Hullo my lovelies! Thank you for all the gorgeous reviews, you guys are so beautiful. I would love to take you all out to a romantic dinner and give you each a pocket-sized Loki! This one is so weird, I have no idea why or when the idea came into my mind, but I wanted to see Sigyn drunk, so yeah. There we go. This chapter is much longer than the others, sorry about that! I just felt my creative juices flow ;)
Please review, I love them and cherish each one I receive.
Song that inspired this chapter: Princess of China- Coldplay ft. Rihanna (Invisible men remix)
Haunt me chapter 8- A deadly drink please
I changed into the most stunning clothes I could find that particular day. The sky was nowhere near dark- the time was only 3 after the noon. I slipped on a skinny, clinging raven black shirt that revealed scandalous amounts of cleavage. Any other day I would've scorned my choice of clothes, but I was still seething from my encounter with Loki. I pulled on a dark pair of jeans. I felt very comfortable. I quickly curled my hair using a spell I never thought I'd use. My long flaxen hair framed my face and curled delicately, making me feel beautiful. My esteem was on a low, and nothing is a better pick-me-up than curling my hair. A moment later there was a pounding at the door. The loud raps sounded painful, until I realised that the man knocking had managed to defeat many enemies, including Loki.
"I'm coming, do let yourselves in!" I called, putting on make-up I'd learned to master from Natasha. I put on a large amount of eyeliner, mascara and black eye shadow. I looked like a temptress when I was fully dressed and prepared. I finally put on the shoes I wore when I first tried Midgardian clothing. They made a pleasing clunk on the floor; I took great pride in striding down the stairs to meet Tony. He was dressed in jeans and a grey shirt with "Black Sabbath" scrawled on it. I pondered the words.
"It is not Sunday, and it is not a black day." I said.
"It's the name of a band." Tony answered abruptly. I blinked slowly, registering his words. Steve sat next to him, looking comfortable in a leather jacket and jeans.
"Greetings, Steve and Tony. It's nice to see you again, this time hopefully without drama." I said jestingly.
"Yes." Steve said. He was normally far easier to talk to. Maybe alcohol would solve that issue. I was planning on going "full out" as Tony said.
"Are we gonna get slaughtered Tony?" Steve asked, smiling.
"With any luck. I know where we're going." I got into his car carefully. It was very impressive, a glossy red car with no roof. As we glided fiercely over the road, the wind whipped my hair gently.
"Where are we going?" I yelled over the blare of his loud music.
"My happy place." He answered, with an enigmatic grin. We parked outside a large building with bright lights; Steve called them neon lights.
"What is this place?" I smoothed my hair as I asked.
"A few years ago when I first gained my Iron suit and the truth was revealed about my identity I had people from all over asking me for aid in their electrical… adventures. This guy I was friends with asked for my help, and I couldn't say no. I am a charitable fellow at times. I helped him revolutionise his bar, and in return he paid me a minimal amount which was all he could afford, and told me I had free access to the whole bar forever, providing it was a success." He explained with an exaggerated roll of his eyes.
"You're a good businessman." I noted. He nodded- that displayed his modesty levels.
"Modest fellow isn't he." Steve muttered. We entered the bar, and I must admit that it felt rather empowering. The music that played within had a booming bass, and my footsteps were synchronized with this bass beat. I strutted next to Tony into the bar, and smirked as several men's eyes averted from their partners to gawp at me. For the first time in a long time, I felt like a pompous girl.
"Look at your swagger!" Tony exclaimed, looking down at my feet and trailing his eyes up to meet mine with an impressed smile.
"You're in a relationship, you… dick." I said, struggling to recall an insult Midgardians used.
"I know, I'm not playing the field, but I can't help my flirtatious personality." He winked. I turned to Steve. He had a beaming smile. I realised this wasn't his first time. I imagined he'd been in modern day a large deal longer than me. Tony ran forward to give a masculine hug to a bulky middle-aged man. His hair was blond, slicked back down to his head. His suit was pin-striped and black. His shoes made a pleasing clonk like mine, except much more muted.
"Tony, you dog! I've missed you!" His accent was strange. I struggled to locate it.
"French…" I murmured aloud.
"Yeah, he's French. Al, I want you to meet Sigyn and Steve." He gestured to us both in turn. Al held out a hand to meet with mine. Recalling my social skills I learnt from Tony and Clint (who proved to be quite immature when left to each other's devices, literally), I shook Al's hand.
"You've got a good shake." He complimented. He greeted Steve warmly, and then walked ahead back to Tony.
"I assume you're gonna be here until the early hours? Your doll looks upset." He gestured faintly with his head in my direction. I am no doll of his! I seethed.
"Yeah, can we grab the VIP floor?" Tony said, ignoring Al's reference to my being Tony's.
"Yeah, it's not booked tonight. Until now." He corrected with a croaky laugh. His breath smelt of unpleasant bodily fluids, mixed with some sort of beer. I rolled my eyes, and we made our way up some blue and red lit stairs. I noticed that my footstep left a blue glowing light where I placed pressure. Then it slowly faded away.
"Naff, isn't it? Designed that beautiful bitch of a staircase myself." He was much more jovial than usual.
"You already started drinking, didn't you?" I accused sourly. He nodded slowly, his face taunting.
"Well I have some catching up to do then." Steve joked. I smiled, easing the tension. We walked through a door and sat down at the bar. The room was dimly lit, with neon colours that were extravagant but intriguing at the same time. I looked around me in wonder, like someone not gifted with sight seeing a rainbow for the first time ever. My jaw dropped slightly at all the impressive sights. I vowed silently to work on some spells to create neon lights.
"Nice view?" I snapped to and turned to see Steve and Tony both watching me, laughing. Just then, Bruce, Natasha and Clint burst through the door that concealed the staircase we climbed up previously.
"Oh great." Muttering, Tony turned to greet them with cold eyes.
"Who invited you up?"
"Al is easily exhorted." Natasha responded with a smirk. The low cut item of clothing she wore revealed enough cleavage for me to guess how she managed to squirm up here. I stood up and nodded uneasily at the team.
"I heard about what happened today Sigyn. I am sorry if my appearance causes you grief of any sort." I nodded, my eyes drifting sadly to the floor.
"It is fine, Natasha. How did you find out?" For a brief moment my blood turned icy at the thought of Natasha and Loki having a conversation.
"One of the girls that provided you with a massage witnessed the whole sorry affair." I breathed normally, safe with the knowledge that they didn't talk. Bruce was surprisingly the first to speak.
"So, what do we have to drink? Where's the bartender?" Tony smiled and shook his head in mock sadness.
"Have you been living in a hole? In VIP, you help yourself." He winked at Bruce.
"Oh. Sigyn, are you new to this system?" I cleared my throat of the food I had consumed from a glass bowl provided.
"On Asgard, only the men drink in bars. The ladies would often have servants bring wine and delicate beverages to their chambers." I explained.
"Also, what is this I am consuming? It is most delicious." They looked like miniature clouds. Some of them were glazed with a coppery brown substance, and some of them were salty. Most of them, however, were sweet.
"That's a confection called Popcorn." Tony explained with a smirk.
"Now enough of the banter. Let's get completely drunk!" He shouted, with a collective yell from the entire group, apart from Bruce. He was sat apart from them. He looked mildly enthusiastic, but he was restraining himself for an unknown reason. After I was sure everyone was settled, which I determined by making sure they were all slightly drunk, I went to sit next to Bruce.
"You look sad." I commented. He looked up, briefly surprised at my comment.
"I'm not sad. I just don't know how the Other Guy will react to an obscene amount of alcohol." He answered truthfully with a shrug.
"Does the… Other Guy stop you from doing things you normally did before?"
"In some ways, yes he does. I miss being able to feel safe around other people. It can get quite lonely, locked up in all those labs." I nodded in understanding.
"I'm sorry. It must be difficult at times."
"I suppose, but at the same time, I'm not alone. I have these misfits with me." He joked. I giggled at his joke. I didn't find it particularly humorous, but I wanted him to feel happier. This was supposed to be a night of fun and frolics. I could hear Clint call my name from the bar.
"I have to go- I'm being summoned. I wonder what their intake limit is."
"Don't stop them! With any luck they'll be so drunk we can leave them here." I chuckled at his mutter.
"I'll be seeing you." With an eye-crinkling smile, I departed to meet the rowdy group. They all cheered loudly when I joined them.
"Okay men; show me what you've got." I challenged. They cheered again. Their games were bizarre, some involving licking necks and stealing limes from mouths using mouths. Some involved time limits, others involved strength limits. I found it all very easy. Then they changed the beverage from Vodka to a drink called Everclear. According to Tony it was the most dangerous alcohol legally permitted in the bar.
"This will rot your insides!" Bruce exclaimed as he read the paper that decorated the bottle.
"I'm going to give it a good go." I said darkly, as I picked up the two bottles and gulped them down. It burnt my throat on the way down, stung as it landed to settle in my already uneasy stomach. I bravely yet foolishly tore open the second bottle and swallowed it without a second thought. My mind was all blurry, I couldn't see properly. What was being said sounded very low in pitch. The flurry of voices swam in my head and made me laugh at the peculiar sensation. I couldn't walk, so I allowed myself to float gently to the cold, hard floor. The neon lights span around my head, and I cried and moaned at the feeling.
"Tony, what did you do?"
"I told you not to give her that shit; it's illegal in some places!" A distant voice exclaimed. I was too out to decipher who it was. Before I knew anything else, I was clasped in someone's strong arms and swiftly carried away from the scene of the incidents. By the time I stopped moving, my head was still. I breathed a sigh of relief as my flushed skin met something cool and even stronger than my previous saviour. In the back of my mind, I recognised the cool sensation, yet for some reason I failed to surface the memories of it. Then, as my new hero spoke, it clicked into place.
"What happened?" The voice was calm yet concerned.
"Loki…" I moaned, my arms and legs ached and seared with pain.
"I'm here, you're safe now." He soothed, stroking his cool fingers down my sweating forehead. I leaned into his hold.
"I want an explanation tomorrow. You'd better pray she heals those terrible wounds." Loki hissed, his warning sending chills down my spine.
"Very well. Goodnight Sigyn. Loki." It was Bruce. I instantly felt guilty about Bruce being threatened- he had helped me. I was carried to my chambers and laid gently on the silk bedding. I moaned again, writhing in agony.
"Did someone poison you?"
"No, I drank too much deadly alcohol. It's illegal to drink in some places because of the dangerous effects." I moaned, tears stinging my eyes. He soothed me again. I felt the bed shake gently and I moaned at the swaying sensation. I felt the cool arms lock around me, and I sighed, in less pain. His whole body seemed moulded to mine. I drifted into an uneasy and painful sleep. I didn't dream, but instead I watched the darkness swim in front of my vision. Occasionally I'd shift, and Loki would shift to remain close to me. Suddenly, my stomach turned violently and bile climbed up my throat. I broke free of Loki's arms and ran to my bathroom to throw up in the toilet. My stomach hurt, and the bright light of the outside world and the bathroom light combined made my eyes sting. I groaned, and heard the bed creak as Loki left it to stroke my feverish back with his cool, long fingers. Delightful shivers crawled up and down my back repeatedly. He chuckled at the goose bumps on my skin.
"I still do that to you?" He joked. I smiled despite my predicament. For that moment, I forgot what Loki had done and focused on the fact that he was protecting and looking after me.
How was that?
See you next time! I need some inspiration for that one, might do an angsty nugget to get to Chapter 10 where we see the arrival of a foe (Although it shall be short-lived).
Please keep them reviews coming!