heroherondaletotherescue: I'm glad you like it. I definitely try to keep the romance in a place where it doesn't take over the story completely, as there is something going on at the same time. Without the plot, there would be no story, so I have to fight my nature to make a mindless drabble of fluff and write some meaningful stuff in the background :P But thank you for your review, I shall keep up the work until it is finished.
Katherine Winchester: Thank you :) Well there is a little more than I'm giving right now, but Lizzie's story will slowly unravel itself... bit by agonizing bit. Here's the next one, let me know what you think of it.
eternalflame221: Thank you very much, I've been trying to figure it all over for weeks now, so the fact that it came together well is a great thing. :)
Kitty: Thank you, thank you, thank you. :D I'm glad its doing so.
Guest: Thank you for your review, I was happy to see it. :)
Now we make our way through the story, I hope you all like this bit as both my beta and I had rather intense feels over it. :) And I am overjoyed that this story has reached 58 followers :D THANK YOU ALL. Alright, now Enjoy.
She was in a sea of blackness, unable to pull herself out of the dark mire which was her subconscious. Her memories flitted around in her head, each one coming to the surface to torment her. She couldn't stand it, her past being something which she hated to think of – or rather, feared. Yet, in her unconscious mind, she was trapped, unable to escape. Yet, the memories continued to be drug up... specifically of one person:
Alexander Shaw.
The very name left a bad taste in her mouth. Oh how she loathed him – and yet, felt nothing all at once. Seeing him in the alleyway behind the bar had reminded her of just what her past had been... whom she had once been. She could still remember first meeting Alex Shaw, sixteen years previous.
The memory decided at that moment to make itself known, and she was forcibly taken out of the blackness to another time; this time, as a third party, observing, yet unable to prevent what she knew would happen. She had lived it a hundred times, remembering how she used to wake up screaming. Yet, it was here that she was happiest – it was here she could see her mother once more. It was Christmas Eve, the night she would never forget.
"Lizzie? Bella?" she turned, her mother's youthful face appearing in the memory. Veronika Donovan, with large, brown eyes so similar to her own, filled with love and caring toward the one she was speaking to. "It's time for bed, Elizabeth, come on." The elder turned her head, seeing her younger self get up from her place on the floor, next to the Christmas tree which was adorned so beautifully. The lights twinkled, the star on the very top she remembered she had put up there earlier in the morning.
"Mommy, when will the presents come?" the young Lizzie asked, her brown eyes looking up at her mother.
"Tomorrow morning, mäuschen." Veronika answered, picking her look-alike daughter up.
"When is tomorrow?" Little Bella asked as Sean Donovan walked in. With a smile, the red-headed Irishman picked up his daughter, looking over at his wife and Lizzie. Elizabeth could feel tears welling up in her eyes as she looked at her father... she missed him. She only wished she had known him longer than four short years, been able to have more memories of him which she could bring up.
"Well," Sean began, his Irish brogue already showing. "First, little Brigh, you and Laoise must head upstairs – and while you sleep, Father Christmas will come down that chimney, leaving your presents below the tree, and when you wake, they will be there."
Elizabeth watched as Veronika and Sean shared a loving glance, her tears now flowing freely as she knew that in only a few hours they would both be dead. Yet, she would relish this memory as much as she could, ignoring the future for the time being.
"And what kind of presents will we get?" Lizzie asked.
"Well, what did you want for Christmas?" Sean asked in return.
Lizzie looked up at the ceiling. "I want... I want..." she clapped her hands, her mouth forming an excited 'o' as her eyes widened. "I want a puppy!"
"A puppy?" Sean replied, looking over at Veronika knowingly. "Well, maybe Father Christmas will give you that." he said, "Have you been a good girl?" she nodded. "Well then, I suppose you might have a puppy by tomorrow... but we'll have to see won't we?"
Elizabeth smiled, following her parents as they carried her younger self and her sister upstairs and into their room. Her parents gently set them in their beds, pulling their blankets up around them and tucking them in. "Now, do you want me to sing to you?" Veronika asked.
Both girls nodded vigorously. "Alright then," she replied, clearing her throat, she hummed a moment before beginning.
"Goodnight my angels, time to close your eyes.
And save these questions for another day.
I think I know what you've been asking me,
I think you know what I've been trying to say.
I promised I would never leave you,
And you should always know
I never will be far away..."
Elizabeth listened to her mother with reverence, remembering the lullaby that she had always heard as a child. Later on, Seanmhathair had used an old Irish tune to lull the girls to sleep; but Elizabeth would always remember her mother's soprano voice, her tone whispering over the notes soothingly as she fell asleep.
When the song was over, both girls eyelids were drooping, and Veronika laid one last kiss on their foreheads before following Sean out the door.
The memory paused, a silence accompanying it as she watched the two little girls in their beds. Elizabeth knowing that she never knew this part and would wake up to find her parents trapped downstairs about to die, immediately started sobbing. She knew she couldn't stop it, the two little girls in the beds completely oblivious to what would happen that Christmas Eve.
Suddenly she heard shouts, and watched with horrified anticipation as her younger self woke. "Mommy?" she called, pulling the blanket off of herself, and padding over to the door, her white stuffed rabbit – aptly named Mr. Rabbit – carefully tucked to her chest, his floppy ears draped over her arm.
"Lizzie, what's wrong?" Little Bella asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes.
Lizzie didn't answer, her little hands reaching up to the knob on the door, twisting it clockwise, the door opened and Elizabeth choked. She never liked this part. "Mommy?"
Elizabeth followed as Lizzie stepped onto the landing of the staircase, Bella not far behind her. Veronika shouted something, and both girls exchanged a glance. Elizabeth willed them not to go downstairs, but it was too late, Lizzie already started down. "Lizzie?" Bella whispered "Where are you going?"
"To find mommy." came Lizzie's reply as she descended slowly, the shouts growing ever stronger as a new voice echoed.
Elizabeth and Lizzie rounded the corner at the same time, both brown eyes examining the sight with different reactions. Elizabeth knew what she would find, but Lizzie didn't and a small gasp came out of the little girl as she saw her father being held on his knees, a man standing menacingly in front of him. Veronika was also being held a few feet away as the man turned to her. Lizzie didn't know what to do, but hid behind the wall, her head barely peeking out to see her parents.
"I can't believe you actually fell for this... mere human." the menacing man said, looking at Sean with a condescending glare. "What has he offered you? Eh?"
"More than you ever could, Alex." Veronika replied coldly.
"Is that so?" Alex answered with a small chuckle. "Yet, he can't defend himself." he said, clucking.
"Alex, please..." Veronika begged. "Don't do this. We were friends-"
"Yes, Veronika, we were." Alex snapped. "And you abandoned me for this. This useless excuse for a human being. He can't defend you, he can't defend anyone – in fact, you're more apt to defend him than the other way around."
Elizabeth watched defenselessly as Veronika shook with barely-contained rage. Sean looked up at her, and she instantly stopped shaking; they gazed in each other's eyes, and Elizabeth saw tears begin the swell within her mother's brown eyes. "I love you." she mouthed to him, and he smiled ruefully.
"Oh, how quaint." Alex taunted. "Shall I display my point, Veronika?" He asked, and with a nod of his head Sean suddenly screamed out in agony, falling forward clutching his head.
"SEAN!" Veronika shouted.
"DADDY!" Lizzie did at the same time as Sean suddenly was silenced, his body laying on the ground, unmoving.
Alex turned toward the door, his eyes catching on the little brunette girl who still peeked. "Well, well, well... what have we here?" he tutted, walking forward.
Elizabeth growled as he approached, and Lizzie went to run – but it was too late, he had already grabbed her arm, pulling her into the room. "Don't run away." he said quietly, looking at Veronika. "What's your name?" he asked Lizzie. The little girl's eyes pooled with tears as she looked at her mother, unanswering. "What's your name? Hmm?" Alex repeated.
"Leave her alone." Veronika hissed.
"Why?" he asked, "She's beautiful, Veronika. She's yours, no doubt, she looks like you." he turned once more to Lizzie. "What's your name, beautiful?"
Lizzie bit her lip.
"Answer me." Alex growled.
"Mommy!" Lizzie cried out to her mother, trying to pull out of Alex's grip.
"LEAVE MY DAUGHTER ALONE ALEX!" Veronika shouted, lunging forward only to be stopped by a rather large mutant.
He stood up, his hand coming up and hitting Veronika. "Silence." he snapped.
"Stop it!" Lizzie cried. "Stop it! Leave my mommy alone!"
Alex's head snapped toward the little girl, "Tell me your name..." he said with faux-sweetness.
"Alex-"
"Lizzie." the little girl replied. "My name is Lizzie."
"Elizabeth." Alex repeated, turning to one of his men. "Search the house, see if there are any others." The man nodded, moving out of the room. "Well, well, you have been productive with your idiotic human."
"We're humans too, Alex." Veronika said. "We are simply mutated to be something a little different, but we are still humans."
Alex smirked. "We are above humans." he said, going near Lizzie again and kneeling down. "What's her ability?"
Veronika stubbornly kept her mouth shut, unable to do anything as Bella's sudden scream was heard and the man returned with the other little girl held securely in his arms. He set her down, and she immediately tried to run to Veronika – only to be interfered by Alex's unyielding arm.
"Well, well, what's her name?" he asked her mother. "Answer me, Vera, and things will go easer."
"And why should I?" Veronika asked rhetorically, earning a hard glare from the man. "Isabella."
"Isabella and Elizabeth." Alex repeated. "Two pretty little girls – ah, ah, Vera you know that you cannot use your power when Luke is in the room, so you ought not try."
"I will not take this easily, Alexander. I will make every attempt to free myself." she growled.
Alex's grip on Bella tightened, and she let out a yelp. "Do that, and you will wind up watching one of your lovely daughters die as you did your husband." he warned her. "What are their powers?"
"I don't know." Veronika replied.
"Yes you do." he answered, "Your foresight is something which would allow you to know. But since you're being stubborn, I'll ask Mehuel." he said, turning to a darker-skinned man.
At that moment, the front door broke open, and several new mutants came in – these ones dressed differently than Alex's men.
"Alexander Shaw." a man dressed in red greeted, his German accent betraying him as much as his metallic helmet.
"Erik Lehnsherr." Alex replied. "At last we meet."
Erik smiled ruefully. "Yes, well, sorry I took so long – your note only made it to me within the last hour."
"But you came nonetheless." Alex said. "No doubt to rescue your precious little daughter and her non-mutant husband? I'm shocked you let her marry him to begin with."
"He didn't." Veronika replied. "We haven't really been on speaking terms because of it."
Alex laughed. "Naturally. Erik Lehnsherr's daughter marrying a man who wasn't a mutant? Think of what that would have done to his reputation – good thing you were raised by Xavier, it was more expected from a child of his. Though, Erik, you must meet your granddaughters!" he exclaimed, bringing Lizzie and Bella forward to Erik's sight.
The metal-bender's eyes hardened at the sight of the girls – but not because of them, but rather because of Alex's obvious intentions. His gaze softened slightly as he saw the terrified looks on the girls' faces. He looked once more up at Alex.
Elizabeth watched as all hell broke loose, and Erik's men attacked Alex's in the small living room. Lizzie and Bella were soon grabbed by Veronika, who made a dash for the door, trying to get her daughters out. She was suddenly hit from behind, and was sent sprawling on the ground.
Elizabeth screamed as Alex was no longer there, a Chitauri guard standing menacingly over Veronika –
The sound of screaming woke Loki, and in an instant he jumped out of his bed, heading out of his room to head for the room which he knew Lizzie was in. After what had happened with the Chitauri, he was immediately on his guard, but he knew that in his current state he could not protect her fully. Why Stark had placed her a door down from him? He wasn't sure – would not Barton be much more apt at helping her if something was truly wrong?
He quickly entered the room, expecting to find a threat, ready to do what he must. His eyes scanned the room, looking for any Chitauri guard who had come to finish the job that the others had started –
However, there was none. Loki turned toward Elizabeth's bed, fully intent to question her idiotic screams, but stopped in his tracks as he saw her writhing on the bed, cries of anguish torn from her throat. "MOM!" His heart gave a sudden pang, and within moments he was at her side, trying to wake her. She quieted a little, her screams toning down as he attempted to pull her from whatever dream that caused her to react so violently. His own mind flashed to his nightmares in the Chitauri dungeons, the tortures which he was forced to endure at the mind of Thanos within his own, making his slumber as hellish as his waking hours.
"No!" she screamed, forcing Loki to hold her hands as they flailed around.
"Elizabeth! Elizabeth, wake up!" he called to her, and she opened her eyes. He immediately found himself kneed in the gut, Elizabeth knocking him over in a way that he didn't expect, and forcing him to release his hold on her hands. She immediately used the advantage, fist then clocking him in the jaw before pushing him off of her and landing on top of him.
For a few seconds they grappled – him trying to calm her down without hurting her, and she trying to hurt him in every way possible. He eventually used a little more force and she was once more on her back, him looming over her. "Elizabeth enough!" he commanded, trying to ignore the fact that he felt a sting in his cheek from where she'd accidentally scratched him.
She stopped struggling, her breathing beginning to even out; her eyes locked on his, fear radiating strongly from the orbs. "Loki?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. He loosened his hold on her hands – cautiously, as the last time she had hit him a little harder than expected. He moved off of her and sat nearby, wary of her rather unstable nature at that moment.
Suddenly, Loki found a sobbing Elizabeth practically on top of him, her head buried in the crook of his neck. He froze, unable to figure out what to do with her sudden change in behavior. He had never comforted someone, and had only ever been comforted by Frigga in the past; even then, it had been years since he had been this close to another being without wanting to kill them.
His arms twitched at his sides, an overwhelming impulse to wrap his arms around her as Frigga had to him in the past; he couldn't explain it, but it felt like that was what he should do. His arms twitched once more, and the one closest to her raised up to touch her back. She seemed to react well to the touch, and her sobs subsided slightly; encouraged by this fact, Loki allowed his arm to encircle her, holding her closer to him.
Her door opened, and he immediately dropped his arm back to his side. "Laoise?" the voice of her grandmother filtered in as the woman came in and turned on the light. Loki looked up at the woman, and she knelt beside the pair of them, her hands moving up to pull Elizabeth away from him. "Laoise, come on... its alright... its alright... shh..."
Loki felt the young woman's arms loosen themselves from around him as she allowed the older woman to pull her away. He immediately felt the loss from Lizzie's body, and nearly reached forward to take her back; a strong desire within him to comfort her and send the old woman away – yet, he did not. Instead, he watched as Maureen allowed Lizzie to cry in her arms, soothing her with words in her language which Loki didn't know.
He felt out of place, as if he wasn't needed there, and was simply an outsider. He stood, wanting to get away from the situation – but suddenly found the old woman's hand on his arm as he went to walk away. "Wait." She said, whispering something in Lizzie's ear before moving the girl off of herself, standing up, and walking out.
"Where is she going?" Loki demanded, slightly surprised that the woman would leave Elizabeth when she needed her the most. Was it not obvious to her that the young woman was distressed?
"She's going to get me a glass of milk." Lizzie answered, wiping her eyes and peering up at him. "It's our little routine whenever this happens."
That piqued his interest as he ignored his want to reach over to her. "This has happened before?" Instead of touching her, he knelt once more by her side.
She nodded, her eyes scanning his face, her brow suddenly furrowing as she looked his face over. "Did I do that?" she asked him, motioning to the marks on his face which were already healing due to who he was. Her fingertips ghosted over the scratches, and Loki was momentarily taken aback. "I'm sorry..." she whispered.
"Its nothing." he said nonchalantly. "What were you dreaming of?"
Her eyes watered once more, her lips tightening into a thin line as her fingers moved away from his face. Loki sighed, not expecting an answer at this point – "My parents death." Her sudden answer surprised him. "I have dreamt it a thousand times before – seanmhathair is used to my waking up screaming by now. Typically they stay as far away from me as possible as I begin to thrash around... I gave Bella a black eye once."
He opened his mouth to say something more when Maureen reappeared in the room, glass in her hand and twinkle in her glasses-covered eyes. "Ah, how are ye, Laoise darlin'?" she asked, handing the milk to Lizzie. She looked over at Loki, her eyes examining the bruise on his jaw. "Thank you, young man," she said, "Her sister and I have been on the opposite end of her nightmares in the past." She looked once more over at Lizzie.
The young woman looked over at Loki, her eyes narrowing slightly. "What are you doing?" he asked her.
"Relieving any of the pain by paralyzing that spot." she said.
"As you should!" Maureen exclaimed. "You hit the poor man, its the least you can do under the circumstances."
Lizzie ducked her head, sipping her milk. Loki, however, mistook the woman's words and immediately leveled his gaze on her. "As she was disoriented, it is understandable that she-"
"Ah, hush!" Maureen interrupted, a small smile on her face. "Lizzie knows I meant it in the most loving way." He looked at Lizzie, noting her loving glance toward Maureen. "Now, Laoise, I don't intend to spend my night on the floor, so why don't we move back to that rather comfortable-looking bed?"
With a nod, Lizzie stood up. Loki followed suit, his tall frame towering over the two women. They looked at him expectantly, and he turned on his heel to walk out of the room – he had already done so much in that night that he wondered at his behavior.
"Loki?" Lizzie's quiet voice called to him as he reached the door. He froze, waiting to find out what she wanted to say, even though he already knew, but he wanted to hear it. He didn't know why, but he wanted to hear her say – "Thank you."
He tilted his head to look at her once more, and with a curt nod, he fled the room. He returned to his own room, fully surprised in what he had done with Lizzie.
One thing was certain: he wouldn't get back to sleep that night.
The next morning, everyone in Stark Tower was assembled, and now was waiting to hear just what had happened to Lizzie the night before. To Tony's surprise – and yet, not surprise – Loki sat next to Lizzie in a protective manner, with Logan on her opposite side. He smirked inwardly, JARVIS having informed him earlier that something had occurred during the night which pushed his and Darcy's plans a little closer forward – other than the Chitauri situation.
From what he understood, Lizzie had woken up screaming some time during the night, and Loki had gone to find out what happened. He had to give himself credit for a, putting Lizzie so close to Loki; and b, convincing everyone to allow Loki a little more freedom around the tower by not locking him in at night. Tony had seen the footage, watching as Loki had tentatively embraced the crying Elizabeth, and it gave him a little hope for the pair –
"Tony?" uh-oh, his name was being called by Bruce. "Are you with us?"
"Yep, I was listening the whole time." he said quickly. What was going on?
"Then you agree?" Clint asked.
Tony didn't quite know to what, but he nodded anyways. "Yep, of course I agree."
"Alright then," Lizzie replied. "Although don't expect me to cook as much. Who's going to take over my job?"
"Wait... what?" Tony queried.
All eyes turned toward him. "I thought you said you were listening?" Clint asked.
Tony looked like a fish out of water, his mouth opening and shutting. "I..."
"The topic of conversation was that Lizzie should move into the tower." Steve supplied. "After what happened, we thought that it may be a good idea."
A light clicked on in Tony's head. "Oh! Is that all? Man, I could have told you that was going to happen." he said, sitting next to Pepper who just shook her head. "Although she does have a job downstairs-"
"There is no chance of her returning to work after what happened." Loki snapped at the billionaire. "It is too dangerous. The Chitauri now know who she is, and will no doubt find a way to dispose of her – she knows too much."
"I must agree with my brother," Thor chimed in. "It is indeed too dangerous for Lady Elizabeth to leave our protection."
"Well, hold your horses!" Lizzie replied. "We don't know that that's true. Logan did kill the Chitauri who were in the alley, it may not be as bad as all that-"
"It doesn't matter, Lizzie." Logan spoke up. "We would all rather be safe than sorry, and considering Alex now knows where you are it means that you are in danger from him as well."
"Logan," Lizzie began. "I don't think Alex-"
"He remembers, Elizabeth." Logan snapped back. "You're staying here, and that's final."
They all silenced, and Lizzie took a deep breath. "Very well..." she trailed off.
"Just out of curiosity," Tony began. "who is Alex, and how do you know him?"
Lizzie and Logan exchanged a glance, her biting her lip in nervousness. "Lizzie's past," Logan started. "Is something of a tender subject for her. Although she knew Alex, what she has to say is of no relevance to that relationship."
Tony shrugged, "Fair enough." he said. "Maybe later we can find out what we need in that regard."
"Alright," Lizzie sighed. "so I'll start at the beginning of what happened last night. After several drinks, and a few unsuccessful flirts and dances, I went outside to get some fresh air..."
Johnny Storm was sulking. More than sulking, he was positively depressed. After the previous night's events, he was officially now separated from the newly-formed group, and was left to be given second-hand information from Reed. He felt – in a word – terrible. Not only had he nearly gotten Lizzie killed by what happened the night before, but Sue, Reed, and even Ben had reprimanded him... and that was after he had gone through the wringer by Loki, Clint and Natasha with an ending of him no longer allowed in.
It surprised him, really, that one woman could be a catalyst for making sure he never set foot in the tower unless especially given permission.
"Excuse me." he heard come from behind him, and he turned to see a pretty strawberry-blonde standing there. "You're holding up the line." she said, motioning to the fact that there was now no one between him and the barista at the counter.
"Sorry about that." he apologized, "Why don't you just go first, I don't know what I want." moving aside, he motioned for her to go forward.
"Oh, thank you." she replied, moving up to the counter. "Hey, Michelle." she greeted.
"How's it going, Bella?" Michelle asked, reaching over to grab a cup. "The usual?"
"Yep." Bella replied, pulling out her wallet.
Johnny just waited for a while, still staring at the menu without really reading the words. He hadn't meant to get Lizzie where she was. He had only meant to go out and have fun, he had never expected that anyone would really get hurt... he supposed he should have expected it. After all, they weren't 'heroes' for nothing.
"Hey, pretty boy." Bella's voice broke through his thoughts. "I know its none of my business, but I'm curious as to why you're looking so sullen?"
He looked down at her. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't enticed by the beauty, her name aptly describing just what she looked like – but the question was: did he want to leave this depressed state? "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell you." he said, noticing a second cup in her hand. "Is that for me?"
She smiled, handing him the cup. "I only have about thirty minutes before I have to get back to work... but you looked like a latte, double-espresso type of guy. Was I right?" she asked. Johnny smiled, nodding slightly as he took the cup. "I'm Bella, by the way – Bella Donovan."
Johnny held out his hand to shake hers. "Johnny." he answered.
"You got a last name, Johnny?" Bella asked sitting down at a nearby table.
"Uh... Storm." he answered, watching as she suddenly froze, her blue eyes glazed in some kind of recognition.
"Hmm... You wouldn't happen to be the Johnny Storm would you? As in the guy who is part of the Fantastic Four?" she asked, although her tone was light, he could hear an undertone of danger and wondered what he had said to make her upset.
"Yeah – you've heard of me?" Johnny asked.
Bella's smile turned sickeningly sweet. "Oh, I've heard of you." she said, "My sister is Lizzie Donovan." Johnny groaned. It was just his luck that the first pretty girl he met while in his current state of loneliness would be Lizzie's sister. "Speechless, Mr. Storm?" she asked.
"I'm sorry." he said, "I never meant for her to get hurt." He didn't know what to do. Should he sit down, or should he simply walk away before the woman did some damage?
Her eyes went to the chair. "Sit down, Storm." She ordered, and for the first time in his life, he obeyed.
The room was silent, everyone processing the fact that their enemy had been sneaking in slowly – under the radar – impatient to strike. Loki contemplated what he had just heard from Elizabeth, knowing exactly what this meant: the undercover Chitauri could be anywhere, in any town or city, just waiting for their orders. He knew what kind of fighters the Chitauri were, and how they viewed humankind as a whole.
In a word: useless.
He could see the wheels all turning in each and every of the Avengers' heads, all trying to figure out what to do. One thing was certain, he now knew just why he had been allowed a form of peace of mind from Thanos. After all, now that his forces were already being put into place, he didn't need to bother the young Jotun; why would he? Loki's eyes shifted over to Elizabeth, the bruises on her neck drawing his attention instantly as they stood out against her pale skin. This posed to be something else which worried him.
Thanos knew of Elizabeth's existence, and therefore her knowledge of his plans. He didn't reveal this yet, knowing that it would only worry everyone, and making more trouble than it was worth. After all, would they believe him when he said that each and every Chitauri high-official had a link in their mind to Thanos, to be contacted at any time? They would then wonder about him, as he wondered about himself, and he wasn't in the mood to have them all be suspicious of him helping Thanos again.
"So what are we going to do?" Steve asked, breaking the silence.
"The women are in obvious danger," Clint answered, looking between Lizzie and Pepper. "We don't know what Thanos knows about them. You said that Alex liked exploiting weaknesses?"
Lizzie nodded, looking out the window to Loki's right. "It was what he did best." she said, her hand unconsciously playing with the watch around her neck. "He knows that people are more likely to do as he wants under threat of watching their loved ones in pain." Loki could see that she knew this facet of the mutant from experience, and wondered vaguely what the man had done to her in the past. "He forced my mother to watch my father's death in revenge..." she whispered. "Then he killed her." – that answered Loki's question.
"What's the most dangerous aspect of him?" Natasha inquired, for the first time wondering if there was something more to the girl that she and Clint had pulled from near-death.
"He is a heartless monster." she answered, sighing heavily. She was getting a bit tired from not getting any sleep the night before. "And his powers are unlimited."
"What do you mean 'unlimited'?" Bruce asked. "Does he never tire?"
Lizzie chuckled humorlessly. "No – in fact, that is his one weakness." she replied. "What I meant was that he has multiple powers due to a serum he injected into himself."
Her words from before rang in Loki's head, where she had said that her power was not natural to her body. Was it something similar?
"My father must know of this development." Thor suddenly said, being silent the majority of the conversation. "If the Chitauri have already begun coming into Midgard, we will not be able to defend it alone."
Unexpected to Loki, the entire room agreed.
Well? What do you think? Leave your reviews below, remember that they keep me going week after week. :D