That's when the screaming started.
Cecilia didn't move as everyone panicked around her; she would wait with fear of being knocked over by scared guests, plus she wanted to know what happened to the body. Was it ritualistic or plain boring murder? But it seems fate had another plan, "M' lady!" someone yelled in English though their accent was strong, pulling her by the elbow and into the crowd. "This way,"
The man, as the voice was male guided her though the panicking crowd, while she gripped her cane and hem of her dress to prevent her from falling, though her mind still lingered on the stranger and what had just occurred. "Steps, M' lady!" the man yelled over the crowd. Guiding her down the steps while people ran pasted.
Fresh air hit her face as the pair made it into the open, he continued to guide her into the street when the sounds of sirens and explosives attacked her ears. "Keep moving M' lady! We're not safe"
"Thank you," she stated as he pulled her along to keep moving. "I'm afraid I don't know you name"
"Liam, M' lady I was going to talk to you later on in the evening about a book but..." the man sighed, then tensed upcoming to a sudden stop.
"Liam?" she questioned just as a booming voice echoed throughout the streets of Stuttgart.
"Kneel before me!"
"Liam, we need to keep moving" she stated calmly. Unknown to her an illusion of Loki stood between them and freedom.
"I said, KNEEL!" a voice echoed about the area.
"Lady please kneel, I fear for your life" Liam tugged on her arm, she frowned slightly pulling her arm out of the man's grip – no one should ask a lady to kneel in a dress when they demand what sort of gentlemen was, he?
"lady oak-"
Liam's voice drifted off as he watched the women in black before him – step though the bright image of Loki, "Liam I need you to trust me, there is no one before you"
But the man was too terrified of the illusion before him to move as he knelt to the ground. Cecilia frowned as the man didn't follow her, nor did anyone for that matter. She may be blind of sorts but she knew her reality well, and there wasn't anything blocking their path – yet why they were not moving, better to move than be slaughtered like vermin.
Now who was this new player in the game?
"Is not this simpler? Is this not your natural state? It's the unspoken truth of humanity that you crave subjugation." As the stranger spoke, in what appears to be prefect English? No German? Or was a dead language few still spoke? She wasn't sure as the man's dialect drifted to her ears. She listened to the whispers of shadows they told her of the illusions surrounding the crowd and of the air craft closing in.
With a small sigh she took a seat by the stone steps intrigued. Was this the man Mister Fury was after? It all pointed towards him, yet she wouldn't know for sure till the ship got here – hopefully no one perishes beforehand. She rather not uses her abilities without reason in front of all these people. After the last incident she realised that it was more frowned upon murder and more easily tranced, by people filming almost everything...
It seems her and her kin would need to step up their game.
"The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power, for identity. You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel"
She could feel the humour drain away from the stranger as an old aging male stood up, "not to men like you"
"There are no men like me"
"There are always men like you" she nodded in agreement at the stated, histories – stories of men after power and doing whatever to attain it, she had met many men like acting him in her time. And a few women too.
"Look to your elder people," the stranger stated as he raised his strange staff, she could feel something – a power emitting from it. She readied her shadows, the darkness coiling around her and coiling thought the crowds of people like a snake. "Let him be an example..."
She gave a tug on the stranger's robes, causing him to fire off – missing the target. Not that she needed to – as a figure dropped down deflecting the blow. She stayed still; head cocked as she felt eyes on her for a moment.
"You know the last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing above everybody else we ended up disagreeing" an American voice stated.
"The soldier, a man out of time."
It seems Captain American had joined the party. "I'm not the one who of time" he said as a ship hovered in the just. "Loki, drop the weapon and stand down"
Soo it was Loki, the god of mischief – the one fury was after. Now was he truly a Norse god or a copycat? Soon enough the fight broke out. Though Cecilia wasn't interested it such matters, she stayed on her perch helping the captain out not that he realised with a little tug here and a push there with the darkness of night to help her.
Though it wasn't until tony stark joined the party with his deafening music did Loki admit defeat. Did he want to get caught? Cecilia frowned at the thought, as she slowly walked up to the air shuttle that had landed. The man, Loki in handcuffs. "Hey lady, you need to go elsewhere, official business only" Stark's arrogant voice interrupted her thought.
"Oh, I know." She gave the man a small smile, "Nice to see you again agent Romanoff"
The red head looked up, "Cecilia, fury told me you were joining us, didn't think it would be soo soon"
"Wait, what?" both stark and Steve commented, staring at the women before them confusion written on their faces. "Get on and we will explain, Lady oaks"
The lady nodded, taking the women's out reached hand as she led them onto the ship, leaving the gapping men behind. "We sent an agent to grab your belongings,"
"Thank you," she nodded before taking her attention to Loki, who sat opposite her, not that she could see his curious expression on his face as he studied her. "Now why did you interrupt my lovely evening?" she asked, not expecting a respond.
"Now can someone explain why downtown abbey is here?"
She didn't bat an eyelid at the name calling, "Lady Genevieve Cecilia Oakes, Pleasure to meet you Tony Stark, Steve Rogers. I heard lots of things about you"
"And I haven't heard a thing about you" countered stark.
"I'm not surprise as I do enjoy my privacy" she responded sending him a small smile. A smile that said she knew more then you, and it irritated the clever man.
"She here to help us find the tesseract"
"She's blind, no offence. But there's not much you can do" stark grumbled.
"On the contrary..." a smooth British voice cut though the tension, in a language she still couldn't quite place, "she can do more you think…."
"Okay reindeer games, not the time"
"Boys" her voice cut though the whatever augment that was brewing, "whatever the reason, now is not the time for this pointless chatter"
Natasha concealed a smirk at the boy's scolded expression as her tone. Needless to say, the topic of her being her was soon dropped though not forgotten, leaving the god to scan her. She sat still like a statue; back straight hands folded in her lap. Despite the recent panic, not a hair was out of place and her dress fitted her like a glove, a lady in a war. How interesting.
And the way she moved, there was something ethereal about each movement graceful with meaning that he knew from being in the Asgardian court took years to perfect.
Her head was forward, but he could tell her mind was elsewhere… where he didn't know. The dark shades covering her eyes – perverting him from eyeing her eye colour; and the blind cane resting by her side just added to the blind character. He was surprised, when he noticed the tendrils of power rolling off her during his fight – Clint had told him of her powers and her name, it had been a long time since he met someone of the Oakes family, where they even the same ones he'd met in his younger years? If they were of the same family, they could very well be as old as the Asgardians but he doubted. Of the bits that he knew about, about how she could have ended the fight in a signal moment. How far could her power go? And why didn't she?
A rumbled of thunder snapped him out of his thoughts, his pale face draining of blood as he realised what was about to come.
Cecilia listened as the others talked, she could tell that tony was getting on the captains' nerves though he was doing an okay job at hiding it – must be the soldier in him. She was in a strange situation, never had she imaged she'd met one of the Norse gods her family always talked about. How much one misses out on while visiting someone else. All she needed now was a cup of tea to finished her day.
There was a rumble of thunder before a clap of lighting deceased on them. The storm appearing out of nowhere, as usual the constant stream of whispering shadows lulled words into her ears as the god before her shifted uncomfortable – something which the men on aboard noticed.
"What's the matter? Are you scared of a little lighting?" The captain guessed.
"I'm not overly fond of what follows" the god of mischief stated
"It seems we have a visitor" she sighed, wishing for a good warm cup of tea or wine or even some old fashion spiced mead.
The lady only had a slight addiction problem when it came to tea… nothing made the day better without a cuppa.
The men exchanged confused glances before something crashed into the ship, Cecilia remained seated, still as the lighting frizzled around them, there was a moment of silence before the men sprang into action getting on their helmets…
Not that it would help them, the stranger who she had put as Thor due to the hammer he willed (she had heard lots of information from her brother about the hammer) and the fact lighting was going haywire around them, quickly knocked both men over and grabbed Loki before jumping out of the plane.
"And now there's that guy"
"Another Asgardian?" Natasha asked from the pilot seat.
"That's guys a friendly?"
"Doesn't matter" tony stated, as captain Rogers got to his feet. "If he frees Loki or kills him, the tesseract's lost."
The metal man turned to walk towards the exit, "Wait! We need a plan of attack!" captain shouted.
"I have a plan. Attack."
No sooner as tony jumped out the plane, the captain grab a parachute and followed him with the words, "there's only one god and I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that"
Leaving the group sat in the plan in silence. Cecelia sighed, getting to her feet leaving her cane wherever it laid. "Boys" she muttered with an exasperated sigh, if she could roll her eyes at the alpha antics, she would but alas she couldn't.
"Lady Oakes?" Natasha questioned wearily, questioned about the women actions as she dusted off her dress and walked towards the open doorway a black umbrella growing out of the shadows by her feet.
"Lady I woudn-" the red heads words drifted off as the lady stepped out of the plane.
The wind wiped at her face as she plummeted to the ground at a quickening rate. Putting the umbrella below her she opened it out, instantly feeling the push of wind against it, but she paid no heed soon she wouldn't feel the wind at all.
Her feet were the first to touch the inside of the umbrella in the cluster of shadows, the shadows swallowing them and the rest of her legs as she sunk into the shadows. Soon enough all that remains was a large black brolly that drifted on the stormy wind. If you had looked close enough, one would have caught the glimpse of black lines beginning to form from the tips of her fingers travelling up her forearms, if you could spot the patterns fast enough as she disappeared into the shadows of the brolly.
Loki lay against the boulders watching the fight below him a grin on his face. Which only widens at a presence that appeared behind him. "Aren't you going to stop them?" he asked.
"Now why would I want to get in the middle of that?" Cecilia answered, settling on a rocky perk besides the god. "Might as well let the boys be boys"
He turned his head toward the woman, "and why is a lady out in all this?"
"Wasn't that obvious, to clean up the messes of man" she sent him a small sly smile. "It would be a shame for you disappear under our watch"
"I was never under your watch" Loki smirked.
Cecilia pondered a moment, before turning fully toward the dark-haired god. She pushed her shades down, giving the man a full view of her stormy orbs. "Sometimes it's better not to watch with our eyes, Prince loki"
Loki stared at her white stormy orbs, they looked like the stormy clouds- greying and white whirling clouds in the sky. Surprisingly the darkness seems to help him see every detail in her eyes. Thought she had no irises or pupil it didn't unnerve him in the slightest. "You are a descended of the Oakes family."
"Maybe, maybe not, but I'm glad you remember the name after all this time"
"How could I not? Your family served the best tea"
"Speaking of tea." The female muttered, her shadows shifting to reveal a small tea set, "green, herbal, grey earl or the Oakes special?"
"Oakes special of course," the man stated, one eye on the women another on the fight below – it seems the captain had joined the fight.
"Can you be a dear and heat the water?"
Loki absentmindedly waved a hand over the tea pot heating the water up as he did so. It took only a moment for her to brew the tea and pass him a small china cup – well her shadows passed him the cup. The pair descended into silence drinking the special tea as the fight below them progress.
It ended with a mighty blow the waved echoing across the valley.
Five minutes later the air crafted hovered behind the drinking pair and the three battered men had made their way up to their seated position. "What the hell Downton? what are you doing?" exclaimed Tony pointing the pair silencing drinking tea.
"Drinking tea, watching three grown buffoons fight and doing your job it seems" she countered back without a beat of hesitation.
Loki smirked at the man expression while getting to his feet, gently he took the females hand bringing her to her feet. Something which captain Rogers frowned at, "here let me" he stated pulling her away of the god and leading her to the air craft. The tea set sinking into darkness as he did so.
Loki smirk stayed on his face, when he takes overs, he'd need a powerful lady in his court and one that could easily avoid telling the truth to his face yet not lie. A lady indeed with secrets it seems. The smirk never leaving as he was dragged aboard the small air craft by his adopted brother.
To be continued...
