Earth 216
Eight Months and Twenty-Three Days After Invasion
A new morning came with new but familiar faces. As Jamie sat on the floor with Grant, playing an intense game of marbles, people bustled around them like bees in a hive. The movement had never really stopped; Jamie had heard doors open and close all night. She had listened intently, realizing that they were taking shifts. Every couple of hours a pair would switch out – but every switch occurred at a different time so that someone was always outside on the lookout. They never left by themselves – and they never took someone too fatigued or injured. It was serious business; a perfect system.
As the sun rose and her friends started to rise with it, Jamie knew exactly who was in and who was out – unless, of course, there were still bodies out there that she was unable to account for.
The weirdest moment had been when Steve Rogers came in. Grant was still sleepy and just sitting up when their father – it was weird to think of him any other way – had come into the building exhausted and feigned, but otherwise unharmed. Jamie had stared at him intently, looking for any minuscule detail that was different from the Steve Rogers back home. She needed to find something to mark them apart; it was some instinct inside of her that kept her searching even as his potent gaze met hers.
Jamie was disappointed when he walked over to them and offered a kind smile – exactly what he would have done back home. Even the lines on his face where the same. His eyes crinkled the same way and the energy that he gave off was inspiring, even when he looked like he was about to collapse. She watched him calculatingly.
"I heard that we had visitors." His voice jarred Grant wide awake and he bolted upright in his seat.
"Dad?" Steve's face fell, if only briefly, before his smile appeared again as Grant panicked and realized his mistake. "Sorry."
Steve gave a half-hearted chuckle and tried to hold in a yawn. "Thank you, all of you, for coming. We thought no one would."
"But you fought through it," Jamie reminded him, less willing to put on a smile and talk like friends to a man who was indistinguishable from her home-world idol. I don't buy it – there's no such thing as being the same. "You guys never gave up hope, even when you had every reason to."
Steve's eyes sparkled and he shrugged his shoulders lightly. "There's always something to fight for." His words sent chills down her spine – she had heard the same ones all her life. Never give up Jamie, there's always something to fight for. She flared her nostrils.
"You should get some sleep." Steve suddenly looked relieved to be dismissed – like he was glad they weren't going to discuss that he was their father. He raised a hand to both of them and left them in peace with one more dazzling smile. Grant slumped over again.
"Don't be mean." Jamie puffed at him but he only rolled his eyes. "Oh, please, I know how you think. So the guy looks the same; big deal."
She wouldn't contradict him. She knew he thought it was weird, too, but he simply didn't want to admit that to himself so there was no way she would change his mind. As a big sister, it was Jamie's job to protect as much of his innocence as she could – no matter how old he got. So she shrugged her strong shoulders and leaned against his chair.
"Yea, you're probably right." Her eye caught something in the corner, slightly tucked under the couch opposite and glittering slightly in the fanning sunlight. A light smirk came onto her face as she leaned her head back and looked at her brother. "Marbles?"
And so there they sat, Jamie absolutely whooping his ass, playing well into the late morning as Roy and the others woke up and came to play spectator to Grant's funeral. They had just started another game when Tori, Fandral and Clint appeared in front of them. Jamie looked up expectantly, her hand ready to finish her turn, but otherwise she was stone.
They stood ready to go outside, she realized, watching as each tugged on backpack straps and checked weapons. Clint was guzzling coffee and Jamie swore she heard him snoring – her face contorting in disgusted fascination at his ability to avoid drowning in his apparent sleep. Tori had one hand tucked into a pocket and the other wrapped around an old skateboard, one wheel a different color than the rest. Fandral – well he just looked ready for war. Bulging muscles and handsome face excited and ready for a good fight. Jamie recognized the expression anywhere – she had seen it on her own face many times.
"We're about to switch out for shifts," Fandral declared with his booming voice, "and we thought we'd bring a few of you to join us so our team can rest, if you're up for it."
"Of course we're up for it," Roy snapped, rubbing his hands together eagerly. Jamie gave a mischievous smile and looked to Fandral.
"Don't mind him; he's grumpy in the morning." Roy deadpanned at her as everyone chuckled and smiled. He wiggled his nose and turned back to Fandral.
"How many do you need?"
"We go in partners, so we'll take three volunteers." Jamie saw the excitement grow in Grant's eyes and a brief panic started in her heart before she reminded herself to stay calm. I've got this. She had been a big sister for eighteen years of her life – she knew how to handle everything at this point.
"Grant and I will stay behind," she answered quickly, watching his face widen with surprise. "We've got a hardcore game of marbles to finish." She met his annoyed glance and put a calm smile on her face, easily convincing the others.
"Great; me, Sasha and Shay will go. I call skateboard guy." Roy grabbed his own pack from the corner where they had been stashed and looked through when they were all unconscious the previous day. He jogged over to Tori and held out his hand for a high-five which was reluctantly met in a begrudging style.
Fandral nodded curtly. "Thank you all for volunteering. I have to warn you; since you opened a portal into this world the Stinger's are plenty more agitated. We can't promise you safety." Jamie met his gaze unflinchingly, not angry or defensive, just serious.
"That's why we came."
He nodded to her with respect, his eyebrow slightly quirking up before he turned to Shay. "I guess you're with me then, come on." He turned to leave but Roy stood behind and protested.
"Ohhhh, no. No, no, no. She goes with Clint." Everyone stopped and turned around to look at him questioningly. Clint yawned and flexed his arms.
"Um, why?" Tori looked like he was missing something obvious – he wasn't, Jamie stared at Roy with query.
"She was trained by Black Widow," Roy spoke his words like it was the most obvious thing in life. Clint and the others looked impressed, but everyone was still confused. Roy face-palmed. "Helloooo; Hawkeye and Black Widow, famous assasains and legendary parters? Not to mention a little som'thn extra, if you know what I mean," he winked at Sasha who stared at him in disbelief.
"Dude, are you trying to hook him up with my wife?"
"I'm going to need more coffee if you expect me to deal with this shit." Clint looked extremely uncomfortable in the situation and Jamie would have laughed if she hadn't noticed something flash in his eyes. Her head tilted in wonder.
Roy scoffed, though he looked more amused than anything. "Come on, I can't be the only one who appreciates a little irony, right?" He looked around, waiting for someone to back him up. "Right?"
"Whatever, let's go." Shay slunk off past Clint and he offered a shrug to the group, shouldering his quiver and jogging after her. Sasha bit his cheek and actively restrained himself from attacking the minor. He followed a laughing Fandral out into the danger zone. Tori looked less than thrilled to be left with Roy, who was grinning ear to ear and paid no mind to anyone's discomfort. He patted Tori on the chest, craning his neck to look up at the – Asgardian? – she only assumed.
"You're gonna love me, partner." He puckered his lips and gave two air kisses, laughing maniacally as Tori sighed and met Jamie's eyes.
"You sure you don't want to go?"
Clint and Shay walked in silence. He assumed she was just taking in everything he had tried to explain to her about the invasion. To be fair, he had probably done a shitty job, but she was pretty silent so he assumed something was sinking in.
They went east as previously planned, making their way over rubble and fallen debris with relative ease. His eyes were trained on the sky at almost all times, the intense flashes of color and swarming masses no longer hurting his brain – maybe he was going dumb or maybe he was just used to it. His hand flexed on his bow out of familiarity, silently leading her through a worn path in between two giant stumps that used to be skyscrapers.
Eventually her perpetual silence agitated him and he stopped. She looked at him expectantly, her hand traveling to her gun holstered on her thigh as she looked around expectantly. Boy, was he about to ruin her expectation.
"You don't talk much, do you?" She looked let down as her hand traveled back to hang loosely by her side and she continued climbing in the rubble. Clint gave a huff and followed her. Yea, 'cause she knows where she's going.
"I'm just trying to figure it all out," she responded after a few weighted moments. Clint took the lead again as he curved their path.
"Anything I can help with?" He wondered aloud, pausing briefly to gaze around once more before quickening their pace. They needed to make it to the checkpoint before three when the Stingers became particularly rowdy.
"Well, I'm just wondering how this Earth can be so different. Different dimensions – that's a lot to take in." Clint nodded in plain agreement. He wasn't an advocate for believing in magic, but he wasn't bright enough to understand the science behind much, so it wasn't like he had a choice. It was much easier for him to wave his hand and pass it off as some unexplainable witchcraft than think too hard about it – not asking questions might bother other people but it suited Clint quite well and it saved him a fair amount of time. The possibility of different dimensions was shocking to him at first, but he quickly filed it away with the existence of super-powered beings and his knowledge of Asgard. If Bruce can turn into a raging green monster, why can't there be multiple versions of Earth?
"I mean, what happened to make this place so different? How many other dimensions are there?" Her questions didn't even faze him.
"I dunno." He grunted as he hauled himself over a large section of building and held out a hand to help her up, but she refused his gesture and skillfully scaled it herself.
"Well, what's happened here? I mean, besides the invasion…which we have yet to experience." A shudder passed over her body and suddenly Clint was fazed. It was true; they had lived the invasion, they had practically beaten it. Her world hadn't even gotten to that point yet.
"I dunno." His words seemed to anger her so he sighed and tried to think. "Tony created a murder bot a couple of decades ago. That was fun."
"Ultron." As she named the beast Clint nodded, a little weirded out but too lazy to question it.
"Heh, yea," he confirmed, watching as she nodded her head and muttered to herself.
"And Thanos?" She asked, stumping a lost Clint.
"Thanos? What's that?"
"What, so now you're not going to let me go anywhere?" Grant stood up from his spot cross-legged on the floor. Jamie was quick to mirror his movements as she nodded her head.
"That's right – at least not without me." Grant scoffed.
"I don't need a babysitter. I'm nineteen." Jamie wanted to be serious. She wanted to be controlled and tell him that it was her duty as the eldest sibling, to keep him in check, no matter how much he hated it. But she just couldn't stay serious because here was supreme-jock Grant Rogers whining to his older sister and using his age as a reason why he should be allowed to do something. She felt like such a mom.
"Why are you laughing?" Grant demanded angrily, and her laughs became louder. He scoffed, but it was light-hearted and soon he too couldn't help but guffaw – her laugh had always been so contagious, especially when she started snorting or wheezing from lack of oxygen. "Why is this funny to you?"
She let out one more long whinny of hysterics, walking over to pull him into a tight embrace. "We are so not having this conversation, Grant. I'm not Mom, okay? I told you that you shouldn't have come, but you still did, so now you have to live with my rules." Her arms wrapped securely around him, hugging him close to her chest as he rolled his eyes but complied, grumbling under his breath and loosely hanging onto her.
Her eyes started to shift close and enjoy the moment when they caught on a figure just entering the room, snapping open in confusion as James Buchanan Barnes limped into view.
"Dad?"
Roy whistled as they walked. It was his only salvation against the constant and annoying drawl of Tori's skateboard against the pavement. He was concentrating hard on the space around him, busily shaking his hands and growing increasingly worried. No matter what he did, he could not summon one ounce of cosmic energy. There were a couple of rust colored sparks here and there, but otherwise, he was empty.
Tori did a loop and came back next to him, slowing his board until he skillfully glided at a walking pace. Roy scratched at an ear and steadied his shaking limbs, waiting for Tori's instructions.
"Why do you keep shaking your hands like that?" The boy wondered, pumping his leg and watching Roy's hands in fascination. Boy – didn't your mamma ever teach you it was rude to stare? Roy shrugged nonchalantly.
"I think Jace did a number on my summoning abilities. I can't seem to pull anything from anywhere – you're world just feels blank." Roy knew he sounded less than worried about it. He also knew that he was completely freaking out inside – call the fire department; Aunt Sally's up on the roof again freaking out. Without his ability to summon or create weapons or all of the wonderful things that came with the magic… he was a fish in a barrel. A very, very attractive fish, maybe, but he was in a barrel nonetheless and he didn't like it. That was cruel to the fish and he was very much against animal abuse – especially when he was said animal.
Tori did some fancy-ass shit with his skateboard and in the blink of an eye it was in his hand as he slowed to a walk beside Roy. Neat.
"You have magic abilities? That's so cool! What's it like?" The boy was like a little puppy with his excited face and floppy brown hair. Roy nearly scratched his ears and cooed. But then he was confused – how could Tori not know about his abilities? But then he wasn't confused – right, give him the ol' razzle dazzle.
He puffed up his chest and sent Tori a wink, holding out his hand for a shake. "Hi there, the name's Strange. Roy Strange." Picked that little number up from my old buddy James, he snickered to himself as Tori shook his hand rather forcefully and Roy had to keep himself from flinching.
"And I'm Tori Lewis? I don't get how that answers my question." Roy stopped dead in his tracks. It was like the world around him slowed down. He could picture it now; and the camera moves in on his face, dramatic music plays as he grows more concerned. Dun dun DUUUHHNNN – he screams in terror and everything fades black – to be continued…?
"I'm Roy Strange," he looked to see if anything was registering in Tori's brain. The brunette nodded his head with a puzzled expression.
"Yea..you've said that." Roy could feel his palms getting sticky, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up as a sudden chill passed through his body.
"Roy Strange, Warlock extraordinaire? Extremely handsome son of Doctor Stephan Strange, Sorcerer Supreme?" Roy looked fixedly on Tori but he could tell it was useless. His heart beat faster but he forced his outward appearance to remain in control. Roy Strange did not freak out in front of tall, attractive, muscular men. "Doctor Stephan Strange. Controlled the Time Stone for a bit? Any of these words sticking with you?"
Tori made a face and shook his head, slightly checking the sky and Roy swallowed thickly. The cold, harsh fingers of dread poked and prodded him but he managed to smile anyway.
"Cool." His voice was an octave higher than it should have been. "So, where are we going?"
Tori's face melted into complete euphoria as he looked over his shoulder and down the road. Roy was glad for the distraction – it let his mind process that fact that his father didn't exist in this world.
"There's a shelter for citizens just down the block. We're headed there to make sure everyone's all right." Tori started their walk again. Roy gave a sly grin.
"You've got a girl there." Tori looked astonished and went to defend himself right away, but he must have guessed that Roy wouldn't have let it go. Little lad's learning already.
"I've got the girl there," Tori answered strongly, a slight pink coloring his cheeks. Roy nodded absent mindedly.
"Cool, cool," on any other occasion he would have burst out laughing. Ha, big strong man like you, blushing? Ridiculous. He shook his head, disappointed in himself. He couldn't even think of a good zinger to roast him with. There was only one thought running through his mind and it spread panic into him like the plague.
No Doctor Strange and no Sorcerers….are there any magical entities on which to derive power? Am I, the most powerful of those who came, completely useless?
Their eyes locked across the room, fiery blue gazes tangling and asking questions. Grant broke out of her embrace with a hearty laugh. "Now who's the crazy one?" He turned to face the intruder, Jamie's hand flying up to cover her mouth as her eyes widened and she realized what she had done.
"It's just Stev—Bucky?" A silence filled the room and Jamie couldn't move. She was trapped between want and necessity – did she talk to Bucky and let it all out or console her brother and cover up her error with another lie? Her silence apparently answered that for her as Bucky's eyes widened as he realized she wasn't correcting her mistake and Grant turned back to face her with a wild spin.
"Did you call him 'Dad'?" His pale blues eyes dug into her skin, so small and so innocent. Jamie opened her mouth, her eyes flaring from one male to the other. Bucky stood warily in the doorframe, the fatigue of his shift showing but he somehow felt the need to stay and see this through to the end. It was scary how emotionless he was just standing there, his face blank and his body rigid – but those eyes. They held all the secrets of the world; two little orbs of immense pain and suffering, and yet they somehow managed to stay bright and illuminate the darkness. Grant had seen eyes like that before; the eyes of his sister.
"Dad?" He echoed, turning to Jamie with watery eyes. Her head shook slowly, her mind racing as she stuttered over words, her frantic shakes increasing in speed as she fought for serenity. This can't be happening. This can't be happening.
"I think you must be mistaken," Finally, Bucky interrupted the silence. He hefted himself up off of the wall and turned away from them. "I don't have kids." She couldn't bear to let him take another step. Watching him walk away was a constant reminder of his death back home – if she didn't get closer now then she never could. She glanced at Grant with apologies for eyes and took a step forward after the enhanced man.
"Her name was Cecelia." He froze. Time was ticking away as Jamie breathed heavily and raced for anything to keep him there.
"You met her in Europe after you became the Winter Soldier again." She was acutely aware of Grant watching from behind, his mouth growing wider with every word she spoke. She was tearing herself up inside, a constant battle of should she or shouldn't she. Her thoughts betrayed her mouth. "You called her Cece." She saw his shoulders tense and watched as he slowly turned back around.
"How did you….How?" His words were so broken; his eyes full of sorrow and heartache. The only thing Jamie could hear was her heartbeat.
"She helped you be normal again. She helped you feel sane." In a marveling twist she watched her words transform the man in front of her, teleporting him back into his mind. Regret slashed over his face as Jamie tried to get him to continue the story. She had completely forgotten about Grant by that time; there was only her and her dead father.
"You two fell in love…"
"She was pregnant." His whispered words stunned both of them, and Jamie nodded. Bucky was extremely uncomfortable as he continued, his words barley anything more than light breaths as he cried silent tears. "It was a boy. She wanted to name the baby James, after me." He let out a simple laugh at that, something that resonated deep within Jamie's soul. It brought back a fuzzy memory from her childhood; her father's happy laugh as they made pancakes in the kitchen. "We were happy…we were…I was going to have a family." Jamie's heart stopped.
"You were?" She questioned, but Bucky was no longer there. He was reliving the past, his hands ghosting out as if to cradle a child.
"She died during childbirth. Neither of them made it." Her face contorted with astonishment. She gently shook her head as he turned to leave again. She couldn't let him escape – no – she couldn't – he needed to stay –
"You hid from everyone." Her hurried words seemed to bring back his attention as he turned his ear towards her but refused to turn around completely. A gentle tear slid down her cheek.
"You married Cece in the span of weeks. She got pregnant – it was a girl. You named her… you named me Jamie." Her trembling lips attempted a smile as his body came full circle and his tears came into view with her own. He opened his mouth to speak.
"You're not my sister?" Jamie gasped. Grant.
They sat at a picnic table, an awkward silence hanging around the three of them. He sat by himself, watching with barely held in amusement as Tori and his girlfriend – what was her name again? Reyna? Riley? Rachel? – sat uncomfortably apart from each other as if to make it less awkward for him. Him! Eventually, he couldn't hold in his laugh.
Tori looked agitated. "What?" Roy waved his hand, doubling over on the bench the more he thought about it.
Well, shit, it ain't that funny. Why am I still laughing? He sounded crazy; maniacal even. He wiped his eyes and grinned at them.
"We need something to break the ice. Who's up for strip poker?"
"I'll uh, leave you two alone." Bucky's words came unheard to both pairs of ears as Jamie spun to meet her brother's tortured gaze. Silent tears were streaming down his face as she reached out to wipe them, but he slapped her hand away with such force that she took a step back.
"Grant," she chided, but her voice was too soft. What have I done? She couldn't believe it. She had been stupid – why did she have to choose that particular moment to turn crazy and reveal her biggest secret. And right in front of Grant, too!
"How could you not tell me?" He screamed at her, seeming so young and so scared as he cried uncontrollably. Her own tears cascaded down her face.
"Grant, please, you know what Bucky was like on our Earth." Words flashed in her mind. Monster. Killer. Terrorist. She hugged her arm to her chest, not used to all of the overflowing emotions. She was the level headed one – they both were – but not now. Now they were screaming and crying and being ugly children and not doing anything the right way. She couldn't help it, her mind was still spinning and she could barely tell up from down. She longed for something cool to calm her growing migraine.
"So what – everyone lies and pretends that you're my sister?" She felt his spit on her cheek and let out an angry sob.
"I have been your sister for eighteen years of my life, don't you ever think anything against that." She countered his attack with a hard defense. "Steve and Sharon are my parents as much as they are yours –"
"But they're not!" His words lashed through her own with all the power of his soul – of the world. Jamie was aghast.
"Bucky's my father," she whispered, "but you're my brother."
Grant looked her dead in the eye. "Am I?"
"So I suppose we don't tell anyone we spent your shift talking to a pretty lady."
"Does anyone ever tell you how annoying you are?" The elevator doors opened and Tori was gladly the first to step through them. Roy blinked.
"Not to my face, why?" Tori rolled his eyes with a small smirk – completely unbelieving. Roy stepped out after him and was about to continue the banter when a shaking figure drew his attention. Maybe he had ADHD or ADD – not that he could subtract either – or some other funny capital letters. He was always getting distracted by moving stuff, or shiny stuff, or pretty stuff, or…. He got distracted by lots of stuff. He signaled to Tori and walked over to Jamie, gently stopping beside her shaken form.
"Jamie?" He asked calmly, gently resting a hand on her shoulder. She flinched. "What's going on?"
"Bucky's my father." Tori's eyebrows shot up. His gaze shifted to Roy, wondering what he should do, but Roy was unfazed.
"And?"
Jamie turned to look at him. "And? What do you mean and?" Her luxurious brown hair was an un-brushed lion's mane. Roy tried to hide his snort but failed, giving an apology frown her way as he realized his insincerity.
"Right. I'm not supposed to know." He rubbed the back of his neck, turning to Tori and giving a shrug and a 'whoops, guess that one's out' look. It was kind of like a cringe mixed with that eye-bulging that occurred after a hefty shit. Jamie spun on him and he squeaked and stepped back – she was seriously freaky. He especially hated the way her eyes got all evil when she was mad. He shuddered. She was worse than Medusa.
"Well, who told you?" She demanded, looking back and forth between the two of them like maybe it had been Tori. Roy ran a hand through his hair, further messing it up, and breathed out through his teeth.
"My dad?" Her eyes threatened to kill him. "Whoa, whoa! To be honest, it's kind of hard to keep secrets from someone who could possibly travel in time, you know, ifthesoulstonecouldeverbefoundagain." He gave a sheepish grin, watching as her fire slowly settled. She sighed and turned away, rubbing her arms like she was cold.
Roy didn't really know what to think or do next, and as he glanced at Tori, he found the boy to be quite concerned.
"Jamie?" He asked cautiously, reaching out to her as if she were a scared animal. His eyes where narrowed sadly, his appearance hesitating as if dreading some unknown source. "Where's your brother?"
She chewed on a fingernail. "He didn't take the news so well," she admitted, and Roy snorted. It figured – Grant couldn't handle anything that interrupted his perfect little American life. That was why he was so protective of Carly – what she could have been haunted him to this day. "He took a walk to clear his head."
Tori was already reaching for his skateboard. "Shit," he hissed, running to the balcony and looking down. Jamie was steps behind him, freaking out to the max.
"What? What's wrong?" She was asking, peering over his shoulder as his eyes scanned the rubble below.
"What way did he go?" Tori asked forcefully, jarring Jamie as she shook her head and sputtered out made-up words. Roy watched them through the glass as Tori grabbed Jamie's shoulder and squeezed a bit – drawing her into reality.
"You watched him leave, I know you did – what way?" She extended a shaky hand, pointing vaguely to the left. His eyes locked on and he nodded, strapping the skateboard to his back as he calculated the distance.
"Whoa, hold on-!" Roy started, but Tori was already standing on the ledge.
"When Fandral gets back tell him I'm by check point 43 – and it's Stinger's hour." Then, with a grim line for a mouth, he turned to Jamie.
"I'll get him back." He turned away from them and jumped, Roy's eyes widening as he ran to the balcony and watched as he spun rapidly through the air, the soft glint of silver blades barely visible in the rapid movements.
Tori's foot slipped on the dusty ground as he stuck the landing. He was up before anything else could happen – riding through buildings and praying beyond hope and time that they hadn't gotten to the young Roger's boy yet.
To be fair, they had been told to go out in pairs. They had also been told that it was particularly dangerous since they had opened that portal. But Tori got it - strong emotions had even stronger impacts and emotions made people do drastic things. Taking a walk, for example - completely stupid - but completely not his fault.
Even as he pushed his board with everything he had, he couldn't help but to think about it. Bucky – as a father. It was weird and hard to imagine. Not that he doubted the guy wouldn't be a good parent – there was no doubt he'd be amazing at fatherhood – it was just always a trip, imagining something that wasn't and probably would never be.
He passed an old Starbucks and sucked in a breath, leaping through the broken glass of the window. He pressed himself against the wall just as a shadow passed, the long, frightening shape of what loomed above slowly walking about outside where Tori had been not moments before. He turned a blade in his hand, the familiar powerful aura of it spreading through his bones and giving him strength.
It wasn't bad enough the guy had to take a walk a day after they opened the portal, but he had to take a walk at three o'clock – designated Stinger attack waiting to happen. They always got agitated at three, and seven, and then again around one in the morning. Not that they had any clue why – they just learned to live with it and avoid the outside during those times.
He hoped Rayne was back inside; that she was safe. It had been nice to see her again, even if he had to bring Roy with him. Still, the hours had passed relatively quickly and without much pain; Roy only making things unbearably awkward a handful of occasions. They had shared a passionate kiss and then went their separate ways, her back to the safe house, and he and Roy back to the Tower only to find – Grant!
The red toe of a sneaker peaked out at Tori across the store, hidden mostly by the barista's counter. Tori let out a short breath and smiled thankfully. He raised his head to the sky and closed his eyes, giving a small prayer to his people back at Asgard – to Heimdall for giving him sight and helping him find his way. Then his eyes were open again and he was checking cautiously through the broken windows for any signs of the creature.
When none arose, Tori swiped his blades away and silently made his way across the dark store. His footfalls were completely silent minus the occasional crack of glass under his weight.
"Grant," he called in a whisper, tilting his head when there was no response. That's odd…I could have sworn he was wearing red shoes –
He turned the corner and his eyes went wide, his mouth opening and drawing the creature away with sound before he even knew what he was doing. It looked up from its position over Grant, its jaws red with his blood and its eyes grey and lifeless. Tori continued to scream at it, not screams of fear, but just random noise – anything to keep it distracted. He glanced down at Grant, but there was no way of telling how bad it was.
The creature's snout grew longer and it hissed, yelling back at him with rancid breath as it charged. Tori waited to dodge until the last possible moment, leaping to the side and swiping at it with the blade.
The creatures had always been smart. It grabbed at him with a bony arm, catching him in its biting grip, the bones under his skin shifting uncomfortably.
"Y'UH!" He called, slicing the arm off with a dagger. The creature howled, the bloody stump already growing into a shorter, thinner hand of claws. Tori tumbled to the ground with a clatter, pushing himself up, winded, as powerful jaws snapped centimeters away from his head.
Tori dodged yet again as there was commotion from the back as the Stinger that had been sniffing around outside decided to join in the fun. They both lunged, Tori caught in the middle, when there was a powerful yell and a long, silver sword dug through one's neck and in one follow swipe its head was gone. This surprised the other creature and it stopped just long enough for Tori to plunge his dagger into the heart. It crumpled underneath him like sand.
He turned; his father standing before him, bathed in silver glow from his perilous blade. He looked like a true warrior in that moment and Tori was pained to think of it. I'm the reason he's here and he can't go home.
"My son," Fandral exclaimed, walking urgently over to the boy and clasping his shoulder. "Are you alright?" The same pare of absorbing blue eyes looked at each other from replica faces. Tori nodded before letting out an exclamation and running behind the counter, Fandral like a shadow behind him.
Grant Rogers lay in a pool of blood. His chest was shredded open in the most inhumane way; folds of skin hanging out like loose hairs in a braid. His skin was grey and cold to the touch, his face contorted in excruciating pain as his eyes looked upward. Tori reached down to check for a pulse, glancing sorrowfully up at his father when he found none. Fandral could do nothing but nod his head dejectedly and sheath his sword. Tori began to pull his hand away when Grant took in a sharp breath of air, his chest heaving up and down rapidly as his throat let out one more shocking screech of agony and he fell over limp on the floor. Tori was wide-eyed as he looked to his father for advice.
"This one does not give up," his father chuckled, reaching down to pick up Tori's board and hand it to him. "Come, let's get him back to the tower."
A/N:
Hey guys, Ivy here! Thanks so much for the reads and reviews.
Unfortunately, I am leaving for Spain in a little over 24 hours and I will be gone for a month- meaning no updates until I get back. I'm excited to leave you with a bunch of cliffhangers because I am an evil person, and I hope you all will be patient with me and keep tabs on the story as I return and updates become frequent again.
Until then, please enjoy this little chapter I've cooked up for you. If you are in dire need of a good fic to read, I encourage you all to check out Go Ask Him About Peggy by SheHatesWriting - it's amazing and fabulous and she will not be leaving her readers to hang for a month :))
Lots of love and see you all when I get back with some major trip scenes and plot twists,
Ivy