The next day Loki and Claire met in the infirmary, Bucky should be able to get out. To make up for what had happened with Steve, they were planning on going back to the park.
"Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean we could just stay here instead."
Loki smiled at Claire and nodded.
"It'll be fine, besides I think we used up all our bad luck already."
Claire sighed and followed Loki into Bucky's room.
Bucky sat up upon seeing Loki and Claire step into the room. "Hey…" He drawled, smile set on his face.
"How are you guys?" He asked.
Bucky's headache had finally numbed down, and he was feeling much better.
Claire grinned at him and elbowed Loki.
"Oh I'm just fine. Loki on the other hand totally destroyed like four of the sandbags down in the gym. I think he was pretending it was asshat numero uno."
Loki glared at her and looked away slightly embarrassed. He hadn't meant for Bucky to know that, but it was true. After missing out on pounding Steve, Loki had the urge to hit something. And that way nobody got hurt.
"Claire!"
Bucky chuckled lightly and made to get up, wincing as the pain came back in his head. "Ow. I think I need aspirin…"
Bucky stood slowly, ignoring the dizziness that had manifested, until it was gone and only the pounding headache was there. He looked over at Loki and Claire and stretched.
"I think I never want to get knocked out again. Ever."
Quickly Loki started to look for the bottle of aspirin, so he was unable to keep Claire quiet.
"I'd say you got more than knocked out, you almost mmph!"
Loki had spun around, and slapped his hand over her mouth. He narrowed his eyes and handed the pills to Bucky. The last thing Loki wanted was for Bucky to know just how bad it had been.
Slowly removing his hand, Loki smiled tightly.
"Claire why don't you go get some water for Bucky?"
She growled at him.
"Sure thing, never do that again though."
Bucky watched her as she went to get the water. "I almost what?" He asked, looking between Claire and Loki.
Claire had already started to say it, he was not going to let it go when her words piqued his interest.
"What happened?" He continued, looking into Loki's eyes. 'I can catch if he lies. It doesn't matter if he's the god of them, I know when people lie. And if I can't tell, Claire will have a look on her face if he lies.'
Loki looked at Claire and then back to Bucky. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, Loki had wanted to not mention what happened. But he couldn't lie right to Bucky's face.
"You almost died, min venn. You hit your head and had started to bleed out."
Piping up, Claire frowned.
"Yeah, if it hadn't been for Loki you'd be in much worse shape. Or no shape at all."
Loki started mumbling under his breath.
"I did what I could but if I'd been faster…"
"If you'd been faster?" Bucky asked, mouth twisting into a confused frown.
Though, he'd nearly bled out before. He guessed that it hurt so much more because it had been his head. Bucky also remembered that head wounds and glass wounds bled more than any other wounds and that was probably why he had gotten so dizzy.
'But how did I hit my head?' He had automatically blacked out when Steve had hit him. Maybe he had fallen into something, like the table or the floor?
Loki was starting to get upset, thinking of Bucky on the ground not moving.
"Yes, then you wouldn't have gotten hurt! This all could have been avoided."
Claire rolled her eyes, and flopped on the end of the bed.
"What Loki is trying to say is if we had been faster, Steve wouldn't have landed that hit on you in the first place."
Loki just nodded in agreement, still looking upset.
Bucky automatically reached up to his face where Steve had hit him and winced. Oh, there was still a healing bruise and bones knitting back together there because Loki had used his powers to save his life, not heal the hit.
'He should have just left you.' Bucky stiffened, hoping that it looked more like it was because he touched the bruise and not because of the voice that had just resounded in his mind.
It had manifested in his dream the night before, a woman, and she had called herself Lorelei. And he could already tell that he hated her.
"It's not your fault. It was bound to happen anyways, I wasn't going to let Steve talk about you like that." He directed his last sentence to Claire.
Loki whipped around, eyes wide. For a split second he thought he'd sensed…no that was impossible. Must be his imagination, there was no way she was here. He'd made sure of that eons ago, she would never hurt anyone ever again.
Relaxing slightly, Loki went back to making sure Claire didn't say anything else, like how bad her hands had been before Loki had gotten to them.
Claire propped herself up and smiled softly at Bucky.
"Defending my honor were you? Thanks Buck that was sweet of you. But don't ever scare me like that again, got it?!"
Bucky inhaled and exhaled sharply. "Yeah, ok Claire." He promised.
"So, any plans for today?" He asked, thankful that the woman had shut up again. He was sure now that this woman was real, and that Loki could sense her, but he must not have sensed it enough to actually know who it was.
Lorelei knew that he had noticed, so she stopped pushing her luck. Bucky was thankful, they were coming to an understanding at least.
Bucky could ignore her for the most part. It wasn't like she was doing more than voicing his darkest thoughts that he shoved away, usually.
As soon as she went to attack either Claire/Clint or Loki, however, he was going to do something about her. Until then, she wasn't too much of a problem.
Still on edge from the familiar magic he'd felt from Bucky, Loki just shrugged. But a nagging in the back of his mind was telling him to keep a close eye on Bucky today.
"I'm not sure, I thought maybe we could go back to the park. If you want that is."
Claire frowned and hopped up from the bed, where she'd been sitting.
"I don't know about that. Maybe we should just stay here today."
Loki rolled his eyes and grinned.
"You worry too much litt valkyr."
Loki's eyes widened, as he realized what just slipped out of his mouth. They were sure to ask what it meant. Wonderful.
Claire's eyes widened a little. "What does that mean?"
Bucky smiled. 'Loki has a nickname for her now too.' He thought. He idly heard Lorelei grumbling about how Loki had nice nicknames for Bucky and Claire, but for her?
Both Claire and Bucky watched Loki eagerly, as Bucky sat next to Claire.
Loki looked at them sheepishly.
"Ah, it isn't easily translated. Litt means little and well…"
Somewhat embarrassed Loki gestured at Claire and her height. And even when she was Clint, Loki was still taller than him.
"And valkyr means chooser of the slain. Only the most fierce and devoted of Asgards warriors are called to be Valkyr. They have the honor of leading the valiant and bravehearted to the halls of victory. I thought it fitting for you, for obvious reasons."
Nervous of what she would say, Loki looked down. He always gave those close to him, friendly or not, a nickname. On Asgard it was a great complement but here it might not mean as much. Or worse be offensive.
Claire grumbled a little about actually being little, but then said, "Thanks, I like that. Chooser of the Slain! That's really cool!"
Suddenly she changed to Clint right before their eyes. "And it still works whether I'm Clint or Claire, right?"
Bucky heard Lorelei mumble something like 'Yes, it does, why would he call you something gender specific if you change genders?'
Bucky resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Lorelei was either annoying or downright evil. Right now, she was just being annoying. "Uh, I'd love to go to the park."
Loki was starting to get a headache, that devil woman had to nearby no matter how impossible it was. He hadn't imagined it this time, Loki was sure of it. But most worryingly of all was that it seemed to be coming from Bucky. Knowing how Lorelei liked to play with emotions was no comfort, and if she wanted to she could cause a lot of problems.
Distracted Loki glanced at Clint.
"Uh, yes. It's not gender specific, so it works either way."
Clint looked at him funny, as if he knew something was up.
"Great, thanks. Now if we're gonna go lets go."
Loki only nodded and followed behind then in a bit of a daze, struggling to pinpoint where Lorelei was. As they got in the elevator, he let out a stream of old norse curses at his inability to lock on the her. None of them were very nice.
Bucky had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. 'Somethings gonna happen~!' Lorelei sang tauntingly, and Bucky rubbed his head a little. 'You're giving me a headache…' Bucky grumbled to her in his mind.
'Oh my god you finally answered!' Lorelei immediately went silent after this.
"So, should we actually go to the park today or do you want to get food?" Bucky asked, and Clint gave him a look that seemed to convey vague worry. "You're head still hurts?" He asked.
"Yeah, but it's fine, the aspirin takes a while to kick in." Bucky told him distractedly.
Now Clint wasn't sure how to handle this. Both Bucky and Loki were extremely distracted, and Clint didn't like it.
Almost paranoid, Loki couldn't concentrate on the way to the park. She was here somewhere and until he found her Loki would not feel that everyone was safe.
Clint on the other hand was getting tired of Bucky and Loki's weird behavior. As they got to the park, he stopped them.
"What's eating you? Both of you have been out of it since we left."
"Ergh, I don't-!" Bucky halted, frozen, eyes wide as Lorelei's voice exited his throat for 2 words and one angry groan.
"I'm fine, I'm fine." He tried, teeth clenched. 'Don't get mad at me, you were the one that accidently allowed my voice to go out loud' Lorelei grumbled.
Then Bucky noticed it, at the same time Lorelei did. 'Someone's here…' They spoke in his mind at the same time. Lorelei's voice even held a small tremor of fear.
She had accidently integrated her soul into Bucky, meaning what he felt, she felt, and vice versa. They were sibling souls now.
And both Bucky and Lorelei didn't like it.
Freezing in shock Loki spun around, he'd recognize that voice anywhere. But to his confusion, and then horror he sensed her essence intertwined with Bucky's. All the things she could do to hurt him flashed through his mind and rage boiled in him.
Clint was the only one really paying attention to what was happening around them and he could tell something was off.
"Uh guys…somethings not right. We should go."
But Loki was too mad to hear him. A deadly glare on his face, Loki looked past Bucky and saw Lorelei's soul bound to him. He narrowed his eyes, enraged that the poisonous woman dared to get so close to someone he cared about. Doing his best to keep his own magic from lashing out and hurting Bucky, Loki clenched his fists. Green energy crackled around them, almost visible to the untrained eye.
"Lorelei! I don't know what you're playing at but I will not stand for it!"
"Hold on, hold on, it's not what you think, it was an accident!" Lorelei told him through Bucky's mouth.
Their body rippled a little and it showed Lorelei for a moment, before Bucky was visible again. "Lori, calm down…" He told her softly, nearly under his breath. "Loki, she's not that bad, you don't have to be angry at her."
'If anything, I should be angry at him. He imprisoned me at the beginning of time- my body died, and unless he helps bring me back I'm stuck sharing your body. Even if I get my own body back, we'll both never be alone. We'll feel ghosts of what each other feels, and there'll be something missing inside of us if either of us die. No more private thoughts, we could each hear each other's.' Lorelei explained softly to him, and a feeling flitted through Bucky's body a moment.
'You know, that makes you my other half. Like my sister.' Maybe being sibling souls wasn't so bad after all. Well, if they could get Loki to not be so pissed at Lorelei.
"Guys, seriously, if you want to talk about this Lorelei, ok, but at the Tower, because…" Clint trailed off and made a noise of frustration. Something was definitely not right.
Loki scoffed, completely ignoring Clint.
"Lori?! She didn't tell you why she was locked away did she?
There was only silence as an answer. Loki laughed bitterly.
"I thought not."
Clint looked between Loki and Bucky and sighed. They needed to get out of here, now.
Loki just went on, still angry at Lorelei.
"Lorelei and her sister The Enchantress sought to take over all the nine realms. To rule as overlords for all eternity! She is dangerous, I just barely managed to lock them up."
Loki's face softened, concern flooding his eyes.
"I don't want her to hurt you min venn."
"But she's not going too." Bucky murmured.
'Bucky, what he said was true, but he didn't know what Amora did… She controlled me, much like Thanos did him.' Lori spoke softly to Bucky, obvious pain in her voice.
"It wasn't her fault, she was being controlled… that, I'm not saying that." Bucky told Lori when she insisted on making the comparison to Thanos.
"I… I trust her." Lori gasped in shock. 'And I, you.' She whispered.
Loki stared at Bucky not really seeing him but Lorelei. He was stunned, the idea she was being controlled by her sister had never occurred to him.
"You never did have the same conviction Amora did, I just thought you were indifferent to it all. I am truly sorry…I had no idea."
Clint who had grown tired of waiting for his friends to heed his warnings, grabbed them both by the arm.
"Not that this isn't interesting but we need to go. You two…three can sort this out back at the tower, let's go!"
Finally taking in the surroundings, Loki immediately noticed what Clint had bee talking about. Something was not right, it felt like they were being watched.
Looking back at Bucky…er Lorelei, that was going to get confusing fast. Loki nodded in agreement, they should go.
Lori let herself fade to the back of Bucky's mind. 'The only way to live was this. I'm sorry, Bucky.' Bucky smiled a tiny bit, then clenched his teeth. A small pain wronged in the back of his neck and Lori immediately snapped up.
'We're going to get electrocuted.' They both thought at the same time, and then the mini lightning shocked through them, his metal arm losing power.
The HYDRA agents were there, and 4 of them ganged up on Clint and Loki. Nearly unconscious and only with one working arm, Bucky couldn't fight off 2 that had grabbed him.
With her limited magic, Lori was only able to burn the Hydra agents' skins before she fell unconscious at the same time Bucky did.
Bucky paced inside the room Lori had created in his head when he fell asleep. "We're in trouble." Lori murmured. "You think?!"
The attack came out of nowhere and both Clint and Loki were taken by surprise. While taking down the two HYDRA agents that jumped on him, Clint glared at Loki.
"Dammit! I told you we needed to leave, but did you listen? No!"
Snarling, Loki blasted the other two agents off of him and started to beat them senseless.
"I know!"
When all four of the agents were down, Loki turned to make sure Bucky was alright only to be met with the sight of a van peeling out with an unconscious Bucky in the back.
Letting out a howl of rage, Loki stalked towards the agents intent on getting information out of them. One way or another.
Lori straightened after a moment. "They seem really, really mad we're missing. Maybe you were right. They care about you a lot."
Bucky gave a sad smile and sat down. "Yeah. I guess they do."
-XxX-
"Where are they taking th- him?" Clint growled at one of the Hydra agents, harsh glare set on his face.
"Look, we're the expendable ones. We ain't talkin', and whatever chance you had is gone." Four crunches sounded at the same time and the agents started foaming at the mouth before they died.
"NO!"
Loki grabbed one of them by the collar.
"Tell me where he is!"
But it was no use, just as the light faded out the mans eyes he whispered on last thing.
"Cut off on head two more grow back. Hail Hydra!
Loki threw him down with a growl and looked at Clint.
"We have to find him and soon, I don't even want to imagine what they will do to him. And no one can know about Lorelei, she has powers that cannot fall into the wrong hands."
Clint rested a hand on Loki's shoulder. "Loki, let's just get back to the Tower. And never go outside again…" He grumbled the last sentence to himself.
Clint sighed and put his arms out. "If you need a hug, 'm here." He said it somewhat flatly, but sincerely.
He wasn't much of a hugger, but he had to admit, it made him and others feel better.
Loki tried his best to smile at Clint's attempt at making the situation better. It came out as more of a grimace though.
Hesitantly, he let Clint hug him.
"Thanks valkyr, I think you're right we should head back to the…"
Trailing off Loki jerked around, he could sense them! It must be Lorelei, she had to be leaving a magical trail for him to follow.
"I can track them! Come on, I don't want to lose the trail!"
Clint automatically let go and rested a hand on his pistol. "Yeah, let's go." He nodded following behind Loki.
Bucky watched Lori do the magic, hands out and eyes closed. "Did they sense your trail?"
"Y-yeah, I think so, I- ngh!" Bucky and Lori both cried out and then Bucky was waking up, eyes bleary.
"The Asset's waking up." He faintly heard someone, and then someone he found vaguely familiar was in his face. "Sergeant James Barnes." The man said with a sadistic smile.
"Let's get started, shall we?"
Locking onto Bucky and Lorelei, Loki looked over at Clint. It would be so much faster if he teleported them, who knows what could happen if they wasted time on foot.
"I can get us there faster but you're going to have to trust me."
Loki held out a hand, hoping Clint would grab it.
Clint looked down at Loki's hand and hesitated. Did he trust Loki? It took him a few moments before he did grab Loki's hand.
Yes, Clint did trust Loki, even though people like Nick Fury and Agent Hill would disapprove. Clint trusted Loki.
In spite of Bucky being missing, Loki grinned. Having someones trust felt nice.
"Brace yourself, it might be rough the first…"
With a whoosh they disappeared and then reappeared in the blink of an eye.
"time around."
They were in a dark warehouse and in front of them guarding a door were several HYDRA agents. Loki looked over at Clint…oh not Clint.
"Claire are you alright?"
Claire rubbed her head a little. "Yeah, I'm fine." She straightened. "Let's go save Bucky."
She took out her gun and beckoned Loki to hide with her, cocking it. "Ok, do you have enough magic for this? We don't know how many people are in there and I only have 1 extra clip."
Loki grinned viciously, and waved his hand. Both of them flickered and were then invisible.
"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."
Then Loki darted forward, slipping behind the guards. Once behind them he motioned for Claire to follow him.
Claire was the only one who was able to see Loki now, and Claire was really afraid. She followed Loki, making her foot steps as silent as she could, stopping beside Loki.
Lori drew in a breath inside of Bucky's head. "James, Bucky, do you remember Loki and Claire?!"
Bucky was silent, he had stopped speaking to Lori a few minutes ago. Lori cried out as she felt a phantom pain sting at her cheek. "Brother…?" She tried.
Once inside the room, Loki unconsciously put himself in front of Claire in a protective manner. He could tell she was uneasy and so was he, there was no telling what kind of shape they'd find Bucky in.
Silently Loki made his way deeper into the room, only to stop suddenly at the distress he could feel from Lorelei. Something was very wrong, as Bucky came into view it was obvious.
The spell Loki had put on the two of them would also allow Bucky to see them, but he was looking at them like he had no idea who they were.
Lori felt like crying. Bucky had no idea who Loki and Claire were. Lori had all of Bucky's memories tucked away in her own mind, she knew if they just got her brother… her soul brother out of there, she could bring back his memory.
Bucky kept his eyes trained on the 2 slightly familiar people across from him, as the man who had been conditioning him took out the mouth guard, putting it onto a tray of items, including syringes and scalpels.
"What is your name?"
Claire shivered as the Hydra doctor in front of Bucky spoke. "'m na'mes Bucky…" He mumbled, and the doctor reared his hand back and back handed Bucky as hard as he could, making both Lori and Bucky gasp in pain.
"What. Is. Your. Name?"
"… the Winter Soldier."
Claire nearly cursed. Bucky was losing himself.
Seeing Claire's anger, Loki put a hand on her shoulder to keep her from jumping the doctor.
"Wait, if I can get through to Lorelei maybe she can help us. Bucky is not…himself at the moment."
He and Claire exchanged glances, they both knew how dangerous Bucky could be. Neither had any desire to fight him, there had to be a way to snap him out of it.
Distracting the scientists Loki knocked over one of the trays, causing them to look away. Then he tried to reach out to Lorelei to see if she was in any shape to help them.
"Lorelei? Can you hear me?"
Lorelei snapped up upon hearing Loki. "Yes, I can hear you! Bucky can't remember anything at all! I don't know what to do…"
She frowned deeply. "Loki, I can't even use any magic to fight back. You have to make Bucky remember, I can't do it all on my own. Save my accidental soul brother, please." Her voice broke on the last word, and she cleared her throat.
"I'm getting sentimental!" She laughed and sobbed at the same time.
Loki sighed, this was going to be harder than he first thought.
"We won't let you do this alone but you have to try your best to get him to remember. Any little thing at all, it could make a difference. As soon as we get him out of here we'll have a better chance of helping him."
Aware that they could still be heard, Loki inclined his head at Claire. Motioning for her to attack the group of guards while Loki took care of the scientists surrounding Bucky.
She nodded sharply and then attacked the same time as Loki.
The head scientist gave a cry of surprise as suddenly some of the other scientists surrounding the Asset dropped. "Winter Soldier." He said in a commanding tone, obviously thinking that Bucky knew exactly what he wanted. To bad he did.
Bucky was up on his feet in a millisecond, eyes darting between Claire and Loki.
'No, no, Bucky, remember them! Ugh… remember the coffee shop!' Lori tried. Admittedly, it had worked a tiny bit, because Bucky hesitated a moment, before grabbing a smoke disc and throwing it at Claire, who cried out in surprise, dropping her guard in shock.
"You… WHY DIDN'T YOU USE A LETHAL WEAPON?!" The scientist yelled as Claire's body suddenly became visible. Bucky, of course, didn't answer, and just threw another smoke disc at Loki.
Worry for hurting Bucky was momentarily thrown to the wayside and worry for Bucky hurting them took its place. Loki, who kept up a connection with Lorelei suddenly had an idea.
He looked over at Claire, who was trying to fend off the guards that had jumped her.
"Carrie I need you to scream!"
Loki only hoped she would pick up on what he was thinking and let him do the rest.
Claire blinked a moment in recognition. Oh! She pushed the guards swarming her away a few paces and gripped the sides of her head before screaming at the top of her lungs.
Bucky froze. "Claire…?" He murmured almost inaudible. The head scientist grit his teeth. "The Asset has malfunctioned!" He suddenly yelled, and the scientists near Loki ran off as more guards came in. A few of them emptied syringes into his body and Bucky started to pass out, though he tried to fight back.
'Bucky, Bucky, you are starting to remember, but if you remember to much at a time it'll start to hurt.' Lorelei hesitated before saying, "Let me use your body, I can use some of my magic to use it as my own, so I'll look like myself. Do you trust me?!'
Lori felt alone as the whole of their mind went silent. 'Yes, yes, I trust you, I'll let you.' Bucky's voice whispered to her finally. She gave a relieved smile and cast the spell.
After finishing with the new wave of guards, Loki rubbed his head. Claire had done well, but man could she scream. Glancing over at her Loki grinned, all the men around her were flat on the ground.
"Good job valkyr, now we need to get them out of here."
Suddenly realizing what Lorelei was going to do, Loki let some of his energy flow through the connection to her aid. She was weaker than normal and could use all the help she could get.
Slowly Bucky's form flickered and a very different one appeared. Lorelei was tall and slender as all Asgardians are, but she didn't look as she did the last time Loki saw her.
Her hair was the same chocolate color Bucky's was but it was long and wild. And instead of the sharp green eyes Loki was used to, he was met with piercing blue just like Bucky's. And although slimmer and more feminine, the sliver prosthetic was still there and just as dangerous looking as before.
It seemed Lorelei didn't have enough magic to fully exert her original form, and had to borrow from Bucky a bit. It really looked like a perfect fusion of the two, equal parts Bucky and equal parts Lorelei.
"Lorelei?"
Lorelei looked down at the metal arm and then the rest of her body, especially her hair. "I'm… Lorcky." Lorelei tried the blend of their names on her tongue. She sort of… liked it.
"You hurt my soul brother…" Her voice became darker, and slightly deeper with a hint of Bucky's own voice. "No one gets to do that!"
She turned towards the head scientist and used hers and Bucky's accumulative strength to punch him out with her left arm- her METAL arm. A sickening crunch resounded dully, and the scientist fell to the ground.
After both Loki and Claire finished with the rest of the HYDRA goons, they looked at Lorelei…er Bucky.
Claire's eyes grew wide.
"Whoa, that's new. Are you gonna be stuck like that?"
Loki rolled his eyes at Claire's question. He wasn't worried about them getting stuck, he was worried about Bucky though.
"Is he alright?"
Lorelei stopped and looked down, zoned out a little. She listened for Bucky inside their mind, before looking back to Loki and Claire.
"He… ugh, my head…" Lorelei swayed a little on her feet and hers and Bucky's body flickered. "He can't remember things to fast or he could really hurt himself, but it should wear off pretty fast since it was only once…" She winced again and rubbed her head. "Oh, ow…"
Darting forward, Loki steadied Lorelei with a hand on her waist.
"It's okay now, we're getting you both out of here."
Claire frowned at her, noticing the state she was in.
"I think she's about to pass out. Hey look out!"
Lorelei, somehow, managed to keep her and Bucky's blended body as she fainted, slumping forward.
Bucky, in their shared mind, felt someone hug onto him and land a light, almost motherly kiss on his forehead. "We're safe, Bucky…" Lorelei murmured into his hair.
"Thank you, Lori… I love you." Lori stiffened, then smiled into his hair. "I love you too…" The room inside their head darkened as Lorelei sat down next to him and cuddled into him. "Brother…"
Loki caught her right as she started to fall, carrying her bridal style.
"I've got you, don't worry."
Then he looked over at Claire.
"We need to get back, if you'll just put your hand on my arm I can get us back to the tower."
This time there was no hesitation, and in a bright flash they were back at Avengers tower. After gently setting Lorelei down on the couch in the main room, Loki slumped back in a chair. Using all this magic was starting to wear on him, but he couldn't rest yet. He still had to fix Lorelei.
Lorelei loved having a sibling that didn't try to control her like Amora. She also loved having Loki as a friend again, not as alone as she had been when she had been bitter and trying to spite Loki by entering Bucky's mind.
"Loki's carrying us." Bucky muttered. "You remember Loki?" Lorelei asked, but Bucky just frowned. "I don't… Loki… He…"
"Obviously not enough. Just rest, brother." She leaned her head on Bucky's shoulder. "Just rest."
Claire noticed with growing alarm, just how tired Loki looked. He coudln't have been fully recovered from his own capture just a few days back. If he didn't watch it he'd overdo it.
"Loki maybe you should rest, you used a lot of magic today."
Frowning at the unconscious form on the couch, Loki shook his head.
"No, I'm fine. I have to help Lorelei, she deserves it. And that might jog Bucky's memory."
So despite Claire's protests, Loki stood up and looked at Bucky. He closed his eyes and concentrated, picturing Lorelei as he last remembered. Loki had to use a considerable amount of energy to recreate Lorelei's old body, doing his best to picture the redhead he raised his hands and moved them as if he were tearing something apart.
Claire gasped as a tall beautiful woman appeared next to Bucky, both starting to stir. She then whipped around to see if Loki was alright, only to see him stagger and fall back onto a chair. Loki smiled at them.
"Perhaps this can start to make up for my mistake in locking you away."
Then he slumped back and passed out from exhaustion.
Lorelei sat up a little and looked around herself, mildly disoriented. "Claire?" She asked upon seeing the woman across from her. Lorelei's eyes suddenly widened. "Bucky?"
Bucky groaned and sat up, head aching. "Lori? Claire?" He asked, rubbing his head. His eyes landed on Loki asleep in a chair. His heart jumped into his throat and he jumped up. "What's wrong? Is Loki ok?!"
Claire, who was really getting tired of people passing out on her, jumped up and went over to Loki.
"Dammit! I told him to rest! I knew he'd used too much magic!"
She grabbed his wrist, raised it up and then let it drop. Loki didn't stir at all, he was dead to the world. Claire sighed and then turned back to Bucky and Lorelei, both of whom looked worried, but Bucky looked like he was about to lose it.
"I think he's okay, but Loki used a LOT of magic. He tracked you, he transported us to and from the HYDRA base and then whatever it was he did to separate you two. And I think he also healed some of the minor cuts and bruises you had. Guy's got to be wiped, I'm sure that's all it is. I think so anyways…"
To be honest Claire really didn't know if he was alright, Loki had gotten a few good hits on him. And all of the drugs might not have completely gotten out of his system yet, who knows how that would effect his magic. But she was NOT going to be the one to tell Bucky that.
Lorelei knelt beside Loki as Bucky sat back down, dizzy and winded. His head pounded harshly as he tried to remember what had happened.
Lorelei hesitated before placing a hand on Loki's cheek and letting her newly replenished power flow into him to wake him up.
The elevator opened slowly behind the group, and Steve entered the room, face healing from Claire's pummeling. He had some gauze on his face, but other than that his face seemed to be healing rather quickly.
"Who are you?" He grumbled to Lorelei. "Oh. It's you." Lorelei said instead of answering, glaring at Steve.
Claire smirked at Steve, taking a great deal of pleasure in seeing his bandaged up face. The ass deserved it, and if he tried anything she would have no hesitations in beating his face in again.
"Mmm…wha happnd? Sss Bucky right?"
Claire had to hold back a giggle, Loki sounded totally and utterly smashed. She'd never seen him like that before, it was hilarious.
"He's fine, so just take it easy."
Loki ignored her and stumbled to his feet. He started wobbling over to Bucky, intent on seeing for himself that he was alright. He never noticed Steve standing there.
Bucky smiled softly at Loki. "I'm fine, I really am fine." Bucky glanced behind him to see Steve, giving Loki a dirty look. He turned back to Loki. "Are you ok?"
Lorelei was sure she sensed something familiar. It wasn't tangible yet, but she could still tell that she'd felt that power before. Her memory was sort of failing seeing as she had been alone with only her thoughts so long.
Bucky looked over at Lorelei with worry as he felt her own confusion in his own mind. He realized it once it happened. 'We're still connected.'
'Of course we are. We're still soul siblings.'
Still quite out of it, Loki tried his best to steady himself but ended up grabbing Bucky's shoulder for balance. Lorelei's magic must be reacting oddly with his own, healing never was her specialty.
Clearing his throat, Loki did his best not to sound like an intoxicated Thor after a party. He failed, miserably.
"Thas good! Nd, Lori you're okay too?"
Finally seeing Steve he frowned, something was off with him. But with his senses blurred Loki couldn't figure it out, whatever it was it wasn't good though.
Claire rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.
"Okay hooray, everybody's alright. Now can we go?"
She didn't know what it was but something was NOT right and as much fun beating Steve in the face was Claire really wasn't in the mood to do it again all that soon.
Lorelei nodded to Loki that she was ok and crossed her arms. "Steve, go away." She grit out, squinting at the man.
Steve leaned forward. "I don't know what your problem is. I live here, I don't even know who you are."
"What my problem is?!" Lorelei cried, anger coating her voice. "You almost killed my soul brother!" She gestured toward Bucky.
"Wha- your SOUL BROTHER?!" Steve's voice raised in anger and confusion.
There it was, a familiar magic swirling around them. As his clarity of mind started to return to him, Loki almost did a double take.
That was impossible! No way, he had made sure that even more so than Lorelei, she would have no chance of escape. He had to be wrong, just had to be. Or else they were all in big trouble.
Claire still had no idea what was going on, other than the fact Steve was getting dangerously angry again. And all of her friends were weakened, in no state to face the super soldier.
"Hey, cool it! As much as I don't want to beat your face in again, I will if you make me."
Attention momentarily diverted, Steve glared at her. He towered over her, but she didn't flinch back.
"Stay out of it, this has nothing to do with you!"
Loki looked at Steve trying, hoping he was wrong, to figure out what was happening.
"Bucky, who is this bitch?" Bucky snapped up in shock at that, eyes wide in surprise. "Did you just- you cursed!" He accused in shock.
Lorelei growled at the super soldier, feeling the familiar magic get a little more clear. 'Could it be?'
"What's your problem now?! Are you angry that Bucky didn't fight back against HYDRA enough?!"
"Well, if he was a hero he wouldn't have been captured." Steve sneered, rendering Lorelei speechless.
Bucky's mouth opened slightly in shock and tears edged at his eyes. Then he saw it in Steve's eyes. 'He's going to try and kill someone.' He thought to Lorelei.
'He's going to try to kill either you or me.' Lorelei added grimly.
Finally clear of mind, Loki immediately realized what was about to happen. He had helped train both sisters after all, Amora would do anything to pay him back for locking her up. So killing someone close to him would be no big deal for her, even if it was her own sister.
Shoving Claire behind him as she had started to inch closer to Steve, Loki darted forward in front of Bucky and Lorelei.
"No! I will not let you hurt them. It's me you're after anyways."
Looking deeper like he had with Bucky, Loki could see the angry soul of the Enchantress whispering twisted lies to Steve.
"Isn't is…Amora?"
Lorelei cringed as soon as the name passed Loki's lips. Bucky's face twisted into a frown in recognition. He knew about Amora, he remembered Lorelei's memories. He knew something was going to happen, something really bad.
"Amora…" That had been Steve, a regretful tinge set into that one word, before he scowled. "I don't see why your trying to act like anything other than what you are- a monster. Why do you lie to yourself that you deserve these… friends?" He spat the last word out venomously.
"Loki, don't, Amora has a strong grip on him, and she doesn't want to physically hurt you! She's trying to take everything away from you and mess with your mind!" Lorelei yelled, landing a hand on Loki's shoulder and trying to pull him back.
Bucky wiped at his eyes and tried to get closer without being noticed. He was NOT letting any of them get hurt.
Loki bristled at Steve's…or was Amora's words? Either way he was so angry he didn't even acknowledge Lorelei's warning.
What bothered him most was that it was all true, he was a monster. He didn't deserve to have friends not with everything he'd done. But at the very least he would not allow them to hurt them, not while he was there to stop her.
"While that may be true, I won't let you continue to hurt them. I will make sure this time that you will never see the light of day ever again, you witch!"
Out of the corner of his eye, Loki saw both Bucky and Claire edging closer while Lorelei just looked furious. Bucky was in no shape to fight anyone, neither was Lorelei and Claire would not get the jump on Steve so easily again.
So throwing a hand out behind him, Loki put up a barrier of glowing green energy. He separated them, so if Steve became violent none of them would get hurt. Locking eyes with Bucky, Loki silently apologized for what he was doing, but there was no way he would watch Bucky almost die in front of him again.
Now that he knew the shield would hold, Loki turned his attention back to Steve and Amora.
"Tell me, how long? How long have you been planning this?!"
"NO!" Bucky screamed, slamming his hands on the barrier as hard as he could, before tears streamed down his cheeks and he fell to his knees. Lorelei's jaw dropped in shock.
"I've been whispering since Bucky was brought to the Tower. It was a preemptive strike, and it worked."
Lorelei snapped to Bucky crying on his knees. 'I have a plan. Let's fuse.'
Amora noticed Lorelei's look towards Bucky. "Kill 2 birds with one stone…" Steve whispered under his breath.
Loki clenched his jaw and ignored Bucky hitting the wall of energy. He put just a little bit more magic into the wall just so they couldn't break it, at least he hoped they couldn't. Glaring at Steve he narrowed his eyes.
"Of course, you would play dirty! I should have never taught you how to use your gifts, foresight is wasted on you!"
Sneering, Loki started to circle him, looking for weak spots. Then Steve lunged at him and it was on. The only difference was Loki wasn't trying to kill Steve, he only wanted to get rid of Amora. Steve wasn't holding back at all.
On the other side of the barrier Claire was looking for anyway to break it and she spotted something that could give her a chance. Tony had been tinkering with her bow and he'd left it out on the nearby counter. Dashing over, she grabbed it and grinned as she noticed the tiny explosive arrow made just for blasting open things sitting in the quiver.
"Hey I've got an idea!"
Bucky and Lorelei were once again fused together and they looked ready for a fight. Lining up the arrow to point at the green wall, Claire motioned to them.
"If we hit it at the same time, we should be able to break it. On the count of three alright?"
Claire pulled back the bowstring.
"1…2…3!"
Once the arrow left Claire's bow Lorcky slammed their metal arm into the barrier, glowing with magic. The barrier shattered into pieces, and Steve's lips morphed into a twisted grin.
He pushed Loki back as hard as he could and lunged for Claire, arm wrapping around her throat. "Lorelei, Bucky, you have a choice."
Claire struggled, only to stop when his grip got tighter.
"I swear I'm gonna make it where you can never have children Rogers! Let go of me dammit!"
Loki got up shakily, when they'd broken his shield it had weakened him severely. Seeing Claire in danger made him pause, he needed to tread carefully to avoid hurting her.
"You either let your little friend here die or you take her and leave me to my unfinished business with Silvertounge."
While Steve was busy giving Lorelei and Bucky an ultimatum, Amora was always one for dramatics. Loki snuck up behind and started the complicated spell to cast Amora back to the void.
He put a finger to his lips, telling Lorelei and Bucky to keep Amora distracted and then let all of his remaining power flow into the banishment spell only hoping she would be kept busy long enough to finish it.
"Listen to us Amora." Lorcky told Steve softly. "What are you hoping to accomplish here? You just need to let Claire go, and stop this madness with Steve."
Steve's arm loosened around Claire's throat and he threw her too the ground, where she turned from Claire to Clint. Steve stepped over him with an unemotional face.
"I hope to accomplish a lot, Lorelei. I hope to ruin Silvertongue, to destroy what he cares for and lock him away, like he did me."
Steve turned to look at Loki, and Lorcky cursed. "I'm not getting thrown away again."
Loki looked at Clint sprawled out on the ground and after seeing that he was okay turned back to Steve with murder in his eyes.
"You had every reason to be locked away Amora! Do you not remember the reason why I had to do so?"
Clint groaned and slowly started to inch closer to his bow, which had been tossed aside in the fight. If he could just reach it…
Loki glanced at the shimmering image of Lorelei superimposed over Bucky's, she was worried. For Bucky or here sister, Loki was unsure.
"I only did what you taught me to do! I guess monsters can be made, I learned from the worst of them all."
Attention back on Amora, Loki practically growled, his rage making him explode.
"What I taught you?! I trusted you! I showed you ancient magics to help you grow not so you could enslave the world tree! I had every right to lock you away, my only regret was that you dragged your sister down with you!"
Realizing he had momentarily lost the opportunity to banish Amora, Loki settled for the next best thing.
Letting out a string of particularly nasty Norse curses, Loki threw his astral projection right thru Steve. Tackling Amora to the ground and out of Steve, Loki severed the tie between them and released Amora to the physical plane.
Lorelei gasped in shock upon seeing her sister, and Bucky allowed her to take full rein. She wiped at her shared eyes and screamed, "No!", before grabbing Loki and pushing him off Amora.
The knife Amora had nearly shoved into Loki instead was shoved into Lorcky's gut, causing both Bucky and Lorelei to scream out in pain.
Amora's eyes widened and she stepped back, not taking the knife out. Then her mouth twisted into an evil grin. "Killed 2 birds with one stone."
"It's kind of like killing mocking birds." Steve's voice murmured before he fainted.
Loki looked up to see Amora grinning at the bleeding form on the ground.
"NO!"
He rushed over to them, fear and worry all over his face. It was really bad, if he didn't do something soon there wouldn't be anything he could do.
And now, how does it feel Silvertounge? All that's left now it to end you and your misery with you. If I feel so kind that is."
Hatred for Amora welled within him, but he had to stabilize his friends before letting it out. Steeling himself to wait he was about to do, Loki grabbed Lorky's shoulders and ripped them apart back into Bucky and Lorelei. Now the damage was split between the two of them, something he could try and heal later. After he took care of Amora.
Snarling at her, Loki stepped in front of his fallen friends.
"If they don't make it I'll make you beg for an end to your own misery and only then will I end my own."
Not even trying to get near Bucky and Lorelei, Loki's protective stance over them was very intimidating, Clint came up behind Amora. Maybe if he took her by surprise, then she wouldn't have the chance to hurt Loki.
Amora frowned as both Bucky and Lorelei lay on the floor, the knife now on the floor. Her hands itched to grab it, to get Loki, when she felt it.
The arrow was now stuck in her back, Clint holding onto the other side.
"The Hawk…?"
Clint grinned as Amora fell to her knees.
"Ha, take that bitch! I'd say there was enough tranquilizers in that to keep you down for a while."
Loki groaned and dragged himself over to Bucky and Lorelei, to see what he could do to help them. He motioned for Clint to help him up.
"Whoa slow down, you look like you're about to pass out again."
Loki frowned.
"I have to make sure they are alright. I'm not…I'm not important."
Brushing off Clint, Loki turned to look at Bucky and Lorelei. Fortunately Lorelei was already starting to heal herself, the Asgardian healing factor kicking in. But Bucky was not doing as well, so Loki focused all of his energy on fixing him. As soon as Loki was satisfied with that her turned to Amora who was passed out on the floor.
"And you will never hurt anyone ever again."
With a wave of his hand, her hands were bound with magic inhibiting chains. Falling back in a chair with at sigh, Loki waited for his friends to wake up. This was all his fault, he was a danger to everyone around him.
Bucky felt his whole body shudder, pain slowly ebbing away.
Lori's consciousness was prodding his too see if he was ok, but what was more on his mind was 'Is Loki ok?'
Bucky slowly sat up and squinted at the Asgardian Prince.
Clint looked behind him at the couch where Loki was laying. Seeing Bucky's concern he smiled.
"He should be fine, just exhausted. Whatever he was trying to do to Amora took a lot out of him."
Loki shakily started to get up, he had to make sure Bucky was completely healed. Lorelei should be fine by now. He put all of his remaining strength into giving the appearance of looking fine and not like he was about to pass out.
"How do you feel men venn?"
Bucky remained silent for a moment, just staring at Loki. "You're exhausted, it doesn't matter if I'm ok or not. You need to lie down."
He suddenly bristled and turned to Lorelei. "Lori, are you ok?"
"I'm fine… you?" Lori asked quietly, breathing oddly.
"Who cares?" Bucky asked, wrapping his arms around her. "I do…" Lorelei answered.
Loki sucked in a ragged breath and leaned on Clint's shoulder, the failed banishment spell was still trying to draw energy from him. But he did not care about that, Bucky thinking he didn't matter on the other hand did.
"As do I, you do matter James. And I…"
Loki suppressed a groan as the last tremor of the spell ran through him.
"Am fine."
Looking at Lorelei for the first time since he had decided she wasn't dying, Loki looked her over to see if she was hiding any pain.
"Lorelei, are you alright?"
Loki knew she would be fine physically but the emotional pain of seeing her sister again had to be tremendous. Amora tried to kill her, just to hurt him. Loki realized he was putting them all in danger, Amora wasn't the only person who held a grudge against him. Even when he tried to change his past would not leave him alone. He truly was a monster through and through.
Lorelei looked up at Loki with a frown set on her face, before standing and brushing herself off. "… I'm fine." She said, voice hard.
"Lori, no you're not." Bucky stated, pushing himself forward before wincing a little. Lori automatically snapped to look at him. She didn't speak, however, instead looked to Loki
"You mustn't blame yourself for what happened. We should check on Steve." She muttered, and Bucky nodded, pulling his hand off from his drying blood.
He tried to stand, but instead dropped back down and breathed heavily, panting.
Lorelei trying to make him feel better only made Loki blame himself all the more. But even in his fatigued state Loki snapped to attention when Bucky started to breath erratically and sat back down.
"Bucky, what is it? What can I do? Are you in pain?"
Clint sighed and then looked at Lorelei.
"So…what are we gonna do with her?"
He pointed at Amora and frowned.
"She is your sister right? You should have the final say on what to do with her."
Clint was glad everyone was somewhat okay, but he couldn't help but think the trouble wasn't over quite yet.
Lorelei looked to Amora lying on the ground. "As long as she's not hurting anyone, you can do whatever you want with her." Lori swiftly turned and went into the elevator, sending a goodbye message to Bucky.
"Loki, I'm fine, you're not. So sit down and worry about yourself, I'll eventually heal myself all the way, you sped my healing enough where I'm not in danger of dying."
Bucky frowned and pulled himself up a little. Things were pretty bad as it is, but he had a feeling things were going to get worse.
A lot worse.
Well that does it for this chapter. If you liked it, punch that review/favorite/follow button, iiin the face, LIKE A BOSS! And~ high fives all around... Whpsh, whosh! And I will see all you dudes... IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!