AN Sorry it's taking so long to get this chapter up; I had a hard time writing it, a little bit of writer's block, plus interest issues. When I was finally getting somewhere with it, an idea popped in my head, and towards the end, we have a couple of "cameos." that will head to something not sure what yet, though. There are a couple of times skips during the chapter, but it shouldn't be confusing.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 30: Nightmares, Soup, and a visit.
Loki frowned as he watched Saphira sleep. He was now the only one left in their room, Remy, and Kurt, left hours ago, not long after Saphira had fallen asleep, saying something about exploring the casino. Mystique left after they did, Loki had no idea where she went, right after Mystique left, Enid appeared to check on Saphira and let Loki know she had found Thor, and after Loki promised he would watch over Saphira during the night and alert her if anything happened Enid left saying her and Thor were going to retire for the evening. Enid hadn't been in the room since.
It was now really late, and Saphira was not having a good sleep; her facial expressions were that of being in pain, and she mumbled at times; Loki was pretty sure she was having bad dreams and was close to waking her, but not sure if he should but when Saphira's face relax and the mumbling stop, he decided not to. He hated seeing her like this and would never forgive himself for not showing up in time to stop her from getting stabbed. Instead, he was here, harassing and flirting with her sister. Yeah, not real flirting, just trying to get under her skin, but still, he shouldn't have taken so long to go to that prison.
Loki needed to get this all out of his head, and concentrate on taking care of his wife, and figure out where they will go after she is better; he knew neither of them was going back to prison; leaving this planet was their best move, but where do they go? He had no idea how to start looking for those freaking stones or how to find them, but whatever they do, they'll do it together. Loki decided Saphira was barely leaving his sight after this; no, he almost lost her; he was going to make sure that never happened again.
Loki thought about what Mystique said, helping them with finding the stones; if she was serious about making things up to Loki, maybe he could use that to his advantage, and he wondered if he could ever forgive her for abandoning him, especially since Loki didn't even know if he was mad about it; had too much on his mind to even think about it. Maybe he'll take Rogue's advice; his sister, Loki, never thought he would have a sister or a little brother, never even gave it a thought. Mystique, or as Loki decided he would call her Raven was his mother, it all seemed so crazy, and even with just meeting her, Loki was able to spot the similarities between him and her. Guess he now knows where he got his mischievous side. He wasn't sure if he liked her or not; he would have to get to know her first.
Out of the three Loki so far liked Kurt the most, Rogue, he fought with her, and Saphira fought her during their attack on New York; she was the one that bruised Saphira's face, though they had been friendly towards each other, if not somewhat awkwardly, it was hard for Loki to get over the fact his sister, who he didn't know was his sister at the time, had beaten up his wife not long ago, Mystique she was the one who abandoned him, but Kurt, he seemed to want to get to know Loki, hadn't been at the battle, and wasn't judging him or anything. Saphira also had already liked him, having met him before when he visited Mystique in prison.
Thinking about Mystique being Saphira's cellmate got him curious as to what she did to get put in there; he had a feeling that whatever it was he doubted it was something that earned her a light sentence, somehow Loki knew she wouldn't get caught doing something little, no, it had to be significant. He wondered if Saphira knew.
Saphira suddenly gasped out, and her eyes flew open, bringing Loki out of his thoughts; he sat forward in his chair to get closer and started running his hand through Saphira's hair, her head turned to look at him.
"It's alright, darling, only a dream," Loki told her gently, taking his thumb and rubbing his finger in circles on her temple.
"I keep seeing it," Saphira told him, "I can't get it out of my head, I try, but I can't."
"Try not to think of it, love," Loki said, guessing what her nightmare was. "It does not matter now."
"It does matter," Saphira argued, "They hurt you. Every time I fall asleep, I keep seeing it and hearing you."
"Just tell yourself I'm fine, alive and with you," Loki suggested, running his hand through her hair again.
"I'll try," Saphira replied. "He's not the only creature I keep dreaming about, I; I keep seeing Malekith stab me over and over."
"That is understandable; you have been through trauma; you'll need time to come to terms with it; your body isn't the only thing that needs to heal," Loki replied; he got up and sat on the edge of the bed.
"My side and back hurt so much." Saphira whimpered. "Can I have more of Enid's pain potion, please?"
"Yes, it's been long enough," Loki replied, checking the time; he reached over and grabbed the bottle, then helped Saphira set up, and she took it. Loki felt hopeless even with all the magical knowledge he had; he didn't know of a spell that would take her pain away. He wished more than ever he had bothered to learn healing magic.
"Loki, I hate to be a burden, but...
"You will never be a burden, love." Loki said, "What is it you need?"
"Something to drink and perhaps eat," Saphira asked.
"I'll go see what I can find, but it won't be anything heavy or greasy like the onion rings you love; mixing that with your potion will make you sick," Loki replied.
"Okay," Saphira replied as she watched Loki stand.
"I won't be long, dear," Loki told her; he leaned in and kissed her; before turning and leaving the room, he left the door open and headed down the hallway towards the stairs; he tried to walk down the stairs as quietly as he could sense Kurt was sleeping on the couch, Rogue and Remy got the spare room, and before her last check on Saphira, Enid had moved her desk up against the wall in her office to make Mystique a place to sleep.
When Loki walked into the kitchen, he saw Mystique was sitting at the table playing with a pack of LeBeau's playing cards while eating a sandwich. He ignored her and headed to the refrigerator; it didn't have much Saphira would like since his wife didn't eat meat, so Loki closed it and went to the cabinets.
"How is Saphira doing?" Mystique asks. Loki paused, opening a cabinet door.
"She's still in a lot of pain but is doing better, " Loki told her. "I'm only down here because she asked for something to eat."
"Do you hate me?" Mystique asked. Loki turned to look at her.
"Do you not need at least two people to play a card game?" Loki asks, ignoring her question and trying to change the subject.
"Not with solitaire; it's a one-person game." Mystique answered. "Now, answer the question, do you hate me?"
"I..do not know how I feel," Loki admitted. Mystique looked up at him, her face unreadable.
"Guess that's better than a yes." Mystique answered. Loki didn't reply and continue his search until he found a can of tomato soup but had no idea how to get it out of the can or heat it; he looked towards Mystique, who was back playing with the cards, trying to act as if she didn't notice him giving the can a confused look.
"Raven, " Loki called to her; Mystique looked up at him. "Do you know how to?" He held up the can of soup. Her smile told him she was trying not to laugh.
"First, you open it; then you pour the soup in a saucepan, then put it on the stove, then turn it on, the stove will heat it." Mystique answered.
Loki nodded and turned back to the cabinet, found a bowl, set it on the counter, then searched the cabinets for the pan Mystique mentioned; with her input, he was able to find the right one and carried it back to the countertop he had left the can of soup and bowl, then made a dagger appear in his hand.
"Wait!" Mystique cried out just as Loki was about to stab the top of the can; he paused and gave her a questioning look. "You are going to do nothing but make a mess like that; the tomato soup is not your enemy; there is no need to stab it; use a can opener."
"Can opener?" Loki asked, confused; Mystique stood and walked over to him, and took the can of soup, and then went over to the electric can opener and stuck it under it and held down the top; Loki watched in amazement as the machine open the soup within seconds, then Mystique walked back to the other side and handed the now open can to Loki. He poured the soup into the pan, then went over and put the pan on the stove, then frowned at the bottoms. Loki turned to Mystique, who did laugh this time.
"You want this one." Mystique explained, turning the stove on; she then reached over and got a wooden spoon out of the drew and handed it out to Loki. "You want to keep stirring until it's warm, or else it'll stick to the bottom of the pan."
Loki did what she said; when the soup was ready, he got the bowl then picked up the pan, and poured the soup into the bowl; he then went to sit the pan on the counter but didn't know about turning the stove off, so, when his hand got a little too close to the burner Mystique quickly reached out and grabbed his wrist and stopped his hand from touching it.
"Which is, you'll burn yourself." Mystique said, then reached out and turned the stove off. "That burner will stay hot for a while, so be careful around it."
Loki pulled away from her and walked over to get Saphira something to drink; Mystique sighed and got out a tray and sat the bowl of soup on it, then a pack of round crackers, which Loki frowned at when he walked back over to the tray.
"Saphira seemed to like snacking on those when we were in prison, gives her something to go with the soup." Mystique explained.
"Thank you," Loki said, sitting Saphira's drink down, then grabbed her a spoon and few napkins, picked up the tray, and went to head out of the kitchen.
"We need to talk at some point, Loki," Mystique called out to him; Loki paused but didn't turn around.
"No, Raven, we do not," Loki answered.
"Loki..."
"Excuse me; I have to go tend to my wife." Loki cut her off, leaving the kitchen, and headed upstairs back to Saphira's room, where she was still sitting up in bed waiting for him.
"What took you so long?" Saphira demanded the moment Loki walked into the room.
"I had to heat it," Loki replied, sitting the tray across Saphira's lap, "I hope soup is fine; I do not fancy going back down there and having Raven laugh at me because I do not know; how to use the Midgardain cooking machines."
"Soup is fine, thank you," Saphira answered, then looked up at Loki. "Do you mean the stove?"
"I believe that is what Raven called it, yes," Loki answered. "And that thing that eats the lids off cans."
"Eats lids off...you mean the can opener?" Saphira demanded, laughing.
"Yes, I found it...fascinating," Loki replied; Saphira smiled and turned to her soup.
"Maybe I should have shown you how Midgardain things worked when we were staying at our house," Saphira replied as she ate the soup. While there she had shown him how to work the air conditioner, alarm, and the remort that controlled the television, radio and a few other things in the house, but didn't show him much else, she had done all the cooking and had an electric kettle for heating water for his tea, so there was no reason to show Loki how to work the stove. Was slightly amusing that Loki knew what the internet was, and how to use a smartphone, but didn't know what a stove was called or what a can opener was, but for the last one, to be fair, she didn't have an electric can opener at their house, but the normal kind, so Loki not knowing what that was made a little sense.
"Raven asked if I hated her," Loki replied.
"What did you tell her?" Saphira asked.
"I told her I did not know, which is the truth; I don't know and haven't thought about it much." Loki replied, "I have much more important things on my mind at the moment."
"Did she help make the soup?" Saphira asked.
"She opened the can and showed me how to work the cooking machine," Loki explained.
"Stove, baby, it's called a stove." Saphira teased.
"Darling, do you know what Raven was in prison for?" Loki asked.
"She killed a senator and used her shapeshifting to take his place; she wanted to stop some laws he was going to pass." Saphira replied, "She got caught because someone else had the same idea to assassinate the senator and shot Mystique, forcing her into her proper form."
"Shot?" Loki demanded. "Someone shot her, who?"
Saphira smiled at the anger she could hear in Loki's question. "I don't know, she never said; they're most likely locked up somewhere now."
"Yes, most likely," Loki replied, frowning.
"She saved my life." Saphira told him, "The second time that Kruse elf was choking me, he almost had me choked out. Mystique showed up and saved me; she tried to keep Malekith away from me, but they overpowered her. But she did everything she could to help me; she even pushed me behind her when Malekith and Algrim busted into our cell."
"She did not mention that," Loki remarked; Saphira shrugged and took a drink, then went to eating her soup and crackers.
"During our stay in prison, she kept the other inmates from trying to fight me." Saphira explained, "Apparently, she's well known, and most inmates and some of the guards also were afraid of her."
"Really?" Loki asked, "Interesting."
Their conversation turned to other things; when Saphira got done eating. Loki set the tray aside, then helped Saphira to the bathroom so she could brush her teeth, then helped Saphira back to bed, where Loki sat next to her holding her hand while she fell back to sleep.
Loki waited a few minutes to make sure Saphira would not wake before taking the tray back downstairs; Mystique was still up and playing with the cards when he entered and sat the tray on the counter; he stood there a moment before turning around to face her.
"Thank you," Loki said; Mystique paused, laying a card down, and looked up at Loki with a confused look. "Saphira told me what you did, saving her life and trying to protect her during the attack; I wish to thank you, Saphira; she's my world; I could not take it if anything happened to her."
Mystique didn't say anything at first, so Loki went to leave, but then she spoke, "That's why I did it." He turned around to look at her. She looked up at him. "I know how it feels to lose someone you love dearly."
"There is a chance I could still lose her," Loki replied. "Enid told me. Saphira seems to be doing good now, but it'll be a while before we know for sure if she's out of danger, her wounds could get infected, or she could have more damage than what we know; she doesn't think anything like that will happen, but there is a chance."
Mystique looked on in surprise as Loki looked close to tears, she was known to be a cruel person, but her heart went out to her firstborn, the child she had wanted to keep but was unable. She stood up and walked over to Loki and hugged him, shocking even herself; Loki stiffened at first, but after a moment, he relaxed and allowed her to hold him. He didn't hug her back, and it didn't last long, but it helped Loki feel better; after a moment, he pulled away and walked over to the doorway and paused.
"Look, Raven, I'm not good with forgiving people," Loki explained. "But I'll try, and I do not hate you. I do not think." And with that, Loki left the kitchen and went back up to Saphira's bedroom, where he crawled in bed next to his wife to try and get some sleep himself.
"Well, what do you think?" Loki demanded, holding his arms out and smiling; it had now been a week since Saphira was hurt, and he was finally showing her his outfit.
"Umm, not bad for something you made," Saphira answered. "Turn around." Loki did as she said, "take off the jacket for a moment." Loki did. "Oh, yes, I like this outfit much better than your last one." Laughing, Loki turned around to face Saphira and laid his jacket across his arm.
"Do not think I don't know why you told me to take the jacket off," Loki told her.
"I have no idea what you are talking about." Saphira denied, smiling; so far, she was doing well; her stab wound hadn't got infected, the pain potion was helping keep the pain away, all her cuts were gone, and the bruises on her neck were starting to fade.
Loki walked over to her, sat on the edge of the bed at Saphira's side, and ran his hand across the gold thread on his jacket.
"This thread here is shadow thread," Loki explains. "You remember..."
"Show me." Saphira interrupted; Loki stood and slipped the jacket back on; a second later, he disappeared. "That's so cool."
"I thought you'd think so," Loki said, slipping the jacket off and laying it on the foot of the bed, before sitting back down next to Saphira. Then he leaned in and kissed her; when he pulled back, Saphira snatched the helmet from Loki's head and put it on hers.
"How does it look?" Saphira asked.
"Looks lovely, on your darling," Loki replied, leaning in for another kiss; Saphira deepened the kiss and pulled Loki closer when she tried to lay down while pulling Loki on top of her; he pulled back, making Saphira groan.
"I'm sorry, darling, but you're still too injured," Loki told her.
"Enid said my stab wounds are healing nicely," Saphira said.
"But you still are hurt; you can't even bend to put on your socks and shoes," Loki replied."
"We can be careful," Saphira said, leaning in to kiss Loki again, then pulled away and started kissing down his neck. "We haven't been together in that way since the day we went to the gala in Germany."
"Believe me; I'm well aware of that, beautiful," Loki replied, then had to force himself to pull away from Saphira's lips and stand; he bent down and kissed the top of her head. "Soon, we will soon, my love."
The days seemed to go by fast, and to both Enid and Loki's delight, Saphira's healing was going great; by the second week, most of the bruises on her neck had faded, and the pain in her stab wound was not as bad, but the injury itself was being more stubborn, she could get around better, but still needed Loki or sometimes Enid's help to do minor things, but seemed to enjoy all the attention she was getting and being waited on, she even had Thor carrying her items, something Loki found amusing and then hilarious when Saphira somehow, got Thor to bring Loki snacks and drinks whenever they were downstairs watching television with the others.
Loki was getting closer to Kurt as they spent time together; somehow, he found the time to teach Kurt how to read Asgardian and him to teach Loki how to use the Midgardain machines while taking care of Saphira, since Loki never was in the habit of asking favors, he made a deal with Kurt, in exchange with teaching him these things, he would in return teach Kurt magic, something Loki was sure Kurt could do, the only problem, Loki's magic books were all written in Asgardain, this the reason Loki was teaching Kurt to read Asgardain.
"I can not believe I let you talk me into coming here," Loki said the moment he and Mystique appeared in front of a large house; it was three weeks since Saphira got attacked, and she had been healing nicely, her bruises were all now gone, and she was getting around a lot better, Loki still didn't want to leave her side, even if Saphira was starting to get annoyed with how he wouldn't let her do anything on her own.
"Saphira is fine, won't be too much longer until we are leaving this planet, and we need a way to do so; my friend who lives here can help us; he owes me a debt after all." Mystique replied.
Before coming here, Loki changed his appearance to that of a guy with curly ginger hair and blue eyes; Mystique had been in the form of blonde-headed women but changed back when she appeared in front of the house.
"Let's not be too long." Loki replied, walking towards the house, "I have a wife to get back to."
"Saphira is not going to disappear while you are gone, and there is an apartment full of people to help her if she needs it." Mystique replied, hurrying to catch up with him. "You need to stop being so obsessive with taking care of her; let Saphira do things on her own."
Loki said nothing as he knocked on the door; it was opened moments later by a tall and very fat man; he was twice the size of Volstagg; the sight of him disgusted Loki.
"Mystique." The guy said, looking at Mystique. "I heard you escaped prison. Who's he?" He nodded his head towards Loki.
"None of your business, Blob. Move out of the way." Mystique demanded, pushing past the fat man and into the house; Loki followed. "Where's Eric?"
"I don't know, in the house someone." Blob shrugged.
"If you see him tell him I'm here." Mystique demanded; she grabbed Loki's arm and walked on down the long hallway.
"That man was disgusting," Loki remarked.
"You don't have to be pretty to have your uses." Mystique replied. Just as a young guy, probably late teens, early twenties, with white-blond hair, was walking by, Mystique reached out and grabbed his arm and stopped him. "Pietro, where is your dad."
"In the parlor, sulking, Wanda has wandered off again," Pietro answered. "Nice seeing you out of prison; dad will be pleased." He then pulled his arm away and walked off.
"I swear he and his sister are brats." Mystique complained, "Eric hasn't known them long, just found out about them right before I went to prison."
"Where is it you brought me?" Loki demanded, just as he had to move to avoid being bumped into by another guy rushing down the hall.
"This is the home of the brotherhood of mutants." Mystique replied, "A group of mutants who are fighting for mutant rights, or what's left of them."
"What's left?" Loki asked.
"Yeah, some are in prison, and some are dead." Mystique replied, "And a few left not wanting to end up with either of those two fates."
Loki got to see what Saphira meant by people being afraid of Mystique as they walked farther into the house; whenever someone passed them, they looked at her with wide eyes and frightened looks, and once a girl ran into Mystique coming out of a room, they walked by, the girl looked terrified when she saw who she bumped into, mumbling apologizes then running off as if she couldn't get away from Mystique fast enough.
Mystique led Loki into a room mostly made of wood, a bunch of bookshelves lined the walls, a bar was over on the far side, two maroon color leather sofa's and one chair sat in the middle of the room, petition around a wooden coffee table, a large black and marron rug laid under them. On the far side of the room was a large picture window, the only one in the whole room, and a man was standing in front of it, holding a drink and watching out of it looking bored. He was a tall man wearing a black suit and a maroon color shirt and tie; he had grey hair that touched his shoulders, and when he turned to look at them, Loki saw his eyes nearly matched his hair.
"I saw you arrive." The man said, nodding to the window; he gave a sarcastic-looking grin. "I had a feeling you would be showing up to see me at some point; you've been all over the news." He nodded at Loki. "Who's your friend?"
"This is my son." Mystique answered the guy's eyebrow rose. "Loki"
"You mean the Loki? The one that attacked New York City with aliens?" He demanded.
"The very one." Mystique replied, and the guy, who Loki figured was this Eric, Mystique, came to see started laughing.
"He's your son?" Eric demanded, walking over and sitting down in the chair. "Why does that not surprise me? Nice to met you, Loki; I'm Eric Lehnsherr; most call me Magneto."
"Why?" Loki demanded. Eric's answer was to the left up his hand and unfasten Loki's belt buckle, and his belt removed itself and went flying into Eric's hand.
"Because I can control magnetic fields," Eric replied, taking a drink and tossing the belt over on one of the couches; Loki took a step towards him, but Mystique held out her arm and stopped him.
"I'm here for the favor you owe me." Mystique said, walking over to the bar and pouring herself a drink.
"What favor?" Eric demanded as Mystique sat on the sofa closest to his chair. "Raven, it was your idea to kill Senator Kelly and take his place."
"You were the one that wanted something done about him and the anti-mutant bills he was passing." Mystique snapped. "I didn't only do it for me; I did it for you, the brotherhood, and our cause; besides what I want, you won't even have to do anything."
"You should've started with that." Eric joked, taking a drink. "Alright, what is it you want?"
"The use of your spaceship." Mystique replied.
"Planning a trip, are we?" Eric asked.
"Just wanting off this planet before the police catch me ." Mystique answered. "Before Loki is found back on Earth and before my lovely daughter-in-law is locked up in prison again."
"A family trip then," Eric replied. "Say, I let you use my ship; what's in it for me? If I need help or something, how will you repay me if your off flying around the Galaxy?"
"We can set up some device where you can contact us." Mystique replied.
"And you ignore my call?" Eric demanded. "Or even if you don't, you'd get here too late to help."
"If you get in need of help that badly, seek out my sister-in-law, Enid Bard," Loki replied. "She will be able to help you, and if she's helping you, then my brother will surely help you."
"Your brother?" Eric asked, frowning. "You're not talking about the X-MAN, are you? What's his name Nightcrawler?"
"Nightcrawler?" Loki demanded, feeling insulted on Kurt's behalf, was that supposed to be some crack about Kurt's looks? Mystique seemed to understand what Loki thought because she was quick to add.
"It's his code name for the X-MEN." She explained.
"No," Loki replied. "I am not talking about Kurt; I mean, my other brother, Thor."
"Ah, yes, the hammer guy from that new team, the Avengers," Eric smiled a little, stood, and walked over to the bar to refill his drink.
"Yes, I too was amused by the name." Loki grinned, "My wife and I had a good laugh when Stark told It to us."
"Tony Stark." Eric scowled, "the I am Iron Man guy. I never met him myself, only saw him on television; if he's as arrogant and annoying as he is on the news, my condolences to you and your lovely wife for having to put up with that."
Loki laughed, "Believe me, he is; you are lucky you haven't had the displeasure of meeting him." Eric laughed.
"I like you." He said, "Let me get this straight; I loan you two my spaceship, and in return, your brother and sister-in-law will repay the debt for you?" Eric asked.
"Yes." Loki lied with a grin; Eric paused and thought a moment, then smiled.
"Alright, you have yourself a deal," Eric replied, holding out his hand for Loki to shake. He then walked over to a desk and got a set of keys out, then tossed them to Mystique. "You know what warehouse it's in, haven't been used in years might need a little fixing up."
"We can take care of that." Mystique replied. Eric nodded, then turned to Loki.
"You look nothing like you did on the television; I'm guessing you inherited your Mother's shapeshifting abilities?" Eric asked. Loki grinned, then turned into his usual form. "I thought so; too bad you're all wanted criminals, you and your wife would make the perfect additions to my brotherhood, even if you are not technically mutants."
"Perhaps we would have," Loki replied, changing back. "But unfortunately, my wife and I are not what you call team players; we would never have joined your little brotherhood, criminal or not."
With that, Loki turned and left the room; Mystique waved at Eric before following Loki out; when they got outside, Loki grabbed hold of Mystique's arm and teleported them back to Las Vegas. Right outside Enid's casino, Loki went to walk inside, but Mystique grabbed his arm.
"You lied to Eric, didn't you?" She demanded, "Enid and Thor would never do him any favors, will they?"
"No, probably not." Loki replied, "But hopefully, by the time he comes seeking them, we'll be long gone."
"Eric can be complicated at times." Mystique said, "But I've known him for many years, and though our friendship is sometimes nonexistent, he makes a powerful ally. I don't want to make an enemy out of him." Mystique replied. Loki sighed.
"Look, you wanted his spaceship; I helped you get it," Loki replied. "If Eric gets upset with my lie, tell him you had no part it in; I'm sure you're good at lying."
Loki pulled his arm away and walked towards the hotel; Mystique stood there watching a moment, and right before he walked in, she called out to him.
"When are we going to have that talk." Mystique demanded; Loki turned around and smirked at her.
"Never," Loki replied.
Hopefully, this chapter was good; not sure what color eyes Magneto has, so I made them grey; there will be one more chapter, then after that one, Saphira and Loki will be on their might if I can get it right.
No, I wasn't trying to bash Iron Man, but these are three "villains," so of course, they wouldn't like him. It might be few days before the next chapter is up.