in his hand.
"Wait a minute!" he gasped. "What is that?"
"A bronchodilator," she told him. "Trust me, it will work." At that, she stabbed it into his leg, pressing down to inject the medicine. Scott winced, eyes widening with pain. Melissa turned her head to look at the girl still fighting and at the one on the ground. "Malia, come on!" She shouted from the elevator. "Run!" The Doctor took the were-coyote's moment of distraction and wrapped a hand around her throat. Malia gasped, eyes going wide as the air whooshed out of her lungs.
Chopping her elbow down on the Doctor's wrist, Malia was able to stumble free. Pausing only to grab Loki's arm and pull the girl's limp body over her shoulders, Malia broke out into a run for the elevator car. The Pathologist started after her, but his walk was clunky and slow due to the armor he wore.
As Malia crossed the threshold of the car, Melissa pressed down on the close door button. The teenager's back slammed against the wall, and Loki's body slumped to the side. The Pathologist reached out, and the silver doors slid shut just as his hand started to cross the entryway.
The lights in the elevator flickered as it started to move upwards, and Scott gasped. He glanced from his mother's pale and shocked face to Malia's tense posture to Loki who was curled limply on the ground, eyelids trembling.
"We never should have read that book."
*PRE-FLASHBACK*
A knock on Loki's door pulled her from her studying.
"It's unlocked, Lydia," Loki called. She'd invited the other girl over so that they could continue Lydia's training. The two girls had met three times before, where Loki had just been going over the basics of hand-to-hand combat with Lydia. After having her work with a punching bag for those few times, Loki had finally deemed the other girl ready to move on to actual sparring, much to Lydia's excitement.
"Ready?" Loki asked. Lydia nodded, and Loki led her over to the room closest to the living room. It had previously been Ennis and Kali's bedroom, but Loki had since move all the furniture out and repurposed it as an area to train her friend.
"Now," Loki said, stopping in the center of the room. Of course, when Loki had learned to fight, it had been in a setting far larger than this one, but this room was big enough to allow for the type of fighting that Lydia would be doing. "What's the first thing I told you?"
"Arms up." Lydia replied without missing a beat, dropping her purse on the ground. The photocopied book was sticking out of the top of her bag, and Loki looked away. She nodded approvingly at Lydia's answer instead.
"Why?" Loki prompted her friend to elaborate, and Lydia blinked.
"Um – because it blocks the face and head from attack, but doesn't block line of sight?" She sounded slightly unsure, a tone of voice that was unusual for the strawberry blonde girl.
"Good," Loki approved, smiling. She paused. "Are you sure you're up for this?" Loki asked, suddenly serious. "How are your stitches?"
"Fine," Lydia replied without missing a beat. "I'm ready." Loki vacillated for a moment, making Lydia roll her eyes, and then shrugged.
"Alright. I'll be able to smell the blood, I guess, but I'll pull my punches. No need to tempt fate." Lydia nodded.
"Should I do the same?" She asked, hesitantly. Loki smirked, and then laughed aloud.
"Honey," the werewolf drawled teasingly. "As if you could hurt me." Lydia's mouth dropped open in mock-offense, and then she laughed as well. "One more thing," Loki said, as Lydia raised her arms in front of her face. "Fighting is – all it is is muscle memory." Lydia nodded, absorbing the information silently. Here eyes narrowed as she focused.
Loki let Lydia make the first move. The redhead lunged out, eyes aimed on Loki's shoulder. Despite forcing herself to move without werewolf reflexes, Loki easily twisted away from the other girl's jab. As Lydia's hit fell short she became distracted, and her hands fell from her face. Seeing this and taking advantage of it, Loki sprang forward.
Grabbing Lydia's arm carefully, Loki kicked Lydia behind her knee as gently as she could. The light tap along with Loki's hand pushing Lydia off-balance was enough to make the Banshee fall to her knees - Loki may not have been using a lot of force, but she still had super-strength. Lydia groaned in frustration, and Loki offered her hand to the other girl. Sighing, Lydia took it.
"You okay?" Loki checked, easily hauling Lydia to her feet. She nodded, wincing. "Good. You know what you forgot?"
"To keep my hands in front of my face," Lydia grunted. She sounded displeased, but Loki was smiling reassuringly. She put her hand on Lydia's shoulder.
"It's okay. It just takes time." Lydia nodded, shoulders sagging. Suddenly, she tensed up, whimpering in shock and grimacing. "Lydia!" Loki steadied her friend when she stumbled, and watched anxiously as Lydia's features relaxed again. "Are you okay? What was that?" Lydia's eyes were fixed on the book sticking out of her bag.
"Muscle memory," she breathed. Loki blinked, shaking her head.
"What do you mean?" Lydia sighed, turning around slowly.
"Something Valack said the other night," Lydia told her friend. She began to explain what they'd learned at Eichen. "He told us that the Dread Doctors use electromagnetic forces to give them their powers. Among other things, it makes people forget they ever saw them. Once they read the book…they remember." Loki was silent, and Lydia looked up.
"You saw them," Loki said. It wasn't a question. Lydia nodded.
"During my surgery. But I don't – I can't remember. I need to remember. We all do."
After finishing up, Lydia drove Loki over to Scott's house, where they planned to meet to read the book. As the teenagers gathered around the glass table in Scott's kitchen, they stared at the photocopies and the one paperback copy of the book laying in front of them.
"My mom's book club usually has more wine," Lydia observed.
"Well, they probably also didn't read books that cause violent hallucinations," Stiles muttered. Scott looked at the one person there who had already read the book -Malia.
"That's why Malia's here," he reminded everyone. The were-coyote nodded slowly, her face guarded carefully.
"So none of us go running into traffic," Kira finished. Scott nodded, blinking rapidly as he looked at the table.
"Or worse," he murmured quietly, staring down resolutely.
"Like what happened to Judy," Malia observed. Everyone stared at her in confusion, and she motioned towards the books laying on the table. "Chapter fourteen," she explained. Lydia frowned, picking up the paperback copy and looking at it critically.
"Maybe I should have my mother read it," Lydia muttered, mostly to herself. "She might remember a girl with a tail leaping off the ceiling and attacking everyone."
"If it works," Loki said. She was still dubious of any information that had been received from Valack, even if it was their only lead.
"It has to work," Lydia insisted. "I think I saw them during my surgery." She hesitated. "When I look at the cover of the book, it's almost like…" she trailed off, and Theo picked up the end of her sentence.
"A memory trying to surface." Lydia nodded, her eyes faraway.
"Isn't that what Valack wanted when he wrote it?" Kira asked. Lydia's eyes slid back into focus, and her grip tightened around the book.
"If they did something to me," she said. "I want to know what it is." Sighing, Loki picked up one of the photocopies, flopping down on an armchair in Scott's living room. The other teenagers did the same, settling in to read.
"Too bad there's no wine," Loki muttered sarcastically, flipping the front page over.
After several hours of flipping through the pages, Loki's patience was wearing thin. The book was poorly written and unexciting, and it was somehow making her hate Valack more than she already did.
"Anyone feeling anything yet?" Scott asked. He sounded just as weary as Loki felt, and by the amount of times he'd shifted on the couch in the last minute, he was just as bored.
"Tired," Kira muttered, rubbing the bridge of her nose carefully. She closed her eyes for a long moment, and then opened them again.
"Hungry," Lydia added.
"Irritated," Loki drawled.
"I think he meant the book," Theo reminded them.
"Fine," Loki said, sitting up slightly. "Then I'm irritated by the lack of intelligent prose and interesting plotline in the book." She smirked at Theo, rolling her eyes. He shook his head, turning away, and Loki slumped against the arm of the chair again, faintly wondering to herself why she felt the need to antagonize everybody.
Kira sighed, letting the sheath of papers fall into her lap as she flopped against the couch, closing her eyes. Scott looked up from his own reading, glancing at his girlfriend in concern.
"You're not giving up, are you?"
"Just resting my eyes," Kira responded. Her voice was thick with exhaustion, and she cracked her eyes just long enough to turn the lamp beside her off.
Theo glanced around the room. Everyone was asleep, sprawled across the floor and couches. Loki had been the last to drift off, but now even she was unmoving, her breath even and slow. Kira had moved into Scott's room, so after being sure that no one would notice his absence, Theo stood up and walked away. He didn't notice that at the quiet whisper of his feet against the ground, Loki's eyes snapped open immediately.
Squinting her eyes to see better, Loki watched as Theo padded out of the room and up the stairs. Rising slowly, Loki followed him, her feet falling soundlessly against the ground. She wasn't exactly suspicious of Theo the way Stiles was, but his walking around Scott's house in the middle of the night bothered her a little.
Theo walked down the hallway to Scott's room, and placed his hand on the doorknob. He began to twist it very slowly, like he was afraid of being heard. Or, maybe, Loki reminded herself, like he didn't want to wake anyone up.
"Looking for something?" Loki called causally. Her voice was low, but Theo still jumped. He whirled around, his hand slipping of the knob as he turned. His eyes were wide with shock.
"Loki!" He exclaimed, surprised. "I thought you were asleep."
"Evidently," Loki muttered. She jutted a finger over the shoulder. "Bathroom's right there, if that's what you're looking for."
"No," Theo said, smiling. He felt that he was maybe trying a bit too hard to seem easygoing, but he couldn't help it. Loki was too perceptive – it made him nervous. "I thought I'd check on Kira," he continued. "She seemed a little…."
"Out of sorts?" Loki finished. She nodded, agreeing with him. "Yeah, I thought so too." Shouldering past Theo, she pushed the door open, leaving the Chimera with no other choice but to follow her into the room.
The door creaked slightly when Loki opened it, but Kira was deeply enough asleep that she didn't notice. The Kitsune lay sprawled across the bed, over the covers, her mouth moving as she muttered to herself in quietly. The copy of the book lay next to her.
"She's talking in her sleep," Loki muttered as they moved towards her. She glanced at Theo, eyebrows furrowed. "In Japanese."
"What's she saying?" Theo asked.
"How should I know?" Loki responded. She walked over to Kira, hesitantly reaching a hand out as if to wake her.
"Wait," Theo said, grabbing Loki's arm and pulling her back from the other girl. She shot him a look, confused.
Kneeling down, Theo moved slowly, as not to wake Kira. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and switched on the recording app, holding the microphone right by her mouth. Loki glanced at Theo as he did so, and was surprised by his facial expression. His eyes were dark and empty looking, in such a way that it sent a chill down Loki's spine.
"So, while introducing the African Cane Toad sounded like a good way to deal with Australia's infestation of the grey-backed beetle, unfortunately the toad also happened to eat everything else in sight." Mrs. Finch was lecturing the class the next day at school, teaching them about invasive species.
"Loki." She turned her head to the side, Theo's low murmur catching her attention. She raised an eyebrow inquisitively, and he jutted his chin forward. Loki followed his gaze, and saw Sydney in front of her. The girl was scratching her head.
Raising her eyebrows, Loki nudged Lydia. The Banshee looked up, and Loki nodded towards the girl sitting in front of them. Lydia frowned, pulling her phone out so she could text Theo. Loki dropped her gaze to her notebook, taking notes on Mrs. Finch's lecture half-heartedly while the two girls waited for his response.
Lydia's phone buzzed, and she tilted the screen so Loki could see.
Theo: Look at her hair.
Loki looked up again, and saw that when Sydney removed her hand from her head, a clump of brown hair was coiled in her hand. The girl's heartbeat spiked, and the smell of her anxiety and fear was so potent and unexpected that Loki almost gagged.
Without warning, Sydney rose from her seat. She scooped up all her things, and walked to Mrs. Finch's desk. The teacher paused from her lecture and watched silently as Sydney placed one of the course drop forms in the wire wicker basket.
"Wise choice, Sydney," Mrs. Finch said, not unkindly. Sydney didn't respond, but bowed her head and rushed from the room. Her heart was still pounding. Lydia rose from her seat sharply, her intent to follow the girl clear. "Lydia!" Mrs. Finch called, making the Banshee stop short. "You know it's for the best."
Lydia hesitated briefly, but didn't answer. She ran out of the room after Sydney.
A scream split the silence in the classroom as Mrs. Finch handed back their quizzes. Loki froze from where she was putting her paper away, one hand trembling over her folder. She shot to her feet, shoving her chair back and running for the door.
Following the source of the noise with Scott and Theo just behind her, Loki burst into Mrs. Martin's office. In her haste, she almost tripped over Lydia, who was sprawled across the ground. Her eyes were fixed on the ceiling, wide and unseeing. Sydney was kneeling next to her. The girl's eyes were wide with panic.
"I don't know what happened, she just collapsed." Sydney's voice was trembling.
"It's okay," Loki said soothingly. "We'll stay with her. Can you find her mom?" Sydney nodded, and shot to her feet, rushing out of the room. When Loki turned back around, Lydia was already slowly coming back to herself. She squeezed her eyes shut and then opened them, blinking a few times as if to clear her vision.
"Lydia," Scott said, his voice calm and steady. "Are you okay?" Lydia closed her eyes again, and didn't answer. Her hand was trembling against the ground, and Scott covered it with his own, squeezing it comfortingly.
"I'm okay," she murmured. She blinked her eyes a few times as if to clear them. "I'm fine."
"You remembered something," Theo noted. He leaned forward, over Scott's shoulder. Lydia nodded, and then shook her head.
"Not about the Dread Doctors," she whispered. "Nothing about them or the surgery." Loki frowned, offering her hand to Lydia to pull her up off the ground.
"What was it, then?" She asked the other girl as she and Scott helped Lydia into a chair at the near by table. Lydia was still trembling, and she clasped her hands together once she was safely in the seat.
"My grandmother," Lydia replied, taking a shaky breath. "At Eichen House." As usual, Loki grimaced at the mention of the place. Before the Banshee would expand on her memory, her mother burst into the room, looking frantic. Her eyes fell on her daughter, but the relief when she saw her awake was quickly quelled by her distress at the situation.
"Lydia!" Mrs. Martin cried, rushing over to her daughter. "Lydia, oh my god. What happened?" She knelt in front of her daughter, touching her face gently. "Are you alright?"
"Mom, I'm fine," Lydia insisted, voice low. "It was nothing."
"Was it a blackout?" her mom pressed, ignoring her daughter. "Did you faint?" Lydia hesitated, staring at her mom. She nodded slowly.
"Yeah. Yeah, I fainted." Her mother frowned in concern, gently stroking Lydia's hair. She seemed unconvinced. Lydia closed her eyes, looking slightly impatient. "Mom, I'm fine. I promise."
Theo entered the locker room and found Scott sitting on one of the benches. He was turning the asthma inhaler Liam had given him over in his hand, examining it closely. The Alpha was still surprised that he'd had an asthma attack, after all this time. He was slowly convincing himself that it was just a side effect of the flashback, but still.
"You gonna be okay?" Theo asked the Alpha as he opened his gym locker. He wanted to tell Scott what had happened with Kira last night before Loki did, and now seemed like the best chance. Scott looked up, and forced a smile. He nodded once.
"Yeah. I think it was just the memory hitting me," he said, not sounding completely certain of this theory. "Psychosomatic thing." Theo nodded. "Did you want to talk about something?" Scott asked, picking up on Theo's hesitation.
Deciding to play the role of a concerned friend, Theo shook his head and slammed the locker door shut. He smiled at Scott reassuringly.
"No. It can wait." Scott shook his head.
"No. No, it's okay. You can tell me." Theo pretended to deliberate for a second longer, and then nodded, pulling his phone out of his pocket and sitting down across from Scott.
"Last night, you guys all fell asleep – except Loki." Scott rolled his eyes, unsurprised that Loki still wasn't sleeping. "We went to check on Kira. She was sleeping, but…" Theo trailed off, trying to figure out how to phrase his next words without sounding insane. Before he could speak again, Scott leaned closer, interest piqued. He could guess what Theo was about to say.
"You heard her speaking Japanese?" Scott guessed, eyes wide. Theo nodded.
"I didn't just hear it." He held his phone up and hit the play button. Kira's voice filled the silence of the locker room, her slurred Japanese words sounding exhausted and familiar.
"That's what she said at the club," Scott recalled. He looked at Theo, a crease of worry in between his eyebrows.
"I found a website that can translate it," Theo said. He paused, like he didn't want to say more, and Scott's eyebrows furrowed deeper. Theo sighed. "It means, roughly, 'I am the messenger of death.'" Scott bent his head down, blinking his eyes rapidly. He gripped the edges of the bench like he was trying to anchor himself, and nodded his head.
"Something's happening," he muttered, almost more to himself than to Theo. "Something's happening to her. She's got this aura around her…it's hard to explain." Scott glanced up at Theo, swallowing hard, struggling to keep his emotions in check. "Um…it's supposed to be part of her. But now it looks different. Like…it's almost like it's trying to take over her. I don't know. Something's happening." Scott paused, staring at the ground. "And to be honest…" he trailed off, unsure if he should say the thought that had been plaguing his mind forever.
"What?" Theo pressed. Scott looked up.
"I don't know if I can trust her anymore." As Scott's words sunk into the heavy silence of the locker room, the lights flickered. Startled, both teenagers turned their attention to the ceiling, watching the overhead lights in the room flash on and off as they'd been doing all day. After a few seconds of wavering light, the lights in the room turned off completely, plunging the two werewolves into shadowy darkness.
"Scott?" Loki called down the empty, dark hallway of the high school. "Scott, where are you?"
"Here, Loki." His disembodied voice echoed slightly, and Loki's shoulders tightened as she jogged down the hallway to meet him and Theo. As she slowed to halt in front of them, Malia descended down the staircase just to the left.
"Where's Kira?" Scott asked, puzzled by the were-coyote's solitude.
"Still at the library," she replied as the four teenagers began to walk down the hallway. "Stiles and Lydia are at the hospital."
"Doing what?" Theo asked.
"Lydia's trying to figure out what happened during her surgery," Malia told him.
"How long are they going to be there?" Loki asked. She had to quicken her pace to keep up with the taller teenagers' longer legs.
"They said they're just waiting for the power to come back on." At that, Scott paused, turning to Theo with wide eyes. Theo nodded, clearly understanding whatever message the Alpha was trying to convey. The message that Malia and Loki weren't getting.
"What?" Both girls asked at the same time.
"We have to get to the hospital," Scott muttered, breaking into a run. Theo followed him immediately, but Malia and Loki paused to give each other a bewildered and slightly irritated look before following.
"Scott!" Loki called, as she jogged after him. "Scott!" He turned around, raising his eyebrows impatiently as he continued to walk briskly towards the exit. "What's going on?" She asked him seriously. Without answering, Scott pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it to her.
Loki took it from him, confused. Malia leaned over the other girls shoulder as they peered down at the picture displayed on the screen. It was a bunch of cables that had been cut; the sparks flying the exposed wires clear even in the photo.
No, Loki realized slowly, not cut. The wires had been chewed through.
The four teenagers burst through the entrance of the hospital, and once they were inside the building, slowed their pace to a less conspicuous speed. Scott turned around so he was facing his friends.
"You guys try to find Stiles and Lydia," he ordered. "I'm going to find my mom." The four split up. Loki picked a random corridor and starting down it in search of her friends. It didn't take her long to determine that neither of them had been that way in a while, and she switched directions aimlessly. As she did so, the sound of wheezing hit her ears. At first, she assumed it was just some poor patient, but she then realized there was an edge of familiarity to the wheezing.
"Scott," she realized, her breath hissing as she exhaled. Spinning around, Loki sprinted through the hallways, ignoring the yell of a random nurse for her to slow down.
"Loki!" Someone else called. A woman grabbed her by the forearms, making Loki turn towards her. It was Melissa. "Loki, slow down. What's wrong?"
"Scott's in trouble," she whispered, urgently. Loki's heart was hammering, and she could hear Melissa's pulse pick up as well at the werewolf's words. The nurse dropped her arms, nodding, and both of them raced towards the elevator door. Loki slammed her finger down on the button, pressing it over and over again, silently begging the elevator to come faster.
As she did so, someone else grabbed her shoulder. Loki knew without turning around that it was Malia. When the dark-skinned girl turned to face her, Malia's eyes were wide.
"I hear it too," she said. As the words left her mouth, the elevator dinged, and all three women rushed in. Loki slammed the button for level two down, and the pressed the close door button.
When the doors opened again, Malia stepped forward. A growl rumbled in her chest as she observed one of the Dread Doctor's holding Scott up against the wall. The Alpha was wheezing, his breath catching in his chest every time he tried to inhale.
At the sight of the two new threats, the Doctor holding Scott tossed him to the side. Loki heard his breath hiss as he hit the ground, and anger filled her. She and Malia roared in tandem, and then rushed forward on an unspoken signal. Melissa followed them, grabbing her son and dragging him to his feet and back towards the relative safety of the elevator car.
Malia jump-kicked the Dread Doctor in the chest, and Loki crouched down, swinging one leg out and knocking the Doctor's feet out from underneath him. Shooting to her feet, Loki lifted her fists, but before she could throw another punch, she gasped, and her arms fell to her side. She stumbled backwards, expressing slackening as her mind shot a million miles away.
"Loki!" Malia shouted as the Pathologist stepped forward, easily swiping her friend to the ground. Loki crumpled to the floor, eyes wide and unseeing as she became lost in a flashback.
Growling, Malia stepped in front of her friend's prone body, taking another high roundhouse kick at the Doctor and then swiping him across the chest. Scott pushed himself up from the ground enough to watch his friends fight. His eyes widened when he saw Loki curled on the ground, and his breath wheezed again as panic for her coursed through him. Emotional distress really did not help an asthma attack.
Scott's attention flickered to his mother, who was crouched next to him. His eyes widened when he saw the needle in his hand.
"Wait a minute!" he gasped. "What is that?"
"A bronchodilator," she told him. "Trust me, it will work." At that, she stabbed it into his leg, pressing down to inject the medicine. Scott winced, eyes widening with pain. Melissa turned her head to look at the girl still fighting and the one on the ground. "Malia, come on!" She shouted from the elevator. "Run!" The Doctor took the were-coyote's moment of distraction and wrapped a hand around her throat. Malia gasped, eyes going wide as the air whooshed out of her lungs.
Chopping her elbow down on the Doctor's wrist, Malia was able to stumble free. Pausing only to grab Loki's arm and pull the girl's limp body over her shoulders, Malia broke out into a run for the elevator car. The Pathologist started after her, but his walk was clunky and slow due to the armor he wore.
As Malia crossed the threshold of the car, Melissa pressed down on the close door button. The teenager's back slammed against the wall, and Loki's body slumped to the side. The Pathologist reached out, and the silver doors slid shut just as his hand started to cross the entryway.
The lights in the elevator flickered as it started to move upwards, and Scott gasped. He glanced from his mother's pale and shocked face to Malia's tense posture to Loki who was curled limply on the ground, eyelids trembling.
"We never should have read that book."
*DREAD DOCTOR FLASHBACK*
Loki opened her eyes slowly, and panic coursed through her body. What the hell was she doing at Eichen House? Loki turned around, trying to make sense of her surroundings. She was in the parking lot…the old parking lot. Before it had been remodeled.
"What the hell?" Loki muttered to herself. Her words sounded weird, echoing in her own head when she spoke.
Loki's eyes fell on a car to her right. It was pulling into a parking space and – wait. She knew that car. Heart rate quickening, she jogged over and watched, eyes wide as Kali stepped out of the driver's seat. Ennis was already out of the car, and opening the backdoor for Deucalion.
Loki blinked rapidly, watching as the three Augmented Alphas walked towards the building. After a moment of shell-shocked confusion, Loki followed them, slowly realizing what was happening. This was a flashback, it must be.
By the time she reached the inside of Eichen, Deucalion was standing at the front desk. Kali and Ennis stood behind him silently. Deucalion was the mastermind; they were the bodyguards.
"Hello," Deucalion greeted the receptionist at the desk. He smiled at her pleasantly enough. "I'm here to visit a patient."
"Sign in for me, please," she told him, pointing towards the pen. Deucalion cleared his throat, and tapped his cane pointedly. Her cheeks flushed as she realized her mistake. "I'm – I'm so sorry," she stammered. "If one of your companions could – "
"No, that won't be necessary." Deucalion smiled coldly, and Kali stepped forward. Her eyes flashed red and she parted her lips just enough so that the receptionist could see Kali's fangs. "We're here to visit the werewolf known as Loki, you understand?" He said, his voice still conversationally light. The receptionist's eyes narrowed, and her demeanor did a one-eighty.
"I'm afraid Miss Elizabeth Carter is not allowed the privilege of visitors," she said haughtily, straightening her shoulders. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
"That won't be necessary," Deucalion responded. He turned, as if to resign without a fight, but Loki knew that that wasn't what was happening. The minute Deucalion turned around, his fingers plucked at the end of his cane, revealing the sharp blade he kept concealed there.
Whirling around in one swift motion, the sharp blade whistled through the air. The receptionist didn't even have time to gasp before she slumped over, the blood from her throat pooling onto the keyboard and desk in front of her. Her death was so quiet that no one came running - no one even glanced over. No one would realize for almost twenty minutes, and that was more time than the three Alphas needed.
Pulling a handkerchief out of his pocket, Deucalion wiped blood from the sharp tip of his cane. "Now," he said, replacing the cover and sweeping the cane across the ground. "Shall we?"
Loki followed the Augmented Alphas down the hallway. Any opposition they met was taken out cleanly and quickly by either Kali or Ennis, and before long they arrived at an all-too-familiar cell.
Loki looked through the window of the lockup, and suddenly, she was in it. One minute she was looking in at herself hanging from the manacles, and the next, there she was. Loki lifted her head instinctively, watching Ennis twist the knob off the cell. The three Alphas stepped into the small space observing the young girl in front of them.
"Loki," Deucalion greeted her. "That is what you like to be called, is it not?" There was no response, and the young teen closed her eyes. Ignoring her lack of answer, Deucalion continued. "Well, well. I've heard a lot about you." He surveyed Loki with a power-hungry look, one that Loki had been too young and too scared to notice at the time. But she noticed it now. "Someone with power like you shouldn't be locked up here," he told her, his voice soft. "Someone this young shouldn't be locked up here." He rested a hand against one of her chains and yanked, hard.
The chain snapped, and Loki's breath hissed as her entire body weight fell on the other two manacles, causing dull pain to radiate through her arms. Without hesitation, Deucalion snapped the next two chains, and suddenly Loki was on the ground, able to move her arms for the first time in months. She blinked in surprise, stretching her arms out in front of her in wonder.
Deucalion knelt down next to her. "Is that better?" He asked, and she nodded, smiling for the first time in years at her savior. Her breath hitched as an alarm outside started to blare, and shouts and footsteps filled the hallway outside, but Deucalion didn't even flinch. "Kali, Ennis. Take care of that." Loki watched as the other two werewolves left immediately, and listened as the terrified screams and menacing growls filled the hallway instead.
"Loki," Deucalion said, reclaiming her attention. "You've been on your own a long time, haven't you?" Loki nodded slowly, lowering her head. "An Alpha that's an Omega," he mused. Loki's muscles tightened, having heard the jibe way too many times before. But there was no malice in his tone, only clinical observation. "Would you like a pack, Loki? A…special pack," he continued. "An Alpha Pack." He fell silent, and after a few minutes Loki realized that he was waiting for a response. It had been too long since she'd had a conversation with someone.
"I – " She coughed, her voice rusty from lack of use. "I don't want to be alone anymore," she managed thickly. Deucalion nodded, smiling at her gently.
"What would you do for me," he asked, carefully. "If I got you out of here? If I made sure you wouldn't have to be alone ever again?" Loki's mind turned over and she watched as Kali and Ennis stepped back into the room. She saw the blood gripping from their claws, and her stomach turned over. She'd promised herself she'd never kill, ever again.
But she was stupid and young and scared enough to convince herself that that wasn't why Deucalion wanted her. That it wasn't for her power, but because he thought she deserved better. That he didn't want her as an asset, he wanted her as a packmate. The pause was heavy in the room, and Loki's quiet, young voice broke the silence when she answered Deucalion's question.
"Anything."
*END*
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