Avengers Assemble
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Complicated Possession
Chapter 12 – Confrontation
Minnie took a deep breath before she entered the throne room. Once again Odin was sat in his chair, he looked tired. She closed the door behind her and ran a hand through her hair as she walked up towards the other end of the hall, her bare feet padding against the stone floor. She must have looked a sight but she didn't care, she was here to find out the truth and, depending on the results of her findings, do something about it. Now she'd drawn attention to her suspicions she could see more flaws in Odin, she could see that his eyes weren't as hard as before. Or they were too hard, she couldn't tell. His skin was more lined with worry but there were perfectly reasonable explanations for that too. His back was straighter and he was more attentive. But they were amidst a war. There were plenty of explanations for his strange behaviour, she just had to discover whether or not she truly believed that they were the correct assumptions.
Loki watched the young girl from earth stride up to him. Her confidence and lack of nerve impressed him. To him she was a child. A mere infant or an insect who would be dead in a blink of his eye in comparison to his lifetime. But she was also something more. Something magical from his brother's beloved world. In her eyes she held a magical spark, rebellion with a touch of courage that warmed his heart with a glow he didn't believe could exist. Yet she made it exist. This earthling child who wasn't quite a child, she was too magnificent to be a child, too majestic. Where Loki may have looked on her as an infant, he changed his judgement. She was his young woman. He had sent the sigil to protect her, and, as long as she believed it was powered by love it would be her lifeline.
The sigil on her wrist burned slightly as it neared its bearer, but the girl it belonged to failed to notice its desire. It was dark magic, spawned through a twisted kind of love that it was unused to and therefore it felt out of place, wrong. It wanted to return to the murky depths of the mind that had once caressed it, cared for it. Instead this mind had betrayed it and sent it to warmth, kindness, compassion. It was an itch that could never be scratched, a cut that would never cease to bleed and a fire that roared for eternity. Forced to be latched to the bringer of hope, whereas it longed to return to its true master, the extinguisher of this very same hope. It felt Loki near, and it wanted to return to him. It was determined to fail its dark purpose.
Minnie had always felt that she was a fair and objective person, but if there was evil behind the throne of Asgard she was determined to seek it out and get rid of it. For the good of the people.
"Minnie Stark! To what do I owe this pleasure? And so late in the evening as well. Surely you should be resting?" Odin's voice escaped from Loki's quivering lips. Excitement and dread filled him all at once. His oddly compassionate feelings for Minnie Stark conflicted with his passionate desire to see her hurt; they constantly battled inside of him like the turning of the tide. And to be left alone with her made them fight fiercer than ever.
"My lord." Minnie bowed slightly as she reached the bottom of the golden steps. Her hair falling in front of her face so Loki couldn't see the confused yet determined glint in her eyes. She managed to mask it before looking up to continue. "I needed to speak with you."
"Speak with me? And say what?" Fear rose in Loki like a boiling lava. He knew that if he didn't keep a cap on this fear then it would explode, probably in the form of rage. Rage that would be inflicted on the very soul he had sworn to protect.
"I have a question. Just one. And I really hope you'll answer honestly. Completely honestly. The way you have one hundred times before if I or Thor would ever ask." Her voice was confident, too confident for Loki's comfort.
But he licked his lips and cleared his throat, he couldn't let something as trivial as emotion betray him now. He raised his chin slightly, to appear more majestic. He prayed to himself that it had worked, something in her eyes said it hadn't yet to her credit her face remained blank. She gave nothing away.
"You may ask me anything." His voice was quiet and he was angry at himself for a moment before he noted a tinge of fear in her own eyes and she licked her own cracked lips. He imagined it must have sounded more threatening to her ears than his own. A simple sentence that could invoke such panic in a young woman's mind. But he remained as stony as her, and she continued their elaborate dance. In a way they both knew that the other person knew the truth, but they were determined to hold out for the longest. It was a desperate competition of ego. His was always strong, the sigil infected her making her stronger and weaker at the same time. It made her more susceptible to her true, raw emotions. This was the biggest weakness a hero could have.
She gathered all her courage before speaking in a barely audible voice which seemed to echo around the hall like a well-kept secret.
"What's my name?"
If Loki had been as clever as his ego suggested, then he would have known the correct answer to this. He would have known the correct answer to this right from her arrival in Asgard and she would never have suspected him in the first place. But he wasn't as clever as his ego suggested, and he had made the terrible error. He called her Minnie Stark.
He only recognised this error now and knew that he couldn't adjust it. He knew it was over, so decided to play a different hand. If he could do what he had planned to do later in the stage of her being here then he could continue. He just needed to convince her of his humanity. She didn't look like she would be easily convinced.
He stood up slowly, not answering her question. Keeping the well-kept secret. She stepped up too, onto the first step. Preparing herself for an imminent battle which Loki knew she would win. He couldn't rely on brawn. He had to rely on his brains.
She stepped up again and the sigil burned more fiercely. But this time it burned for Loki, it weakened his magic and he felt almost forced to return to his true form. Odin melted away before them and Loki, God of Mischief, stood in his place. He almost smiled to himself, she was harnessing the power and using it for good. But if she continued it would grow independent. Even he wouldn't be able to control it.
There was a moment of uncomfortable silence as they stared at each other. Rage burning in Minnie's eyes like her insides were on fire. Fear shadowing Loki's as shadows coiled around his own insides. There was nothing either of them could do, Loki knew that Minnie would be the first to strike. He had to weaken her or she would overpower him. He had magic, but she had laser beams that shot out of her hands, they probably hurt more than him turning into something else.
"I'm sorry Minnie." He apologised in the softest, and most genuine voice he could. He knew it would hurt her, he knew it would only make the sigil stronger. But he had no choice. Reaching out with his magic he touched the sigil. Darting down the steps at the same time to catch her as she doubled over and fell, and clasping a hand around her mouth to muffle her scream. He held her as he waited for the agony to pass.