Here is the ninth chapter. I really want to apologize for the delay. I have been through terrible losses this past 6 months. I was really devastated and grew bitter of everything that I used to enjoy doing before. This is the main reason why I distanced myself from writing. Thankfully, my best friend finally helped me deal with this situation and made me realize how awfully stupid it was from me to do so. I truly hope that you can forgive me for not even warning you about it.
Writing and reading are my true passion, they make me a better person, allow me to create my own world and taught me countless lessons about love, life and friendship. I hope that by finally giving another chance to this fan fiction, I'll become a better person again.
I wanted to thank all the amazing reviewers of this fanfic, its loyal followers and the amazing persons who favourited it.
Please review and tell me what you think about it! Constructive criticism is always welcome, it allows me to take your critics into consideration and helps me better this story and my writing (English isn't my mother-language).
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 OCs characters of course.
Chapter 9: Of Oaths and Confrontations :
Three loud knocks resounded through the Kamar-Taj Sanctum. Hamir and Mordo headed calmly toward the double craven wooden door, knowing perfectly that S.H.I.E.L.D's agents were behind it.
As they opened the door, Mordo recognized Bruce Banner, Natasha Romanoff, Steve Rogers, who was in civilian outfits, and a dirty blond-haired woman, whose robes seemed to hide an artefact containing magic; her feature weren't unknown to him.
"Do I know you?" Mordo asked, already having a rough idea of who the witch was.
"My father, Xenophilius Lovegood, has studied between your ranks two years ago." answered Luna in a sing-song voice.
"Luna Lovegood."
The small woman smiled kindly to the men in emerald and silver robes. Stating that they were keen to listen to her, Luna continued. "I met Mikan one week ago. We both had the same intention: destroying a Horcrux, an evil artefact, which was in the possession of S.H.I.E.L.D."
Mordo leaned toward the small witch, a frown on his face.
"If you are working with S.H.I.E.L.D then why would you try to destroy one of its possessions?"
"Our Community discovered about it only after Mikan mentioned it in one of her interrogations, which was leaded by my friend Hermione. We immediately decided to take the matter in hand. That is how I meet Mikan."
"So, Lovegood, what does S.H.I.E.L.D exactly want from us?" asked her sarcastically Mordo.
Natasha got ahead of Luna to answer him : by now, they had surely gained enough time for Harry to infilter the Sanctum.
"Mikan has helped Loki escape from Earth. We know that she had been trained here and expect from you to cooperate into finding her."
"We barely know nothing about her and hoped you would accept to provide us some information." Bruce added.
Hamir and Mordo studied them quietly and exchanged a look before coming to the same decision.
"We will allow you the access of our Sanctum to the condition you surrender us your weapons," then, looking pointedly to Natasha, Hamir added: "This includes the three daggers in your sleeves, the two devices on your wrists, the gun in your left boot and the knife in the second. I will also ask from you to hand me your belt."
Steve smirked at her and Bruce sighed helplessly.
Once inside, the team followed Hamir and Mordo, observing carefully their surroundings, standing their ground. Through the hall's windows, the team could observe students perfecting their magical abilities, and some dueling.
"I thought that weapons weren't allowed inside sanctuaries." Natasha pointed out.
"They aren't. Especially if they are in the possession of someone like you. However, if we let you protect the world from physical dangers, we, Sorcerers, safeguard it against mystical threats: dark sorcerers, ghosts, demons, and dark gods. We teach our students who are willing to fulfill this task how to fight and defend themselves for this honorable mission. Only the students who reach the stage of Apprentice are given this opportunity."
"And… Which stage did Mikan Sakura reach?" the redheaded Agent asked cautiously, while discreetly observing the training grounds.
"We only have five stages: Novices, Apprentices, Disciples and Sorcerer Supreme. Mikan is a Disciple."
"Is?" Steve frowned.
"Was, is, and will be as long as she wishes to." Mordo responded, just as he opened a double craved door. He held it open and let Hamir step in, followed by the team before closing it behind them.
'Have a good time in New York!' smirked Mordo before returning to the Sorcerer Supreme's Chambers.
While silently following the man in emerald robes, it was Harry's turn to smirk. Now that he was in, all he had to do was to get as much information as possible about Mikan, and maybe Loki, without being caught.
Mikan gasped as an intense pain ran through her right wrist. The strand of their tangled hair the Ancient One had attached around it had disappeared to let place to a bracelet which tangled orange, golden and silver cross metallic strands, leaving her skin on fire. Turning her eyes to her peers, the Alice observed as the god of Lies and Mischief raised his eyebrows in a disapproving way, obviously not enjoying the meaning of it and Stephen grew pale. Mikan sighed.
"To finish the ritual, you have to swear on your blood your loyalty to each other." said coolly the Ancient One as she went up to Loki. Then, she removed the bottle, she was wearing as a pendant, containing the trio's mixed blood. Loki hold out his hand and the Ancient One covered it by her own, in such a way that the bottle would lay in between. "Loki you will be the one to start, then it will be Stephen's turn and finally Mikan's."
Mikan looked attentively to the fallen Asgardian prince. He was paler than usual, his sharp and angular features still betraying no emotions, unlike his heart. Indecision: Loki, just like her, was wondering which name he would chose. 'He is still looking for an identity.'
Just as if reading out loud her thoughts, Loki looked at her pointedly in the eyes as he said the following words :
"I, Loki, son of Laufey, swear on my blood my loyalty to Mikan Sakura Yukihira and Stephen Strange."
Mikan bowed slightly her head. 'Laufeyson will it be then.' Loki arched elegantly a curious eyebrow before choosing to ignore the Alice's odd behavior.
Stephen, not entirely obvious to the scenery playing before him, chose to proceed with his part, when the Ancient One came to him.
"I, Doctor Stephen Strange, swear on my blood my loyalty to Mikan Sakura Yukihira and Loki Laufeyson." swore Stephen, sounding bitter at the end of his vow.
Loki and Mikan smirked for two completely different reasons.
"I also enjoy the prospect of our partnership as much as you do." purred Loki with an icy voice.
Stephen snorted, and Mikan sighed but it was with an amused smirk on her face that she teased her friend. "Was the 'Doctor' really necessary?"
The former surgeon rolled his eyes but smirked back at her. A warm wave of familiarity ran through Mikan's veins as she remembered the complicity and all the tricks that hid behind it. At this instant, Mikan felt that could nearly forget the seriousness of the situation she was in. Nearly.
"I, Mikan Sakura Yukihira, swear on my blood my loyalty to the 'oh so great Doctor' Stephen Strange and to Loki Laufeyson."
"You're such a child Mikan." scolded her Stephen.
The young woman winked maliciously at him and the Guardian of the Time Stone made a show of rolling his eyes at her.
"Well, if you are done, I would like to point out the fact that is the best moment for you to consult each other on your plans to protect the Stones." The Ancient One advised.
Mikan's teasing smile dropped of her face, overwhelmed by the seriousness of the situation. She turned her attention to Loki, expecting him to initiate this unpleasant discussion.
"Our current priority is the Power Stone. Since Thanos has already sent Ronan to chase after it, we will have to be very cautious and act quickly." Loki started, arching his brows while turning toward Mikan, "The books can wait for the moment."
Mikan nodded in agreement.
"There is no questioning this. What do you know about this Star-Lord, Loki? With Gamora on his trail, this will be harder for us: she is Thanos' daughter, so she must be aware of the real nature of the Orb. If we consider the worst options she might as well have already caught him."
"Peter Quill is a Midgardian kidnapped and then raised by the Centaurian Yondu Udonta, leader of a key faction of the Ravagers. To make it short, Ravagers are an interstellar crime syndicate comprising of thieves, smugglers, criminals, bandits, mercenaries, bounty hunter and pirates. By stealing the Orb for himself, Quill betrayed the Ravagers. And it just happens to be that I know the intermediary this thief is working for. We should pay him a visit first."
Mikan frowned at the mention of Quill being a Midgardian, wondering how this could even be possible? 'Well, maybe just as likely to happen as you being kidnapped by a dethroned Asgardian king in an uninhabited planet located in the Andromeda Galaxy?' her inner voice was quick to retort.
"What about the Mind Stone that is in the possession of S.H.I.E.L.D? And where are we supposed to be going, anyway?" finally asked Stephen, who, until then, had only been watching the two interact.
"I highly doubt that S.H.I.E.L.D is still in its possession," replied Loki. "They must have asked Thor to secure it elsewhere than on Earth."
Mikan studied Loki's affirmation and realized how much sense it made.
"And where do you think this would be? With S.H.I.E.L.D influencing your brother's opinion, I doubt that he will chose a place as predictable as Asgard." reflected Mikan, caressing distractedly the now cold metal of her bracelet.
"The Andromeda Galaxy too, a place named Knowhere." Loki replied, stepping out of the Tao Mandalas drawn on the floor.
"Too?" asked conversationally Stephen as he joined Mikan and Loki out of the Tao Mandalas. "And how are we supposed to make a 2.5 million light-years long travel, may I ask?"
"We will teleport from here to a secret basement I possess in a planet near Xandar, our first destination." Loki responded, in the same manner.
"I understand for Xandar, Loki, but I would like you to precise why you believe your brother will chose to place the Mind Stone there."
Loki looked appreciatively at Mikan.
"Knowhere, the severed head of an ancient Celestial being, is affiliated to the Tivan Group. In other words, to Taneleer Tivan: The Collector. All is in the name sweetheart."
"In Flamel's Diary there is a little paragraph about him. I believe that it is said that no one should trust the guy, especially not with a Stone." thought aloud Mikan, frowning at the silliness of the idea. "Are you sure of this, Loki?"
"Well, darling, I never said that Thor shines by his cleverness." calmly stated Loki.
Mikan rolled her eyes but chose to leave no comment on this.
"To be honest with you Mikan, I already met Thor. I, for once, will take Loki's side on this." sneered Stephen.
"Stephen! You too! You gotta be kidding me?!"
For the first time, Mikan saw the shadow of a real smile on Loki's face.
"Hotaru, I thought I only agreed into coming to S.H.I.E.L.D… I don't see where it was written on our contract that we were to go to the Andromeda Galaxy!"
"This is not surprising, Luca." responded calmly his impassive friend : "There was no contract in the first place."
Luca restrained himself from strangling the 23-year-old young woman. He chose to cool down and started to help her pack their stuff instead. He stopped at the sight of a jar full of Alices Stones.
"I've warned Shiki and Tsubasa about what is going on. They both send me those jars of stones. We might need them there." stated the inventor.
"You did? And… How did they react to Mikan being alive?" he asked cautiously.
"Shiki and her uncle were pretty shaken by it, even though they tried to hide it. They both pretended to be angry at us for using the voice of the Academy without warning them about it and for hiding the information we found from them. As for Tsubasa, you know how he is, so there is no need for me to tell you about it."
Luca sighed. Yes, he had an idea of how they all must have reacted to this news.
Sensing the presence of one his spiders, a Patu digua, Luca bend down to its level, encouraging it to speak to him, using without making any efforts his Animal Pheromone Alice.
"Patia says that Harry successfully entered Kamar-Taj and that the team sent there was tricked into coming to the New-York Sanctum. We should quickly join them, they're getting ready to go to Asgard."
"Let's go then."
Taking all the devices they would need in the Andromeda Galaxy and Asgard, Luca and Hotaru headed toward the special teleportation zone made for Thor on the deck of the Helicarrier.
Finding their way through the structure, coming to a number of hydraulic-operated doors that involved all sorts of facility security system, the two friends ended up catching the sight of Steve Rogers and Luna Lovegood. Luca kept himself from smiling at the amusing sight of the tall and imposing Captain America arguing kindly with the small British witch.
"Miss Imai, Luca, are you ready?" Steve asked politely.
"Yes. Luna are you coming with us?" Luca asked, confused by the witch's two hands full of bags and what seemed to be a heavy backpack.
"That's what we were discussing about." sighed Steve: "it wasn't part of the plan."
"I believe that it will be a good thing for your team to have at least the presence of a witch or a wizard. Furthermore, it may be my only occasion to go to space." argued Luna.
"Luna, this can't stand as an argument." sighed the soldier.
"I think it does, Rogers." cut him Hotaru. "Since Potter is still stuck in Kamar-Taj, he won't be able to come with us. Just as you need Alices in the case of a possible confrontation with Mikan, having a witch with us, even though she isn't Asgardian, can't be anything but an advantage for us."
Luna beamed at the inventor who only nodded curtly at her before getting on the deck once her point made. Hotaru was quickly joined by Steve, who wasn't done with their discussion yet.
"I like your friend." said Luna in a dreamy voice to Luca.
"I think you do remind her of a friend she used to love a lot." thought Luca aloud.
Luna's already wide eyes widened in comprehension.
"I hadn't found the occasion to talk to you personally about it Luca, but Mikan misses you two a lot. She has never forgot any of you. It is a good thing that she has finally found support in Kamar-Taj, because she was very lonely. And you know better than I do that loneliness is Mikan's greatest nemesis. This young woman has been through too many horrors since she disappeared from your lives. You should not do the mistake of judging her hastily or expect from her to be the same person she once used to be."
Leaving him to reflect on these words, Luna charmed her things so they all could be contained in a tiny purse. Once ready, she joined Thor, Jane, Steve, Hotaru, Fury and Tony. Luca was quick to follow her lead.
"Miss Lovegood, Nogi, Miss Imai, Miss Foster and Thor, I trust you not to fail this mission. If you were to be confronted by Loki, Mikan Sakura, use all means to bring them back. Either it is dead or alive."
Jane sensed all Thor's muscles tense. The brunette caressed gently the back of his hand with her thumb.
"I won't kill my brother, neither will I try to kill Lady Sakura, but I will do all that is in my power to bring them back."
On these words an impressive beam of energy covered the team as they were transported, particle by particle, to another realm.
They appeared in front of Frigga and Heimdall. The Queen of Asgard, in her long silver robes and long golden hair was pacing nervously near the imposing Bifrost's Gatekeeper. When she caught the sight of Thor and his Midgardian friends, she ran towards them, worry all over her face.
"Mother, I am sorry, but we still have no clues to where Loki and Lady Sakura are." Thor apologized softly, guessing his mother's unspoken questions, before taking her in his comforting embrace.
He released her and turned toward Jane.
"Mother, I am honored to present you my dear and lovely Jane." Thor smiled.
The brunette's cheeks turned bright red. She advanced toward Frigga and made a timid reverence.
"Your Majesty, it is an…" Jane was cut off by Frigga's strong embrace.
"I am happy to finally meet you, my child!" Frigga smiled softly to her son's lover, smile that earned her a cute and timid one.
"Mother, here are my friends Lady Imai, a great inventor," Thor paused as Hotaru nodded curtly to his mother. "And Luca Nogi. Both are gifted of special powers that are called Alices."
Hotaru and Luca were surprised to catch a sparkle of comprehension shine in Frigga's clever eyes.
"And I have the great pleasure to introduce you to Lady Lovegood. She is able of witchcraft, just like you Mother." beamed Thor.
The silvery-eyed witch smiled politely to Thor's mother.
"I've read a lot about Asgard in my childhood, it is an honor to meet you in person Your Majesty, Heimdall." smiled sweetly Luna to both.
"Mother, I would like you to take care of both of Lady Imai and Jane: we think that by studying your Magic, they would be able to create a device able to track Loki."
Sadness overwhelmed Frigga's features but disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.
"Of course, my dears. I will show you all what you think will be necessary to find my younger son." offered the heartbroken queen mother.
Frigga, Jane and Hotaru stepped out the Observatory. Once out of their sight, the golden hemispheric shape closed behind them.
"To where?" asked Heimdall.
"Knowhere." responded Thor.
Harry had followed Mordo in what seemed to be chambers. Lurked against a wall, the Chosen One observed cautiously the man meditate.
Suddenly a portal cut the air and a bald woman dressed in golden robes walked out of it. Harry recognized her as the Ancient One. Inwardly, the wizard held his breath as the Sorcerer Supreme looked pointedly at him for a fraction of a second before deflecting her attention to Karl Mordo.
"Is it done?" inquired the man, irritation in his voice.
"Yes. They're now reflecting on what to do next." The Ancient One answered as she sat to the floor, copying Mordo's fashion.
"Are you really sure about trusting Loki?" sighed the Disciple.
Harry observed cautiously the Ancient One's features: even though they seemed to be impassible, he could read a little bit of sadness in them.
"Loki is not someone trustable, Mordo. Mikan has been clever to make such a move: no matter with how much honey he will try to cover his real nature, she won't be lured by it. However, with the discussion I had with him, the ritual and Stephen's and Mikan's prudence it should be fine."
"Why him? I doubt that Thor would have refused to help Mikan securing the Stones." retorted Mordo.
"It is true. However, Loki possess three things that Thor doesn't: Allice's remaining work, an incredible knowledge of the Nine Realms and Magic."
"It's all because of this Allice, isn't?" Mordo sighed defeatedly.
'What are they talking about?' frowned Harry uncertain.
"Yes and no: it's about Allice and Mikan in general." retorted the bald Sorceress, "When Mikan came here the first time I observed her future's possibilities," the Ancient One posed to stand up and start to brew some tea, "In most of them, she dies before the age of 26. You know her physical conditions… But in the ones where she meets Loki, she has the possibilities to live longer. Asgardian and Eldritch magics combined, it will have the power to stabilize her body." while putting two cups on a tray, the Sorcerer Supreme continued: "This association will allow Mikan to use her powers for a greater good. It is true that there are still many possibilities for her to die on the process of her new quest but…"
"At least she would be useful until she dies?" Mordo cut her off. "Is it really how it works? Mikan deserves better than that!"
"I know."
Mordo was cooled down by the answer. He opened his mouth to close it instantly. What could he respond to that?
Harry felt his heart clench in his chest, somehow the conversation he was overhearing reminded him too much of the memories Severus Snape had given to him before dying.
Suddenly another portal cut the air letting Loki, Mikan and Doctor Strange appear. Loki was in one of his impressive Asgardian outfit; bearing a long dark evergreen cloak, a staff, and his so famous gleaming horned helmet. Mikan looked paler than the last time he had seen her and Stephen Strange and his impressive red Cloak of Levitation seemed to be both quite irritated. Out of the three, Mikan was the only one dressed like any Muggle would.
Quietly and cautiously, Harry pulled out his wand from his robes. All he had to do was to cast a tracking spell. Uttering the incantation under his breath, Harry aimed Loki in particular.
Then everything happened so quickly.
Mikan instantly sensed the jet of magical energy targeting Loki. Activating her Barrier Alice just in time, the curse hit her shield very hard. This time prepared, Mikan stood her ground and wasn't destabilized by the powerful shockwave, which wasn't Harry's case. It hit him cruelly, sending his Invisibility Cloak fly across the room.
As the Barrier she had conjured faded, Mikan cursed under her breath. She was still too weakened by the previous events to be able to use her Alices to full potential.
The adrenaline of the war resurfacing, Harry quickly recovered from the shock. "Expelliarmus!" he cried, blowing Loki's staff out of his hand as Stephen and Mordo were knocked back to the floor. Taking advantage of his opponents' surprise Harry knocked down a closet to use it as a barricade. "Accio Invisibility Cloak!" he muttered under his breath, reflecting on which spell to use next; they were five and he was alone.
Mikan used her Alices to send Harry's barricade fly across the room and was met by another jet of light that hit Mordo once again, knocking his head back into a table edge.
Harry not willing to give up easily choose to combine Apparition and Disapparition to his curses. He couldn't and wouldn't leave before he successively hit one of his opponents with a Tracking Spell.
Loki who had gathered his fallen staff and pointed it at the Midgardian wizard: he wouldn't be fooled twice. He had to admit, though, that the Midgardian was indeed powerful and used his talent cleverly. Flicking his staff so it would send Harry's spells away, Loki watched as Stephen and the Sorcerer Supreme tried to bind the wizard with tight sparky ties, which met Harry's Shield Charm that was so strong they were knocked off-balance.
Pointing the tip of his staff at Harry's spells, Loki broke them easily. Remembering Hermione's warnings to not target directly the god of Mischief, Harry casted the Reductor Curse at the column beside Loki, blasting it into pieces of stone that flew everywhere across the room and eventually one hit Loki in the back of the head.
Finally, Mikan took advantage of Harry's diverted attention to immobilize him with her Shadow Manipulation Alice, then she snatched his wand from him.
The young woman had to admit she was impressed by Harry's capacities; the lone state of the Ancient One's chambers was enough proof of it.
For several moments, there was silence, save the sound of Mordo grunts as he regained consciousness and the drip drip of Loki's blood tickling to the floor. Finally pointing his staff at Harry's heart, Loki prepared himself to strike the last blow.
In a sharp and cold motion, Loki plunged the staff.
"Why?" Loki asked irritably when the stroke hit Mikan's strong shield.
"We don't kill." growled Mikan. "Harry is on our side." the Alice added observing Harry's features.
"I second this." groaned Harry, his back hurting. "I am just disappointed that you chose to put your trust in Loki rather than in Thor."
'Me too. Believe me, Harry, me too!' sighed inwardly Mikan. 'Sadly, I didn't have much options.'
"I hope you will forgive me, Harry Potter." apologized the young woman as she posed her hand over his forehead, taking his consciousness away. "You're a sorcerer, aren't you?! It would have been so easy for you to erase his memory instead!" yelled Mikan angrily.
"A useless waste of time and energy." Loki snarled, feeling no remorse. "You are being overly sentimental."
Mikan draw in a breath sharply, mastering her anger back. There was no time for a quarrel with Loki over their moral beliefs right now. Instead, the young Alice chose to focus the energy of her anger into stealing Harry's memory of the events. Once done, she used her Space Distortion Alice to make appear an empty jar in which she placed the blue stone in her hand, making it disappear.
Stephen took his Sling Ring and traced his right hand in a circular pattern, conjuring a portal which enclosed itself around Harry, sending his unconscious body to the Avengers' conference room.
"This is one less problem to worry about." Stephen sighed, ignoring Mikan and Loki icy starring contest, neither of them willing to give in to the other. The room was once again immersed in an uncomfortable silence. Finally, Mikan surprised everyone by placing herself at Loki's height and posing her cold fingers on the back of his head. Neither of them broke eye contact even when Mikan finished healing his wound.
"We have already wasted too much time here." stated coldly Loki, irritated by Mikan stubbornness, by Stephen imposed presence, by the way events turned out, and by his 'discussion' with the Ancient One.
Reluctantly, Mikan placed her right hand on Loki's forearm. Stephen refusing to touch directly Loki, placed a protective hand around Mikan's waist. Smugly, he realized that the dog didn't like it.
They reappeared in an impressive silver room which Mikan guessed was Allice's secret basement's living room. Just as quickly as it had appeared, everything that was around them vanished.
Xandar.
Loki observed out of the corner of his eye Mikan and Stephen being enthralled by the sight of the three suns the planet orbited around as well as what seemed to be a very advanced civilization and technology. But mainly what caught their eyes was the variety of species inhabiting it, reason to why Loki and Stephen didn't stand out with their extravagant outfits.
Recalling their initial mission, both Stephen and Mikan turned their attention back to Loki.
"We appeared near The Broker's Store. I doubt that he still is, if he ever was in the Orb's possession, but at least, he will be our first lead to where the Power Stone is."
Crossing the bridge, they appeared on to make their way to what looked like a futuristic garage, Mikan studied discreetly her environment, musing about the golden flying ships above them, that she assumed belonged to the planet's army. Too soon, they were only separated from the Broker by an electronic door.
Loki waved his hands and both Mikan and Stephen could observe them glow in green. The door opened.
Inside of what looked like a jewelry and relics store, stood the Broker behind a glass display counter. The least Mikan could say about his hairstyle was that it was rather unique. With no offense intended toward him, the man reminded her of these hairless rats used in laboratories.
Both Mikan and Stephen realized that the merchant wasn't surprised by their appearance, instead he only seemed to be annoyed when he recognized Loki.
"I didn't expect you to be after it too." The Broker confessed.
"Well, I am." Loki replied while distractedly observing a shining green snake, made of what Mikan believed to be emeralds and diamonds. "Where is it?"
"Star-Lord, Gamora and a criminal duo where all arrested by the Nova Corps. Just recently they managed to all break out of the prison they were held in."
Activating her Memory Manipulation Alice, Mikan posed her hand on the store's walls and watched how the events happened.
"The Orb." Star-Lord bragged, showing it the Broker. "As commissioned."
"Where is Yondu?" asked the Broker, with a suspicious and surprised look.
Star-Lord smirked. "One of the bigger. Sends his love and told me to tell that you got the best eyebrows in the business." He teased. Then looking at the object he had risked his life to retrieve, he asked : "What is it?"
"It's my policy to never discuss my clients or their needs." the Broker replied, studying the Artefact's authenticity.
"Yeah, well I almost died getting it for you." Star-lord retorted back.
"An occupational hazard I'm sure in your line of work." The Broker sneered.
"Some machine headed freak working for a dude named Ronan…" Star-Lord started
The Broker alarmed by this beginning of confession cut him off : "Ronan?! I'm sorry Mr. Quill! I surely am, but I want no part of this transaction if Ronan is involved!" forcing the Orb back into Star-lord's hands.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Who's Ronan?!"
"A Kree fanatic outraged by the peace treaty, who will not rest until Xandarian culture – MY culture! – is wiped from existence!" freaked out The Broker, squeezing Peter Quill out of his shop.
"Come on there!" Star-Lord tried, while holding out.
"I'm on someone bad side I'd rather not be on!" yelled the Broker while forcing Peter Quill out.
"What about my bad side?!" fought back Peter.
Waving his hands so the electric door would swing wide open, The Broker took advantage of Peter Quill confusion to push him out, closing the door very quickly.
Then the Broker observed from afar as Quill was ambushed by Gamora, who took the Orb and fled into the streets, the fight that issued, the intervention of two bounty hunters, an armed to the teeth raccoon and a humanoid tree and finally as the Nova Corps arrived and arrested the group."
"He told us the truth." Mikan confirmed. Then, exiting the merchant's shop, the Alice caressed softly, with the tips of her fingers, the wall Gamora had rested against. A wave of shock ran through her spine.
The young woman calmly joined her two partners inside.
"Thank for your help." Mikan smiled politely to the merchant.
Stephen and Loki followed her outside.
"Gamora has betrayed her father and Ronan. And guess what? She also has the intention of selling the Orb to the Collector!" Mikan informed her two partners. "She seems to be rather sane for someone raised by the Mad Titan!" she sneered.
Loki smirked. The Little One was right. Even though he had observed Gamora only briefly, he knew that she wasn't really onto her adoptive father's plans.
"Well it seems that luck is on our side." Stephen smirked as everything around them vanished once again.
This time, the travel seemed slightly different, progressing in a slower pace, which allowed Mikan to perceive the regular hopping. They weren't just teleporting from point A to point B. No. Loki was using portals, teleporting from each to each so fast that no one should have guessed it.
'That for sure would have allowed me to come back to Earth by myself when Loki kidnapped me... However, that information can still prove itself to be useful later on!', Mikan though exasperated. Before she even realized, the trio had materialized in a dark and filthy crowed place, surrounded by enormous tanks filled with yellow liquids.
Mikan was struck by the contrast between the bright colors of Xandar and the darkness that overwhelmed the place they appeared into.
The three members of the awkward newly formed team all turned their head to the same direction; from where emanated a powerful energy that could only belong to the Power Stone.
As Loki opened his mouth to speak, they were surprised by the powerful violet explosion that was closely followed by a brilliant beam of energy.
"The Bifrost! Thor…" whispered Mikan throwing a glance at Loki and Stephen to agree upon a quickly structured plan: "I'll take care of them."
As both men only nodded to her before rushing toward the Power Stone direction, Mikan headed toward the place where Thor and his team had landed. Running through the tanks and narrow passageways, avoiding the frantic crowd, Mikan caught the glimpse of Thor's red cape. She activated her Barrier Alice and used her Teleportation Alice, cutting short the distance separating them. Not detecting any trace of the Mind Stone on him, Mikan punched Thor with all her might as he detected her presence, taking him by surprise. Knocked off-balance, the god of Thunder crashed into one of the tanks surrounding them, spilling yellow liquids everywhere.
With a groan, Thor pulled himself up, spun Mjolnir around his fist and threw it at Mikan before starting running in her direction. To his frustration the young Midgardian disappeared before the impact and reappeared behind him, elbowed him strongly as the Hammer landed loudly into another tank. Understanding that he had to change his offensive strategy, Thor concentrated on his powers and unleashed it fiercely within the area Mikan and he were in. Thor smirked triumphally as the young woman collapsed abruptly.
Cautiously, the robust Avenger closed the distance between him and the unconscious woman to realize he had been tricked, still unaware of Mikan's presence on top of a building three blocks away from him.
Out of Thor's attention, Mikan activated her Mind-Reading Alice: they hadn't brought the Mind Gem with them. Heimdall had discouraged them from doing so. She felt grateful for it. With the Time Stone that Stephen wore proudly and the Power Stone, it would have been too dangerous to bring another one in there.
Out of a sudden, the sound of a loud pop drew back her attention from Thor thoughts. Turning around too late to face her opponents, she was hit by a Stunning Spell that caught her off guard. When she realized who her opponents were, Mikan's blood ran cold in her veins. Luca…
The blonde Alice went pale. Mikan stood there, only at harm length. The tears in her eyes said it all; she had recognized him.
"Why?" Luca whispered as Luna cast the counter spell, freeing Mikan from the invisible ropes that were tying her. The dirty blonde-haired witch stepped aside, knowing better than to intrude this oh-so-needed encounter.
Luca observed Mikan open and close her mouth several times, unable to utter any word. What could she possibly say? How could she bring herself to when she wasn't even able to look at him in the eyes?
Suddenly the events of the last twelve years of Mikan's life weighed heavily on her. They didn't belong to the same world anymore… All Mikan wanted was to go away, flee from her past, one more time, escape from Luca's blue gaze. 'I am a coward.'
'Mikan misses you two a lot. She has never forgot any of you. […] You should not do the mistake of judging her hastily or expect from her to be the same person she once used to be.' Remembering, Luna's words, Luca closed the few steps separating him from his former childhood friend. Caressing her check silently, he witnessed her eyes widened before taking her in his bear crushing embrace. Hesitantly, Mikan slowly returned his embrace and rested her head on his shoulder. Luca could sense a little moisture spreading into his shirt, but it truly was the last thing he was concerned about. He couldn't help but feel lighter having Mikan in his arms, completely ignoring the fact that she had joined Loki's side and that her five Doppelgangers' clones were giving one hell of a fight against Thor in this same moment.
"Luca… I am…" started Mikan before standing dead still. With an alarmed look she turned around to see the wide Kree Warship, the Dark Aster entering Knowhere. "Luca, I am so sorry… I have to go. Be prudent." Mikan apologized sincerely before vanishing from Luca's warm embrace.
Appearing on the top of another building, Mikan spotted Loki and Stephen fighting Gamora, Quill, the raccoon and the tree humanoid. The two Sorcerers, combining their magical skills, seemed to slowly assure the victory of the battle. Not too far from their fighting spot, Ronan's army of Sakaarans, leaded by Nebula, had landed and headed straight toward the fight, while Ronan seemed only focused on an imposing blue and red warrior. Mikan quickly choose to teleport Thor from his place to Ronan's, while Luna and Luca joined him by Apparating. Adding two of clones to their team, Mikan only leaved once sure that the three were handling well the situation. She then joined Loki and Stephen on the battlefield.
With the overwhelming number of new coming assailants, Gamora, Quill and Rocket took advantage of this diversion to escape Loki and Stephen into Mining Pods. The two Sorcerers were still engaged in their fight against the Sakaarans soldiers when Mikan appeared before them.
"Where is Ronan?" asked Loki, thrusting one horn of his golden helmet into the stomach of his opponent.
"Fighting Thor, another guy, Luca and Luna." Mikan responded, breathlessly.
"And the Mind Stone?" threw Stephen.
"Asgard!" Mikan shouted, as she used once again her Doppelganger Alice to turn the situation to their advantage. With her clones and Stephen help, they trapped all the remaining Sakaarans soldiers in the Mirror Dimension in where three of Mikan's clones kept fighting them.
Stating that there was no Mining Pod left, Loki teleported himself on top of a Necrocraft, Stephen used a portal to do the same, while Mikan activated her Levitation Alice and combined it with the Air Manipulation and Teleportation so she could fly at the same level of Gamora's pod and Nebula's Necrocraft. Two Sakaarans flew across the air. Mikan smirked: Loki and Stephen hadn't obviously had a hard time retrieving the pods they were on top of.
Mikan followed closely the two Thanos' daughters across Knowhere, while fighting off both Quill and Rocket Raccoon and blocking the laser shots aiming her. Stephen made two portals in which both their pods disappeared. While some Necrocrafts suffered the same fate, other crashed into buildings and the others were blasted by Loki's and Stephen's attacks. However, neither of them was familiar enough with the Necrocrafts to follow Nebula's and Gamora's pace.
Rocket and Quill, who hadn't given up on defending their ally, reappeared. Following closely Loki and Stephen, they engaged another fight.
In no time, only Nebula, Mikan and Gamora remained, as the later was forced to head by her sister to head into deep space.
Mikan winced, she was the only one without a spaceship and in this airless environment, she couldn't pursue her opponents any longer. Gamora wasn't in a better position: her pod had started to slow down, threatening to shut down at any one time. The former assassin cursed under her breath, 'These pods aren't meant to be out here!' she realized, desperate. Her only hope was to reason with her crazy sister.
"Nebula, please." Gamora pleaded. "If Ronan gets this Stone, he'll kill us all."
"Not all." Nebula, countered. Finally, close enough to stable her sister's pod in the firing line, Nebula smirked. "You will already be dead."
Nebula fired, destroying Gamora's Mining Pod into pieces. As the Lumophoid was about to retrieve the Orb, Mikan beat her into it, conjuring a portal that closed itself around it. The young Alice, whose Mind-Reading was activated, noticed that Gamora was still alive. Not wanting to leave the green lady to die in the outer space, Mikan drew another portal, picking up her unconscious body in her strong arms.
Once she had ensured the safety of the Orb with her Space Distortion Alice, Mikan had to dodge Nebula's laser shots. With the disadvantage of holding Gamora, Mikan chose to teleport, taking the risk of overusing her Alices one more time.
Finding a good hiding spot in an inhabited building, Mikan laid down Gamora on the ground, and observed carefully the fierce woman regain consciousness. Gamora, who woke up in an unknown place, in front of Loki's ally, immediately pulled herself up, placing herself into a fighting stance.
"Where's the Orb?"
"In a safe place." Mikan replied, ignoring her blatant sneer.
"It can never be a safe place in Loki's hands." Gamora replied.
"You're right. But it's in mine." Mikan retorted, restraining her with her Shadow Manipulation. "I don't want to fight you, Gamora. We both have the same goals, preventing Thanos gaining possession of the six Stones."
"Then I should remind you that he sent Loki, retrieve him one."
"Just like he did with you." Mikan kindly reminded her, uncovering the bracelet which entangled orange, golden and silver cross metallic strands. Gamora's eyes widened in comprehension. "I've assured myself Loki's loyalty. Not for power, but to put an end to Thanos' quest for it. You are the one who lived most of your life under his control, you know better than I do what he is capable of."
Gamora frowned, growing even more cautious of the woman standing in front of her.
"Why should I believe you?"
"Thor, Luna, Luca and two of my clones are fighting Ronan outside, I saved your life when I didn't have to. Otherwise, I have no real proof to provide, but I doubt that you can trust a man like the Collector and not me, don't you think? In Earth, we have this old adage: 'my enemy's enemy is my friend.' Now that's for you to decide which of these you want to consider me."
Gamora studied carefully Mikan one more time. 'I don't have much choice, do I?' sighed internally the former assassin. The Alice, sensing Gamora's resilience, deactivated her Shadow Manipulation, not before throwing a warm smile to her new ally.
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A.N:
I really hope that you have enjoyed this chapter!
Please review and tell me what you think of this new chapter ! ^^
I apologize once again about this awfully long delay. I am conscious that many of you are made at me for it and I am truly remorseful about it. Take care my friends, enjoy the New Year and Christmas Fests and see you soon for another chapter of this fanfiction.