I do not own Marvel.
Her hands slowly raised and the ice followed her every movement. Stark was watching her from another room with his arms crossed over his chest. She flung her arm forward and the wall was pelted with thousands of sharp ice spikes. Her movements were like an intricate dance as she continued to build the ice shards larger and larger. She was currently training with her ice because Stark wanted her to be able to defend herself. She had honestly never thought of using her ice in such a way as this before, but Tony had told her that since she could create things with ice she should try. She watched as he moved his hands and suddenly a projectile launched itself at her. In her panic she swiped both arms up in front of her, anticipating impact of the projectile but it never came.
When she cracked her eyes open she had created a wall of ice around the front of her without even trying. A smiled broke out over her lips as she pointed to her ice wall and he nodded with a small smirk from behind the protective barrier he had set up. She looked over to see that Loki was also in there and probably had been for some time now, seeing as he was propped up against the wall in the shadows. She couldn't tell what the look was on his face seeing as he had shrouded himself in the shadows, but she hoped he was proud of her for her progress. That was all she wanted from him, for him to be proud of her. it seemed like a silly notion, to have the man she had fallen in love with to be proud of her, but he was already so incredibly strong… she didn't want to be left in his shadow and she didn't want him to think she was weak.
He had always been so standoffish, but she could see that he was changing, whether he knew it or not. She was knocked out of her thoughts by a sudden impact to her side and she cried out in pain as she hit the floor and struggled to look up at the mechanical being that had hit her. she struggled to pull herself up to her feet as it stalked towards her once more. As it slammed its fist down at her once more she jumped backwards, only to be hit by another of the mechanical creatures. She noticed they had begun filing out into the large room in droves. She looked around her and her panic filled her as they began attacking her from all angles. She was hit about three more times before frost began creeping up the barrier separating her from Tony and Loki. One more hit to the face and she slammed both hands to the floor and in an explosion of ice rushed out from her on all sides and encased the mechanical creatures completely.
That was the thing everyone was so scared of her for, her lack of control in her panic… the entire room was encased in ice and there was no way in or out. Loki was now pressed against the glass trying to see anything at all and she made her presence known once more by pressing her hands to the barrier, the blue greyish tone of her skin even surprising her. "Breathe. Remember my questions." He said through the barrier and she nodded as she slipped her eyes shut as she cycled through the questions in her mind. She was safe… she was with him… she was safe… she could feel the warmth returning to the room and she turned to see that the mechanical creatures were returning to their storage room.
When the ice was all melted away, she hit her knees and began panting. She had needed to focus to remove all the ice from the room without flooding it with it melting. It also took its toll on her being surrounded by ice in that way, the reflection of it hurt her eyes and the chill had her going hypothermic. The moment the door opened she was engulfed in a green cloak and pulled from the still ice cold room by someone. When she managed to look up she saw that it was Loki dragging her out of the room. She couldn't understand him sometimes. He seemed to care but had also been avoiding her somewhat ever since the kiss. She couldn't understand if he had really meant to kiss her or if it was on impulse.
A soft brushing of the hair out of her face and he leaned and looked her in the eyes. It was so obvious he cared about her, but she assumed he was having issues coming to terms with it and that was ok. She didn't want to pressure him into a relationship if that wasn't what he wanted from her. she knew he had called things off with Sigyn, but that still didn't mean he was ready for anything new. She could understand that, seeing as he had been with her for who even knows how many years now. She focused on the movement of his lips and she could tell he was talking to her, but his words came out warped and distorted. She slipped her eyes shut and breathed deeply as she felt his warmth ebbing into her form. She knew he was not phased in the slightest by her cold skin, because he had the cold resistance of the frost giants… turned out she didn't inherit that.
She inherited the ice powers but had the inability to control them unless she wanted to freeze herself. More warmth flooded her being and she looked up to see that Tony had begun piling blankets on her. once her internal temperature had reached a normal level, she could understand what they were saying now. They were arguing back and forth and Tony was on the defensive with Loki, who was snapping at him for pushing her so far. She patted him on the shoulder lightly through the thick blankets and he turned to look at her. "Calm down… I'm ok." She whispered and he sighed deeply as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He shook his head and scoffed audibly, calling her an idiot.
She only offered him a small smile and bundled herself further into her pile of blankets. "Syndra, I will be making you some armor to counteract the cold." Tony said and she nodded. She knew she needed something if she were going to be fighting alongside them. He began typing away at his multitude of screens and dragging images around to create something new. She watched how swiftly he moved and styled the armor in its blueprint form. She was smart enough to understand that much about what he was doing. She was in awe at the speed at which he could put something like that together though.
"Are you ok now?" Loki asked her softly and she nodded. He helped her to her feet and sighed as he rubbed his brow. She could tell he was irritated, but not with her.
:-:-:-:
After that little incident in the training room, all he could do was pace back and forth. She almost froze herself for a round of training for Stark. The man was mad for pushing her that way, absolutely insane. He had never seen her use those abilities in that way before, but he also didn't want her to have to, seeing as they could hurt her. He understood that he cared for her, he had understood this ever since he became jealous that Thor had been talking to her as well. Hell, he had even kissed her… he didn't understand why he had done that, but it had felt right in that moment. He was even more confused when she had kissed him back. He knew he felt something for her, but he couldn't stop thinking about how she had described love to him.
He assumed he could possibly have some type of feelings for her, but he wasn't sure if he truly loved her. He had never truly loved anyone but himself and right now he was angry with himself. If he would have taken the hit instead of her, it would only be him down here and she would be living the good life in Asgard doing her paintings. He never wanted her to be down here fighting for her life against some mechanical armed soldier for absolutely no reason. His eyes widened slightly as he looked over to her where she was sitting on the couch talking to Tony as he continued to design her armor for her. they were talking something about how he wanted the armor to be comfortable to her and temperature regulating.
This was his fault, every bit of it. the mechanical armed soldier was most likely his fault too. "Syndra… how long did it take for the man to start attacking you?" he asked and she looked over to him and stared at him oddly, only to tuck a strand of white hair behind her pointed ear and think about it for a moment. Her eyes widened slightly and she turned to him once more and frowned. "I had been here about three months before he started attacking me." She said and he pursed his lips and turned away from her. He had put her in danger once more. He made his way down to Tony's fitness room and began punching the bags he had there. One particularly strong hit sent it flying up and almost off the hooks.
He didn't understand how one woman could be so obsessed with him that she would kill Syndra to get back at him. He had wished for nothing more than for the woman to be happy with someone who could could appreciate her, unlike him. He couldn't appreciate her loyalty and dedication, not like he appreciated Syndra's lack of judgement towards him. She never once thought that he was a horrible person because of what he had done. His eyes slipped shut and a sigh escaped him. Syndra even knew he had been associated with Thanos and didn't judge him for it. she understood why he would seek help to reach his goals, she had told him before that he had sought the wrong type of help, and back then he had gotten angry but now he believed she was right.
She told him how she felt about anything that he had done, but there was no judgement from her, especially not for the destruction of Jotunheim. She believed Jotunheim had needed to be destroyed because there would never be peace with the frost giants. But… Sigyn… Sigyn had told him he needed to associate himself with Thanos, Sigyn had ramped up his madness and influenced his decisions. Telling him he could take over as king and rule while Odin was sleeping. Telling him everything he had wanted to hear to influence him to do all the things he had thought he wanted to do. Sure, he did want a throne back then and he still wanted to prove he could be a good ruler, but things had changed for him and the desire to rule over a nation was waning.
He could only think of one thing that had changed in him and that was who he had spent time around. Syndra only seemed to want the best for him, unlike Sigyn who wanted what had been best for her by being with him. He could understand her anger and refusal to accept that he had moved on from her… They had been married for centuries and he had given in to her and tried to give her everything she wanted but it was never enough. That was the difference between the two. Syndra wanted nothing from him.
He landed another series of hits and grabbed the punching bag and sighed. This was his fault and he needed to do something about it. Sigyn had hired the hitman to kill Syndra and it was all because she was a scorned woman. How she had managed to get him to target Syndra was beyond him and he was furious he hadn't realized there would be some retaliation sooner. Soft fingertips brushed over his armor and he turned to see Syndra was wrapping his cloak around his shoulders once more. His eyes slipped shut as he leaned into her gentle touches, making it easier for her to secure his cloak.
When her fingers dropped away from him, he turned to face her once more and just scanned over her. She looked more human than dark elf or frost giant, but it suited her not having those glaringly prominent cheekbones. Her soft blue eyes were downcast and he wondered why shame plagued them. Her long white hair was pulled back into twin braids that circled across her forehead like a crown and dropped down her back behind her ears. Those little pointed ears that reminded him of the elves from a movie he had watched with Tony, albeit they were fitting on her. those shameful eyes looked back up to him and peered through her long lashes at him.
His eyes slipped shut once more and he sighed as he reached out and placed a hand on her head, to which he patted it gently, eliciting a smile on those lips of hers. The ones that had drawn him in that day and damn near had him not wanting to separate. She was… beautiful. And he supposed that's why he had tried so desperately to talk to her when she was in the cell next to his. That was what had started this whole thing, her beauty had captured his gaze, even when she wore the bangles and her hair was black like his own, her eyes shining like a star in the night sky.
He was captivated by her and her energy.
She was more captivating to him than Sigyn had been and that was saying something. Her arms wrapped around his torso and he looked down at her as she buried her face in his chest. He could hear her sigh and he wondered what could be bothering her. He wasn't one for physical contact, unlike his older brother who was all for contact, but for her he didn't mind it in the slightest. He slowly wrapped his arm around her, the one on her head still sitting right there. "Are you alright?" he asked and she nodded into his chest.
"Why are you hugging me then?" he asked, his tone wasn't sharp, but it was slightly amused. "I thought you could use it." she said and he furrowed his brows at her. It was odd of her to assume her physical contact was needed to calm him, but he wasn't going to admit it had either. She didn't quite need to know that, these feelings he felt for her were still new to him and he wasn't sure how to react to the things she did in this manner. She slowly released him and stepped back away from him, folding her hands together before her and looking up at him with a soft smile.
"I understand, forgive me. You aren't used to physical contact and I apologize." She said and he sighed as he noticed the familiar loss that followed when she usually released him didn't make itself known as she stepped away. A smirk crossed his lips and he reached out and grabbed her by the chin gently. he looked up at him through those long full lashes and his smirk almost faltered. The sultry look in her eyes almost made him falter. She knew what she was doing no matter how cute she was trying to act. She knew she had this effect on him with something as simple as a glance. Her intelligence rivalled his own and she knew it. He leaned forward to where his lips were almost on her own and his smirk never once left his lips.
"Stop playing games with me." He said and a similar smirk crossed her lips as her appearance changed into that of Sigyn. He had known that it wasn't really her from the moment she had stepped away from him and he didn't feel that loss. Syndra's touch always held a loss to him and he couldn't explain it. Sigyn never got to touch him and she knew it was because he couldn't stand her personality, and her energy she emanated selfishness. He despised her selfishness now, even though back then he had admired her for everything she did for him, he realized now it was because anytime he got what he wanted so did she.
"What brings you out here?" he asked curtly and she circled him like a predatory animal stalking prey, which she should know better than. He was no prey to her and never would be. "You've become soft, great Loki." She said mockingly and he scoffed at her. She was just trying to get under his skin now, but he knew better than to let her. He knew she was just here to taunt him and get him riled up but he was just going to let her do as she pleased as long as she didn't try to harm Syndra while she was here.
"Why are you trying to have her killed?" he asked and she feigned ignorance as she continued to circle him, brushing her fingers over his shoulders and down his chest. Just… touching him all over because she knew that her touch annoyed him to no end. She finally stopped circling him and she placed her hands on her hips as she looked him over once more. He had shown nothing to her as she had done everything to annoy him, but he wasn't going to show her she had bothered him. He was better than that.
"Because she stole you away from me." She bit out and he crossed his arms over his chest as he shook his head. "You ran me away from you. She had nothing to do with me leaving you. You sat there day after day whispering in my ear, telling me what I should do like I was your little puppet. I grew weary of being controlled from the sidelines." He said and the look of shock that crossed her features said she hadn't realized he was now aware of all her little spells and her little encouraging words that whispered he wasn't normal. That he was something much different than the other Asgardians. Her little conniving voice telling him he could be greatness and that his talent was being ignored. He knew all about her tricks now and was fed up with them.
"I never would have done any of the things that had gotten me locked away if it weren't for you vying for a throne as a queen. What would you have done then? Killed me to take it for yourself?" he asked and she fisted her hands by her side. He was getting under her skin now it seemed. She stalked forward and prodded him in the chest as she spoke, her anger lacing her words now. "If I can't have you no one can. I will kill anyone and everyone you could ever remotely care for. Don't tempt me… she will be the first, but not the last if you keep denying me." She snarled and he sneered at her.
"You only want what is best for you. You're too selfish to even remotely let anyone else ever be happy because you aren't and never were happy with me." He snapped and she scoffed as she turned away from him. She stopped before she reached the door and she turned back to face him. The rage in her eyes was tangible in the air as she spoke. Regret filled his being then, he knew she was right with this statement but he couldn't do anything to take it back now. She was correct in saying he shouldn't have done it, but she was wrong in taking her anger out on Syndra.
"I'm going to take Syndra from you, like you took my real husband from me."
:-:-:-:
Odin watched as Loki struggled with everything that was happening. He knew his son needed to see the consequences of his own actions. He hated that it involved poor Syndra though. He looked to Heimdall and offered a sympathetic look as he passed by the man. "Syndra is well, Sir." He said and Odin stopped walking. He knew the girl was doing well, he just wished better for her. Odin turned towards Heimdall once more and sighed deeply. He wanted the man to keep an eye on his children. "What is she doing right now?" he asked and Heimdall began describing to him her training, and the assistance of the Stark man.
They were testing out her Asgardian styled armor that offered temperature control. Odin had to admit he was impressed with the knowledge the human man held. He looked back to Heimdall once more and crossed his arms over his chest. "And Loki… how does he fare being in her presence?" he asked and a small smile cracked across Heimdall's lips. "He is starting to understand what kind of bond you and lady Frigga had, sir. He takes care of her when she is injured and is willing to offer her his cloak when she is cold." He said and Odin nodded.
"I think he may even care about her." he said and Odin nodded once more. Odin knew Loki cared for her, he had made that much known when he had faked his death to try and return to save her from the prison. That was enough for Odin to be sure of that fact. The selflessness Loki had exuded in trying to save her was unheard of when it came to the man. he had always been looking out for himself and doing everything he could to benefit himself and only Loki.
Never once had Loki ever asked for anything for another person, unlike in the prison when he had asked if he could get some bedding for Syndra, and better food for her. he had asked for so many things for her that it had surprised Odin, although Frigga had only smiled and complied with his requests. He sighed and looked off into the distance of the night sky. He wondered briefly if he would ever be able to allow Loki to come home to Asgard. He nodded to himself and turned to leave, he was going to do what he had done for Thor, with Loki and Syndra. It was the least he could do to ensure they would be able to defend themselves.
He made his way back to the Asgardian armory and began looking around for two weapons in particular. A set of daggers rest in a box and he lifted the box and tucked it under his arm gently. He made his way over to Loki's belongings and picked up his set of daggers as well, setting this box atop the previous one. He hopped on his horse and made his way back to Heimdall who was watching him curiously. He knew he had seen everything he had done. "Ensure these get to Loki and Syndra." He said as he held up both boxes of weapons and whispered a spell to them, before he then handed them to Heimdall to send away.
"A selfless act of love will ensure a return to Asgard."