Hi guys! New thrilling chapter for you! Enjoy and review if you like!
xx
L.
CHAPTER 2
Lisa was gaping at him quite in shock. "You teamed up with the Avengers!"She repeated.
Loki nodded, in response, absolutely not impressed.
"Your bewilderment is really offensive". He replied bitterly. "We were unarmed and badly outnumbered. That was, by far, the most logical choice."
Lisa began to twist a lock of hair around her finger. She used to do it every time she felt nervous.
"Sorry", she murmured , "it's just that... I can't help thinking about New York and the Destroyer." She justified herself.
Loki sighed. "That was the past - he replied pretty bothered- "and the Destroyer was only a way to show my power. "
"As for New York, he continued, choosing carefully his words, It was- let's say I was not properly at my best." He cut out, giving no further details."
Catching his displeasure, Lisa did not dare say more and for a handful of seconds , none of them spoke , letting the room be filled with the heavy silence of the night.
Loki looked weary. His dark-blue leather suit was ripped in many points and his boots were covered in dust and dirt. He was sitting on the floor, his back leant on the wall and his arms crossed on his chest. His breathing was slow and calibrated and a thin, long cut run through his left eyebrow. His red- rimmed eyes were closed like he was sleeping. He seemed so different from the man she had seen in the news, so weak, so terribly... human.
Lisa watched him with curiosity and suspect , completely incapable of foreseeing his next move. She had many unsolved questions to ask him and yet, there was something disturbing in him that kept holding her back.
Then, out of the blue, as if he could read her mind, he spoke again.
"Five minutes". He muttered, without moving. "Give me just five minutes and I'll tell you what you want to know."
~•~•~•~
As Loki talked, Lisa listened to him, paying attention to every single word he uttered. Only when he paused, she realised how hard it had to be for him to bring those memories back.
"He was standing opposite me", Loki went on after a short while, ready to wreck my brother's head if I hadn't given him the Tesseract and so, I did it. I gave it to him. Or at least, this is what I made him think." He added.
For a moment, a faint smirk tore through his lips but it instantly faded .
"We had a Hulk. I thought we could win, but I made a huge mistake." He admitted below his breath.
" How did you escape from him?" Lisa asked in a soft voice
"I let him kill me." He responded, with a slight chuckle.
Lisa raised her eyebrows in awe. "You what?"
The corner of his lips finally lifted in a wider smile. "I tricked him- he explained- faking my death. I let him believe he had strangled me but he had just killed my hologram. One of my best performances, to be honest." He concluded with a grin of gloat.
Lisa smiled back at him, shaking her head, amused and surprised at the same time.
"Did Thor know it was a trick?" She inquired, still smiling.
At those words, Loki suddenly frowned and turned ash- white. His grin completely vanished.
"He did not", he chocked, swallowing hard to hold back the tears.
"I had purposed to come back as soon as Thanos had left but when I did, it was too late." He confessed in a whisper.
"A multitude of slaughtered bodies, This is what I found. Men, women, even children mercilessly burnt and no trace of my brother." A small teardrop trailed along his pointy left cheekbone and seared his pale skin.
Lisa moved from the mattress she was sitting on and came close to him." I'm sure you did all you could do to save them, Loki." She smoothly said.
As she got right in front of him, she bent on her knees and touched lightly the back of his hand.
With a quick jerk, Loki pull his hand back and leaped to his feet.
"I'm not asking for your compassion", he snapped, giving her a surly gaze. "You don't know what you' re talking about, therefore keep your mouth shut." He sullenly ordered her.
That harsh mood swing got Lisa completely unprepared, so, when Loki turned his back on her and left the room, she remained baffled and mortified, staring at the open door.
~•~•~•~
The dim light of the dawn, that seeped in through the Venetian blinds, woke Lisa up. She stretched her arms out and almost fell off the mattress as she saw Loki standing ahead of her. He was staring at her, in silence.
"Jeez!" She startled, scrolling a hand down her forehead, " you must be mad!"
"Good morning." He uttered coldly.
"How long have you been awake?" Lisa asked, stifling a yawn. "You could wake me up too." She protested.
"That was not necessary." He answered. His flat tone still betrayed irritation.
Lisa heaved a resigned sigh and pulled herself up. When she turned towards the bedside table to get a hair band, she noticed a clay pot with two white and pink - streaked peonies in it.
In the meantime, Loki had turned his back on her, pretending to focus his attention on a cloud that was floating rapidly in the reddish November sky.
"A peace offering?" Lisa began, hinting at the flowers, with the hope to defuse the tension which had fallen between them. Her words, however, shattered against the wall of silence erected by the god of mischief.
For a few minutes, the squeak of the run-down windows shutters moved by the autumn gust, was the only noise that could be heard. Then, unexpectedly, Loki started to speak, gliding a finger over the fogged window pane.
"The gauntlet was on Asgard. It has been there for centuries since Bronn, Odin's father, brought it as a war trophy. No one has ever known what it was for . Neither have I. Until I met Thanos."
Loki paused and turned again to Lisa. The dark circles around his eyes stood out against his milky complexion.
"You met him?!" Lisa gasped.
"Yes", he answered. "Before I came to New York. He taught me things I could have never imagined. He made me stronger, more powerful. This is why I stole the gauntlet from Asgard and gave it to him."
Lisa's lips parted in disbelief.
"He asked me to conquer Midgard for him and he promised me I could have ruled on it, on his behalf. He was offering me the chance I had been waiting for my entire life, the opportunity to be a worthy king - he explained- therefore I accepted with no hesitation."
Loki gulped hard. His heartbeat throbbing through his temples." They have died-" he rasped, "all of it has happened because of me." He finally managed.
He dared glance at her, ready to receive all her contempt but surprisingly, her expression appeared nothing but pensive.
"Strange..." she murmured.
Loki tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. "What's strange?"
"Not what but who", she replied, "Stephen Strange. Have you ever heard of him?"
Loki shivered with panic and his mouth dried. Nevertheless, he struggled not to lose control.
"I perfectly know that second-rate sorcerer"- he stated haughtily- and I don't see how he could be of any use."
This time Lisa ignored his scorn. "Very well, let's find him first . He will tell us whether he can help us or not." Her tone had never sounded so authoritative. Anyway, Loki did not seem to care.
"Help us?" He retorted sharply. "Are we friends now? Or what, allies maybe?"
Lisa clenched her jaws. Her guts constricted.
"Loki listen, she said, that is not a joke. You said you have known Thanos, this means you can try to guess his moves now . You know how to deal with him. Plus, she went on undaunted, you and Strange have great powers and together you could be the only hope to defeat him and save us all."
Loki chuckled bitterly as a response.
"You have definitely lost your mind." He mocked at her. "Look around you- he hissed- who exactly should we save? There's not a soul here and you talk about safety and hope. Tell me, what game are you playing? You are willing to start a journey to nowhere and yet, you can' t leave your own house, you would like me to save you and yet you' d be ready to shoot me in any moment!" his voice had become loud and stern.
"Do you really think your daughter will come back, you stupid girl? No one will ever come back!" He shouted, beyond his reason.
Lisa was weeping silently in a corner, broken by his cutting remarks.
"How can you be so ruthess ?" She countered in a trembling voice.
Her whole body was shaking too. "Have you ever loved anyone in your life?"
Loki gritted his teeth, bile stung the back of his throat. "Oh shut up!" He snarled, while tears were looming over the edge of his eyes .
"Asgard fallen -he muttered- my people wiped out in a moment, my brother vanished, do you still think I can't understand how you feel?"
"Do something, then." She begged him.
"I would if I could." He answered flatly. If Asgard falls we fall with it. Since you claim you know everything about Norse gods, you should know that too." He scolded her.
"Does it mean you lost your powers?" Lisa inquired, concerned.
"It means I'm a wreck at the moment." He clarified. "It' s over, Lisa. Cope with it." He declared.
"It is not." She replied firmly. "Let's try and find the other Avengers. Probably Thor is still alive. Let's look for them; then you and Strange will make the difference. Both him and you are able to manipulate time and ensnare your enemies' mind and you, Loki, know Thanos and the way he usually operates.
"Your optimism is ridiculous - he poked her- we don't even know if Strange survived the snap and again, I'm too weak."
"Use me." She suggested . "My body, my energy."
Loki raised his eyebrows and busted out laughing.
"I'm not joking!" Lisa flared up.
Loki instantly turned serious. "It's out of the question." He just said.
Lisa shook her head, "you have always used everyone for the most disparate purposes without mercy, without any moral restraint why are you so suddenly conscience- stricken now ?" she prodded him.
"I said no." He repeated.
"Give me a reason." She insisted.
"You are nor mentally nor physically prepared to bear such a burden. You would die and I don't want to be responsible for your death." Loki stated.
"You must be kidding." Lisa retorted gaping at him, in astonishment. "You have killed hundreds of people and now you don't want to be responsible for my death?!" She yelled at him, completely out of control.
Loki grabbed her by the t-shirt and pushed her back against the wall. His eyes plunged deeply into hers, they were blazing.
"Yes, I have killed hundreds of people and I'm still paying for my actions - he hissed through his teeth - that's why I won't do it anymore ."
"You will, if you keep acting like that . Others will die if we don't stop him now!" She told him, getting herself away from his grip. "You know what? -She went on - I volunteer. So that, if something bad happens to me, you won't be responsible for my life or for my death.
"And what about you daughter?" Loki challenged her. "Who will look after her if you die?"
"My daughter will not have a chance if you don't help me, Loki. I still live here armed and always on the lookout, because there' s a army of Chitauri outside there who's constantly searching for survivors, God only knows to do what. If they catch me I'll be doomed. Please- she pleaded with him- you are truly my only hope."
Loki remained quiet for a while, brooding over what Lisa had just said to him.
"Alright, I'll help you". He accepted in the end. "But on my own terms." he added.
"Ok, Let's hear them ."
"First, I will use part of your energy only if I really need it." He began.
"Moreover, if I notice you are suffering my presence, I will instantly leave you. No matter how weak I am.
And last, in the most dangerous situations We must necessarily be apart."
"I think we should be together in the most dangerous situations, she objected, we'll-"
"What you think does not concern me." Loki frostily cut in. "If you want my help, these are my rules. He laconically concluded.