Here is the eitgh chapter. I really want to apologize for the delay. I have been through a lots of complications lately, and then came the Midterm period exams!
I wanted to thank Siatru, Gawriter, nutsovertseas and Harmony for reviewing last time. "It did put a smile on my face!" #Thanos.
CrazyManhwaGirl, GAwriter, HarumiMisaki, Poosa-ard, SIMON80420, Siatru, SupergodzillaSailorCosmos, chivini, , nutsovertseas, Lunar Wave and theflowerblooms for favoriting/following my story.
Big thanks to Darsidefan5, Singing Tranquility and Lunar Wave for beat-reading my story. ^^
I began a collection of Funko Pops ^^ Luna with her lion hat, the first of Harry Potter, the Ancient One, Mordo, Heimdall and Loki from Ragnarok!
And I also gave myself the time to go and watch Infinity War! Amazing, even though I want you to know that Loki will have a better future in my story :)
Please review and tell me what you think about it!
Disclaimer: I do not own neither Gakuen Alice, which belongs to Tachibana Higuchi, nor Avengers, which belongs to Marvel and even less Harry Potter, which is the work of the wonderful J.K.R :) But I do own the plot and my OC characters of course.
Chapter 8: Of Blackmail and Trust:
"This is a really bad idea! Such a freaking bad idea… Hotaru you can't be possibly serious, right?" asked Luca, defeated. "Blackmailing S.H.I.E.L.D? Seriously?!"
"Don't you think it's too late to ask me this, Luca?" responded Hotaru in a detached tone while landing her private jet on the deck of the Helicarrier.
"These are people who can kill us within a blink of an eye… Your plan better work! I can't believe it! If it weren't for my conscience, I would never have come here with you..." he kept muttering darkly to himself.
Hotaru made a show of rolling her eyes before exiting the jet. Luca quickly followed her lead, and they made their way to the group who was waiting for them.
Waiting for them on the Helicarrier's deck was Fury, looking quite impressive in his dark leather clothes and eyepatch; Harry Potter, wand in hand; Natasha Romanoff, weapons close at hand, her Black Widow's Bite activated; Thor, whose hammer had sparks of lightning; Bruce Banner, ready to Hulk-out if needed; Tony Stark, in his armor and Steve Rogers, in his Captain America suit.
'Great! Nearly all the Avengers are here, ready to kick the hell out of our asses! Really, what wouldn't I do for this crazy woman? A wizard, a kick-ass spy, Iron Man, the Hulk… Can't we stay away from the weird stuff for once?! Am I really asking for too much?'
"So, kids, what brings you here?" asked Tony Stark, earning a burning glare from the blond guy in front of him, who seemed to be in a foul mood. Hotaru just smirked at him.
"I'll be straight with you, S.H.I.E.L.D. Luca Nogi and myself, came here to represent the Alice Community. You see, one week ago, the Academy's informatic system had been hacked by your services." Hotaru arched a disdainful eyebrow. "Whoever of your agents did the job, he did it poorly..." she ignored the redhead spy annoyed expression. "It was easy as child play to trace all your researches and hack your own system back. We had and still have access to all of your entire database. This fact had led to many discoveries and, of course, some rather unpleasant ones. We are now aware that Mikan Sakura Yukihira, an Alice user the Academy long believed to be dead, had been into your detention, destroyed two of your well-guarded artefacts and helped Loki Laufeyson to escape from your grasp.
To sum up, you don't have many options left Fury. Either we cooperate in apprehending Mikan Sakura alongside to Loki and, only then, the Alice Academy will accept to forget your illegal use of two of our children, which leaded to the death of the late Natsume Hyûga. Or, we will take care of this by ourselves and you will regret it since the ball is clearly in our court. Mikan Sakura is an Alice, which means that the ones who are the most likely to arrest or stop her are Alices too. Take it or leave it."
Luca looked exasperatedly at his friend who didn't seem to even have the grace to pretend to care and Fury was furious, no pun intended (…well… maybe) … if not fuming in anger. These Alices were seriously getting on his nerves and being threatened so openly by a 23-year-old woman didn't please him at the very least… Both the Wizarding and the Alice Communities were driving him nuts by interfering with his business as they pleased, putting endless obstacles into his way…
"Did you come all that way long just to threaten us, Imai?" asked coolly Fury.
"Of course not, we came here because we were sure that you are going to accept our "offer". Let me tell you this again: you didn't do yourself a favor by trying to put your dirty nose in the Alice Academy business the way you did. If you wanted so much to know more about us, you could have come directly to us and asked. Sadly, for you, you didn't." Hotaru's voice was now cold and cunning. "What we did was just a little payback justified since you attacked first…"
She pulled out a pad from her purse. Fury paled, so livid with anger that he almost couldn't speak. To his extreme annoyance, Tony whistled, smirking at the young woman in front of them, clearly enjoying what he was seeing. Harry wasn't hiding his smugness either.
"… T'Chaka… king of Wakanda and father of the Black Panther, T'Challa. How do you think he will he react when he discovers that you have bought some of the Vibranium that have been stolen from Wakanda by Ulysses Klaue? Or better, that you were actually aware that he was to try to do such a thing, firstly? Not very well wouldn't he?
Now here is the Prime Minister of Japan. Of course, there is no need for me to remind you that the Alice Academy has more influence over our country than S.H.I.E.L.D does. However, its financial support is primordial to you, but not for too long I fear: our country doesn't like the illegal use of Alices and especially hypocrisy. Funny isn't? How an organization built to protect the word would, without a second thought, use innocent children to do their dirty work instead of freeing them as anyone with a sense of justice would have done? Furthermore, since the Prime Minister and the Emperor owe me a colossal debt, they both won't hesitate to support me. This also goes without saying that many of the funders of your organization would withdraw all their funding, were I to ask them to do so. As their main client or producer, my company has, without a real contest, a way bigger influence on them."
The Blackmail Queen kept a poker face, even though Luca knew that she was satisfied to almost see the smoke rise from Fury's head. She pursued, cutting him in his attempt to speak.
"Shall we exclude the USA? I wonder how badly they would react to you lying to them more than once, just like by pretending to have killed the threat that represents Mikan Sakura Yukihira for example. Let apart the countless secret weapons of mass destruction that S.H.I.E.L.D has been creating for more than one month by now. What is it called already? Oh, yes, I do remember now! The Project Insight, which has the potential to kill more than 20 million people nonetheless. You know what? Screw it! I have a better idea, what about informing the public of all your dirty little secrets: just like how many soldiers you have, the location of all your bases, all the assassinations you have been behind, all the secrets that will have all the governments and the public cutting off your head?" purred Hotaru, her violet eyes colder and sharper than ever. "I do have still have a countless list of examples of questionable thing that you could be accused of, but I think that those are already convincing enough. We didn't come here to play Fury, and trust me, you don't want us to. Either you agree, and we will all be satisfied at the end of this. Or the consequences won't please you."
Luca placed himself beside Hotaru, daring anyone to try to hurt her.
He cautiously observed the crowd. Steve Rogers had his hands curled into tight fists, and Luca wasn't really sure about who he was really angry at, Thor didn't really seemed to be interested by the exchange, Natasha Romanoff seemed ready to shoot them whenever she would be ordered to, Tony Stark had gleaming sparkles of respect and amusement glowing in his eyes, Bruce Banner seemed slightly impressed, rather curious on what the situation would potentially lead to, a small smirk was showing up on Harry Potter's lips as all kinds of expressions were passing on Fury's face, from anger to confusion, then frustration and finally resignation.
"We didn't come here to fight you, all we want is to understand what is going on and to help you prevent it. We have the knowledge to help you that way. Accept our offer, and everything will be going for the best for us all." Luca tried to negotiate in a more diplomatic way.
Fury, frowning, quickly considered all the options and came to the same conclusion as everyone did. They couldn't ignore the real threat nor get rid of it. Someone with a spirit as cunning as Hotaru's had certainly a backup plan.
The latter smirked.
"You are right," she affirmed, just as she had read his thoughts, which she most definitely did, using one of her inventions that enabled her to do so. "If I were you, I wouldn't let my soldiers to even put a foot on the front door of my house, as soon as they do, the files will be automatically sent to all the people I have talked you about. If you don't order them to stop right now, you will be the only one to blame for what is going to follow. Don't you even hope that killing us will solve your problems Fury, we both know that I am smarter than that!"
"Don't try to enter Imai's house, your mission is over." Fury ordered through his wireless headset. Luca tensed while Hotaru's smirk only grew wider. "… I accept your offer." grimaced Fury. "Come along."
Seeing Momma Fury being put in his right place did put a delighted smile on Harry's and Tony's faces. They had to admit that it felt rather good!
Tony shot a cheeky smile to the two youngsters, completely ignoring the glares Fury was sending him: "Then, all I have to say, children, is welcome to our big family!" He chuckled amusedly : "And let's go back to kick Reindeer Games' ass once again! Isn't it great!?"
"What kind of superpowers do you possess then?" asked Steve.
"I possess the Animal Pheromones Alice and Hotaru the Invention one." replied Luca.
"Animal Pheromones?" snickered Tony, "What kind of superpower is that?"
As a flock of birds kept harassing him the whole way to the conference room, Tony Stark had the time to meditate about it.
When she woke up the next morning, Mikan headed straight to the bathroom and took her time to properly wash herself up. After all these five days, she hadn't really had the opportunity to do so, nor had she been in the state to properly clean herself. Indeed, a good shower was really welcomed!
Once she was finished, Mikan felt herself revived. It was now certain that by the end of the day, she would have completely recovered from the effects of the Corrosion Alice.
The young woman looked at her reflection in the mirror, smirking slightly. She may have agreed to cooperate with Loki, but she still didn't trust him and wanted things to go her way. After all, she wanted him to know clearly that in no ways she was to accept being his prisoner. Indeed, if they were to cooperate, Mikan wanted it to be the consequences of her own will, but mainly, she wanted them to work as equals.
Feeling satisfied, Mikan traded her Asgardian dress for more casual clothes and headed to the enormous library, where her little finger told her she was sure to find Loki.
She had made a good guess: The Trickster was there, indeed.
"Good morning." he greeted her without raising his head from the book that was occupying his attention.
"Morning."
Mikan stopped to his level and looked briefly at the books that he was studying before to look around her amazed by the imposing size of the library. Its numerous bookshelves contained books coming from every places in the Universe. Yet, it seemed that it wasn't the only treasure kept in it: its center was occupied by an enormous round table encircling a Sakura Tree.
As the Alice stepped closer, she realized that the tree trunk was engraved: 'Life, Death, and Renewal'. Mikan didn't realize that she had stopped breathing. In a nearly religious manner, she posed her hand on the wood of the tree trunk and was surprised by the strong spiritual energy that was running inside it. She closed her eyes.
"This tree is the center of the spiritual energy running inside this mansion." Loki explained, who was now standing by her side. "Its concept is inspired by Yggdrasil's properties."
Mikan smiled. Her hand still caressing carefully the trunk of the Sakura Tree.
"How many fragments of the Soul Stone do you have inside you? I believe that you possess at least three of them." Loki suddenly enquired.
"I have four of them inside my body, Loki. Two of them linked themselves to my own soul right before my birth. As for the two others, you already know how I've made their acquisition."
Loki arched a curious eyebrow but remained silent. Mikan had accepted to cooperate, which meant that he had all the time he wanted to ask her later the significance of the first part of her sentence.
"Think of any book you want to read." he told her.
The palm of her hand still pressed against the wood of the tree Mikan looked at Loki puzzled. He only nodded at her in an encouraging motion. She did as he said. When she looked down at the table, a copy of the novel Pride and Prejudice was laying on it. Mikan smirked.
"I suppose that the only exceptions were the four books which are thankfully already in our possession."
"It is a right assumption. I guess that it would have been too easy otherwise." Loki confirmed. "Have you made your choice?" he asked, changing completely the subject of the discussion.
"Yes, but I would like you to show me the three other books as a proof of your 'honesty', if we can say so…"
Loki bowed slightly his head, a small smirk playing on his lips, before to point at the three new appeared books laying on the round table. She took them carefully in her hands and flipped through the pages. Satisfied, she handed them back to him.
"You have already tricked Heimdall in the past and choosing Luna Lovegood means facing higher chances to have to confront S.H.I.E.L.D, which would be a useless waste of time. The Ancient One is a perspicacious person, whom you don't know that much about her Art of Magic. I want us to cut the magical deal in front of her."
"I am afraid that it is a wise and clever choice. I see that you have given it a lot of reflections." he stated.
"Take it as a compliment. You have built yourself quite a reputation Silver-Tongue and I really would prefer to not be part of the long list of the people that you have tricked." Mikan smirked. The Trickster send her a challenging smile, taking the bet.
Loki extended a hand, inviting her to take it. Hands in hands, they materialized themselves inside Kamar-Taj.
"I present you Hotaru Imai and Luca Nogi. They are here to represent the Alice Community. Working with them will allow us to be in the best conditions to apprehend Mikan Sakura and Loki." Fury reluctantly introduced the pair to the rest of the Avengers team which included Clint Barton, Luna Lovegood and the recently added member Jane Foster. They nodded curtly at each other.
Everyone took a seat around the table.
Luca observed carefully each member of the Avengers team to realize that Natasha Romanoff was eyeing him curiously, in a predatory way. Luca held her gaze. This woman was cunning. 'The Black Widow...' Luca smirked. 'Women are more dangerous than men… They are clearly underestimated, and they know how to obtain benefits from this significant advantage. Hotaru, The Icy Blackmail Queen, and the Black Widow are only too good examples of this common mistake…' Hearing the sound of Hawkeye's voice, both diverted their attention from each other.
"I think that we missed the part where you explained to us how we can be sure that you are not supporting Mikan Sakura and Loki," pointed out Hawkeye.
"Then I have to remind you that Mikan has lost all contacts with the Alice Community for at least 8 years, Clint," Luna replied politely.
"Don't forget that Luna has used Legilimency on Mikan Sakura." Harry reminded him. "If they were supporting her, she would have already stated it. In fact, even if they were I don't see how this would be a problem: Mikan Sakura is far from being a criminal. She has only destroyed artefacts that should have been taken care of long time ago. You should be happy that S.H.I.E.L.D is not paying retributions for keeping an Horcrux to themselves." Harry added, now looking firmly at Fury.
"Finally, she hasn't freed Loki, but rather was kidnapped by him. Which means that he found in her something that picked his interest. She doesn't look like a threat to me and even if she was, you'll be greatly responsible for it." huffed the wizard, still remembering how badly his first encounter with Loki had ended. 'Thankfully, the Avengers team members have some common senses in comparison to this asshole!'
If stares could kill, Harry would have died long ago…
"I agree with our Wizard Friend. Heimdall told me that something or someone has deflected Lady Sakura's destination. She initially planned to teleport in a place named Kamar-Taj. My brother wasn't involved in this action, even though he took perfectly advantage of this 'incident'." added Thor.
Fury frowned at this. He took a long, deep breath before continuing.
"Heimdall also mentioned that Lady Sakura has four fragments of the Soul Stone inside her body. It is obvious that Loki guessed as much. What we have no idea about, is what he intends to do with her. They are not on Midgard anymore, so either Loki plans to hand her to Thanos to make up for his failure in bringing him the Tesseract, or he will try to use her for a purpose that is still unknown to us, even though we have a little inkling..." Thor paused, abashed by his brother's deeds. "… Though, I have to warn you: Loki used Lady Sakura's vital and spiritual energy to escape from his cell. She may be strong but the quantity of energy he ripped from her body was enormous and, if we go by the video tapes, with the state she was in, she may have not survived it."
Jane laid a comforting hand on his shoulder, pained to see her lover so abashed. They exchanged a brief look and Thor squeezed her hand gently.
"Well, by now we know Loki enough to be sure that he wouldn't have taken Mikan Sakura's body with him if he wasn't sure that she was to survive. I clearly doubt that a dead body will be useful to him." interjected Tony.
"This girl, even though she has only fragments of it, is a walking Infinity Stone. I agree with Tony, I clearly doubt that it was enough to kill her." added Bruce Banner. "Thor, did Heimdall know how in the hell they came into her possession?"
Hotaru and Luca unwittingly held their breaths. They were to discover more about their former friend in one evening than they ever thought possible.
Thor shrugged. "She is born with two of them. Do not ask me how, I have no idea about how that is even possible! As for the two others, she made their acquisition after we brought her in the Helicarrier. The first night, she went inside Loki's confinement capsule after realizing that he was under the control of a strong spiritual energy…" Thor frowned. "… I have no idea of who this girl is, and Loki might have been just as shocked as I was when she did it: Heimdall told me that she extracted the spiritual essence of the Mind and Soul Stones that were influencing his behavior, from his body. In one hand she got rid of a potential threat, but on another, Heimdall thinks that Thanos might have sensed the connection shatter…"
"Mikan Sakura has the Stealing Alice, which is accompanied by the Inserting one. This is certainly what allowed her to do that." Luca suggested.
Luna nodded at him confirming his theory.
"I've promised her not to tell you much about her secrets and Mikan has very justified reasons to keep them to herself, but you have to be aware of this: The Alices Stones were created by an Asgardian Sorcerer who had the Soul Stone in possession. This fact is what has linked Loki and Mikan together."
"I think that you may be talking about Allice, Lady Lovegood."
Hotaru arched an eyebrow. No document related of the apparition of the Alices Stones. They were treading on uncharted waters.
"There is no history of the Alices Stones' creation. All we know is that the first one that has been spotted outside Japan was Lewis Carroll, the writer of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland." admitted Hotaru. "But it just seems that Mikan Sakura has found out more about this subject."
Luca nodded before to go further into Hotaru's explanation.
"Before to come here we have checked Mikan Sakura's adoptive grandfather's house. It is now for sure that she doesn't work for any superior authority, let alone Loki, we have no idea if she had been in contact with him before." Luca posed, frowning slightly.
"She has not. Mikan met him first when she was brought to the Helicarrier." said Luna, Thor nodded, agreeing with the small witch. Luca looked at her surprised, realizing that this silvery-eyed woman was calling his former childhood friend only by her first name. His surprise grew when she smiled gently at him, just as if she knew what he had been thinking about. Shaking this weird feeling off, Luca continued.
"Well… It is obvious that she no longer lives in this house. However, even though she had been very cautious, we have been able to find these, thanks to the Nullification and Stealing Alices Stones that are in our possessions." said Luca.
Hotaru pulled out a small device from her bag and activated it. Instantly, numerous projections of pictures, notes, drawings and ancient artefacts appeared in the air. All colors disappeared from Thor's face.
"If this is only a glimpse of what Lady Sakura knows about the Nine Realms, then I fear that with her by his sides, my Brother will easily make his way to at least half of the Infinity Stones! She has both advantages of power and knowledge."
"The Time and Mind Stones are on Earth, this means that by some point they will eventually come looking for them." declared Fury.
"Speaking of which, we have to remove them from Earth. Thanos won't be stopped by Loki's failure. He will certainly come to look for them by himself or send someone to retrieve them for him." assured Thor. "I will put the Gems in safety and don't expect me to wait for my Brother to come back to Midgard. Fury, I will go and look for him myself, even if it means that I have to move Valhalla and Hel to find Loki and Lady Sakura!"
"The Time Stone is kept in Kamar-Taj while the Mind Stone is guarded by S.H.I.E.L.D. If this is what they want, Loki and Mikan will definitely try to gather the Time Stone before to come for the Mind one. We should use it as a bait." proposed Hotaru.
Natasha eyed her appreciatively before to nod her head sharply in agreement.
"I like the idea. And while they will try to find the Time Stone, we will remove the Mind Stone from Earth. After all, Loki is not the only enemy we might have to deal with."
"Thor? Is it possible for you to find a less predictable place than Asgard?" asked gently Jane. "It seems to me that keeping both the Mind and Space Stones in there would be rather risky. Loki knows this environment very well and if Thanos is as powerful as you think he is, he might try to invade Asgard."
The Asgardian's eyes warmed at his beloved, and he nodded gently.
"I think that I know someone who will be able to protect the Mind Stone: The Collector, Taneleer Tivan."
"Alright, then it is settled." nodded Hotaru. "However, I was wondering if there is a way Harry Potter and Luna Lovegood could show us their memories of their encounter with Mikan Sakura. It seems rather important to me, especially since it would give us, Alices users, an insight of her abilities."
Harry nodded quietly, before conjuring a Pensieve. Turn by turn, he showed the team his memories of the events as he had witnessed them.
Hotaru and Luca exchanged an alarmed look.
"No one has ever possessed as much Alices as Mikan Sakura does right now. The Teleportation, Mind Reading, Telepathy, Barrier, Evil Spirit Manipulation, Space Distortion, Illusion, and so on. And she also seems to master some kind of magic…"
"It is called the Mystic Arts, which are taught in Kamar-Taj."
"This change completely everything; Kamar-Taj is Mikan Sakura's ally!" whispered Jane.
"Wait! We still have no idea in which side she is." interjected Luca.
"Well, we can't risk anything because of indecision." snapped Fury.
"What about the fact that she went in Loki's cell twice following her own will?" Clint was very keen to remind.
"Hey girls, calm down! I have a plan…" smirked Tony.
In the courtyard, students of Kamar-Taj were training hard, performing various spells, following the orders and the advices shouted by Karl Mordo. The man with dark skin and black hair was teaching his disciples how to perfect their movements in order to draw a perfect Tao Mandalas.
Meanwhile, Stephen Vincent Strange, watching them from afar, stood aside wearing proudly his new acquired Cloak of Levitation, the Eye of Agamotto close to his chest. Right beside him, the Ancient One, her tall figure covered by her golden robes, was whispering something to him, looking distractedly from times to times at the training area. She stopped right in the middle of her sentence when she sensed Mikan's spiritual energy appear in the sanctuary of Kamar-Taj and tensed as she realized that her protégée wasn't alone. She recognized the foreign spiritual energy as Loki Laufeyson's, since she had been observing him during his attempt to conquer the Earth.
The Ancient One frowned, for once undecided, before deciding that her future talk with Mikan needed some privacy. With a little smirk she waved her hands in a fluent and complicated motions, sending the fallen Asgardian Prince through a portal.
"Hamir, please replace Mordo." The students, Stephen and Mordo stopped dead in their tracks, perplexed by the Sorcerer Supreme's sudden command. "Continue your training." she told the puzzled students to. The Ancient One turned toward her two other protégés: "Mordo, Stephen, come with me."
The two men shared a look before to follow their master down the long hallway that was leading to her chambers. When they reached the imposing wooden-carved double door, Mordo and Stephen fidgeted, surprised to sense Mikan's spiritual energy.
The Ancient One opened the door. Mikan was indeed standing in the center of the Sorcerer Supreme's meditation room, a smug smile on her face.
"I am happy to see you again my friends!" Mikan turned toward the Ancient One, flashing her a bright smile. "You should have seen his face when you send him through the portal!" she giggled. "It was priceless! Thank you!"
The young Alice advanced toward the group and hugged each one of them happily.
"I was starting to get worried about you, Mikan." admitted Mordo. "You did not contact us for more than two weeks, when you clearly stated that it wouldn't take you more than one to get it done!" he claimed reproachfully.
Mikan looked at him guiltily, "I am so sorry Mordo! I didn't mean to make you worry about me, but I have encountered some complications…" she started hesitantly, not very chilled to explain to Stephen and Mordo why she had brought with her in Kamar-Taj none other but the god who had tried to take over the Earth one month ago.
"I don't like it when you make this face Mikan! That only means problems," stated Stephen, "What the hell have you done that you are not so very keen to tell us about?" he asked, preparing himself for the worst.
"Well about one week ago, I was kidnapped by Loki Laufeyson and now I have to associate myself with him, so I can avoid Thanos gaining the possession of all the Infinity Stones!" Mikan blurted out nervously, not daring to look at her three friends in the eyes.
Silence fell in the room. The Ancient One unfaced by Mikan's confession, while Mordo and Stephen were totally petrified, hardly computing the amount of nonsense that Mikan had accumulated in just one sentence, while the latter prepared herself for the storm that was coming.
"Loki? Loki Laufeyson?! As in the Asgardian bastard who is responsible of the attacks on Stuttgart and New-York? The one because of whom thousands of people died? The Asgardian god of Lies and Mischief who tried to conquer the Earth and retrieve the Tesseract?!" yelled Stephen.
Mikan opened her mouth, before to close it and open it once again… "Yess…" she grimaced, not too pleased about it either.
Mordo crossed his arms in a patronizing manner, looking at her disapprovingly.
"Mikan, I trusted you to not do anything stupid! I am really disappointed in you. I can't believe that you are seriously considering associating yourself with this mass murderer." scolded her Mordo, shaking his head. Suddenly, processing the debut of her sentence, he turned around her worriedly. "He didn't harm you, did he?" Mordo asked with a dark voice.
"No." reassured him Mikan. "He didn't. In fact, he had to do exactly the opposite actually." frowned the Alice. "He had to heal me. The state I was in when I landed in his cell and that he had just worsened when he extracted my energy to materialize us in none other but the Andromeda Galaxy, quite obliged him to do so…" Mikan was glad to omit the part in where she had only gained consciousness the day before.
The young woman suddenly realized that the Ancient One had remained silent the whole time. She studied her features and was surprised to find the shadow of a guilt in them. Mikan raised her eyebrows in surprise when she understood why her dear master and friend was feeling this way.
"I had drawn a portal that would have sent me back in Kamar-Taj! You are the one who chose to send me into his cell!? Why?!"
"You are the one behind this?!" Stephen and Mordo choked out.
The Ancient One was now calmly facing her three puzzled disciples. She nodded curtly, advancing toward Mikan, stopping only when she was close enough to place her reassuring hands on the Alice shoulders.
"Mikan, you know that I never see your future, only its multiple possibilities. However, my dear friend, even though yours is very uncertain, Loki's presence in it is the only thing that may allow it to become stable. You both have the same beginning and are more similar than you imagine. He is only a darker version of yourself. There are just as much probability of you two becoming great allies, just as great enemies. It all depends on the paths that you two will choose to take. I said choose Mikan, because you will always have a choice.
But you have to know this, my friend: only Loki, alongside to Stephen and a Wizard like the two you have encountered one week ago, can help you to master your chaotic powers.
Mikan, many of your futures leaded to you freeing him and then asking me to help you ensure his loyalty toward the arrangement you both surely already came to. Yet, in none of them you did it intentionally. You are too reasonable to risk freeing him, so I do not regret taking this decision. After all, Loki needs you way too much to risk hurting you once again."
"Wait! Hold on for a second! What do you mean by 'once again'?" interrupted her Stephen, with an angry voice.
Mikan shrugged embarrassed by the situation. Why did she have to go through this?
"I might have visited him in his cell the first night I came to S.H.I.E.L.D to extract from his body the essence of the Soul and Mind Stones that allowed Thanos to influence his actions," Mikan began cautiously, Mordo and Stephen could get angry too easily sometimes. "Later that day, I realized that this meant that Thanos had already been in the possession of two of the Gems and since he sent Loki to retrieve him the Tesseract, this only means that he surely intend to collect them all… So, I paid him a second visit, which didn't end up that well for me…"
Stephen and Mordo were looking at her with both exasperation and frustration written all over their faces.
"Mikan do you realize how dangerous this action was for you to commit!"
"And not only you did it once, but you immediately ran to his cell a second time? How careless can you be sometimes?!"
Mikan sighed. To be honest, she had nothing to say in her defense.
"If I understood correctly what you were saying, Master, you are intending to follow her in this nonsense and entrust Mikan to this criminal. Master, you can't be possibly serious, right?! You can't possibly let Mikan deal with the devil himself! What part in 'Lies and Mischief' don't you both get?" Mordo exploded.
"I agree with Mordo. We can't trust Mikan to the man who is responsible for all the shit that is happening!"
"Mordo! Stephen! Please stop talking about me as if I'm not here! I have already made my decision and I am laying my trust in The Ancient One, not Loki. Which is the reason why I would like you, old friend, to be our witness so we can cut the magical deal fairly. Now please let me explain myself to you." Mikan begged, waiting for her two friends to calm down, giving them a sympathetic look. "Please listen to me… I know that you are only worried about me, and I thank you for caring enough about me to feel this need to protect me."
Mordo's face darkened. Stephen still wasn't in Kamar-Taj when Mikan arrived in the sanctuary. Back then, she was lesser than a shadow, a corpse longing for its soul to be relieved from its torments. If not for the Ancient One's help Mordo had no idea what Mikan could have become, he had witnessed all her progress, seen the state she had came from, and the last thing he wanted was to see her fall to that state again, or worse…
"Thanos is after the Infinity Stones, you all know what it means. Especially you Stephen. He is already in the possession of the biggest fragment of the Soul Stone and has been until recently the owner of the Mind Stone. He has also enrolled a man who calls himself Ronan the Accuser to retrieve him the Power Stone. This is a serious matter that I can't ignore. You all know the means of my two Alices. I just can't."
"So, what? Loki will help you place them into more secure places? What a joke!" sneered Stephen.
"This is exactly what he will do, and you will help them Stephen." replied the Ancient One for her.
"You can't possibly be serious?!"
"I think that there is no need for me to respond to this question." the Ancient One dismissed Stephen protests and brought her attention back to her protégée. "Mikan, how many fragments of the Soul Stone do you possess now?"
"Four. I took one from Loki and gained the other while destroying the Gauntlet."
"Good. The more you possess, the stronger the link will be."
Mikan nodded. "You are right. Here is the deal like we settled. I help him translating the Allice's books in his possession and he helps me into finding the Stones and ensuring their security. Also, he is incline to teach me Asgardian magic.
Loki's knowledge of the Nine Realms is an asset that we cannot ignore my friends. Plus, he is in the possession of the remaining work of Allice, the Asgardian Sorcerer who created the Alices Stones. This is also an occasion that I cannot bypass. You also know that they only appear when the threat of the six Gems to be reunited is to its highest."
Mordo and Stephen growled, frustrated that they wouldn't be able to change neither the Ancient One's, nor Mikan's mind about this. Both could be so stubborn when they thought they were in the right, a quality that never truly bothered them, until now.
"So, you want me to be their babysitter, isn't it?" asked Stephen, remembering that his Master planned to involve him in this folly. "This is madness… You do realize that, right? Why am I wasting time trying to argue with you two?"
Stephen sighed, abashed. Mikan feeling guilty hugged him and caressed his face reassuringly. The former surgeon made a show of rolling his eyes but took her in his embrace anyway.
"I am not a child anymore. I know that I may seem fragile to you two, but we all know that I am perfectly able to defend myself."
"Yeah, true. This is why you ended up being kidnapped by Loki!" sneered Mordo. "You don't sound very convincing to me."
"Not my fault, remember?"
"Stop it you two." turning his attention back to the Ancient One Stephen asked: "Do you intend to bring the dog back?"
"I will." the Ancient One confirmed. "Mikan, Stephen, I am asking from you two to lay your trust in me. I will discuss with Loki about the deal alone and will convince him into agreeing to it. You may go."
Mikan, Mordo and Stephen knew better than to argue with the Ancient One. So, they obediently left her alone to face Loki.
As Mikan was closing the door, she caught eye contact with the Asgardian Prince, who was falling ungracefully into the floor. The door closed at his frustrated growl caused by Mikan's provocative and smug smile.
Mikan smirked blissfully and teleported herself to her mansion so she could collect quickly all her stuff while she had the chance to do it without having to bring Loki or the two men with her.
"I don't like this." sighed Mordo.
"Me too. The Ancient One had this knowing smirk each time she laid her eyes on Mikan, which were gleaming in a frightening manner by the way."
Mordo groaned.
"Don't you worry Mordo… I managed to take care of Dormammu, this kid won't survive us were he even to think of trying to betray her." replied Stephen in a dangerous tone.
The two men waited in the hall, ignoring the curious gaze some students threw them.
"S.H.I.E.L.D has done a mistake by letting Loki on Earth." stated Mordo. "I still do not understand why they didn't send him back to Asgard…"
"Isn't obvious? It is only a game of strategies. Mikan said that Loki was working for Thanos. Odin knew this somehow and chose to protect Asgard from the Mad Titan wrath by letting his son on Earth."
"What a bastard!"
"Well, in the mythologies he isn't really known for being noble or good hearted. I am still disappointed by S.H.I.E.L.D's decision to play along though."
"They should have killed him while they were able to…" growled Mordo.
"S.H.I.E.L.D would have been careless of doing so." countered Stephen, while shaking his head in disapproval.
"I've heard that they have asked you to join their band, what do they call it already?"
"The Avengers. I did not accept. I am a Doctor and a Master of the Mystic Arts. If they want me to help them for a case, they can just call me. I told them to come to me only if they think the case is worth the displacement."
"What does it make you then?"
"A consultant." smirked Stephen.
Every two days Harry would Apparate at the same time in Hermione's office, to enquire about everyone but also to report what the events in the Helicarrier. As the time was nearing, the brightest witch of her age had already prepared two cup of tea and was filling papers when she heard the familiar loud pop. Without turning her head toward her friend, she raised her cup in an inviting motion.
"Tea?"
"Sure." smiled Harry, before to sit in front of his childhood friend. The latter took the bookmark in dark leather that Ron had gifted her and put it in between the pages she had been reading. Only then did her eyes meet Harry's and her lips switched into a smile.
"How are you and Luna doing?"
"Well, you know, Luna doesn't speak much, but she is still upset after our encounter with Mikan… It made her relieve what she has gone through when she had been the prisoner of theses bastards."
Hermione paled at the memory and felt a guilty feeling rise in her chest.
"She had spent ten years without mentioning it to anyone…"
"… Nobody really asked her though. We were too quick to assume that she was safe and sound."
Hermione sighed, ashamed by this cruel reminder.
"… Harry, Luna seems to have somehow grown attached to Mikan Sakura. You should prevent the two of them from being hurt. I believe in this young Alice's innocence and good nature, just as much as you both do."
Harry nodded sadly.
"I know, she seems to have been caught in something way bigger than her… In fact, I came here to ask you about something we have recently discovered about the girl. Not only does she possess countless Alices, but she also seems to master what they call the Mystic Arts, which means that she has been in Kamar-Taj. Hermione, what do you know about this subject?" he asked. "I am heading there in less than an hour, which is the reason why I wanted to gather as much information about them as I could. Just in case, but also because I need to know who I am facing."
"They are Sorcerers, Harry. In the contrary of us, they are not born with their Magic. This means that anybody, you and me included can learn their Art. To them, Magic is the practice of harnessing dimensional energies to manipulate aspects of reality. It encompasses many different activities, including astral projection, divination, spell casting and teleportation. It includes the practices of many cultures, nations and religions as well as many books and writings from ancient times. Depending upon the individual, some sorcerers practice their power by certain belief systems, such as Shamanism, Voodoo, Wicca, or any number of other practices from cultures around the World. The Masters of the Mystic Arts use the Eldritch Magic, which is a light-based Magic that produces sparks and fiery energy. It can be used to generate constructs of tangible energy, such as melee weapons, shields or cast spells by conjuring portals or specific formations with the fiery energy."
"How do you know all that?!"
"Always the tone of surprise!" smirked Hermione. "I did some researches. Thor was keen to lend me some Asgardian books about Magic, and I also paid one visit or two to Hogwarts' library."
Harry puffed, a small smirk playing on his lips.
"I believe that some people never change!" Harry moved to take Hermione in a tenderly embrace before to Disapparate.
Mikan, Mordo and Stephen were waiting outside the double carved wooden door of the Ancient One's chambers. Fifty minutes had already passed and there was still no sign of Loki or the Ancient One.
Mordo was trying to meditate, effort ruined by the stressed vibes Mikan was emitting. She had started to pace nervously since their spiritual energy had disappeared from the room. Stephen couldn't do much either, he knew that the Ancient One had her reasons to act this way and choose to trust her for once.
"Mikan. Stop pacing." Mordo ordered calmly.
The young woman seated next to him and began to chew her nails. Mordo rolled his eyes at her antics. "Try to meditate Mikan," he sighed.
The Alice took a deep breath and copied her friend's position. At the same time, the doors of the Ancient One's chambers opened to reveal a very pale Loki and a very calm Sorcerer Supreme.
Mikan and Mordo pulled themselves up, and Stephen was quick onto following them.
Mikan frowned at the general confusion in Loki's feelings, she looked at him puzzled and realized that it costed him at first a lot of willpower to hold her gaze. But this was the god of Lies and Mischief they were dealing with. He was quick to master his feeling back.
"Loki, I presume." stated coldly Stephen.
"The one and only." smirked Loki.
Mikan looked frustratedly at him. Even in this state of high confusion the man's ego didn't seem to have any limits!
Loki narrowed briefly his green eyes in her direction. His smirk only grew wider, completely ignoring her growing murderous intent towards him.
"Loki, Mikan, Stephen, come here. The rituals needed will last two hours. In the meaning time, Mordo, I trust you to take care of these unwanted intruders," instructed the bald woman.
Mordo nodded his head sharply and exited the room, but not before sending a deathly warning glare to Loki. The latter didn't seem very impressed by his attempts to threaten him.
The Ancient One conjured a portal to the Mirror Dimension, in which the Alice, the Asgardian and the Guardian of the Eye of Agamotto were quick to step into.
The Sorcerer Supreme drew a complicated Tao Mandalas on the floor. It contained three external circles over which Loki, Mikan and Stephen placed themselves, while the Ancient One took place in the center of the Mandalas.
"I need to collect your blood, four drops, no more, no less in this little bottle. I will be its guardian. The rituals will also require a strand of your hair."
As she kept going through in her explanations, a knife and a bottle were materialized in the Ancient One's hands. She first passed it to Mikan who used the knife to slightly cut her finger and thoroughly let four drops of her blood fall in the recipient before to pass it to Loki, who finally passed it to Stephen, after doing the same.
The two Sorcerers and the Alice witnessed as the Ancient casted various spells on the now full bottle, before to transform it into a pendant that hid its true nature.
Mikan was reassured by the obvious control that the Ancient One had over the situation. This helped her a lot into relaxing through the process as she laid her entire trust in her old friend. She caught her gaze and gave her a little smile.
The Ancient One passed in between them and took from each a strand of hair. She then took it upon herself to braid them into three wristbands which she attached around their wrists. The Sorceress Supreme casted few spells on them before to return in the center of the Mandalas.
"You have to wait two hours for the magical process to be accomplished. Until then, I advise you to meditate."
The three concerned exchanged a silent look before to do as they had been told to as the same thought crossed their mind: 'These promise to be two very long hours…'
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A.N:
So here we are X)
I really hope that you have enjoyed this chapter!
Please review and tell me what you think of this new chapter ! ^^